As if they had all forgotten it was Champion Iris and Gym Leader Clay that really pioneered these meetings, the rest of them nodded in tentative unison at Nate's orders. Inspired, Hil turned to Church and hugged him tightly. Upon breaking the embrace, he gripped the other's forearms reassuringly. "You still want to come?" Hil asked softly. Part of Hil worried about having Church along now that he knew Neo Plasma had the DNA Splicers, and could potentially absorb Reshiram… He gnawed his lower lip. He didn't want to go back on his promise to Church, that they would handle this together, but… they had made that before learning that detail… He shook away the thoughts as soon as Church responded.
"You can't get rid of me that easily," Church laughed breathlessly, cracking a grin.
Without waiting to see what any of the others would do, Hil started toward the front of the Pokémon Center. He nearly was outside when he felt pressure on his right shoulder. Turning around, he found Cheren clutching him tightly, his face white as a sheet. His old friend floundered for something to say momentarily, and then his eyes welled up, alarming Hil. He knew he hadn't seen Cheren in a long time, that he had gone through a lot since then… but he had never seen Cheren look so… dejected… "I… I don't know what to say, Hil… I don't know what's happened to us, to me." He paused. "I just… if anything happens to you, I don't want what I said last night to be the last thing you heard from me…" He shuffled forward uneasily and stiffly hugged Hil, patting his upper back. Hil returned the gesture, heart bleeding for the other. I know none of this can have been easy… I never should have left… Not like that, not at all… Sucking in a fast breath, Cheren whispered, "Good luck… Please be careful… We lost you once… We… I don't want to lose you again… I want to believe in you…"
"I'll be careful… and Cheren?" Hil said as he was freed from Cheren's hopeless hug. "If you want to believe, then do." He smiled uneasily against the emotions storming in his mind. "We need all of that we can get right now…" I know that's easier said than done… but what else can I say? I hate seeing him like this…
Softly, Cheren mumbled as he looked down to his shoes. "I'll try."
Church grabbed Hil's hand and squeezed slightly, reassuringly, and Hil wearily sighed. "Seeya later, Daddy," he laughed halfheartedly to Cheren. "And don't worry." Hil jerked his head toward Church and snickered. "I've got my good luck charm with me."
Cheren gave an ugly snort. "Seeya, Hil…" He eyed Church curiously, whose face started to flush as red as his hair at Hil's compliment.
"Oh, if only…" Church laughed uneasily, averting his gaze, not that anyone noticed.
Outside, Hil pitched the Light Stone, and before it even touched Icirrus' snowy ground, the pokémon unfolded from the sphere with an otherworldly roar. Its tail blazed the usual red-orange flames, but mixed with them was a blinding, blue fire, and its azure eyes glowed when it whipped its head around to stare at Hil and Church. Although Hil had only seen Reshiram in its true form fleetingly over the course of the last two years, he had never seen it like that… Apprehensive at first, Hil calmed when he thought he somehow knew exactly what Reshiram was telling him: It's time to right our wrongs.
He and Church climbed aboard, and Reshiram blasted into the sky with frantic beats of its wings, the blaze in its tail never fading.
Reshiram was angry.
Hil was determined and had Church at his side—there was nobody else he could have better imagined in that position, even if it was nerve-wracking.
More than anything, they were all full of hope—and there was nothing more dangerous than innocence, than blind hope.
As the rest of the League Staff got themselves and their trainers ready to start heading for the Giant Chasm, Nate informed Rosa that he and Hugh were headed there as well. As he stood in the doorway to their hostel room where he had left her following their fateful, lovely morning, anxiously dancing from foot to foot in his eagerness to leave, she strutted over to him in nothing more than that loosely-fitting set of pajamas she had covered herself with earlier, and hugged him. He confidently took it in stride, without so much as a momentary flare of panic; it was hard to still be so easily frightened by it with her after that morning. "I believe in you, Nate," she whispered into his ear once he explained. "I'm… going to stay here… I don't think I'd be much help…"
"I don't want you to go, anyway," Nate swiftly said. The last thing he wanted was for her to put herself unnecessarily in danger… especially after that morning. He had a better time believing Hugh could hold his own, or that he could protect Hugh if it came down to the wire. He couldn't guarantee the same protection to both should they have both followed him, though. He hugged her back, squeezing her a little harshly, almost possessively, and sighed contentedly. "I'll be back, Rosa. I promise."
With that, he and Hugh had bolted for the front of the Pokémon Center. Upon stepping out into the snowy atmosphere, he saw Hil and Reshiram just as they disappeared over the horizon. When he looked back down, thinking to draw Risk from his Poké Ball to follow, Nate gasped, and Hugh stumbled into him in shock. Lined in front of him was not just Virizion, nor even just her and Cobalion, but a third pokémon as well, the one from Route Four he had seen all that time ago that he hadn't recognized! Zeshi bolted from between his legs and yipped excitedly at the Swords of Justice. Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion! They're all here!
Cobalion stepped forward and nudged an empty Poké Ball on Nate's belt, then dipped its head. The other two did the same.
They… they want you to catch them… Zeshi whispered in wonder. She gleefully lost her awe as she ran in circles around them. This is amazing, Nate! The Swords of Justice are helping! Reshiram and the Hero of Truths are here! We've got to win this!
Momentarily fearful, losing the angry nerve he'd had back in the Pokémon Center some, Nate uncertainly looked to Hugh. Did these three… godlike pokémon really want him?
Hugh shrugged and put his hands behind his head, digging the fingers into his wild, unkempt hair. The glossiness of his crimson eyes betrayed his own amazement at the sight before him. "Well?" Hugh asked almost amusedly. "What are you waiting for? Catch them and let's get the hell over there to help—ow!" Hugh jumped suddenly, and he and Nate both jerked their heads to look at the source of his discomfort. A fourth pokémon, shorter and slightly smaller than the other three, had joined them. Looking like a pale, scrawnier Zebstrika without the stripes and a longer mane, it bumped a stubby horn on its head against Hugh's thigh.
That's Keldeo! Zeshi beamed, rushing up to the new pokémon. It stared at her expressionlessly, then neighed loudly, glaring up at Hugh impatiently.
"Looks like I'm not the only one they want to help," Nate cockily told Hugh.
Hugh sounded like he might faint. "Is this… the fourth one, that Professor Juniper told me about…? Keldeo…? And it wants… me? Of everyone here, it wants me?" He sounded so truly confused, as if he couldn't comprehend why anything on Earth could have possibly wanted him.
Nate, raising him an empty Poké Ball, nodded reassuringly. "I think it does."
Cautiously staring at the Poké Ball, Hugh gulped anxiously and then took it in his palm. With a steadying breath, he turned back to Keldeo with it. "Then I won't let you down!" Hugh exclaimed, lunging forward, with that Poké Ball extended toward Keldeo's nose. "We'll unleash our rage together!"
Keldeo bayed excitedly and jumped, kicking out its back legs.
Nate whooped in agreement as he snatched some more empty Poké Balls from his pocket. "Neo Plasma goes down today!" With that, he dipped his head respectfully to the three Swords of Justice in front of him, and one-by-one, touched an empty Poké Ball to their bodies, and they allowed themselves to be caught without a problem.
As soon as Nate had left the room, Rosa had darted over to her bag, throwing everything out of it until she found the suit and unfolded it. Her Emboar wandered over to her and worriedly snorted, poking at her and trying to get her attention, but she irritably shrugged him off and ignored him. Desperately slipping that close-fitting mesh over herself, over her clothes, then fitting that helmet on, she sighed as that rush of exhilaration took hold. The rest of the world was uncontrollable and wild, but as the Queen of Diamonds, she was absolutely in control of herself, or at least, that was what she told herself repeatedly as she adjusted the suit and then glowered at her Emboar.
Nate was going to face Neo Plasma and she had no intentions of letting him do that. Either way, if Nate succeeded in getting into the Plasma Frigate, she knew it would mean either something bad would happen to her and Dr. Colress for her failure to act on her task, or Ghetsis would turn his hostility on her for real, or potentially even both. It didn't matter, she just knew the outcome would be unpleasant. Beyond the logistics of her decision, though, there was something sickeningly enjoyable about directing Nate without him having any idea… Oh, how easy it had been to get him to melt under her touch and kind words earlier that day… He was much easier and much more inviting than Dr. Colress. Of course, she knew that was because Nate trusted her, having known her for some six or seven years, while Dr. Colress was under the twisted influence of his uncle. Her lips twitched as she thought of that. She hated Ghetsis and everything he had done to Dr. Colress. If it weren't for him, things might've not had to be the way they were… If it weren't for him, Dr. Colress would be salvageable.
"You failed your trial," Dr. Colress' voice abruptly and coldly filled her helmet. Rosa curled her lip at it.
"So, what?" she snapped. "Gonna sic the Shadow Triad after me? Go ahead and fucking do it, then, y'know. As long as dear old Uncle says yes. Wouldn't want to make him mad, would we?" You pathetic shell of a man. To think I wanted to help you. To think I still fucking want to help you for some goddamn reason.
"Don't play this game with me, Miss Rosa," Dr. Colress told her in a frighteningly quiet tone, one that almost made her wish he had yelled instead. "I told you before. I don't want to hurt you."
"Too fucking late!" Rosa howled, momentarily forgetting the thin walls of the hostel. "You think you haven't hurt me yet in all of this?" she shrilly demanded. "Are you stupid?" What about my Emboar? What about threatening me when you wanted to give me this suit? What about praising me for killing Nate's dad? What about standing there and fucking watching while Ghetsis did… She shivered violently at the memory. While Ghetsis put his hands all over me? Ordering me to kill Nate?!
"You think I have hurt you?" he asked darkly.
Rosa glared at her Emboar, hoping that he was watching through its eyes. "Yes," she said deliberately, annunciating every syllable clearly. Fuck you, Dr. Colress.
"Mm. I'm sorry to hear that, Miss Rosa. After all, it's not like you've harmed anyone, is it? Especially after last night, and this morning…" he trailed off. He sounded almost… bitter. Rosa cracked a slack-jawed grin beneath her visor at that thought. Oh, is he jealous? she thought gleefully.
"Aw… Dr. Colress," Rosa crooned tauntingly, "you're not jealous, are you? After this morning? Sorry, did you catch sight of some of that action?"
"Not at all," he answered her initial question curtly, ignoring the following jeers.
Her Emboar suddenly squealed and toppled backwards unceremoniously. Rosa's grin fell and she darted forward, hunching over the pokémon's body, panicking when she saw the flames on its head die. The light in its eyes faded in a way just like Nate's father's had in Undella… and she grabbed Emboar by his shoulders, shaking him violently. "Emboar? Emboar!" Her ears rang and she felt like she was tingling all over, unable to believe how quickly and cleanly it had happened… The realization that she no longer would have that pokémon at her side, gone in the snap of Dr. Colress' fingers… She let go of its shoulders and then slammed her fists down on him instead. She knew something like this was bound to happen, and yet, it hurt anyway! She gritted her teeth against the emotions that wanted to pour forth and she screamed back into that helmet, "Fuck you, Dr. Colress! I'm not the one that lets their uncle tell them what to do all the time! He plays you like a goddamn fiddle!"
"Tough words from a dead woman," Dr. Colress growled.
She wondered what that meant but didn't have to wait long for her answer as a member of the Shadow Triad appeared in front of her. Despite her best efforts to remain out of his reach, all it took was a single touch to her arm, and she was on the floor of that fucking Frigate again, in a room that looked as if it might have been the ship's helm. Glass windows lined the walls and a massive monitor proudly sat at the front. She scrambled to her feet from the dull, teal floor, turning to face Dr. Colress. He stood with his hands familiarly clasped behind his back in front of said monitor, his head cocked slightly down as he scowled disappointedly at her from beneath his glasses.
"You interfered with my experiments," he told her bluntly, raising his chin slightly. The light flashed across his glasses as he did.
Rosa bared her teeth at him like a rabid Herdier. As far as she was concerned, she had so little left to lose… She took a deep breath. No, Rosa—no. You are the Queen of Diamonds. You own this. Fucking act like it! "Fuck your experiments! Fuck you! Fuck Neo Plasma! Fuck this region! Fuck this world!" Stamping a foot, she gave him the finger and added, "I hate you all! I'll take this suit and I'll be damned if anyone ever sees me again! I'm my own person, goddamn it, Dr. Colress! I'll do anything to prove it, no matter who it hurts!"
"No matter who, hmm?" he asked quietly, a wicked grin spreading on his face. "Oh, my, Miss Rosa… You do still fascinate me. What a shame you interfered with my experiments!" He held out his arm. "Shadow Triad! Come to me!"
Obediently, they appeared at the edges of the room. Rosa shot them all a cruel, angry glare.
"Bring me Nathan Daniels," Dr. Colress huskily ordered them.
"Bring him here!" Rosa screamed. She could hardly think as it felt like she might have a stroke, with her heart thrumming as fast as it was, with that tingling sensation spreading throughout her body. She was the Queen of Diamonds. She was in her suit. Nothing could hurt her, and nothing could control her. She had lost Emboar, but… but… she still had some other pokémon… she didn't need them, anyway. She had her suit. She had herself!
Of course, she didn't want to think about what would happen once Nate actually arrived, so she conveniently just didn't. She didn't want to hurt him…
…unless she had to.
Nate was riding Risk's back while Hugh flew nearby on his own Unfezant. Behind him, a whole army of people on Flyers followed. After seeing him and Hugh catch the Swords of Justice, Champion Iris had approached them and asked if they would help lead the charge into the attack on the Plasma Frigate alongside her. Nate's pride had swelled at the Champion, however little faith he had in her at that moment, asking him for assistance and naturally, he had agreed. Nothing could top the wind in his hair, the adrenaline-fueled apprehension, as they soared on their way to take down the (arguably) greatest threat Unova had ever faced. Not only did he have Hugh at his side and the gym leaders, the Elite Four, the Champion, even, behind him, but various trainers that studied at each of the many gyms had come to assist as well (well, barring those from Humilau; Clay and Iris had both decided Humilau was unsafe to contact with current concerns over Marlon's allegiance).
So, one could imagine his panic when the sky was suddenly traded for the interior of a ship's helm. Risk screeched at the teleport and slammed into a glass window, as he had still been flying when they had been transported. Nate, overwhelmed with a wave of nausea, winced as he fell ungraciously from Risk and onto a lever, and then to the floor. He swallowed hard against the urge to vomit and his arms trembled as he tried to lift himself from the ground, looking around confusedly until he froze upon spotting two figures. He tugged his dark gray jacket close to himself as he scrambled to his feet, and Risk, upon shaking out his feathers and regaining his bearings, landed beside Nate, scratching his talons against the tile anxiously.
It was that scientist with the weird blue scanner again… but he wasn't alone. The woman that had stopped him from tracking down the Shadow Triad in Opelucid was there, too. Her digital eyes narrowed at him cautiously and she put her hands on her hips. Frazzled from the teleportation, it took Nate a moment to piece together that most likely meant he was somewhere on the Frigate… He blanched. The League Staff had already been so difficult to motivate earlier… What would seeing him vanish into nothingness in midair do? What about Hugh? Frustrated, he slammed a foot against the ground and snarled at them, "Who are you both? What do you want with me? Why teleport me here?" Please, guys… don't give up, get over here… I can't do this all alone…
The scientist, hands tucked neatly behind his back, was expressionless and unreadable as he regarded Nate. "I have no interest in you, Nathan Daniels. However, she does." He gestured with his chin toward the suited woman ahead of him. "Meet the Queen of Diamonds, Mr. Daniels. Though, I think you might know her by a different name. Shadow Triad, hold her steady and reveal her for me."
"What the hell does any of that mean?" Nate sharply asked, even though he didn't like where that was going. He thought back to the moment on the ice in Opelucid, when the Queen of Diamonds had known Hugh's name… He watched fearfully, though he honestly didn't want to, as the Shadow Triad materialized around the girl and grabbed her by her arms. She kicked and violently tried to wrench herself from their grasp, but all it took was one of them managing to hit a button on the underside of her helmet to raise her visor. A part of Nate had expected it to be Rosa the second the scientist—Dr. Colress, he thought he remembered that being his name, from Castelia—had said that he would have known her by a different name, even if by sheer process of elimination (he didn't know many women that would have fit the description), but all he could do upon the revelation was stare at her.
Rosa fell still in the Shadow Triad's grasp and looked back at Nate with glassy eyes. "Nate…"
"How long?" Nate bitingly demanded, tears welling in his eyes. Suddenly, the pleasant morning they had shared didn't seem so pleasant. It felt as revolting and uncomfortable as any other time he'd ever been intimate. He shook his head, trying to banish that sensation which made his legs seize, his skin crawl, his eyes glaze over with the desire to de-focus on the world around him.
"Nate, please, I didn't ever want to—"
"How long?" Nate savagely repeated, cutting her off as tears poured free. He tried so hard to keep from crying whenever he thought about that sort of thing… It just made him feel worse in the end. But he had trusted Rosa and he had enjoyed doing so, even. The betrayal was far more painful than anything he had ever felt before. At least with his father, he always had the comforting thought that he didn't enjoy it, that his father was entirely to blame, but Rosa had gotten in his head, abused his desperation to learn the proper ways of loving, had… manipulated him into wanting her. It was a horrible, deep-seated blow at his heart, yet, beyond the pain in the tears it dredged up, there was red-hot anger, too.
How dare she do that to me.
How dare she make me feel this way after watching me try so hard to escape and heal from all of that, after knowing my story!
How dare she make me feel this way, how dare she do this to me, when I trusted her!
"How long were you working for them? Was anything you did with us ever real?" Risk shrieked at her in an accusatory way as well. "What did you even have to gain by helping them? They want to fucking destroy the region, Rosa!" Clenching his fists and shivering in anger, he wanted to scream something else at her. What did you have to gain by using me? Where did that even fit in? Or… was it just to satisfy your own selfish wants…? Was all of it… just to satisfy yourself?
He set his jaw furiously. How dare she put her desires above her friends, above their perfectly imperfect found family!
How dare she throw that away!
The Shadow Triad stepped away from Rosa and she clasped her hands together in front of her as if she were praying. "Nate, please! I—I don't even know how it got this far, but I never wanted to hurt you!"
"Liar!" Nate snarled. "You're a fucking liar! I don't even have to know the details to know that much! You're the same as my dad, same as Ghetsis, same as the rest of these scum trying to help Neo Plasma! Concerned only with your selfish fucking wants!" Shaking in his rage, tears still flowing, Nate heaved and waved a fist at her. "Now, Hugh is out there alone with Champion Iris, directing everyone over here to the Frigate, and if I can't be there to help them, that's blood on your hands if anything happens to them, Rosa!"
"She's no stranger to blood on her hands," Dr. Colress coldly commented. "How many are on your hands now, Miss Rosa? Mr. Daniels in Undella, his Stoutland, and that Emboar of yours… Three." He expectantly turned his amber eyes to Nate. "Are you prepared to make it four?"
Blinking stupidly, Nate whirled back on Rosa. "What is he…?" Nate trailed off as he remembered the TV at Nana's in Lacunosa. The way Rosa had started bawling and had been ill the entire day, had apparently been up the entire night before… He gaped in horror and backpedaled from her, pointing a finger at her in disbelief. "You… you killed him?"
"What, you're mad I took him out of your life?" Rosa incredulously asked, her innocent façade from seconds ago fading instantly, which spoke volumes to Nate about how much actual remorse she could have had. Someone wracked with guilt didn't flip on a dime like that.
"Actually, yes!" Nate retorted, wiping his face clear of tears. "Yes, because now, once all this shit is over, I have to deal with the court of public opinion on why I hate my dead dad! I get to explain to everyone everything that happened to me, or I look like an asshole, or I have to lie, and then when they find out I lied, I look like an even BIGGER asshole! So, yeah! You just… you just fucking decided to kill him? Just how big is your ego, Rosa?"
"I don't need this, and I don't need you," Rosa spat, clenching her fists at her side. "Getting shit for killing a pedophile. Maybe he was right when he said you enjoyed it," she laughed darkly as she shut her visor and the digital eyes lit back up. "Let's fucking go, then, Nate!"
Nate shook his head, beyond confused and lost, clenching his eyes shut at her words… her biting, damaging words… "You're… demented. Go? Go… what?" he asked through a mouth of sandpaper.
Without a word, she lunged at him, and Nate instinctively reached for his Poké Balls, tossing them all. In seconds, Terrakion used its bulky body to rush at Rosa and pin her against the opposing wall, utilizing its massive horns like a cage to prevent her from squirming free. As added motivation to stay there, Cobalion and Virizion flanked Terrakion on either side, threateningly pointing their antlers and horns at her. Zeshi snarled and barked furiously from behind them, the air around her distorted with darkness. Spacey wielded a seamitar, bouncing it expectantly from hand to hand, occasionally clacking it against the floor. Risk hovered in the air above her, screeching anxiously, ready to attack if needed as well.
"Get the fuck away from me!" Rosa shrieked at the pokémon surrounding her, her digital eyes narrowing to slits at them. When nobody said or did anything for a moment, she furiously groaned. "Fine! Then just kill me and get it over with!"
"What?" Nate asked, breathless. Trembling, still leaking tears though not as heavy as a few minutes ago, he cautiously stepped closer to her, standing just behind Terrakion. "Why would I kill you? Rosa, what happened? I've known you for years! When…? When did you start working for them, what… what happened?"
She just glared daggers at him with those narrow, digital eyes, remaining decidedly silent.
I guess that's her answer, then. It was an unsatisfying, hurtful answer. He just… didn't understand… "I'm not like you, Rosa," Nate growled. Curling his lip, he added in a sneer, "I'm not here to just torment and kill someone because I feel like it."
"Then you're an idiot," Rosa hissed at him. "I just tried to kill you. What makes you think I won't do it again?"
Nate glanced to Dr. Colress, then back at her, and back at him again. Sighing, he looked down at the floor. "I guess I am an idiot. I won't hurt you. But I'm not helping you, either. I don't know how you got involved in Neo Plasma or what they did to you to get you to agree to that… fucking… suit. I don't know when you got so arrogant, if you were always that way and I never noticed it. But you know what?" Nate said, smiling dejectedly up at her.
"…What?"
"I'm happy to leave you with them and let you deal with the consequences," he said in a faux sweetness. Looking back to Dr. Colress, he could tell the scientist was not happy with her, based on the way his cold stare was practically glued to her. "Whatever happened, you made your bed…" Loudly, he snarled, "Now you get to lay in it!"
Those digital eyes widened to almost cartoonish proportions, hauntedly.
"Nathan Daniels," Dr. Colress said coolly as he turned his attention to Nate, "my uncle wanted me to kill you. However, what you have said intrigues me. You are here to stop him, you and others?"
"Yes," Nate answered, stubbornly raising his chin under the doctor's expression. The idle way he claimed he had been ordered to kill Nate was terrifying, but he knew he couldn't show that. Struggling to maintain his composure, he sneered, "What else you got, Doc, or is making my friends into double agents your best card?"
"If you can guarantee you can apprehend or kill Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius," Dr. Colress said evenly, unfazed by Nate's mockery, "then I can keep Miss Rosa out of your hair and I can offer you a direct path to him. I cannot defy him. But if you have an army as you say—"
"Nate! There you are!"
Dr. Colress was cut off by a familiar voice that made Nate perk up eagerly. He whirled around to face the room's entrance, and grinned widely as Hugh burst in, his Serperior's vines having removed the door by its hinges and tossed it inside. Some other pokémon followed suit, not all necessarily Hugh's, and Hugh just smiled back at Nate with such a genuine look of relief… Nate raced over to him and tears started flowing again. "Hugh!" Nate cried. "It's you! You all must have made it!"
"You scared the shit out of me!" Hugh exclaimed, clapping him on the shoulder, his voice crackling slightly. "I assumed it was the Triad that took you, but… man, was it tough to keep everyone else calm after that…" His crimson gaze then hardened on Dr. Colress, then at Rosa, still fully suited and pinned against the wall. "Hey, that's that bitch from Opelucid!"
"Yeah, she's a bitch, alright," Nate huffed, his face screwing up in pain as he tried to explain. "Hugh… that's… that's Rosa…"
Hugh had a fleeting look of shock, but quickly shook it away. He all but bared his teeth at her and shot, "I knew it!"
"You what?" Nate felt like his heart might stop for a moment. Why hadn't he said anything…? Was he…?
"I mean," Hugh quickly backtracked, "I thought she might have been, but I wasn't convinced because, I mean, it's hard to imagine her being… with them…" Hugh hung his head briefly. "I'm sorry, Nate, I should've said somethin' way sooner, man. I just thought it was me being paranoid…"
More pokémon poured into the room, Hugh's Unfezant, Lucario, and at last, Keldeo. Dr. Colress started to look a little nervous. He flicked the blue sensor circling his head and a pale green forcefield took shape around him. Nate just gawked, wondering if perhaps he was starting to see things again… Yet, Hugh saw it too, as he focused on Dr. Colress and shouted, "The hell is that sci-fi shit?"
"Listen to me!" Dr. Colress barked, lips twitching irritably. "Take care of Ghetsis! Apprehend him, kill him, I do not care, and I will keep Miss Rosa from bothering you, but take care of him!"
"Sorry, I don't take orders from killers and thieves," Hugh snarled. "But don't worry, we'll take care of him, too." Turning to Nate, he nodded briskly. "Hil and Reshiram helped us break deeper into the ship, so it's a bit damaged out there, be careful, 'cause they're still helping out some. But I'll take care of good old Doc here, you go find Ghetsis!" Hugh glanced to Keldeo. "Keldeo! Can you help me break that shield or whatever it is of his?"
"The room directly to the left of this one, across the hall some," Dr. Colress provided. "You may find Ghetsis there." His focus shifted to Hugh. "You will do no such thing. Shadow Triad!"
The three men lined up dutifully in front of Dr. Colress, which only served to fuel Hugh's rage. His shoulders arched angrily, and he huffed, "First, I'll kick all your asses, then I'll make you tell me where my sister's Purrloin and where my Trapinch are, and then it's your boss's turn!"
Nate clenched his jaw. He didn't know what was going on anymore, why Rosa of all people had been working for Neo Plasma, or why Dr. Colress seemed more than happy to throw his boss under the bus, but he didn't care. He just wanted to get away from Rosa and he wanted to find this Ghetsis character, contend with him, and put an end to this, to nip the weed that was Neo Plasma at its roots. In that moment, as he watched Hugh and his pokémon swarm the helm of the ship, Nate wearily wiped his face and realized that he still trusted Hugh, forgiving his slip of the tongue earlier. Learning about Rosa had been horrifying and it burned badly, worse than anything he had felt before, but… another reason he had been so upset was the fear that he would go back to how he had been before, frightened and fearful of everyone else, unwilling to trust anyone at all… That had been such a miserable time… Thankfully, he found trusting Hugh was still easy, and he believed him when he said he had been too worried about being paranoid to say anything about Rosa… After all, Hugh was there, battling alongside him, hand-in-hand, just about. He still had every intention of battling Dr. Colress, still focused on his goal of locating his sister's Purrloin and his Trapinch. He was still the same Hugh.
It had been a long time coming, earning one another's trust, but Nate felt as if Hugh would have followed him to the ends of the Earth if he needed to—and Nate felt he'd do the same in return.
"Be careful, Hugh," Nate called as he beckoned his pokémon back to him, to which Hugh waved at him to let him know he had heard. Terrakion decided to make sure Rosa understood its threat was still valid by stamping its hooves violently around her feet and knocking her to her side with its massive horns as it was called back. It, Virizion, Cobalion, Zeshi, Risk, and Spacey all returned to his side and Nate recalled each of them, wanting to carefully keep them close, in-hand, in case of another emergency such as that with Rosa.
Ducking out of the room, he could hear battles raging throughout the Frigate. Sunlight shone down in the hallway ahead of him and he realized that, as this was the deepest part of the Frigate, that meant the ship was badly damaged, and he watched as a Liepard and a Pawniard tag-teamed a Seviper and Musharna. Taking the opportunity while they were distracted, Nate dashed across the hall, following Dr. Colress' instructions. The ship lurched under his feet as he heard a warbling, drawn-out cry from outside, and the opening in the ship's lower deck lit up red as (what Nate assumed was) a blast of fire flying overhead. Swallowing hard and hauling himself back to his feet, Nate soon found himself in a darkened room lined with monitors, sporting no light source other than them. There was a single, leather computer chair. Silhouetted against those monitors, beyond the chair, stood a somewhat thin, tall man in a heavy cloak.
"That blasted Colress!" he hacked in a phlegmy cough, then turned to face Nate slowly with the aid of a steel cane that clacked loudly against the smooth tile of the floor. Some piece of red plastic covering his right eye glinted in the dim light of the monitors, and Nate was a little alarmed to see that his visible eye was the exact same shade of bloodred. His face was screwed up in anger, looking so, so cruel, as he regarded Nate, though Nate got the feeling that this man was looking through him rather than at him. "Biting the hand that's fed him… Stealing the Shadow Triad away from me… Thinking he's the one in fucking control…" he said through gritted teeth.
Nate lowered his head slightly and clutched at his Poké Balls as the man's gaze came back down to Earth and focused on him intently. Nate was immediately unnerved by the way the man stared… It was almost… a hungry look, as if he couldn't get enough of the visual in front of him, like he wanted more. Defensively, Nate croaked, "So, I guess it's safe to say that you're Ghetsis…"
"The one and only… Yet, you should be grateful. Few get to be the sole audience for a speech of mine," he chillingly mused. "Now, let's see… What did my pathetic nephew say your name was… Ah, Nathan Daniels…" Ghetsis tilted his head, which only served to unsettle Nate worse as a lopsided grin claimed his face. "How does it feel, Nathan? To witness firsthand Team Plasma using its knowledge and technology to abuse Kyurem's power, to make it our—no, MY—own?" Ghetsis hobbled forward, spluttering coughs as he went. "You'll get a front-row seat to Unova getting frozen solid using Kyurem's full power!" he cackled, his laugh fading into fitful gasps for rattling breaths.
Fear clawed at his mind and Nate was shivering, even within that thick jacket Skyla had provided him during the Battle for Opelucid. Still, he shook his head vigorously and clenched his fists. "I'm not afraid of you, Ghetsis!" He was. He so, very much was afraid. But he hadn't gotten that far yet by backing down when it came down to the wire… With how everyone else had been acting, could he even count on them to continue stepping up to the plate? What if he truly was all that stood between Ghetsis and his violent plans for Unova?
Ghetsis' crimson eyes glittered as he shuffled lamely toward the front of the room. Nate scurried away from him but narrowed his eyes curiously as the old man headed toward a corner of the room adjacent to the doorway, marked by a red tile in the floor as opposed to the neighboring teal. "Then follow me," Ghetsis crooned, stepping onto that tile. With a flash of purple light, he was gone, and Nate jumped. Shocked, wondering where on Earth he could have gone, Nate dumbly ran up to the red tile and stepped on it.
He almost immediately regretted that knee-jerk response.