Ghetsis examined the burnt, black skin of his right arm. He often found himself doing so as he considered the changes Unova was undergoing. Changes brought by N, yes, but always N had danced to Ghetsis' whims like a puppet on strings, and it was still certainly no different. That was the only reason Ghetsis had raised the boy.
He shoved his arm into the sleeve of his robe, turning on a heel. For the first time in his life, however, N had gone missing. Ghetsis thought it a shame that he had had to wait until N had fled the mansion before using Pokemon, or otherwise risk the boy finding out he was a trainer. The fool probably assumes the police captured me.
The door into the palace throne room creaked open, pushed by two loyal Team Plasma members, and six robed figures strode inward, footfalls echoing. Ghetsis stepped down the dais to meet them as the doors thumped to a close.
"My Lord Ghetsis," said Rood, touching a hand to his chest and bowing. It was about time the man started showing some proper respect. "Our scouts from Team Plasma have reported that N has arrived in Accumula Town."
Ghetsis scowled. The other sages dipped their heads in his direction, then scattered around the room to find their seats. "What is he doing in that putrid little place?"
"I could not say, My Lord," said Rood. "I do know, however, that he is traveling with that girl. Luna… I believe N said her name was?"
Ghetsis' frown deepened. Blasted girl. He didn't know who she was - didn't care - but she was constantly interfering in his plans. She was a cutiefly that he had to swat away continuously. If she would not buzz off like the insect she was, then there was only one course of action Ghetsis could take.
She would have to die.
"She must have manipulated the fool somehow," Ghetsis said. "We will have to use the Shadow Triad."
Rood bowed to his knees. "As you wish, My Lord Ghetsis."
"Be seated, Rood." The man scurried off at Ghetsis' command. It had been a long while since Ghetsis used the Shadow Triad, especially for murder, but they were a useful tool when he needed them.
He unfolded his arms and reached into his robe, pulling out three Pokeballs. He released them, and when the white glow had subsided, three zoroarks knelt on the marble floor, ready to do his bidding.
"Transform into the Shadow Triad," he ordered them. Again, a white glow cast out the darkness of the room, this time as the three applied the illusion. When they finished, no more were there three zoroarks kneeling, but instead three humans with white hair; their faces covered by black masks.
"I have a task for you," Ghetsis said. The pleasing thing about Pokemon proved to be that they were too ignorant to betray him, or even disobey a single order. "My son has escaped my grasp and is currently on his way to Accumula Town with some blond-haired bimbo of a girl. You are to kill this girl… but do not bring N back to me. He must think you are evil, and not that there is any connection between you and I. Punish him, but only a little, for your primary target is the girl."
"Ah, My Lord?" Came a squeaky voice. Ghetsis glared to the side, where Gorm - the worm that he was - had stood. If not for his intelligence, Ghetsis would have banished him long ago. "Y-you seek to, ah, kill her? Surely there is another-"
"Silence, Gorm. That is the course of action I am taking."
Gorm gulped, shifting on his feet. The man reminded Ghetsis of a rat. "Will Lorn N not be consumed by grief over this? That girl is his, ah, friend, as I recall."
"Don't pretend as if you know him," Ghetsis snapped. "And no. If anything, it will make him hate humans, even more, meaning he will be more dedicated to his goal than ever.
Ghetsis turned back to the Shadow Triad. Gorm plopped himself back in his chair, where he belonged.
"You must not reveal you are Pokemon," Ghetsis said. "This girl is not a trainer, otherwise dear N would never associate with her, so it shall be easy. And for god sake's hide those tails of yours when you go: they stay even when you transform. So, go in, kill the girl, harm N a small bit, enough to make him think you are not only there to kill the girl. Am I clear?"
The three nodded.
"Then go," Ghetsis said. They vanished into shadow, slinking away as if they'd become one with the inky darkness. Zoroarks could do a great many things no human would ever be able to.
He looked around the room, spotting Zinzolin in the far corner. Ghetsis waved the short man over to him. He came reluctantly; he had always been an insubordinate one, but fear of Ghetsis' strength as a trainer kept the man in line. Moreover, it was greed for more power that drove Zinzolin. Ghetsis could offer him that, once all the pieces on the board were set.
"What do you need, My Lord?" He grumbled.
Ghetsis cleared his throat. "You will tell me of what progress you have made on that task of yours."
As Zinzolin began to speak, Ghetsis listened with half an ear, thinking of N. The boy would know what it meant to oppose Ghetsis, even if he had not done it intentionally. He had left Ghetsis, and that was enough. Once that girl lay in a pool of her blood, cold and lifeless, N would come crawling back to him, looking for a savior, and Ghetsis would appear. As always. He would make sure that N was as firmly under his grip as ever. Until the time came for the structure of the world to collapse, it would be so.