Chapter 31 The New Hero of Truths

The museum's entrance was crowded with police officers. They lined the short stretch of road in front of the building with Stoutland at the ready. Normally, Hil might have been worried and even unnerved by their presence, but frankly, he didn't care about them at all at that moment. He was still dealing with the potential realization that Alder's unannounced difficulty jump on the Elite Four might have had a hand in pushing his father down the dark path that he ended up on. More than that, why did the Elite Four agree? They were just as well-respected as the Champion, just about. There was no shortage of people who would have listened to them. Hell, any of them could have at least announced it! Instead, everyone had kept silent. But why? Why the secrecy? Dejectedly, he decided against asking Alder. Pulling at that thread was an exercise in futility, especially when stakes were so high elsewhere. He'd just make sure as hell to not forget what he had just learned.

As they reached the museum's door, a policewoman stopped them and spoke with Alder for a moment. After convincing her he was, indeed, Unova's wayward Champion Alder, she let him, Hil, Cheren, and Bianca through. Standing between the entrance and an empty receptionists' desk, Gym Leader Lenora, Professor Juniper, and her father, Cedric, all waited. Lenora cradled a velvety red pillow with her right hand holding it from the bottom and her left clasping the top of it. Professor Juniper and Cedric stood to attention at her sides. Alder fanned his group out in front of them. Hil made sure he was as far away from the champion as possible. He ended up somewhat wedged between Bianca and Cedric.

"What is it?" Alder pressed right away as the door clicked shut behind him.

"Well… is this the Light Stone y'all are looking for?" Lenora asked shakily as she moved her left hand. A perfectly smooth, spherical, white stone was sitting in the middle of the tiny crimson pillow. As soon as he spotted it, Hil's heart felt as if it all but stopped. Vividly, he recalled his first trip to this museum. Mostly, he remembered it because it had been his second run-in with N, and it had led to an intense clash with Team Plasma in Pinwheel Forest (well, at the time it had been intense; following the last few days' events, it seemed tame now). But he remembered the stone, too. It had been in an innocuous, small display case. When he had approached curiously, it had flashed a magnificent orange and he had jumped back out of shock. Nobody else had seemed to notice, and so he had shrugged it off as a trick of the light. Now, though? He was face-to-face with the stone again, and this time, it was being presented as the Light Stone. The dormant state of a legendary pokémon, an Ancient Dragon of Unova…

"I… don't know, is it?" Alder said stupidly.

"It dates back to about the same time the Dark Stone is believed to have been created and was found in the Relic Castle," Professor Juniper impatiently chimed in. "Not to mention it's perfectly spherical, not a single imperfection on it. If there's a candidate for the Light Stone, I'd have to say that's it."

"Then by Arceus, what are we waiting for?" Alder snorted and threw his arms out wide. "Hand it to Cheren, see if it does something!"

"In my museum?" Lenora asked incredulously. "Uh-uh. Outside with y'all."

At her insistence, everyone moved out to the museum's front deck instead. Police officers formed a protective ring just outside the group's perimeter. Hil stared in a mix of fright and awe as the glittering orb was handed to Cheren. Cheren's hands were trembling fiercely as he gently clamped his hands around it. As soon as they were securely around the sphere, Lenora scrambled away, and Cheren clenched his eyes shut. In fact, the rest of the group did the same, bracing for… something. None of them had any idea what to expect.

Whatever they had been expecting, however, didn't happen. Within a few seconds, nothing changed, and curiosity caused Hil and many of the others gathered to crane their necks and blink confusedly at Cheren's sweaty palms. In disbelief, Cheren rolled the stone between his hands and then uncovered it. It was as white and plain as ever. He shook his head. "That can't be it, then…"

"Well, we don't exactly know how to awaken it," Cedric offered nervously. "But… maybe let some others try and hold it?"

"N chose me, though," Cheren insisted. He rubbed the stone again and squeezed it tight in his grip like a stress ball, even though it was an unyielding stone. He was clearly desperately searching for any way to make it respond.

"N is a human like you or me," Alder said tersely. "If that is the Light Stone, then there's a pokémon in there that's gotta choose you, too, not just some cult leader."

Hil shot him a dirty glare. The more Alder spoke, the more he wished he'd shut up. His underlying tough guy attitude was starting to shine through and Hil didn't like it one bit. N may have been their leader, but he was deceived. Maybe if Alder, or anyone else for that matter, cared enough to think for a moment about it all and listen to me… Hil trailed his thoughts off bitterly.

Cheren, still trembling, handed the stone off to Alder. Similarly to Cheren, he rolled the rock around his palm, but still it failed to react. He hesitantly handed it off to Professor Juniper. She raised a brow at him and then clutched it tightly in a single hand, holding it up. "Champion Alder, I had to handle it to study it," she said, unamused. "Lenora and Dad did, too. It didn't do anything for them."

"That leaves Bianca and Hil for this group, then," Alder said gruffly.

All eyes suddenly turned to the both of them. Hil and Bianca shared an anxious expression with each other, and then the smooth stone was pushed unceremoniously into Bianca's hands. She immediately shut her eyes and shook violently at the feel of the stone in her palms. "Ch-Champion Alder, even if it did choose me, I don't think—"

"Nothing for her, either," he sighed, blatantly cutting her off as he pulled it back from her grasp.

He then nonchalantly chucked the stone at Hil, who frantically tried to catch it in a clumsy, hilarious display. When both hands finally landed on the sphere at the same time, he took a deep breath and looked down at his hands fearfully. At first there was nothing. There was a brief moment where he grinned brightly and thought, excitedly, that it had just been a trick of the light back at the museum. Never have I ever been so happy to have been seeing things, he thought with an audible laugh. Yet, the high was short-lived. Within seconds, the stone began to pulse orange, and warmth blossomed outward from its center. Yelping, Hil practically hurled the stone at Cheren. His friend narrowly realized in time to catch it just as it collided with his chest, sending him to the ground.

"It glowed!" Lenora breathed in astonishment. "Hil, are… you the one it chose?"

"No!" Hil spluttered back without thinking. "I mean, maybe!" He clutched at his hair nervously. Noodle was still away in his Poké Ball. He wished he'd have let him out earlier. "I mean…" He couldn't be the Hero. He had just been feeling jealous when he had mutinously thought he wanted to take Cheren's place! There was no way he could actually be trusted with Unova's entire future! He lost almost every pokémon battle he became involved with! He still had a Servine, for Arceus' sake, while Cheren already had an Emboar! Cheren had learned to bond with his pokémon better recently. Hil could be hotheaded, he could be reckless at times when he felt someone else was in danger, he wanted to help N but if this was left to him, he'd doom all of Unova, N included! What on Earth was this stupid Ancient Dragon of Unova or whatever thinking?!

In the midst of his quickening breath and racing stutters, Cheren had sat back up and, seeming almost entranced, had moved closer to Hil. He slowly pried Hil's hands open and pressed the stone back into his grip. Hil wrenched away from him but clung to the stone in the process. Gawking at it, he shook his head, getting faster with every shake. "There's no way. I can't be. This isn't happening. I-I-I—this is crazy!" Hil covered the stone with both hands as it began to pulsate with that familiar fiery yellow. A lump rose in his throat and he swallowed hard. He wasn't sure if he were about to cry or vomit, or both.

"Hil…" Bianca started like she was going to touch his shoulder. Hil recoiled and held up his balled hands at her. It would have been a hand singularly held up in a 'stop' gesture if he didn't have them firmly wrapped around the stone. It felt like he'd never be able to pull them away from it then, since that would mean seeing the stone again. "Calm down… let's talk about this… you don't have to do this."

"Don't! Just, don't…" Hil breathlessly puffed.

"Of course, he has to!" Lenora had chimed in blithely. "This is the fate of Uno—"

A chorus of shushes from the other adults, Alder included, befell her and Lenora shut her mouth with a mutinous glare that swept across them all.

Hil shook his head. "She's right! Unova needs a h-hero, and I am not that Hero! No way!" He finally plucked a hand free of the stone and averted his gaze from it. He waved it in front of their faces. "If this is left up to me, we're just… we're doomed. We're done for."

"Well, it's not reacting to anyone else," Cheren said testily. He had crossed his arms and he refused to meet Hil's gaze. All the muscles across his body seemed tense. Hil could tell, without a shadow of a doubt, Cheren was upset. And I don't blame him! Hil thought desperately. For a while now, N had him convinced he was going to be the Hero, and then the stupid stone wasn't cooperating!

The rest of the group began to devolve into rapid conversation as Hil tried to beg them to take it back. Their arguing became too much, and Hil tossed the Light Stone into the pocket of his hoodie that didn't have a massive gash through it. While they were all deep in discourse, he abruptly announced his leave, and then booked it away from the museum. He heard the frantic shouting of Alder, shortly followed by Cedric and Lenora, but he didn't stop. He didn't stop until he reached a familiar studio apartment door at the far end of Nacrene. He was panting wildly for breath by the time he reached it and shaking all over.

"Hey, Hil!" came a friendly reply as the door swung open. The second it did, he had hardly had time to register the person on the other side as Church before he wrapped his arms around his tall, lithe form in the tightest embrace he'd ever managed. Hil buried his face in Church's shoulder and grabbed fistfuls of his navy blue shirt. The door was still wide open behind him and he had no idea if Church's friends were currently there. In fact, he hadn't thought about that at all, even as he currently clung closer and closer to Church, like he hoped to melt into him. Church had sputtered at Hil's hug and uncertainly returned the gesture, kicking with a free foot to shut the door behind him. "Uh… not that I'm not enjoying this, but… Hil? What's going on?"

Reluctantly, Hil loosened his hold and apologetically looked up at Church. He had such pretty green eyes… It was so much easier to admire them in person. "S-sorry… I just…"

"It's okay," Church said softly. In a stunning moment, he realized Church hadn't unraveled his own arms from around Hil. Even if it was a loose, lazy hug, noticing that made his face burn. Church leaned in a little closer. "The others aren't here today… Kris had an exhibition in Castelia, and the other two are visiting family for the week… What happened? You seem really upset…" Without giving him a chance to answer, Church shook his head and pulled Hil to follow as he stepped further into the apartment. He led him to a poorly made twin bed stuffed into the corner of the apartment and encouraged him to take a seat. "Hey, now…" He reached a hand up and brushed some of Hil's hair out of his face, and then his eyes settled worriedly on Hil's torn jacket. "What happened…?"

Hil covered his face with his hands. "I don't even know where to start!" he almost wailed. "This last week has been… a nightmare."

As if on cue, his Xtransceiver began to ring madly. He ripped the device from the left pocket of his pants and saw that Cheren and Bianca both were trying to reach him. He curled his arm as if he were going to throw it, but Church grabbed his forearm. Hil froze.

"Hil," Church took a deep breath, "slow down. You're scaring me… Put the Xtransceiver down. Cancel their call and put it on silent. Then talk to me." He gently pushed Hil's arm down and watched in satisfaction as Hil obeyed, silencing the offensive device and stashing it back away into his pockets. Once Hil had done that, he scooted in close to Hil and wrapped an arm around him. They had never been so affectionate before. Hil's head was swimming at the touch. They had joked and teased one another across the Xtransceiver, but he hadn't realized how much he had craved this… nor could he have ever anticipated Church's willingness to reciprocate. He just wanted to drink in the attention and never bother with anything else ever again. Even just the small, appreciative gesture of a hug had been utterly intoxicating… He wanted to bury his face in Church's shoulder again. His deep blue dress shirt was silky and smooth… Hil wasn't sure he'd ever owned a shirt like that before.

But he knew he needed to explain. So, explain he did. Hil opened up to Church like a freshly opened soda after it was hurled across a room, letting loose a tidal wave of information. Emboldened by Church's acceptance of his advances, and more so by his panic over the Light Stone choosing him, Hil laid everything out clearly for Chirch, and by the end of it, the redhead was looking as dazed as Hil felt. He floundered for something to say as Hil wrapped up the story, and Hil wondered in anguish if he had inundated Church and scared him… He didn't know what he would do if that was the case. Going back outside and facing Champion Alder, Cheren, or Bianca felt out of the question. Hil began to pull away from Church's hold as his friend continued to flail for something to say, but Church gripped his wrist in an abrupt, tight hold, refusing to let go.

"I'll admit, that's a lot," Church laughed and rubbed the back of his head with a free hand. "Damn… that's… that's a lot, dude… I don't blame you for freaking out."

Hil felt his eyes water dangerously. He quickly rubbed his face, expertly disguising it as a method of wiping away sweat with his hoodie's sleeve. When he moved his arm away again, he was brought into another, all-encompassing hug. This time, Hil returned it confidently and his chin found that comfortable nook in between Church's neck and chest. "I don't think I can do this," Hil whimpered at last.

"Hey, it's okay," Church whispered back. "I feel kinda bad about leaving your friends hanging like this… but maybe it's best if you stay away from them for a day or two…"

"Huh?" Hil swallowed hard. "What do you mean…?"

"Well…" Church tentatively stroked Hil's hair. Hil felt as if his chest might explode in a momentary blast of nervousness, but it faded as Church's ministrations continued. "The way I see it… N can't beat Alder until he actually gets to the Pokémon League, and he's got at least a week before the spot gets given up by automatic forfeit. So, if he's smart, and I hope he is, he is the Champion after all, he won't go face N right away. He'll be helping your friends look for you. And you… will be right here."

Hil kept quiet for a long time. He nuzzled Church's shoulder. The warmth was so nice… "Thank you, Church…" Hil mumbled finally.

"And I think it'd be better if you made the decision on what you're gonna do later, when you're not so… amped up," Church said, carefully choosing his words. "I know this is a big deal, this stuff you're talking about, but…" he twirled a finger in Hil's hair. "You're still you. You're still a person the same as any other. That rock might have chosen you, but that doesn't mean anything if you don't choose it."

They spent a while hugging like that until Church shamefacedly plucked Hil off so he could use the restroom. He awkwardly and quickly told Hil he could make himself at home—toss off his shoes, let his pokémon out to enjoy some time to relax, make a drink, anything like that. While he was busy, Hil uncertainly let out his pokémon. Noodle, of course, assumed his perch atop Hil's shoulders; Roadie, the Watchog, found the highest surface in the room, that being a freestanding cabinet, and surveyed the apartment from up high; Lucky, his Liepard, claimed Church's couch as her own, stretching her lanky legs across its entire surface; Sleepy, the Munna, merely hovered tiredly near where Roadie was keeping watch; Crest, the Simipour, located the television and promptly took a seat in front of it, eagerly mashing buttons on the remote controls; Prada, the Zebstrika, perused the room for somewhere worthy of laying down; and lastly, Hil cradled the small Druddigon, Shay, in his arms. She mischievously spied Noodle's tail and batted at it hungrily again, much to the Servine's chagrin.

When Church returned, he laughed at the pokémon that had taken over the studio, and then fawned over Shay. A knock at the door interrupted his excited squealing. Hil practically whimpered and lowered his head fearfully. Had Bianca and Cheren already come to check if he was there? Hil didn't really want to talk to them right then… Prada pulled a smirk from him by turning his attention to the door as the knock sounded. He huffed at the sound and scuffed his hooves against the hardwood flooring, bobbing his head as if challenging it. His mane flickered yellow.

"Prada, come on, let Church answer the door," Hil weakly laughed. The Zebstrika neighed at him indignantly but stepped aside for Church.

He barely cracked the door. "Who is it?" he asked cagily.

"Church? It's Bianca. Is Hil there?"

Without skipping a beat, Church said, "No, why?" He sounded so genuinely concerned. "Sorry, for having the door half-shut like this, I don't mean to be rude, I just… have a guest over," he snickered suggestively. "They're asleep right now, but I'm… not so decent."

"Oh, gross!" Bianca groaned. Distantly, Hil thought he heard Cheren mutter something as well. He had to stifle laughter as he imagined Cheren's mortified reaction to learning he might have been talking to a naked man. Of course, Hil knew Church was very much clothed, but stil. Bianca clapped back again with, "And you're fifteen! What could you possibly be doing in there with someone else? That's… not okay, Church!"

"Hey, let me live my life, I own this studio. You two are just jealous," Church teased. Hil could almost hear the wink in his tone. "But yeah, what's up? I can make sure to let you two know if I see him. He okay?"

"He's a little upset right now, we just wanna talk to him," Bianca explained. "A-anyway… thank you, Church… please close the door now."

Church clicked his teeth in acknowledgment and shut the door as instructed. Once it was closed, he turned around and gave Hil a knowing smirk. "The benefits of being an actor," he warbled the last word like an overdramatic singer.

They spent the rest of the day like that. Church had a tiny kitchenette stuffed in between easels and costumes lumped upon the countertops and he offered to cook for Hil later in the day. He was a shockingly good cook. He talked to Hil incessantly about some auditions he had coming up and how he had landed a role in a small theater production in Castelia. They discussed pokémon and Church admitted he had been trying to train up a team of his own, but had sent them with one of his friends for the week because her folks lived on a farm just outside of Driftveil's bounds, and he wanted to get them out of the city for a while. Hil had always known Church had a soft spot for Fire-types, but he had been surprised to find he was training a monotype team of them. In a single day, they did so much more catching up than Hil thought they could have ever done over that accursed Xtransceiver.

The night culminated when Church sat Hil down on his bed and gently grasped his hands. "Hey, Hil?"

"Y-yeah?"

"That… stone. You said it glowed when you held it, and when nobody else did, right? Would… it be okay if I tried?"

Hil balked and looked at Church as if he'd grown a second head. "You… want to try it?"

"Well… it's worth a shot," Church offered lamely. He gripped Hil's hands a little tighter. "Can't hurt…"

Hil drew in a shaky breath as he slowly reached for his bag. He had put it there some time ago after he finished telling Church about the entire thing. It had felt uncomfortably heavy in his hoodie, and he feared the battered fabric might rip under its weight (Church had promptly then made him throw the slashed jacket away, telling him he could get him a new one if he really needed it). Zipping open the backpack, he became keenly aware that he hoped the stone didn't react to Church. Despite his personal fright, the idea of Church getting thrust into this uncertain position was even more upsetting. Averting his gaze as he grabbed the smooth stone from his bag, he handed it to Church through quivering hands.

Relief made all Hil's muscles fall slack at once when the rock failed to give any indication to Church. Church cursed under his breath and flipped the stone around in his hand a few times. "Sorry, Hil," he sighed deeply and tossed it back into Hil's bag.

"Don't be," Hil supplied softly. "I… didn't really want it to react to you, if I'm being honest…"

"You didn't?" Church blinked in surprise. "But… you seemed so… scared of it… I thought you'd be excited at the idea of someone else being able to take it…"

"Maybe, but… maybe not you." Hil blushed furiously. "I wouldn't… wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"Aww, worried about me?" Church teased. He leaned in rather close to Hil and pulled him into another hug. That was how the night ended, except this hug didn't stop, as Church kept his arms tightly wrapped around Hil as they laid back in his bed. That was about all they did that night. Church had insisted they keep a comfortable distance between one another and had called Noodle and Shay to assist, and the playful duo seemed happy to cuddle up between them. Shay's sharp scales especially helped make sure they maintained their personal space. At Hil's nervous and almost hurt questioning, Church had shaken his head.

"You're upset and today's been long for you… I've enjoyed all the attention," Church laughed, "but… I don't wanna take advantage of you being in a rough patch."

Hil had wanted to irritably snap at him that he didn't need him to make such decisions for him, that he had enough decisions being made for him as it were, but then Church had shifted comfortably and shut his eyes, a pleasant smile dressing his face. Any irritation Hil had had faltered in an instant and he, too, sighed and settled into the bed. It took him a long time to fall asleep. He didn't want to stop looking at Church, and he'd never slept so close to someone else before, either.

Even if Noodle and Shay were dividing them, it still felt so… comfortable… Perhaps part of his frustration with Church's polite refusal of further affection than this was that Hil knew, deep down, that he couldn't run from this. The Light Stone had chosen him to be the Hero, just as he had been jealously wishing he were since N had brought it up to him. The immediate panic was over. Indeed, he was afraid; he didn't know what to expect whenever he managed to awaken the Ancient Dragon from the Light Stone. He wasn't sure what his clash with N might bring. He wanted to think it would be like any other standard pokémon battle, with no more risk than a possible knockout to the pokémon involved, but would it really be? Unable to shake the feeling this might have been one of his last opportunities to get so close with Church, Hil ached for more… but he also enjoyed what he had gotten. A day spoiled by the overzealous theater boy was nice, and even if he had been denied a longed-for kiss, the hugs had been just… wonderful.

Defeatedly, Cheren and Bianca returned to the front of the museum where Lenora, Alder, Professor Juniper, and Cedric were waiting. The gym leader was anxiously pacing, the two professors were lost in discussion, and Alder looked deep in thought from where he sat on one of the steps leading up to the museum. The four of them jerked their heads to watch Cheren and Bianca as they approached, clearly crestfallen when they noticed their distinct lack of Hil.

"Well, where is he?" Lenora demanded.

"Gym Leader Lenora, please," Alder groaned. "Ease up." He glanced up at Cheren expectantly.

"We can't find him and he's not answering his Xtransceiver," Cheren sighed. "He's… he's probably just freaked out and he'll show up again soon…"

"We've been a little… intense," Alder admitted. He shook his head. "Look. I'll stay away from the League for the next six days. But that's the most I can do to buy us time. We need to find him before them and get him qualified for the League."

"What can we do in the meantime to help?" Cheren asked desperately. He felt like his entire world had just been upended in an instant. Even if he had only recently truly believed N's tale of him being the New Hero of Truths or whatever he had said, he had really fallen in love with the lofty idea. He had a new purpose that was beyond simply obtaining the title of champion, beyond just seeking power. He had listened to Bianca and Hil, and he'd been bonding with his pokémon more. And yet… the Light Stone had chosen Hil. Hil had a brilliant heart, there was no doubt about that, but… he was unsteady and his battling lackluster at best. He'd be lying to himself if he said it wasn't frightening to have the future of Unova in Hil's hands.

"Head to Opelucid City, I guess. I can tell the gym leaders to keep an eye out for Hil," Alder suggested with a halfhearted shrug. "I suppose you'll need to get your eighth badge if you're gonna try to get through the Elite Four as well. We could use all the help we could get in case things go south with Hil… Nothing against him, just, I'm plannin' ahead in case the Light Stone doesn't pan out. We gotta be ready in case this falls through. We need to all be there ready to fight Team Plasma."

Cheren just nodded sadly. "Yeah."

"Opelucid City is also known for their religion based around the Unovan myths," Professor Juniper piped up. "Well… at least I thought it was religion… it might be true, considering how things are going." She sighed. "They might be able to fill us in on some things, like how to resurrect the stone. I mean, yeah, it glowed for Hil, but I didn't see any Ancient Dragons come popping out."

"That's a good idea, Professor!" Bianca exclaimed, bouncing Cheren's hand as she practically vibrated in place. He smiled a little to himself. She always got so excited over the professors. He hoped when this all was over she'd get a chance to talk with the professors some more.

"Alright, so it's set, then," Cheren said, "we'll head for Opelucid, we'll keep trying to get in contact with Hil, and we've gotta get him his badges in the next six days to get him through the League." Realizing what all he had just said, Cheren facepalmed. "That sounded so much easier in my head…"

not sure if you knew yet but Hil's gay