Chapter 35 The Road to Victory

Bewildered by her question, Hil thought for a second before responding. "Why would I regret it…?" At the pained expression she made, he realized he had dodged the question. "Sorry, I mean, I don't regret it, but why the question? That's all I meant…"

Bianca, standing next to Professor Juniper, fidgeted by running her hands down the strap of her green bag repeatedly. Professor Juniper glanced at her and then appeared to take a moment to smooth her jacket out. "Sorry, I know that was a little sudden, that question… I've just been really worried about you. Amber says that you haven't breathed a word back at her in ages. I told her everything that's been going on… She's worried about you and I am, too. How are you holding up?"

Hil felt a wave of exhaustion as he looked over the professor's green eyes. He had figured out back at her lab, when he first received Noodle, that she was close friends with his mother. More than that, she had been there for Vince's funeral. Professor Juniper was a kind and friendly lady. He liked her. But like many other people, he felt like he was simply waving through a window at her, that she had no actual understanding of what he was going through. He didn't have any energy left to be annoyed with her for assuming he couldn't handle this, or that this roadblock would make him regret leaving home at all. Instead, he felt it was easier to simply forgive her for thinking he might. He could see how she might think he would regret it, after all. He smiled and said brokenly, "I don't regret it at all, Professor Juniper. I'm doing okay now. Thank you."

Bianca's eyes lit up at Hil's words and she mustered all her strength to not clap her hands together rapidly in excitement. Professor Juniper visibly relaxed and she nodded at Hil. "Well, I'll trust what you say. Your mother would have probably grilled you for another two hours," she laughed. She gave him a knowing smile. "I don't blame you for not wanting to talk to her. As her friend, I'll admit, it hurts a little watch her struggle because you won't call… but also as her friend, I can see why you don't want to. Here, to ease her mind and mine." She reached into the left pocket of her coat and then brandished a purple and white Poké Ball to Hil.

"This is a Master Ball," Professor Juniper said quietly. "It's guaranteed to catch any pokémon you throw it at no matter what. I know you have been struggling to catch pokémon… and I've talked to Drayden already. If what he says is true… convincing Reshiram might be a little harder than your average pokémon."

Hil reached out and accepted the Master Ball uneasily. It had an inscription of an M on its upper half. It felt far heavier than any Poké Ball he'd ever held before. "So… if Reshiram doesn't respond to me wanting to work with it…"

"Catch it in that."

"You want me to force it," Hil said flatly. He hung his head tiredly.

"No… I didn't say that," Professor Juniper mumbled uncomfortably. "Just…" She struggled for something to say, growing more flustered by the second. When she realized she didn't have an explanation, she crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "I guess I hadn't thought of it like that."

Hil pocketed the Master Ball anyway. Although he didn't like the idea of forcing a pokémon to be caught by him so unfairly, he also wasn't sure he wanted to give it back, in case it was given to someone with far fewer qualms about it. "Sorry, I'm being a little mean. I'm just tired. It's been a long day. I should rest some so I can get a move on tomorrow… Bianca, you coming?"

Bianca reluctantly nodded, her eyes still trained on Professor Juniper. "Yeah… I mean, I'm gonna stay with you guys for the night, but…" She shyly shuffled her feet. "I can't go with you or Cheren to the Pokémon League, of course. Professor Juniper… I was actually wondering…"

Professor Juniper gave a jolt of surprise. "Yes, Bianca?"

"Could I stay with you while this all goes down?" She eyed the professor hopefully, and awkwardly added, "I could be your bodyguard!"

Professor Juniper cackled and patted Bianca's shoulder. "Sure thing, Bianca. For now, though, you go get some rest. I've gotta meet back up with Drayden for a little while."

"Goodnight, professor," Hil yawned as she started to walk away. He lazily glanced back at Bianca. "Now, can we go to bed?"

She snickered. "Yes, Hil. I'll text Cheren the room number so he can join us when he's done with Drayden."

Slogging through Victory Road felt much less heroic than its name or their current mission might have implied. Bianca had stayed behind with Professor Juniper as she had asked for the night before, but Cheren had joined Hil that morning to begin the trek to the Pokémon League. He kept his distance and wordlessly battled often along the way, taking care of most of the other people that were using the winding cave network as a training ground. Hil got the feeling that something was deeply wrong.

At first, he had thought nothing of it. Cheren could be distant by nature and Hil thought that, perhaps due to the severity of their predicament, he just didn't have much to say. But during his battles, Cheren had devolved to his old habits of silent, direct orders, lacking in praise. Finally, after about five hours in, Hil called for Cheren to let them take a rest. Without waiting for Cheren to give him the okay, Hil collapsed to his rear against the dusty, uneven floor of a tunnel. A few Durant clicked their mandibles at them and then scurried away at the sight of Cheren's Emboar.

"We need to keep moving," Cheren muttered as he stood next to Hil, impatiently tapping his feet. He had his hands stuffed into the pockets of his pants. His blue and black windbreaker was tied around his waist. It had gotten rather hot and stuffy in the caverns of Victory Road.

Hil didn't look up at him. He had pulled his knees close to his chest and crossed his arms over them. "You're worked up about something," Hil deadpanned, "and it's not just because we're wrapped up in this nonsense. It's something else."

"Hil, can we not do this right now?" Cheren… whined? Hil still didn't look at him but knew from that reaction, he was already plucking at a nerve. Cheren didn't whine. In fact, Cheren had ranted entire improv essays on why whining drove him insane. He was hiding what he felt again, but why?

"Why?" Hil pressed. He was still speaking expressionlessly. He didn't want to be too accusatory. They didn't have time to get into a fight, nor did he want to, anyway. "You can talk to us, remember?"

"Yeah, sure," Cheren grumbled. He took a few steps back. "Thanks for noticing, Hil, but really. It's not important."

Hil clenched his teeth at that phrasing.

Vince. His father had put on a brave face and all Hil could remember of the man was the awkward jokes and laughter he used to hide his hurt. At the time, Hil had no way of recognizing what it was, and for a long time, he had convinced himself that it didn't matter. Vince was his father, he was a superhero; he'd be fine. Of course, that proved to be untrue, and Hil had spent so many nights over those three months between his death and meeting Noodle doing his best to forget all the phone calls he overheard where he thought to step in and interrupt his mother, but didn't. Where he convinced himself everything was fine and would always be fine. That one day, Vince would come back from Castelia and everything would go back to normal.

Then, that hope had shattered to a million pieces, all because Vince had felt like he couldn't talk to anyone. In retrospect, Hil recognized the pain in his father's eyes he'd seen during their last Xtransceiver call, when he had grinned weakly and those amber eyes shone with unshed tears. Now, Hil knew there had been so many opportunities for him to reach out, for others to help, and so many had just… been too wrapped up in their own pride to be of assistance. The Elite Four had likely wanted to appease Alder, and Alder felt he was doing some favor to Unova by holding the Champion title hostage, and everybody in Castelia had been just as duped as Hil was. Even following his death, Hil had spent a long time, even well into his journey with Cheren, Bianca, Noodle, and the rest of his pokémon, convinced that he didn't care about why Vince had done it. But the truth was, he did… Vince had been dishonest and isolated himself. It had cost him everything, believing that whatever he was going through 'wasn't important.'

Ghetsis. Hil didn't know the circumstances surrounding the Sage's hatred for what seemed to be all living creatures, but he couldn't deny the déjà vu the way he had acted on Tubeline Bridge had given him. He had been hurt long ago, made to feel powerless, and that event had spurred what appeared to be a lifelong desire to make sure he never felt that again. In the wake of his mad search for power and a painless life, he had set his son, N, up for certain failure and heartbreak, he had clearly physically hurt many people (all Hil could think of was Marlon hitting his head against the metal with that sickening thud), and damaged even more pokémon by forcefully separating them from people he deemed foolish. An entire country of people was suffering because Ghetsis had believed what he had gone through was important to himself alone.

Hil desperately didn't want Cheren to become another horror story like them.

"Cheren." Hil gave his friend some time to focus on him. He wanted to make sure he had Cheren's full attention. As Hil spoke, he stared at his fingers, plucking, and fidgeting them in irritated anxiety. "I'm really tired of people hiding what they feel because they think nobody else cares, or something. I lost my dad to that. I'm not saying that to get sympathy, in fact, please don't. I'm just saying that there's a lot of people out there that suffer because people like you just won't talk. Bianca and I have known you since we were babies. You mean a lot to us. You mean a lot to me." Hil swallowed hard against the emotion crackling his voice. "Now, can you just be honest with me, and tell me what's wrong? And maybe we can talk this out?"

Finally, Hil met Cheren's slate eyes and found he looked utterly stunned. He opened and shut his mouth a few times like a Basculin out of water. At last, he strained to say, "…Okay. Okay. I'll… trust you on this." Cheren took a seat stiffly next to Hil. He put his hands in his lap and his Emboar shuffled closer to him. Noodle unfurled from within Hil's hood and draped himself along his trainer's left arm. Cheren cleared his throat as he continued. "If I'm completely honest, I feel lost… Not that long ago, I was going to be the 'Hero,' now it's you. Bianca just throws herself at you every time you show up. Champion Alder says he's been trying to get to know people to figure out someone to replace him as Champion, except he's been Champion for fifteen years, so what makes me think he'd suddenly give up that spot at the top for anyone else, much less me? I never even had a chance." Cheren's breath became more ragged as he grew more agitated. "Just like everything else, I never had a chance, I'm just the sidekick, I've got to help everyone else get where they're supposed to go but I have no idea where I'm going. Ever. And nobody has any idea that I'm going through that."

Hil nodded sympathetically as he listened but was caught on a particular detail. "That's all understandable… I'm sorry… what was that about Bianca?" Hil asked, chancing a nervous glance at Cheren. He was scowling back.

"She hugs you every chance she gets. She texts you nonstop if you're not around. She talks really highly of you. And now, you're the Hero of Truths," Cheren rolled the last phrase off his tongue like poison. "And I am… Cheren. What am I in comparison?"

Hil knew he shouldn't have laughed, but he just couldn't hold back the chortling. He gasped for breath desperately as the effect only snowballed. Cheren looked as if someone might have slapped him across the face. "I'm sorry!" Hil finally panted breathlessly. "It's just… I'm sorry, if I'm hearing you right, you think she's… interested in me? Or vice versa?"

"Well, yes," Cheren snapped. "I'm glad that's so funny to you. Good talk. Can we keep going now or would you like to laugh at me in the face some more?"

"Cheren, I'm pretty sure I'm gay," Hil managed to squeeze out at last. "At least, I've never looked at a girl with… any desire to do more than just get to know them as a friend. Including Bianca. Arceus' sake, I've known her since I was a baby." Hil shivered and raised his hands. "Remember? That's why it freaked me out when you guys started… y'know?"

"Well, yeah… but—"

"But nothing, dude. You know where I was after I ran off from the museum?" Hil asked with a lopsided, easygoing smile. He felt so relieved to know this was all that was bothering Cheren. This would be easy to defuse, he thought. "At Church's."

Cheren's jaw dropped and he recoiled in disgust, looking like a Lillipup trying to get peanut butter off the roof of its mouth. "…YOU were the person he was in there doing… whatever with?"

Hil raised a brow in confusion, starting to ask Cheren what he meant by that, and then remembered that Church had told Cheren and Bianca that he had a guest over and was indecent. His face burned bright red as he flailed to correct himself. "No! He was acting! He was fully dressed! Just—he just—he didn't want you guys to freak me out! I needed a little while to calm down after that reveal, you know! That I was this Hero of Truths or whatever!" Hil covered his face in embarrassment and groaned. "Point is, you have literally nothing to fear from me with Bianca. Also, for as smart as you are, you're really stupid when it comes to her, man. She likes you no matter what. Maybe a little less when you're acting like this, but still."

"Acting like what?" Cheren pried cagily.

"Like nobody cares or that you're not important," Hil snorted as he slowly pulled his hands from his face. "Can I tell you something about when I held that stone for the first time?"

"…I guess."

"Do you remember what I did immediately after it glowed?"

Cheren narrowed his eyes at Hil. "I don't know, chucked it? You started blathering, I remember that much."

"Yeah. I threw it. At who, though?" Hil pushed. Come on, Cheren…

"At… at me," Cheren blinked fervently. "Hil, what are you getting at?"

Hil groaned. "Cheren. I threw that stone at you when it glowed for me because I didn't want it to 'choose' me, or whatever. As much as N was convinced you were the Hero, I thought you were, too. Sure… I was upset that he chose you because I wanted to help him, and he didn't see that, and it hurt." Hil sheepishly smiled at Cheren, squaring his shoulders just slightly as he braced himself for what he was about to say next. He hoped Cheren would react how he wanted him to when he revealed this truth… "But I threw that stone at you because I thought of you as my Hero."

As Hil had wanted, Cheren was shocked into silence. Hil snickered at his dumbfounded face and shrugged. "As much as I'd give you a hard time over it… sometimes, it was really nice having someone to always turn to when things got hard. You were always there for me when others… weren't… I don't think I'd be where I am now without you, man." Hil stroked Noodle's head and was pleased when he happily thumped his tail against his shoulder. "Maybe it wasn't the healthiest thing to always come running to you when things got too hard… for me, or for you. But it's not like you're not still part of this. We all still appreciate the help…" Hil paused. "You might not be Reshiram's Hero, but you're still our Hero."

There was a long silence. "Thank you, Hil," Cheren whispered at last.

"Of course."

When Hil and Cheren finally reached the end of Victory Road, it was midafternoon, and both boys were drenched in sweat and exhausted. They had powered through what normally was a week's long journey at minimum in just a single day. Hil's legs felt like jelly as he trudged out to a massive, worn building surrounded on all sides by steep mountains. It looked to be made out the same stone as the ridges themselves. A man in a black uniform was dozing off next to a wrought, steel sign. Cheren and Hil intended to pass him by to enter the building that separated Victory Road from the Badge Gates, but Hil winced and collapsed next to him, giving the uniformed man a start. He bolted awake and blinked the bleariness from his eyes as he took in Cheren and Hil's forms like they were aliens.

Hil said nothing as he clutched at his shin. His mind was foggy, and his eyes were blackening at the edges from how overheated he felt. Cheren seemed to pick up on his exhaustion and stalked past him. To the man in black, he cleared his throat and said, "We just have to walk through here and show our badges to each of the League Staff, correct?"

"That's right," the man yawned. He added concernedly, "Though… you two look like hell. You boys okay? I can call someone with bandages and water if you need it."

"I just need a minute," Hil managed to puff at last. "No thanks."

"We'll be alright," Cheren said curtly. "Thank you for the assistance." With that, his footsteps crunched across dry dirt as he made his way over to Hil. Noodle leapt from Hil's shoulder. Cheren leaned down and looped an arm around Hil's left while Noodle shot out vines at Hil's right. Together, they helped haul him to his feet, and he limped after them. Pain shot through his leg at every step and Hil wanted to snarl at them to leave him be for a damn minute, but Cheren reassured him that they just needed to cross the Badge Gates and into the Pokémon League. There, they had a Pokémon Center they could rest at. Hil decided to let them help and across the Badge Gates they went.

It was an awfully ceremonious experience that almost made Hil feel guilty he needed to be half-dragged across it. Eight gates, one for each gym, and in the same order they were required to take them in the challenge. After passing through the entrance building, they came to a barren square of dirt not dissimilar to the rest of Victory Road's terrain. Another man in a black and white uniform regarded Cheren and Hil with a bored look, an Xtransceiver in his clutches, and he flicked a lever when Hil and Cheren both showed their badge cases to him. Yawning doors in front of the two boys, each marked with a circle and an etching of the Trio Badge in the center, split apart and slid open, crunching, and grinding stone as they went. Behind the gate, a similar square of land, this time covered in grass and with a short stream twisting through the center, was revealed. There was a quaint, ornate bridge stretching across the short stream.

"Onward, gym challengers, for you possess the Trio Badge!" the man in black hollered after them in a slow, deliberate cadence.

Each gate would open for them in much the same way as the Trio Badge, each guarded by a person in uniform, and each with a thematic stretch of land behind it. Cheren was quick to inform Hil that each had been designed by the gym leaders themselves and that the designs were changed whenever gym leader titles changed hands. Hil was amazed by the creativity shown by their choices. From the Trio Badge's grassy, serene landscape, to the massive sculpture behind the Insect Badge, to the hilarious, massive fans that let you walk on air over the portion behind the Jet Badge, all the way to the two twin dragon sculptures of the Legend Badge, it felt like a scene straight out of a movie. Despite what Cheren had said, implying most of what he saw was relatively new, the entirety of the Badge Gates left him feeling as if he were walking through ancient history.

Then, finally, they arrived at the foot of the Pokémon League.

The entire area was still the same flat, earthy brown, as if the entirety of the League were carved from the mountains. Well, all of it except for a staircase Hil could see behind the main, circular chambers of the League. Gleaming, golden stairs led from somewhere far beneath the primary building high into the sky. The main cylindrical building had huge gaping holes in its walls, but they didn't look unintentional, like they had been busted in or anything. It looked like they had been intended as massive windows, but no glass filled the holes. As Cheren and Noodle helped him to the Pokémon Center, he could see an enormous, bronze statue in the center of the main building. It looked like a man carved with a cloak draped across his body, and he had the vague shape of a pokémon at his feet. He also just barely saw four stairwells that snaked into separate chambers. They were the parts of the building that had walls.

The time he had to admire the building was short-lived due to his body screaming in protest. At first, Hil panicked when he didn't recognize the orange roof of a Pokémon Center anywhere, but Cheren shook his head and informed him that the Pokémon League's Pokémon Center was very old, and had been maintained as an ancient stone structure, like the rest of the League. It was built into a hollowed-out boulder to the left of the main League building. Once inside, Hil collapsed on a bench, dimly aware of the softer, sepia tones of this Pokémon Center. It also lacked a café and the stairs leading to the hostel above spiraled around its interior like a corkscrew. Cheren and Noodle flopped at his sides and they each sat there for a while.

Hil snickered once he caught his breath. "I guess whenever my body decides to cooperate again, we can go ahead into the League… Hey, Cheren? Think you could call Alder and tell him to get up here to stall N? I'm sure he's already waiting for him, and probably has been since yesterday." When Cheren gave him a dubious look, Hil huffed. "Gonna be honest. I don't really like him. So, I don't wanna call him." He decided to leave out the accusation that he was pretty sure Alder was partially responsible for his father's death. That was a battle for a different day.

"That makes two of us, then," Cheren said wryly as he pulled his Xtransceiver free. "But seeing as you sound like you're about to have a lung explode, I'll call him."

"Thanks, Daddy," Hil gasped and smirked at Cheren's amused glare.

Marlon had his orders.

He was standing at attention in the front of the Team Plasma Laboratory and it was bustling with unusual excitement for that day. Most were convened around a control panel at the far back of the room beneath a massive LED screen. Others rushed back and forth with papers and flashdrives in their hands. They were prepping for the big moment, for the revelation of N's Castle to the rest of Unova, and Marlon was their supervisor. He was no defenseman, but that was because Marlon couldn't be afforded the respect being a defenseman brought; he had the job without the glamor the title came with as Ghetsis' primary workhorse. His motivation for this task, unlike most others in his position (who did it out of true belief in Team Plasma's goals), was simply to avoid Ghetsis' rage. His forehead still bore the deep, purple bruise from where Ghetsis had thrown him to the steel wiring of Tubeline Bridge. It had also cut his chin to pieces, landing like he had, so the scabs on his chin stung if he moved his mouth too much when he spoke.

That hit had hurt far more than any other he'd suffered at Ghetsis' hand. Not because the pain was worse than any he'd ever felt (Arceus, no; Ghetsis had done far, far worse than a punch to the face), but because Marlon had noticed Ghetsis was close to divulging his full plan to this boy named Hil, and it was clear the Sage had been genuinely perturbed by the trainer. Worried Ghetsis was close to threatening their mission and that he would regret spilling his guts like that, Marlon had tried to make him stop, and what did he get for his foresight? A ruthless swipe to the face. He had tried to obey Ghetsis' every whim so well, and it seemed no matter what he did, painful retribution awaited him.

However, in that moment of confused pain, it felt as if blinders had been wrenched from his face. He realized then that it didn't matter how much he appeased Ghetsis, that it would never matter. There was always another brutal hit waiting for him, and if Ghetsis' plans for Unova succeeded, he knew it would only get worse. As he had laid against the cold bite of the steel back on the bridge, he wondered if Hil really had what it took to take N down. He had been ecstatic when the Shadow Triad had first informed Ghetsis that the Light Stone had been found and it was reacting to one of Cheren's friends rather than Cheren himself, to the point it had been difficult to keep it to himself. The despair he'd felt following meeting Cheren in Chargestone Cave had turned to sheer, blind hope that Hil would be able to end this.

It was blind hope Marlon intended to put to the test. Because when N's Castle rose before the Pokémon League, he would not be there to witness it in the end. Although he trusted the castle to rise as expected, it would be a violent process, shoving tons and tons of stone, dirt, and earth from above the castle's roof. The power would flicker, and anything not anchored down would fly, people likely included.

Marlon had every intention under the sun to use the lapse in controlled order to escape that Arceus-forsaken castle and the madman running it. He no longer cared about the consequences. If he was caught and killed, so what? At least his suffering was over. If he was caught and held captive, so what? He was already brutally beaten every day. But if he escaped, successfully, and never had to worry about coming back…

Now that… that was something worth trying for. He touched his hand to the single Poké Ball in the folded pockets of his silver robes. It was his Carracosta. He'd taken it from a truly abusive trainer as a Tirtouga from just outside of Nacrene a year ago. Clutching the Poké Ball, he felt a fond rush of memories that reminded him of why he had joined Team Plasma in the first place. It was a bittersweet feeling. He had wanted to do so much good for Unova, and now, he was ironically helping destroy it…

Never again. He'd never assist in playing god with Unova again.

He'd escape Team Plasma's clutches or die trying.