Chapter 30:

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Bianca whispered to me as she nervously readjusted her black gloves and hitched up her belt. "I mean I know this is better than trying to escape in our normal outfits, but do you really think we'd pass as members of neo Team Plasma."

I knelt next to the two unconscious female neo Team Plasma members we'd knocked out when they attacked us after we'd escaped deeper into the frigate. I pulled off the boots of one of them and quickly slipped them on over the gray jumpsuit I'd already donned. They were a size too small, but I decided it was better to have tight boots than it was to have big clunky ones that made it hard to move around in. "Not to mention these things are super uncomfortable," Bianca continued, "Who the Distortion World thought it would be a good idea to have skintight jumpsuits. It's embarrassing and degrading to wear especially when you don't have a bikini-ready body!"

I stood up and shifted uncomfortably in the new outfit. I definitely agreed with what Bianca said since I too didn't feel comfortable in a uniform that was designed for a body that was much more filled out than mine was. Not to mention how difficult it was to breathe in this half mask thing they wore over their face all the time. "Well it's better than nothing," I said quietly as I undid my long brown hair from its ponytail and let it fall in waves around me. I placed the black pirate hat on my head and braided my hair to keep it out of the way. "Plus, we got their security cards which will help us getting into stuff." I looked down at my card and saw the image of a scowling brunette with the name-

"Her name's Hilda," Bianca said with a snicker as she looked over my shoulder to read my card. "Kind of makes me think of Black's old name, Hilbert. Mine isn't so bad. It's Bel, but look at the picture," she showed me a woman with short spiky black hair with a slight sneer on her face.

"She looks like a lovely human being," I said sarcastically. "One thing's for sure; we can't show our security cards to anyone or they'll know we're imposters." I checked the knots on the escape ropes we used to tie up the Plasma members to make sure they weren't going to come loose anytime soon and said, "We better get out of here. Hopefully, they won't find these two any time soon."

We left the storage room we had been changing in and out to the black metal and eerie fluorescent glow of the frigate's corridor. Black and Cheren were already outside decked out in their own neo Team Plasma uniforms watching for any Plasma members that might come by. Nightstar also looked like he'd gotten back some of his strength and he came up and jumped into my arms. I felt him shake slightly in a way that I felt he was saying, 'Something's very wrong Ivory. Something bad happened. I can feel it.'

"Okay, so what's the plan," Bianca asked in a slightly shrill voice. She coughed and continued normally, "I mean, Riley… Riley… oh Arceus do you think he's alright? Ivory said that…"

"I know," Black said seriously, "but I don't think we should say he's gone. I imagine it isn't easy to kill someone like him. You saw what he was doing out there when he was fighting Team Plasma. For all we know, he's following the frigate on his Staraptor."

"He did tell us to find N," I said. "Maybe we can use our disguises to find out where he is."

"I think we could do a lot more than just find N," Cheren said. "With these disguises, we might be able to deal some real damage to the frigate. We could try and sabotage the engines to force it to land or we could even cause an explosion to force it down."

"Cheren, don't forget that we're here as well. If we blow it up or do something to the frigate, we'll go down with it," Bianca pointed out.

"I know, but I think it's worth the risk," Cheren said quietly. "Unova's been terrorized by these bastards for long enough. If we get the opportunity to stop them, we should take it."

"We can't sabotage the frigate and find N at the same time," Black added. "We only have so much time on the frigate before the ruse is up and they find out who we really are. I say we split up into groups: one that finds a way to sabotage the frigate while the other looks for N."

"If we're going to split up, we should go in pairs," Cheren said while looking at each of us. "I have a feeling that wherever N is, he's going to be well-guarded and hard to get to. I think Ivory and I should go together to find him while Black and Bianca go and try to find either the engine room or the control center."

"The only problem is that our phones aren't working," Black said while bringing out his phone. "We don't have any signal so there's no way of knowing what the other's up to or if one of us needs help."

"I know… I mean, we could try to all meet up on the deck in two hours, but realistically, I don't think that'll happen," Cheren replied. "If Ivory and I find N before you can sabotage the frigate, we're still going to have to get off this frigate as quickly as possible. If you two can bring down the frigate before we find N, then we'll have to work under those circumstances. Either way, I think we need to solely focus on our task and then make a run for it."

Bianca looked pale and frightened, but she nodded determinedly, and I said, "We'll do it. It isn't like we have another choice anyways."

"If that's settled, Bianca and I'll go down to the lower decks to look for the engine room," Black said as he gently nudged Bianca down the hallway away from us. "You two should try and find out where they keep their prisoners."

Cheren and I nodded, and together we headed down the opposite direction from where Black and Bianca were going. I glanced back to see their retreating figures and desperately prayed that I'd see them again. "Ivory, you're going to have to do something about Nightstar," Cheren whispered to me as we descended a set of metal stairs that caused our feet to echo through the narrow stairwell. "Having a Shinx out in the open is a dead giveaway for who we are."

I glanced down at Nightstar and considered what to do with him. Maybe he could hide under my hat… no he was too big. Maybe in my vest… that also wouldn't work. Nightstar jumped down and swished his tail, 'I can follow from a distance. I'm small and fast so it should be easy to hide from the Plasma members, and if anyone gets too close, I'll zap them and run.'

"Are you sure," I asked worriedly. "What if they try and capture you? Then you'll be…"

'I know, but we don't have any other options,' Nightstar said as he walked away from us. 'I won't be too far. Whenever you need me, I'll be there.'

"Okay. Be safe," I turned to look at Cheren, "Come on. We need to find N; the clock's ticking."


Opelucid City was eerily silent in the night despite it being one of the most heavily populated cities in all Unova. Moonlight bathed the modern district of the city where skyscrapers pierced the night sky causing the windows to glint brightly. In the center of the city was the older, more traditional style of housing and parks that were surrounded by trees and dotted with flowerbeds. Straddling the line between modern and old was the Gym with stone dragons of black and white spiraling around the building. The occasional car or pedestrian went down the street, but other than that, everything seemed peaceful.

Zinzolin walked down the dark streets dimly lit by overhead streetlamps and shivered slightly as a colder more wintery breeze swept down the road. He activated his earpiece and asked, "Are we all in position?"

Jackson's voice sounded, "Squadron 1's in position near the Lake District. Ten Liepards are ready to attack the City Hall."

"Squadron A's also in position in the East District with our Pokemon prepared to attack the Battle House," Peter said.

"Excellent. Osamu and I aren't far from the Gym and the frigate is less than an hour away," Zinzolin replied as he slowly walked across the street toward the looming Gym. "Remember to not stop attacking until my signal for when Drayden calls out the security surrounding his Gym. When that happens, have the squadron evacuate the city completely and report back to the Plasma Frigate."

"Yes sir," came the reply from both Jackson and Peter. "We'll start the attack right away."

Zinzolin paused and retreated into the shadows when he noticed a burly man in a white shirt and suspenders racing towards the Pokemon Gym. From the white hair, mustache, and beard, Zinzolin knew that it was Drayden. He heard him say over his phone, "Did you find out where the attack would happen? Will it be the Gym like it was in Striaton?... evacuate the citizens? As in they're going to attack the entire city?... How is that even possible?... You're right, we really don't know what they're capable of… I'll tell the mayor to put the city in a state of emergency and have him try to get the citizens out in the most effective manner."

Suddeny there were multiple explosions coming from the west and the east sides of the city causing plumes of smoke to curl around the glass buildings. Drayden swore, "I've got to go Iris. It looks like they've already started the attacks." Zinzolin smirked as he watched Drayden call out his Dragonite and fly towards the source of the smoke. 'It's too late you fool. It's too late.'


Cheren and I walked in silence down the long corridor of the lower decks of Team Plasma where a crowd of Plasma members ran past us. The lights had shifted to red and were flashing steadily to show that the frigate was in an emergency, but there was no overhead announcement to say why. The frigate was flying smoothly along, so I couldn't imagine it was because of something Black and Bianca had done.

"There's no way we're going to find anything on this frigate if we don't ask someone something," Cheren muttered. "This frigate is huge! We've already been through several levels of just Plasma quarters… that's not exactly helpful."

"And how will we do that?" I asked. "Go up to some random dude and say, 'Hey do you know where your crazy psycho leader is keeping your former king?' If we say anything, it'll raise a red flag."

"Well I imagine we'd ask with a little more finesse than that," Cheren said dryly. "Maybe we can say we've been recently assigned as prison guards and that we just got a little lost and need some directions."

"Alright, but if worse comes to worst… I… maybe I could pretend to be your prisoner or something and you caught me."

Cheren pursed his lips before saying slowly, "Maybe… but let's hope it doesn't come to that. If either of us pretends to be a prisoner, it means we have to temporarily be separated from our Pokemon and you'd be blindfolded. We'll go with the new guards thing first."

I nodded and followed Cheren down another staircase and down yet another hall in this twisted metal maze of a ship. I noticed that the area seemed different than the other ones. This area was all lit up, and even though there was flashing red light, it was much less noticeable. The color pallet here seemed more friendly having changed from black and dull gray to black with electric blue lines running along the wall.

We could also hear more people talking and less people were hurrying past us. In fact, there were several members of neo Team Plasma casually leaning against the walls and talking amongst themselves. The atmosphere itself seemed less oppressive and anxiety inducing. Cheren and I exchanged glances before we both tried to walk as confidently as we could around the members and walked through one of the doors that opened up into a bright and almost cheerful cafeteria.

Plasma members sat along rows with plates of food in front of them and pleasant chatter filled the area. Several of the members looked up from where they were sitting and stared at us as we walked inside before turning to their neighbor to whisper while shooting glances in our direction. I tried to stay as calm as possible as Cheren and I approached a couple of them. The Plasma members looked up and narrowed their eyes suspiciously, and I felt myself go cold as I noticed that not two tables down were a couple of Plasma members I'd run into with N at Driftveil.

'Stay calm, stay calm,' I reminded myself over and over again as Cheren said confidently, "Hi, sorry to interrupt your meal, but me and my co-worker, Hilda White, have been instructed to replace the prison guards so they can be free to try and pursue the intruders that boarded the frigate. However, we've gotten lost on the way. Would you mind pointing us in the right direction?"

One of the Plasma members laughed, "What was your original assignment to get a lousy gig like that?"

Cheren and I glanced at each other again before I said, "Uh… we were the maintenance crew beforehand… What's wrong with being a prison guard?"

Another Plasma member rolled his eyes and said, "Because Team Plasma doesn't take prisoners. The only things in the holding center are a bunch of Pokemon with minimum maintenance. I hear that most of them won't even be there anymore."

Cheren shifted nervously and laughed a little, "Well, we still have to take their place you know even if it is a lousy job. So… um… where was it again?"

"It's on Level C down hall 2," the Plasma member said casually. "Too bad you're missing out on all the action."

"Um… what do you mean," I asked trying to sound as calm as possible. "Do you um… mean trying to track down those intruders. I'm okay not going to try and find them since I don't like battling with my Pokemon."

A couple of the Plasma members snickered when I said this and one of them whispered loudly to her neighbor, "She was one of those Plasma members."

The guy we'd been talking to said, "Nah, the admins and the Shadow Triad will find them. I'm talking about the big attack we're doing tonight. I mean, no one really knows what's going to happen since the admins and Sages have been pretty tight-lipped ever since… um… anyway, apparently this attack's going to be epic. It'll be bigger than anything we've ever done before."

"Wow, that's really cool," I said weakly. "I only heard about some of the attacks since most of the time I'm repairing a pipe or something."

"Yes, well, we should really be going," Cheren said as he grabbed my arm and led me away from the Plasma members. "Got a job to do guarding those Pokemon and whatnot. Thanks for the help."

Cheren and I quickly left the dining hall and he whispered, "This is definitely not good. I hope Black and Bianca are able to do something before this attack happens."

"Not to mention that N's apparently not even in the holding center," I muttered back. "How are we going to find him now? Where the Distortion World could they be keeping him?"

"He might still be there, and the other Plasma members just don't know about it," Cheren whispered. "I think we should still check it out."

We hurried back to the stairwell and descended the stairs until we came to a set of doors with the large letter "C" coated on it in yellow paint and walked through them to yet another, darker metal hallway. It wasn't long until we ran into a large set of black doors with a security lock next to it. I took out the ID card and scanned it against the lock which made it flash green and click indicating it was opened.

Cheren quickly flung the door open revealing a brightly lit metal path going through cells with equally bright white interiors. Clear glass separated the path from the cell, and almost all of them were open except the first one. "Trixie!" I practically screamed as I ran over and knelt in front of the first cell. Trixie was currently curled in a ball of black, gray and red fur. She wearily lifted her head so that I could see her muzzled mouth and dull blue eyes which widened the minute she saw me. Immediately, she raced over to the cell glass wall and began yipping excitedly. I noticed that she seemed genuinely scared and anxious by the way she paced back and forth and looked fearfully over my shoulder.

I got up and ran to the door and called as quietly as I could, "Nightstar! You have to get in here now." Around the corner popped Nightstar's head with his light blue fur, large ears, and luminescent yellow eyes. He dashed over to where I was and slipped into the door and ran up to where Trixie was. "Nightstar, I need you to translate for me, okay." Nightstar nodded, and I said, "Trixie, where's N? Do you know what's happening?"

Trixie began yipping a series of "Zor's" which Nightstar translated, 'She says that N isn't here. She says he's with a scientist named Colress… She says they've been torturing both of them, but she feels that they've done something to N that's… that's… destroyed him… before you ask, she also doesn't know what she means by 'destroyed.' She says we need to rescue the other Pokemon.'

Trixie then animatedly jabbed her muzzled maw to the direction of another section of the prison area. Nightstar continued, 'She says we have to save N, but she worries it might be too late.'

I quickly told Cheren everything that Trixie had said and added, "I-I don't know what they did to N, but it doesn't matter as long as we can find him. He's going to be okay," My voice had started to crack at that point, and I continued with a shaky voice, "He has to be okay."

I brushed the tears that had started to form away from my eyes and hurried over to the side door and again scanned my card to let me inside. This time I did scream. In front of us were the Kalos Pokemon I had seen from the sewers with N, but this time… oh Arceus. The glass walls of their prison and the other normally white walls were smeared with streaks of red blood that no one had bothered to clean up. The Pokemon had been forced to live in their own filth, and each of them had their ribs visibly showing with matted, disgusting fur or feathers.

Bile started to rise in my throat as I studied the Pokemon more closely. Arrow, the little Fletchling N had given me, lay in the corner where he had now evolved Fletchinder, but his black tail feathers and wings had been plucked leaving scars. One of his claws was skewered and his beak looked like it had been smashed repeatedly into a wall. The Chespin I had seen before which had looked like a cheerful Pokemon was now a Quilladin staring blankly at the white wall splattered with his own blood. Deep cuts lined his body, and his nose and ears had been viciously torn leaving barely… oh Arceus. The only one that looked relatively normal was the Dedenne. It at least hadn't been mutilated, but it was huddled in a corner sobbing quietly and there was still blood laced along the floor. I noticed that there were two empty cells coated in blood but with no Pokemon inside them.

By this point I was hugging Cheren and sobbing into his shoulder who looked equally horrified. "Oh Arceus," He whispered.

"Th-They did this to them because they couldn't control N," I said through bouts of tears. "I-I know they did. Oh Arceus… what the Distortion World did they do to N?"

I heard a blast of energy and the sound of wires short circuiting and I looked up to see that Nightstar had zapped the panel to Trixie's cage to let her out. She streaked by us to the other Pokemon where she froze in her spot. Her shoulders began to shake as she cried, and I knelt next to her to undo the muzzle around her mouth. She turned to me and fiercely yipped something so forcefully that Nightstar didn't have to translate to tell me she was demanding that we save them.

Wordlessly Nightstar zapped each of the security panels releasing the three tortured Pokemon which Cheren then captured in a pokeball. "The damage neo Team Plasma's dealt to these Pokemon will be more than any Pokecenter can handle, but at least they can help them," Cheren said quietly as he hooked their pokeballs to his belt.

Trixie ran past us yipping that she was going to rescue N. I felt numb as we raced after her and I again silently prayed to Arceus that we'd find N, and that we'd find him alive and… if not okay at least not maimed and mutilated like the Pokemon. I could almost hear Trixie praying the same things as we descended further and further down the dark metal beast of a ship.


Ghetsis silently watched the monitors overhead displaying images of terrified Unovans running the streets of Opelucid City as Liepard after Liepard sent dark pulses of energy at towering buildings causing the glass to shatter and rain down on the citizens. Chunks of debris from the near constant attacks fell and smashed parked cars as well as Unovans too slow to escape the destruction. Purple pulses of light destroyed old statues as well as modern pieces of art. However, soon a Dragonite and a Haxarous appeared along with an older man with white hair who ordered his Pokemon to attack the Plasma Liepards. In other parts of the city also being destroyed by Team Plasma, League members attacked with their own Pokemon to try and counter all the chaos in the city.

Ghetsis' focus shifted to the monitor next to it which showed the golden spirals of the Pokemon League. "Are you in position Alex and Jenna?" Ghetsis asked.

"Yes Lord Ghetsis, the device has been activated and we're ready to move on your signal," Jenna reported dutifully.

"The Light and Dark Stone should be in the Champion's chambers in a security vault," Ghetsis said as he turned to look at Kyurem who was standing dutifully in the center of a room filled with machinery. "Kill any League member or Elite Four that gets in your way. Once you've secured the stones, hand them to Takeo for him to bring back here. Since they've taken down our P2 labs, I imagine that they're keeping several of our scientists there. Release any that you find. Understood?"

"Yes, Lord Ghetsis," Alex and Jenna said once more before they turned off communications.

"You intend for me to obliterate all those humans?" Kyurem asked gazing at the image of the screaming humans running through the streets of Opelucid City.

"Yes," Ghetsis said simply. "They're necessary sacrifices to achieve our goals. Once the people of Unova see that we not only will destroy the League but them as well, they'll more easily comply to Team Plasma."

Kyurem paused, "It will be entire generations of humans lost. It could devastate the entire Region."

"I understand the risks and the costs," Ghetsis said softly. "However, I think it's better to have one wave of death that wipes out all resistance than continual fighting that will make the body count grow higher for both my people and the Unovans."

Kyurem was silent for a moment, "I suppose, but the Ancient Ones often thought large destruction would earn them their power over the people. Their wars did lead to the eventual desolation of this Region long ago."

"Perhaps, but the Celestas were fighting amongst themselves," Ghetsis replied before turning to look back at the monitors. "If there is only one Celesta to rule to perpetuate the same thought and leadership, there will be no conflict."

Kyurem didn't reply, and Ghetsis continued, "Soon Kyurem, all of Unova will be ours."

The static of Zinzolin calling in sounded, and the Sage said, "Drayden has ordered all of the League members to come and counter our Plasma forces. The Gym's completely undefended now. Osamu and I will infiltrate the Gym and retrieve the DNA splicers."

"Excellent," Ghetsis said. "We've just reached the outskirts of Opelucid as we speak. We'll attack once we've reached the center and most populated part of the city." He turned to the Plasma member standing next to him, "Prepare the Kyurem cannon."

The member nodded and rushed to activate the machinery causing several gears above them to light up and spin. Ghetsis accessed the power of the Celesta's and watched his cane begin to emit a blue glow filling him with the familiar, intoxicating power he had become so accustomed to when he was younger. He felt his and Kyurem's minds meld once more, and he said to the god, 'It's time for the Unovans to be reminded what a god's capable of.'


Cold wind swept through Iris' long purple hair as her Hydreigon glided across the tall trees nearly devoid of all their formerly colorful leaves. Beside her were the Pokemon Master with Red on his Charizard, Pearl on her Salamance, and Ruby on his Flygon. "Come on Hela, we've got to go faster," Iris encouraged her Hydreigon causing the Pokemon to try and increase her speed. They had just crested another tall hill dotted with dead brown grass and the occasional cabin when Iris at last saw the Opelucid skyline.

"Um… I think we just found the Plasma Frigate," Pearl said as she pointed at a large ship sailing across the full moon making it seem more like a fairy type tale than reality.

"That thing can fly?" Ruby asked. "No wonder we could never find it when we were flying out over the ocean."

Iris felt Hela's body begin to strain as the Hydreigon began to desperately try to fly even faster towards the fast approaching city line. The frigate slowed its course as it came to the center of the city, and Iris could only watch in horror as a blast of blue and white energy shot down from the ship and directly between the tall skyscrapers. The attack caused a large amount of mist to be generated which then shot out encompassing the entire city and even reaching as far out as to where Iris and the Pokemon Masters were.

The arctic wind caused Hela to scream in pain, and even Red's Charizard balked in pain from the sheer cold that shot into their skins like daggers. Iris felt a sense of weightlessness as she and Hela crashed into the side of the hill. When the mist had finally dissipated, Iris saw that the entire hill and area surrounding the city was covered in frost and the dew that had been nestled in the tree branches were now icicles. Beneath Hela weakly crowed in pain as she tried to move her body that had shards of glass embedded into her wings and fur. Iris quickly returned her Hydreigon and saw that the other Pokemon Masters had to do the same with their Pokemon.

Iris looked over to the city and felt her heart drop at the sight in front of her. The skyscrapers and buildings that once had been full of light were now encrusted in a coat of ice that glinted sadly in the dim light of the moon. Iris' grip on her pokeball loosened causing it to fall to her side as she leaned heavily against the icy tree to stop her from falling completely. In front of her was her home now covered in ice and where there should have been screams and wails from terrified citizens was met only with dead silence.

A/N: If you want any cool references to visualize this horribleness, I would recommend watching Pokemon Generations Episode 14: The Frozen World. It really inspired me when I was writing this.

Anyway, I don't know about you guys, but I love the scene when Team Plasma blasts Opelucid City with ice. It's so epic and I remember thinking that they were actually evil when I played this. I know I'm weird, but... I love it when the bad guys make me angry or terrified or at least feel something. Hopefully this story hasn't been too clogged down with background information and world-building or the perspectives are too weird, but I think that all those are important to making a fun and interesting story. I won't lie in saying that this story has gone a lot longer than I thought, but things are picking up now!

Anyway, R/R's always appreciated and I hope you enjoyed this chapter of destruction! Yay!