Chapter 29:
Humans have always been such an oddity. Fragile and weak. That was at least how Kyurem perceived them in the beginning when he had first seen the strange creatures hobbling around on their two feet. Pathetic really. A single flick of his tail or a single breath from him was enough to end the creature's life in a matter of seconds. Yet the Father seemed to enjoy the miserable beasts existence which was the only reason Kyurem hadn't extinguished their lives when he had first seen them.
The creatures were nothing like the other monsters that roamed the land and tended to their own territories and lives. The humans were just as unintelligent as the monsters, but they were curious beings by nature and seemed to have the need to crawl across every terrain and peek their heads in whatever cranny or nook they found. Yet, they were incapable of generating fire or water or anything aside from a cacophony of sound that permanently emanated from their mouths.
Kyurem remembered meeting one for the first time on the top of his throne in Mt. Reversal. The beast had been so startled when it had first laid eyes on him that it had cowered behind a cove of rocks before fleeing the vicinity all together. Kyurem had thought nothing of it until an entire flock of them came with sharpened sticks which they then proceeded to throw at Kyurem. The sticks were easily deflected by Kyurem's impenetrable scales and in a single breath of ice he had eliminated the nuisances. Truly pathetic creatures. Yet they wouldn't stop coming. The next herd of creatures had come with other monsters roving the land who had attacked with flickering flames, trickles of water, and floating leaves before Kyurem again eliminated the pests with a single breath of lightning.
The next time he'd seen a human, it had been a female who had approached without a sharpened stick. She only had a colorful robe on instead of the typical loin cloth the other humans had worn. He remembered the beast getting onto her knees and bowing to him while chanting a series of rhymes put to music. Kyurem had found the display to be rather childish, but still amusing. He saw no reason to end this particular beast's existence since it wasn't too irritating, and the human began to come repeatedly afterwards. Each time, it would bow repeatedly to Kyurem before presenting a woven basket filled to the brim with various fruits despite Kyurem having no need of sustenance.
Soon a flock of humans began to gather to Kyurem often where the human female, one that frequently changed since the fragile humans frequently died, would chant in their sloppy vocals proceeded by the flock chanting the same words. Kyurem quickly learned to distinguish the sounds of the human's crude language into a serious of objects, actions and positions. The humans would link these words together to form sentences, and from these symbols construed together, a meaning could be found. Crude, inefficient, subject to error and next to worthless compared the clear, distinct language the monsters used, but the humans seemed to rely on this method of communication. As the humans came more often with woven baskets of fruits and songs, it became almost enjoyable to hear how the humans had decided to form the rhyme and meter of each of their chants. Over the years, Kyurem found that he almost enjoyed the human's arrival.
At times during his flight across his dominion, he spotted a few of the humans working out in the fields of wavering corn who upon seeing him, fell to their knees and began worshipping him. It was amusing to come near their residence to watch them bring out instruments which they shook and sang, loudly chanting his name.
He remembered when a foreign group of humans had come with a sickeningly pale complexion compared to the lovely coppery ones of his own humans. They came with sharpened pieces of metal and monsters that fought at their side. Kyurem remembered seeing the smoke rising off the small residences of the humans and feeling a flicker of sadness that he would no longer hear the creatures dance or sing in their childish, sloppy movements. To preserve the humans he had grown accustomed to, Kyurem went to the genetic variant of human invaders where they slapped his skin with metal and had their monsters attack him. It had felt like a child flicking their finger against his skin. In one breath of fire, Kyurem had gotten rid of most of the invaders. He had made quick work of getting rid of the human vermin in the other areas of his domain until only his coppery ones remained.
The humans had come up to him afterwards and bathed him in their tears as they sang and danced all the while chanting praises to his name. Kyurem found it endearing to see their shuffled feet and flailing arms moving about him while a human attempted to make the cacophony of noise seem beautiful.
It all changed when they came; coming in on their large sea crafts of soft white sails and wooden exteriors. Human would not be the proper word to describe them for they had many abilities just as the monsters did. Yet their appearance resembled humans despite all having skin and hair variations ranging from dark as night to the pale paste he had seen from before. Kyurem quickly learned that these new creatures were called "Celestas" and that they had journeyed from the Kalos Region and desired to become the new rulers of his human subjects.
He remembered meeting their leader for the first time, a female… no a Queen… with ebony hair as black as Darkrai, eyes the color of the ocean during a hurricane and a voice that surpassed even that of Meloetta's. It was the first creature in human form that could speak with him without the incessant need for guttural noises. Kyurem remembered her power radiating as powerful as any of his brothers and sisters in their own domains. He chose to work alongside her to help her build a kingdom as long as his own pets would continue their tradition of singing and dancing.
Large cities were soon created, castles of alabaster raised, fields cultivated, monsters domesticated and systems of laws formed. The humans lost their tradition of dancing and instead replaced it with the lighting of incense and offering fruit to him in stone buildings rather than woven baskets. It had all been wonderful until two kings were born. That had been the beginning of the end.
Their angry words had lashed across him as they began to glow and emanate with the essence of power. Both using it simultaneously on Kyurem to convince him to side with one or the other. Their convictions had been too powerful for him to decide on one, and so his very spirit split in half: one becoming his sisterly half while the other his brother leaving Kyurem a shell of his former self. He remembered lying on the marble floor of the ornate castle watching his sister's glorious white form side with one while his blackened brother joined the opposite. They ignored Kyurem's husk and proceeded to battle.
He had been rejected from the court afterwards; deemed nothing more than an empty vessel of Reshiram and Zekrom. Doomed to live in isolation in the caves without the singing and dancing he'd once enjoyed. Without the love he hadn't realized he'd grown accustomed to throughout the millennia. Now only a monster doomed to live within the confines of a cave to forever be avoided by the humans.
Kyurem sighed and let out a breath of icy wind which caused ice to spiderweb out in an intricate crystalline pattern along the glass of his confine. Despite being stuck in a cramped cage, Kyurem did not feel much had changed other than human's prowess over technology. He was still a pariah rejected by humanity destined to be hidden from others whether it be in a cave or in the bowels of this vessel.
His imprisonment was not all that strange to him, but the presence of one of the Ancient Ones was more than a little disconcerting. They who had always been adorned with decadent gold and linen of the finest material had never been subjected to what this little one was going through. Kyurem glanced over to where the human of science stood blabbering a few noises which he didn't bother listening to. Instead, his yellow eyes were drawn to the figures standing next to him. He recognized the Ancient One, N as he called himself, leaning heavily against the creature in black with a mane of white hair.
The one next to the Ancient One had long green hair nearly the same shade as N's, but he appeared to be older with a red eye and eyepatch. Kyurem finally recognized the green-haired human as the one who had often come with the other Ancient One, the one with long cascading blonde hair and radiant blue eyes. His eyes shifted from the human to the younger Ancient One, noting the genetic similarities between the two as well as the princess. He snorted in surprise not having expected the princess to have chosen to mate with a human. Their kind had never done that when they lived as rulers of Unova.
Kyurem decided to listen in on the conversation between the humans, "-all readings suggest that the procedure was a complete success. N's own energy waves indicate a strong directional shift to your own cane, Lord Ghetsis. The only thing to do now is to test whether it's functioning properly."
The atmosphere seemed to thicken as the rich energy of the Ancient One's saturated the environment causing the human's cane to glow an icy blue while the little one, N, cried out in pain and collapsed to his knees beside the human and the dark creature. 'Kyurem,' Kyurem heard an older voice say in his mind through the same channels the Ancient Ones used.
Kyurem balked slightly, "Human. You wield the Ancient One's power… I have never seen nor heard such a thing before."
"Kyurem please don't listen to anything he says," N said desperately as he crawled to the glass wall of Kyurem's confinement and pressed his hands against it. The little one looked at him with wide, blue eyes and continued plaintively, "Please. Don't do anything he tells you! He's-"
"Silence," the creature in black snapped before forcefully dragging the boy away from Kyurem's confinement and securely holding him to prevent further movement.
'Kyurem,' Ghetsis continued speaking through the energy of their connection. 'I have a proposition to make for you.'
"You expect me to take kindly any request given by you despite you having kept me confined for over a decade," Kyurem said, his mind dripping with venom and animosity. "You may have the energy of the Ancient One, but that does not mean I will follow you."
The human smirked, his red eye narrowing slightly, 'I wouldn't jump to conclusions until you've heard all that I have to offer.' The man gripped his hold on the cane tighter causing the outpouring of energy to glow brighter and the boy to gasp slightly as more of his power was taken. In Kyurem's mind's eye a vision of the man's ambition came to him. Golden spirals mirroring what the Ancient One's once had in their kingdom here in Unova came to mind, the current state of human affairs changed from how it was to the older time with the man at the head or it. Kyurem glanced over at the boy and envisioned a new race of Ancient Ones once more ruling Reshiram and Zekrom's domain. Lastly, and most emphasized by the human, was the vision of himself with his siblings being fused together as one. Reunited after three millennia of separation. With their power, the human's ambition and the child's power, Kyurem saw the human government buildings falling making way for Team Plasma.
"You have great ambition," Kyurem said softly. "Yet, this desire does not match my own. I have no wish for the lives of the humans to be drastically altered simply from your want of power."
'I see,' the human said with a slight smugness creeping into his mind, 'Then I'll assume you're willing to let the mantle as leader of the combined trio fall to another. Perhaps Reshiram will be more cooperative than you.'
Kyurem stared at the man for a moment as he continued, 'The gods may think that they are nothing like humans, but that isn't true. The gods listen to what the Celesta royalty says because they're acting in their own self-interest just like any common human would. If the king or queen gave their power to one god, that would make them greater and superior to the others. That's what happened to Reshiram and Zekrom. They were favored and loved by the Celestas which was why they had a tower built to honor them and were waited on hand in foot. You on the other hand, well… if the legends are true, you were cast out. While they increased their power and dominion, you became weaker and weaker. Do you really want that to happen again? I'm offering you a chance to be greater and stronger than Reshiram and Zekrom. I'm offering you a chance to return to your former glory.'
Kyurem said nothing as he studied the man. He looked over at the boy staring at him imploringly, begging him not to side with the human. Kyurem had felt the child's suffering and even felt a sort of kinship with the boy as fellow captives of Team Plasma. However, the boy would be dead in a few short years just like they all would be. What about after that? If the human intended to fuse them together, it was in his best interest to be the one the man favored. That would ensure his place as the head of their original form. Besides, if he stubbornly refused, undoubtedly one of his siblings would fill that role leaving him to once more be trodden over by Zekrom and Reshiram's dominant personalities.
Not to mention if the man intended for the boy to propagate the line of Ancient Ones, then he would most certainly want to be Ghetsis' favored one. He would return as a dominant power to live in the light rather than living in the dark murky depths of a dripping cave. There really was no choice in the matter. "I find your proposition acceptable, Ghetsis Harmonia."
"Open the cage," Ghetsis instructed calmly. "Kyurem has decided to side with us."
"NO!" N screamed as he struggled against Osamu's tight grip. Dr. Colress calmly pressed his hand against the glass and entered several security codes which caused the glass chamber to slowly rise sending out a spray of arctic mist from the bottom.
Kyurem emerged from the mist, his yellow eyes flashing powerfully as he stretched slightly and walked over to where Ghetsis stood. N finally tore away from Osamu's hold and ran straight to Kyurem and stood between the god and his father. "You can't do this, Kyurem. You have to know what my father will do when he takes control of Unova. He'll rule as a tyrant! You can't let him win! Please!" However, the god simply used his head to gently push N out of the way so that he could walk over to Ghetsis. "No! Kyurem!" N said desperately, but the Legendary remained next to Ghetsis.
As the gravity of the situation fully hit him, N felt his strength leave as he once again sank to his knees. "No…" N whispered again. 'Oh Arceus what have I done… I gave them… everything they could have possibly wanted.' N looked down at the cold metallic floor. He truly had nothing now. Not his sisters, not even the hope of one day being free and no way of stopping his father or Team Plasma. Unova would fall because of him.
He felt a hand gently raise his chin so that he was looking up into his father's cold, eye. He smirked maliciously, "Now there's the look I'm looking for. The look of a person who's lost all hope."
"Father, please. Don't do this," N whispered in a last-ditch effort to stop Team Plasma's inevitable invasion.
Ghetsis merely chuckled as he straightened and looked over at Osamu, "Have Zinzolin start the attack on Opelucid City. When he's drawn Drayden out, have him inform us so that Kyurem can attack it. While the League's distracted, go assist Alex and Jenna to break into the Pokemon League to retrieve the Light and Dark Stones."
"No," N cried, but this was only met with Ghetsis slamming his cane to the metallic floor causing a sharp ringing that reverberated through the lab.
"Enough," Ghetsis said calmly. "You've already decided Unova's fate the moment you abandoned Team Plasma. If you had remained king, Unova might still be beautiful. However, you've forced me to move to extreme measures that may very well wipe out several cities and thousands of citizens." Ghetsis again turned to Osamu, "Take N back to his cell and make sure he's well-rested for the attack."
N didn't even resist as Osamu roughly grabbed N to his feet and teleported him back to his white, sterile cell. He didn't even try to not breath in the sweet fumes of sleeping powder that Osamu had pressed against his face. Instead, he tried to find solace in the darkness and loss of consciousness. After all, anything would be better than this reality.
"Iris… this has got to be the most disturbing data I've ever gone through," Professor Juniper said in disgust as she scrolled through all the data saved on the hard drives. Iris stopped pacing back and forth in the P2 laboratories which had been emptied of all scientists after they'd all been arrested and taken into custody to be personally escorted by the Elite Four back to the Pokemon League's special holding cells. The only other two people in the room aside from Iris and Professor Juniper were the Pokemon Masters and Gorm who was sullenly glowering at the floor of the lab.
"What do you mean Professor," Iris said as she shot a glare at Gorm before walking over to Professor Juniper who was studying an array of pie graphs and numbers that Iris couldn't understand.
Professor Juniper turned to Iris and said, "I mean, this has to be the place where Ghetsis had his and the Shadow Triad's Pokemon lobotomized. This is a biology lab that specifically studies Pokemon and… people. Colress' device definitely wasn't assembled here. All the equipment here go into regulating life functions and inducing homeostasis. From what I can see, it appears that they were currently working on regenerating a lifeless Pokemon. A little like what's done in Nacrene labs, but this time, they were genetically altering it so that it would be even more weaponized than it already is. That's not even the worst of it though…" Professor Juniper then pulled up a few more experiments and pictures that made Iris feel sick and disgusting just from looking at it.
Iris turned from the computer and marched straight up to Gorm, "What in Arceus' name is wrong with you people!" Gorm averted his eyes to avoid eye contact, but he stubbornly remained silent. "To the Distortion World with this," Iris turned to Ruby and said, "Dose him with a high level of Dream Mist so that he's giggling like a blabbering idiot. I want you to record everything this bastard says as he spills all of Ghetsis' secrets. When it's done, upload it for all the world to see. Ghetsis likes to rub things in people's faces, why don't we do the same for him?"
Ruby smirked, "With pleasure." He then reached inside his bag and pulled out a jar of Dream Mist which he handed over to Iris.
"Wait," Gorm cried. "You can't do this. The level of-"
"Dream Mist will be too high since you've probably disciplined your mind so that you won't be affected by it?" Iris asked innocently. "I guess that means you'll go insane from this. Oh well, they say insanity's a lot more fun than being sane."
Gorm backed away nervously as Iris grabbed a handful of Dream Mist. "This isn't remotely legal. You wouldn't want to tarnish your reputation as Champion by doing this."
Iris hissed, "You're absolutely right. This isn't legal to do on any Unovan citizen, but none of neo Team Plasma are Unovans anymore, are they. You're terrorists who have the intent of destroying the land and people that I've sworn to protect. Don't think for a moment I'll hesitate to use Dream Mist against you to protect Unova. Unless you talk you can say goodbye to this world and say hello to La La Land. I want to know everything Ghetsis is up to and what the Distortion World is up with those experiments."
Gorm didn't say anything until Iris raised her fist full of Dream Mist and Gorm snapped, "Fine," Gorm breathed in deeply as he said, "I'm assuming you saw the cloning experiments."
"You tried and clone Melody and N Harmonia," Iris hissed. "Along with them you tried to clone other humans and Whisperers as well."
Gorm sighed and said, "You have to understand that none of the… experiments… we conducted here were ever meant to have happened. Team Plasma should have overthrown the League years and years ago with Melody leading the charge, but…" Gorm sighed once more before continuing slowly, "it all changed when Melody left Team Plasma and died. After her death and N being taken by the sisters to Discordian Wood, Ghetsis became… unreasonable... and terrifying to say the least. I don't believe those words can properly describe what happened after that event. Melody and N were central to Team Plasma's conquest of Unova. We couldn't possibly succeed without them, but I also believe that Ghetsis loved them, particularly Melody, in his own way. When she died, something inside him… snapped."
"Oh yeah. For sure he loved them," Iris said sarcastically. "After all, it was his love that probably drove Melody to run away with their son and then commit suicide when she couldn't escape. No wonder he had you bastards try to make clones of them after that. Because he loved them so much that he couldn't live without their power… oh sorry, I meant without them."
Gorm flinched when he heard Iris say this. He then defiantly glared at Iris and spat, "Oh please, fools like yourself assume conclusions before they have all the data. Melody was Team Plasma's Queen for nearly seven years. We always said her unofficial coronation was when Ghetsis led our first raid against Team Rocket with Melody at his side. She helped establish our reputation as being the ones that kept the streets clean of Rocket filth. She agreed to summon Zekrom. Ghetsis didn't force Melody to marry him or have a child with him. She did that all willingly."
"Yeah, I'm still not getting past the suicide part," Iris said callously. "Or the fact that, oh you know, you tried to clone her."
Gorm sighed, "Ghetsis had gone too far, and Lady Melody had found out."
"Oh, you mean she found one of the thousands of skeletons in Ghetsis' closet and it came back to bite him. Surprise, surprise. Which skeleton was it?"
"He was going to kill her Guardian Rhea," Gorm said sadly. "Ever since that woman showed up, she had tried everything in her power to convince Melody to go back… to the Sinnoh Region. Rhea would constantly tail Ghetsis and pry into Team Plasma's affairs. She would insist that Ghetsis was a monster and that Melody didn't belong in Unova. I'm sure you think she's a saint for trying to do that, but that woman kept trying to put a wedge between Melody and Ghetsis. She stirred up contention and made both their lives miserable just to convince Melody to go back with her. Ghetsis was planning an… accident for Rhea, and when Melody found out, she left the mansion without notice. She took N, Rhea, Concordia, and Anthea with her where they then escaped to Nuvema Town to buy some direct tickets to the Sinnoh Region." Gorm hesitated as he said, "He found her there. The children ran for Discordian Wood, and Ghetsis confronted Melody."
"If she's anything like N, she should've been able to kill him," Iris said in a low voice. "She should have been able to wipe out all of the Plasma members."
"You're right," Gorm said sadly. "She had enough power to wipe out all of Nuvema Town, but I don't believe she could bring herself to do it. I believe she still loved him even after… everything he'd done and was planning on doing." Iris was surprised when she heard genuine regret as Gorm said, "It was… Melody's greatest downfall. She often let her emotions overcome her reason… something that never happened to Ghetsis. Ghetsis has an uncanny way of understanding people and using both their strengths and weaknesses against them which is exactly what he did with Melody. He knew that she would try to separate herself from N so that he couldn't get them together. It's why he sent so many of our best members to cut the children off from escaping. They were supposed to convince N to go with them which should have been easy since all the members personally served in the mansion directly over N. Once they'd managed to leave with N, Ghetsis was going to… convince… Melody to return so that she could see her son again."
"He was going to use N against his own mother," Iris roared. "Are you seriously not hearing how messed up this all is!?" Gorm shifted uncomfortably as he again averted his eyes. Iris snorted, "Of course you know. You've just forgotten how to live like a moral human being. My mistake for thinking otherwise. Now, what happened afterwards."
"The children had bonded with N," Gorm said quietly. "They were able to use N's powers so that they could escape into Discordian Wood. Ghetsis was furious, but he thought he still had Melody… right up until she ordered her Pokemon to kill her. She died in Ghetsis' arms. After that, he… he… well I'm not sure if he just went insane or lost every shred of humanity left inside him. His plan hinged on her and N's powers. Without them, we couldn't win. That's when he started experimenting with clones. We actually had several successes, but nothing with Melody or N. We couldn't even begin the process of cloning them since they're a reservoir of some unidentifiable power. Their very being couldn't even be put together without that power and so we couldn't even recreate a single cell from them."
Gorm then added, "However, we did have success… three in particular."
Iris' eyes widened, "Oh Arceus. You're talking about the Shadow Triad."
Gorm nodded slowly as he said, "We based them off of Rhea's DNA actually. We created them to be fundamentally linked to Ghetsis just as Rhea was to Melody… I guess you could say they're artificially bonded to Ghetsis. They don't really feel any emotion except around Ghetsis. He's the only one they care about, and they are absolutely devoted to him. To supplement Rhea's DNA, we had to infuse some sort of power since Rhea naturally drew from Melody's power. We included Pokemon DNA. Particularly Claydoll, Dusknoir, and Zoroark. It's why they can teleport, hide in the shadows, and almost have a sixth sense when it comes to battle. They're Team Plasma's most brilliant creations."
"We've noticed," Iris said bitterly. "I'm surprised you didn't create an entire army of them."
Gorm shook his head, "It's best not to have too many things like them. They may act somewhat humanely around people that Ghetsis care about. They'd never hurt the Sages or the admins, and they'll protect Plasma's assets like N, but other than that… they're…" Gorm shuddered a little. "They're horrible. They're completely intolerant of failure, and when they were first created, they had a tendency to kill anyone they thought would interfere with Team Plasma. They also loved watching anyone they deemed an enemy of Team Plasma suffer. Believe it or not, Ghetsis is the one that had to make sure they toned it down since he isn't one to kill needlessly. Osamu's the most humane and intelligent of the three which is why he was put in charge."
"Arceus you're all screwed in the head," Ruby muttered under his breath.
"What are the rest of Team Plasma's plans," Iris asked softly. "And don't give me some Tauros crap that they're going to use N's powers to take over Unova. I already know that."
Gorm said nothing, "I don't know."
"Liar," Iris snarled as she again raised her fist full of Dream Mist.
Gorm shut his eyes as he said, "Go ahead. If Ghetsis finds out that I told you anything, he'll kill me. At least he won't be as upset that I went insane while giving you away our secrets. He'll probably have me humanely killed to put me out of my misery."
"Ghetsis isn't all powerful," Iris said softly. "He wouldn't know."
Gorm glowered at Iris, "Tell that to Rood and Anthea."
Iris blinked in surprise before she said, "Anthea… well, we don't know what neo Team Plasma did to her. She's on life support, but she might be able to recover. We don't know where Rood is-"
"Another sign of the League's pathetic incompetency," Gorm said rudely. "You don't know what happened to Rood? Just like you don't know what happened to the few higher up admins in Team Plasma that turned after our first fall? They were all murdered. The Shadow Triad were enraged by Ghetsis being arrested and at N's disappearance. You can't possibly believe I'm unaware that the Shadow Triad went on a little hunting spree last year. They found me and the other Sages and brought us back to the P2 labs and the Plasma Frigate. We helped them to gather our head admins and loyal followers before the first wave of United Regions' trainers could come. I know about all the Plasma members murdered in Witness Protection. There was nothing that we could do to stop them. We were all terrified of the Shadow Triad. You know why you haven't heard anything from Rood, Champion? I mean you had several sightings of N, but nothing about Rood. It's because he's dead. He either killed himself or was horribly tortured to death by the Shadow Triad."
Gorm then leaned forward to Iris and whispered, "Do you know Ghetsis' policy? Do you know why he has so many devout followers?"
Iris tried to look brave and indifferent in the face of this man but seeing that Gorm was genuinely scared terrified her. She silently shook her head as Gorm continued, "Keep your friends close and destroy all your enemies. There are no enemies that he'll bother to keep close. If he can't turn you to his side, he'll destroy you. The destruction varies depending on what that enemy means to him, but he'll make sure that person regrets not staying loyal to him. Ghetsis trusted Rood. Rood knew he would die the minute he left Plasma mansion because he knew he would give N a window of escape whether it be through the League or by him leaving. Rood didn't have anything to lose at that point, his wife had just died from cancer and his daughter had died three years before in a car accident. You don't want to imagine what Ghetsis has planned for you, Iris."
Iris felt as if her heart was pounding out of her chest, but she managed to maintain a blank face as she said, "Why in the Distortion World would you follow a man like that?"
"If you're his friend, he treats you well," Gorm said sadly. "Alex and Jenna adore him since he's the one that gave him a home. Peter was very close to their family from the beginning. Jackson also found a home in Team Plasma as did Rosa. Me and the other Sages were all friends with Ghetsis as well. He makes sure that everyone loyal to him is protected and well taken care of. He never laid a hand on Melody or N until they turned on him. No one that's loyal to him has ever been afraid that he'll suddenly decide to hurt them."
"So, he manipulates his own people to like him. 'Love me or I'll kill you,'" Iris said sadly. "What kind of life is that? One where you live in constant fear that your friend might turn around and kill you if he thinks you've betrayed him." Iris then returned the Dream Mist into the jar and sealed the lid shut. "I was never going to use it on you," Iris said softly. "What's different between me and Ghetsis is that I don't want to see my enemies suffer. I want justice, yes, but I don't want it at the cost of my own soul." Iris then looked at Gorm and said, "I'm sorry you live in Ghetsis' shadow. I hope one day you'll also be free. I hope all of neo Team Plasma will."
Iris turned to walk away when she heard Gorm whisper, "Opelucid City."
Iris paused before turning back to face the former sage. "What did you say?"
"Opelucid City," Gorm said tiredly. "That's where he's planning on attacking next. Not that it will make any difference. By this point, Ghetsis has already won, but maybe you could… evacuate… some of the citizens before it's too late."
Iris quickly turned to the remaining three Pokemon Masters, "We have to get there right away. Professor Juniper call the Elite Four and tell them what's happening. That bastard has another thing coming if he thinks he can attack my hometown."
Iris and the Pokemon Masters took off through the doors. Gorm considered whether he should have told them about the DNA splicers, but… no… it was too late for Unova. Not to mention what Ghetsis would do to him if he found out he had helped the League. At least the presence of the League in Opelucid City would make it easier for Ghetsis to eliminate them, and… maybe not all the citizens would have to die from this. Maybe.
A/N: Again SnowCatt thanks for the continued support! I really appreciate it.
