Chapter 32:
Kyurem tilted his head to gaze up at the black metal of the frigate's ceiling before letting out an icy breath. He felt a foreign presence permeating through the stale air which brought back memories of those white sails dotting the shore of the pale blue sea. Ancient Ones. Not the same as the child here in captivity since his power was… undisciplined. It came off in waves of hot, overwhelming energy, and Kyurem suspected it was due to the child having never learned to properly channel his own power. What Kyurem was sensing now was calm, rhythmic, steady, and… infuriated. Undoubtedly the Ancient Ones were angry over the now frozen human residence in the northern areas of the Unova Region.
Kyurem glanced over to Ghetsis who was currently holding the dormant spheres that embodied his brother and sister. He shuddered slightly as horrible images of hot fire consuming the once green trees while lightning splintered the sky proceeded by cackles of thunder. Kyurem still remember hiding in the cold underground caves to avoid the agony of having Reshiram's bright flames lick his heat sensitive skin. The battle between the two brothers seemed to wage on and on until all Kyurem could see was his once beautiful home become black twigs planted in fields of gray ash. Crumbled rocks instead of lofty mountains and where castles had once stood, now there was only barren wasteland. Would that happen once more only this time with ice?
Kyurem moved over toward the green-haired human and said, "The Ancient Ones are here."
Ghetsis glanced over at the tall screens lining the side of the room where flickering gray images showed other areas of the Plasma Frigate. Ghetsis was staring intently at one image that displayed a man with a Pikachu who was making his way down the halls. Whenever he encountered one of the Plasma grunts, he either had his Pokemon attack or he himself rendered the human's unconscious with one fluid sweep of his fighting stick. In yet another screne, Kyurem noticed a young man dressed in traditional Celesta wear who was closely followed by a Lucario. 'I'm well aware,' Ghetsis thought. 'We haven't much time before a full-on attack from them.'
"Do you not think it wise to first speak with them?" Kyurem asked. "Having seen firsthand the destruction the Ancient Ones can cause; it would be in Unova's best interest to avoid such conflict."
'The Celestas won't listen to Team Plasma,' Ghetsis replied simply. 'I… Team Plasma… has violated too many of their rules and attacked one of their royalty. They will accept nothing less than a surrender, and I will not tolerate that. We will fight until there is a victor no matter the costs.'
Kyurem could almost smell the stench of the burned shrubbery and hear the terrified cries of Pokemon and humans equally as their homes were destroyed and their own flesh eaten by the flames. Kyurem vaguely recalled the brothers saying something along the same lines before they began to fight. Both so arrogantly convinced they were correct that they disregarded the well-being of their own subjects. Yet ironically, both claimed they were fighting for the sake of those long dead citizens.
Kyurem cocked his head slightly as he studied the human's determined expression. This man was well-aware of the imminent calamity awaiting Unova by engaging the Ancient Ones in warfare, yet he didn't seem to care. Kyurem wondered if deep down the human understood what he was doing was wrong and simply chose to ignore those feelings. Kyurem shook his head slightly; he had already decided he would fight with Ghetsis. He reminded himself that if this fight were to lead to Unova's destruction, he would continue to exist as an immortal deity now reinfused with his brother and sister. He would rather live as the dominant conscious than the submissive lower one despite the destruction they might cause to the Region.
'It's time Kyurem,' Ghetsis thought as he brought out a long piece of metal that looked like the end of a knife layered in differing shades of blue. 'These are the DNA splicers. They're what will infuse you and your siblings together once more.' Ghetsis clicked the top of the mechanism which caused the metal to disintegrate until there was only an odd blue energy field that vaguely reminded Kyurem of the twisting strands of DNA contained within living beings. The blue energy field encompassed Kyurem, and he felt the odd almost uncomfortable feeling of his own essence contained within his cells begin to soften and become malleable.
Ghetsis accessed the power of the Ancient Ones as his cane began to glow a purplish hue that contained the auras of Kyurem, Reshiram and Zekrom. The light and dark stones levitated next to Kyurem where he could hear his brother and sister's voices crying out in confusion. The blue light intensified until it completely consumed Kyurem causing him to cry out in pain as hot liquid fire burned through his veins, and tingles of electricity swept through his tissue. The loud conscious of both Reshiram and Zekrom pressed inside Kyurem's mind which seemed to rip him apart as the three fought for dominance. However, Kyurem's close connection with the Ancient One's power made it possible to shove the voices of both Reshiram and Zekrom down to a deeper recess of consciousness until they finally became quiet.
Kyurem opened his eyes to see that he was once again in his elegant Tao form with his slender body now a uniform gray with the occasional highlight of black or white. His gray wings protruding from his back were a combination of Reshiram's feathery frill with the jagged edge of Zekrom's. His tail now the familiar combination of the Zekrom's turbine at the base, with the fiery tips of Reshiram's, and the blue highlight's of Kyurem's old body.
Kyurem turned to Ghetsis who was staring at him with an almost giddy expression as his one red eye roved over Kyurem's original form. 'Now we're ready to face the Celestas.' Ghetsis said turning back to his monitors. 'They'll have to fight the combined three patron gods rather than one if they are to stop me.'
"N!" I yelled desperately as I ran to the clear glass wall of the cell the Shadow Triad had shoved me and Cheren in. N was outside and currently screaming in pain while writhing at the feet of the Shadow Triad, but unlike when they were torturing him back in Colress' lab, his screams now felt more… unnatural and agonizing. "Stop it! Stop torturing him!"
The Triad in the middle of the trio said calmly, "We're doing nothing to him. Master is simply using him for his own purposes."
I kicked the thick glass wall and banged my fists against the wall, "Don't you see how messed up this is you bastards! Your 'Master' is an insane megalomaniac that's willing to torture his own son, and for what? So that he can rule a ruined Region? What the Distortion World is wrong with you where you're willing to follow a psychotic fu-"
One of the Shadow Triad members teleported into my cell and roughly shoved me up against the wall which made my head viciously smash against the hard metal causing my vision to temporarily blacken. "Do not insult our Master. Besides, you two should be more concerned about your own well-being rather than Master's brat." The Triad tightened his grip around my neck causing me to desperately gasp for air as he brought out one of his daggers. "After all, he's not the one about to slowly have a layer of skin carved off."
Cheren tried to attack the Triad from behind, but the Triad smashed his elbow against Cheren's face without loosening his grip on me. I couldn't even scream Cheren's name as he fell to the floor with blood spurting out of his broken nose.
"Katashi," one of the Triad members outside of the cell said calmly. "Now isn't the time to torture for pleasure. Interrogate them on the location of their associates and report to us as soon as you find out."
With that, the two Triads teleported away, but not before dumping a still suffering N into the cell across from us so that he had a clear view of what Katashi was doing to us. To my surprise, Katashi also teleported me to the opposite cell and roughly threw me to the ground so that I crashed into N. It was a little disorientating to suddenly be seeing Cheren across from me facing down a Shadow Triad by himself.
"I won't tell you anything," Cheren hissed at Katashi while glaring at him defiantly. "You can torture me all you want, but I will never say a word."
"You won't need to," Katashi said callously as he rammed his foot into Cheren's chest and sent him rolling across the cell. The Triad brought out both his knives and knelt on top of Cheren while sliding the tip of his knife on his face. I stared in abject horror as Katashi began to carve ferociously into my friend's flesh and the screams that filled the holding center felt like they couldn't possibly be happening.
I wanted to turn from the carnage in front of me, but for some inexplicable reason, I felt frozen in place and could only stare transfixed. My mind couldn't fully comprehend that a man was currently breaking Cheren's fingers or strategically placing cuts that avoided major arteries. All I knew was that my face was wet with tears and that there was nothing I could do to stop Katashi from hurting Cheren.
As the floor of the cell began to fill with Cheren's scarlet blood, Katashi hissed loud enough for me to hear, "So where are your little friends? Are they going to the control room? There's a radio there to call for help. Will they call the League? Are they looking for an escape exit? Will they crash the ship?" I felt my breath quicken as my hands tightened into fists.
"Go… to the… Distortion World," Cheren sobbed between screams.
"How will they destroy the frigate? Will they attempt to manually force the ship down… or will they sabotage the engines?" My heart began racing and I felt my palms become sweaty as I shifted uncomfortably. "So… the engines."
"You're wrong," Cheren gasped. "They already escaped off the frigate. We decided it was too dangerous to all go together. They're going to contact the League to help us."
"Liar," Katashi said smugly. "We would've seen them if they tried to escape. Besides, you and Ivory have already told me exactly where they are. The engines."
How on earth could he possibly know where Black and Bianca were headed? "Cheren isn't lying," I said quickly, "they're trying to escape the frigate."
Katashi chuckled, "Both of you are far too easy to read. Your expressions told me everything." Katashi then turned to look at me with heartless black eyes, "Would you prefer I bring your friends back so you can say goodbye to them for one last time, or would you rather I slit their throats in the engine room."
"You'll never find them in time," I yelled. "They'll destroy the engines before you even get there."
"Why, thank you for confirming that they're in the engine room, Ivory," Katashi said bitingly. "Don't worry, I'll give them quick deaths unlike yours."
Shame at my own stupidity shot through me, and I angrily banged my fists against the glass, "You won't get the chance to kill them. They'll stop you before you get anywhere near them."
Katashi laughed mirthlessly, "You're so naïve. Much like our little king was when he first came." I glanced over at N who had stopped screaming some time during Cheren's torture. He was now back to fetal positing with his head pressed against his knees and his hands covering his ears so that he couldn't hear Cheren suffering. "Thought he could resist all forms of torture and had no concept of what real death was like. Now look at him. Pathetic, isn't he?"
I glowered at Katashi and said, "You'll pay for every Arceus damn thing you did to N. Monsters like you will always-"
"We'll always what?" Katashi asked snidely. "Get our comeuppance? Life doesn't work like that. Everyone dies no matter if they're good or bad, and it can end," Katashi then took Cheren's head in his hands and I caught a glimpse of the angry, bloody lines from where Katashi had cut him. Then in one fluid motion, Katashi twisted Cheren's head so that I could hear a snap, "In a moment's notice."
I felt my entire body freeze as if ice had shot through my veins. I covered my mouth and felt as if my limbs were slowly shutting down effectively immobilizing me. No. No. No. No. I shook my head in horror as the Triad member cackled at my reaction before teleporting away. Cheren. No. No, he can't be dead. No. No, we'll… we'll save him. We… we… they have medical equipment… I have to do something. I… I… no… Cheren.
It was strange, it felt like my body was paralyzed, yet I had managed to scream Cheren's name hysterically while pounding my fists against the glass till the skin tore and my knuckles were splattered in blood. I barely registered N taking a hold of my hands or the whispered condolences. Sobs racked my body, and I found myself curled in N's lap and sobbing into his shoulder as he rocked me back and forth.
It was only until N began gently singing a simple song that I finally calmed down. The melody was soft and melancholic while the words spoke of goodbyes with the promise of returns, but that's not what caught my attention. N himself sounded so… beautiful. I had always thought his voice had sounded melodic but hearing him really sing was something else entirely. It sounded otherworldly and I honestly could never describe it aside from a few things—the gentle chimes blowing in the wind, the rushing of a river, the strings of a symphony… no. None of them held a candle with how N could sing.
I felt inexplicably calmer despite the aching pit I felt inside me from seeing Cheren murdered in front of me. The terror I felt at what might happen to Bianca and Black faded as N continued the song making me almost forget that I was on the Plasma Frigate. It was just me and him with his fingers dancing through my hair and lightly touching my cheek. "Thank you," I whispered. "Thank you for singing that for me."
"My mother used to sing it for me whenever I had nightmares," N said quietly while gently kissing my head. "She used to say that… that it was a song passed down from generations. That whenever I sang it, I'd be able to find the strength and love from all my ancestors who were there to help me and guide me. After she died, Concordia and Anthea used to sing it for me every night in Discordian Wood. I used to imagine that my mother would be there with them singing as a spirit in the Hall of Origin."
I felt as if my heart had already been torn in half by what happened to Cheren, but hearing N say that… well, he just sounded so… so… lonely. An odd understanding came over me of just how alone and hurt N really was at this moment. Despite N and I being the best of friends when we were kids, I was only there at most for two hours a day while he spent the rest with his sisters. Sisters who were always worried about him, sisters that knew he was in danger, and sisters that had to fight every day for survival. He had no one to really laugh with or play with outside of myself. It almost hurt to realize that N was probably happiest with Team Plasma. They gave him a goal, they gave him a family and a home, they gave him a purpose. Then to have that all ripped out from beneath him. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have the people you thought loved you and that you loved in return turn out to be your worst enemies.
N hugged me tightly and whispered that he loved me and that's when the final understanding fell into place. He felt bad for what had happened to Cheren and for the hurt I was suffering, but from his perspective, he thought… no. He knew that I was going to die. What was happening right here and right now was N's way of saying goodbye to me forever. I didn't think I could be any sadder after Cheren, but feeling and understanding N's hopelessness and utter despair was almost unbearable.
"N," I whispered and shifted in his lap so that I was looking him in the eye, "you know what you were saying about… about your ancestors looking after you. That's true. You have a family outside of Ghetsis and Team Plasma. The Celestas are your family, and they've been looking for you ever since they found out you exist. Your mom was one which makes you one as well. Me, Black, Bianca, and… Cheren…" I swallowed the lump in my throat and fought back the tears as I said his name before shakily continuing, "They're the ones we're working with to free you. They won't stop until they've found you."
N looked away from me when I said this, "I… know that I'm a Celesta. Dr. Colress made that more than clear to me. But… I… I'm not a real Celesta either. I wasn't born or raised as one, my father's human and probably the main reason I was born in the first place, and I've never met another Celesta or-"
"Hey," I said gently while pressing a finger against his lips to silence him. "That's not what makes a family. Some people are lucky enough to be born to good parents that make a family work, but a lot of people have to make their own." I stroked the side of his face before adding, "You and I are family. So are Bianca, Black, and… Cheren because I have to believe he's here right now looking after us in the Hall of Origin just like your mom is. And you know what, even though the Celestas don't know you, I bet they want to be your family too."
I shifted my position on his lap so that I was straddling his waist and I tenderly placed my hands on his face before locking my eyes on his. "Besides, if the Celestas do turn out to be a bunch of jerks, I promise that you'll always have me. No matter what, I'll be right there beside you."
In that moment, I felt something stir inside me as I looked deeply into his eyes and was reminded of that old saying that eyes were the windows to the soul. I saw his pain, his hurt, but I felt something… deeper… a little more powerful and very, very intense. I almost felt like a little girl again curled underneath my blankets whispering to Nightstar about how much I loved him, how much I wanted to be his best friend forever, how much… I… wanted to understand him. I oddly thought about what Nightstar had been thinking during this time. I'd always thought that Nightstar had been saying the same things back to me as a little girl, but now I wondered… was Nightstar instead promising me that he would love me, that he would be my friend, that he would always understand me. Was he making vows while I was imploring him to stay by my side?
"Natural Harmonia, I-"
N broke eye contact and turned away from me, "No." He shook his head and repeated, "No. I won't allow… something like… that," the way N emphasized the word that made it seem almost like he was spitting in disgust. I don't know why it hurt so much, but it felt more like poisonous venom eating away at something beautiful than a mere dismissal. "I won't let that happen. They'd kill you the second we did, and I… I," he took my hands in his own. "I don't want to waste a second of whatever time we do have together." And in those lingering moments where that strange connection between us still survived, I almost heard N think to himself that he wasn't worth that kind of love in the first place. Not after everything he'd done.
"N," I started again, but he stubbornly refused to look directly into my eyes again. "N, this is important. One of the Celestas told me-"
A chill swept through me before I heard, "You have quite an interesting way of mourning the death of a friend, Ivory Greystorm." I looked behind me to see one of the Shadow Triad members from earlier standing behind me in our cell. "Or perhaps it's because you know that you'll soon be dead that you decided to finally give into your lust."
My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I realized that I had my legs wrapped around N's waist and that I had been leaning close enough to N that our noses had been brushing slightly. N wasn't helping either since his knees were brought up close to my back with one hand tangled in my long brown hair while the other was much lower down my back.
Before either of us could say anything, the Triad strode forward and roughly yanked my hair before throwing me off N. Pain shot through me as I landed on my back with my left arm skewed beneath it. In the meantime, the Triad roughly grabbed N by his collar and hauled him to his feet. "Master wants you by his side at all times now that he's moved into the final phase of his plan." N fleetingly glanced over at me as I struggled to get to my feet. "Don't worry. You'll see her again. When we have the time to torture her."
"No-" N started, but he was already teleported away leaving me alone with a dead friend while I screamed N's name.
A/N: So… for anyone who loves Cheren, I'm sorry! Rest assured that I was really sad when writing it too. I didn't want Cheren to die, but since I made this fic much darker than the first, I knew everyone couldn't make it out of this unharmed. I hope that my transition between Cheren dying and Ivory and N having an almost super special moment wasn't too strange or almost cruel. I imagined that Ivory was in shock while N had already accepted what was going to happen long before it happened which was why he looked away.
I initially was going to transition over to Black and Bianca mid chapter, but N and Ivory needed a moment together, and B&B's scene can always come in the next chapter.
Anyway, please read and review any thoughts or criticism!
