Chapter 35 The Beast of Black Ice

They had remained paused on Route 13 for quite some time. Nate struggled to regain control of his renegade emotions, but his friends did not falter, staying steadfast at his side. Both were silent; a comforting, knowing silence. It was easy to say he was glad his father was gone and he was happy to have cut his mother off, but the more he thought of it, the more he just felt like it was so… pointless…

Hugh and Rosa knew of the truth, but nobody else did. He knew if his father had been murdered, then police would be investigating, and they'd inevitably question him. He wasn't looking forward to that. Beyond that, he just wasn't sure what was worse: knowing his mother had known and believed him all along, or the fantasy where she found it too horrible to consider, and thus, had disbelieved him. It just felt it was all so… unnecessary. Why couldn't they have just… done better? Been better people? Why was that so difficult? He couldn't even fathom how his mother could have still loved his father, or cared for him, when she truly did know about it all…

Which just brought him to another conclusion that made him sob harder. His father wasn't the only one that had seen him as an object. His mother had done so in an entirely different way, treating him like a piece to a tea set, to be seen, look pretty, and act as part of the group, but never to actually talk to or deal with.

Eventually, it was Hugh that rubbed his back and quietly said, "Hey… Nate, we should really get going again. You're gonna get a killer headache after all this and you'll want some water and somewhere to lay down… I think there's this town called Lacunosa ahead." He unsteadily rose to his feet again and brushed the sand from himself. "We can stop there for the night." He gave an almost pointed look at Rosa, as if daring her to say anything else about how they needed to keep moving.

Yet, she only looked down and away from his gaze. Still sitting beside Nate and clutching his arm, she had nothing to say. Nate grunted as he fought sobs to steady his breath, trying to stand up, but she didn't let go. Wincing at the tightness of her hold, he whimpered, "Rosa… please… let go…"

Immediately, she drew her arm back and clamped both hands over the back of her head, forcing it forward so that her hair framed her face and hid it from view. Her Emboar worriedly nudged her back and she made no acknowledgment of him. "Sorry, sorry," she hoarsely apologized to Nate. "I'm… I'm sorry…" She apologized more as she dug her fingers deeper into her unkempt hair. Confused and frightened by her display, too emotionally maxed to try to think about what it was, Nate just staggered to his feet and rubbed Spacey's forehead again lovingly.

The Samurott almost purred and Nate glanced back at Rosa, still hunched over, still digging nails into her head. "Rosa," he scratchily called, "do you… still need a ride?"

There was a long silence before she finally unraveled her hands from herself and she attempted to get up, just to fall again. Hugh stepped over quickly to help her up, looking a little impatient, and with his assistance, she was soon astride Spacey's back again. Her Emboar followed close at Spacey's side, and he and Spacey traded a few looks. Spacey all but purred again encouragingly at the Emboar, but the pokémon balked at the apparent invitation to talk, cagily raising its shoulders, and looking away. Zeshi, as usual, raced ahead of them, but there was something less animated about it this time and more determined. Her ears were pushed forward, and she didn't wag her tail.

Hugh led them on to Lacunosa. He was surprisingly pleasant and patient, considering everything that was going on… Admittedly, even with their newfound closeness, Nate still didn't think he knew Hugh that well, and would have assumed with his short fuse, he would have been the last one to be so helpful when one of them was ill and the other was bordering immobile with stupid emotions. Yet, he was patient as patient could be, glancing back at them over his shoulders to check on them every few minutes.

Eventually, Lacunosa loomed over the horizon, a city of white and gray marble. Its most notable feature was a massive wall surrounding the majority of its perimeter except for where the path of Route 13 met its roads. There, the wall seemed to have crumbled away, or as if the inhabitants had broken it open and never bothered to repair the edges. Two women stood over some of the rubble, talking animatedly to one another, and Nate almost growled once he recognized them. Well, one of them, really; truthfully, he looked forward to seeing Professor Juniper now. Unlike his mother, unlike his father, she wanted him for something good. She wanted him to help combat Neo Plasma, to help people. Although he still felt she had been subtly manipulative, it wasn't like she was trying to bend him to her selfish whims. It was the other woman, Bianca, he hadn't wanted to see. His face was still red and splotchy with emotion and while Hugh seemed to have all the patience in the world in that moment, Nate felt like a gun with a hair-trigger, less than ready to deal with her defeatist attitude regarding Neo Plasma.

None of them said anything aloud even as they all clearly noticed the professor and her assistant. Upon their approach, Professor Juniper noticed them at last and she excitedly waved. Her face fell when she noticed how out of it they all seemed and, with a curt word to Bianca, she hurried closer to them. Concernedly, she crossed her arms and frowned at them. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Nothing we need to talk about right now," Hugh answered dutifully for all of them, defensively. He put his hands on his hips and sighed. "We were just going to go to the Pokémon Center and… rest for a while."

Nate didn't say anything. Clearly, Professor Juniper hadn't heard any news regarding that yet, and he wasn't about to bring it up. She didn't know his truth and wouldn't understand his bitter hatred for both of his parents… That was another frightening thought. Before, he'd had a choice to tell others about what he had gone through… but now, unless he intended to shut up and go back to his mother, he'd likely face brutal judgment if he wasn't honest about what had happened. Labeled as an ungrateful, terrible son should he remain so distant with no explanation. Yet, telling most people wasn't an optimal strategy, either… He had dealt with the burden of feeling others wouldn't believe him for so long. Hugh and Rosa might have, but that didn't mean it was out of the realm of possibility for others to disbelieve him, did it?

Realizing the situation he now found himself in, he clutched himself tightly in an almost self-hug and just stared at the ground. He hoped whoever had killed his father had gotten what they wanted from it… He supposed if they had snapped and killed him in such cold blood, he likely deserved it, so he felt a little guilty for disliking the position they had put him in. As his emotions fit back into place like a puzzle, he realized that he had always wanted his father gone, but this way made it so complicated and scary… he wished they would have done it another way… Of course, that brought some guilt, too; he had been unwilling to face his father over his abuse, yes, but that didn't mean others had to just take it…

"Hey, would you want to come with me, actually?" Professor Juniper asked gingerly, after spending a few quiet seconds surveying the group, as if realizing there was much more to their story than they were telling. "My grandmother lives here, and she'd be happy to let you guys crash for a while. She has a pretty big place from when we all used to live together." She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Those were the days. Anyway, she'd be happy to let you guys relax, and I know a house will be so much better than the Pokémon Center hostel."

Hugh turned an expectant look over at Nate, then Rosa. "That sound okay to you two?" he asked softly.

Mulling it over for a moment, Nate ended up stiffly nodding, and Rosa agreed. Normally, he'd have balked at the idea of spending the night somewhere with people he didn't know, but… he trusted Hugh and Rosa, and he had a hard time imagining an old woman doing anything out of line. Bianca feared her own shadow and Professor Juniper had good intentions. He wanted to trust them…

Armed with their responses, Hugh raised his chin back at the professor. "Yeah. That's fine… Thank you."

Bianca followed them from a distance after Professor Juniper waved a hand at her, and they all shuffled along the intricate pathways of Lacunosa for a few minutes. The city was so detailed and looked almost like every part of it was designed to work with other parts… Like the internals of a clock. He didn't have long to admire that, though, as Professor Juniper turned on her heel after a second and gestured to a rather tall house with a pathetically small front yard. "This is it!"

With that, she bounced up the front steps and knocked on the door. Before she even got to the third knock, a thin, older woman with long, white hair opened it and her face lit up as she saw them all, pale green eyes twinkling.

"Aurea!" she beamed, "It's you! And you brought friends! Who are they?" She curiously craned her neck and blithely pushed past the professor. Still without giving her a chance to respond, she eagerly waved her hand, faster than it seemed she should have been able to given the way she hobbled on her feet, and added, "Come, come, all of you! Come inside, it's bitterly cold and you look like you could use some tea and a heated blanket!"

Professor Juniper snorted and raised a hand. "Nana—"

"Nonsense, shh! I insist, inside, all of you!" the elderly woman waved a hand at Professor Juniper's face and then disappeared back inside.

Laughing, Professor Juniper held the door open and pointed inside. "Well, you heard her."

Nate gave a small smile at the genuine excitedness the older woman had shown upon seeing them, but he hated the nagging fear of her in the back of his mind, that slight apprehension that came with meeting anyone new. Shaking his head against that, he turned to Spacey to try and help Rosa off her back. He held out his hands shakily for her and Rosa… couldn't seem to even look at him. She slipped off the other side of the Samurott and limped past him, up the stairs. He watched her go with a tiny flare of panic. Why didn't she want his help? He hadn't done anything to upset her, had he? Then again, she was feeling ill… maybe she just hadn't the energy to talk, or perhaps hadn't even noticed him in her daze… Spacey nudged him out of his thoughts and he scratched her chin.

"Sorry," he apologized quietly. "Also… you're… not that small anymore and I dunno if she's got really expensive stuff just laying around…" He raised Spacey's Poké Ball and touched it to her nose, not that the Samurott protested. "I think you should just go in the Poké Ball for a little while…"

Zeshi whimpered from below him and flattened herself to the ground between his feet. Please don't put me away… I won't cause any trouble, she begged.

"Alright," Nate agreed silently as he pocketed Spacey's Poké Ball. "Just… please. Don't act out in here… I just need a while to relax."

Zeshi nodded and rubbed against his leg.

Inside, Professor Juniper's grandmother—who she insisted they call her 'Nana'—led Nate, Hugh, and Rosa to a couch situated in front of a rather impressive television set. Nate thought to question why Rosa didn't recall her Emboar, but the pokémon was surprisingly calm, sitting down just next to the couch without getting close enough for his flames to catch anything. Rosa took up that end of the couch, and after kicking off her shoes, she tucked her feet beneath her, pulling her knees to her chest, hugging them, even. Nate awkwardly sat in the middle while Hugh took up the other end. Zeshi leapt into Nate's lap and curled up there.

Nana returned shortly with a few bottles of water and handed one to each of them. At first, Rosa refused—seemingly because she just didn't notice, as she had her head down—but Nana jabbed the bottle close to her, touching her hands that were hugging her knees. "Come, come, miss, if you're sick then you need water!" Reluctantly, Rosa relaxed and accepted the water bottle, though she grimaced when she took a sip as if it took all the effort she could muster.

"You, too," Nana muttered as she pointed a finger at Nate. "You look dehydrated. Drink." As he dubiously went to take a swig from the bottle, the elderly woman grabbed for a TV remote from the coffee table ahead of them and turned the TV on. "Anything in particular you guys want to watch?" she asked.

"No," they answered almost in perfect unison. Nate felt like his eyes glazed over as he looked at the screen, unable to decrypt what he was looking at.

Nana sighed and dropped the remote back down. "Alright, well, let me know if you change your mind and I can help you find anything you want!" She clapped her hands in a way that reminded them of Professor Juniper and Nate hollowly snickered. It felt kind of nice to have someone so ready to take care of them, even if a little awkward, that minor discomfort from earlier banished.

The TV was set to some news channel, droning about the massive temperature drops near Driftveil. Nate watched, but didn't take in any information, just happy to have something else to focus on for the moment. Soon enough, though, the aerial shots of Driftveil and its drawbridge were replaced with a fuzzy, dark camera feed, which the upper left corner claimed was from the Undella Pokémon Center. Nate all but froze as he recognized his father, even in the graininess of the footage, and his Stoutland standing just beneath the camera. A figure stepped in front of him with an Emboar at their side and then the camera feed paused. The person advancing on his father was dressed in solid black, or perhaps a solid gray, and they had a helmet that resembled a biker helmet…

"This disturbing footage was lifted from the Undella Pokémon Center last night around one in the morning…."

"Can we please turn this off?" Rosa yelped, clutching at her hair. Nate dazedly shook his head and looked away as well, as if only just managing to tear his eyes away from a train wreck. Hugh stared as well for a moment before scrambling to get up and grab the remote.

"…was murdered along with his Stoutland…"

Rosa started to cry. Heavy, loud sobs that made her entire body convulse, and she dropped her water bottle to the floor. Hugh jumped at that, causing him to drop the remote under the TV stand. Nana hurried over and leaned over Rosa, wrapping an arm around her shoulders reassuringly. "Shh, shh, honey, it's okay! Aurea, what is going on?"

"I don't know, that's—" Professor Juniper paused mid-sentence and gawked at the screen. "That's…" she trailed off and just covered her mouth, then gave Nate a pained, scared look.

"The assailant is believed to be female and has a single known pokémon in an Emboar. She is believed to be between 15 and 25 years of age and although we have no knowledge of her personal appearance, she was seen in the footage wearing a motorcycle helmet with a diamond-shaped visor, and called herself the Queen of Diamonds. If you know anything, anything at all, please give—"

Hugh finally recovered the remote and turned the TV off, sitting back on the couch with the controller firmly in his grasp. He worriedly looked at Nate and then Rosa, and then grimaced at the remote. "Maybe no TV is best for now…"

Nate had been shocked to see news footage of his father, and it had drummed up the emotions he had just barely managed to control earlier, but more than anything, he was just unsettled by Rosa's reaction. He watched in abject confusion as Nana had to haul her to her feet and started to shuffle her away down a hall, throwing something over her shoulder about how she was likely out of it from being ill and the story had just upset her. Nate swallowed hard against the rising lump in his throat, the words from the anchor's broadcast forgotten quickly in the stress of the moment.

Perhaps if he had remembered them, he would have been able to pick up the eerie parallels, of the assailant having been a young woman with an Emboar; he certainly would have at least found it odd that the attacker was a woman, considering his father's preference for his younger victims tended to be male, which would have made him realize his assumption that the attacker was another victim was likely wrong. But he couldn't put that together. Most certainly not right then.

Professor Juniper replaced Rosa on the couch and sadly shook her head.

"Nate, I had no idea…" she almost whimpered. "I had no idea. Why didn't you say something?"

He raised his shoulders and looked down, suddenly feeling very trapped. "I didn't want to," he answered guardedly, scooting a little closer to Hugh. She was going to force him to explain. She was going to try to make him feel better and if he showed his distaste for his parents, then she'd be angry, and he'd have no choice. The realization he might have had no choice at all about it now made him so, so uncomfortable…

"Nate… I know he's your father… We're all here for you, okay?"

"I said I don't want to!" Nate snarled at her furiously, jolting enough to knock Zeshi clear of his lap. She landed awkwardly and hid under the coffee table, whining at them. Professor Juniper shrank away from his tone and looked so, so confused.

"He… that was your father, wasn't it…?" she asked dumbly.

"Yes, now will you leave it alone?" Hugh pitched in, growling. Nate took a shuddery breath against the tears that wanted to spill at how grateful he was for Hugh's interjection. "He's clearly upset and doesn't wanna talk about it. Why are you pressing it?"

"I just…"

She was cut off by Nana hobbling back into the room. "Sorry, got her squared away in a bedroom so she could get some sleep. Girl looks like she ain't slept all night and… she got sick." Nana grimaced and then started to wave Professor Juniper away again. "Move, you're upsetting them. They don't wanna talk about it, that's fine, I'll talk to them about something else."

Unceremoniously booted from her position on the couch, Professor Juniper groaned and flopped down in a nearby chair. "Fine. You gonna tell them about more of your fables?"

Anything except prying about my dad is more than welcome, Nate thought bitterly, still glaring at the professor, as if challenging her to say anything else. Although incredibly grateful he had managed to dodge having to explain himself, it was infuriating to know their sympathy likely came because they thought he was upset over his father's death. They had no idea, and they'd never know unless he told them, and even then… He just clenched his fists tightly. He hated this.

"It's not a fable," Nana pointedly shot back at the professor. "Why would we have those big walls if it was just a story?" She shook her head disappointedly and then smiled warmly at Nate and Hugh. "Don't mind her. She got so much science in that head of hers, she forgot how to have a little fun sometimes." She winked and then cleared her throat. "Now… I wanted to tell you all the Lacunosa Legend. The story of the Beast of Black Ice."

Nate winced. "I'm not really feeling up to a horror story," Nate lamely muttered. He despised horror and high-stakes adventure stories. He got enough of that in real life.

"Oh, come now, it's a story used to put children to bed," she laughed.

Professor Juniper, unamused, crossed her arms. "It is, now?"

"Yes, now shh, Aurea. Now… Lacunosa is a very old town. When it was just a small village, the original King of Unova and his monarchy still stood. Yet, as he and his brother waged a war between themselves, a beastly pokémon started to travel across the lands. It seemed to enjoy coming to Lacunosa in particular… It would bring with it cold, sweeping winds, and only attack at night. We adapted by having everyone keep themselves and their pokémon indoors as soon as dusk set in and we constructed those protective walls. Eventually, the King and his brother were able to set aside their differences long enough to battle the Beast of Black Ice just beyond our borders." She paused and raised a hand, as if gesturing to the sky, even though they were indoors. Nate followed her hand, tentatively lending his mind's eye to her story, finding solace in thinking about anything else at that moment. "They lit up the world with their fire, lightning, and ice, tearing the landscape asunder they drove the beast toward the Giant Chasm. It roared and blasted ice across the land, but they broke its body and it was locked in the deepest recesses of the mountains… Lacunosa was safe from then on, and for a while, it appeared the King and his brother might reconcile."

Nate was doing his best to imagine her story, to pay no mind to the world around him, because that world was difficult right then and despite his insistence he didn't want an exciting story, her words did enthrall him. Oh, to imagine a starry, night sky over that picturesque city of marble, to imagine a dragon of lightning and fire teaming up against a monstrous creature of dark ice, their respective trainers at their sides, lighting the sky up in spectacular reds and blues in their determination to be rid of that monster. His breath hitched a little as he imagined that. There was nothing more moving to him than imagining people coming together despite all their painful differences against a terrible threat… and overcoming that threat anyway.

He shut his eyes and practiced his breathing for a moment. In fact, he lavished that thought. Setting his jaw, he thought to Rosa and Hugh, and how they had their sharp ups and downs throughout their journey. Rosa was ill and potentially still dealing with her own issues, but he had to just steel his jaw against the thoughts. They'd deal with that too, given time; they'd battle Neo Plasma as needed to help Hugh. He would face Gym Leader Drayden and learn what he could from him. He was free of his venomous parents and he was with people who cared, now, and—still thinking of that image of the Ancient Dragons of Unova standing at their trainers' sides—he felt a surge of violent, stubborn determination, enough to make his heart pound and his blood feel like fire in his veins.

This was his family now and he'd do anything to protect it. He just kept looping back to that thought, like a broken record, but that didn't bother him. If that was his new mantra, so be it.

"Nana…" Professor Juniper swallowed, drawing him out of his thoughts for a moment. Nate let go of a breath he didn't realize he had held and found that he was trembling slightly in anticipation. He slowly glanced to the professor and her grandmother.

"Yes, Aurea?" Nana asked patiently.

"You… you said it brought cold winds and it battled the Ancient Dragons of Unova… right? Was it also a Dragon-type pokémon, according to this legend?" Professor Juniper's eyes were wide as saucers. Bianca, who had been standing awkwardly in the kitchen most of the time, slowly ambled over to stand next to the professor, looking just as enraptured.

"Uh, well… yes," Nana answered with a frown, then smirked. "Why, I thought you didn't care for such stories anymore, Aurea?"

"You never mentioned that it was a Dragon-type to me before," Professor Juniper said breathlessly. "Or that it battled the Twin Heroes' Ancient Dragons… Giant Chasm has always been so cold and difficult to study at… There are Absol everywhere, and contrary to popular belief, Absol warn people of impending danger and doom… Oh, my Arceus… Oh, my Arceus… It's been right under my nose this whole time!"

"That's because you'd start bawling whenever I told you it ate people and pokémon after dark," Nana snorted, dubiously failing to react to her granddaughter's exclamation at the end.

Professor Juniper flushed a deep, crimson red, and then groaned. "Nana! Don't ruin it! I think you just solved our problem!"

"I did?" Nana blinked. "What problem?"

"The Ancient Dragon of Unova that Neo Plasma says they have! It isn't Reshiram or Zekrom!" Professor Juniper exclaimed. She jumped up and grabbed Bianca by the shoulders, shaking her violently. "It's the Beast of Black Ice! And—" She gasped and let go of Bianca, covering her mouth, her face contorting in a terrorized expression. "That pokémon destroyed things with ice according to your story… It… if it's with Neo Plasma… Oh, my Arceus, we've got to get to Opelucid right now! Drayden has to know something!"

"Professor!" Bianca whimpered, stepping away from her. "He—he won't talk to us! You know that!"

"Then we'll make him talk!" Professor Juniper snapped back.

"I'll go," Nate said, standing up right away.

Hugh followed suit and put a hand on his shoulder. Nate almost flinched, but caught himself and gave Hugh a curt, yet appreciative nod. It was such a brief, quick interaction, yet without saying anything, they both understood one thing: they'd have one another's backs no matter what. Nate had to just sigh happily at that realization. It was so nice to be able to just… depend on someone…

Hugh gave a determined grin and turned to the professor and her assistant. "So will I."

"Um, what about your friend? I don't mind if she stays, but what should I tell her once she wakes up?" Nana chimed in worriedly.

"Tell her to come to call me, my name's Nate," Nate told her matter-of-factly. "She can come meet us in Opelucid if she's feeling up to it, too."

"Gotcha," Nana dipped her head respectfully, then smiled widely at them. "I don't know what you all are talking about, to be honest, but I hope whatever it is, you all are very successful."

Nate darted ahead of the group, eager to get out the door. His feet and hands felt like they were on fire with the need to get going. "Don't worry. I don't plan to lose." He didn't know what battle he was referring to, but he didn't need to know—he didn't plan to lose no matter what. Yet, as soon as he pushed open the door and burst into the cool midafternoon air of Lacunosa, he was halted by a pokémon standing in front of him. Zeshi burst out the door after him and she stopped, fur fluffed and on end, as she overlooked it as well.

That's Virizion! Zeshi breathily exclaimed to him.

The pokémon turned to its side, showing off its Deerling-like quadruped body, black and green hooves clicking against the stone. People had gathered around, anxiously poking their heads out of doorways or stopping in their places along the sidewalk, to stare. Virizion turned its head to Nate and then nodded respectfully, shaking out its entire body, the leafy protrusions over its rear shivering. Nate blinked and softly whispered, "I don't… I don't understand…"

Virizion snorted and scuffed the ground.

Virizion says there isn't much time, Zeshi said. Sh-she wants you to get on her back…

Professor Juniper, Bianca, and Hugh rolled out after her, each looking as shocked as the rest of the humans around. Their questions fell on deaf ears as Nate slowly and cautiously moved forward, as if possessed, and then swallowed hard. He cringed as he tossed a leg over the legendary pokémon, expecting to be bucked off, but instead, Virizion almost purred and lowered her head determinedly.

"Nate, what's going on?" Professor Juniper breathlessly questioned. She looked as if she might have had a heart attack with the way she clutched her heart and her eyes bulged from their sockets. Hugh didn't look much different, but he looked less fearful, and more amazed. Bianca backpedaled in uncertainty.

"You said you wanted me to battle Gym Leader Drayden to show him that there's still hope," Nate whispered. His hands shook as he fitted them over the smooth, green horns on either side of Virizion's head. It felt like they were designed for him to hold. Steeling his voice, he said, "So, that's what I'm going to do." Maybe… maybe even with Virizion's help…

Zeshi leaned up against Virizion's legs and Nate recalled her to her Poké Ball. She didn't protest at all.

Hugh nodded, slowly at first, but growing more excited and wild. Eventually, he pumped a fist into the air, whooping victoriously. "Go, show him who he should believe in, rather than those two Heroes that bailed on us!" Hugh cockily exclaimed.

Others around, although with less conviction, similarly pumped their fists and whooped for him. Nate smiled brokenly and gasped in shock. He couldn't believe this…

Virizion cried out and reared up suddenly. Nate gripped her horns tightly and hunched down as a stupid grin spread across his face, and then she took a flying leap forward. She was beyond fast, sailing past the awed and terrified townsfolk of Lacunosa, and with a powerful leap of her haunches, cleared their massive surrounding wall like it was no problem at all. She landed with a grunt and a hard clack of her hooves against the grasslands of Route 12. Ahead of the gentle, sloping hills, a bridge oversaw a massive channel of water. Yet, it was no ordinary bridge. Houses lined the aged, lovingly-crafted cobblestone of the bridge. Given different circumstances, even he might have paused to admire it, but he was on a mission, and once again, he and Virizion dashed past the starstruck passersby, clearing obstacles with graceful, precise leaps.

Whatever was waiting for him in Opelucid, he felt like he was more than ready.

"Is it done?"

Dr. Colress jolted awake and accidentally caught his hand against a sharp edge of the massive harness sprawled around him, spilling off his desk and partly into the floor. He winced at the blood that dribbled down his finger, but quickly nodded. "Yes, uncle."

"Good." Ghetsis held out his right hand, visibly straining beneath the black cloak. "Shadow Triad, come to me!" He darkly laughed. "It's showtime…"

Dr. Colress leaned his head tiredly against his left arm, slumped over a tiny sliver of empty space on his desk. He hadn't heard anything from Rosa in a while, and although he would never have admitted it (nor did he likely even realize he did), he missed her. He was exhausted from hammering away at the stupid harness for Kyurem and part of him was worried that perhaps he had broken Miss Rosa, like a new favorite toy he had played too hard with. He knew what Ghetsis was planning with Kyurem and the harness, knew what he had in store for Opelucid, and while Dr. Colress didn't particularly care for the people living there…

He knew once those icy cannons fired off, there was no turning back. They'd be at war with Unova and he would forever be bound to his uncle until he managed to top him, somehow. Ghetsis jabbed that cane at him as the Shadow Triad shuffled into the room and started to prepare to drag the harness away. "But you're not done, Colress." Ghetsis tossed his cane at him then. Dr. Colress caught it out of reflex despite his tiredness. "I know it already can control Kyurem with the harness. But I want it to do something else, too."

Dr. Colress rubbed his bleary eyes. "What?"

"I want it to be able to jam the signals to Poké Balls and I want it to be able to prevent any Poké Balls from functioning within a large radius around it. Enough to encompass the entirety of Kyurem's inner chamber at Giant Chasm."

He just sighed. "Yes, uncle."

Maybe I should try calling her to see what she is doing now, he thought as he overturned the cane in his shaky grasp. Last night was quite unexpected, but… if she can do that… He looked up and at Ghetsis as he exited the room. What else can she do?

Grimsley crossed his arms and muttered defeatedly as Hil withdrew his Liepard, Lucky. "Fine. I'll admit it. You've improved."

Hil triumphantly pumped a fist. They were in the top of Grimsley's chambers, at his battlefield. Where Lucky had once been running scared from Grimsley's Liepard, Lucky had been the one to send his team mostly packing this time. She was swifter, stronger, and far more confident than the last time Grimsley had seen her. All of his pokémon had improved greatly since the last time the Elite Four had seen him. He beat them all on his first try. Had someone told me I'd have ever beaten them that easily, he thought to himself amusedly, I'd have laughed at them!

"Now battle him. Let him show me he won't get himself killed out there," Grimsley said, jabbing a finger behind Hil. Hil turned on his heel and beamed at Church, who looked like he was bouncing from foot to foot as he darted over to take Grimsley's place on the other end of the battlefield. Rolling his eyes at him, Grimsley started to stalk away, teasing his messy hair back into the shape he normally liked it. Of course, he hadn't taken a shower or used any product yet that day, so it was a fruitless effort, and he quickly grew frustrated and dropped his hands back to his sides. "Also, there better be some liquor still in my kitchen," he snapped at Church.

"Yeah, yeah," Church said, waving him away, snatching a Premier Ball from his belt. He bounced it eagerly in his palm and brushed some rusty hair from his face. "You ready?" he asked excitedly, "Or do you need to heal…?"

Hil grinned and held up Crest's, his Simipour's, Poké Ball. "Nah, I think I'm good."

"Oh-ho, you don't think I'll be a challenge, huh?" Church taunted, pitching the Poké Ball. His Volcarona, the same one Hil had spotted during his and Grimsley's argument, spilled free in a flash of sparkling white light. Hil almost had to laugh. The glittery, showy Premier Ball fit Church so well.

Hil tossed Crest's Poké Ball. "I dunno, will you?" Of course, despite his taunts, Hil had no idea what to expect. He had seen Church's pokémon before but had never seen them battle. For all he knew, Church was about to mop the floor with him and then some.

Church cockily crossed his hands behind the back of his neck and winked, still broadly smiling, showing off so much of himself in that teasing way he was so good at. His confidence had slowly seeped back into his actions throughout the day, as Hil battled the other Elite Four, and he was so glad to see it come back. As much as he enjoyed how vulnerable Church could be with him, he hadn't liked the implication it was because he was constantly afraid of Hil leaving, or of upsetting Hil. He liked this gentle playfulness. It reminded him a lot of their very first meeting back in Nacrene, during which he'd stolen Hil's hat. Hil had to snicker to himself. He had been so blind to such obvious flirting back then.

Almost singing, Church called, "Let's see, then~ Volcarona, Quiver Dance!"

Nah-ah. I know better than that now. You aren't settin' up on me. Hil smirked. "Crest, Taunt!"