Chapter Fourteen – Hope

Time stopped. N could no longer feel his heart beating, and without it, there was no proof that he still lived. There wasn't even pain, and what was life without it?

Like light and darkness, black and white, one could not exist without the other, and once one became extinguished, the world turned to nothingness. It became a void too deep to even be fathomable, but it was the void that made existence what it was. Only death was to know how to define nothingness.

But as N sat before the Shadow Triad and their words sunk in, everything seemed to fade away.

A Shadow's words shocked him back to life, though, a sudden reminder that darkness still existed. "Here's the real zinger," the man offered. "Your friends both knew before you. The gym leader knew first, and, well, if he didn't tell Champion Rosa, she knows now. While these two brought you over here, I went to pick up the strays. Of course… one of them got away… but he'll be back soon."

Rosa's name echoed in N's blank mind, and suddenly he remembered the others. Cheren, Rosa…

His friends…

Oh, he was a terrible person. It was all N's fault that Hilda was dead. If he hadn't gotten her involved with Team Plasma in the first place, none of this would have happened—if he hadn't been so determined to clash with the other hero, to prove to her that his opinions weren't worthless, she would still be alive. There was no argument: N was the reason why Hilda was dead now.

And to make matters worse, he got Cheren and Rosa involved in this, too. N had pushed for Rosa to come here… and she regretted it from the start. Just when he thought he was helping her, just when there was a chance for Rosa and Cheren to make it out if he agreed to go with the Shadow Triad, he got it all wrong. The Shadows caught her again.

But… Cheren made it out. That was what it sounded like, at least. But if N knew him—he didn't know Cheren well, but he did know him a little—then that arrogant gym leader would come right back with some help, even if that meant putting himself in danger all over again. He was just that kind of guy.

Hilda was dead…

Rosa was captured…

Cheren was gone…

N was leverage.

"The question is," one of the other Shadows began, "do you still want to fight? You're more than welcome to give up now and turn yourself over to our lord Ghetsis. It would be less effort all around, and we're all starting to get a little bit tired." The rest of the group nodded. "Aren't you tired, my lord?"

Fight? How could N be expected to fight now? His reason for fighting was gone forever.

No… no, that wasn't true. Hilda had never been a reason to fight—she had been a reason to hope. From the beginning, she was the reason to hope that people and Pokémon could live together in peace. She was the reason to hope that ideals and truths could coexist—hell, that differing opinions could exist and respect each other.

So, maybe hope was gone… but his ability to fight wasn't.

"I am tired," N admitted, pushing himself to his feet with his remaining strength. The sensation coursing through his body now was not unlike that when he thought Ghetsis might hurt Hilda all those years ago, like there was some sort of pit in his stomach. It was too late to worry about that, anyway.

If Hilda had been so easily disposed of, though, it was likely that Rosa and Cheren were next on the list.

"Indeed, my lord. I can't even imagine how exhausted you are." The Shadow's fake sincerity made something thump painfully in N's head, and he wobbled for a moment. "And if you give in now, you'll not have to worry anymore—you won't have to be tired anymore. You'll be with your dear Champion again."

N always looked for the best in people—it was his downfall, at least by Ghetsis's count. Ghetsis, after all, was the one who complained about the fact that N had to challenge Hilda, that he had to give the poor girl a chance, and it was the fault of that poor, warped boy that all of Team Plasma's plans fell apart. Caring too much and searching for the light left him defective, useless, a tool unable to be used.

And if the tool couldn't be used, what good was it?

For so long, Hilda's concern for N was enough to keep him satiated. She saw him as someone human—she assured him he wasn't defective.

But now, looking at the Shadow Triad, he didn't see anything good left in them. Their concern was only mockery and trickery—their words, that they hadn't killed Hilda, were manipulative at best. And their devotion to Ghetsis, the man who spurned and neglected his adopted son, was the root of a relationship poisonous to the whole world around them.

They were dark… evil… and if darkness couldn't exist without light…

If darkness still existed in the Shadow Triad, then that meant there was still enough light left in the world to provide a tiny ray of hope.

"Mr. Cheren?"

Cheren cracked an eye open as someone put a hand on his shoulder, and he barely prevented himself from smacking the hand away when he realized it was a cop shaking him awake. Somehow he had fallen asleep on the couch at the police station while waiting for the police to get their shit together and go.

He sat up straighter and rubbed his eyes, and the cop took a seat beside him on the couch. "How's it going there, son? We're almost ready to get going. You can go on and head home. We've got a great team on this case, I assure you." The man clapped his hand on Cheren's shoulder once more, but that wasn't what made the gym leader's eyes go wide. "We'll—"

"Home?" Cheren repeated. He felt better physically after that brief nap, but something about this whole thing still made his head hurt. "I'm not going home. I'm going with you."

"I'm afraid not. That'd be a liability." The cop tipped his hat down, casting a shadow over his face, and Cheren's stomach knotted. "If what you're saying is true, son, then it looks like you escaped a hell of a mess down there. I'd rather not put you back in the face of danger. But we'll do the best we can to get your friends out of there."

Cheren wrung his hands. He had to go back in there. He knew—or knew better than the cops did—the sewers. He knew the smells…

"I'm a gym leader. I have a responsibility to the Champion. I'm going," Cheren countered, and he would continue to be adamant about this. There was no other choice, even if he didn't have any of his Pokémon right now. "Besides, I helped Champion Alder and the other gym leaders years ago when Team Plasma first became a problem. I have experience handling the Shadow Triad, which, admittedly, didn't help that much this time…"

"Take this as an official order," the officer said, just as firmly. "You are not allowed in those sewers again."

"There is no choice here!" Cheren practically shouted, and several other people in the room turned to stare. "I'm going, even if that means following you into those sewers and being arrested later. I wouldn't have come to you guys in the first place if I thought that you might not let me help. Just let me do this, please."

The cop took off his hat this time and stared at Cheren with wide eyes. The damn kid wasn't going to give him any other option, was he?

"This is completely against regulations and protocol, so you best keep this down. I'm not losing my job over you," the officer warned before standing up. "We leave in ten minutes."

Cheren leaned his head back against the wall behind him, closing his eyes once again without the intention of falling asleep. He was really going back into that place. He could only hope that Rosa had made it to N and that the two of them were working their ways out. At the very least, the Shadow Triad could be predictable. If they got to Rosa, he at least knew where they would put her. As for N and his Pokemon…

"Mr. Cheren."

Cheren rubbed his eyes and jumped to his feet. "I'm awake," he muttered, the dryness of his voice indicating otherwise. "And it's just Cheren."

The force assigned to the case was made up of several veteran officers, which gave Cheren some hope that these men—and one woman—were competent enough to help fix this. The woman officer was a specialist in homicide cases, not that she would be able to do much with a body that was a couple of years old.

But this team of veterans couldn't handle the surprise of seeing a living legend.

As soon as they exited the station, Reshiram landed in front of them and butted its head against Cheren's arm. The officers watched in awe as Cheren patted the legendary Pokémon's nose and assured it that N would be saved soon. Hell, if convincing the officers to let Cheren come along didn't work, he should've known he could rely on a dragon.

"That's one hell of a benefit…" one of the officers muttered.

"It doesn't fit in the sewers," Cheren quickly corrected. Then, turning back to Reshiram, he frowned. "I'm afraid we'll be walking. You go ahead. I know you must not like waiting, but the next time we come out of those sewers, N will be with us."

Reshiram roared, and Cheren couldn't help but think the sound particularly mournful. He wondered if Reshiram couldn't sense N's presence at all anymore—and what that might mean… All he could do at this point was hope that N was okay and that he hadn't given in to whatever twisted demands the Shadow Triad had.

The dragon took off, and the team headed towards the sewers. At least Arcanine was still there, Cheren discovered upon arriving. It ran out of its hiding spot with its tongue dangling out of its mouth, which it then used to lick Cheren's face raw. If Cheren wasn't so happy to see his friend's Pokémon, too, he would've stopped the sorry beast.

"She yours?"

Cheren glanced back at the force, finally managing to push Arcanine away. "No, Rosa's."

"Do you think she'll be able to sniff her out? She'll know Rosa's scent better than any of our Arcanines," the policewoman wondered.

"All of our Pokémon have had trouble tracking in there. It might be because of the stench of the sewers or because of the Shadow Triad." Cheren rubbed Arcanine's head, and the dog licked him again. "I'm not sure… but I have an idea of where to check for Rosa first. It's difficult to find because of all the tunnels, but… Hilda's remains are in there, anyway."

"There are enough of us to split into two teams. You could go with the first team and lead them to where you think Rosa is, and the second team can begin the search for the so-called Shadow Triad," Officer Mallory, the senior-most cop on the team, suggested. He gestured to three officers, including the homicide investigator. "You three will go with Leader Cheren."

"Yes, sir."

Cheren nodded, and he looked at the sewer entrance. "Let's go."

It was cold… so cold… and the ice just kept getting closer…

Rosa startled herself awake as the ice struck. Was that a dream? No, she had seem that circling ice before. But that had happened long ago at this point—why was she shivering now, as if the ice was back? Was it the cool, damp floor against which she currently lie? No… The air in here was too musty.

She groaned as she tried to push herself up, and it wasn't long before she realized why she was probably shivering. The wound on her arm was bleeding profusely, leaving the ground matted and her clothes saturated with her own blood. How she was even conscious now, she didn't know—she had lost an awful amount of blood.

Unable to stand, she settled with leaning against the wall. At least the pain was gone. In fact, she wasn't sure any of her senses were working. Her eyes were adjusting slowly to the small bit of light filtering into the room, but her body was numb and she couldn't smell anything. The silence of the space was complemented with ringing in her ears.

But her sight was coming in now. Bars… there were bars in front of her.

With a heavy heart, she looked to the left. Sure enough, Hilda was there to greet her, but Rosa managed to stifle her urge to scream. Instead, she burst out laughing. Oh, her hearing worked, too. She could hear herself laugh. And the sound kept going and going, echoing within the room for what could have been minutes after she finally stopped giggling to herself.

"I wonder…" Rosa breathed to Hilda's remains. "I wonder… how you… died. Did they… poison you? Did… they run you through? Did you bleed… to death?" Rosa gestured to her wounded arm as if Hilda could actually see it. "Did they just… forget about you? Like they said? Not sure… I'll have time… to be forgotten…"

There wasn't much time left, true enough. But she had to hold onto the hope that someone was coming for her, which was hope that Hilda didn't have.

Author's Note: I think of those side characters in shows or games that are just completely useless compared to the main characters when I write about Cheren's interactions with the police. Like, come on, who's really running this show?

Until next time!