Chapter 24 The Story of Us

Hil was more bored than ever that day.

Church was gone for the day, and he was still dragging his feet in regard to talking to Cheren or Bianca. His pokémon were even more restless than he was. Lucky, his Liepard, kept attacking his feet every chance she got when he wasn't watching her; Noodle insisted on trying to get on Hil's shoulders even though he was way too big for that now, being a ten-foot long Serperior and all; Prada, his Zebstrika, had apparently determined that he was more feline than Lucky herself was, in that he seemed to be looking for anything in the house he could knock over, to the point Hil had decided to keep him under constant surveillance by forcing him to remain in the same room as him. Roadie, Sleepy, and Crest weren't doing anything of note, but were obnoxiously mock-battling, making the occasional mess and tons of noise.

Hil was cursing himself for bringing Shay, his Druddigon, back out of the Pokémon Storage System, as well. She was much larger now—now fully grown, she challenged Hil himself's height—and insisted on getting into the sunlight that spilled through the windows of Church's house. Which would have been fine… if not for her unreasonably sharp scales, which were guaranteed to destroy just about anything she laid on. Hard surfaces would be scratched beyond recognition and soft ones… Well, Hil had more than a few shredded blankets to attest to what happened there.

Regretfully, he ended up recalling Shay, as well as Prada and Crest, to their Poké Balls to keep them from potentially destroying any of Church's belongings. Crest, his Simipour, hadn't intentionally tried to break anything, but volleys of hot water in the form of a Scald could do plenty of damage without malintent.

Having finally managed to settle everyone down, Hil had goofily flopped over the back of the couch, landing upside down on the cushion, his legs dangling over the rear of the sofa. He grabbed ungraciously for the remote and started to flick through the TV channels by force of habit. After a few minutes positioned like that and the blood started to rush to his head, he sat appropriately, with his feet to the floor.

He rarely ended up watching anything more than Friends, which he'd already seen every episode of a million times before, and today was no different. After brainlessly watching more than a few hours of it, paused only to eat or attend other bodily needs, he finally grew bored enough to start surfing the channels again.

He was halted in place as he flicked to a news channel that said something about Team Plasma. He froze with his finger hovering over the channel buttons and leaned forward interestedly. Even Noodle seemed to pick up that something was amiss as he slithered into the living room and twitchily eyed the TV.

"…nother incident with Neo Plasma just south of Driftveil City in the Pokémon World Tournament. A man in Neo Plasma uniform viciously attacked an elderly couple for their pokémon before fleeing to…"

Hil swore he heard a ringing in his ears as the panic set in and he jumped to his feet. "No! Team Plasma's done! I took Ghetsis down! He's in jail!" His breathing sped up to the point of near hyperventilation as he stared, wide-eyed, at the screen as it panned over images of Driftveil. If Team Plasma was back in action, then… that meant Ghetsis or N was in charge. Right? And if Ghetsis was in jail…

He felt shaky and faint. He had avoided news channels out of habit. Other regions tended to have their own massive problems that he had found too weighing on his mind to listen to, so he tuned them out there. Prior to ditching Unova, he had avoided them there since they loved to chatter about Vince, usually his relations to Burgh, and those were too painful to listen to for long. He had also figured that Church, apprenticing Elite Four Grimsley, would have told him about anything catastrophic in Unova he needed to be aware of.

Yet… here he was, staring at a screen, talking about an attack Team Plasma had made on people in Driftveil. Team Plasma, the same one he thought he had destroyed. He recalled his last memory of N, in that broken and crumbling castle, the scent of smoke and electricity lacing the air, how N had waved at him and told him to follow his dream… How he had left. He shook his head violently. Was N back…? If Ghetsis was arrested, and he had truly not been able to find N, did that mean…?

No, no, no, no, no, that can't be!

Hil started to tremble uncontrollably as he paced back and forth in the living room, listening to the report drone on, hoping he had misheard… but it was true. Team Plasma was still active. They called them Neo Plasma… but claimed they were still associated with the previous Team Plasma… that many of the members that formed the original formed the second.

He stopped all of a sudden, and angrily stomped a foot. N wouldn't do that!

Noodle moved until he was in front of Hil, trilling worriedly at his trainer. Hil's other pokémon soon gathered around him. He swept a hurt-filled gaze over them and, somewhere between a whimper and a yell, said, "I showed him there was another way!"

"Hil…? Showed who…? What's going on…?"

Hil whipped his head up to see Church enter through the front door, his face blanched with concern. He dropped his bag and everything else to the ground almost right away.

Shaking his head vigorously, Hil jabbed a finger at the screen. "Team Plasma! They're still active!" Just as he said that, Hil incredulously stared at Church at a new thought. "Did you know?"

"Are… you talking about Neo Plasma?" Church confusedly raised a brow, a twinge of uncertainty in his tone. "Because I didn't think that—"

"They said they were associated with the original Team Plasma! If that's true, then—then—then they're run by Ghetsis, or by N, and Ghetsis is in jail, so that just leaves N and—I showed him there was another way!" Hil jerked his head to face the TV and glared at it with all the hatred he could muster. Betrayal raked at his heart, and he felt like the world itself had started to fragment around him. He had gone through so much to put an end to Team Plasma and to save N… He had never found N in his travels… Was that because N had thrown away all he had been taught for the safety of familiarity with Team Plasma? "I can't believe this!"

"Hil!" Church barked, dispelling Hil's panic long enough to let him speak. His green eyes shone with emotion. "I didn't tell you because I didn't think it was important! They're not run by N! Listen to anyone from Neo Plasma talk and they'll rave about how much they hate N for being a traitor! More than that, Ghetsis isn't in jail!"

The relief at learning N couldn't have been leading this Neo Plasma was banished by the fright that came with learning Ghetsis was free, and so Hil disbelievingly stammered, "B-but, I was there, they h-hauled him off a-and—"

"He escaped!" Church snapped, his voice cracking. He narrowed his eyes at Hil and his shoulders tensed. "Ghetsis escaped prison a long time ago! I learned that from Grimsley… They've tried to keep that information out of the public so as not to cause panic…" Church clenched his teeth and squarely looked at the floor. "Lot of good that did, clearly. Why did you panic so badly at thinking N was leading them? Why did you even jump to that conclusion, anyway?"

"Ghetsis is… free?" Hil squeaked faintly. He thought he might pass out. This was not how he imagined this day after the early morning start he and Church had had.

Church didn't care to listen to Hil grapple with that. "Hil."

Hil swallowed hard and squeezed out, "Yeah…?"

"Why did you freak out and think that N was leading them?" In a more rugged, tense voice, Church pressed, "What were you going to do if N had been leading them?"

Realizing what Church was getting at, Hil shrank back, not wanting to answer that question. He heard Noodle start to growl at his side and he waved a hand at the Serperior. "Noodle, knock that off, that's Church!" he hissed.

"Answer me," Church forced in a deadpan, still not meeting Hil's gaze.

"I… I don't know, Church," Hil whimpered. Voice rising in frustration, Hil defended himself hotly, "And I cared so much because I gave so much to try to save him! That was a lot that I went through!"

"You saved Unova! And the bonds between pokémon and people!" Church snarled back at him. Tears had welled in his eyes. "At least, that's what I was told! Was I wrong? Did you do that just to save N?" His lips quivered as he bitingly asked, "Did… anyone else matter at all?"

Hil was shaking his head before Church even finished. Desperately, he called, "Yes! You all mattered! I didn't do it just for N! I mean, yes, I felt really bad for him, but… there was so much more to it than that!" Hil picked his way closer to Church, but the other took a decisive step back, toward the stairs, shooting Hil a hurt, warning glare. "Church," Hil begged, "the whole time I was working to stop Team Plasma and save N, I was thinking about you. I never would have been able to go and do any of that if not for you."

"So, I helped you go save the boy of your dreams. Is that supposed to console me?" Church sniped.

Hil hated just how literal Church's words could have been. Lump rising in his throat, Hil pleaded, "Church, no, that's not what I meant… The whole time I was out there, doing that, I just wanted nothing more than to come back and curl up with you…"

"But you didn't!" Church howled in frustrated agony. "How can you stand there and tell me all you ever wanted was to come back to me when you didn't? You came back from N's Castle and fell apart! I kept thinking you just needed time after how stressful it all was, but… I think I understand now. You left Unova! You left me! Now, you learn that Team Plasma is active under a different name, and immediately think that N's behind it, almost like you want him to need to be saved again! You keep putting off talking to Cheren and Bianca…" He gritted his teeth and grasped the railing to his stairs tightly. "I'm such an idiot! I wanted to believe you, so I did, and—ugh, I knew better!" Church shook his head and shot up the stairs.

Hil felt like the world had suddenly inverted itself as he watched Church go. "Church, wait!" Hil hurried after him.

"Leave me the hell alone!" He was clearly crying based on how his words quivered. Hil flinched as he heard a door slam. Tentatively, Hil tiptoed over to Church's bedroom door and softly knocked. He heard Church growl, nearly incomprehensible, "I said leave me alone! Go away!" Briefly pausing, he halfheartedly added, "You're good at that, anyway…"

"Church…" Hil whined, sinking against the closed door to the floor. "I wasn't lying when I said I thought about you all the time during that. I was worried for N, but that doesn't mean I never cared about you…"

There was a long silence, so Hil kept talking. If Church didn't want to talk, that was fine, but Hil had more to say. He didn't need him to talk, just to listen.

"I don't understand N. I feel like there's more to Reshiram and Zekrom than I know… That's always going to fascinate me," Hil loudly admitted.

More silence.

"But that doesn't mean I want to go anywhere. This time with you has been some of the best of my life, Church. I promise you that. I'm not lying when I say you are the best thing that has ever happened to me…"

"Hil," he heard Church sobbing, muffled by the door, "I said leave me alone!"

Overwhelmed, some tears streaked down Hil's face as he cringed at Church's fierce, staunch demands. He supposed he had never had a reason to see Church's harsher side before… In a moment of panic, he wondered if he had tripped Church to the side of his heart that was able to steel itself against people he cared about, the same part of him that had cut his toxic mother from his life and allowed him to move on, put a show onto the rest of the world that nothing was wrong. The carefree, suave actor, who had no problems and would help you with yours, but refuse to let you too close. Hil swallowed nervously, remembering keenly that he certainly wouldn't have been able to guess Church had such a relationship with his mother prior to having been told… The idea of losing Church stung so deeply, an immobilizing pain in his chest he had never felt before.

"Church… please… I'm sorry… I still don't understand what all happened with me and N those years ago, but it wasn't anything like what you and I have, nor do I ever want it to be anything like that… I just want you. I want it all to go away and to just… be with you…" He swallowed hard and wiped his face. "I swear to Arceus. That's all I want. I told you that I'm done running… I'm not going anywhere… You can be angry if you want… But I'm not going away."

There was another stretch of quiet as Hil waited with bated breath for Church's response. He had poured his heart into those words and desperately hoped he could coax Church's more understanding side back out from its protective, thorny cage. He heard the bedroom door click and he scrambled to his feet, wiping the tears from his face. Church pulled the door open and stood with his arms crossed, still concentrated on the floor. He shook with the occasional aftershock of his crying. Hoarsely, he whimpered, "I've told you… I want to believe you, but… Hil, you're asking me to do a lot of understanding for you… I need you to work with me some… Why don't you want to talk to Cheren or Bianca? Why is that so difficult for you?"

"I don't know what to say to them," Hil answered, knowing exactly how lame it sounded before he even finished. "I just… I know Cheren is going to be furious… and Bianca… I can't even imagine how hurt she's been…"

Church's voice suddenly hardened. "How do you know?"

"I…" Hil floundered. "I know them, and I know Cheren is gonna feel betrayed, and Bianca…"

"And you aren't willing to do that. Even for me?"

Hil stared at him like a Deerling in headlights as what Church was insinuating sank in.

Church nodded stiffly. "That's how it comes across to me, Hil. I keep taking into consideration everything you've been through and dealing with it with you because I love you, but then, you don't even want to do that for me, and… I can't help but feel like I'm hearing more empty promises. Especially when you say you will and then… you keep… just… you don't…" He hugged himself tighter. "If you love me and don't want to leave like you say, why can't you do this for me? Just this one thing? I want to trust you. I want to believe you… I just… I shouldn't have to beg for you to do this one thing for me. I feel like this isn't unreasonable for me to want…"

"It's not," Hil breathed right away, chilled to the bone by how easily Church was seeing through him. Without a second thought, he softly asked, "Church… Do you think you could invite Cheren and Bianca…? So that we can talk to them in person?"

Church's expression lightened and he finally looked up at Hil, apprehensively. "Yes… I'd like that… It'd be nice to see them in person again, anyway…" He wiped the moisture from his face and exhaled shakily. "I haven't talked to them since you got back…"

"You… haven't?"

"No… I was so happy you were back that I was sure I'd accidentally blurt it to them at some point, and I didn't want to force that on you if you didn't want it… I still don't want to force you… I'm not forcing you, Hil. If you don't want to tell them, that's okay, but… I can't do this if you won't tell them. Because to me… It feels like you're leaving yourself an escape route. Like you don't want to tell them in case you have to leave again…" His arms fell from his chest and he leaned against the doorway, looking so exhausted.

Hil nervously stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Church. Encouraged by the lack of resistance, he squeezed Church hard and pressed his face firmly into the other's chest. "I'm not going anywhere. I swear… Ask Cheren and Bianca over. I'll talk to them then. With you right there to see. Okay?"

Church hugged him back tightly and started to softly cry again. "Thank you, Hil…" he whimpered. Then, he laughed, though it was hard to tell apart from the sobs. "I don't know what you do to me. I'm an actor and hold myself together no matter what all the time at work, but you can bring out the waterworks in five seconds flat."

Hil wasn't sure if that was a compliment or insult, and he nervously grinned. "Sorry…"

"Don't apologize. It's not a b-bad thing, I think… Just means I love you…" He sniffled and tried to add with a hint of amusement, "Even if you can be a real idiot sometimes."

Hil chuckled halfheartedly despite his own steady flow of tears. "I love you, too, Church. And, yeah, I can be, can't I?" Hil snickered against Church's chest and snuggled his head even closer to the other. "Good thing you're so patient and there to spell things out for me when I'm being an oblivious Dunsparce."

"I'm just happy you want to make this work…" was all Church had to say as he moved his head to kiss Hil on the forehead. "Because I don't want you to go… As much as I was yelling at you to, I don't want you to. I love you so much, Hil."

"I love you too, Church. More than anything else in this world."

Of course, Hil was still silently panicking. Ghetsis was at large… and N, too. N might not have been leading Neo Plasma, but what did Ghetsis' freedom mean for N? Was he in danger? What was being done about the free Ghetsis? About Neo Plasma? Where was N? Hil hated the nervous thoughts picking at his mind behind the overwhelming avalanche he felt with Church. He had never felt so trapped before, and as much as he wanted to cling to Church and never let go…

…something in him just wanted him to run…

The day following Hugh and Nate's adventure on the Plasma Frigate, Rosa woke at the crack of dawn. Part of it had been nerves. Another part had been that she went to bed far earlier than either of the others. She had places to be that she couldn't hope to explain to either of them and she didn't want to talk to them, anyway. Hugh and Nate had been inseparable after their journey aboard the Frigate. They had briefly spoken to some police alongside Gym Leader Cheren, then they spent the rest of the night before bed chattering away to each other about what had transpired, as well as their next steps forward… which, unsurprisingly, included just furthering their travels and strengthening their teams to potentially face down more of Neo Plasma in the future.

She was at a true crossroads. There was nothing she could do to help them without betraying Neo Plasma, which, if she became a big enough thorn in their side, she was certain Dr. Colress would have no qualms with executing her Pignite and coldly ignoring her thereafter. Yet, she couldn't go traveling with these two and avoid confrontations at every turn. Her excuse of not having enough pokémon or not being strong enough wouldn't hold water forever, and they'd certainly expect her assistance…

Having gathered what she needed, her Pignite at her side, she intended to go meet Dr. Colress where they had discussed when she heard an Xtransceiver ring. In a moment of confusion, she thought she must have forgotten to grab hers, as the ringing one was close to her bunk. She snatched it up and flicked the button to answer it before bothering to read anything on the screen. Yet, as soon as she finished, she realized something was amiss. This Xtransceiver was shattered and her camera feed didn't come through… And on the other end, a red-faced man glared back at her. She clenched her jaw right away and hurried out of the room and into the hall before the other had a chance to speak. It was Nate's father. She had accidentally answered his Xtransceiver.

"Nathan Shadow Daniels, you have not been answering your mother or me and we are both getting very worried. You're alone out there and I keep hearing about all of these Neo Plasma shenanigans… We just want to make sure you're safe, son…" His voice started out harsh, slowly transitioning to something more… affectionate at the end. It made Rosa's lip curl and she physically held the device away, not sure she wanted to see his face. "Come on. Come home. Just for a little while…" Again, she felt like her insides crawled with the way his voice nearly became a trill at the end.

Heart pounding and believing she was going to have to separate from Nate and Hugh anyway, Rosa growled, "You want him to just come home for a little bit, huh?"

Startled, the man jumped. "Who the hell are you?" he snapped. "Where's Nate?"

"With people that give a shit about him, for one," Rosa bit back, unfazed by his loudness. She might have felt farther away from Nate than ever, but she was not about to let who she believed to be an abusive monster get what he wanted. Whatever he had done, it had altered the course of much of Nate's life, and the fake niceties were not lost on her. "Now, he's away," she almost sang. She almost was sad he couldn't see her face when she cockily smirked and said, "So, you can stop calling and piss off now."

"Who are you?" his father barked back angrily. "Get off my son's Xtransceiver. Put him on. Now!"

Rosa grinned to herself. "Aww, am I making you mad, tough guy?"

"That's it. I've been telling his mother that I needed to just go find him for a while, but this does it. If you're not going to give him the phone and prove to me he's fine, I guess I'll just need to come make sure of it myself."

Uh-oh. Still, she couldn't let her aggression falter now… but she couldn't stand the thought of giving Nate the Xtransceiver back with his horrible father on the other end… They were already on such thin ice… "Forget it. He's fine, but you won't see him again," Rosa spat.

"Oh? Wanna bet?" his father pulled his lips back in a disgusting smile at the camera.

Rosa fiercely narrowed her eyes. Oh, you fucking suck, she thought. I never liked you to begin with from when I did see you, but how the fuck did I not catch all of this before? "Try me," she challenged him, "and if you can even find us or catch up to us, I'll be waiting to kick your ass." I'll have to since I'll have been the dumb bitch that invited you over. Oh, my Arceus, this journey is just me repeatedly fucking myself over again and again, isn't it? And now Nate! Fuck's sake, what am I doing? I'm smarter than this!

"Alright, Miss Whoever-The-Fuck-You-Are. I'll be on my way." He hung up.

Hands beginning to shake, Rosa quickly deleted the call log and snuck back into the room, putting the Xtransceiver back where she had found it. Nate and Hugh were both still out cold. She didn't know what she was going to do about what had just happened yet, but she figured she had time. Nate's father lived in Aspertia, after all, and they were in Driftveil; based on Nate and Hugh's discussions the night before, they likely intended to move onto Mistralton later that day. Yes, she had time… With a shaky, deep breath, she crept out of the room again and sped off for the fountain near the Driftveil Drawbridge. She needed to get closer to Dr. Colress to try to understand this chip he had embedded into her Pignite, to further understand Neo Plasma; cleverly, she had come to the conclusion that if she couldn't help Hugh and Nate beat Neo Plasma, then she'd help destroy them from the inside out. She'd save herself, then she'd play her part in helping her friends. It would be scary at first. Complicated and nerve-wracking. But she had to.

Dr. Colress was not her friend.

She had to beat that into her mind so that she wouldn't feel so bad about betraying him. Of course, she hated that she felt the need to do that. The fact he wasn't should have been obvious, but it wasn't, not beneath her loneliness and his usually pleasant exterior. Save for his occasional cold remark, he was so inviting, his childish, endearing personality like the sweetness tipped on the teeth of a Carnivine, while he himself patiently waited until the perfect moment to snap cruel jaws shut around unsuspecting prey with his disturbing experiments.

She spotted Dr. Colress long before she arrived. His sensor was pulsing with a glowing blue. She had only seen him do that when gravely upset before, so she grew cautious as she drew nearer, ready to steel her emotions in case he lashed out again. "Dr. Colress?" she called slowly.

Yet, she didn't get that sinister cruelty again. He turned as bright a grin on her as ever. "Miss Rosa! You came! So, you are interested, then?"

"Yeah…" she answered uncertainly. She was, but it was still such a scary prospect… "So… you said you wanted to give me an example, first… What do you mean…?"

Dr. Colress nodded. "Understandable, you want to meet some that have undergone my work. Of course, I stress before I call them here, that you will be undergoing something akin to the opposite of what they have undergone. This is just to show that my work is functional and reliable." He cleared his throat and held out his right hand. "Shadow Triad, come to me!"

In the dimness of the dawn, three dark-cloaked men appeared wordlessly in front of Dr. Colress. They stood straight and looked ahead at him almost robotically. Dr. Colress himself admired the three with his piercing gaze and then he turned to expectantly stare at Rosa.

"Miss Rosa, meet one of my proudest achievements thus far: my Shadow Triad!"

Dun dun dunnn and this thick ass plot thickens even more

QOTD(s): what you think Colress is gonna do with Rosa? Nate's father... hmmm