What the Wind Carries [Pokémon Black and White 2 fanfiction]

41| Facing the Shadows

   "You remember that?" Hilbert asked, surprised. I was surprised too. That happened a while ago, and she still somehow remembered it?

   "I always remember things that interest me. So can you tell us?"

   "I might as well. If not, you'll just ask again later on, I know it," Hilbert said with a begrudging sigh. "Luna... She was my partner at one time. She was my first Pokémon and she happily accompanied me on my journey. She agreed and supported my ideals and never once questioned my judgement. That all changed when I met Natural. She learned of his thoughts on life as a whole and soon became more distant. She eventually became defiant, sometimes flat-out refusing to battle knowing that she'd be harming another Pokémon.

   "Then one day, she admitted that she had changed her way of thinking and decided to leave me. She said that she wanted to follow the truth. I let her leave and she never regretted her choice once."

   What kind of Pokémon would abandon their Trainer like that? I wondered. "That sounds like one traitorous partner," I said.

   "That's what everyone I knew said when I first told them," Hilbert said. "Strangely, I could never bring myself to hate her. It was her decision to make, not mine. I can respect that. Pokemon are like people, they have their own free will. No one should force them to be with people or separate them forever. That was what I fought for in the first place. In some weird way, I managed to achieve that. And I guess that's all I can really hope for."

   "If you're fine with that, I won't judge you," Rosa said.

   "Good, because I honestly wouldn't have cared anyways. Like I said, it was Luna's choice. But to hear her say that she's nervous being near Natural seriously concerns me. I'll try to believe you, Bianca. I'm just worried," Hilbert said to Bianca.

   "What are you all waiting for? We need to go!" N whisper-yelled from the main tunnel.

   "You heard the potentially crazy guy, let's get going," I said. Hilbert glared at me briefly before leading Bianca out of the cavern.

   "You could be a little nicer, you know?" Nate said.

   I sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry. I'm just a little on edge, that's all. I get sarcastic when I'm nervous, I have no idea why. Don't worry, it's nothing to worry about," I said. That was when I remembered what I had promised to Nate, and I realized I was breaking that promise. "Okay, fine. I keep thinking that any second, Kage is gonna show up and... end me. That's why I'm nervous."

   "You don't need to be nervous. With all of us here, we'll make sure he doesn't get anywhere near you," Rosa said comfortingly.

   "Thank you for admitting that," Nate said. "I told you that we'd be willing to help you."

   I felt a warm sensation inside my chest, and my spirits lifted. Why did I ever doubt my friends in the first place? "Yeah, yeah, I know. Stop with the sappy stuff and let's knock some Neo Plasma skulls together! We have some Legendary Dragons to save!" I said with as much confidence as I could muster. Pushing thoughts of Kage to the back of my mind was the best thing I could do for now.

   "Yeah!" both my friends said in unison.

   The six of us quickly and stealthily made our way back through the tunnels. N led the group with Midnus and Luna right behind him. The rest of us trailed after them in a ragtag line. I was ninety-percent sure N had no idea where he was going but he seemed pretty confident about it regardless. Whenever we heard footsteps other than our own, we ducked into whatever side passage or alcove that was nearest to us. They'd simply pass us by with no regard that we were literally a foot or two away from them. And I was thinking that we'd have a hard time with this!