Pride of Your Soul
Chapter 21: Words of the Damned
AN: AAND we're back! You can consider this the third and final part of the Undella Arc I suppose, and where everything gets wrapped up for the next part of the plot. Not much to say here, so onto the reviews:
Anonymous Trainer: Well I mean I can't predict what you'll say about the chapter. Feel free to comment about whatever you liked or disliked about it. But thanks for the compliment nonetheless!
I M Poik: Yeah more or less. Draco and Million are the only Riches you're supposed to like. Everyone else is a dick. Why Schwartzer and Weiss have so many legendaries? Well that'll be explained here, although I can assume you can make an accurate enough guess.
Mat432: Well, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you? Yeah Nate'll probably be fine. I still need him to be the protagonist. But it is suspenseful, is it not?
Tony Anderson: Well hopefully you'll like this chapter!
FantasyLover88: Glad you liked the last chapter! Hope you like this one as well!
Defender31415: Nah that'd be too gruesome, and I'm pretty sure that's illegal on Hilbert's part. Glad you enjoyed the chapter though!
TheDarkMaster4000: Aw shucks, glad to see you think so highly of that chapter. Hope I can still aim to impress!
BobnotRob: Your particular concern will be addressed in the chapter actually in terms of protocol.
Alright on with the show.
It happened in an instant. No one was fast enough to react to it. Everyone except for Nate, who had paid the price for his actions.
Everyone was stunned with shock at the sight of Nate having taken the bullet for Million and Draco, and currently bleeding out because of it. Zillion was shocked that the rat was willing to shield Million and Draco, before snapping out of it and trying again with the rest of the barrel. Nate managed to turn around quickly to shield Million and Draco, as Zillion unloaded the rest of the bullets into Nate's back. Nate cried out in pain as he did his best to shield the two from Zillion's gunfire. Zillion kept trying to shoot, but soon realized that he was out of bullets. Zillion tossed the gun aside and tried for his second man's gun, but Hilbert lunged at Zillion in a roaring fury, slicing the gun in half with his blade, before smashing his foot into Zillion's gut, slamming him into a wall. The two security men stepped back in instinctive fear from Hilbert's seething rage, holding their hands up in surrender.
"NAAATE!" Yancy and Rosa cried out as all of Nate's allies rushed over to him, who could not keep his balance and fell to the ground as a bloody mess.
It was at that moment when the breach team finally arrived, being led by a middle-aged man wearing black penny loafers, brown suit pants, white shirt with pink tie, lighter brown vest and an investigator coat.
"What the–?!" the man blurted.
"Took you long enough, Looker!" Hilda barked. "You know the guilty party. Detain them NOW!"
"U-Understood!" the man, Looker, stammered, before glancing over to his group. "All of you, arrest the targets!"
With swift efficiency, Looker's men rushed over and restrained the Riches who tried to break free, confiscating their Pokémon and belongings in the process. Hilda immediately rushed over to her little brother, who was being held up by Hilbert.
"Nate...!" Hilbert gasped in horror.
The boy was bleeding heavily from his stomach and his back, coughing up blood as he desperately tried to breathe. To their shock, the jumpsuit began to repair itself, covering up the bullet wounds slowly but surely.
"This is...?" Hilbert muttered.
"Nate! Hang in there!" Rosa pleaded as they all stared at the boy with horrified eyes.
"H-He did that...for me..." Draco mumbled, dismayed at the sight of Nate. "B-Because I was in the way...because I was about to get killed...b-because–."
"It's not your fault," Million assured his son as he held him tight. "Draco, it's not your fault."
"WE NEED MEDICAL ATTENTION NOW!" Rosa screamed.
"I know!" Hilbert yelled. "We need to get him to Undella's–!"
"Wait..." Nate gagged, stopping Hilbert's train of thought. "Not...there..."
"What? What're you...?" Hilbert asked.
With whatever remaining strength the boy had, Nate dragged his arm up and pointed to Hilbert's mechanical right arm. Hilbert glanced at his arm quizzically, before the meaning to Nate's action clicked in Hilbert's head immediately.
"Professor Park?" Hilbert asked. "You want me to take him there?"
Nate nodded, before he vomited a hefty amount of blood, alarming them that they had little time left to save Nate.
"ZEKROM!" Hilbert yelled out.
The black dragon looked up, before immediately boosting forward towards Hilbert's direction. The force of Zekrom taking flight forced everyone to take cover so that they did not get blown away. Without warning, Hilbert carried Nate in his arms, before dashing over to Zekrom and leaping onto his back, where the legendary dragon blasted through the walls and stormed through the air to Nate's intended destination.
"Wha–where are they–?" Hugh asked.
"They're headed to the Poké Transfer Lab," Hilda explained, understanding what Nate implied. "The lab's director, Professor Andrew Park, created Hilbert's arm, and most likely the suit Nate is wearing."
"His jumpsuit?" Curtis asked. "Come to think of it, why was it repairing itself...?"
"Where is it?!" Rosa and Yancy demanded, ignoring Curtis in favor of more urgent matters.
Hilda stood up, before looking over to Looker and his party, who has successfully restrained the Riches.
"I'll leave the detainment to you, Agent Looker," Hilda told the man, before pointing to Zillion and the two men cowering behind him. "There's one more over here."
"Understood," Looker nodded, before motioning to some of his free men. "There's still one more!"
Hilda nodded in confirmation, before she sent out Latias and rode on her. This prompted everyone to send out their own flight-capable Pokémon; Tornadus for Hugh, Mandi for Rosa, Toge the Togekiss for Yancy, a staraptor for Curtis, Unfezant for Cheren and Swanna for Bianca.
"W-Will Mr. Nate be okay?" Draco timidly asked from the safety of his father, getting everyone to look at him.
"He'll be fine," Curtis assured Draco gently. "I'm sure he'll be able to pull through."
That seemed to be enough for Draco to be somewhat content. Everyone rode on their flying Pokémon, with Hilda and Latias leading the way, before taking off to the direction where Zekrom went.
"Wha–Wait! Yancy! Curtis!" Mr. Lapis yelled out.
Curtis stopped briefly to glance back at his father, who was simply confused at everything that had happened just now. The lime-haired boy simply frowned, shaking his head in shame at him, before commanding Staraptor to go after the group. Yancy did not even so much as spare him a glance before leaving.
Zillion looked at the confusion his murder attempt had caused and tried to sneak away, only for a psychic screen to suddenly appear behind him, preventing his escape.
"To not have been fast enough to notice the gun is a mistake I shall never let myself live down," Caitlin said as she glared at the fat man from her position. "If you honestly think you would be able to flee from your judgment, then you are truly a fool."
Zillion glanced at the wall behind him as Looker's men rushed over to arrest Zillion and his two men. Caitlin glanced over to Iris, looking onwards to the direction everyone else went with immense worry on her face.
"...You can go after them if you wish," Caitlin told her superior.
"Huh? But..." Iris asked, torn between going after to check if her friends were alright and her responsibilities as the Champion at the very moment.
"I can take care of the rest," Caitlin assured Iris. "It is the least I can do, considering this is my town."
"...Thanks, Caitlin," Iris expressed her gratitude to her friend, before signaling Hydreigon to go after the group.
Hydreigon nodded before flying to the direction everyone else went off to, leaving Caitlin to make sure that all guilty parties are successfully incarcerated for their crimes. She glanced down at the townsfolks. They were all chattering away in confusion and concern over what had just happened. They all seemed lost, unsure of what to do now.
"...To let this town be reduced to such a lost state...allowing the people of Undella to be toyed by such a vile clan...even when I was here to do something..." Caitlin admonished herself. "This is truly perhaps my greatest folly."
Within minutes, Zekrom had reached the Poké Transfer Lab located in Route 15. Zekrom stopped in front of the facility, where Hilbert immediately jumped off while carrying Nate, before barging into the lab.
"PROFESSOR! PROFESSOR PARK!" Hilbert yelled out. "I NEED YOUR HELP!"
Instantaneously, a man with bushy black hair wearing a lab coat emerged from the second floor.
"What's with all the ruckus–?" the man asked, before his eyes widened at the sight of Hilbert and a bleeding and dying Nate. "WHA–?! Nate?! What happened!?"
"There's no time!" Hilbert interrupted him. "Please, Professor! You have to help him!"
The man, Professor Park, quickly rushed over to Nate, noting the bloody boy. He immediately shifted his eyes over to Nate's jumpsuit, which has completely repaired itself sans the blood stains.
"The Augmenter is in its emergency state..." Professor Park muttered. "It's working overtime to keep Nate alive. Why, without it, the boy would be dead."
The professor took Nate from Hilbert's arms, carrying the boy with some ease.
"What happened to him?" Professor Park asked Hilbert, where he received a brief explanation on Nate's injuries. "...I see...The Augmenter must have been severely damaged from the bullet wounds. We need to remove the bullets and patch up his wounds along with repairing the Augmenter. Right now it is exhausting all of its remaining diagnostics keeping Nate alive. And while it's working right now, it won't last long."
"Professor...!" Hilbert urged him.
"Don't worry, Hilbert," Professor Park assured his colleague. "We'll save Nate. We owe him that much at least."
Immediately the man brought Nate up to the second floor with him, yelling out to his colleagues to prepare a surgical table to operate on Nate immediately. Hilbert, having left Nate's fate in the hands of the man who gave him his artificial arm, could do nothing but sit on one of the benches and pray that Nate makes it out alive.
It was at that moment where everyone else barged in through the entrance, flooding into the lab.
"Is Nate alright?!" Rosa and Yancy exclaimed simultaneously.
"He's being looked over," Hilbert replied. "We can only hope that he'll be fine."
They all looked downcast at the news, but it could not be helped. They certainly could not do anything to help Nate at the moment. They all took seats at the benches available to them, waiting for whenever the operating team was done with whatever they could do to save Nate.
Hilbert glanced up to see Cheren and Bianca, who stared back at him with slightly narrowed eyes.
"...So...uh...it's been a while..." Hilbert muttered awkwardly.
"It's been a year to be exact," Cheren said.
"Right..." Hilbert mumbled. "I owe you guys an explanation."
"Yes you do," Bianca frowned. "For starters, you and Hilda were part of the Interpol this whole time? Is that why you two disappeared for a year?"
"More or less," Hilda replied, leaning against a wall next to Hilbert.
"While we were looking around for remnants of Ghetsis' following, we were approached by someone from the Interpol," Hilbert explained. "...Or more specifically..."
"They came to arrest me," Hilda picked up on, earning some shocked expressions from the younger crowd. "...I may be playing for the good side, but that doesn't mean my rather...'unsavory' actions weren't forgotten."
"You can say that again," Cheren muttered under his breath, remembering one particular act Hilda had done to them in the past.
"...Why did they want to arrest you, Miss Wei–Hilda?" Rosa asked.
"Because I was a former member of Team Plasma," Hilda replied, shocking Rosa and the others even more.
"Anyways," Hilbert continued. "They wanted to arrest Hilda for her own actions she committed while she was affiliated with Team Plasma. Of course, I tried to stop them, so they made a compromise: either both Hilda and I join the International Police as active agents or Hilda gets arrested and I can't interfere. Of course, we chose the former."
"Furthermore, while Hilbert here is treated with way more leniency," Hilda added on. "I'm more or less forced to work for them and obey their every command. If I do anything that makes them suspicious of me, or make them think that I might possibly rebel or commit actions that would imply that I've re-affiliated with Team Plasma or some other terrorist organization, then they revoke my status and send me to prison for Arceus knows how long."
"So you didn't exactly get away with the shit you pulled two years ago," Cheren noted.
"Karma decided to take its sweet ass time, I suppose," Hilda shrugged. "I mean it's not the worst thing that could've happened, but I'm basically forced into a career choice."
"So...what did you do after that?" Bianca asked.
"They assigned us our codenames, 'Schwartzer' and 'Weiss'," Hilbert explained. "And then they immediately tasked us with investigating the potential forming of a new Team Plasma, since Ghetsis was still at large."
"There were also apparently sightings of new legendary Pokémon popping up all over Unova," Hilda explained. "To make sure Team Plasma doesn't pull the same shit they did two years ago, we went around and caught as many of the new legendary Pokémon as we could."
"Well that was smart," Cheren nodded. "They were able to get the Three Swords and Forces of Nature. Giving them more tools would be terrible."
"Eventually we were able to find evidence that supported a new Team Plasma forming," Hilbert went on. "...Which happened to be Colress making an appearance at the Driftveil Tournament, along with their Frigate being sighted."
"And that's why you decided to enter the tournament," Bianca said, where Hilbert nodded in response.
"I was hoping to get Colress to share some information," Hilbert said. "But it seemed that he was still under the effects of whatever it is that's making him side with Team Plasma."
"What...does that mean?" Hugh asked. "Wasn't that Colress guy always with Team Plasma?"
"That's true," Hilbert replied. 'But out of the members there, Colress was the most reluctant to their cause; the only reason he was there as far as I could tell was because of Hilda."
"He's my surrogate father, after I got separated from my family," Hilda explained. "He stayed behind to make sure that I didn't get myself killed."
"So you're saying that he's being controlled by Team Plasma?" Yancy asked.
"Colress had the most moral there, outside of N," Hilbert said. "But how he was acting was completely out of character from what we know of the scientist. Odds are they did something to him. He had signs of that two years ago when we last saw him, so we can only assume."
"So you never really left Unova. You two were simply stuck in your own agendas to stop Plasma," Cheren said. "But...why not tell anyone? You two know that we would've drop everything to help."
"...Honestly I did want to at least tell you guys," Hilbert admitted. "But...after all the shit that happened two years ago, I didn't want to drag you two back into this mess. We all went through hell back then. And you two were leading more successful lives afterwards. I...didn't want to ruin that by dragging you two in the problems that I'm forced to take care of."
"Hilbert..." Bianca mumbled, feeling sympathetic for her childhood friend after hearing his reasoning. "...But that still doesn't excuse you keeping this all a secret. We're your best friends, right? You two didn't have to deal with that by yourselves if you just told us..."
"While we truly do appreciate the thought," Cheren added on. "...You're still an idiot. C'mon didn't you learn anything from two years ago?"
Bianca and Cheren got closer to Hilbert, their faces rather close to his.
"...Stop keeping things to yourself," Cheren reprimanded his childhood friend. "Let us help you. We aren't ourselves two years ago anymore."
"We can handle ourselves. You know that," Bianca told Hilbert. "...So let us help you this time around."
"Cheren...Bianca..." Hilbert muttered, before lowering his head in shame. "...Sorry..."
Content, the two smiled before standing back up. Cheren, however, brought his hand up and lightly smacked Hilbert on his head with it.
"Agh?!" Hilbert yelped.
"That's for keeping us in the dark all this time," Cheren said.
"...Fine..." Hilbert muttered.
Hilda merely spectated the trio's heartfelt confessions from her side, smiling when the three reconciled.
"Although I do have one question for you, Cheren," Hilbert said to the man. "From what I saw when I retrieved Nate's stuff, apparently there were still those knives. The same ones that he used to attack me back at the Frigate.
"He had the pokédex, so I'm going to assume he got that from either Professor Juniper or from you two. You two seemed to be much more familiar with Nate, so I'm going to assume he got the pokédex from you or Bianca. What I want to know is how you two didn't notice that Nate had actual weapons, yet decided to give him a pokédex in the first place. I know at least you would have noticed, Cheren."
The kids looked up to Cheren for his response. Indeed, it was quite odd that Cheren would actually let Nate keep his lethal weapons while bestowing him a pokédex instead of sending him over to the police.
"...To be honest," Cheren replied. "...It was because I wished to use him for my own gains."
"Elaborate," Hilbert said, ignoring the gasps from the younger audience.
"I knew if I let him out in the open, he would attract Team Plasma, and in turn lure you two out," Cheren explained. "I gave him the ultimatum of either agreeing to wield the third pokédex or send him over to the police."
"So you were essentially using him as bait for us," Hilbert muttered. "Gotta say, that's kinda manipulative for you."
"Alright then smart guy," Hilda countered. "Why did you let him keep his stuff? You really thought it wasn't risky letting him travel with two kids he knew next to nothing about?"
"Think of it as a test of sorts," Cheren replied. "I was able to get some tech from the police and rig Nate's pokédex with it without him noticing."
"Tech?" Curtis asked.
Cheren went over to Hugh, who still had Nate's bag. Cheren rummaged through the bag and took out his pokédex, before opening the back of the device to reveal a sort of chip installed in it. He then placed it on the ground in front of him.
"Think of this like an alarm," Cheren explained. "The chip uses the pokédex to monitor Nate. More specifically, his knives. If Nate actually did try something to them or anyone for that matter, and the chip sensed that the knives made contact with flesh..."
Cheren then proceeded to take one of Nate's knives and place it gently on his forearm. Almost immediately Nate's pokédex let off a loud alarm and emit a short burst of electricity.
"...The pokédex would have stunned Nate and let out an alarm that would be transmitted to the nearest police station, notifying them of a dangerous criminal being within the area," Cheren said as he walked over and stopped them alarm. "Nate would have been stunned long enough for either the police to restrain him, or for Hugh and Rosa to run."
"So you basically rigged his gear to make sure he wouldn't get away with harming anyone?" Hugh asked.
"It was indeed risky, but it was the best I could do for preventative measures and to get Nate to agree to join you two on your journeys," Cheren said.
"And what's stopping him from just ditching the thing?" Hugh asked.
"We installed GPS trackers on all your dexes," Cheren answered. "We would have noticed if he threw it away."
"So you actually thought everything through," Hilda mused, impressed at Cheren's preparation.
"Wait...but Nate struck Schwart–Mr. Hilbert," Yancy said, correcting herself in the process. "Why didn't the dex go off there?"
Hilbert in response took off his cloak and raised up his right sleeve, revealing his artificial arm to them.
"If what Cheren said is accurate, then the dex must not have registered my arm as 'flesh'," Hilbert said. "He only ever managed to strike me here. If the knife is simply striking metal, then there's no 'human' in danger, so it wouldn't have had a reason to stop Nate."
"Heh, he couldn't even trust his own inventory," Hugh could not help but laugh.
"You act like you knew all this," Hilbert commented to Hugh.
"Nate told me that he at least realized something was off about his pokédex, but didn't wanna try to purposely set if off," Hugh explained. "He also told me that he knew you had Pokémon hidden during your interrogation ready to shoot Nate down if he tried something, Professor Cheren."
"Figures he would've noticed," Cheren sighed. "At the very least it was enough to get him from trying anything. Frankly I'm surprised he didn't try anything to you two."
Rosa and Hugh looked slightly confused, until they realized what Cheren was implying. Indeed, given the circumstances of when they first met, it was a wonder why Nate never tried to take advantage over them or threatened them to do something he wanted. He certainly could have done something, but he never actually did. In fact there were times where they forgot he even had knives since he barely used them throughout their journey. It spoke miles of how Nate actually acted compared to how they thought he would act.
"But still..." Iris said from her side. "To think that you were Schwartzer, Hilbert."
"I was under disguise for a reason," Hilbert shrugged. "It didn't seem to work on Nate though...pretty sure he was able to recognize me."
"Also weren't your eyes brown?" Iris asked, pointing to Hilbert's sharp red eyes.
"Oh, these," Hilbert muttered, before lowering his head down while placing his fingers on his eyes. He brought his head back up, revealing chocolate brown eyes, while two red-tinted contact lenses were on the tips of his fingers. "Colored contacts. To help my disguise."
"Ah," Iris said while Hilbert put his contacts back on.
Hilbert glanced at the kids, before noticing Rosa. The bun-haired girl seemed to be a little nervous, refusing to make eye contact with Hilbert.
"...Is everything alright?" Hilbert asked Rosa.
"HUH!? AH–No no no, everything's alright!" Rosa stammered.
"I see..." Hilbert muttered.
"She's a big fan of yours," Cheren told Hilbert, making the girl blush in embarrassment. "You're her motivation for her journey and her goal of becoming Champion."
"...Is that right..." Hilbert said, before offering a kind smile. "Well I feel flattered. It's kind of a weird feeling having a fan."
"I–I see..." Rosa mumbled, not believing that she was having a conversation with her idol.
"So? You're aiming to become the next Champion?" Hilbert asked. "You mind if I see your Pokémon?"
"O-Of course!" Rosa stammered as she sent out all her Pokémon.
In front of her, Eve, Ottavia, Nina, Mandi and Gustav appeared in front of their master and Hilbert for the veteran to examine.
"Hmmm...Pretty good," Hilbert said. "All you really need is for your eevee to evolve and to catch one more member, and I can see a very strong team come to fruition in the future."
"Thank you..." Rosa mumbled with little confidence.
"...You don't seem too happy," Hilbert commented, noticing Rosa's lack of confidence. "You didn't like how your team turned out?"
"No, of course not. I love my team," Rosa insisted. "It's just...I haven't been having the best of luck recently for a lack of better words...I'm falling behind from everyone...I've...I've done a lot of stupid things recently...and all I did was just make everything worse...
"Mr. Hilbert...any advice will help...What should I do from here? What would you do?"
Hilbert listened intently to Rosa, who glanced up to her idol, seeking advice of her current situations and her various mistakes she had made from someone she worshipped.
"...You said I was an inspiration to your dream, right?" Hilbert asked, where Rosa nodded in response. "...Then really, the best advice I can give you, is to not follow my footsteps."
"W-What?" Rosa asked, not expecting that answer.
"The country reveres me as a hero, but I only got that title because I was the one who ended up taking all the glory at the end," Hilbert explained. "In reality I'm nothing more than a fool who got lucky.
"I was nothing more than a fool–a selfish and greedy fool who thought tried to get everything for himself, and thought that everything would work out in the end. I didn't even have a goal in mind when I started my journey–I merely stumbled along Unova aimlessly, where things simply happened and I just happened to be there. I ended up betraying my friends for the sake of a criminal I fell in love with, and almost destroyed our friendship, and almost got them killed because of it. And yet it all worked out in the end. Even though I was nothing more than an idiot who almost squandered everything just because I didn't know what to do with myself. And I can count myself lucky it all worked out in the end.
"So I understand your sentiments. I've committed several mistakes, both grave and idiotic, on my own journey. Perhaps your mistakes were worse than mine. But we're both on the same boat in a sense. So I can relate. But you...you're different compared to me.
"You actually have a goal in mind. A goal you can set your eyes on and move forward towards. Becoming the Champion is a rather impressive goal to strive for. You don't have to follow my lead to do that. In fact, you're better off finding your own path that'll lead you to your dreams. In regards to that, you're already faring better off than I did when I started my journey. And if you feel like you made a mistake, then learn from it, and make sure you do your best to not repeat it.
"So don't give up that easily. So what if you're not quite as strong as you'd like to be? I lost my fair share of battles during my time as a trainer. It wasn't like I was some invincible main character who won everything or something. No one is perfect, y'know. The important part is to not give up, learning from your mistakes, and keep trying.
"Mr. Hilbert..." Rosa murmured, looking at him in awe. "Thank you..."
"It's the least I can do," Hilbert smirked.
"To think I'd hear some sagely advice from you," Cheren sniggered from behind.
"Shaddup, I gotta set a good example for my junior at least," Hilbert retorted at his friend.
"Um...Mr. Hilbert?" Rosa asked, getting his attention. "Do you mind if I can see your team? The one you had with you during your travels?"
"Hm? Oh sure," Hilbert said. "Pretty sure there was a PC here..."
With the help of one of the receptionists, Hilbert managed to find a PC for public use on the second floor. The man accessed it, arranged his team, before heading back down and throwing his pokéballs into the air to release what he had.
In a coincidental order, Samurott emerged from the field, along with an excadrill, a large, rather colorful bird that bore rather dinosaur-esque features, a small rabbit-like Pokémon with large blue eyes and large red ears, and a small Pokémon with a large pink head reminiscent of a helmet, while the rest of the body consisted of a dull gray cloth-like membrane. The more notable features of the last Pokémon was its naked arms with the gray membranes hanging down from where its arms connected to its body giving off the impression of whips, and the large scar that covered over the left eyes. Everyone stepped back at the entrance of Hilbert's original party he had when he traveled across Unova.
"Samurott, Excadrill, Archeops, Accelgor...even the mythical Pokémon Victini...!" Curtis gasped.
"-Where are we?-" Victini asked, looking around the facility with curiosity.
"-Looks like we're back at that lab where Hilbert got his arm,-" Samurott commented gruffly, before noticing the audience in front of him. "-...The hell are these guys?-"
"-You lot!-" Mandi exclaimed, recognizing Hilbert's team members.
"-Ah?-" Samurott asked, staring at Mandi. "-...Oh wait, you're that mandibuzz that tried to kill us back at Castelia! Wait, you had a trainer this whole time?!-"
"-I was caught after that you idiot,-" Mandi retorted.
"-Well, it has been like what, two years?-" Excadrill asked. "-Somethings are bound to change in such a long time.-"
"-More importantly, why're we here?-" Archeops asked. "-Last time I checked, Hilbert had to bench some of us for those newbies he caught a while back, right? Why're being called out now?-"
"-Has the objective been dealt with, Master Hilbert?-" Accelgor asked his trainer, glancing away from the audience and showing his full attention to him.
"Looker's taking care of the rest, so yeah," Hilbert replied. "...Right now, Nate's in an ICU, and we're hoping for some good news."
"-Wha–Master Nate?!-" Accelgor gasped. "-Is he alright?!-"
"Can't say," Hilbert muttered. "He took like five bullets to the back and one to the stomach. They said they'll do their best, but we can only just wait and hope."
"-...Understood...-" Accelgor muttered.
"-Nate...you mean that brat who sliced off that bastard priest's arm off?-" Excadrill asked. "-That sounds pretty damn rough...-"
"-He ended up taking the bullets for some kid who was about to get shot,-" Samurott explained to them, having witnessed the event back at the Riches Mansion. "-I was pretty surprised by it. To think he'd cover for some random kid.-"
Samurott glanced down to Ottavia, who was staring back rather timidly.
"-Ah?-" Samurott grunted. "-Something up?-"
"-ER–Uh...Ah...-" Ottavia stammered.
"-Oh, Ottavia saw your fight against Alder!-" Eve explained from behind Ottavia, making the timid Water-type jump. "-And she became a HUUUUGE fan of yours!-"
"-E-EVE!-" Ottavia squealed in embarrassment.
"-...Did she now?-" Samurott asked. "-Well that's flattering. To think I'd make a fan...Well thanks! Kinda dunno how to react to these kind of situations, but I'm glad you liked what you saw! I'm sure with enough training, you'll be able to reach my level in no time. Just believe in yourself!-"
"-Uh...-" Ottavia mumbled. "-TH-Thank you...-"
"-She is nothing like you were back in the day,-" Excadrill commented from the side. "-It's honestly kinda weird seeing a timid-like dewott.-"
"-The hell's that supposed to mean?-" Samurott growled at his friend.
"-I'm pretty sure you cussed the most out of anyone back when we went around Unova,-" Excadrill deadpanned. "-If not you, then you were definitely right behind them.-"
Samurott growled at Excadrill in response, while the rest of Rosa's team interacted with Hilbert's team.
"Amazing..." Rosa murmured, from witnessing the legendary team of Hilbert Warren, to seeing him demonstrate his fabled ability to speak with Pokémon so nonchalantly, to seeing her team interact with Hilbert's, with Ottavia seemingly getting words of advice from Hilbert's Samurott.
Hugh, seeing the gathering, realized something he could do, now that everything calmed down.
"The PC was upstairs, right?" Hugh asked Hilbert.
"Yeah," Hilbert replied, where Hugh suddenly got up and headed to it.
"Hugh?" Iris asked.
After a moment, Hugh came back downstairs with a set of five pokéballs in his arms. He threw them up and released Nate's team that Hugh had caught back in Undella. They all landed in a dogpile in front of him, where everyone had to step back to make space.
"I caught them when Mayor Riches forcibly released them from Nate's ownership so that Miles couldn't get them," Hugh explained. "Now that that's been taken care of, I released them back. Now once Nate recovers, he can claim them back. By the way, about Luca..."
"If you're worried about whether or not she's still technically under Zillion's ownership, then don't," Hilbert told Hugh. "Once arrested, a trainer has their Pokémon removed from their ownership, whether to release them back into the wild or hold them until said arrested trainer gets out and can reclaim them upon release. In this case, all the Pokémon the Riches who were arrested owned are released from their ownership. Luca's merely just resting there. Once you send her out, she'll be a wild Pokémon once more."
Hugh nodded, before taking out Luca's pokéball from Nate's bag and setting the shiny lucario free. Luca groaned as she rubbed her head, before glancing around.
"-Wh-where are we...?-" Luca mumbled. "-Where's Nate!?-"
"-Shit...the hell happened...?-" Vire grumbled, getting back up.
"-Where's Boss!?-" Bo yelled, standing up and looking around frantically. "-BOOOOOOSSSS! WHERE ARE YOUUUU!-"
"-...And that is way different from the emboar we know,-" Samurott grumbled, covering his ears.
"-We're...not in Undella...?-" Brav groaned as he got up.
Deo and Zoro recovered as well, before spotting Hilbert and his roster, instantly recognizing them.
"-You...you were back at the castle...-" Deo growled, eyeing them suspiciously.
"-Hilbert!?-" Zoro gasped, before spotting Hilda. "-And Big Sis Hilda too!?-"
"-Ah?-" Samurott said, staring at Zoro before something clicked in his head. "-Wait you're that damn zorua brat! The one with that zoroark who cucked us over back at Lostlorn Forest when those damn genies almost killed us!-"
"-Geh, you still remember that...-" Zoro muttered. "-More over how the hell did you recognize me...?-"
"-Enough of the meaningless shit,-" Deo hissed in a cold tone, stepping forward. "-Human. Where the hell is our trainer?-"
"-Yeah that's right! Where's Boss!-" Bo asked Hilbert in his usual loud tone.
"Well..." Hilbert muttered, before explaining everything that happened to them. The explanation earned the shock and outrage of Nate's party, where he had a Sacred Sword pointed at his face.
"-If that's your idea of a joke, then I'm not laughing,-" Deo snarled.
"-You tryna pick a fight?-" Samurott growled as he reached for his sword, only for Accelgor to beat him to the punch and point his own energy blade at Deo.
"-Even if you are Master Nate's party members,-" Accelgor warned with a steel-cold tone. "-We will not tolerate any form of threats against Master Hilbert. If you wish to continue, then we will show no mercy.-"
"-Try me,-" Deo growled.
The two glared at each other, before Deo had to be pulled back by Vire.
"-Oi, cool it!-" Vire reprimanded Deo, pulling him back. "-They have no reason to lie about anything. Starting unnecessary fights isn't gonna do anyone any favors.-"
Deo clicked his tongue in annoyance, before dispelling his sword. Accelgor merely scoffed in response before doing the same.
"-So you're Hilbert, correct?-" Brav asked the man in question, stepping up in front of his fellow teammates. "-Nate's brother.-"
"Yeah," Hilbert responded, earning some gasps from among Nate's party sans Deo, who was still leering at Accelgor.
"-Boss' brother?!-" Bo gasped.
"-Wait, he can understand us?!-" Vire exclaimed.
"-You may call me Brav,-" Brav introduced himself, not dropping his intense gaze at Hilbert. "-I took care of Nate after I saved him from his death back at that underground castle.-"
"...So you saved him," Hilbert said. "Then you have my thanks."
"-...Well...-" Brav said. "-...You two have some...history, so to say.-"
"-Do you know something, Gramps?-" Luca asked.
"-I do, but it's not in my place to say,-" Brav responded. "-That right goes to Nate. Once he recovers, he's the one to decide whether or not he reveals it. But...-"
Brav's gaze narrowed at Hilbert. "-He has his reasons to resent and hate you. Reasons enough to wish to kill you.-"
"To kill me...huh..." Hilbert murmured somberly. "And those reason...?"
"-Like I said, I don't have the right to reveal that,-" Brav repeated himself. "-That right goes to Nate.-"
"...I see," Hilbert said, respecting Brav's decision. "Still, I thank you for taking care of Nate in our absences for so long."
"-Think nothing of it,-" Brav brushed it off. "-I merely saved a child who desperately needed help.-"
Amidst of everything that had happened and was revealed, Yancy stayed silent the whole way, absorbing everything that she could. To think that Nate was in fact Hilbert Warren's little brother! Now that that truth had been revealed, Yancy could not help but notice that both Nate and Hilbert shared similar physical attributes, most notably their hair color and eye colors, along with some physical features. Everything that had happened today left the pinkette mentally and physically exhausted. But in spite of that, she could not feel herself go to sleep. Her worrying of Nate dwarfed the sense of fatigue.
In a noble, but somewhat uncharacteristic notion, Nate had shielded the small boy from Zillion's gun shots. It was a miracle Nate did not immediately die from either the gun shots or the massive blood loss. She could only pray that he could make a recovery. While she thought Nate's actions were uncharacteristic, she could not help but wonder just exactly what kind of person Nate truly was.
It made her realize that she did not know much about Nate. She was unaware of the fact that Nate did commit some crimes before, which led to him being forced to travel with Rosa and Hugh in the first place. She was unaware of truly how dangerous Nate could have been, although the knives she saw him wield back at Team Plasma's ship should have been an indicator.
She idolized Nate, but in reality, she knew nothing about the boy. And that made her truly ashamed; especially since Nate did nothing but help and look out for her, albeit in his own gruff and aloof way. Yancy wanted to repay Nate's kindness somehow, but she did not even know Nate's background, or his circumstances that led him to his situations.
It was at that moment, where a door in the back opened, where Professor Park and his group emerged, now adorned with bloodied coats and smocks.
"How is he?" Hilbert asked as they all immediately swarmed him.
"He'll live," Professor Park announced, making everyone in the room relieved. "His injuries were critical, so we had to work fast, but careful. We had to keep the Augmenter in limbo while we removed the bullets and patched up his wounds, which was risky, but necessary. We have repaired the Augmenter, which should keep him stable. But he requires immense amounts of rest. Nothing short of a miracle will let him get a speedy recovery. I would imagine he needs at least 3-5 weeks to make a full recovery."
"...I see..." Hilbert said. "Thank you, Professor."
"No problem," the good professor replied. "We're just relieved that we were able to save him. Susie, what time is it?"
"10:21, Professor," one of the receptionists replied.
It had just dawned on all of them just how long they had been there. It felt like time flew with everything that had happened.
"It's pretty late, huh," Professor Park chuckled to try and lighten up the mood. "We have guest rooms if you all wish to stay the night. We do have a café where you can get food to eat if you want."
"Thank you," Cheren said. "We'll take your offer."
"You wanna stay here? In case Nate wakes up?" Hilda asked Hilbert.
"You sure?" Hilbert asked back.
"Someone's gotta oversee the operations going on at the mansion," Hilda said. "I can handle it. I'll report back if something happens."
"Thanks," Hilbert said.
Hilda smiled, before giving Hilbert a kiss on the cheek and heading out, donning her Weiss mask in the process.
"Uh...Sorry...but I also gotta head back for now..." Iris admitted. "I need to regroup with Caitlin after I kinda left her to take care of Undella."
"It's alright," Hugh assured her. "Hope everything's alright."
"Thanks," Iris smiled, before rushing off to head back to Undella.
With nothing left but to wait and hope that Nate woke up, the rest of them took up on Professor Park's offer and stayed for the night. As they all headed to the café for some much-needed food, Yancy's mind was still on her own internal turmoil. Hilbert and his friends did shed some light on why he was on a journey in the first place, but that was not enough.
She wanted Nate to make a speedy recovery, even if it was unlikely. Of course it was because she genuinely wished for Nate to recover, but also because she wished to learn Nate's past.
While wanting that would make her sound like Rosa from a while back, she would not pester the boy. She was sure Rosa learned that lesson after the fiasco back at the mansion. If Nate was willing to talk, then she would be happy to listen. But she wished to learn more about Nate.
But for now, all the runaway idol could do was pray. Pray that the love of her life would recover from an otherwise fatal accident.
It was in the dead of night. Back at Undella, or more precisely, back with the Interpol stationed there, the Riches family, sans Draco and Million, were all behind bars. Ironically being held in their own jail cells, shackled and stripped of their Pokémon, leaving them with no ways of escape.
"I can't believe this all happened," Trish mumbled.
"We wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for that damn brat!" Miles growled. "And the rest of you! You couldn't even handle one damn person!"
"Says the brat who couldn't even subdue and rape one girl," Clairdonna shot back.
"I would have if that damn bitch didn't interfere!" Miles argued, cursing Weiss for getting in his way.
"Still doesn't change the fact that you failed hard," Susan sighed.
"Says the whore!"
As the four continued to argue, Zillion merely sighed. While he certainly had his fair share of people he wanted to curse until his dying breath, he was more rational than the others at the moment. He knew that their arguments were pointless and merely passing time until the inevitable. It was somewhat sad to see how his family could fall apart and turn on each other at the sign of weakness. It was the reason why he ruled with an iron fist. To make sure his family would not crumble under their own instability.
However, he did have one hope left. He hoped that his benefactors would be able to do something to save them, if not him alone. He was sure he was still of some value for them to rescue. He just hoped that he was right.
Moments later, Zillion heard the arguments die down. Curious, he looked around to the other cells to see that the rest of his imprisoned family members were slumped down, unconscious. Zillion then looked up to see a familiar looking trio, all wearing identical black and grey attire and with identical white hair.
"The Shadow Triad!" Zillion exclaimed happily. It seemed that Team Plasma had not threw him away just yet, and has sent some of their best agents to come rescue him. "So I still have my uses to you Team Plasma!"
"Zillion Riches," the leading one, Ein, said monotonously as the one on the right began to dismantle the lock.
Zillion could not help but grin. Excellent! His rescue had come! Much faster than he had expected, but now he would be free. Soon enough, with the help of Team Plasma, he would be able to rebuild his empire. And then, with his power, he would track down that damn rat, along with his treacherous son and grandson, and bring their heads on platters of justice!
Before Zillion could laugh out loud and gloat about how no one could keep him down, the lock on his cell was successfully broken, where the leading Triad stepped forward and slammed his fist into Zillion's fat gut. Zillion gasped out the air in his belly, along with some saliva, as the Triad stared at him with cold, calculating eyes.
"Indeed, you still have a use," Ein said coldly. "You still have one final use. One final use that will allow Lord Ghetsis' plans to become that much closer to a reality."
Zillion's world became black as he faded out of consciousness. Ein slung Zillion's unconscious body over his shoulder as he stepped out of the cell.
"The data is secured, right?" he asked the other two.
In response, the one on the left, Zwei, produced a USB drive, which seemed to be enough for the lead Triad to nod in confirmation.
"Then let's regroup with Lord Ghetsis," he told his fellow brothers. "He should have reached the Giant Chasm by now."
With not a waste of a minute, the trio vanished into thin air, taking an unconscious Zillion with them.
Elsewhere, back at the Poké Transfer Lab, Nate was resting on the table he was operated on, recovering from the surgery that saved his life. The machines around him were operating to keep Nate stable. Nate's breathing had calmed down, as the boy took slow, yet deep breaths to keep the air flowing within his body.
In the operating room that should not have any other patrons, one lone figure, covered in a cloak that completely concealed his body, stood beside Nate, watching over the boy with critical purple eyes.
"How pitiful, is the only thing I can say," the man said to Nate. "You paid the price for your own heroism, and nearly died for it as a result. It's as if the world punished you for going against the role it sees you as."
The man stared at Nate for a while, before lifting one of his arms which was completely covered by the cloak's large sleeves. From the end, a light shined from it, as it slowly enveloped Nate's body.
"If it was any other human, then I wouldn't be even bothering right now with this charity," the man said to Nate's unconscious body. "No...That's not entirely true. There are a few I would bother with.
"Whether you can hear me or not is not of my concern. Whether you see this as mercy or not is not of my concern either. But you still have a role you must fulfill. Thus, you are useless to me if you are not in a condition where you can achieve said role."
The light that blanketed Nate slowly, but surely healed the wounds that littered Nate's body. The light was enough to get the boy to slowly and groggily open his eyes to see the man.
"Wha..." Nate groaned, eyes slightly narrowing at the bright light that made it hard to look. "Who..."
"So you awoke," the man said as he continued his healing process. "Then carve this into your memories. This will not happen again. This is merely charity so you may be of use to me and the future. If you fail again, then that is where your life becomes forfeit to fate.
"If you still have that stone I gave you some time ago...then you still have a means of victory in the end.
"I suggest you deal with those personal demons within your soul. They'll spell your demise in the future. Specifically the lies you keep telling yourself and the suppressed desires you know is the truth to you."
Nate narrowed his eyes at the man, before falling back into unconsciousness. The man did not respond, merely continuing with his healing.
"You should be aware," the man said as he finished his healing. "That your desires of apocalypse is merely a fabrication to your own true desires."
Without a trace, the man was no longer in the room. It was as if the man was never in the room to begin with.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Million," Looker thanked the man in question as several agents went around cleaning up the damages that had been dealt to the mansion.
"It was my pleasure," Million replied, shaking Looker's hand. "I do wish things had ended differently though..."
"In regards to your family? Or in regards to the boy who saved you?" Looker could not help but ask.
"Both," Million admitted. "I did wish that they had changed during the time I was gone. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. And I wish the boy did not have to throw his life like that to protect Draco. This just showed that I'm still not strong enough to protect him; dragging someone else into this mess and getting them potentially killed as a result...I'm truly ashamed of it all."
"Indeed..." Looker mumbled. "I do hope the boy makes a recovery. His valor should not be rewarded with death."
The two looked to the side to Draco, who was sleeping against the walls, having exhausted all his energy for the day.
"I'm sure Draco would want nothing more than for that Nate boy to survive the accident," Million mused.
Looker could not help but think about that Nate boy. It was something about him that reminded Looker of someone he had met years ago. Yes, the boy reminded Looker of that girl he had met in Sinnoh roughly four years ago. They both had a similar cold aura, but ultimately meant well for those around them. Or at least, that is how Looker decided to interpret it. Both of them performed admirable feats for the sake of others, but were ostracized and punished for it.
"Well lucky for him, Nate did survive."
The two turned to see Weiss, having returned from checking on Nate, with her latias floating diligently besides her.
"Agent Weiss!" Looker saluted.
"They were able to save Nate," Weiss reported to them. "But he needs a lot of rest. They suspect at least three to five weeks."
"I see..." Million sighed in relief. "Thank Arceus..."
"Really, it was quite the scare," Weiss muttered as she sighed. "So how's the operation going over here?"
"We have detained all guilty parties," Looker reported to Weiss. "And have removed all their belongings, including their Pokémon, which will be released back into the wild. We have a team that's currently investigating all the actions Zillion Riches and the family have done."
"And the townsfolks?" Weiss asked.
"Elite Four Caitlin managed to calm them down," Looker replied. "They all returned to their daily activities, but will probably wonder what will happen, now that their mayor has been arrested."
"If I'm allowed to, I'll take over," Million offered. "It was my family that was the root of all this corruption. It's only fair that I be the one to try and erase what they did and truly help the town."
"You're gonna have to talk to Caitlin about that," Weiss said. "Whether she lets you or not is up to her."
"That's fair..." Million nodded. He was not foolish as to think he would automatically become the replacement mayor.
"Commander Looker!"
The group turned to see an Interpol agent rush over to them, before saluting to his superiors.
"Ah, Commander Weiss! I was not aware that you have returned!" the agent saluted.
"At ease," Weiss told him. "What do you need to report?"
"...One of the prisoners has escaped," the agent reported hesitantly.
"...What?" Weiss asked in a flat tone.
"Who!?" Looker demanded the agent.
Soon enough, Weiss, Looker and Million had immediately descended to the jail cells, where they found that in fact, one of the arrested Riches were missing. One Zillion Riches was missing from his jail cell, while the other three were unconscious.
"And you just LET this happen!?" Weiss snarled at the agent.
"We had noticed that one of the cameras from the security room was disabled," the agent explained. "We immediately went to check on the prisoners, but we were too late."
"Damn it!" Million yelled, punching the wall. "So you're telling me that bastard's on the loose now!?"
"We are not sure," the agent said. "...There is one more thing peculiar to report."
"Out with it," Weiss growled. "It's not like we're in deep shit already."
"A portion of the security footage is missing," the agent reported.
"Missing?" Looker asked. "Which one?"
"From the timeframe of 6:49 PM to 7:21PM," the agent reported.
"...Isn't that when the entire confrontation happened?" Weiss asked.
"I do believe so..." Million said.
"...But, why that particular frame...?" Weiss asked herself.
That particular timeframe of the security footage was missing, and so was Zillion. First off, she needed to know how Zillion escaped. There was no way he could have escaped on his own, so that meant he got inside help. She did not want to believe that one of her men were in cahoots with him and were working undercover, but the possibility was there. But even then, someone would have noticed them, considering that even if this particular camera was most likely the one disabled, the rest were not, and someone would have spotted them from the security room.
Which meant that Zillion escaped the mansion from within this room. Weiss looked around in his jail cell. The door to the cell was open, with the lock being broken. The cell itself, however, was in perfect condition. There were no signs that Zillion made an escape route from within the cell itself. The lock looked like it was broken from the outside. So that meant Zillion escaped because someone let him out. But to make an escape like that without anyone noticing would require that they leave the mansion from the very cell room.
"This is absurd!" Looker complained. "There's no way Zillion could have made the escape without anyone noticing!"
"...No..." Weiss paled, realization dawning to her. "There is one way."
"...Agent Weiss?" Looker asked, afraid to ask what conclusion she had came to.
"...It has to be them..." Weiss muttered. "...Shadow Triad..."
"The Shadow Triad...?" Looker asked. "You mean the three ninjas under Ghetsis' command?"
If it was them, then they surely could have rescued Zillion from the very room without anyone noticing. But the problem was now, why? Did Zillion still benefit them somehow, even though the fat man no longer had access to his immense wealth? Did he know something Team Plasma wished to know? Or is there something else?
...Come to think of it, it was entirely possible that the Shadow Triad had tampered with the security footage and took a particular recording with them. But for what purpose?
It was there when Weiss realized something. The incident recorded had one particular interaction. One interaction involving one particular person.
"...Shit..." Weiss said, before immediately rushing out of the room.
"Wha–Agent Weiss!?" Looker exclaimed.
"I'LL EXPLAIN LATER!" Weiss yelled back as she immediately emerged from the cell room and jumped out of a nearby window, where Latias caught her fall. "Giant Chasm. Now!"
Latias nodded, before taking flight towards Weiss' desired destination. The agent in white sincerely hoped what she realized was nothing more than paranoia. Or else this was not going to be good.
Kyurem opened his eyes, sensing someone having entered his cold and desolate cave and waking the dragon up from his slumber. Footsteps, followed by the clanking of metal, resonated and echoed throughout the dark cave Kyurem called home. Kyurem sighed. Kyurem recognized the sounds, and inwardly groaned.
"You are quite persistent," Kyurem commented to his guest.
From the other side of the cave, Ghetsis emerged into the room, walking on his metal cane like usual.
"If you wish to try and convince me to join your cause, then you should know the answer," Kyurem told the man. "For your sake and my own, I suggest you cease this pointless act. You're honestly wasting both of our times."
"You would assume so," Ghetsis replied calmly. "However...I do wish to ask you something."
"Out with it," Kyurem groaned.
"Your representative that you mentioned..." Ghetsis asked. "Would it be a boy by the name of Nate Warren?"
Kyurem's annoyed look changed to that of a rather serious one upon Ghetsis uttering Nate's name. Ghetsis noticed the change and smiled.
"My faithful followers had encountered him earlier," Ghetsis said. "They seemed to have ended up in a squabble over Reshiram. Ultimately, it lead to neither party being successful in obtaining Reshiram, and the dragon escaping as a result."
"So it is safe to say that Nate could have obtained Reshiram had your dogs not interfered?" Kyurem asked dangerously.
"It would be likely to say yes," Ghetsis admitted. "However...I do propose a different proposition."
"What?"
"I propose that we join forces," Ghetsis offered.
"How is that any different from what you proposed before?" Kyurem asked.
"Because this time, I propose you have Nate join Team Plasma," Ghetsis said. "While we may not have the...best of histories together...I am confident that with enough persuasion and reasoning, the boy will surely join Team Plasma."
"And you assume that by doing so, I will ally myself with you lot," Kyurem said, figuring out what Ghetsis was going for. "Since my representative allied himself with you lot."
"I did say that my resources would find Reshiram and Zekrom much faster and more efficient than the boy," Ghetsis said. "However, I have learned that if we combined forces, then surely obtaining the two would be even easier. And having him as an ally is much more beneficial than keeping him as a hostile."
Kyurem narrowed his blank, yellow eyes. While the logic was there, Kyurem doubted that plan would work. Nate was the one who warned Kyurem about Team Plasma in the first place. The ice dragon highly doubted that Nate would even consider joining Team Plasma, when the boy went out of his way to warn him to not affiliate himself with the group.
"Do as you please," Kyurem muttered. "If you somehow manage to convince Nate to ally himself with your group, then I will consider. I highly doubt you will be successful though..."
"I'm sure I can convince the boy to see it our way," Ghetsis replied. It was at that time, something buzzed from within his robe. "Oh! Excuse me..."
"Go ahead," Kyurem muttered.
Slightly nodding in gratitude, Ghetsis took out a phone-like communicator, before answering it.
"What is it?" Ghetsis asked. "...What? ...What!? Are you certain!? ...Well now...I see...Please regroup as soon as possible then..."
Ghetsis proceeded to hang up the call, a rather troubled expression now painted on the man's face.
"What's the matter?" Kyurem asked almost mockingly. "Did things not turn out as planned?"
The man turned to Kyurem almost awkwardly.
"Ah...yes...well..." Ghetsis stumbled with his words. "How do I explain this...please, do not lose your cool..."
"Out with it," Kyurem grumbled impatiently.
"...Well, according to my operatives..." Ghetsis said slowly. "They confirmed that...Nate Warren has been killed."
"...What," Kyurem said flatly.
At that moment, the Shadow Triad wapred into the room behind Ghetsis, carrying an unconscious Zillion.
"It is as Lord Ghetsis said," the Triad carrying Zillion said as he tossed the fat man onto the ground in front of Kyurem. "This man is guilty of fatally shooting Nate Warren, leading to the boy's death."
It was at that moment Zillion decided to wake up from his unconscious state and get up, only to find himself up close to Kyurem. The man squealed in fear as he backed up.
"W-WH-WH-WH-WHAT IS THAT!?" Zillion screamed in fear.
"...Human, if you value your life, then answer my question," Kyurem growled. "Did you or did you not kill Nate Warren?"
Zillion paled at the question, quaking in fear both from the giant dragon that looked poised to murder him on the spot, and from the fact that it was asking a question that Zillion knew the answer to that would further anger the murderous dragon.
"O–OF COURSE NOT!" Zillion exclaimed desperately. "I DID NO SUCH THING!"
"We have evidence that begs to differ," the left Triad, Zwei, member said, producing a device from his pocket that displayed a hologram video. From the device it showed a hologram of what had happened at the mansion several hours ago, including the part where Nate took a bullet to the stomach for a small boy from Zillion, before taking five more bullets to the back to protect the boy, before collapsing on the ground, bleeding out.
Zillion paled even more as Kyurem watched the video intently. The Triad members moved to protect Ghetsis as they backed away from Zillion and Kyurem. The dragon seemingly stared in no particular direction for a good minute, before unleashing a pent up rage.
"RRRRRRROOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGGGH!" Kyurem howled in anger, rumbling the very foundation of the cave itself.
The force of Kyurem's rage-induced roar was enough to lower the already-low temperature of the room even lower, freezing the ground around Kyurem.
"HUMAN!" Kyurem roared. "Not only did your wretched actions ruin my plan, but you killed the boy! You KILLED HIM!"
"I-I-I–!" Zillion stammered, cowering for his life, before spotting Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad guarding him. "L-Lord Ghetsis! Please save me!"
Zillion crawled towards Ghetsis as fast as he could, but Ein kicked him away rather painfully.
"You fear for your own life, so you beg others around you to save what you have squandered," Ghetsis remarked in disgust. "Absolutely pathetic."
"B-But I thought we were allies!" Zillion pleaded. "I am your benefactor and your loyal follower!"
"What are you...?" Ghetsis asked in confusion. "This is the first time we've ever met. Why would I try to save a total stranger and risk getting caught in the crossfire? Not to mention you threw a wrench in my plans as well."
Before Zillion could react, he felt the ground around him get colder and colder. He looked down to see the ground slowly getting encased in ice, before the ice began to encase Zillion. The man screamed in terror as he backed away, trying to escape being frozen, but the ice overtook him with ease. Within the matter of seconds, Zillion found himself encased in ice. The man was still alive, but he could not move an inch being imprisoned by ice while he could feel the cold overtaking his body to the point of raging pain.
"Only those prepared to be killed are the ones who are allowed to kill," Kyurem said as several large and sharp slabs of ice formed around Zillion's frozen body. "So by killing the boy, you accept that your life is forfeit as well."
Zillion tried to plea for his life, but he could not even move his mouth while frozen in the ice. The ices floating around him grew sharper and sharper, until they became absurdly sharp lances of ice.
"NOW DIE, HUMAN!"
Zillion could only scream in the ice as Kyurem's ice lances launched themselves at the frozen fat man. The lances tore through the ice and Zillion's trapped body, ripping Zillion's body apart mercilessly. Within an instant, Zillion was no more. What was left of him was now a pile of brutally shredded flesh, blood and stained ice. Staring at what was left of the man, Kyurem let out one more roar of anger into the cave.
"...I'm terribly sorry for your loss," Ghetsis said somberly once Kyurem calmed down a bit.
"I knew of this..." Kyurem muttered. "Humans are pathetic...humans are evil...No good will ever come out of humanity...THIS! THIS is proof enough of it! Leaving these humans to roam as they please will squander the world and reduce it to nothing but worthlessness!"
"So what will you do now?" Ghetsis asked.
Kyurem turned to the man; the Shadow Triad stiffening into a defensive position.
"You...you said you could obtain Reshiram and Zekrom, correct?" Kyurem asked. "I have lost my representative. So I shall go on your offer."
"Is that so?" Ghetsis asked.
"The humans need to pay!" Kyurem snarled. "They have committed too many atrocities as it is now! I will bring their pathetic excuses of lives into the ground!"
"...Very well," Ghetsis said, taking out a strange black and blue pokéball. "Then may this alliance become official."
'I swear this...I will make humanity pay for what they did...For their myriad centuries of foolishness and torment...' Kyurem thought to himself as he lowered his head and tapped the ball. 'Nate...you shall be avenged...'
Kyurem was promptly absorbed into the ball, where the ball immediately confirmed the successful capture of Kyurem. Ghetsis glanced down at the strange pokéball in his hand, before letting out a rather smug smirk of satisfaction.
"And with this, we have successfully obtained the legendary third dragon, Kyurem," Ghetsis announced to his Shadow Triad.
"Congratulations, Lord Ghetsis," Ein congratulated him on behalf of him and his brothers.
"Nonsense, none of this would have been possible without you three making the necessary preparations," Ghetsis said. "Now then, let us leave. Colress should be finished with the redesigns of the genesect battalion."
Nodding, the three vanished before Ghetsis, moving on ahead to their base, which was waiting for him outside. Ghetsis began to make his leave, before glancing down at what was left of Zillion.
"Please do not worry," Ghetsis said calmly to the pile of flesh and ice that was once Zillion Riches while smirking. "Your martyrdom allowed us to accelerate our plans. We shall make sure your death was not in vain."
Latias flew as fast as she can, carrying Weiss to the Giant Chasm.
"Ah–Latias, down!" Weiss yelled, prompting Latias to instantly stop and hide behind some debris.
A low rumble could be felt from outside the Giant Chasm. Weiss looked up, where she and Latias spotted Team Plasma's ship, the Plasma Frigate, ascending into the skies, before taking off to parts unknown. Once the Plasma Frigate was out of sight, Latias flew to the Giant Chasm, gliding towards the innermost cave within the chasm. Weiss jumped off Latias, before running into the cave.
Weiss ran into the innermost cave of said cave, where her fears were confirmed. The cave that should be housing Kyurem was completely empty, with its resident nowhere to be seen. The only thing that was out of place of the cave was a pile of flesh and ice, completely undistinguishable, although Weiss had a good idea who that pile of flesh used to be.
"...DAMN IT!" Weiss yelled in frustration.
Yancy found herself waking up in the middle of the night. She grumbled before getting up from the bed she had taken for the night. She looked around to see Bianca and Rosa, sleeping in the other beds.
Yancy could not sleep. She was too worried about Nate to be able to sleep at the moment. She knew that was silly, but she could not help herself. Mumbling, Yancy quietly left the room without waking the others up and went to the café, hoping that something to eat might help her go to sleep. As she reached the café, however, she heard the sound of glass shattering, and froze up. Could someone have broken into the lab to steal something? Was it a burglar? Or worse?
Shakily clutching onto Teddi's pokéball, Yancy slowly crept towards the café and peeked into the opening. She could make out the silhouette of someone, who seemed to have dropped a glass cup. Yancy slowly reached for the power switch and turned the lights on, ready to send out Teddi. But she froze up once more.
To her shock, the 'intruder', was none other than Nate, who was panting on the floor, struggling to get back up.
"Damn it..." he grumbled.
"NATE!" Yancy gasped, rushing over to help the boy.
"Ah...Yancy..." Nate muttered as she helped him up and into a chair. "Sorry bout that..."
"Y-You're alright...!" Yancy stuttered, joy overcoming her at the moment.
"Yeah..." Nate muttered, slumping down on the chair and looking down on the table with a dead gaze.
Yancy could not help but notice how...dead, Nate looked. His eyes were blank, he was still in his jumpsuit riddled with bandages, and he seemed to not have enough strength to so much as even pick up a cup without dropping it.
"But...how...?" Yancy asked. "The professor said it would've taken at least three weeks for you to wake up..."
Nate vaguely remembered the cloaked man somehow healing him in the operating room. He also remembered what the man told him.
"...Dunno..." Nate slurred, not wishing to reveal such information. They did not need to know about something not even he entirely understood.
Before Yancy could ask another question, everyone else flooded into the café, presumably having been alerted by Nate dropping the glass cup on the floor.
"NATE!" Rosa and Hugh cried out, rushing over to him.
Nate merely gave them a dead stare in response, but the two seemed happy that he was awake to mind too much. The staff entered the café too, having heard the commotion, before spotting their patient.
"-BOSS!-" "-NATE!-"
Nate's Pokémon had entered the room, and spotted their trainer, before rushing up to him in relief.
"-You're alright..!-" Luca gasped with joy.
"...Glad to see you're alright too," Nate said with some genuine relief. At the very least, he was glad to see that his Pokémon were safe and sound. "...All of you..."
"Nate...!?" Professor Park gasped.
"Yo, Professor," Nate muttered, giving a little wave.
"How...?" Professor Park muttered. "He shouldn't have woken up this fast...someone check the equipment and the footage!"
His staff rushed out of the café to do as he said immediately. Nate glanced around. He saw Yancy next to him, and Hugh and Rosa up close to him, with his Pokémon not too far from them too. Beyond them, he recognized Curtis, then Bianca and Cheren, and–.
Nate's dead stare fixated on Hilbert, who returned the stare.
"...You..." Nate mumbled.
"...It's been a while," Hilbert replied. "...I'm glad you're alright."
"Keh! Now you care..." Nate growled under his breath.
Hilbert was nothing but relieved that his younger brother was alright, having somehow survived the fatal gunshots to his stomach and back. He was relieved and overjoyed to see his younger brother again, in spite of how his expression looked from the outside, and in spite of their 'previous' encounters.
However, Hilbert still needed to confirm a few things from him. And only because only Nate could confirm them as truth or fabrications.
"...This is probably not the best time," Hilbert said to Nate. "...But I still need to confirm things about you."
Nate leered at his older brother, but said nothing and let Hilbert continue.
"...Nate, you're allied with Kyurem, correct?" Hilbert asked.
Nate stayed silent for a moment, contemplating his options. Ultimately, however, he knew there was no way he was going to escape. And at this point, he did not care anymore. He lost all advantages he could possibly have on him. Hiding everything was what caused the whole debacle in the first place. Might as well shed some light on the truth that Bun-Hair wanted to know so badly.
"...Yeah..." Nate confirmed.
"...Kyurem?" Rosa asked. "...Who's that?"
"...Reshiram and Zekrom were once one dragon, over three thousand years ago," Hilbert explained. "But then they split into the two dragons we all know today when the war broke out at the same time. The remains of that split is Kyurem, the third legendary dragon of Unova, forgotten by history."
"So there was a third dragon this whole time?" Hugh asked.
"Yeah," Hilbert said, his eyes not leaving Nate's dead gaze. "...And for why you're working for Kyurem...You and Kyurem wish to obtain Reshiram and Zekrom to restore Kyurem to its original state as the original dragon, correct?"
"...Yeah..." Nate replied.
"...Once that's been achieved, you and Kyurem wish to destroy Unova..." Hilbert confirmed with Nate, making everyone else either gasp or look at Nate in disbelief. "...Correct...?"
Nite, Vire and Zoro had equally shocked looks as they glanced to Nate for an answer. Both Luca and Brav, knowing said answer, looked down in shame. Deo, on the other hand, glanced at Nate for his response, but his expression was not shocked like the others.
"...Yeah..." Nate confirmed with a dead tone.
The humans sans Hilbert gasped at Nate's response. Nite, Vire and Zoro looked like they could not believe what Nate had just said.
"...Why?" Hilbert asked. "There's no way there isn't a reason for that. So why? Why side with Kyurem and seek out Unova's destruction? Nate, I don't want to bring you in. I just want to help you–!"
Hilbert was interrupted by Nate, who began cackling. His cackle sounded as dead as he looked, and completely hollow and devoid of emotions.
"N-Nate...?" Yancy asked in fear.
"...So now you wanna help..." Nate mumbled to Hilbert, ignoring Yancy. "Now you decide you want to help me. Even though you abandoned me all those years ago like the rest of those trash humans..."
Hilbert was taken aback. He abandoned Nate…? There was just no way was that true.
"You don't believe me...Of course you don't," Nate muttered, judging Hilbert'. "No one ever bothers to hear out or believe the freak of nature. Kehehe...you're all the fucking same. Even after all those years. Even after I spared you back at that castle. You haven't changed a single bit."
"What're you talking about!?" Hilbert demanded.
While everyone was looking at the two siblings in confusion, only Brav had a grave expression on his face. The eagle was the only one who knew what Nate was referring to. After all, Brav was with the boy ever since he saved him from his death ten years ago.
"...Fine..." Nate said. "I'll talk."
"Nate...?" Yancy asked.
"...This isn't meant to be an excuse," Nate started. "Nor is it meant to justify my actions. I know I committed unforgivable acts. Too many of them. I'll simply share my tale. This isn't a heroic story of valor or sorts. It's just my life story. Everything I went through while I was nothing more than a small, scared child, having every ounce of innocence torn out of him by the world. In it, you'll understand and learn everything about me. And then you'll understand why I'm like this. Why I hate humanity, and wish to see it burn.
"Then...you'll finally understand why I want nothing more than to see you and the rest of humanity bleed...Brother..."
To be continued
AN: And that's a wrap for this chapter! Sorry if it felt shorter than my usual chapters. Not in word count-that's looking to be normal, but in terms of plot pacing and content, i suppose. I dunno it just feels shorter and more lacking to me than compared to my other chapters. But yeah, all that happened. Some good thing, some definitely bad things, and Nate survived. Go figure I wouldn't let Nate die. Honestly I think he's one of the most popular; if not the most popular character in this story. Probably. I dunno. If anything, I'm sure people would hate me if I killed him off like that. Question of this chapter: which character do you like the most? Which one do you like the least? Kinda curious not gonna lie.
Next chapter is going to solely cover Nate's background, so look forward to that.
Nate: N/A [Rampardos was retrieved and returned to Curtis after it was removed from Nate's being while under surgery]
Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Arcanine) / Mandi (Mandibuzz) / Gustav (Amoonguss)
Hugh: Flygon / Servine / Magmortar / Carracosta / Heracross / Tornadus-Therian
Yancy: Audi (Audino) / Teddi (Ursaring) / Snor (Snorlax) / Toge (Togekiss)
Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter. I'll see you next time with the long-awaited explanation to Nate's mysterious background.