Words could not describe how relieved I felt when Nate and Rosa showed up. When I heard the ice seal shatter, I thought it was Kage and that it would be all over for me. But to my complete surprise and shock, three people I thought I had never seen before were the ones who broke it. Even more shocking was that it turned out that they were not only my friends, but someone else who Hilbert referred to as his best friend. In those few moments where everyone was just talking with each other, I felt utterly safe. But sadly, given the current situation, those moments were over far too quickly.
"Step one is completed. Now, we need to proceed with the rest of our plan," the guy who called himself N said thoughtfully. "That is what I would say if we didn't have one small problem. Your Pokémon, you don't have them."
"Don't look at me, I don't know where they could be," I muttered. I was worried sick about Flaris and my other teammates, and not knowing where they were amplified my anxiety.
"That isn't a problem, I know where they are," N said, shocking me with how he heard what I said. "Rosa, could you go shatter the other ice seal? They're in there, I'm sure of it." Rosa nodded and left the cavern. A few minutes later she returned, three backpacks clutched in her arms. Hilbert, Bianca and I got our bags back and checked to make sure nothing was stolen. Everything was in its rightful place, and even better was that the belt I kept my Poké Balls on along with my Xtransceiver was in there as well. One thing that did bother me however was that Rosa said there was no sign of Drayden.
"Now that everyone is equipped, we can continue the plan," N said.
"What about Drayden?" Nate interjected.
N's eyes narrowed and he tossed an irritated look Nate's way. "We continue the plan, and whether we find that Leader or not purely comes down to chance. Our goal is to rescue the Legends, get back the Splicers, and stop Ghetsis. We can't afford to bother with possible liabilities."
"Drayden isn't a liability. He could help us, and we need all the strength we can get." Rosa backed her brother up.
N shook his head. "It doesn't matter. We're going. Now." Without another word he left the cavern. Midnus and Luna followed him but not before Luna glanced back at Hilbert in a seemingly regretful manner. She yipped quietly and left right afterwards.
"Some 'best friend' you've got there," I said to Hilbert sarcastically.
"No, there isn't something right with him," Hilbert said with concern. "He wasn't this harsh the last time I saw him."
"People change, Hilbert." Bianca took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "It has been two years after all. I'm sure he's fine, don't worry about it."
"I hope you're right," Hilbert said. "But what Luna had just said troubles me. She said that she was... worried about Natural."
"You seem to have some connection with Luna," Rosa observed. "Back in Lentimas Town, Bianca said that she mistook Illie for Luna."
"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!
The entire time we were walking, I was more than tense, a feeling I hated almost as much as fear. It wasn't like I didn't believe that the others would help me if Kage or any member of the Triad appeared or anything, far from it, actually. I couldn't help but be cautious. Out of every horrible thing I became when I was afraid, at least being cautious was somewhat beneficial, especially since it was something I lacked on a normal basis. I knew I was reckless, I just never wanted to admit it to anyone! Strange... the kinds of thoughts that come to me at a time like this.
After what seemed like an eternity of walking through seemingly endless tunnels with nothing really happening, Nate suddenly stopped walking, causing me to crash into him.
"Hey! What's the holdup?" I whispered.
"I dunno, I guess N stopped for some reason."
Isn't that obvious? I wanted to say. I held back the remark and tried looking around Nate. The cave's darkness restricted me from seeing much of anything.
"Okay, before we continue on, I have to say something," N said from the front of the line. "We're about to enter into a large open cavern. I can see an exit of some sort on its far side. So far, we haven't run into any trouble which I'm taking as a bad sign."
"What are you suggesting then?" Hilbert asked.
"All I'm saying is that the probability of us getting to Ghetsis without encountering trouble is very unlikely. I won't sugarcoat this. As soon as we leave the caves and enter the chasm, expect to fight for your life. Not only may your lives be at stake but so will the people of Unova's as a whole. No matter what happens, make getting the Legendries or the Splicers your top priority. Do you all understand me?" We all muttered our agreements and we entered the cavern.
The cavern was a simple open space large enough to hold a sizable amount of people. It was completely empty and devoid of all life except for us. And while the silence was nothing but unsettling, it was better than being stuck in those suffocating tunnels.
"Ready your strongest Pokémon," N said quietly. We all held in hand what we considered to be our ace Pokémon along with our second-strongest. I personally decided to use Flaris and Tesla, who had evolved into an Electivire a few days ago. Might as well bring the fire following a shocking entrance.
"Are you all prepared? If so, let's go," N said.
"Not so fast."
I froze, my breath catching in my throat and fear stabbing into my heart like a knife. No, it can't be..!
From the empty space in front of us appeared three figures I knew we would encounter in a matter of time: Umbra, Shade, and Kage. They stood there silently, blocking our exit. As if obeying a silent order, they then each let out their Pokémon. Along with their three usual Pokémon, each Triad member also had two additional Pokémon, being menacing, blade-armed, bipedal Steel-types known as Bisharp. They had these new Pokémon for a reason, they were expecting a battle.
From Umbra's side, Pearls glared at me, lips pulled back over her white fangs and her crimson-colored fur spiked. She looked nothing like the Purrloin I had caught five years ago. She was merely a twisted shell of her former self, and seeing her like that broke my heart.
"Did you actually think we would let you meet with Lord Ghetsis... uninvited?" Umbra said flatly, his voice reverberating off the cave walls.
"Let us pass, Umbra. We outnumber you," N threatened.
"Your father is quite busy, N. Perhaps we may have let you pass... if you were still on his side," Shade said.
Father? Ghetsis is N's father?! I vaguely recalled a mental image of Ghetsis, and comparing him to the man who stood before us now brought up some resemblance, at least in the hair color department.
"In fact, we should let you pass," Umbra said. "Thanks to us, he is well aware of your little intrusion. Knowing you, you still have Reshiram, do you not? I'm sure Lord Ghetsis would love knowing that you're willing to practically deliver the third Legendary Dragon to him yourself. By all means, pass right on by... my lord," he finished mockingly.
Before I could even to begin processing what Umbra had said, the Triad member who hadn't yet spoken decided to contribute. "No, they cannot pass. There is one among them that will not leave this place." Kage's gaze met mine, and he casually lifted a hand to point at me. "You... it's time I finished what I had started. I never leave a job unfinished."
"What is he talking about?" N turned to look at me. "What does Kage want with you?" As everyone's attention was drawn to me, I caught a glimpse of something Kage was doing. He had moved his hand and was now pointing at his neck. With little finesse, he drew his index finger across his throat in a slicing motion, his action sending chills coursing through me.
"He... he wants..." I struggled to say the words, like me saying them prevent what I knew was coming. "He wants to kill me," I managed to choke out, desperately trying to hold back my encroaching fear.
"Well? How about it?" Kage asked. "Hand him over... and we'll let you by."
"Absolutely not! That is out of the question!" Hilbert exclaimed.
"This is the only offer we'll make. Give him to us, and you can chance losing to Ghetsis. Refuse, and you'll merely lose here... Choose wisely," Kage said, his tone growing sharper. Umbra and Shade offered no objections to Kage's offer, they appeared to be content with his "toll."
"We won't sacrifice one of us just to fulfill whatever sick design you have for him!" Bianca added.
"I'll ask one last time, the boy for your rite of passage."
This was hard to watch for me. I never knew everyone cared for me so much, even N, who I thought didn't care about anyone else besides Hilbert from the way he talked about Drayden. Even if he only wanted my strength as a Trainer, it still counted as something. But... there was no getting around the facts. I could only escape confrontation for so long. Sooner or later, I would have to face Kage myself. I didn't want to risk the region being frozen all because I had once again tried to escape my fate. And whether it was to defeat Kage once and for all or die trying, I wanted to decide it for myself, not wait for it to be decided for me.
"Fine, Kage. You win, I'll stay," I said, returning Kage's glare with what I hoped was the same amount of hostility. One thing my gaze couldn't match was the sheer amount of hunger his eyes bore. He seemed to be more than eager to get his hands on me, and my response put a sick glint of glee in his ice-blue irises.
"No, Hugh! You're not handing yourself over to these monsters!" Nate said, grabbing hold of my wrist. "We'll power through them if we have to, we won't let you give yourself up like this. It wouldn't be right!"
"This choice isn't yours to make, Nate, it's mine," I said firmly, my mind made up. "Remember what Hilbert said about Luna? He respected her decision. And now, I want you to do the same for me."
"You can't! You promised that you would let us help you!"
"You will be helping me if you let me do this. Letting me deal with Kage and the rest of the Triad myself will be the greatest help you could possibly give me. I... I need closure Nate, and allowing me to fight it out might give me that closure," I said, tears beginning to well in my eyes. The sentiment was heartwarming, it truly was.
"I don't want you to die!" Nate cried.
"Believe me, I don't want to either!" I said.
"This is quite touching, but we need to speed things along here," Kage said, sounding bored.
I looked at Nate, my gaze saying more than any words could. Let me go, please. I need to do this, I tried to say through my stare. I refused to run from this, and I hoped that my eyes could convey this. It seemed to work and Nate hung his head, sighing heavily.
"Don't... don't die here, okay?!" he said as he let me go.
"I won't, really," I responded. "And don't you dare lose that battle! The region is depending on you, Rosa, and everyone else."
"I believe in you Hugh, don't you forget that," Rosa said with a soft smile
"Thanks, you guys," I said, the tears now flowing freely.
"Fine then, we'll hand him over," N said. "Let us through."
"It would be our pleasure, Heroes of Truth and Ideals," Umbra said. The Triad stepped to the side and the others rushed past them. Nate and Rosa gave me one last sorrowful, yet hopeful look.
"If I get out of this, I'll come running. I promise!" I said, trying to smile. They both nodded briefly, and then they were gone.
I was now alone with the Shadow Triad. I turned my attention to the three black-clad men and their Pokémon who were now sizing me up. I had never been more scared in my entire life. What I was seeing, what I was now feeling... It reminded me all too much of when I had first encountered the trio in the Driftveil cargo yard. I stared them down, tears streaking my face, heart racing at a hundred miles an hour, and my stomach tied in countless knots. And yet, I refused to show any fear. My goal was no longer to save Unova, or prove myself, or even rescue Pearls. It was to survive, to live through this and come out on top. I won't die here, I can't die here, I refuse to die!
"I don't know whether to applaud your bravery, or remind you of how idiotic a decision you made," Shade said.
"We'll deal with you, then we'll take care of your friends..." Umbra continued. "And while I disagree with Kage's plan, it'll be interesting to really battle the Trainer he keeps ranting on about."
"I'll be sure to savor ending your life, every... last... second," Kage finished.
I let out Tesla and Flaris along with the rest of my team, making sure to take my time. If these were going to be my final moments, I would make them last. I then looked back to Kage, forcing myself to smirk. "I'd like to see you try."
Kage arched an eyebrow in a look of genuine interest. "We'll see," he said. He again pointed at me, his unblinking gaze fixated on mine. "Tangrowth... Power Whip."