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[Pokémon] The Surprising Adventures of a Glaceon in Unova (T)

destinedjagold

You can contact me in PC's discord server...
8,593
Posts
16
Years
  • Age 33
  • Seen Dec 23, 2023
Boreas still has to keep both his eyes!
Horay!
Zekrom wanting to be kept inside his/her/it's pokeball...
Maybe after long years of being inside a stone, it's not used to roam around?

The battle was written well, though hanging.
I also wanted to read about the other's side of battle, but, Boreas' point of view.

Also, a fake Aqua was a nice touch. ;)

A very good chapter once again.
Looking forward for the next chapter~
 
79
Posts
12
Years
  • Seen May 24, 2013
Boreas still has to keep both his eyes!
Horay!
Zekrom wanting to be kept inside his/her/it's pokeball...
Maybe after long years of being inside a stone, it's not used to roam around?


Yeah, that's probably part of the reason. Its own powers also simply exhaust it after a while, even when it does nothing special. I just don't see a legendary walking about all the time like other pokémon, somehow.

The battle was written well, though hanging.
I also wanted to read about the other's side of battle, but, Boreas' point of view.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'hanging' in this context, could you elaborate? (English isn't my first language)

Also, a fake Aqua was a nice touch. ;)

A very good chapter once again.
Looking forward for the next chapter~

Thanks.

Chapter Sixty-Two: Lost in the Black Mountains



The journey over Victory Road was hard enough with four good legs and two good eyes; with one leg in a cast and one eye covered up to help it and the wound in his forehead heal it was even worse. Yet Boreas couldn't just sit out the journey in his pokéball either; his friends needed him in the frozen landscape, which was getting colder day by day. Even with his broken leg he still had the easiest time with the cold and the ice, and walked on top of the layer of snow with relative ease while his friends struggled through it. He had to scout ahead, try and find the easiest paths through snow and ice for them, and forage what little food there was to find. His innate feeling for the structure of ice helped them avoid dangerous spots and avalanches. The only times he was returned to his pokéball was when they had a particularly difficult climb or descent to do.



On snowless days they often found the tracks of N and his pokémon, and when they were about to head into a dale they could sometimes see them deep down already in it. They didn't manage to catch up, however, and in fact saw less and less of them as September turned to October. Boreas preferred it this way, as the sight of Diego or his tracks made him wonder how different they really were from each other. Diego rescuing Boreas while he had been plotting the Zoroark's death and would probably have just watched and laughed if he was about to be mauled to death hadn't really improved his opinion of himself. He had felt a lot better after apologising to Selene, but now he wondered again whether they were really so different.



He wondered now if Diego's parents were still alive, and what they thought of him... Were they proud of their son? Did they disapprove of him? Did they lose contact ages ago? Did they get killed by humans, pushing Diego into Team Plasma out of revenge? How would Boreas' parents think of him if they were still alive? He had always assumed they would probably be proud of him, but would they really be proud of someone who had been plotting an ally's death in cold blood?



Then again, he thought, I shouldn't lose perspective. I was planning Diego's death, not that of a real ally, or even a temporary one. He's my enemy, no matter what.



But what if he isn't? Maybe he really isn't that bad. He did save my life when I would've watched him die.




Boreas still couldn't think of a proper explanation for Diego rescuing him. None of his friends had been replaced, he had made sure of that, and the battle didn't seem to have had any other use either. Except for Boreas' complete confusion. Could Diego have been planning this? Maybe he had only saved Boreas because he knew it would confuse him to no end. Or perhaps it was part of some future plan, and the Zoroark only wanted him to think he had become a better person?



Boreas sighed in frustration. Finding out the motives of an enemy as cunning as Diego was like trying to hold a slippery eel. He didn't know whether to feel guilty, angry, cautious, or something else now. If Diego was planning something, then relenting in his desire to kill him could prove a fatal mistake. But on the other hand, could Boreas kill him while there was even a chance he wasn't as bad as he seemed? If, despite all the horrid things he'd done, there was some good in him? It was easy to just consider the fact that he'd sworn to kill Diego as a settling argument, but Boreas wasn't going to take the easy way out and hide behind oaths. In the end, he had a choice to make. Was it a worse oversight to let a villain live to cause more harm in the future or to kill someone who might be a decent person, no matter how unlikely that was?



Boreas didn't know the answer, but he finally decided he wouldn't need to commit either mistake. He just didn't have enough information to make his choice, so he would wait. And when the time came that he had to make a choice, he would hopefully know enough to do the right thing.



So as they continued through the increasingly barren landscape, he tried not to think about it, and his thoughts turned to Aqua. Did she miss him as badly as he missed her? Had she given him up completely after their fight? Would he ever see her again? Boreas missed everything about her terribly. Most of all, he just wanted to hold her and tell her how sorry he was for his selfishness and that he loved her more than he loved anything else in the world. He didn't want to waste another minute of his life not being with her.



The problem with Victory Road was that he had far too much time to think. It seemed there would never come an end to the mountains. The rough, wild landscape was exciting, and it was always great to see what was behind the next row of mountains, but he really wanted to get to the League soon to try and find Aqua and defeat N. He tried to talk to his friends a lot to stop the endlessly pouring thoughts, but even the floods of words Octa and Toxica could produce didn't help much to take his mind off things. Besides, their love troubles reminded Boreas of his own. Though at least neither Aqua nor he had a family as troublesome as Octa's. They still hadn't accepted Octa and Toxica being together, though they tolerated it for the moment. Boreas wondered what Toxica would have to do to be accepted. Maybe there was noting she could do, maybe Octa's family was too stuck in their ways and traditions ever to accept her. On a certain level, he actually found himself hoping that.



And so October slowly crawled past. As November came, winter had truly started. Blizzards were frequent, and even when it was clear the cold was amazing. The days were short and dark, with the Sun hardly ever rising above the mountains, and the nights were endlessly long, dark as a dungeon, and very, very cold. Yet in these dark days, Boreas found happy tidings as Black finally removed the bandage from his eye.



"There," he said with a smile as he cleaned Boreas' fur where the bandage has been, "the eye and the wound are both looking well. Can you see?"



Boreas looked around in wonder. Everything looked much brighter and strangely reddish in his right eye. "Everything is so bright..."



"That's because your eye has been covered up for weeks, it's completely adjusted to the dark. Give it some time."



Boreas found the bright, unfocussed ghost image the second eye added to his vision very disorienting, used as he was to seeing with one eye by now. But of course his second eye quickly went from annoying to useful as he relearned how to use both eyes again. Seeing the world in three dimensions gave him more happiness and hope than he'd had for a while. They were nearing the League by now anyway.



A week later, after making their way through harsh, rocky terrain and fighting their way past a whole nest of Durants, Black removed the cast on his leg as well. Unlike the bandage for his eye, this didn't cheer Boreas up. While his leg now had more freedom to move, this made him feel how weak and painful it was by now. He had to push himself hard not to slow his friends down on non-snowy terrain, and he frequently had to clench his teeth against pain from the leg when he put too much weight on it. Only the thought every step brought him closer to Aqua kept him going on some days.



He didn't realise how literally true this thought was until later. They had Painstakingly climbed up a mountain's side from the vale below for the past two days. Tall pines managed to grow between the rough rocks. By the end of the second day, every time Boreas pulled himself up on a rock he wondered when he would pass out from exhaustion. He cursed and muttered under his breath at the burning of his muscles and the stabs from his leg. Breathing labouredly, he finally reached a forested ridge where his friends were already resting from the long climb. He threw himself down in exhaustion once he reached it and tried to catch his breath on the lightly snow-covered ground.



"Something's coming!" hissed Selene. Everyone scrambled to their feet, though they barely had the energy left to stand. Boreas could see it too, now, a small figure in the dark forest of the ridge. As it approached, he noticed its attractive, finned form, and couldn't believe his eyes. It had to be an illusion, but when she spoke all doubt was removed.



"Hello guys," said a wonderful voice. "Glad to see you've made it this far."



Everyone was silent as they beheld the Vaporeon with surprise and wonder. "Aqua..." Boreas finally gasped. "It... It can't be you, not here... This is a dream..." Then he grinned. "And a good one too..."



Aqua frowned angrily. "Don't get your hopes up, I'm still furious for what you said!"



Boreas blushed in shame, realising it was the real Aqua. Now he desperately wanted to pounce her, hold her tightly, kiss her for minutes and only think about her the whole night. But her anger was entirely justified. "Oh... Sorry, I thought I was dreaming..." he said, feeling horrible. "I'm so sorry for the things I said. It was wrong of me to insist you come here with me... And especially to tell you it was what you would do if you really loved me. I was trying to use emotional blackmail on you, and it was the greatest mistake of my life."



Boreas cowered under the fierce look Aqua used to stare at him. "Yes, it was."



He felt heartbroken and horrid, and knew he deserved it. "Aqua, my love... Not a day has gone by when I haven't lamented the things I said as a farewell to you. Can you please forgive this selfish, childish bastard, though he can't even forgive himself and is not remotely deserving of the love of someone like you?" he begged with tears in his eyes, dreading the answer.



Aqua's harsh mask quivered and trembled. "Oh, Boreas... I shouldn't... But... I-I can't stay mad at you. I love you too much for it, despite everything..."



It was as if Boreas had been submerged in an ocean of happiness. "Thank you! Thank you so much, my love. I promise I'll never, ever say anything like that to you again. I'll never let you down again. I love you..."



Aqua looked at him with a loving smile before scraping her throat and looking at Black. "Ahem. Um, well, that was only part of the reason why I came here. You see, I've decided to join you. I want to help you defeat Team Plasma. I assume that sixth spot on the team is still open?"



"It is..." grinned Black. "And I'm sure Boreas will be glad you're joining."



"I am," said Boreas, his tail wagging uncontrollably with joy, "I really am. But what made you reconsider?"



"Yeah," said Lucius, "I'd like to know that too. It sounds a bit too convenient to me."



"What do you mean?" asked Boreas.



"I mean it looks like Plasma is once again using you to get a spy on our team, pup. We chased off your dear "brother," and now they landed another spy..."



"You take that back right now!" yelled Boreas. "Aqua is no spy!"



"Quit thinking with your dick, pup," sneered Lucius, "she's been on N's team, she's palled around with Diego, and you have the hots for her. She's the perfect spy."



Boreas was about to shout at Lucius again, but Octa interrupted him. "My dear fellow, I am sorry to say this, but he may have a point. No offence intended, Aqua."



Boreas calmed down hearing his best friend say it too. "Octa, I trust Aqua with far more than my life. She's no spy, she would never betray me."



"And look what she did with that sweet trust of yours in Chargestone Cave," sneered Lucius. "They say love blind; take it from me, pup, it's a waste of time and a recipe for disaster and disappointment."



Aqua's reply drowned out what Boreas had to say to that. "Listen, I know it sounds a bit suspicious, but I swear I haven't seen N since Diego attacked me at Dragonspiral Tower."



"It's true," added Boreas, with a foul look at Lucius, "N thought she was dead, because that's what Diego told him."



"What about Ghetsis? Or any other Plasma members? Or maybe she thought this up on her own."



"Shut up!" snapped Boreas. "She's not-"



"Boreas, please," interrupted Aqua. "It's understandable your friends don't trust me after I fought for N."



"Well," spoke Octa, "I do not distrust you. However, some evidence to back up your claims would help me trust you, as would an account of why you changed your mind."



Boreas saw sadness and guilt briefly flash through Aqua's eyes. "I'm sorry, Octa, but I really don't want to talk about it. And I can't give you any evidence other than my word."



"And mine," added Boreas. "I love and trust Aqua. If she says she's changed her mind and wants to join us, I believe her. I assure you, she's speaking the truth."



"Thank you, Boreas," said Aqua with a smile.



"Are you quite sure, my dear fellow? Is that not simply wishful thinking?"



Boreas looked Octa straight into the eyes, wanting to dismiss all doubt. "Octa, my friend, I've never been more certain of anything. I trust Aqua because I love her, and if you trust me as much, you should trust her as well."



Octa looked him in the eyes for a moment. "Alright, then. If you can earnestly tell me you trust her, I shall do the same."



"No!" snapped Lucius. "This is insane, we're not letting a spy on the team!"



"C'mon, Lucius," said Toxica, "Boreas is our friend, if he says we can trust her, I guess we should. Plus, she's a fun person to have around."



"Are you all stupid?! She's a spy, I'd bet anything!"



"C'mon, Boreas is our friend, can't you trust him?"



"It's not Boreas I'm having trouble trusting..."



"Look," said Black, "we need a sixth team member in any case, we stand little chance against the Elite Four with only five. I was planning to have it be Reshiram, but since I can't seem to awake it, we don't have much choice. Boreas' girlfriend has proven her skill and determination simply by getting here. As far as I'm concerned, she's welcome to join. Can't you give her a chance?"



Lucius growled. "Fine! One chance, and one chance only! But I'm warning you, missy, I'll keep my eye on you. And the moment I see you betray us, I'll-"



"You'll what?" Boreas interrupted angrily. It was bad enough to hear Lucius insult Aqua, hearing him threaten her was even worse.



"I'll give her exactly what traitors deserve," he said with a malevolent grin.



Boreas almost snapped out at Lucius, but took several deep breaths and looked into Aqua's eyes to calm himself down instead. He could swear he almost saw her wink at him. "She's no traitor, so it doesn't matter anyway."



"Thank you," said Aqua to everyone in general. "I won't let you down, I promise."



"You'd better not," mumbled Lucius.



"Hello, I'm Selene," said Selene as she landed on Aqua's shoulder.



"Yeah, I know. Hi, Selene, we met, remember?"



"Yes, I do. Hello."



"Anyway, Boreas," said Aqua, letting Selene fly away, "I think we have a lot to... talk about."



"Yeah, we do." Boreas agreed, missing neither the innuendo nor the serious part of the invitation. "Come on," he said as he walked off through the trees with her, looking for some privacy.



"Well, I suppose it was time to stop for today anyway..." he heard Black remark, but then they were too far away to hear more. They found a rough gully in the chilly forest on the ridge which seemed a good place to talk. Yet when they stood opposite each other there, they didn't know what to say. Boreas had already apologised and she had accepted it, so he didn't think he should start apologising again. He really wanted to kiss her, but could he just do that after all that had happened? It didn't seem like a good idea for now. He wanted to ask about what had changed her mind, but it seemed too heavy a subject to just begin talking about, since she had seemed so saddened by it.



"Hi," he said hollowly.



"Hi..." she piped nervously.



An awkward silence pressed hard on them like the air itself had grown thick as custard. Boreas tried to think of something to say as he looked into Aqua's face. She was still looking incredibly attractive to him, though somewhat rougher after so much time alone on Victory Road. He wanted to compliment her looks, but found that too impossible to say. He hadn't had such trouble talking to her since the first days he had known her.



"It's... It's wonderful to see you again," he finally managed to say.



Aqua nodded and smiled nervously. "Yeah..."



Boreas wasn't quite sure who had made the first move, but after a few more seconds, they were suddenly hugging each other tightly, lying on the ground. Boreas happily cuddled Aqua, relishing the feeling of having his paws around her and feeling her warm body pressed against his that he had had to miss for so long. He petted the soft fur on her back with love as she nuzzled his ears and hair.



"Oh, my love..." Aqua whispered. "I missed you so much."



"I missed you too... Let's never do that again."



"Fighting or parting for so long?" Aqua whispered as she petted through his hair and nuzzled his cheek.



"Both," said Boreas, nuzzling her finned ears, "I want to stay at your side forever, my love."



Their lips found each other with a kiss that filled their minds with love for each other like a hot air balloon is filled with air, keeping it warm and afloat. "I love you, Boreas..."



"I... I love you too, my brave Aqua... Coming all the way here just for me..." That remark had the effect he expected. He saw a flash of sadness on her formerly happy face. "Except you didn't, did you? There's more to it than just that."



Boreas hated making Aqua so sad, but he wanted to help her with whatever it was. "Yes... Yes, there was. I can tell you... But it's not a happy story, not something for a moment like this."



He gently hugged her as she lay on top of him. "It's always a good moment to help you. What happened?"



Slowly and with tears in her eyes, Aqua told him all about how she had gone south to Opelucid and witnessed the death of the trainer. She was sobbing on his shoulder by the time she was finished, while he tried to console her.



"I don't think you're to blame, my love... No-one would've reacted well when faced with that so suddenly after waking up in the middle of the night."



"I hadn't looked at it that way yet..." she said sadly.



He gently embraced her and stroked her face. "Well, then look at it that way. Besides, you're here now to help us make things better."



"You're right... But I know of someone who would've rescued them: you would have... I bet you would've saved them all."



"Heh, you give me too much credit. I would've probably stood by just as helplessly if that happened so suddenly."



"Of course you wouldn't have," Aqua said, winking her tears away as she grinned flirtatiously. "My brave, handsome hero would've saved them. I'm sure of it."



Boreas let himself be kissed by her, rather surprised. "Well, your mood changed quick. A moment ago you were in tears."



Aqua shrugged apologetically and stuck out her tongue. "What can I say? I've missed you for three months, and now I'm snuggled close to you. You can't blame me for wanting to do other things than crying."



Boreas grinned too. "Good idea. So... You were telling me about your brave, handsome hero?"



"That's right, I was," giggled Aqua as she stroked Boreas' chin and chest. "He's this brave, cunning Glaceon. He's very cute and sexy, with these piercing cyan eyes of his. I've been in love with him since the day we met, and now even more, though he's not the same Glaceon any more."



"I'm not?"



"No, you're not. You've changed a lot, both inside and out," she said while petting his face. "Fortunately the changes are improvements. Your face looks a lot more handsome and adult now, you've received some scars, and you've grown quite a fetching beard."



"I have?" blurted Boreas out in surprise. "I didn't know that was possible."



Aqua giggled as she caressed his lower jaw. "My silly Boreas, you've really spent too little time among your own kind. The fur on the lower jaw of male Eevees tends to grow longer than the rest and colour darker, much like the hair on your head. Most keep that fur short, but you haven't... And I've got to say it looks very good on you."



"Thanks," chuckled Boreas, "I'm definitely keeping it now."



"I was hoping you would, you look sexy," she said with a wink. "You also changed inside, you're a lot more mature now. Those things Lucius said would've gotten you angry enough to attack him a few months ago. You've become a much greater Glaceon, really."



Boreas considered telling her what had happened when they'd temporarily teamed up with N, that he'd plotted to kill Diego while they were allied, letting his hate cloud his reason. But he couldn't bring himself to tell her, he didn't dare risk losing her love, which he needed more than anything right now. "I guess you're right," he lied. "But enough about me."



He kissed Aqua, feeling slightly guilty about not telling her, but he lost his worries in their passionate kissing, making him feel nothing but happiness for the first time in months. Despite everything that had happened and was still going to happen, their lives were good at that moment.







Despite his struggle with telling Aqua what had happened with Diego, the next few days were happy ones to Boreas. Being with Aqua again was amazing, like being healthy again after a long illness, and the prospect that the League was only two weeks away made his mood even better. Aqua acted almost as their guide, since she knew the road, having travelled on it on her way to them. The forested ridge led to a series of caverns. They would spend several hours going through the caves in the mountains, and then resurfacing again. After a while they would drop underground again, and the cycle would repeat. Everyone was glad to be spending so much time underground now, as severe cold and heavy snowfall dominated the outside, while the Earth seemed to keep some warmth in.



The path they followed didn't go very deep into the mountains, but stayed somewhat close to the surface. Yet the caves occasionally branched off to deep, dark paths that seemed to lead straight to the heart of the mountains, to murky depths that hadn't seen light for aeons. Outside, the path was mostly singular, a path over mountainsides that were battered heavily by ice-cold winds. Even Boreas felt cold sometimes.



They came by a path that led straight north, up another mountain, right in the direction where the League was, but paths in the mountains often ended up going in different directions than they seemed to at first. Both Black's map and Aqua's memory said not to follow that road, but to continue westwards on the icy path over the mountainside. All were glad as they entered another cave, protecting them from the extreme weather. They spent the night in the caves on Aqua's counsel, as she made it clear this was the final tunnel they would travel through, after which the pass led straight north to the League for two more weeks.



They slept in the caves, one of them always on watch to warn the others for the many dangerous creatures that could encounter them in a cave like this. Boreas had a hard time keeping his mind in the present during the hours he was on watch, as he kept wondering about the things that could be in the darkness just outside their light's reach, and thought about the mysterious roots of the mountains they were now in, strangely with more curiosity than fear.







"Well, that's not good..." muttered Toxica as they looked upon the snow filling the cave's exit. They had walked through the dark tunnels until they encountered this: snow and ice filling the entire tunnel, leaving no open space to continue through at all. The fact that no light from outside shone through at all was a bad sign.



"There must've been an avalanche outside..." muttered Black. "Can we get through?" he asked Boreas, who has his ear and front paws pressed to the ice and was listening intently and cautiously letting pulses of cold run through the ice, using his species' innate senses for snow and ice to find out more about this obstacle.



"A bit of snow is no match for my fire," bragged Lucius. "Stand back, pup, and I'll melt it away."



Boreas shook his head. "Ho-oh itself couldn't melt through all that. And even if it did, it'd have to deal with a small lake's worth of molten water having nowhere to go but here."



"Are you saying we can't get through?"



"I'm saying Black is right: there's been an avalanche, and it's completely blocked the exit up; buried it under about a hundred metres of snow. But at least there's some good news: look at the smooth ice on the surface here and the ice lying around on the bottom of this tunnel, as well as the soot on the roof of the cave: N has found his way blocked too and futilely tried to melt it away. Since we didn't run into him, he must've found another way. Presumably through the other tunnels down here."



"A clever deduction, my dear fellow," commented Octa, "I suppose this snow would thaw away eventually, but we could be here until summer if we waited for that... So you propose we try and find another path through these caverns?"



Boreas had an idea. "Actually, I have a better idea: remember that path north we saw yesterday? Why don't we go back and take that road? It goes into the League's direction, and seems pretty easy to travel on. And we wouldn't have to leave the proper path underground, an idea I'm not very keen on, considering how easy it is to lose all sense of direction without the Sun or stars."



"Birds have a compass in their brains," Selene spoke up. "At least... I think we have. But I know north is there. Well, there, I mean. Or maybe there..."



They looked at her pointing different directions with her wings, and weren't quite sure how to say what they all thought, but then Lucius said it: "Well, I ain't walking through these tunnels with any part of your brain as a guide, you crazy bird. Let's go with Boreas' idea."



"But we have a proper compass too," said Toxica. "Uh, no offence, Selene. Shouldn't we try and find a different exit from these tunnels instead? We might be able to get back on the path we should be taking like that, instead of taking some other path and hoping it takes us where we want."



"A good idea, darling," said Octa with an affectionate smile. "Methinks 'tis folly to wander through a mountain range this size without knowing the way. Better to see whether there's another way out of these caves first."







Forcing his starved body to climb despite the pain and exhaustion he was in, Boreas once again wondered if he had led them all to their deaths. When they had found no quick exit from the caves, he had argued to take the pass north, and his enthusiasm had convinced his friends not to try and find a way through the deep reaches of the Earth, but to track back a few hours and take the pass north. It had seemed a sensible thing to do to Boreas: it led straight in the right direction, wasn't through a maze of caves under the Earth from which there might be no exit at all, and had seemed intriguing to him. He had wanted to explore the path, but he'd got much more than he wished for.



Before they'd encountered the avalanche, they had expected to reach the League by the end of November, but today was the final day of the year. He longingly thought back to the new years' celebrations last year on Route 5, and how his greatest worry at the time had been a little heartbreak and jealousy. Now there was a good chance he'd signed all their death warrants. The path had gone straight north for the first few days, but after that it began to meander wildly in all directions. Boreas was more and more certain in his heart that neither they nor this path would ever leave the Black Mountains with every passing dark day.



This far north in mid-winter, the Sun wasn't even there to comfort them with light. Every day there would be twilight, which would get brighter and brighter until it just gave up and withered away back to nights that were like deep black oceans of time. The moons and the brightly reflective snow meant they could at least see where they were going, though. Their food was as good as gone by now. The month that had been added to their journey as well as Aqua joining them meant they couldn't eat more than the tiny bite required to make them live to the next day. Boreas tried to find food every day as he scouted ahead, but there was so preciously little it only meant a very small addition to their measly diet. Despite his emaciated stomach's roar for hunger, he had only let his friends eat from the prey he caught; he knew they were at the greatest risk of not making it, since his species was at least partially capable of surviving in a landscape like this.



The presence of his friends was both a comfort and a curse. He would probably have given up if it wasn't for them, yet every time he saw how thin and pale Black was, or how Octa and Toxica had both gone yellow without light to photosynthesise, or when he felt Aqua shiver with cold and hunger in his embrace at night he felt horrid. Black returned them to their pokéballs as much as possible, but none of them were used to be in their pokéballs, and it didn't help much in the first place. The thought that their suffering might all be Boreas' fault vexed him, yet he knew better than to dwell on such thoughts endlessly by now. No-one would benefit if he brooded himself into a hopeless depression. He held on to the hope that they might one day see the League before them and feast and rest to all their desire... And then defeat N, if he had made it there, and finally let Team Plasma be defeated. Just getting to the League seemed all that was important now; in his mind the challenges they'd have to face there seemed minor compared to this. It was an incredible longshot, but Boreas held on to the knowledge that it was possible, not the knowledge that it was improbable. Any other course would lead only to him going insane with despair. And who knew? The path was about to turn around the corner of a mountain; perhaps he would see the lights of the League in its dale once he turned it? The thought made him quicken his pace over rock and ice, though his legs all protested, especially the recently-healed one.



What he saw when he turned around the corner was the last thing he expected: a wide flat country. The mountains were just gone, with terrifying suddenness. Under the dark blue twilit sky, he saw a vast snow-covered landscape. Yet there was no sign of any inhabitation; a barren wasteland of snow-covered tundra as far as the eye could see. It was then that he realised the pass had gone past the League, all the way up north until they had finally reached the northern edge of the Black Mountains and the uninhabited tundra beyond it.
 

destinedjagold

You can contact me in PC's discord server...
8,593
Posts
16
Years
  • Age 33
  • Seen Dec 23, 2023
Oh, they took the wrong path?
I'm sensing a lot of rage from Boreas. =/

Anyway, a great chapter. I'm really glad he was finally reunited with Aqua. :)

Can't wait for the next chapter~
 
79
Posts
12
Years
  • Seen May 24, 2013
^Thanks for the comment.

Chapter Sixty-Three: The End of the Road
Boreas dropped to his knees in despair as he looked out over the endless tundra that lay to Unova's north. They must have gone the wrong way for the past seven weeks, too far east to reach the League. Now that Boreas had reached the end of the Black Mountains, he had reached the end of hope as well. Until then, there had always been the possibility they would reach the League soon, but now it was clear they'd never get there. They should've tried to find a way through the caves, no matter how deep and dark they were, Boreas thought bitterly. Now it was too late; they simply didn't have the food or energy left to journey back for seven weeks, and then on for however much more time it took to reach the League from there. The prospect of such a journey was not only overwhelming; it was impossible.
The dreadful hunger and weariness that had gnawed on his body for weeks finally felled him, as he had fought them only with hope, and now hope had failed. Laying down into the snow in pain, he knew it for certain: he would die here. And he would take his friends with him; having to deal with the cold as well as hunger would probably kill them before him.
He could hear them climb after him, still with some hope left. He hoped they'd savour those final moments of it before they joined him. He felt the dreadful moment as they saw it one by one and realised they were doomed. He heard their laboured breathing suddenly stop for a moment as the horrific realisation came to them. They knew it was over.
Yet something in Octa made him unwilling to give up, even now. "My dear fellow," he said as Boreas felt him stir his shoulders, "stand up, please. We cannot give up, not now. We have to..."
Boreas turned around, grabbed his friend's shoulders, and looked him in the eyes, teary and desperate. "Octa, there's no point... I'm so sorry for this... It's over. There's nothing we can do but rest..."
Boreas saw the despair in Octa's eyes as well, the struggle not to give in. He felt even worse to think he'd brought Octa here to die than about his own doom. "But... We have to go on... We have to try. We can't let death simply take us, we have to fight it every step of the way. We have to endeavour to reach the League, even if our chances of making it are minimal..."
"You are brave and noble, Octa, and I'm proud to have been your friend... But our chances were minimal; they're non-existent now."
"We have to try... We can't surrender, we have to continue, even if we can never reach our destination, no matter how bleak the journey... Would the heroes of the great tales ever have surrendered? Did Odysseus give up and find a nice island to live on? Did Frodo give up hope of destroying the Ring?"
Boreas softly hugged his friend. "No, they didn't... But this is no story, but reality... And in reality, not all stories have a good ending, or even a dramatically satisfying one... And I'm afraid ours ends here. We can try to fight it for another week if we really tried hard, perhaps, but that's not nearly enough to get anywhere... So I say it's better to die sooner than later, for die we must..."
It was horrible to see the nobility and the pride and the honour and the bravery all melt away from Octa's face as they were shattered and left only despair and sadness. He said nothing more, lying down to finally rest from the crushingly heavy journey.
Aqua softly stroked his hair, and Boreas felt rotten for leading her here as well. "I wish you hadn't come to find me..." he said.
"I don't," she spoke sadly. "I'd rather die by your side than live alone... Though I'd hoped the dying by your side wouldn't happen for many more years..."
"I'm sorry I led you here... We should've gone through the caves, there must've been some way deep down them."
Aqua hugged her crying boyfriend. "It's not your fault. We all agreed to take this road. We don't know if there was any way through the caves, there didn't see to be one... Maybe the only good road was back to Opelucid... But while I'd hoped our relationship would be a long and happy one, I'm willing to settle for short and exciting."
"...I guess we should stay here tonight..." muttered Black, though it was clear he too knew they would stay there forever.
They were quiet for a while, overcome with exhaustion, starvation, and despair. The final light of twilight disappeared, shrouding the world in night. Though Boreas had given up, he found himself trying to think of ways out of this anyway, imagining several options, from somehow fashioning a hot-air balloon to going down into the tundra and trying to keep as many of them as possible alive until spring. Unfortunately the simplest option of just calling for help was impossible, as Black's X-transceiver hadn't had any connection for months; it was impossible this far from all human inhabitation.
But why was he still trying to think of a way to save them? It was impossible, and trying to would only mean more suffering before their inevitable death. There was no point to wasting his thoughts on this when he should really be thinking about nice things as much as possible, since these were after all his final thoughts. Yet a part of his mind was sure there was something he had overlooked, some solution to this problem. Maybe he had given up to soon after all? The sight of the desolate northern tundra was a despair-inducing one, but perhaps there was some way some of them could make it to the League yet. If only he could find a source of food... But there was no food in this barren landscape.
If he got incredibly lucky, there was a small chance he might be able to catch enough food on the journey to make it to the League himself, perhaps, but he would have to leave his friends forever. Did he even want to live with everyone he had loved dead? He had felt that way once before, but he had been too young to quite understand the full implications of it, and Octa and Black had been there to take care of him and make him feel better. This time, he would have no-one but himself for company for at least two months... No-one but himself, and the blame for their deaths... And still no-one after he reached civilisation, no-one he really knew. It was impossible; even if he found the food and somehow managed to keep sane, the extreme exhaustion that filled his every muscle with weariness and pain made it impossible.
Yet he tried to think of a way in which he could save even one of his friends. If there was even a small chance of rescuing one of them, he would get up and try his best at it, as it'd give him something worth spending what little energy he had on, some hope. He tried several ideas out in his mind, but in none of them could he see any chance of getting even one of his friends to safety, not even if he considered the horrid idea of cannibalising the others for food. The cold simply made two more months even more impossible for them than for Boreas.
"Boreas?" asked a croaky voice. "Why did we give up?"
He wasn't sure how to answer Selene's question. The Honchkrow sounded so innocent and merely curious. "Well... It's because we don't stand a chance of ever getting out of these mountains alive."
"Why not?" she asked with childlike wonder, and Boreas felt horrible for having led her to her death.
"Because we took the wrong way... Because I led you down the wrong way... I'm so sorry, Selene."
"Then why don't we try and find the right way again?"
"Because it took seven weeks getting here from Victory Road! Going back there in our state would take even longer, and then we'd still have to find the way to the League... None of us would survive that long."
Selene nodded. "Then why don't we try to find a different way?"
"Because there is no different way! We're hopelessly lost, we only know we ended up somewhere on the northern edge of the Black Mountains! The League could be anywhere."
"Even quite nearby?"
"Almost certainly not. The Black Mountains are gigantic, it could be anywhere! We won't find it by just wandering aimlessly, and I was an idiot to think we would."
"Well, people often think I'm an idiot, but if that's what an idiot does, I'm happy to be one. Because I'm not just going to lie here and wait to die; I'm going to do the crazy thing and look for the League."
"But... You can't even fly!"
"But I can walk," she said, as she got up to her feet, wobbled a bit, and took clumsy steps through the snow, making a pained face because of the coldness at every step.
Boreas marvelled at her determination, but also realised what she was trying to do. "Selene, this won't work. You're not going to make it to the League like this, and you're not going to get me to join you either."
"Fine with me," she said, walking on, "I wasn't trying to get you to join me anyway. I'll probably see you again once we're all snow pixies, but if I make it to the League, I'll be sure to remember you all. Say bye to Lucius for me, if he wakes up again."
Seeing her clumsily walk away into the icy night filled Boreas with admiration for her bravery and determination. He knew this was probably exactly what she was aiming at, but he didn't care: he got up, walked after her, and put her on his shoulder. "Come on, you crazy bird, you'll get frostbite if you walk through the snow like that. Say I followed you, did you have any plan or were you just going to wander randomly?"
"Well," explained Selene, "I was planning to ask the people making those lights for the way."
"Lights?" Boreas blurted out in surprise. Then he saw it: a distant mountain top in the south west was being illuminated by light of constantly changing colours. It would light up blue now, then red, then green. "What the..." Suddenly it dawned on him, and hope brightly shone into his mind like the Sun driving away the night of despair. "Zapdos' toenails, those are fireworks!" he hugged Selene tightly, causing her to squirm in his sudden grip a bit. "You did it! You found the League!"
He immediately rushed to his friends and tried to wake them up. "Wake up! Wake up, we gave up far too soon! Aqua, wake up! Octa, on your feet... Well, stand u- get up, I mean. Black, Toxica, Lucius, it's not time to die yet! Look, Selene found the League!"
"Huh? What?" murmured Black.
"Look, that mountain is illuminated by fireworks! They're celebrating New Year at the League! It's not that far, we can still make it! Come on, come on!"
They were all acting as if they were dazed and confused, and Boreas quickly realised they were hypothermic from going to sleep without tent or blankets in their despair. "Come on, I've been an idiot letting us give up, and I'm not going to have you die. We know where the League is!"
An intelligent gleam re-entered Octa's dazed eyes as he clumsily got up. "Hmm? My dear felon... Fellow, are you... Sure? That's splendid..."
"Yeah, it is! Come on, get up, all of you. You're suffering from hypothermia because I led you in giving up, but now I'm going to fix that mistake and get you all to the League. Black, get up."
But he was still lying down, his eyes closed. "Hmmm... Let it wait till morning... I want to sleep..."
"If you sleep now, you'll never wake up again, you'll freeze to death! Get up."
"I know we still have far to go," murmured Black, "so let me sleep, we'll make plans tomorrow..."
Boreas bit down on Black's clothes and began pulling him up. "I'm not letting you sleep, so you might as well get up and walk. You'll be warmer that way."
Octa too forced Black to get up, exclaiming: "On your feet, Black, old chap, 'twas wrong and cowardly of us to despair and give up. I can only imagine what my illustrious ancestors would say to such folly," he said glumly as they forced Black to cooperate.
"Let me help a hand, guys," Toxica said as she thrust her flower under Black's nose. He made a sound of disgust at the smell she emitted, and got up quickly.
"Thanks, Toxica," said Boreas. He realised Octa needed encouragement. "Don't worry, Octa, I'm sure your ancestors would understand. At least the wiser ones would. C'mon," he said, beckoning the others, "follow me, I think the mountain slopes here on the north-side aren't too steep for us to walk on them if we're cautious. We'll travel west along the north-end of the range, and seek another path south as soon as possible. If we get some luck at last, we may find a way into the dale of the League from the north instead of the south."
Boreas led them onto the slopes of the mountains, the endless tundra covered in winter's snow and an occasional cloud stretching out to their right. Boreas made sure not to get too far ahead, worried his friends might give up in the bitter cold, and Octa used the opportunity to stay close to him. "I fear you may be wrong, my dear fellow," he said at last. "My ancestors were great, noble, and valorous. They did not falter or let despair overcome them, no matter how dark the road."
"Sure they did," said Boreas. "Only no-one remembers it, because they overcame such moments, found their bravery again, and did the great things you remember them for. And you'll do great things too."
"How can you be sure of that?" said Octa glumly. "What am I, but a pale shadow of my fathers? Shall I ever do deeds worthy of tales, or shall my heart falter again?"
Boreas had never seen Octa so full of self-doubt. He was always so proud, arrogant even, but now a huge change had come over him. "Octa, you're worth more than any of your ancestors. I know you'll do great, brave things. I don't know whether we can stop Team Plasma, but I'm certain that whether we win or lose, you'll be the envy of all your ancestors."
"But how? How do you know this?"
Boreas gave him a hug and looked into his eyes. "Because you're my best friend, and I've known you well for almost all my life. I know your bravery and how noble you are. You're a great Serperior, Octa, and if there are any Equinoctes left in the future, I know they'll all be told of the great Octavianus, whether it's of his glorious victory or his brave last stand. But more than that, I know I can always count on you, no matter what."
"Thank you, my dear fellow," Octa said, his voice drenched with emotion and a tear in his eye.

Knowing his own determination was all that kept the others going through the incredibly hostile landscape, Boreas silenced his doubt they'd ever find a way. It was very disconcerting to see Octa in so much self-doubt it overcame his usual pride, so Boreas was as strong as he could to help his friend. Every step his exhausted and starved body had to take was agony, but he kept on trying to find a path in the knowledge his friends were feeling even worse, half-frozen as they were, and needed him more than ever.
They travelled on the northern slopes of the mountains for a few dark days. Boreas had to be incredibly careful, as there was no path save the one he made himself. Missteps almost cost him his life twice as he slid down several metres. The days were darker than ever before, as the mountains shielded the southern horizon and its twilight glow at day from them. Soon they ate their very last food. Boreas didn't expect ever to make it to the League, but he had to carry on and try.
On the fifth day, their determination was finally rewarded: there was a large separation between two mountains, only a little above them. Seeing this, they climbed to it, and saw the mountains form a snowed vale leading south. The League or its dale wasn't visible, but Boreas could see what he thought was the same mountain that had been enlightened by fireworks at New Year. They were seeing it from a different direction now, though, so he couldn't be sure, yet they journeyed towards it. They had no choice: they had eaten their last food the day before, so now it was a matter of days at most before they were too weak to continue.
Boreas took courage from the proximity of the mountain and the sky ahead getting brighter every day, but meanwhile his hunger grew and drained him of what strength he had left. By the time he found another valley bending westwards branching off of this one, his body felt incredibly weak. He had no idea hunger could be so powerful, so painful even. Even the thought of food made him drool, and he thought of it a lot. He was quite sure that if he ever found something to eat again, he'd eat until his belly had the size and shape of a cannonball.
One evening, they were huddled around a fire Lucius had made from some wood from the trees that managed to grow here. It wasn't much, but at least it warmed them a little. It was nice even to Boreas, because while his body could still function properly when its temperature was below zero, as it was now, it was quite unpleasant for long periods of time. Yet warming himself up would cost energy he simply didn't have.
In the past they'd often had their meal around such a fire, but that was of course impossible with no food left. They didn't speak, too busy sharing what little heat they had. Black finally asked them: "Wh-what are you going to do if we defeat Team Plasma?"
The question was quite a shock to Boreas, as he had completely forgotten that if by some miracle everything went according to plan, it wouldn't be very long until they came to journey's end. He hadn't really thought much about what he wanted to do afterwards; the quest seemed so daunting and huge it didn't seem likely he would ever get to fulfil any plans he made.
"I'm staying with you, of course," said Lucius. "I didn't come this far to go do other stuff. When we beat the Champion, and those Plasma bastards are dead and burned, I'm going to enjoy being the Champion's pokémon and defend that title. Think of all the power and fame we'd have..."
Boreas considered the same. While it would mean being with his friends all the time, as well as being the most renowned Glaceon in the world, it also seemed rather boring. Just being in the League for most of the year, waiting for challengers... He didn't think he wanted to sit still for so long when there was so much he hadn't seen yet.
Toxica nodded. "Me too, but Octa and I have more important things to work out first. We gotta visit his family to get 'em sorted out once and for all."
"Indeed, my darling," spoke Octa, "for they still do not approve of our union, though they tolerate it for now, recognising there are more pressing issues. After all this is over, however, we shall have to return to my ancestral home to discuss the matter. And if they do not accept Toxica as one of our own..." he took a slow, worried gulp, "I shall have to leave them, for I would not leave Toxica even for them."
"Thanks," said Toxica with tears in her eyes, and she softly kissed him. "I know how much they mean to you..."
"Not as much as you do, my darling," said Octa with a smile. Boreas petted his friend on the back, realising the tremendous and brave sacrifice he had just promised to make.
It was quiet for a while. "I don't know," said Selene. "Maybe I'll go look for Uncle Istvan... But then, I heard about these three fairies, they might be fun to meet..."
"If you're not sure what you're gonna do," Lucius offered, "maybe you should just stay with us? It'd be more fun to keep us all together, even you, and it'd be easier to defend the Champion title that way."
Selene nodded and winked. "Well, sure, if you want me to stay with you that much, I will."
"I don't want you to stay at all!" Lucius snapped angrily, clearly to Selene's humour, "you good for nothing birdbrain, why would I ever want you to stay with me?"
"I don't know," Selene teased, "but you clearly would love me to stay with you."
"I don't!" snapped Lucius. "Boreas, what are you going to do when we finish this?"
Boreas was given some time to think by Toxica sarcastically exclaiming: "Look over there, a change of subject! Lucius and Selene sitting in a tree..." and a brief quarrel ensuing, but then he had to answer.
"Well..." he said, still unsure. "I'm not sure either... Staying with you would be fun, but somehow it seems a bit boring to me. I want to see new places; I don't want to sleep twice on the same ground. I want..." a thought occurred to him. "I want to take you up on your offer, Aqua!"
"Huh?" she exclaimed in surprise.
"I beg your pardon?" exclaimed Octa.
The more he thought about it, the more he liked it. "Remember, Aqua, you offered it to me several times: for us to leave together and go wherever we please?" he grabbed her paw. "Well, I've decided on my answer, if you still want to do that: yes, I would love to go with you to unknown places. If we somehow defeat Team Plasma and are both able to tell the tale, I'd be delighted to see the world together."
Aqua smiled happily. "That's great! And I'd still love to travel with you, my love."
Boreas happily imagined their future together, but then his train of thoughts was derailed.
"But my dear fellow," Octa interjected, "that would mean we would have to part. Quite possibly forever..."
Boreas realised with a stab of sadness that it was true, that it would mean leaving Octa, as well as his other friends, behind. But even so, he knew he was going to leave if they ever defeated Team Plasma. "I know..." he said sadly. "I'm sorry, Octa, I really am. But a Champion's pokémon's life just isn't for me. I don't want the journey to end, as there are so many places yet I've never been to. Hoenn, for example, or Johto. I've even heard about whole continents inhabited only by pokémon, which humans never found. If they exist, I'd love to find them."
"That is only a myth, my dear fellow. But do you really want to leave me behind?"
"No, I don't. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, you are all welcome to join us."
Octa sadly shook his head. "My apologies, my dear fellow, but I shan't. An adventurer's life, journeying for the sake of journeying, unfortunately is not for me. I shall remain Black's pokémon, helping him defeat challengers. But more importantly, we shall combat threats against Unova and its people, as is the Champion's duty. Plenty of honour, greater even than the Championship, can be achieved there. And if my house does not expel me for my union with Toxica, I shall continue to serve them. First my noble father, and then my brother Gaius who has been named his successor. But I would prefer to do all this with you at my side... Are you quite certain you wish to leave?"
Boreas sadly squeezed Octa's arm. Though he had expected such an answer, he still wished it was different. "I'm sorry, but I really am... But it won't be a permanent farewell, I wouldn't want to miss my best friend forever. I'll come back often..."
Octa nodded. "I know. Yet it would be a long time between our meetings. And there is a chance you would come to an early grave in some far land, and the news of it would never reach me..."
Boreas hugged his friend tightly. "I'm so sorry... But it's just the way I am. You know I wouldn't enjoy the future you want... But there's no need to say goodbye yet, or already be sad about the future; after all, there's a good chance we'll never-" he was about to say "-get out of these mountains alive," but thought better of it: "-manage to defeat Team Plasma."
"I know." Octa nodded. "But now I know that even if we are victorious, and all we hope comes true, I shall still have to suffer this loss."
Toxica nodded. "We'll miss you, Boreas."

The valley slowly turned south, and suddenly, as he turned about a mountain, he saw a sight so lovely he forgot everything else: green grass deep down below in the vale. The Pokémon League stood here, in a valley protected from the elements by tall mountains all around, and heated and lighted by human ingenuity. He cried out in joy, and at that moment an intense light shone into his eye as a small sliver of the Sun rose above the far southern horizon, easily brighter than anything he'd seen in ages. The light seemed to shine through him, illuminating both his heart and his mind brightly.
"The Sun..." gasped Toxica as the others caught up to Boreas.
It was silent again for a while, until Lucius said: "More importantly, the League!" he gave Boreas a friendly stomp. "Haha, you did it, pup! I guess you're good for something!"
"Good old Lucius," chuckled Selene, "still unable to pat someone on the back without kicking them in the loins at the same time."
"Shut up, you crazy bird," said Lucius happily. "C'mon, let's get down there!"
 

destinedjagold

You can contact me in PC's discord server...
8,593
Posts
16
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  • Age 33
  • Seen Dec 23, 2023
Oh my. You seriously made me lost hope that they'll never ever get out of there.
It was a REALLY good thing Selene spotted those fireworks. xD
And Lucius x Selene? *gasp*
When did this happen!?
All of Black's PKMN have a pair! xD

Sad that Boreas will leave them after all the chaos, but that's not to worry for now.

I just hope there's something to eat around the League. =/

Awaiting for the next chapter~ :D
 
79
Posts
12
Years
  • Seen May 24, 2013
Oh my. You seriously made me lost hope that they'll never ever get out of there.



Yeah, they thought the same, it was very close.
eek.gif
I even named the chapter to suggest that... Though it really refers to the end of their journey to the League.

And Lucius x Selene? *gasp*
When did this happen!?
All of Black's PKMN have a pair! xD

Don't worry, it's unlikely anything actually happened; Selene just likes to annoy him. And Toxica joined in. So they're no pair, just friends. In their own way.


Sad that Boreas will leave them after all the chaos, but that's not to worry for now.


Yeah, there's a lot more to do before he's going to leave.

I just hope there's something to eat around the League. =/

Let's find out, shall we?

Part Ten: Five Great Warriors

[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Chapter Sixty-Four: On the Eve of Battle[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Boreas woke up feeling warm, fed, comfortable, and happy for the first time in ages. Slowly opening his eyes, he found he was in a soft bed in a pokécenter, under thick blankets. In his arms lay Aqua, sleeping peacefully and snoring softly. As he snuggled up to her, he recalled how he'd got here. Their slow, laboured descent down the northern side of the Pokémon League valley, how they had finally reached their destination after five months on Victory Road, feeling more dead than alive, how they had been taken to the pokécenter quickly and given the greatest meal they'd ever eaten – though that likely had more to do with their famished stomachs than the true quality of the food. Finally they had been taken to this room, put in their beds, and fallen into a deep, careless sleep. Or at least Boreas had after sneaking out of his own bed and into Aqua's.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]That they had reached the League, without losing anyone, felt better even than the soft bed and the sweet girl in his arms. He had led his friends through uncharted paths over the Black Mountains and against all odds they had made it, if only by a hair's breadth. The sight of the mountain had kept them going, but while hope could nourish their minds it couldn't nourish their bodies, and even the most determined mind will eventually find a physical limit its body can't go past. They had come dangerously close to that limit, and even now Boreas' body still felt weak and achy, if less so than the day before.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Boreas didn't have to worry any more that Aqua might starve soon, though when he felt her stomach he noticed her ribs still stuck out far too much. That and the weakness he felt himself made him realise they were in no condition at all to fight, regardless of whether N had reached the League as well.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]But had he? Boreas didn't even know that, as they had only had thought for food, warmth, and rest yesterday. Or was it before that? They had all been tired enough to sleep through a whole day, easily. He'd seen trainers and their pokémon work together in the pokécenter, so N probably wasn't Champion yet. Maybe he hadn't made it out of Victory Road? That would be a very bad thing, oddly enough, as it removed the only reasonably easy chance they had at beating Team Plasma.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Aqua suddenly began cuddling him back, and mumbled sleepily in a soft voice that made Boreas' heart beat faster: "Hmm, Boreas... What're you doing to my belly?"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]With a blush, Boreas stopped rubbing and petting her stomach, which he had subconsciously continued doing. "Er... Sorry."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Slowly opening two deep black eyes, Aqua giggled. "You don't have to stop, it felt quite nice. You may rub my belly any time... Though I'd also like to fill it at some point, I'm hungry..."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Boreas winked and resumed the rubbing. "Alright, then. Come to think of it, I'm quite hungry too. Maybe we should try to find some breakfast... Or whatever meal it is at this time of the day."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Hmm... Later... Right now, I just want to lie here and snuggle you..."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]I would be happy to," said Boreas truthfully. "I don't think I've felt this well in a long time..."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Neither have I..." flirted Aqua as she gently nuzzled his fur. "But maybe after breakfast, we'll have regained enough energy to do things that are even more fun than just snuggling, so we can feel even better?"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]I thought you didn't want to get breakfast," chuckled Boreas, blushing.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Well, I thought I didn't... But now that I have something more to look forward to, maybe I do..."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Well," giggled Boreas, "I've got an idea: I'll get up real quickly and get us breakfast as fast as I can. I'll come back, dive back into bed with you, and we'll eat it. And then... Well, we'll see what happens next."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Can't wait to find out." Aqua winked as Boreas got up quickly. He didn't stand quite stable, but it was no problem. He quickly left the hospital ward, almost skipping. Things had gone so much better than he had ever expected. The journey had been incredibly long and hard, but in the end he had led his friends to the safety of the League. His greatest hope had thus come true, and now he was well-rested, warm, and about to get another meal. Not just that, but he had just snuggled with Aqua without hunger or the fear of death clouding their moods, and was probably about to get lucky too. In short, he was full of glee, and as he skipped through the pokécenter, he wondered why he would ever need to feel concern or unhappiness again.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Attention, challenger N's battle with Shauntal of the Elite Four is about to begin. Head to the holographic hall to watch it live!"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Oh," said Boreas, "I guess that's why."[/FONT]







[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]As Boreas recovered over the next few days, he explored the League. It was in a wide valley between the mountains, protected from the storms and blizzards by them, and warmed up more by human ingenuity. The southern half of the valley was the public part of the League, which was essentially a town full of trainers. There was the pokécenter, but also the train station, a market, various training facilities, houses for those who lived there, and more. At the moment, it also served as a refuge for anyone who didn't want their pokémon taken from them, as one of the last free places in Unova. The northern half of the League was inaccessible to anyone other than the Elite Four, the Champion, and their challengers, so Boreas didn't know much about it. It had five towers; a large one in the middle and four smaller ones around it coloured black, purple, dark red, and blue; and there seemed to be other facilities there as well. The tops of the towers would sometimes be lit by the Sun at day, while the rest of the valley had only artificial lights then.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]The first few days they were slowly recovering from their trial, glad they had survived and finally reached the League as they regaining their strength. Yet they were also reminded now that the journey was never the true challenge: it still lay ahead of them. N had arrived two weeks before them. Apparently he had managed to find a deep path through the caves, and it had landed him on a different pass. After a journey almost as long as Black's, he had finally arrived at the League, coming from the west. No-one, human or pokémon, was allowed to be present at a Pokémon League battle they weren't part of, but several 3D cameras across the room would record the battle and broadcast it as a spectacular hologram in a great dome called the holographic hall.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]The news that trickled in from south painted a grim picture: Unova, other than the League, was now completely in Plasma's hands. It sounded like a grim, grey land where only Team Plasma had pokémon and any dissension was punished severely. Plasma's victory was nearly complete. Zekrom's force of will was strong enough to influence many people, and by now Plasma was popular enough that they probably didn't even need N to become Champion. Boreas wondered if defeating him would make any difference, even if they could do it. N was the official king of Team Plasma, but by now the Seven Sages were as good as kings of Unova. The Gym Leaders all seemed to have disappeared, and Black was unable to get any news of Bianca, Cheren, or White.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]N had already beaten three of the Elite Four by the time Boreas was well enough to leave the pokécenter. He went to the holographic hall with Aqua to watch his final battle, against a master of psychic pokémon named Caitlin. The hologram was incredible, as if the battle took place right in the dome. This way people could watch the battles, despite not being allowed into the northern half of the League.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Caitlin's pokémon fought gracefully and elegantly, yet it was clear there was tremendous power in them. Boreas had only once fought a powerful psychic type, and it was a very unpleasant memory, and had allowed Diego to impersonate his brother. He was no stranger to deceit and trickery himself, and so he already knew the power of manipulating an opponent's mind, but to do it directly, simply reaching into it and changing things? That was a terrifyingly powerful gift, one that Boreas wished he wouldn't have to fight soon.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]But it seemed likely he would. While at first Caitlin seemed to be gaining the upper hand, that changed when it was Diego's turn to fight. Mysterious, dark powers took down two of Caitlin's pokémon. Boreas didn't know to what extent the Zoroark's powers were illusions and what part of them was real, but he could easily tell Diego was an even more dangerous opponent than ever before. He was also reminded of what he had tried to do to him the day they allied and blushed with shame. The troubles on Victory Road had allowed him to repress the memory for a while, but now he knew he would have to deal with it somehow. He needed to tell Aqua what the Glaceon she loved was really like, but he was too ashamed to do it. He was scared she'd get angry at him, or even dump him. So he tried to focus on the battle instead.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Diego was eventually defeated by a Bronzong, and N replaced him with Zekrom, his sole remaining pokémon. Even though it was merely holographic and the real Zekrom was far away in Caitlin's tower, Boreas still felt a surge of passion for pokémon liberation and wished to be free from Black, but quickly shook it off. The effect was much greater on the long-haired, princess-like Caitlin and her pokémon, though, who were much nearer. They were clearly confused and in doubt. Then Zekrom attacked.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Boreas had never seen anything like it. He had been too distracted by his own enemies and observing Diego when they had met in the Black Mountains to pay attention to the battle between Zekrom and Hydreigon, but now he could just watch it battle. It was awe-inspiring and terrifying. Intense bolts of lighting flashed with fierce blue light that put the Sun to shame. Huge meteors of fire and lightning struck and rocked the entire tower. Boreas felt their power course through his veins, though this was no more than a hologram. Everyone watching it was silent with awe.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Zekrom prese-" Boreas began, before correcting himself: "Kyogre preserve us..."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]He hadn't fully realised until now what it meant for a legendary pokémon to be on N's side. Now that he did, he saw the outcome of this battle immediately, and knew tomorrow's battle with Alder was no more than a formality: N would become Champion, there was no doubt about it. And then he and Zekrom would wield an almost invincible power over the hearts and minds of everyone in Unova.[/FONT]







[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa walked to the holographic hall with Toxica. They hadn't been released from the pokécenter yet the day before, so they only had the accounts of Boreas and Aqua to rely on for the strength of N's team. They wanted to watch his final battle with Alder, both to cheer the Champion on, though he couldn't hear them of course, and to observe their eventual opponent if N did win.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa?" Toxica asked worriedly. "Do you think Boreas is right? Do you think Alder doesn't stand any chance against Zekrom?"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa paused. "'Tis a good question, my darling. One I do not yet know the answer of. However, I do know Alder is a very powerful trainer; 'tis evident from his position as Champion. Recall his prowess in the battles of Dragonspiral Tower and Nacrene City. Zekrom may be a legendary pokémon, but it's still a pokémon. It can be defeated, I am certain of it, and if Alder can't do it, we'll see what we can do. Darkness shan't fall."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]To his delight and slight embarrassment, Toxica hugged him and gave him a kiss. "You're right, it's just-"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Keep your dirty hands off the descendants of Equinox the Great, Vileplume, or darkness shall fall for you sooner than you think," spoke a voice icily.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa turned in shock, letting Toxica go, and saw an angry-looking Serperior whose body was streaked with several bands of purple. "Hey, who do you think you are, you stuck-up git?!" snapped Toxica angrily, to Octa's shame.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Quiet, Vileplume; do not speak to your betters in such manner," sneered the Serperior.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa felt caught between two fires as two of those he loved spoke to each other like that. So he tried to pretend it didn't happen. "Gaius, my dear brother! What a delight to see you again, but what are you doing here?"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Gaius frowned in contempt. "I could ask you the same, brother. Why are you shaming yourself in public with this common hag when you could have been wed to the fair Aurora Invicta of the house of Quintillus?"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Hey, who-" Toxica began.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Brother," said Octa sternly, "this is the time nor the place to discuss my private life. I know you have been in opposition of my choice-"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]In opposition? My dear brother, don't you see opposition to it is the only sensible stance? How could you forsake five centuries of our house's history by choosing this hag over the fair Aurora Invicta? Selfishly deny your descendants the noble ancestry you have? I can barely believe you could do such a thing. And I want you to know that while you somehow got our father to support you, as well as our foolish younger siblings, I shall ever guard the future of our house, as well as yourself, both now and when I inevitably succeed Lord Publius as our leader."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Hi there, Octa, Toxica," said Boreas, who had just arrived too. "Who's this big girl's blouse, then?"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa winced at the untimely arrival and rude remark of Boreas, feeling very much trapped between Scylla and Charibdis. Fortunately his brother scowled and said: "So this is the kind of company you keep nowadays? Plebeian Vileplumes and scruffy-looking Glaceons who insult your family; how the mighty have fallen. I shall take my leave now; come talk to me without this rabble some time." He turned and slithered away.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Good riddance," spat Boreas. "What a windbag."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa felt quite angry hearing his brother talked about like that. "Be quiet and do not insult my brother."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Your brother?"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Yes," Octa explained with annoyance, "that was my older brother, Gaius Julius the fourth of the house of Equinox you just insulted."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]He deserved it, bossing you around and insulting Toxica. Is your whole family like that?"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]No," said Toxica, "not all of them. His other siblings are pretty nice. It's just Gaius who has a thorny stick up his-"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa interrupted angrily. "I forbid you both to talk of my family like that! For your information, Gaius is noble, wise, cunning, and brave. He simply does not support our union, and got quite angry seeing us osculate in public, making him express himself far less tactful than he would otherwise."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]That's an understatement," muttered Toxica. "But I still don't like 'im. And he doesn't like me either."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Indeed, he doesn't. And he shall like you far less after this situation, which is a problem. You see, he is a very influential member of my house; so much, in fact, that he will most likely succeed my father as our leader. Therefore, you have made a grave mistake by earning his scorn, as it will surely spread to others as well."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Oh..." said Toxica. "I didn't know that."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]I know you didn't," sighed Octa. "But understand that if you ever wish to become a lady of the house of Equinox, you shall have to learn how things work in it. For if you do not fall into grace with my house, they shan't ever condone our union, in which case I would have to leave the family... I implore you, do not make me do that. 'Tis a prospect that fills me with dread."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Sorry," said Toxica sadly, "I know I'll need to impress your family. I really-"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Attention, challenger N's battle with Champion Alder is about to begin. Head to the holographic hall to watch it live!"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Come on," said Boreas. "We've wasted enough time with this, let's watch the battle to see what'll happen next."[/FONT]







[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Silence hung heavily after the Volcarona crash-landed into the floor and didn't get up again, its glow quickly dimming. None spoke as they let the realisation that N had won and was now the Champion sink in. Alder too was flabbergasted. Finally, N spoke:[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Today, a new era begins as I, N, become the final Champion of Unova! The final trainers will release their pokémon during my time as Champion as I command it, and then I will at last disband the Pokémon League, and the very concept of the Championship."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]But Alder said: "Please, do anything but that! You can't end the friendships between humans and pokémon, you will destroy many beautiful things if you do! I know you are a good person, but you are also a very deluded one. Look at what Team Plasma has done and continues to do, and compare it with all the good trainers have done! You are fighting the wrong battle, N."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Don't speak," said N calmly. "We fought to test our ideals, and mine won. You have no right to speak, as you've been proven wrong."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]I didn't fight to test my ideals, but to protect them! You can't prove an idea simply by fighting for it, you only prove to be more powerful that way. An idea's strength doesn't translate into physical strength! Evil can be more powerful than good."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]N, for the first time Boreas knew him, wavered. "I... Maybe..."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]But then Diego spoke. "He's lying, like humans usually do. A good ideal gives strength, while evil only tears it down. That's why Zekrom is so powerful: because it fights for what is right. And that is why you won. And now, the pathetic human is trying to twist your mind with his lies since he couldn't win properly."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]N nodded. "You're right!"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]An earthquake struck. The hall shook and panic erupted. "A mountain!" someone screamed from outside. "A new mountain is rising!"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]As Boreas rushed outside, he saw it wasn't a mountain, though its size was almost as impressive. Tower after huge tower of obsidian black stone erupted from the ground, rising up rapidly as if by magic to the north of the League. But not just there: dark towers, walls, and fortresses rose to the east and west of the five towers of the League, which now seemed small and insignificant by comparison, enveloping them like a hawk about to devour its prey. The Earth shook, and small avalanches of snow and rock rolled down the slopes of the mountains around the League. Clouds of dust hung around the base of the mighty fortress that had risen from the ground. Flagpoles rose from the tops of the towers, and unfurled to show the banner of Team Plasma. When the castle had stopped rising, and the Earth stopped shaking, bridges opened from several towers, bridges that thrust towards the Champion's tower, touching its highest floor. There was a phenomenal cracking sound, and then tiny figures moved on one of the bridges. Boreas rushed back inside.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]The Champion's Room was devastated: three bridges had broken through the walls, making a mess of rubble inside. Alder looked as flabbergasted as everyone else, and even N looked surprised. Diego, however, didn't.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]What- what is going on?" Alder worded the question in everyone's minds.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]At that moment, the Seven Sages entered the room via the bridge. "Congratulations, N," spoke Ghetsis. "You've proven our ideals of pokémon liberation by becoming the Champion! But since you are very different from the corrupt former Champions, you require a different chamber than this one. Follow me, my lord, to your throne room, from where you and Zekrom will rule Unova."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]The castle..." N gasped. "I had no idea it could do that..."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]It only needed to be underground for as long as Team Plasma was. Now that we're victorious, it shall stand in the place of the outdated League as a testament to the power of our dreams."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]N spoke aloud to nobody in particular: "Black, I know you're watching this. You heard Ghetsis: I'll be in my throne room in Team Plasma's Castle, where I belong. Only you can defeat me now, and that is highly unlikely. But you'll try anyway, that's what you're a hero for. So come to my throne room; I will command Team Plasma you are to be let into the Castle unharmed. And then we will fight like the heroes of old and once and for all determine whether truth or ideals is more powerful."[/FONT]







[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]With N as the Champion, Zekrom's power somehow seemed increased greatly. Boreas now felt the wish for liberation all the time, as did other pokémon, while humans felt inclined to release their pokémon all over Unova. It needed to be stopped, or soon there would be no trainers left. But they couldn't battle N right away. First they needed to recover from their ordeal on Victory Road, which took them almost two weeks. [/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]They trained a lot during this time, mainly having training fights against each other. To change things up and prepare better they had practice fights against different opponents, except for Boreas against Aqua. This exception was because their training matches always seemed to turn into tongue wrestling matches instead. While they both protested they were training well and didn't mind having a bit of fun during training, Octa snidely pointed out that since neither of them were ghost-types, they wouldn't be using their tongues in combat, and were therefore better off training against someone they wouldn't end up snogging with. Octa found it quite annoying: while he could understand their love for each other was strong, surely there was such a thing as self-control?[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Black had asked for permission to enter the Champion's tower and challenge N directly, since it was the only way into the Castle that could be found. This request had been passed on to the Elite Four, who refused it. So he had requested it again, with a whole series of powerful arguments, but again the Elite Four refused, despite the huge fortress now enveloping their League and Plasma ruling Unova.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]One day, Black met with Alder, and had the opportunity to ask him why they would refuse when it was.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]I don't know," said the former Champion, who looked down on his luck and shocked at his defeat several days before. "And I can't ask them either, as I'm no longer allowed in the League, being the ex-Champion. The only way I could get there would be by challenging, but I'm not allowed to since I didn't get here through Victory Road."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]So what you're saying is, I'll have to ask them myself when I battle them."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]That's right, I'm afraid..." sighed Alder. "I hope it's just of devotion to their duty as Elite Four; but I just don't know them well enough to be sure..."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]What are they like?"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]I never got along with them very well... And I was usually away from the League travelling. They're very powerful trainers, quite close to my own skill. It's going to be very hard to defeat them. You battle one of them each day, and then you have the rest of that day to recover and get ready for the next battle. Lose against any of them, and your challenge is over immediately. You fight Grimsley, master of the dark-type, on the first day; then Shauntal who masters the ghost-type; Marshall the fighting-type master; and finally you'll have to battle the leader of the Elite Four, Caitlin the psychic-master. Only then can you challenge N..."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]It'll be tough..." said Black.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]I know it'll be tough, that's what it's supposed to be! But you're the only hope we have to defeat N... I'll help you train, because if you lose..."[/FONT]







[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa met with Gaius in private soon after N had become the new Champion. It turned out he had come to the League with various other members of the family to observe Octa's battles. Octa was delighted to hear news from home: things were as well as they could be, with no more attacks on their home. This was because the humans of Crimson Breeders had made an arrangement with Plasma: they gave up the breeding and left the pokémon to their own, and in turn Team Plasma would let the pokémon be as well. While it meant their home was safe for as long as Plasma kept its promise, it also felt a bit too much like a surrender for most of the Equinoctes, including Octa. He was happy his family was well, but on a certain level he would have preferred to have heard about their glorious deaths as they defended their ancestral home until the bitter end.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Gaius had also come to dissuade Octa from his relationship with Toxica, and Octa was far less happy about this. While he apologised for some of the words he'd used in anger, he still asked his brother to reconsider his love for Toxica several times. Octa refused, of course, yet he was beginning to wonder if his family wasn't right in discouraging his dalliance with her. Until now, he had believed pursuing a relationship with her and thus breaking his house's rules had been the right thing to do, ever since she and Boreas had convinced him to do so. But in the light of his cowardice on Victory Road, he began to wonder if it wasn't part of a larger failure of character of his. Perhaps he wasn't a proper descendant of Equinox the great, at least, not in mind; he knew of course for certain that he descended from Equinox, biologically speaking. But it was said there's a rotten Leppa in every basket; perhaps he was the one in the house of Equinox?[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]He could try and excuse his cowardice by trying to convince himself he had been following Boreas on the road the Glaceon had chosen; when he gave up, it was therefore logical to do the same, to assume that if Boreas couldn't find the way, no-one could. But he knew it was a worthless excuse: his friend was just a common Glaceon, brave and intelligent though he was. Octa, on the other hand, was a descendant of the great Equinox: in a time of despair he should've been better than to accept defeat; he should have led them on instead, as his ancestors would have. The only reason he was even alive at all was the courage of Selene, of all people.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Ever since that horrible moment, when his courage and noble blood had failed him when he needed them the most, he had been full of self-doubt. He had always believed the blood of his ancestors that ran through his veins meant he was like them. It was only through Boreas' renewed determination and his never-failing friendship that Octa had continued after that. And now, whenever he talked to Gaius, the shameful, nagging knowledge that he was far less noble than his brother gnawed on him. Perhaps he had just inherited the wrong genes from his ancestors; or perhaps he had the right genes, but simply didn't have the valour of his ancestors. The approaching battles against the Elite Four and N actually frightened him now, since he could easily lose them and fail all of Unova, if he could fail his own blood.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]He could of course tell Gaius about it and announce his decision to leave the family, unworthy as he was. But he realised there was a better way: he could try to act like a true descendant of Equinox from now on, try to banish the unworthy cowardice from his veins. But, he realised, it would mean breaking up with Toxica to be truly like an Equinox. Perhaps Aurora Invicta was still willing to consider marriage to him. She would make a far better wife to him than Toxica, after all: she was incredibly beautiful, very noble and graceful, clever, kind, everything. She was the ideal partner to him, he reasoned, so it only made sense. So why was his heart objecting so strongly to it?[/FONT]
 

destinedjagold

You can contact me in PC's discord server...
8,593
Posts
16
Years
  • Age 33
  • Seen Dec 23, 2023
Oh yeah, so close to an epic battle!
Octa's having a lot of thinking... I just hope he'll choose Toxica over stupid family lines whatever. I can relate to it by a bit though, and I hate following the steps of family tradition... =/

Aw well.
As usual, I await the next chapter~ :D
 
79
Posts
12
Years
  • Seen May 24, 2013
Not just one epic battle, but five of them... At least, I hope they'll be epic.

Yeah... Honour and pride and all that are very important to him, so the fact that he gave up is a very painful thought to him, one that rocked his entire world.

[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Chapter Sixty-Five: Light and Darkness[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]The day of their challenge came rapidly. It seemed like one moment they had days of training left, but the next moment it suddenly was the evening before their first battle. No-one spoke much, tense as they all were. Every hour that passed on the final day went far too quick. There were twenty hours left... Then suddenly only seventeen, sixteen, fourteen, eleven, ten, nine hours left. After a night of very little sleep it was time to begin their challenge. Octa felt like his blood had frozen, his heart having to pound heavily to make it circulate at all. It felt like his chloroplasts didn't process any light, frozen with dread. [/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]After having his badges checked a second time, Black was admitted into the northern half of the League. It was very quiet here as they left behind the modern architecture of the southern parts of the League and approached the five towers, while Team Plasma's castle enveloped them more and more. All five of the towers were part of the same building, a huge round, open complex supported by enormous columns. Once they were inside Octa was awed by the magnificence, and yet the simplicity of the great hall. There were four staircases leading to the towers, and a single statue in the middle of the hall. There were words engraved upon it:[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]'Five great warriors form this Pokémon League. To the north-west is one who has mastered the dark-type. To the south-west is one who does not fear the ghost-type. To the south-east is one who channels the power of the fighting-type. To the north-east is one who knows the mind of the psychic-type. One who can defeat these warriors with one's courage and wisdom shall be led to the summit, where the Champion awaits.'[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]They took the stairs at the back of the hall to their left, leaving the great hall. The light dimmed soon as they climbed into Grimsley's tower, until they were in utter darkness. The stairs ended and they carefully took a few more steps forward when a bright, fiery light enveloped them and the ground started moving at the same time. Most of them lost their balance and fell, but quickly recovered. They were on a crimson conveyor belt that was covered in red carpet. It went up and around a bend, and a torch lit as they passed it. The conveyor belt moved them up and around, and more torches lit as they passed. They saw more of Grimsley's tower as they got higher and the light increased: it was a gorgeous, ornate room that reminded Octa both of home and an 18th century theatre. It was clearly decorated by a man with style.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]The conveyor belt took them higher and higher, and after two large circles they had reached a platform. A gigantic chandelier above flared up and bathed the tower in orange light. There was a black sofa on the other side of the platform, and on it the pokémon master himself sat, looking proud and gentlemanly, yet at the same time bored and slightly lazy, slouching a little. He had blue hair with two large spikes of it pointing up above each ear, and wore neat black and red clothing. He had a long yellow scarf that hung onto the ground.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]You?!" exclaimed Black. "What did you do to Grimsley?!"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Sly laughed. "If it isn't Black from Nuvema Town! I had never expected to see you here. But to answer your question: you're looking at him."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]No, I'm not," said Black sourly. "I'm looking at Sly, a petty thief and kleptomaniac from Nacrene City."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]It's true," chuckled Sly, "I did that a while ago, it was quite funny. But allow me to reintroduce myself: my name is Grimsley, and Grimsley means me."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]We're supposed to believe Grimsley of the Elite Four is some common thief?" scoffed Octa.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Not a common one!" Grimsley pointed out, clearly understanding him. "A master thief, if you please. Because I make sure I am a master in everything I do, and what I do is whatever is fun. It's important to master the cards you hold in your hand. Master thief Grimsley, master gambler, pokémon master, master of the dark-type."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]And master liar," said Black. "The game is up, Sly. Where is the real Grimsley?"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]I already told you. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't him. And you wouldn't be here if you hadn't challenged us. So you have a simple choice: fight me or surrender."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Fine then, I'll believe you're Grimsley. For now. But if you are: why did you stop me from battling N? Surely you must see Plasma is a threat?"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Not to me," boasted Grimsley. "They can't steal my pokémon, so why would they be a threat to me? Besides, it's more fun to test your prowess in battle first. That's my right as the first member of the Elite Four."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Maybe it is, but what about all the trainers who have been separated from their pokémon, or even killed, because of Team Plasma?"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]What about them?" Grimsley shrugged. "Bad luck. They're not my concern."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]But-"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]I'm going to battle you. Now! While I'd rather fight properly, the League forces me to battle according to certain rules. So we'll each use six pokémon, one at a time, there will be no substitutions, no items, and no fighting when a pokémon is no longer fit for battle. Honchkrow, begin!"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]You have a Honchkrow too, huh?" laughed Black. "Selene, show it you're best!"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Selene flew up to meet the Honchkrow as it soared through the air. They both floated for a moment, then Grimsley's Honchkrow suddenly made a viciously sharp downward turn and loop, swooping by Selene like a black, feathered lightning bolt. She fell down in a spiral and hit the ground. The others gasped in shock as Grimsley laughed. "You're fighting the Elite Four now, Black! The time for playing games is over."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]That was a cheap shot!" snarled Aqua as she rushed forward. "But I'm not dropping my guard around you!"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]The Honchkrow laughed as it made a quick turn to dodge a beam of water. "Cheap shots are what dark-types are all about, you silly girl. Stay in the light if the dark scares you!"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa decided not to point out her boyfriend used cheap shots all the time to great effect. He wondered whether she really did care for Selene and want them to win or was just pretending. Though Boreas' assurance she was on their side was a strong argument against it, he still bore some suspicion; while Boreas was the best friend he had ever had, he had been known to be wrong. He dearly hoped the Glaceon was right about Aqua, though, as the thought of his dear friend having to go through her betrayal was even more dreadful than the fear his family might expel him.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]That thought was a surprise to Octa, but he realised it was true: he really had come to care more for Boreas than for his family, or possibly even for Toxica. Their friendship had come a very long way since Octa had rescued a little Eevee cub.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]A loud clanging noise awoke him from thought: Aqua had finally hit the Honchkrow, along with the chandelier. Fortunately the chandelier didn't shatter or fall down, but the Honchkrow wasn't so lucky. A wave of water formed around Aqua and slammed into her enemy as she pounced it. She yelped when the Honchkrow stabbed her with its sharp beak, but it couldn't fly away, heavy with water, and was defeated soon.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Grimsley laughed as he switched out for a Liepard. "Not bad, it seems you do have some strength! This will be fun."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]As the Liepard appeared it made a little bow, saluting Aqua. The Vaporeon returned the gesture, and Liepard immediately flew at her, its claws stretched out, giving her eight deep red cuts into her side.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Hey!" Boreas shouted angrily. "Aqua'll get you for that!"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Aqua reacted with similar anger and tried to capture her opponent in jets of boiling water. Octa thought Liepards were quite weak pokémon, but this one clearly wasn't: it nimbly dodged Aqua's attacks and, despite her own speed, occasionally clawed her. Boreas cheered her on, and Octa saw the completely smitten look on his friend's face. It would shatter him if she turned out to be a traitor. Octa sighed as she managed to inflict some damage on the Liepard with a beam of water. Things had been so much easier before she had suddenly dropped into Boreas' life nearly a year ago. Though it was great to see his friend so happy with her, it was also painful to see him hurt, and occasionally a little annoying how irrational it made him act and how much time he spent with her. Cold fury filled Octa's mind. If Aqua was just using Boreas to spy on them, if she was about to hurt the Glaceon so terribly... Lucius would be the least of her problems.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa became aware he had been staring angrily at Aqua only a moment after she felt his eyes burning with the stare his family had perfected so long ago. She succumbed to a nearly irresistible urge to turn around and look him in the eyes, and though Octa realised his mistake and quickly looked elsewhere, the momentary distraction was all the Liepard needed. Aqua screamed with pain as its claws dug into her. Her gleaming blue fur was rapidly stained with red blood.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]You'll pay for hurting her!" roared Boreas.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]But Black said: "No! This is not the time to get angry, someone else switch in instead; Toxica, you go!"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]But Boreas wasn't about to take no for an answer. Octa immediately wrapped around the advancing Glaceon, blocking his view as well so he wouldn't be able to use his ice attacks. "Calm down, my dear fellow! This is an official battle, we'll be disqualified if you and Toxica both switch in!"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Boreas squirmed against his grip. "Then I'll fight, that Liepard hurt Aqua!"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa sighed, having experienced this a bit too often with his hot-blooded friend. "Calm down, my dear fellow, Toxica is already fighting. If she retreats, we'll be another pokémon behind. And what's more: you're in no mood to fight. It's daft to fight with your mind clouded with anger in any case, but against a dark-type? Being a trickster yourself, you should realise just how stupid that is."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]That seemed to get through to him. "If I let you go, will you do something idiotic?" asked Octa.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]No," sighed Boreas, "I suppose you're right. I'll go take care of Aqua instead, I guess."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa let go of his friend and watched Toxica fight. To his shock she already had large cuts in her flower as well as in her body, leaking saps and blood. But not all was lost, as her flower was brimming with energy absorbed from the light. If she could make the Liepard stand still for a moment...[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Toxica threw small Energy Balls from her hands. Octa wondered how much they would hurt Liepard even if she managed to hit it, but then realised they weren't meant for hitting, but for chasing: Liepard had been content to effortlessly dodge the Energy Balls, making Toxica waste her energy, but hadn't realised it had reached the platform's edge. It was too agile to just fall off the edge when it dodged and found no ground under one of its feet, of course, but it was still unbalanced for a moment. Toxica immediately aimed her flower at it, and Octa shut his eyes. His eyelids lit up bright orange seen from inside and he sighed in delight at the sudden influx of light to his chloroplasts. It was over a moment later, and Octa opened his eyes to see the Liepard completely scorched by Toxica's Solarbeam and everyone else rubbing their eyes. He applauded and cheered. "Splendid, my darling, simply splendid!"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]She smiled happily at him, though he could see her weariness as well; Solarbeam was a very exhausting move. She winked, and Octa felt his heart beat in his chest and his leaves curl. It was with pain he remembered he was planning to break up with her. He couldn't bear to look her in the eyes.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Good job, that's my two weakest down. Now let's see what you can do against Drapion!"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa's hope sank into his tail as he saw a monstrous purple scorpion appear. It wasn't much bigger than Toxica, but it had a terrifying presence that made it seem far larger. Octa felt an almost instinctive rush to draw his blade and jump between Toxica and the monster. He slithered a bit forward and put his hand on his blade before he halted himself. He winced in horror as Drapion's teeth burst into flame and it tried to bite Toxica. She jumped back but it swung its tail at her, slamming hard into one of her petals and piercing it. A noxious green fluid spread there. Octa could hardly restrain himself.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Not so easy, is it?" said Boreas unhappily. Octa merely nodded, wincing at the effect it had on Toxica. She tried valiantly to fight back, but her attacks were useless and she was clearly hurt badly by the poison. Drapion made its final strike with its claws, and Toxica was defeated. Octa wanted to step in to defeat the Drapion, but as a grass-type he recognised he stood little chance against it. It was Lucius' turn instead as Octa took care of Toxica.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]He jumped into the fray, spitting waves of fire that made an uncontrollable shiver run over Octa's spine. He suppressed the rest of his instinctive fear for fire, as he didn't want to give Lucius the silly idea he was scared of him. He was the single person on the team Octa just didn't like, after all. Though Selene could be rather annoying, Lucius was simply an unpleasant, uncivilised git; though Octa dearly hoped he could defeat Drapion now. He couldn't understand that Boreas seemed to almost like Lucius at times. But he supposed Boreas was more like him than Octa himself was; both lacking a certain respect. But while Boreas was shrewd and kind, Lucius was a simpleton lacking all grace.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Drapion jumped at Lucius, its pincers snapping at his head and neck, but the Houndoom jumped aside rapidly and tried to respond with a Flamethrower. Drapion swung its tail as it missed, impacting Lucius hard with a triumphant growl. Lucius yelped in pain as his shoulder was wounded and dug his teeth deep into the tail. Bleeding heavily, the Drapion tried to smash Lucius with one of its claws, only to find the fire-type's paws holding it back with similarly great strength while he belched a great torrent of fire right into the scorpion's face. A high-pitched squeal like a pig being roasted alive came from the Drapion as it let go of Lucius and fell down.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Lucius howled triumphantly, his mouth still running with the Drapion's blue blood and his poisoned shoulder with his own red blood. "Now who's the stronger dark-type, punk?!" he roared as Black and Boreas cheered. Octa found himself softly applauding Lucius. After all it had been quite impressive.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa realised the Drapion was only acting just too late, at the precise moment it knocked Lucius out from behind. "I am," it said in a voice like gravel scraping over metal.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa winced. "Oh dear... My dear fellow, don't lose your temper; we cannot afford to lose another fight..."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Boreas nodded as he grimly stepped forward to face the burnt and bleeding Drapion. Only two of them remaining against four powerful enemies... Octa pondered that their challenge could be over with this very first battle. Black was biting his fingernails nervously. "Oof..." muttered Aqua, waking up again. "How are we doing? Any better than I am personally?"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Lucius had already wounded Drapion pretty badly, and so Boreas didn't have a very difficult first fight. It clumsily staggered towards him, and took only a few Ice Beams to be defeated. Boreas didn't let his eyes leave the fallen Drapion until Grimsley returned it to its pokéball.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Slightly better now... Three of them left contra two of us."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Grimsley threw a pokéball, and out came a bipedal lizard whose outer skin hung around its hips like baggy pants. It had a flat face with a permanently stupid expression that put Octa at ease. "Oh, it's only a Scrafty. Boreas can handle a dimwitted creature like that."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Don't you think that's a little arrogant?" asked Aqua snidely.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]I hardly think so; methinks Boreas is quite a capable Glaceon. Do you not have confidence in his ability?"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]The battle between them began with Boreas firing two Ice Beams at Scrafty, but the lizard nimbly ducked under them and rapidly ran at Boreas on all fours, its head aimed at the Glaceon like a battering ram. He couldn't get out of the way quite fast enough and was hit in the shoulder, launching the fox off his feet, spinning rapidly. It wasn't all bad, though, since Boreas had the wits to create cold around him as he spun through the air, instantly making a powerful, rapidly rotating storm that threw Scrafty away. Both combatants landed poorly, needing a moment to recover from it.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Of course I do," said Aqua worriedly. "But it's arrogant to assume the Scrafty is stupid because its face is..."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa said nothing, unwilling to admit his mistake to her. Boreas raised himself back on three legs with a pained expression, while Scrafty got up a bit more nimbly and ran at him quickly. Boreas immediately fired an Ice Beam upwards, to the chandelier, hitting the chain that held it up. Octa expected the huge glass chandelier to drop and crush the charging Scrafty, but it just hung there. Then Octa realised why: since metal contained no water, it didn't snap-freeze like many other substances. It would get brittle due to the electrons giving it its elasticity settling down, but it was still as strong...[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Boreas discovered this bit of physics in the form of a massive punch heading his way. Octa saw him try to stop it with his Frost Concussion, but the Brick Break wasn't stopped or delayed but hit him very hard, right in the face. Octa winced and Aqua gasped as Boreas made a half somersault from the force of the punch, landing on his back, seemingly defeated. But somehow he rolled out of the way of a finishing kick, blasted an Ice Beam right into his foe's face and, as the lizard howled out in pain and grasped his face, fired another one at his stomach.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Then however it seemed Boreas had to rest after the powerful punch into his face, and this gave Scrafty time to recover as well. They were on their feet again at the same time, though Boreas' bruised face looked worse than Scrafty's frostbitten one. Boreas enveloped himself in a snowstorm and ran at the lizard, but at the very same moment Scrafty jumped high into the air, far too high ever to hit Boreas. Boreas skidded to a halt and tried to run back, away from the chandelier: Scrafty jumped right by the frozen part of the chain holding it up and punched the brittle metal.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]The chandelier fell terrifyingly in what almost seemed to be slow-motion. Boreas' desperate scrambling away was futile, the chandelier fell too fast. Octa let out a brief scream of horror for his friend's impending doom descending upon him in that special way only a huge glass chandelier can. Only Black's quick reaction saved Boreas, as he disappeared just before the chandelier crashed into the ground like a meteorite striking the Earth. It shattered into a million pieces of glass flying everywhere with a tremendous roar. Octa found a thin film of water protecting him and the others, stopping some of the glass and slowing the rest of it down to safer speeds. He gratefully nodded to Aqua. [/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Boreas reappeared looking very shocked. "Outwitted by a fighting-type..." he gasped.[/FONT]
"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]And nearly killed," Octa added with equal shock. "But do not forget 'tis a dark-type as well. I made the mistake of underestimating it; a mistake I shall not readily make again." Which is why I know the odds of my victory are smaller than an atom suffering from dwarf-growth.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]He slithered forward and used two vines to sweep away the shards ahead of him. He regretted his lack of legs now, realising this would be far easier as a Servine. Scrafty had not just defeated Boreas: he had made manoeuvring as good as impossibly for Octa. "Impressive," he complimented his enemy, who seemed in no hurry to get into melee in its weakened state.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa further extended his vines, reaching out to his opponent. It jumped away, seemingly trying to use the semi-darkness that filled the tower now that its main source of light lay in a million pieces, but Octa had no problem seeing it jump around. He caught it with his vines, and quickly drained the struggling lizard of what little energy it had left after Boreas. But now, he knew, came the difficult part.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Or perhaps not, as Grimsley sent out a Krookodile. Octa didn't like that one bit: while it was possible Grimsley sent out the Krookodile because his other remaining pokémon was also at a type disadvantage, it seemed more likely it was part of some scheme. Perhaps the idea was to make Octa underestimate his opponent, or maybe just to soften him up for the final pokémon. Or perhaps there was some other kind of trick. Octa felt apprehensive and worried. Victory depended solely on him now...[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]As the large, bipedal crocodile rapidly ran at him, Octa grabbed it with his vines and began draining its energy. The ground trembled with its every step, and glass near its feet, and probably under them as well, shattered to dust. Krookodile kept going, despite Octa draining its energy. He drew his Leaf Blade as he realised his opponent was going to reach him, and tried to parry its attack as it pounced him, claws and jaws spread and roaring like a madman. Octa parried one heavy claw with his Leaf Blade, but a phenomenal force knocked the blade out of his hand and sent it flying. Impacts like a collision with a sharpened train hit Octa, he was bitten with such force the pain was dull and sharp at the same time, and a crushing impact launched him. He squealed in pain as he landed on the scattered glass, and weakly struggled to keep his head away from the ground.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Krookodile raged and ran at him again, and he did something he hadn't done in a while: he made a Leaf Tornado. His increased power since he was a Servine, however, made it much more powerful: a phenomenal gale with sharpened leaves stormed over the battlefield, blowing most torches out and pelting Krookodile with leaves and glass as it swept the nearly-dark battlefield mostly clean. Krookodile struggled against the Leaf Storm to try and reach Octa, but it was powerless with the sharpened leaves and shards of glass cutting it. As it fell down, Octa stopped the storm and panted, exhausted from the powerful move. He grabbed his Leaf Blade and fervently hoped the final pokémon would be weak.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Good, good!" laughed Grimsley. "This is more fun than I thought! Let's finish it, Bisharp!"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]A red, metallic figure like a living suit of armour from another planet's mediaeval period appeared. It had large, sharpened claws on the ends of its arms and a ridge on its head that looked like it could cut through steel. Two tiny eyes seemed the only part of the man-high creature that was made of flesh and blood.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]A steel-type," groaned Octa, "and I'm already so weary..." He held his blade in front of his face as a salute, then crossed blades with his opponent. He felt its strength reverberate through his weary, wounded body, but could handle it for the moment. He immediately redirected his blade to stop the attack of the other arm. They fenced rapidly, Octa's single Leaf Blade against two metal ones. It was an obvious disadvantage, and he almost never had time to attack, having to parry two blades. He could've made a second Leaf Blade, but since he had no experience fighting with two blades it seemed a very bad idea.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa had to slide back constantly, yielding terrain to dodge and parry his stronger, two-bladed opponent. He tried to strike Bisharp from behind with his tail, but it nimbly sidestepped. However, that gave Octa an opening to attack, and so he stabbed his blade, pushing the attempt to block it away, and hit the Bisharp right in the chest. To as good as no effect. Its strong armour held back Octa's blade, and he had to parry attacks immediately again, in the knowledge his own skin certainly wouldn't do the same to metal blades. Parrying several attacks from alternating sides each second, Octa tried to aim for his enemy's eyes whenever he had a chance to attack, but Bisharp protected them well. If you have only one weak spot to protect, you get quite good at that.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa was exhausted, panting heavily, and his muscles hurt. He began to slow down, and received a few small cuts from poorly-parried attacks. Suddenly he nearly fell off the platform's edge as he dodged back another attack. His enemy had him cornered. But an idea popped up in Octa's mind. He made a wild stab to his enemy's left eye, trying not to let the severe flash of pain as his enemy punished him with a deep gash with one blade while blocking with the other stop him. His enemy stepped closer to the edge as it parried, and Octa followed up with another careless lunge that Bisharp easily parried. But as it did so, it shifted its balance, and Octa's tail hit its back hard at the same moment. After a single moment of uncertainty, Bisharp plummeted over the edge with a metallic cry.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa was almost unable to believe it was over. They had actually defeated a member of the Elite Four! A part of him inside simply nodded and smiled and said "of course I did, I'm of the house Equinox." Another part of him, however, a long-repressed part of self-doubt and fear, couldn't believe he had duelled an Elite Four's Bisharp while wounded and came out the victor. A part of him felt ashamed that this had looked like a beautiful civilised hall of a nobleman before the battle and now looked like a barbarian horde had ransacked the place. And finally there was a part of him that just wanted to scream at the deep cuts he'd received executing his little plan. He was tired and hurt enough that he'd most like to just lay down, but he desired to keep his dignity and instead calmly sheathed his blade and said "I believe we are victorious."[/FONT]







"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]...But then the giant chandelier came down, just as I was about to defeat it! Of course, I saw it coming and was already running out of the way to safety, but just as I was about to jump out of the way... Black returned me to my pokéball. Otherwise I'd have easily beaten that Scrafty. But he thought I was about to die, so it's alright really. Besides, it gave Octa a chance to show off his mad skills with the sword. I mean, their swords were flashing so fast it was hard to follow it with your eyes when he fought that Bisharp! Octa, tell us about it again."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa was shaken from thought by Boreas' request to continue the tale. He had told it five times already, but enjoyed it every time... However, he was rather preoccupied right now, and not really enjoying their little victory celebration any more. He quickly finished his drink. "Hmm? Why don't you tell it, my dear fellow? I think I shall be calling it a night, for we have another battle to fight tomorrow and 'tis late already."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Aww..." pouted Boreas. "But I guess you're right about that. We should be getting to bed..." He suddenly grabbed and kissed Aqua. "But that's no reason to stop celebrating, is it?"[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]You're right," giggled Aqua, "we should have a little private celebration..."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Well, have fun then, but don't keep each other up too long, you'll need your rest for tomorrow." Octa and the others left to go to their own rooms. Challengers were given quite luxurious accommodations at the League, as every pokémon had a room of their own. Lucius and Selene quickly disappeared to their own rooms, but Toxica walked along with him. "Kinda cute, innit," she giggled, "seeing them so happy together. I don't suppose Aqua's room will be slept in tonight..."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Octa, rather preoccupied, simply said: "Hmm. I suppose it won't..."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]In a low, flirtatious voice, she continued: "And what about my room? Do you suppose it will be slept in?"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]They had arrived at Octa's room, but his conscience forbade him from letting Toxica come in with him while he considered dumping her, though the celebratory alcohol in his blood thought it was a great idea. "My apologies, my darling, but I want to rest for tomorrow's battle. For while our victory today was impressive, this was but the first of five battles we have to win. So methinks 'tis better if we sleep in our own rooms and rest well."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Well... We don't need to... 'Celebrate'. It would be very nice just to sleep together, cuddling. Literally just sleeping together, I mean."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]My apologies, but I really think we should sleep in our own rooms tonight." Octa took Toxica's hand and kissed it. "Goodnight." He entered his room and shut the door, sighing.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]You made a wise choice," said a voice.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Entei's entrails!" cursed Octa. "Gaius! What in the name of Jirachi's little toe are you doing here?"[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Gaius smiled. "I'm simply visiting my brother, and I'm about to congratulate him on a battle well-fought. I thought it best to speak to you in this manner, for I do not believe your friends like me very much, though this is partially my own fault for losing my temper."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]I'm afraid it is," said Octa, recovering from the shock.[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]But enough about that. I wish to congratulate you. I truly believed you were going to lose, but you actually managed to defeat three opponents on your own. I'm proud of you, little brother: you showed the true skill and spirit of Equinox today. I must be honest with you: I had begun to doubt the strength of your blood. Evidently I was mistaken in my doubt, and I hope you can forgive me for that."[/FONT]



"[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]No, you weren't." Octa sighed, realising this was the time to tell someone about his failure. "I dishonoured myself on Victory Road, Gaius..." He told his brother how he had cowardly given up hope, and his wish to increase the strength in his blood and even his idea to become more like his ancestors by following their ways... Including dumping Toxica.[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]Gaius smiled friendlily. "My brother, you are still a true Equinox. However, you are one who has strayed away from our traditions and rules by courting a commoner and disobeying his family. 'Tis to be expected such transgressions would cause your splendour to fade. However, I do not believe your mistake is irreversible. 'Tis time you listened to the wisdom of the family, Octa. Toxica may be quite decent, for a commoner, but she does not deserve you. Your courtship has to end, and the sooner the better, for the fate of Unova rests on your leaves."[/FONT]



[FONT=Palatino Linotype, serif]It pained Octa, but he knew his brother was right. Yet it was so final now that he had told his solution to Gaius... At least he could've backed out of it without anyone knowing before. "Yes," he sighed. "I know it has to..."[/FONT]
 

destinedjagold

You can contact me in PC's discord server...
8,593
Posts
16
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  • Age 33
  • Seen Dec 23, 2023
I really thought Boreas was killed. Good call by Black to return him quickly.
The battle felt a bit rushed, yet it was still written good. :)

Octa's really having a lot of things in his head. I just hope he chooses Toxica though. =/
 
79
Posts
12
Years
  • Seen May 24, 2013
I really thought Boreas was killed. Good call by Black to return him quickly.


Now that would've been a surprising way to kill him off. It would really have given the story's title new meaning.

The battle felt a bit rushed, yet it was still written good. :)

Thanks. Unfortunately, I find having parts of the battle a bit rushed is as good as unavoidable with these Elite Four battles. Because there's a lot of match-ups in a six vs. six battles, and I just don't have something interesting to say about all of them. So the battles tend to be focused on the interesting parts, and go over the not so interesting parts relatively quickly.

Octa's really having a lot of things in his head. I just hope he chooses Toxica though. =/

We'll see...

Chapter Sixty-Six: Courage and Fear
Diego was annoyed with himself. He had just watched a recording of Black's battle with Grimsley, and found himself rooting for Black. He had told himself it was just because he looked forward to defeating him and his pokémon personally, and even believed it. But then, the chandelier had fallen on top of Boreas, and Diego had actually been shocked and horrified. Somewhere inside his mind, the Flareon he had pretended to be for two months had cried out in shock at the apparent death of his brother, and then sighed in relief when it turned out he wasn't dead after all.
Diego was really beginning to hate his oh so clever plan to spy on the enemy by infiltrating them himself. Boreas' early memories that had been implanted into his mind, as well as the long time he'd spent playing Zeph, had made him weak and treacherous. In a way, Zeph was still inside his mind, making him doubt Team Plasma's cause and making him like Boreas. It would be easy enough to let Ryoku's Exeggutor remove the memories if he asked it to, but that would mean actually showing his mind to it, and in its current state showing his mind to anyone was the last thing he wanted. Exeggutor would be obligated to tell Ryoku, and then Ghetsis would learn of his weakness and probably think his friend was no longer loyal to him. Which was nonsense, of course: Diego's true self was unquestioningly loyal. Yet he felt a little spark of anger towards Ghetsis now as he remembered how much the enemy hated him and the other Sages and how much suffering he had caused. Diego was ashamed at his misguided anger towards the human who had saved his life, cared for him, became his friend, who had made him such an instrumental part of his plans.
He paced the corridors of Team Plasma's castle restlessly as he had these conflicting thoughts, and found himself wandering into N's throne room. "Diego!" greeted the human happily. "How did Black's battle go? I take it he won?"
N had been spending most of his time in the huge throne room since they had returned to the castle. Diego found it quite funny how seriously he took his role as king, even though he was no more than a figurehead. Yet he also felt a bit sorry for his friend. He was so misguided and naïve, thinking he was fighting for pokémon liberation when he was really fighting for Team Plasma's true goals. Diego nodded grimly. "He did."
"Of course he did; a battle between Reshiram and Zekrom will happen to decide who's right once and for all." N noticed Diego's troubled state. "Don't worry, Diego, this is meant to happen. Black defeating Grimsley is not a bad thing. It's unavoidable, since he'll eventually fight me."
N misunderstood Diego's worries, but that was probably for the better. "N, do you ever wonder if we're fighting for the wrong side?" Diego heard someone say. He realised with shock it was him.
"Well, not really. How could liberating pokémon be wrong? Yet, if it somehow is, Reshiram will defeat Zekrom, and then we'll know. But I'm almost sure that won't happen. We'll win and prove our righteousness once and for all."
Diego forced a smile. "Of course. You know, I've got some things to do, so I'll see you later."
Diego left the throne room quickly. Idiot, he thought. Naïve idiot. He really thinks we're fighting to liberate pokémon. Well, I guess it's true in the sense that pokémon will be equals to humans when we win...
But that's just what I've thought him to think like. We need him naïve. But what's wrong with me? Asking something so treacherous? What if someone else had heard me? What if it makes N doubt our cause? I know what I'll have to do if he turns on us, and it's not something I'd enjoy...
But he could do it. He remembered what he'd done one day on Victory Road when he had been vexed by similar thoughts and wondered if he'd turned weak. He grinned as he remembered it and realised that when push came to shove, he would show no mercy to any enemy. It had felt as if he'd taken the thoughts he had come to think of as Zeph by the throat with an iron fist and strangled them. They had eventually returned, but he had proven that while there was weakness in him, his core was harder and stronger than steel.

Toxica woke up feeling quite well. She had been terrified about their first battle with an Elite Four, but now that they had defeated one, it felt like it wasn't such a stretch they could win another battle or three. She yawned, turned on all lights in the room, and let her flower absorb the light for a while. It was a shame the Sun was up so briefly and lowly this far north; she could really go for some nice morning sunlight. She sighed at the thought; morning Sun made for a great breakfast, bright but not too warm; she really longed for some after so much time away from the Sun.
She left her room eventually, as she really needed a normal breakfast as well, unable to live on sunlight alone this far up north. She went down to their dining room downstairs, passing the rooms of the others. She considered sneaking in and snuggling up to Octa as she passed his room, but decided against it, as she was quite hungry.
The dining room was empty; it seemed she was the first to rise. She realised as she had breakfast there was another reason she hadn't gone into Octa's room: he had been acting a bit strange lately. Though he usually didn't show it in public, he was often very affectionate and loving to her in private; yet he had lately grown more aloof and distant, and often seemed worried and lost in thought. Toxica didn't think he'd be that happy to find her with him, really...
It led to a scary thought: perhaps Octa was no longer in love with her. Maybe she hadn't turned out to be whom he really wanted, and now he was regretting their love... Even though she'd been trying to learn as much as possible of the things a lady of the house of Equinox should know, she knew she'd never be a true lady, and Octa had probably realised the same. She thought of Aurora and sighed in frustration knowing she could never be like her. Sure, she could try, but it would always be obvious to Octa she wasn't really fit for him.
There was a flapping of wings, and then Selene flew in. "Good morning, Tox."
"Morning..." she said gloomily.
The bird landed. "You're looking a bit unhappy today... Are you worried about the battle?"
"It's not that, Selene, it's just..." Toxica felt tears sting in her eyes. "I'm not sure if Octa still loves me..."
Selene perched down next to her and put a wing around her back. "There, there... It'll be alright, Tox. Life is like a box of chocolates, you know. Sometimes you eat it, and sometimes it eats you."
"Wh-what kind of chocolates are those?"
Selene kept on talking. "But when it eats you, you just have to turn the other cheek and let it eat that instead, because otherwise you may end up without a cheek to stand on; and that means you need a wheelchair to... Why are you laughing?"
"Oh, no reason," giggled Toxica. "But thanks, that really helps me feel better."
"Great!" Selene crowed happily. "I'm always glad to help a friend like you."
Toxica ate a bit. Though she was still feeling worried Selene had made her laugh at least. "Well, you're a good friend for trying to help. I really shouldn't let it get me down so much; for all I know he's just worried whether we can really defeat the Elite Four. I know I am."
"Well, at least today will be fun," Selene said cheerfully. "We're fighting a ghost-type master today, can you believe it? It'll be great."
Toxica felt as if the air in the room had disappeared and left her in an ice-cold vacuum. Horrific memories she had tried to push away flashed through her mind, reminding her of the worst fear she had ever felt. She had been fear as she was lying in a grave and had heard death speak to her while five terrifying ghosts discussed how they were going to torture her and give her a fate worse than death and hundreds of creepy Litwicks sang. Even knowing it had all been some sick joke in hindsight didn't soften the terrible memory, which had returned in her nightmares several times. She would rather fight a whole horde of fire-types than ghosts.
Toxica was light-headed and nauseous with terror. She pushed her plate away; eating was the last thing she wanted now, in fact she felt like she might throw up. Maybe I should, she thought. If I act like I'm terribly ill, maybe Black won't take me along for the battle... I would be useless against ghosts anyway, I'm too scared of them... And it'd be better than having my soul burned away, or eaten, or turned into a mummy... Even if those are obviously myths. Obviously.
"Oh dear..." she said. "I think I'm coming down with something... Not sure if I can fight today."
"Well, that's no problem," said Selene, "we'll just go to nurse Flatulence and let her have a look at you. I bet she can cure you."
Oh, bugger. "Well, um... You see, I can't... Because... Well..." Toxica sighed and realised she couldn't think of an excuse. "Look, remember Celestial Tower? If I go to fight those ghosts, I'll probably end up doing exactly what I was doing there and just freeze with fear."
Selene looked confused. "But you have to fight; if there's only five of us, then that's less than six. And these four elites are already difficult to defeat when we are both with six."
"I know..." said Toxica, softly. "But I told you, I'll just be frozen with fear... I'll be useless."
"But why? Why would you be afraid of ghosts, they're fun!"
Toxica was puzzled again by Selene's seemingly insane like of ghosts. "Well, how could you not be afraid of them? They're horrible, gaseous things that can get into your mind and do gruesome things to you... Plus, they're dead people's spirits..."
"I don't think that's true," said Selene.
"How do you know?"
"Because I've seen ghosts hatch from eggs once. Gastlies."
"That's... Right, you've got a good point there." Toxica felt relieved; that made ghosts sound a lot more like a normal pokémon.
"Ghostly eggs, mind you. They're purplish-black and float, and are sort of airy and gaseous, but not quite a gas. Like really thick smoke."
"That's kind of weird." Toxica let out a little chuckle at the thought of a creepy thing like a Gastly hatching from such an egg.
"And when the Gastly hatches," continued Selene, "the shell often becomes a part of its body, if it doesn't just dissolve into thin air. Also, they make fantastic omelettes; they're just tough to keep in the pan because they tend to float away or dissipate. And when the omelette is done, you don't eat it, but inhale it." She smiled. "And then the world suddenly makes so much sense..."
"Well, that explains a thing or two," chuckled Aqua as she entered as well, smiling. "Morning, ladies, I hope there's breakfast other than Gastly omelettes left, because I'm starving."
She gracefully jumped down the stairs and onto a chair, then began giving herself breakfast. "So whawt waws awll this tawlk of Gastly omewettes?" she asked with her mouth full of bacon.
"I was just telling a bit about ghosts, because Toxica was afraid-"
"Because I was afraid I didn't know enough about them to fight them well," interrupted Toxica. Though she liked Aqua a lot, she didn't really want more people to know how scared she was of ghosts.
Fortunately Aqua seemed too busy with her breakfast to notice the cover-up. "Wow," said Selene, "you're quite hungry. Did you celebrate long with Boreas yesterday after we went to bed?"
Aqua blushed, and Toxica burst out in giggles. Selene could be very naïve sometimes. "Hehe, I guess we did," she giggled.
As they had their breakfast, Toxica's mind drifted back to the ghosts. Selene had made her feel better about them, but a single thought of the things they were said to be able to do to you made her blood freeze in her veins. The stories about devouring people's souls, turning you into a ghost, or controlling your mind were probably just made up... But they were still terrifying. And if only one of them was true... Toxica didn't dare continue the thought.
Fortunately, she didn't have to, as Octa joined them. "Mornin', Octa!" she said happily.
"Good morning," said Octa, without even looking at her. "Boreas and Lucius aren't here yet?"
"Yes, they are," said Aqua, "they're hidden under the table."
"Quite funny."
Aqua chuckled. "Well, ask a dumb question, get a dumb answer. Boreas is still lying in bed, he didn't feel like having breakfast yet. I guess Lucius is just being lazy."
As Octa started having breakfast too, he still hadn't looked at Toxica. "Good morning, Octa," she said, extra clearly. Yet he seemed to be more interested in his breakfast than in her. "Good morning." he replied.

Several hours later, Octa still hadn't even made eye contact with her. Her annoyance over his weird behaviour almost eclipsed her fear for the ghosts, who – hatched from eggs or not – scared the living piss out of her. The dreaded moment when she'd have to face them came closer and closer. She tried very hard not to think of the horrible stories that were told about every ghost. Her feet felt like they were made of osmium, and cold and warm shivers alternated over her body. Her head, flower and body felt far too warm, yet her hands and feet were cold and shivery. She was too scared to look up at the purple tower as they walked towards it.
They went left immediately as they entered the main League building, into a dark tunnel. Toxica could hear herself breathing awfully loud and fast, but kept walking. She toyed with the idea to use the darkness to sneak away, but knew she couldn't. She was going to have to face whatever would be waiting for her at the end of this darkness. That was, as it turned out, slightly less darkness. She could see a large staircase spiralling around huge bookcases. Spider webs were everywhere and the murky air was ominously thick and dusty. She forced the voice in her mind that said she could be breathing in a Gastly already to shut up.
Wings flapped loudly, and then something touched her flower. "Get it off me, get it off me!" she screamed, trying to slap at whatever horrible thing it was.
"It's me, Tox!" said Selene.
"Oh," said Toxica, feeling very silly, especially now that everyone was looking at her. "Er. Sorry. What'd you startle me like that for?"
"Yeah, you crazy bird," said Lucius, "what did you scare her for? She's probably scared enough for what the ghosts could do to her anyway."
"Hey, shut up!" snapped Toxica.
"Like turn her into a zombie, or-"
"Shut your trap, Lucius," said Boreas, "scaring her really isn't going to help us."
"And you shut up too, I'm not scared!"
"I'm just trying to-"
"Come on, guys," said Black, "quit fighting and get on with it."
Listening to their trainer, they stopped arguing, but Toxica was still furious that her fear was so apparent. Grumbling angrily as they walked up the stairs, she barely noticed their creepy creaking. The stairs went around the tall bookcases once, and then reached their top. There was a wooden floor illuminated by a purple lantern on top of the bookcases. At its far side a petite human woman sat at a desk, scribbling something in a book. Her hair and clothes were all purple, or perhaps that was just because of the purple light. She reminded Toxica of a cat.
"Welcome," said Shauntal of the Elite Four as she looked up. "You must be Black. A curious name, just like the last challenger..."
"Yes," said Black, "I am, and I've come to challenge you. But first I want to know why you protect N."
Shauntal looked down into the book. "'Eyes brimming with dark flame, this man rejected everything other than himself in order to bring about one singular justice...' That is something I wrote just now, inspired by our new Champion. N has a righteous, selfless conviction that is rarely seen. He believes himself to be a hero, and in many ways he is. Whether I agree with him or not, he has my fullest respect, and I want to see what he can do if we let him."
Black shrugged. "Well, at least you seem to have given it more thought than Grimsley."
"N talked to me about you, you know. He believes you too are a hero."
Black sighed, while Toxica slowly felt her anger subside. Fortunately, Shauntal didn't seem too scary. Yet she dreaded the monsters she might release from her pokéballs. "I'm not a hero, I'm just trying to stop Team Plasma. I have no interest in N's hero rubbish."
"Fascinating..." said Shauntal. "You really do fit the role well. I'm sure your battle with N will be very interesting, but that's not for now. I will battle you right now and see whether you've got what it takes. We'll fight six against six, and all the usual rules apply."
"Fine by me."
From Shauntal's pokéball appeared what looked like an ancient sarcophagus with a dark hole in it. But malicious red eyes and glistening teeth glowed up behind the hole and four ghostly hands emanated from the coffin. Toxica froze with fear; it was said that if you come to close to a Cofagrigus, it would swallow you and turn you into a mummy. Fortunately Black didn't send her to fight, but Selene.
"Hey," said Selene happily, "it's you! You were at Celestial Tower, weren't you? One of those fun ghosts!"
A voice like slime oozing out of a coffin emanated from the Cofagrigus as Selene flew over the battlefield. "What? Oh no, it's you, the Murkrow who's away with the fairies!"
Selene suddenly dived at Cofagrigus, her claws enveloped in dark, pointed shadows. A small, fiery light flew from Cofagrigus to her, but she dodged it nimbly and swooped at the ghost. Her claws did as good as no damage, of course, but the sharp dark energy that shot from each claw really seemed to hurt it. But as Selene flew away, she was hit by one of the ghostly arms and tossed hard through the air before she stopped her momentum.
"I don't think so," said Selene, continuing the conversation as if there was no battle going on. "My friends like each other a lot, but I don't think any of them are fairies. Also, fairy is not a nice word, you should-" Then she squawked in shock as a swarm of fiery blue lights like the Litwicks that had helped these ghosts torment Toxica flew around, all trying to intercept her. She was forced to fly as fast as she could and change direction often to evade the Will o' the Wisps.
Toxica shivered at the ghostly fires, wondering if her opponent would use them too... She thought back to that horrible day when the ghosts had terrified her; she remembered Cofagrigus, of course, but also a cruel Froslass, a kind Golurk, a Jellicent, Drifblim, and finally the scariest one of them all: Chandelure and its infernal flames. She knew she couldn't battle any of them, except perhaps Golurk. She didn't dare fight the others, out of fear for the horrible things they might do to her.
Selene had no chance to attack Cofagrigus again with about thirty Will-o-Wisps all swarming about while Cofagrigus hurled Shadow Balls at her with its ghostly arms. Toxica wanted to shout something to encourage Selene, but all she got was a frightful squeak.
Cofagrigus' glowing red eyes turned to her and then it laughed, a sound like an ill badger panting. "If it isn't the little flower girl. Don't you think you're a little out of your league here? But by all means, go ahead and fight when it's your turn. We've got ways to use both your body and your soul..."
Toxica knew it was trying to scare her, but that didn't change a thing. The creepy voice, the creepy eyes, the creepy... Everything. It terrified her, and she wanted to get away as fast as she could. Selene, using her enemy's distraction, dived down and Night Slashed it again. "Hey, if you want to spook someone, why not me?"
The Will-o-Wisps had followed her and pelleted Selene and Cofagrigus itself. Purple, ghostly flames erupted from its hands, but Selene was hit too, and the purple flames danced over her. She dropped to the ground with a squawk and rolled around while Cofagrigus was flailing its hands about trying to extinguish the fire. Selene had extinguished the flames soon, got to her feet, and slashed her wing in the air. A shockwave of air, sharp as a knife, slashed at the ghost as it extinguished the flames, and two more followed immediately. It hit Selene with a dark, ghostly ball, and she staggered a bit, but continued attacking until the hands retracted into the sarcophagus and Cofagrigus fell over.
Toxica wanted to cheer for Selene as Shauntal sent out another pokémon: a huge, blue, bipedal creature, roughly shaped and with gigantic fists and feet. Toxica recognised the Golurk who had saved her from the other ghosts. It quickly nodded to her and Selene in recognition, then immediately showed why Shauntal had chosen it: it aimed both arms at Selene, and massive bolts of lightning came from them. Selene squawked as she was hit, dropping quickly with singed feathers, but she flew again before she hit the ground, firing a beam of darkness at Golurk as she rapidly flew at it, her claws stretched and dark energy flowing about her.
As Selene's attack impacted Golurk, however, its gigantic fist impacted the Honchkrow like an electrified wrecking ball, sending a bright flash through the dark tower as Selene was thrown back and crashed on the floor, skidding a bit further as a heap of smoking feathers. It seemed impossible she would recover from a Thunderpunch like that, yet a pulse of darkness shot at Golurk the next moment as Selene took off once again with surprising speed, avoiding another lightning bolt.
She made a very sharp turn, tucked her wings in, and accelerated greatly as great, fiery wind formed around her: she was trying to take both of them out with a Brave Bird attack. Golurk fired off its right leg and arm like rockets, propelling it to the left quickly to dodge the attack, but it seemed it had just been a ruse: Selene flew just by it, while shooting several Dark Pulses at Golurk. Golurk simply fell over.
As Selene flew up into the air again, Toxica cheered happily for her: they were two pokémon ahead already, maybe she wouldn't even have to fight! But then, the temperature dropped instantly as an elegant, feminine creature white as snow appeared. Ice-cold wind blew through the tower. Snow fell and the air became foggy. Selene dived for the Froslass, struggling with the icy winds she conjured up. Froslass let out a bone-chilling shriek and frigid wind roared through the tower, enveloping Selene in whiteness. The icy cloud she was in kept rushing towards Froslass, but the ghost sidestepped very nimbly, and there was suddenly a blade of ice in her hand. She stuck the blade into the cloud, and it fell to the ground, dissipated and revealing a collapsed Selene. Black swiftly returned her to her pokéball.
Toxica was shivering heavily in the icy, penetrating cold. It had probably been much colder on Victory Road, but she'd been wearing thick clothes then. "Well?" said Froslass, the blade disappeared again. "Which one of you dares to fight me?"
"I do," said Boreas, stepping forth.
"Oh, an ice-type, how cute. You think you can beat me at my own game."
An Ice Beam flashed over the battlefield like a bolt of lightning, but was handily parried by a wave of Boreas' paw. "Yes, I do."
"Not bad," patronised Froslass, "but what do you do if I do this?" The wind blew forcefully and very hard, and Toxica had to turn her flower into it to prevent being blown away. The snowstorm enveloped the battlefield, spinning towards Boreas, but it didn't hit him: it blew around him, spinning very fast, and then back towards Froslass in a straight line of a ferocious, icy gale, blowing her back. She calmed the storm down quickly. "Good, good," she grinned, "this will be fun for me yet."
"Too much fun, perhaps?" said Boreas, firing off a quintuplet of Ice Beams in quick succession to Froslass. She waved her arms and the storm focused around her in an instant, making her cloaked in the white snow and haze. The Ice Beams passed through without trouble, but as the thick clouds around Froslass dissipated, she was no longer there. Toxica stared wide-eyed in shock, but then saw Froslass was trying to stab Boreas with her ice blade. "H-how?" Toxica stammered.
"But can you do that?" said Froslass as her jab at Boreas was parried by a blast of ice-cold air coming the other way.
Boreas pushed the blade away with one paw and put the other to Froslass, releasing a shockwave of coldness from his paw. Froslass was thrown back and pelleted with ice and liquid air. "No, but I'm willing to learn. Can you do that?"
He pounced Froslass, cloaked in shards of ice like a comet falling to Earth, and was thrown up, tumbling, by an even larger pulse of cold, landing hard on his bum. "Yes, I can. Better than you, I might add."
She flew through the air on the icy winds, trying to stab Boreas again, but was hit by an Ice Beam and plummeted to the ground. The wind and snow coalesced into Boreas' paw, forming a blade of ice in it, and he chopped at Froslass: just too late, as she had got up and parried with her own sword. She tried to stab Boreas, but he nimbly blocked her attack. While fencing, they were both trying to gain full control of the snowstorm that raged through the tower and had covered the entire battlefield in snow by now.
Both put forth their unused paw at the same moment, trying to unleash a pulse of cold on the other. The energy met between them, and both tried to gain the upper hand up the mighty pulse building up between them, frozen in position as they struggled. Toxica was the first to realise what would happen: "Get down!" she screeched as she dropped.
A tremendous icy explosion occurred between the two ice-types, nearly blowing Toxica away even now that she lay flat, and showering her with shards and droplets of something so cold it numbed her skin instantly. The storm blew outwards too, and hundreds of books fell from the bookcases below them. Toxica looked up, brushing the snow on her away, and saw they were still at it, though clearly hurt and even feeling cold. They were shooting Ice Beams at each other from a distance now, parrying each other's beams with pulses of cold and small flashes of dark energy. The crossfire went amazingly fast, yet they were both able to keep up with it as they resumed the snowstorm.
The storm began focusing more on Froslass, and then she was enveloped in white snow and mist again, hiding her white form. The Ice Beams stopped coming back from the cloud of snow. Boreas instantly jumped to the side, having been surprised by this trick once already, which meant the cluster of Ice Beams aiming for his head from the side where Froslass reappeared hit his flank instead. Boreas gasped with pain. "Argh, that is a nice trick..."
Froslass was determined to finish it now, barraging Boreas under attacks as they and the storm obscured him from view. Toxica winced as no Ice Beams returned from Boreas any more: it seemed someone else would have to finish Froslass.
Suddenly a comet firing off Ice Beams shot from the clouds behind Froslass; she was taken completely by surprise, hit several times, and pounced to the ground. "...So let me thank you for teaching it to me!"
She fought back with a blast of ice shards, but Boreas sent pulses of cold through her as he pinned her down, and she soon stopped struggling. Boreas was left wounded, tired, and partially frozen, but victorious.
"Woah!" gasped Toxica, "how'd you do that?!"
Boreas stuck out his tongue. "Magic."
A dark purple balloon with tiny red eyes appeared in the air, and was instantly carried around on the stormy winds. "A Drifblim?" scoffed Aqua. "I'll bet you Boreas easily beats it."
"I hope..." said Toxica, but she was really beginning to feel good about this. Selene and Boreas were really wrecking Shauntal's team, and if this kept up, they would win easily, and possibly without Toxica having to face a ghost at all. Boreas fired Ice Beams at Drifblim, who did nothing to dodge, but barely seemed harmed either. However, it emitted a cloud of little Will-o-Wisps that flew against the wind, straight for Boreas.
Aqua placed her tail on Toxica's shoulder friendlily. "C'mon, my cunning Boreas against a silly balloon that can barely control its own movements? It's no contest."
Boreas fired a sustained Ice Beam right at the X that seemed to be in place of the creature's mouth, but it seemed to have no effect either. Then he had to run to avoid the swarm of Will-o-Wisps, while a new wind blew by him; it smelled dry and very old, like the stale air in a pyramid, and Boreas looked visibly weakened by it. A Will-o-Wisp impacted his tail as he blew the Drifblim about with stormy winds of his own. The purple flames quickly crept up it, but fortunately he quickly began rolling in the snow, extinguishing most of them.
But a foul voice emanated from the Drifblim, speaking in a strange and malicious language, and the flames rapidly spread instead, despite Boreas' rolling. He burst into ghostly flame, screaming in agony as he tried desperately to extinguish it with snow and ice. Terror filled Toxica again; terror for the gruesome ghost-type that could make you combust with just a simple Hex. Aqua's tail left her shoulder as she rushed forward, enveloped in a wave of water and running to save her lover.
"I retract Boreas!" said Black just in time before Aqua too would have been disqualified. The Vaporeon, now the centre of a wave of water and snow, jumped onto Boreas and fortunately the flames proved easer to extinguish with water. "Lucius," said Black, "it's your turn, be careful!"
"Careful is my middle name," said Lucius as he stepped forward.
"Don't you need a last name to have a middle one?" said Selene.
"Shut up," Lucius said as a charred, wounded Boreas was helped off the battlefield by Aqua. "Let's see if I can hurt this thing."
He took a deep breath and exhaled a huge torrent of fire that made Toxica take several steps back, catching Drifblim right in the middle of it. Heat spread through the tower rapidly, quickly heating up the frigid air and melting much of the snow. It was unbelievable, but Drifblim only looked a little charred by the inferno; barely damaged. A thin yellow beam of electricity hit Lucius. "Ack!" he yelped. "One persistent bastard, are you? Take this!"
The darkness of the tower focussed in a single pulse that fired from Lucius to Drifblim. Once again, there was barely any result.
"Drifblims are quite impervious to damage," said Octa.
"Really, mister wise-ass?" snarled Lucius. "Hadn't noticed that yet! Argh!" He yelped as he was hit by another beam of electricity, making his fur stand on edge.
"I was merely explaining," said Octa annoyed, "you have to keep hitting it."
"Well, captain Obvious, then why don't you let me get on with it instead of distracting me?" Lucius began shooting another Dark Pulse at Drifblim as Octa grumbled angrily.
It was a surprisingly boring battle compared to the rapid exchange of attacks between Boreas and Froslass. Drifblim just bobbed around and would hit Lucius with attacks while Lucius continually fired flames and darkness at it until it finally went down. "About time," grumbled Lucius.
A floating, pink, eldritch creature appeared. Its frilled tentacles, crown, pink collar, and kissy mouth made it look absolutely ridiculous on a certain level. But that level was completely overshadowed by the incredibly unsettling and creepy way it moved, the staring emptiness of its eyes, and the way it looked like only an impersonation of a living thing. Lucius ran for the low-floating Jellicent, his mouth opened and ready to bite the floating terror. He jumped, and Jellicent swirled around with amazing speed, catching Lucius in a powerful beam of water that hit the wall so hard it sounded like rocks hitting it. Lucius was launched back, caught by the water, and crumpled onto the floor, clearly out for the count.
Toxica was shivering, as much at the Jellicent's deeply unsettling appearance as the knowledge they ate souls, and that no ship that had ever gone into Jellicent-infested waters had returned. So when Octa drew his blade and slithered forth, she was scared for him, even if he had been a jerk to her today. A storm began once again, but this time it wasn't a cold one, but it was full of leaves sharper than knives being blown around. Aqua quickly put up a veil of water to protect them from the leaves, and Jellicent did the same. However, since the attack was directed at Jellicent, part of it still got through and hit it. It didn't even bleed: only water came from its wounds.
It struck back with a wave of toxic pink sludge. Octa slithered away, but it caught up with him, and Toxica could see his pain as the stuff burned his skin. Moving quickly, he reached his eldritch opponent and stabbed at her with his Leaf Blade, creating more wounds, though the Jellicent's face remained empty. Its attempts to strike back with its tentacles were parried with Octa's blade, and it received several more stabs. Suddenly Jellicent spun rapidly, its tentacles a blur of speed, and Octa was thrown back. He got up, shot a ball of green energy at Jellicent, and then suddenly froze. Toxica wondered what was going on, but then saw Jellicent's empty eyes glow red.
"Kyogre's fins, it's using a psychic attack!" Toxica saw Octa cringe and try to fight back.
Jellicent chuckled. "Well, well, you're planning to break up with the little flower girl? I can't say I blame you."
Anger welled up in Toxica like a fire. "Hey, keep out of his head and stop lying!"
"But it's no lie," said Jellicent as its eyes stopped glowing and Octa collapsed. "Is it?"
Octa lay on the ground, panting and defeated. He looked Toxica up, and she saw it in his eyes. "I... I'm sorry..."
Toxica was furious, devastated and speechless. Before she could ask Octa for an explanation, Jellicent finished him off. She trembled. Aqua looked her in the eyes. "I'll fight it. But you'll probably have to finish the battle; you have to regain your cool."
Toxica realised she was right: Jellicent had brought the battle back to an equal standing, with each side having two pokémon left. Though rage against Octa filled her, she tried to distract herself by remembering what Shauntal's final pokémon was: she sighed when she remembered it was the scariest of all ghost-types, Chandelure. She really wished Aqua would defeat Jellicent, because Toxica would stand no chance against a Chandelure on her own.
The two water-types had been fighting for a while, flooding the field with water all the time. Jellicent was already weakened, but could use ghost attacks to great effect. Aqua resorted to trying to bite her opponent. She rushed towards it in the middle of a wave, launched herself up, and dug her teeth into the gelatinous abomination. As she bit, causing more water to flow from its wounds, Aqua was grabbed by Jellicent's tentacles. She fought against them, and bit down hard in one of them so the floating jellyfish retracted it, but there were too many. She was wrapped by the tentacles, and Toxica knew they would lose at that moment. There was no way she was going to defeat the Jellicent who had defeated their three strongest fighters, and then take on a Chandelure as well. It was better this way, she decided. She could just give up without having to face the ghosts, as she stood no chance anyway. It was much easier and less scary.
Sod off.
She felt rage coalescing into something very hard and very tough. Something that really wanted to hurt Jellicent for hurting her friend, show that git Octa what he'd thrown away, and prove that even if she was terrified of the ghosts, she could still kick their gaseous arses. She was terrified, to be sure, and would love to give up, but if she did, she knew the power she felt inside her would never forgive her. She walked forward resolutely as Aqua fell unconsciously from her enemy's tentacles and adjusted her flower with her hands so she was ready to fight. Two balls of glowing green energy formed in her hands.
"It's the little flower girl!" sneered Jellicent arrogantly. "You'd better give up right now if you don't want me to do horrible things to your fragile little soul."
She kept walking resolutely.
"Even your boyfriend knows you're weak and mediocre, worthless compared to your companions; it's why he dumped you. And I just beat three of them. I could eat your very soul. Do you think a scared little walking flower like you is going to defeat me?"
"That's just about the size of it, yeah." She threw the Energy Ball in her right hand, but Jellicent suddenly showed itself to be very fast, dodging the attack and racing for Toxica. She had got as far as lifting up her left arm to throw the second Energy Ball when she was stopped by an incredibly powerful mind assailing her own like the sea bursting through a crack in the dike and ravaging the land. She was aware Jellicent was right in front of her, but as the tremendous tidal wave of thought bashed the cold hard anger that had driven her away, she couldn't bring herself to attack the ancient ocean that was in her mind. It was futile to fight it; nothing could defeat such force; such depth. Her defiance was easily washed away, and the mind tore the layers of her mind away with ease. Her fear, her love, her anger, everything was torn away...
Leaving only her core.
She threw the Energy Ball right between Jellicent's eyes. A piercing scream was everywhere, the wave in her mind boiled away instantly, and her mind was once again her own as Jellicent collapsed, looking as pathetic as a beached jellyfish. She realised now how silly she'd been to fear it.
The sound of a pokémon appearing sounded, and the tower was bathed in blue light. She turned around. A black chandelier with a ghostly face floated, five bright blue flames burning off it. The Chandelure could probably incinerate her with a single attack.
"Surrender," it said, "I'll burn your soul and leave your body a mindless shell. What's it going to be? Give up or-"
"No." Toxica aimed her flower and shot a bomb of toxic pollen right at its head. It screeched and its flames burnt an angry green as Toxica quickly threw a pair of Energy Balls at it before she jumped away from the giant flames it spewed at her. The blistering heat from the barely-missed inferno hurt her greatly, and she wished she could use a Solarbeam. Unfortunately, it was impossible to take in enough energy in the darkness. She instead used Energy Balls and poisonous attacks, so determined to win she barely noticed the pain when she got hit; it only made her angrier.
Yet all the dodging of flames drove her to the edge of the plateau soon. As another wave of flame headed her way, she jumped down onto the circulating stairs, landing on the books that had fallen out of their bookcases by the battle. She picked a couple of heavy volumes up, ignoring the searing pain in her flower, and threw them right into Chandelure's face as it floated after her; it was knocked back by the heavy impacts.
She realised then the pain in her flower had gotten much worse and was spreading rapidly; she was on fire! She bashed her flower repeatedly into the empty bookcase to extinguish it, but made sure to absorb energy from the bright light of the fire at the same time. When Chandelure showed up again, angry, she pointed her flower and lit up the entire tower with a Solarbeam. Chandelure fell on the ground and she jumped on top of it immediately, smashing a heavy book on its head repeatedly. She kept smashing and smashing, until finally the ghost disappeared from under her. She looked around ferociously, and saw Shauntal standing with a pokéball in her hand.
"Amazing," said Shauntal. "Absolutely amazing. I really wasn't expecting to lose. Maybe N is right about you..."
Toxica didn't listen to the conversation any more; she realised she had won! She had actually defeated Chandelure all by herself, and Jellicent too. Ghosts didn't seem so scary any more... She was about to put the heavy book down, but then she remembered Octa's face might be a better place to put it.
 

destinedjagold

You can contact me in PC's discord server...
8,593
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  • Age 33
  • Seen Dec 23, 2023
Now that would've been a surprising way to kill him off. It would really have given the story's title new meaning.

xD

---

A very great chapter!
And...
She was about to put the heavy book down, but then she remembered Octa's face might be a better place to put it.
A very GREAT ending. xD

Before the battle, Selene was full of lulz. xD

The battle was very well done. Quick but still detailed and not even sounding rushed. Too bad, for it does look like Octa's going to dump Toxica... =/ Sigh...

Oh well, awaiting for the next chapter~
 
79
Posts
12
Years
  • Seen May 24, 2013


xD

---

A very great chapter!
And...

A very GREAT ending. xD

Before the battle, Selene was full of lulz. xD

The battle was very well done. Quick but still detailed and not even sounding rushed.


Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was fun to just let my mind drift in crazy directions and have Selene ramble a shaggy frog story to Toxica.

Too bad, for it does look like Octa's going to dump Toxica... =/ Sigh...

Oh well, awaiting for the next chapter~

Here it is:

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Brain and Brawn



Boreas burst into Octa's room. "We need to talk."



The Serperior frowned. "The civilised thing to do is to knock on one's door and request entrance."



"Yes, I know. But I'm bursting into your room and telling you we're going to talk and we're going to do it right now."



Octa sighed. "I know what this is about, my dear fellow, and I ask you not to get involved in it. I already had a word with Toxica."



"So I heard. As did the entire rest of the League. That shouting match also sounded like she didn't make you see reason, so that's why I'm here instead."



"Do not presume to lecture me on reason," said Octa icily.



"Look," said Boreas, "this is really very simple. Do you love Toxica or don't you?"



"Of course I do. However, you are naïvely mistaken. My dear fellow, 'tis not as simple as that, and I'm afraid love has nothing to do with it."



Boreas sat down. "Of course it is. And why would it be any less simple than you loving her and she loving you?"



While Octa seemed calm at first glance, Boreas could clearly hear the hint of suppressed emotion – probably anger and maybe sadness - in his voice. "Because much though I wish I could give in to my love for a commoner like her, there is too much at stake for it. Our love is detrimental to me, and has already eroded much of my nobility."



Boreas rolled his eyes and gave Octa a disbelieving look. "You can't seriously be back to that rubbish again."



"Rubbish?!" said Octa angrily. "Yes, I thought 'twas rubbish as well; you actually had me convinced of it. But now there is empirical evidence to suggest 'tis no mere rubbish."



"What's that?"



"My failure on Victory Road, of course. I'm sure you remember when I simply lay down and waited for death to come in the darkest hour."



Boreas did remember it, with a pang of regret. It was not one of his proudest memories. "How we lay down and waited for death, you mean. Following my example... That wasn't your fault, Octa, it was mine."



"Irrelevant. It makes my shame worse, as a matter of fact. I am of the house of Equinox; I should have led you on, never giving up hope. The fact I didn't shows how diminished I have become."



"But it seemed certain we were going to die. It had all the looks that no amount of bravery would save us. And you even tried to get me to continue..."



"And then my heart faltered and I gave up too. The apparent hopelessness of the situation was no excuse; I should never have surrendered regardless; 'tis not becoming of one of noble blood."



Boreas frowned. "So you blame Toxica for it."



"No!" Octa almost shouted. "I blame myself! She is a truly wonderful lady deserving of love; however, I never should have broken tradition and courted her. 'Tis this breaking of tradition, my family's wishes, that caused me to diminish. An Equinox is nothing if he doesn't follow the rules. It was folly to presume to be wiser than thirty-four generations of my ancestors."



"Octa," sighed Boreas, "I've told you before: what's the point of following bad rules? You think following rules and being descended from the right people makes you a good person, but I think you're wrong. What's important is the choices you make."



"Very wise," sneered Octa, "but you are mistaken. And 'tis my life in any case; why do you interfere?"



"Because you're my friend, because Toxica is my friend, because I want you both to be happy, and... Because I promised Capella."



"Capella?"



"Yes, Capella. We found out about your family's habits shortly before she died, and promised each other we would get you together with someone you loved, not someone chosen for you. Since she's no longer around to help you with her wisdom, I'll have to do it on my own."



"Ah, you promised," said Octa sarcastically. "And merely a minute ago you explained to me the choices you make are important, not doing things because you are obligated to. And as you have clearly demonstrated in the past, promises are subject to this as well."



Boreas frowned angrily. "If you want to play it like that, then alright: I choose to keep to that promise. Because I liked Capella greatly, and for some reason that escapes me right now I like you too. So I will make sure you don't throw your happiness away."



"Then do not interfere in my life," said Octa, "how can I possibly be happy if my relationship with Toxica makes me less noble?"



"Don't you realise that even if that were true, you are being very egotistic? You're breaking her heart because you don't want to make a bit of a sacrifice!"



Octa looked confused and surprised. "Well... I, I hadn't thought of it in that manner..."



"D'you know who you sound like with all this? Your great-aunt. But if you can't break your family's rules because it'll weaken you, why are you even talking to me? I'm just a common Glaceon, after all, with not a clue who his family is beyond his parents' names. Your ancestors would never consider me more than a lowly subordinate, our frienship is against your family's traditions too."



"An obsolete idea only practised in the past and by those determined to repeat its mistakes."



"Yeah, and so is the idea you have to love who your family tells you to! What's such an important distinction between friendship and love that makes one okay but the other not anyway?"



"You are unlikely to birth my children. I can't take their noble blood away from them. Now please," said Octa, with almost breaking voice, "leave me alone."



Boreas ignored it. "That's crap, Octa, and you've known it for ages! Your descendants won't be any lower for descending from Toxica! She's every bit as good as any member of your house."



"YES!" Boreas startled heavily as Octa shouted furiously. "YES, SHE IS! BUT I WON'T BE IF I CONTINUE LIKE THIS! My love for her has embarked me upon a descent from greatness! If I continue like this, I'll end up cowardly, weak, and mundane... And so will my descendants." Octa suddenly turned away from Boreas and added with breaking voice: "Leave me in peace now, please."



"Oh, so your genes are actually going to change because of what you do in life? That's a form of evolution I've never heard of. You're not worried about your descendants, they'll have the same genes no matter what. No, the only person you're worried about is you."



Octa was still turned away. "Leave me alone," he said in a muffled voice.



"You're worried you won't be able to admire yourself in the mirror any more, you're worried the great Octavianus VII of the house of Equinox will be remembered as just some ordinary fellow. If you're remembered at all."



"Leave!"



"You're being incredibly selfish! And for no reason at all-"



"GET OUT!" Octa shouted, fury in his eyes. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"



Boreas was shocked by the sudden outburst and staggered back, but was determined to continue. "No, I won't! The only reason you're this furious is because you know I'm right, and it hurts!"



"Get out, or you'll be the one who is hurt!"



"I'm willing to be hurt to help you," growled Boreas.



"I do not want your help!" snapped Octa.



"Octa, you don't like to lie. So tell me, honestly, that you don't love Toxica and that you're trying to preserve your noble blood for anyone but yourself! I will leave if you do!"



For a moment it looked as if Octa was going to attack him, but then the anger seemed to leave him and he looked deflated and weak, letting his head hang. "I cannot. Please forgive me, my dear fellow..."



Boreas was surprised by the sudden moodswing, but remembering how he had felt when he had discovered Aqua had joined N, felt more sympathetic towards Octa. "I can forgive you, but it's not me you should be asking for forgiveness; it's Toxica."



"I'm sorry, my dear fellow, but I fear I cannot do that... You see, in life one has to ask oneself an important question: who am I? I have known the answer for a long time; I am a descendant of the great Equinox. It defined who and what I am, my behaviour, my thinking. I cannot give that up, for it is who I am."



Boreas put a friendly paw on Octa's neck. "Nonsense," he smiled, "that's not really who you are. You're my best friend. You're Toxica's lover. You're, well, Octa. The Snivy who took care of a little Eevee when he had no-one else in the world to turn to. Who's had my back ever since and saved my life many times. You've fought to help others from Team Plasma. You've always been there for me; that's who you really are, not the distant descendant of a long-dead hero."



"Thank you, my dear fellow... But the reason I am who I am is my blood; it makes me who I am; therefore I can't relinquish it."



"Landorus, Octa," snapped Boreas, "you descend from Equinox by thirty-five generations. How much of his genes do you think you actually have? Tell me, how much is one divided by two to the thirty-fifth power?"



"Not much," mumbled Octa.



"That's right, it's as good as zero. I'll bet you I contain about as much of his genes as you."



"You're a different species," said Octa.



"Oh yeah," said Boreas. "So I am. Still, don't you see that 'blood' stuff you keep talking about is poetic rubbish? It's just simple logic."



Octa was at a loss for words. "But... Please, my dear fellow, you are not helping. You're only lowering my morale with this."



"No. I've never argued against your belief your ancestry makes you a better person, but now it's hurting you and Toxica, so I'm forced to try to end it. But let me tell you: you're a good Serperior. Not because of who you descend from, but because you choose to be. You choose to be utterly loyal to your friends, you choose to fight to try to make the world a better place, you choose not to give in to terror."



"Tell me," said Octa snidely, "for how long have you embraced this philosophy of choice you're spouting?"



Boreas blushed. "Well... To tell you the truth I made it up just now. But it sounds good."



"Yet you will likely have forgotten about it in a week or so."



"No, I won't."



"You will; mark my words. However, I should know better by now than to question your chaotic nature. I shall take your words under consideration, for you may have made a good argument. However, right now I do think I should retire to bed, for it is late."



"Fine," said Boreas. "But I really want you to think about it."



"I shall," said Octa. "Goodnight, my dear fellow."



"Goodnight." Boreas slowly walked out of the room, concerned but happy he had made Octa think twice about breaking up. He sighed deeply as he closed the door behind him, suddenly overcome with exhaustion. He slouched back to his room, worried about Octa. He yawned loudly as he entered his own room and went straight for the bed. As he crawled under the big, warm blanket, a pretty blue face suddenly popped up next to him.



Boreas' worries seemed to melt away in front of Aqua's enchanting smile, though not his tiredness. "How did it go?" she asked.



He pet her face a bit, enjoying the feel of her soft fur. "It wasn't easy, but I think I got through to him. He's going to think about it..."



Aqua chuckled, a sound that made Boreas feel happy just like that. "You must've been very persuasive; I didn't think you could do anything after that lengthy shouting match they had earlier."



"Well..." said Boreas, having trouble keeping his eyes open. "It took a lot of convincing..."



"And it tired you out. Well, go on, my love, sleep and rest here in my arms."



Boreas snuggled up to her closely, relishing in the contact with her, and kissed her goodnight. "Goodnight... My lovely Aqua..."



As he drifted off to sleep, he felt Aqua softly petting him. On the border of sleep, he could only think of how much he loved her, and then felt regret remembering he still hadn't told her...







As they walked into the main League building, Boreas' mind was elsewhere. He had dreamt about the day they had teamed up with N that night. It had refreshed his guilt over his plans to kill Diego, but especially his guilt for not having told Aqua yet. As he woke up with her sleeping peacefully in his arms, he felt like he didn't deserve her love. But what if she felt the same? It would be terrible if she thought he didn't deserve her love too and broke up with him. Yet he loved her too much to keep deceiving her; he was going to tell her today. He just needed to find a good moment for it. It certainly wasn't when she woke up, nor during the incredibly silent and awkward breakfast that followed and involved Toxica shooting dagger-like glances at Octa.



They had reached Marshal's tower while he pondered this. The room inside was quite ugly and metallic, with a metal platform on rails that took them up; it felt a bit similar to a factory floor. There was a simple fighting ring at the top, surrounded by ropes and then tall fences. On the other side of the ring stood a huge, muscular man. He stood so still and was so huge he could easily be mistaken for a statue.



Black said: "My name is-"



A loud, deep voice like thunder interrupted him. "Do you wish to challenge me?"



Marshal's voice took Boreas back more than a year, to a fierce and stormy day in Nimbasa when he had heard that same voice say the exact same thing. "Well, well," he chuckled, "I was wondering if we'd see him again here..."



"Well, yes," said Black a little nonplussed. "I'm here to challenge you. Again. Like in Nacrene City, because I'm pretty sure that was you. But this time, I-"



Marshal roared a guttural battle cry and threw a pokéball, releasing a green creature with a long tail and a mushroom-like head. "Hold on!" interrupted Black. "Tell me what you were doing in Nacrene, and why you won't let me fight N!"



"Fight, don't talk!" roared Marshal.



"Fine. Selene, you're up first!"



Selene jumped into the air, and Boreas' hope soared with her. There was no way a flying type like her was going to lose to a grass and fighting type like Breloom. It would be good to start the battle off with an easy victory. Selene floated over the battlefield in preparation for an attack, leaving the fighting type chanceless to even hit her at all.



Or so Boreas thought. Because Breloom launched itself into the air, twisted around, and caught Selene hard with the heavy end of its tail, sending her tumbling into the roof with great force. Boreas cursed under his breath as she whirled down slowly, like a leaf in autumn. But just before she would hit the ground, Selene spread her wings and swooped rapidly at Breloom. The effect of her attack was incredible: Breloom was thrown across the battlefield and caught by the ring ropes. It hopped to its feet and tried to hit Selene with a Jump Kick, but the crow dodged it. Selene flew at it again, her talons ready, and scratched it. Breloom fell down and didn't get up again.



Wordlessly, Marshall withdrew Breloom and sent out Conkeldurr. Boreas was surprised with its small size; he remembered it being huge, but it wasn't much taller than he'd be if he got up on two legs. But the comically red-nosed creature was very strong regardless of size. It had taken out their entire team almost single-handedly last time, after all.



Selene once again swooped down at her enemy. But as she came close rapidly, Conkeldurr swung one of its concrete pillars like a baseball bat. Boreas groaned as Selene was swatted out of the air like a fly.



Toxica stepped in, an Energy Ball in each hand. Conkeldurr growled in pain as it was hit by them, and angrily tried to smash Toxica with one of its pillars. Toxica nimbly dodged the great piece of stone coming down and slapped Conkeldurr with a burst of green energy. She emitted a thick cloud of pollen from her flower, but then Conkeldurr caught her with a punch that sent her flying into the ropes. Bruised and hurt, she got back up and dived immediately to dodge her enemy's body slam. She jumped on its back, and roots grew rapidly from her feet. Conkeldurr jumped up, but Toxica hung from its back by the roots. Judging by Conkeldurr's face and pained growls, it didn't exactly feel pleasant.



Conkeldurr maniacally tried to pluck Toxica from its back, but its huge, muscular arms weren't agile enough to reach its back. It waddled idiotically while trying to pick her off as it got visibly weaker. Marshall shouted a command, and Conkeldurr dropped on its back immediately, crushing Toxica under it.



Boreas stepped forward; it was his turn. "Long time no see," he said, "remember me?" He cooled the air in the tower as he talked, hoping he could keep the burly creature distracted with talk while he made the battlefield more to his advantage. "I beat you, and this time I- Articuno's oesophagus!"



Sprinting away while at the same time hitting it with a powerful wind were the only things that saved him from being crushed by the heavy stone pillar Conkeldurr threw at him. Yet he felt a vicious pain as he was pelleted by shrapnel from its impact. He noticed a massive fist coming at him, and so he immediately dived under the legs of his opponent so the punch harmlessly hit his tail instead.



Boreas dug his teeth into Conkeldurr's leg and ran for it, summoning a snowstorm as he did. A mighty impact to his flank that threw him off his feet painfully told him he wasn't fast enough. Spun around, he now faced the furious, roaring Conkeldurr, which lifted up its heavy fists, ready to crush Boreas. Boreas Ice Beamed its belly, making it flinch in pain and giving him a chance to dodge the punch. He ran for the other side of the ring, gathering a storm, as he realised he had no chance unless he kept his distance.



He heard his opponent run after him, however, so he jumped into the ropes instead of stopping and was bounced back by them, past his confused opponent. He lashed out and enveloped his opponent in cold from behind, cloaking it in mist. Conkeldurr charged him furiously, so he froze over the ground in front of its feet, making it slip and fall. Cloaking himself in a fierce blizzard, he pounced his fallen enemy, but was knocked away by a huge fist.



Groaning in pain, he tried to get up when he landed hard, but his battered legs didn't cooperate. Conkeldurr ran for him like a stampeding rhino by the time he got up. Thinking quickly, he focussed the snowstorm around himself, making sure he was as good as invisible to Conkeldurr, then simply sidestepped. Conkeldurr punched blindly into the icy haze, and Boreas simply sneaked out of the side, repressing the urge to laugh at the fighting-type punching into the cloud. He walked to its other side and aimed a strong Ice Beam right at its neck. He fired it, and jumped onto its back, holding on as he kept Ice Beaming. It responded furiously and violently, but quickly calmed down and fell over.



Boreas heard Aqua cheer for his victory, and winked at her quickly before facing his next opponent: a thin, elegant white creature with long, oddly-shaped arms. Remembering what had happened last time he fought the Mienshao, he instantly put forth his paws to use a pulse of cold: a good choice, as the ermine had run for him so fast he couldn't even see it, but was intercepted and knocked down by the pulse just in time. He pounced it, slashing at it with his claws and ice cold wind.



He put his paws on his opponent's shoulders and channelled extreme cold through them, seeking to disable Mienshao's punches. Unfortunately it punched him off and began barraging him with rapid punches. Yet their speed and power was lower than before, so his tactic seemed to have worked. Unfortunately the rapid punches still felt like a rain of heavy stones battering down on his body. He slashed at Mienshao with his claws and pulses of cold to knock it away, then instantly followed up with an Ice Beam to its face.



He cloaked himself in the snowstorm to try and escape the attacks, but unfortunately Mienshao was a lot faster and smarter than Conkeldurr. It got several punches to Boreas' head, which made his snout bleed and his mind go foggy. But he kept fighting back and caught it with several Ice Beams, making it go down first.



Battered, wounded, and concussed he wasn't in a good form to defeat the Sawk that appeared. The blue, suited creature deftly dodged his Ice Beams and closed in. When its powerful fist connected with Boreas' chin and his consciousness drifted away, he wasn't really surprised.







Boreas woke up in a soft, warm bed in his room. He decided to skip the obvious "Where am I?" and "What happened?" questions for now, and asked: "Did we win?"



"Well, well," chuckled Aqua, "Sleeping Beauty finally woke up! Yes, we won, albeit only barely. No thanks to me, though, Sawk punched me out pretty quickly after it got you."



"Oh, that's a shame," said Boreas, though he was mainly happy they had defeated another Elite Four. "But I'm sure you'll do well tomorrow. I know you're very capable of kicking ass."



With a graceful jump, Aqua landed on the bed and on Boreas at a right angle, quickly rolling over so she faced him in a flirty, sexy pose. "Yes, you found that out first-hand, didn't you?"



Boreas blushed for several reasons. "Yeah, I guess I did. It's not really an experience I'd care to repeat. That fight was probably the only day I haven't enjoyed your company."



"I wouldn't want to repeat it either," said Aqua, petting his face. "By the way, you're still very cute when you blush."



"Thanks," chuckled Boreas, "but I'm afraid I don't have time for fun now. I have to go pay Gaius a visit."



"Octa's brother?"



"The very same. I figure it can't be a coincidence that Octa's being an idiot right after he shows up, so I'm going to make him stop his meddling."



"What if he doesn't listen to you?"



"Well, in that case he'll find out you're not the only one in this bed capable of kicking ass."







As Boreas entered Gaius' room, he briefly wondered how many pokémon had rooms of their own in the League. But this thought was quickly pushed away by more urgent matters.



"I do not have much time to waste," said Gaius in a voice that sounded oddly like Octa's, "and only agreed to receive you at my brother's request. So please do not tarry and make your point."



Gaius looked oddly like Octa, yet was also different. He had a far more impressive air of grandeur about him, although it was slightly mitigated because Boreas had only ever seen him look as if there was a rotten fish glued beneath his nose. Boreas faked a smile, remembering Octa had told him to be diplomatic to Gaius when Boreas had asked him to speak to his brother. "Good evening to you too. I'm not here to make a point, just to have a little chat with you about Octa."



"I figured as much. However, I do not have any intention to discuss my brother with the likes of you."



Boreas forced his smile to broaden. "Come now, who better to discuss him with than his best friend?"



Gaius snorted haughtily. "Any member of our house. 'Best friend' is an empty boast, so do not employ it, for you know Octa far less well than I do."



Boreas gritted his teeth, but kept smiling. "If that's true, then surely you know even better than me that this ridiculous idea he has is causing him to be unhappy, and you'll help me convince him to apologise to Toxica?"



Gaius guffawed. "Now I see why Octa requested me to speak to you: he wished for me to have a good laugh. So tell me," he said, suddenly serious, "why should I oppose Octa's wise choice?"



"I already told you: being with Toxica makes him happy; isn't that reason enough?"



Gaius smiled wryly. "What has happiness got to do with it?"



"What has happiness got to do with it?! Listen to me, you-" Boreas remembered he was trying to be diplomatic, "-brother of Octa, don't you see love has everything to do with happiness?"



"I see," said Gaius, "you are speaking of your own experiences, aren't you?"



"Well, yes. I'm in love with this girl, and I relish every moment of being with her. She makes me feel completely happy whenever I'm with her, or even whenever I think of her. When she smiles or laughs, the world feels like a better place. How can you claim to love Octa and yet try to take that away from him?"



"Do you have any progeny, sir?" asked Gaius, surprising Boreas.



"What?"



"Children," Gaius patronised. "Offspring. Cubs. Spawn. Larvae. Whatever word you wish to apply to them."



"I know what it means!" snapped Boreas. "You just surprised me, that's all. No, I don't have any."



"Do you and your partner intend to have any?"



Boreas stammered unsurely. He couldn't remember ever having talked about it with Aqua. He didn't really think he wanted them himself, considering the enormous amount of time and trouble it would be to raise a child, not to mention how easy it would be to screw up and have some poor Eevee grow up with a bad youth. Yet there was also something appealing about the idea. "I... I... Don't think we do. I suppose we don't. I think. Probably."



Now it was Gaius' turn to be surprised. "You don't... Know?! How can you not have an inkling about such a major choice? Surely if you have any plan for your life whatsoever this choice must be one of the most important ones?"



"I guess I'm not really someone who tends to make long-term plans. What has it got to do with anything, anyway?"



Gaius sighed. "Well, Octa does intend to have progeny. You probably don't understand this, but both Octa and I already love these hypothetical nephews and nieces of mine; and this is unconditional. Therefore, we want that which is best for them. Answer me this: what is better for them? To be born with the same gift of nobility we have, or to have it brutally robbed from them and have them be born Oddishes?"



Boreas gritted his teeth angrily. "The best for them would be to have a father and a mother who adore each other and them, not a pair who were forced to be together by a family who treats them like breeding stock!"



Gaius' face hardened. "How dare you, sir?!"



Anger exploded in Boreas like a seething volcano. "No, how dare you! You think you're better than the rest of us just because of who your ancestors are?! Because of something completely trivial like that, which you didn't even have anything to do with yourself?! At least Octa really has the greatness he claims, but because of who he is, not who his ancestors are! You, on the other hand, are nothing but a petty, control-happy tyrant who has stuck his head so far up his own arse he's well on his way to becoming a Klein bottle!"



"This discussion is over. Get out!" snarled Gaius.



"Fine! I can see you're blinded with arrogance and entitlement; there's no reasoning with you." He stomped out of the room, then looked back. "One last piece of advice: don't ever get in the way of my friends' happiness again if you ever want to feel warm again."



Gaius slammed the door shut, nearly catching Boreas' tail in it. He began to walk back furiously, making it hail from the clouds above in anger. At least he'd remained diplomatic for a while.
 

destinedjagold

You can contact me in PC's discord server...
8,593
Posts
16
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  • Age 33
  • Seen Dec 23, 2023
I already wrote my comment on dA, but oh, what the heck, right? xD

Good chapter. Kinda sad that the battle was cut, even though I was expecting it to be, since Boreas is weak against fighting types, and the story is viewed through him, except for the other parts of the previous chapters, of course~

Glad that Boreas gave Octa something more to think about. I really think his brother's too stuck to their tradition-whatever.

Anyway, awaiting for the next chapter~
 
79
Posts
12
Years
  • Seen May 24, 2013
I already wrote my comment on dA, but oh, what the heck, right? xD


And I have already answered it on dA, but what the heck indeed.

Good chapter. Kinda sad that the battle was cut, even though I was expecting it to be, since Boreas is weak against fighting types, and the story is viewed through him, except for the other parts of the previous chapters, of course~

Well, I could've switched to another character mid-battle or simpl had him wake up sooner. It's not much of an excuse really. But I won't be using it this chapter.

Glad that Boreas gave Octa something more to think about. I really think his brother's too stuck to their tradition-whatever.

Anyway, awaiting for the next chapter~

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Forgive and Forget



When Boreas finally got back from Gaius, he was clearly angry and tired, so Aqua gently guided him to bed and got into it as well. The great soft warmness of the bed was delightful as always. Even though she wasn't too fond of humans, she could easily get used to sleeping in one of these delightful things. But she couldn't wallow in the snuggliness now: Boreas obviously wanted to talk to her, but wasn't sure how to start. So she asked: "How did it go? Did that git listen to you?"



"No," said Boreas, "it really went about as well as expected. I tried to be diplomatic, he was an elitist jerk, I lost my temper and ended up shouting at him. But he did say something... Well, something thought-provoking."



"Oh?"



"He asked... Well, it's a bit odd, but he asked whether we wanted cubs."



Aqua did not expect that. "Cubs?"



"Children, offspring, progeny, sp-"



"Oh, thanks," quipped Aqua, "I had no idea what that word meant."



"Sorry." Boreas smiled cutely and apologetically.



Aqua thought about it. She wondered what Boreas' own thoughts were. "Well..." she said unsurely. "I guess I've never really given it much thought. But we are both adults, and I do love you a great deal, so it's something to consider. I mean, if I wanted cubs, I would want them with you."



"Well, do you want them?" asked Boreas.



"...Do you?"



"I'm... Really not sure. It would be neat to have little Eevees to raise together, I guess."



Aqua grinned. "Neat?"



"Sorry," Boreas chuckled. "Splendid, I mean. Splendid to have little cubs that we could raise together with love. But..." he trailed off.



Aqua nodded. "I know. It's a big responsibility, taking care of cubs. And it would take an awful lot of time. It'd practically be a matter of changing our entire lives."



"And," added Boreas, "while we're still fighting Team Plasma, it wouldn't really be right to have cubs. Either or both of us could be gone next week, after all."



Aqua nodded solemnly. "You're right. We'd have to wait at least until this is over..." As Aqua considered both possibilities, she began to realise she liked a future with only Boreas over one with him and a family. Yet she also knew she could reconsider if Boreas did want it. Cautiously, she asked: "So what do you think?"



"Well..." said Boreas after long deliberation. "It'd be an enormous burden, and an even bigger responsibility. We'd be responsible for making another being's life turn out well. I think right now I would prefer not to have cubs. But I'm not sure, and if you-"



"I agree," said Aqua. "I mean, look at it from the perspective of those cubs: you're impatient, impulsive, a little short-tempered, and occasionally reckless. So am I. Would you want to have me as your mother and you as your father?"



Boreas laughed. "I guess you're right, we'd probably make for poor parents."



Aqua briefly imagined herself playing with their cubs and wondered if they were dismissing parenthood too fast... But then remembered the flip-side of it, and how much trouble she had been to her parents. She giggled a bit thinking of how much of a pain she had probably been to them as an Eevee.



That was odd: she could think of her family without feeling down. For a very long time, the thought of her family had been deeply saddening, as she longed back to them, but knew she could never return to them. They thought she was dead, and they might as well be dead to her. But no longer: she didn't feel sad thinking of them, and she knew why. She had found a new true home, where she was loved and never alone: at Boreas' side.



She hugged Boreas tightly and began kissing him, full of happiness that he was hers. Yet Boreas still seems concerned and preoccupied. "What's wrong?" asked Aqua.



Boreas sighed. "Well, there's something I've wanted to tell you about for a while, but I never could bring myself to do it. I might as well tell you now, but it's not really nice to admit... But you have the right to know who I am."



"This is where you drop your illusion and reveal yourself as Diego?" joked Aqua.



Boreas frowned. "I'm serious, Aqua!"



"Sorry. Continue."



"Well, it's actually got to do with Diego. You know we allied temporarily on Victory Road with N before you found us?"



Aqua nodded.



"Well, what I didn't tell you is..." he took a deep breath. "During the alliance, I was planning to kill Diego. I wanted to attack him from behind during the battle and murder him by surprise. And then he... He saved my life. I would be dead if it wasn't for him, who I was planning to kill. In some way... I'm as bad as he is."



Aqua considered this for a while. On the one hand, she thought he was overreacting a lot, yet for some reason something about it really bothered her. "I don't think you're worse than Diego," she reassured him, still trying to work out what was nagging at her mind so badly. "In fact, I think it's a shame you didn't actually kill him, because he deserves to die after all he's done to both of us."



Boreas was clearly surprised. "Really?"



"Really. The single good deed of saving you doesn't make up for all he's done before. Yet... This may not be important to me, but it clearly is to you." Aqua began to realise what had bothered her, and it made her feel pretty annoyed, in fact.



"Well, yes," said Boreas. "It was. I felt really bad about it for a while, but-"



"Yet you neglected to tell me," snapped Aqua. "You've had two whole months with me since then in which you could tell me."



"I... It was hard for me to admit. And I was terrified you'd leave me over it."



"In the name of Kyogre's dorsal fin, Boreas, I can understand you not telling me right away, but two months? You thought this was so important, but you didn't bother telling me. Well, I'm only the girl you've just been talking about having children with! How many times in those two months have you told me you loved me, or kissed me, or made love to me? All the while keeping this supposedly enormous secret from me."



Boreas cast his eyes down. "Sorry. I know I should've told you... But as you said, it's not that important; it's just Diego."



"That's not the point! It doesn't matter that I don't find it that important now, what matters is that you did! You love me, and yet you keep major secrets from me."



"Not secrets, just a secret," interjected Boreas. "And now no more; I've told it to you."



Aqua sighed angrily. "Until the next one! If we're going to make this relationship work out between us, I have to know what you're thinking."



"You want to know what I'm thinking now? Well, right now, I'm thinking you're being overly controlling and a little invasive!"



"I don't mean your every thought, but when something major is in your mind, you need to share it with me, just like I would share it with you! Because if you want us to share our lives with each other, you'll have to com-you-nee-cate!"



"You don't have to talk to me like that!"



"Yes, I do, because it just doesn't get through your skull otherwise!" she realised she was shouting at him and took a deep breath. "Maybe I should sleep in my own room tonight!"



"Yeah, maybe you should," snarled Boreas.



"Fine!" snapped Aqua as she hurried out of the room, slammed the door behind her, and stamped down the hall to her own room. Only when she was there did she realise she'd just gone from cuddling and kissing Boreas and talking with him about having children to fighting with him in just a few minutes time.



"And there's yet another reason not to have cubs together..." she groaned.







After an unhappy, lonely night, Aqua had to sit through an awkward breakfast. She wasn't really mad at Boreas any more, but she didn't feel like she had been wrong and should apologise either. He really should learn to confide in her more. Besides, she certainly wasn't going to talk things out with him while the rest was there.



So breakfast was uncomfortable. Toxica was still trying to murder Octa with her eyes, Boreas and Aqua avoided eye contact with each other, and Lucius and – to lesser extent – Octa gave her the occasional suspicious look, as always. They were still clearly suspicious of her, despite Boreas' assurance she could be trusted. Lucius was quite open and obvious with it, while Octa tried to pretend he had no suspicions, but she knew they both considered her likely to be a traitor. That thought had probably only increased after she had done poorly in the last two battles.



And in a sense, she really wasn't on their side. While the sight of humans didn't spoil her mood any more as it used to, she still didn't like them. She'd much rather see a world where pokémon were free from humans than one where they were still under the command of trainers. That said, with Team Plasma in power both humans and pokémon were no more than slaves, and that was far worse. Even so, she knew she didn't have the conviction the others had. Fighting for the least of two evils was far harder than fighting for what you thought was right. And, she reflected with a little bitterness, she was an expert at running away when things went bad by now. She would fight today, of course, but if they won and they had to enter Team Plasma's castle tomorrow, it remained to be seen what she'd do when Team Plasma pulled an inevitable nasty trick.



As she finished her breakfast, her stomach feeling delightfully full, Aqua reflected there was at least one other good thing about humans: they generally had lots of food.







As they walked to the great building with the five towers that was now surrounded by the ominous castle of Team Plasma, a snide voice suddenly said: "Hold it, Black!"



Black stopped in surprise and turned around, and Aqua instantly saw his face cheer up. "Cheren!" he greeted the other human happily. "Great to see you! It's been..."



Cheren smiled and shook Black's hand. "Half a year, yeah."



"How are you? Why couldn't I reach you and Bianca? Is Bianca okay?"



"I'm fine," answered Cheren, "it's a long story, and Bianca-"



"Yoohoo! Blaahaack!" a cheerful voice cried out as a human female came running at Black.



Cheren winced. "She's here too."



The human female flew into Black's arms while unleashing a downpour of words. "Black, it's so great to see you, we've missed you so much, Cheren was sure you were dead when you took months to get out of Victory Road but I knew better, remember Elesa? She's so cool, and we've been helping her and the other Gym Leaders with the resistance against Team Plasma!"



"Honestly," sighed Cheren, "can't you go anywhere without embarrassing yourself and others?"



"You're just jealous because I hugged Black." Bianca stuck out her tongue.



"Rubbish."



"Bianca, Cheren," said Black, "it's wonderful to see you both, but I've got to battle the leader of the Elite Four right now. I want to hear everything you've been up to afterwards."



"Of course," said Cheren. "We just arrived here to watch your final battles, and just wanted to say hi."



"Good luck!" said Bianca.



As they walked into the great League building, Aqua giggled remembering Boreas' descriptions of those two; they had been spot-on.



Taking the final dark corridor they hadn't entered yet from the hub of the building, they emerged into a gorgeous chamber inside the purple tower. A beautifully calm surface of water that just begged to be swum in stretched out over the chamber's floor beyond the platform they were on, only betraying itself by its reflection of the gorgeous columns that rose from it. There was a semi-transparent staircase which spiralled around the columns until it went to the top. The black walls of the room were covered in what looked like stars, and as they walked up the stairs the ethereal quality of the place was breathtaking.



They reached a white platform, the other half of which was hidden by huge, fancy curtains. The curtains parted slowly to reveal an amazingly comfy-looking bed with a human female in a big pink hat in it. She got out of bed, revealing her blond hair to be so long it would drag over the floor if it didn't somehow float as if she was underwater.



"Who are you?" she asked, her voice oddly echoing in the chamber. "How dare you disturb my sleep?"



Black was clearly even more surprised by this all than Aqua, stammering: "Um. I'm Black, and I think I may have taken a wrong turn somewhere..."



"No, you haven't," said the human, yawning. "I'm Caitlin, leader of the Elite Four, and I guess you're here to challenge me."



"Weird..." mumbled Selene. "I thought she'd be someone we'd met before..."



"Yeah..." said Black, looking at her oddly. "Why were you sleeping here?"



"Because I was tired," Caitlin said ditzily.



"Okay... Why do you want to battle me instead of letting me fight N?"



"Well, I guess because it's my duty as leader of the Elite Four..."



Those words struck Aqua: "Leader of the Elite Four". Yet she seemed to be a somewhat stupid, airheaded girl with probably little skill. It had to be a trick, Aqua thought: behind that innocently smiling face a fierce intellect lurked that was trying to get them to underestimate her. "Don't fall for it," she warned Toxica, "it's just a trick. Like Selene, she's way smarter than she pretends to be."



"You think so?" asked Toxica.



"I am?" asked Selene.



"Yeah; she wouldn't be the leader of the Elite Four otherwise."



Black and Caitlin had finished talking as Caitlin sent out a Musharna and Black sent Lucius to battle. The pink tapir floated gently, seeming fast asleep as Lucius arrogantly strutted onto the battlefield. "This will be easy as pie, it's not even awake."



"Don't underestimate it!" warned Aqua. "Caitlin is smarter than she looks."



"I don't remember asking you one damn thing!" snapped Lucius.



"Oh, I'm so sorry for trying to help you!" Aqua shouted back.



"I don't need your- Argh!" A shower of glowing, white rocks that disappeared after they hit Lucius magically fell from above. They clearly had the same effect as real rocks. Battered, Lucius escaped from the rain and spit fire at Musharna. It didn't even move in the inferno, but the rain of rocks followed Lucius, forcing him to stop it and run for his life. "You distracted me!" he shouted. "I knew you were a traitor!"



Aqua was really wishing he'd get caught in the rain of stones now. "I'm-"



"Shut your trap, Lucius," snapped Boreas, "Aqua is not a traitor!"



"I can fight my own battles, Boreas," said Aqua coldly. "So mind your own business."



Boreas simply gave her an angry look. Aqua sighed; she wished she hadn't snapped at him like that for trying to help her, but he was just very annoying to her right now, the annoyance made worse by Lucius.



"Are you and Boreas fighting?" asked Toxica.



"Mind your o-" Aqua stopped and took a deep breath, cursing herself mentally for being so easily annoyed today. "Sorry. Yeah, we had an argument last night, and it's left me grumpy... More so with Lucius being an idiot."



Fortunately, Toxica didn't seem offended. "It's alright, really. After all," she suddenly started talking louder, "I know how it feels when your boyfriend turns out to be an idiot one day!"



Aqua suppressed a giggle over the Vileplume's lash at Octa. "Well, I guess I always knew Boreas was a bit of an idiot. But it's just a couple's argument, you know. We'll make up sooner or later."



Toxica smiled humourlessly. "Lucky you. I'm done with Octa forever."



"You don't know that," said Aqua gently. "Boreas has talked to Octa and to his windbag of a brother, and I think he might at least have gotten through to Octa."



"If he has, that's bad luck for Octa. Because he's shown his true nature to me now, and I don't want anything to do with him any more."



Aqua tried to think of a counter-argument, but found it hard to, thinking of Octa: aloof, arrogant, cold, and elitist. "Well, I can hardly blame you for that. I mean, I think you should give him a second chance, but if you don't, I suppose you've still got your friends. It's not like you'll be all alone. We'll still be here for you."



Toxica smiled. "Thanks. I know you- oh dear, well, he deserved that."



Aqua turned her attention back to the battle, seeing Lucius was knocked out and badly bruised by now. "Yeah, I guess it does. We're one down, though."



It was Boreas' turn, and Aqua couldn't suppress a smile as he showed his wits by entering the fray far more cautiously than Lucius, ready to dodge the moment the stone rain began, while never taking his eyes off Musharna. He clearly knew he, unlike Lucius, was in danger of psychic attacks as well as rocks. Aqua shivered as ice-cold wind started blowing.



"I hate it when he does that..." muttered Toxica.



Aqua wrapped her tail around her body for heat. "Join the club..."



Boreas fired an Ice Beam at the bobbing Musharna and kept firing it continuously, then suddenly stopped. His movement ended entirely. Only his face moved, looking completely focussed and resolved, but quickly tiring. Aqua wondered how he was holding up against the psychic attack, and briefly admired how handsome he looked, determined like this, before remembering she was angry with him.







Boreas strained to keep the powerful other mind out of his own. He could feel its thoughts pressing against his, trying to get in, and he only focussed on keeping them out. But it was a losing battle; the psychic was stronger than him, and it was only a matter of time before it was in his mind... Just like the Exeggutor. It getting into his mind had led directly to Diego impersonating Zeph... He tried to repress the anger at the thought, since it would hamper his focus, but then stopped as he had an idea. Instead, he thought back to how Diego had hung him from the Ferris wheel by his tail. His mind ignited with fury as he recalled the Zoroark callously breaking his leg and Aqua's back. He though back to Capella being caught in the disintegrating Hyper Beam, and he recalled the Zangeese killing his parents. He even reminded himself of his fight with Aqua the day before.



By the time Musharna's mind entered his own, it found a boiling sea of rage inside. It tried to grasp his thoughts, but since they were completely covered in fury, it was like trying to read letters that were ablaze. Boreas heard its voice in his mind, but his rage easily drowned it out. He lashed out at the foreign mind inside his own with an inferno of anger. It recoiled, trying to pull away, but Boreas kept unleashing his fury against it, grabbing a hold of it with thoughts like burning chains. YOU WANTED TO GET INTO MY THOUGHTS?! WELL HERE THEY ARE, TAKE THEM! AND THOSE!



Musharna escaped from his mind, and recoiled in reality, moving for the first time in the battle. Boreas pounced it in a rain of Ice Beams, driven by the blazing fury that still coursed through his veins. "Too hot for you?! Then let me cool you down!"



He kept attacking and attacking the pinned-down Musharna furiously until it finally gave up its futile counterattacks. Boreas laughed; it had felt very good to unleash his anger both physically and mentally like that. But his laughter faded when his next opponent appeared: a large, living bell with two metal arms. "Crap, a Bronzong..." muttered Boreas, fully aware of how little he could do to steel-types.



He aimed Ice Beams at the thing's red eyes, but even those were made of metal. The closest thing to pain the attack seemed to cause the Bronzong was a thin veil of white frost that appeared over its eyes. At least that would blind it. Bronzong lunged at Boreas with its entire body, and the Glaceon quietly sidestepped to dodge it. But he had counted out of Bronzong's psychic powers and received a heavy metal arm in the face for it. His head spinning and buzzing with pain, he was hit by the Bronzong's even heavier body while still recovering.







Though Aqua was still angry at Boreas, she was happy when Black switched her in after him so she could beat the Bronzong. She certainly wasn't going to allow anyone other than herself to hurt him. She flooded the centre of the battlefield; Caitlin jumped back on the bed so as not to get wet feet and hair. Bronzong flung its heavy body at Aqua, but she swam far faster than its attack. She formed a rapid whirlpool around the clunky metal pokémon.



She felt its mind attack her own, and dived underwater, swimming rapidly and allowing her natural colour to camouflage her. If she made sure to keep moving so fast it couldn't pinpoint her, it couldn't psychically attack her either. Aqua made the water around Bronzong boil, its heavy body helpless against the scalding whirlpool, its metal armour conducting the heat to the flesh within.



It took a while before Caitlin retracted Bronzong, but when she did, Aqua laughed victoriously. "That's what you get for hurting Boreas!" she looked around to see if Boreas had heard that, and breathed a sigh of relief as she saw he was still out.



Another mind pierced Aqua's with incredible force, and disappeared instantly. Aqua gasped with shock as she saw what had appeared in the whirlpool: a tremendous four-legged metal tank of a pokémon that didn't seem to be affected by the currents or heat. Its small red eyes looked at her from between a white cross on its face. "Kyogre preserve me..." said Aqua in despair. She had heard of the sheer power that was Metagross, and she knew right there the battle was lost. It would take most of the team to defeat this opponent, and even if they did more pokémon would follow.



Metagross lifted off on jets, flying straight for her, so Aqua did the only thing she could think of: she swam as fast as she could to stay away from the far more powerful pokémon. It jetted after her, through the water, and she kept swimming and swimming, even when her entire body was in agony as a psychic bolt hit her. The rest of Black's team was telling her to attack her enemy, but her fear told her to escape it; and did so even more when another psychic bolt weakened her. But then she heard what Selene shouted at her: "It's not what you think it is! It's an Alakazam!"



An Alakazam? If that was true, the psychic attack she had felt in the beginning had planted the image of the Metagross in her head, while the real McCoy had simply been sitting back and occasionally hitting her with attacks. As she thought about that, she realised Alakazam had been standing in the middle of the battlefield all the time, watching her swim around; her mind had just ignored it as someone else's problem. Her cheeks glowing with anger and shame, Aqua recreated the boiling whirlpool around her actual enemy, ignoring the fake Metagross, and collapsed it with Alakazam right in the middle.



Alakazam put up its arms a moment before it would be submerged in the boiling water. Its spoons glowed and a bubble-like forcefield protected it from the worst of Aqua's onslaught of water. She lashed out at it again, but the Barrier protected it well. Aqua had another idea that gave her a malicious grin on her face: she just created a powerful downward current in the water, keeping Alakazam at the bottom of the water in its bubble. Now it was just a matter of waiting. After a while, Alakazam realised what she was doing and attacked her mind. Aqua screamed underwater as her every nerve was burning with pain, but she didn't relent and kept at it. The pain was terrible, but eventually stopped as Alakazam gave up for lack of oxygen.



Aqua let go of the water, which flowed away rapidly while her unconscious opponent surfaced. She panted, trying to recover from the relentless psychic attacks, but she was still overwhelmed with them. A bizarre floating creature inside a translucent green blob appeared. The Reuniclus entered her mind with little resistance, and she felt herself fall asleep.







Aqua's consciousness returned to her bit by bit. Her sense of smell was one of the first things to return, and she smelled Boreas. She felt his fur too, so she gently caressed it as she opened her eyes. She saw Boreas, alright, but he looked at her oddly, uncomfortably. She wondered why he looked at her like that. Then she remembered, retracted her paws, and looked away.



Aqua focused on the battle instead of her faux pas. Selene was fighting a creature that looked like she had designed it herself. Aqua nudged Toxica. "What in Kyogre's name is that thing, and how long have I been out?"



"It's a Sigilyph," said Toxica. "And you haven't been out that long; Selene beat the Reuniclus pretty quickly. You did well, you know. Even with the Alakazam."



Aqua blushed. "It made me think it was a Metagross, and I panicked."



An aerial battle was taking place between the bird and the flying thing. Sigilyph emitted waves of sharp air from the third eye on top of its head, while Selene swooped at it with claws wrapped in dark energy, trying to dodge the waves of air. Unfortunately she was too clumsy a flyer for it, and got hit time and again. While she got in a couple of good hits too, she eventually went down.



Black looked at his two remaining pokémon indecisively: they were both grass-types. "Um... Uh... Octa, please do your best, we can't lose this..."



"I shall do what I can, old chap." Octa startled everyone by drawing his Leaf Blade, and immediately throwing it at Sigilyph. It was hit in the wing and came crashing down to the ground, where Octa rushed for it and wrapped it with his long body. Sigilyph flapped its wings trying to escape, but when that didn't work, its eyes glowed. Octa's face contorted in pain and he let out a whimper, but he wrapped Sigilyph only tighter. Despite the pain he was in, he didn't relent and drew his sword from the wing. He seemed about to strike, but stopped.



The Sigilyph and the Serperior looked almost as if they were doing a staring contest, locked in psychic battle in Octa's mind. Octa shivered and his facial expression changed. Aqua wondered what it was like inside his mind right now, who was winning. Incredibly, Octa was still moving the Leaf Blade closer to Sigilyph, bit by bit. He stopped, moved it back a few centimetres... And brought it closer to his enemy again. A small smile played around his lips as the sword approached one of his opponent's eyes.



The mental combat was suddenly broken: Sigilyph tried to dodge Octa's stab, but still received a deep cut even as it escaped from Octa's coil. It flew up, badly wounded, only to be grasped by Octa's vines and thrown back to the ground. It didn't fly up any more.



As Caitlin retracted it, Octa suddenly looked very tired and hurt from the psychic attacks. The pokémon that appeared was a black and purple humanoid that looked like it was wearing a dress. Octa lunged at Gothitelle wildly, but after a single cut he received a psychic attack and dropped too.



Aqua patted Toxica's shoulder with her tail. "Good luck, we're counting on you..."



Toxica took a few nervous steps, ducked, and shot a Solarbeam from her flower right at Gothitelle, ran instantly for it while her hands glowed with energy, and pummelled her fallen opponent with them.



"Yeah!" said Aqua, seeing her friend attack the Gothitelle so fast it had little chance to counterattack. Yet eventually it threw Toxica off and attacked her mind, but by then, it was looking very weak: Toxica had poisoned it with powder from her flower. It still attacked Toxica, but soon went down too.



"You... Won," said Caitlin. "Somehow, you've defeated the entire Elite Four."



"You're right..." mumbled Black. "We really did it!"



Caitlin gave a little smile. "Yes, you did. You will be allowed to challenge our new Champion tomorrow. Just check the statue in the centre of the plaza then; the way to the Champion will be open for you."







Black's pokémon were being healed in the pokécenter when the unmistakable voices of Bianca and Cheren were heard.



"He did it! He did it, he did it, he did it!"



"I know, I saw it myself, it was very impressive. But will you stop saying that?"



"You're just jealous because Black gets to challenge the- Heeey, Black!"



"Bianca, Cheren, it's wonderful to see you again!"



"We saw everything!" yipped Bianca. "It was so awesome how you won!"



Cheren smiled. "You did well, Black."



"Thanks!" said Black, blooming with happiness. "But now you have to tell me, what have you two been up to since I last saw you?"



"Well," said Cheren, "for my part, I first stayed in Opelucid for a while. After Nacrene fell to Team Plasma and Drayden died, it took a while for Iris to be made the official Gym Leader, so I couldn't leave on Victory Road. When I finally defeated her, I tried to make it through the Black Mountains, but because it was so late in the year by that time the snowstorms ended up forcing me to turn back. I was lucky to make it back at all, really."



"So what about you, Bianca?" asked Black. "Did you go onto Victory Road too?"



Bianca was uncharacteristically silent and sullen for a moment. "No, I didn't. I... I was scared out of my wits by all that was happening around me. Nacrene being conquered by Team Plasma was terrifying, but I saw that Opelucid was quickly being conquered by them too: not by force, but through people's minds. People would hiss horrible things at me in the streets, just because I had pokémon. Team Plasma was beginning to move freely and openly, and they got ever closer to ruling the city. People were scared and gloomy, and the city seemed to turn grey. I knew they'd soon get me, and I just couldn't handle the fear. I even considered liberating my pokémon... Not because I agreed with Team Plasma at all, but because I knew they'd at least be properly free that way, while if Team Plasma got me, they'd be enslaved by those hypocrites, while they would probably kill me...



I had to get away from it all; I wanted to go home. So I took the train south. But I didn't go all the way: for some reason, I got out in Nimbasa. I think it was because of the happy memories of staying there with you guys I had from a year back. I was so happy to see things weren't as bad as in Opelucid there. There were still trainers there, and the Gym Leader was well-liked, and people were still a bit happy. I decided to stay there for a while, but I soon found Nimbasa too was falling into their grip... The city was turning grey too.



When I called home, Mum told me things were just as bad there. I realised there was nowhere to run any more, and I despaired... I was in the amusement park when it overcame me, and I just sat on a bench, crying, and decided to liberate my pokémon. I tried to tell them to go, but they wouldn't leave. And then there was suddenly an arm around my shoulder, and a kind voice telling me not to do it, telling me there was hope left. It was Elesa, Black, and she helped me pull myself back together. She told me that though Team Plasma would soon indeed rule Unova, it would be temporary. Many of the Gyms across the land had been closed, and the rest would follow, but the Gym Leaders and Alder had been organising a resistance that was already fighting Team Plasma, and would continue to do so even when they ruled all Unova. When she told me about them, I knew I had to join them. I wanted to help in any way I could, even though it might cost me my life. Elesa wouldn't accept it until I had had a day to calm down and think about it, but even then, I chose to join." She was smiling proudly by now. "Who would've guessed, right? I mean, me..."



"I would've," Black smiled. "I always knew there was more to you than you thought."



"Well, I didn't," said Cheren. "It was a big surprise to me when I got back from Victory Road."



"And good luck for him too," laughed Bianca. "Elesa had taken me and two other members of the Nimbasan resistance to Opelucid to help Iris with a big thing. We were just in time to rescue him."



Cheren blushed and scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, my pokémon and I were starved and frostbitten by the time we got back to Opelucid. We found a grey city completely in Plasma's power, but we didn't exactly have a choice but to hope the pokécenter would help us. But we ran into Team Plasma, and in our weakened state, we were losing. And then suddenly Bianca and Elesa showed up and saved us. I joined the resistance too once they explained it all and helped me recover. But with our greatest hope – you – seemingly lost in the Black Mountains, things were looking bleak after a while. You can imagine how happy we were to hear you'd shown up at the League after all, two months after you were expected."



"We took a little side-tour," explained Black.



Bianca continued: "We wanted to go to you right away once we heard you'd turned up, but since the trains too are controlled by Plasma and they know the League is the last free part of Unova and our centre of operations, it's not exactly easy to get here. The train here is guarded very well. But we finally made it here, and here we are!"



"I'm glad you are," said Black. "So what exactly does the resistance do? Alder has said a couple of things about it and the stuff going on in the rest of Unova, but not much."



"We help people and pokémon, protect them from Team Plasma. They kill anyone with pokémon they find, and capture or kill any pokémon in the cities; they claim that's to protect people against the temptation of catching them. Aside from that, we disrupt Team Plasma's order as much as possible. To hinder them, but mainly to let people now we're there, and that the war isn't over. I mean, you've heard how I felt when I thought there was no hope left; we want people to know Team Plasma hasn't won. And right now, you are our best hope."



"Yeah," said Cheren. "Have you made any progress with Reshiram?"



Black drew the Light Stone from his pocket and shook his head. "Nothing. But I will fight N, legendary or no legendary on my side. And I plan to win. The question is, though, how much that will do to Plasma. I think N is the only one living in a fantasy world where this battle will automatically determine what's going to happen to Unova. He's just a figurehead; I'm pretty sure the Sages won't be fazed by his defeat."



Cheren shrugged. "I don't know what they're going to do. But if you win and make N see things our way, that will mean the end of Zekrom's influence on everyone's thoughts. It will also show people Team Plasma's leader – figurehead or not – can be defeated, and therefore Plasma can. Elesa thinks a morale boost like that will be enough to get a lot of people on our side, and might end up being enough to win this after all."



"I hope so... But do you think Plasma is actually going to let a battle with N happen at all if that's at stake? They can probably just make me disappear before I ever face him."



"They know they need Zekrom," said Alder, who had suddenly walked into the pokécenter. "Their control over Unova depends on its influence on people's minds for a large part. Without it, far more people would see what they're doing is wrong, and they would have more hope something could be done about it. It would give us far more support. But Plasma only has Zekrom as long as they have N, and to keep him on their side, they've got to play along. They have to let you fight him for that."



Cheren stood up straight, as if he were a soldier. "Champion Alder!"



Alder smiled wryly. "Not any more, Cheren, I'm just Alder now. But if things go well tomorrow, your friend will be Champion Black."



Black nodded nervously. "I hope so... I think you're right; the Sages are too smart to risk losing N's support by doing anything against me before I battle him. But say I win, what do you think they'll do?"



Alder sighed. "That's the big question. Much of the resistance is here, in our headquarters, and I've summoned as many more as can be spared. We're as ready as we'll ever be for whatever Plasma will do, but what that is, we won't find out until tomorrow. We've got your back, but remember that we'll lose if it comes to a full-on battle with all of Team Plasma."



Black nodded nervously. "I'll have to win first, though..."



"Yes, you will. Do you understand your pokémon better now?"



"Yes, I do... But Reshiram still hasn't appeared."



"That's not important. The most important thing is that you understand and know your pokémon, that they are your friends. Then victory will come to you."



Boreas couldn't help ask: "Then why did you lose to N?"



Black suppressed a chuckle, but fortunately Alder didn't seem to have understood it. "Whatever happens during and after your battle with N, tomorrow will be a day to remember."



"I hope we'll all still be alive to remember it..." muttered Cheren.



That made Aqua think. She quickly became lost in thought, not listening to the humans' conversation any more, as she realised they would enter Team Plasma's castle tomorrow, and possibly never come out again.







Aqua was in her room, nervously walking to and fro. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, a very dangerous day, and Boreas' second birthday all in one. She didn't even think he had remembered himself, but she had just realised it; it would be 25 January tomorrow. It wasn't that important, but what was important was that it could be the last day of either or both their lives. The last thing she wanted was to die while she and Boreas were quarrelling. (Though dying while things were well between them was probably the second-last thing she wanted to do) So she had to make up with him, and she knew she would have to do it today, or possibly never have a chance to do it. But it was hard; she felt reluctance to just go to him and-



"Aqua?" a hesitant voice outside the door said.



"B-Boreas?" Aqua blurted out, conflicting emotions filling her. "What are you doing here?"



"I... I have come to apologise to you..." he said.



Aqua quickly got in the bed, watching the door with a frown as if Boreas could see her through it. Maybe he can, she thought. There's a hole in the door for those things humans use to lock other things. He's probably looking through it. "Oh?" she said simply, finding it hard to think of something else to say.



"I wanted to tell you that you were right. I love you, and I really do want to share my life with you. You were right that that should mean not keeping secrets like this from you."



Aqua felt her heart beating strongly for the lovely Glaceon outside the door, and partially wanted to run outside and tell him with a kiss that he was forgiven. Yet some pride held her back. "Look," she said as level as possible, "you'll wake up everyone if you keep talking in the corridor. So why don't you come inside instead?"



The door opened so soon after she said that it was hard to imagine Boreas' nervous system had a reaction delay time. Boreas was beaming happily and walked to her, but Aqua said: "Hold it, I only said you could come in, not any closer."



The look of disappointment on Boreas' face was too cute for words, and Aqua couldn't help but flash a mean smile. Boreas clearly noticed it, as he grinned. "Aww, what do I have to say so you'll forgive me?"



"Well," said Aqua, unable to keep a straight face, "you could continue talking about how much you love me."



Boreas made a mocking bow. "Of course, my lady. Anything else?"



"Well, then you could tell me how beautiful you consider me to be, and how I'm always right."



Boreas grinned. "Alright then. Your fur gleams like the ocean, and your eyes are beautiful black gemstones. And your lips..." Suddenly he ran across the room, jumped, and landed on the bed on top of her. "Just beg for a kiss!"



"Eep!" Aqua squealed and laughed. "Get off me!" She covered his face in the blanket, and a playful romp ensued as she tried to throw him out of the bed while he tried to kiss her. After a lot of laughs and struggling, Aqua finally let Boreas win and lost herself in the wonderful kiss. She looked into Boreas' cyan eyes for a long time, feeling like nothing but he mattered in the world. She expressed her feelings in four simple words, but knew Boreas knew there was far more behind them.



"I love you, Boreas."
 

destinedjagold

You can contact me in PC's discord server...
8,593
Posts
16
Years
  • Age 33
  • Seen Dec 23, 2023
Great chapter as always. :D
Already read it in dA but forgot to leave a comment.
Anyway, I wondered why Caitlin helped Aqua figure out that the Metagross was an illusion. She must've probably did that so Black could win so he could battle N?
Dunno...

Glad that Cheren and Bianca are back. :D

And the next chapter's going to be exciting. I can't wait~ ^^
 
79
Posts
12
Years
  • Seen May 24, 2013
Great chapter as always. :D
Already read it in dA but forgot to leave a comment.
Anyway, I wondered why Caitlin helped Aqua figure out that the Metagross was an illusion. She must've probably did that so Black could win so he could battle N?
Dunno...


Actually, that's Selene who told her that. Caitlin had nothing to do with it.

Glad that Cheren and Bianca are back. :D

Me too, they're two of the coolest characters in all the pokémon games and quite fun to write.

I've been reading this story since the begging and I <3 it...
Can't wait 'till next chapter!

Thanks for reading so far, then. Here you go with the next chapter. (By the way, to everyone reading it on this site, sorry for the crappy formatting; I just can seem to get it working well for this site)


Chapter Sixty-Nine: The King's Castle
Octa had clarity for the first time in weeks. He had lain awake until past two in the night, but now he was sure his judgement was correct. Like most nights lately, he hadn't slept, thinking about Toxica and his family. All of the things that had been said to him - by Toxica, by Boreas, by Gaius - spooked through his mind. But now at long last he had come to a decision. It was quite a terrifying decision, so he knew the only way he would ever execute it was to do it right now, while his resolve was strong. He left his chamber and slithered quietly down the corridor, going outside.
Gaius had made it quite clear his house would not accept his relationship with Toxica; what was more, Octa knew the piece of his ancestors in himself didn't accept it. For his entire life, he had considered himself a member of the house of Equinox in the first place. It made life easy, as many questions and choices were made for him by that identity. In any difficult situation, the answer to "What shall I do?" was simple: "Do what an Equinox does." Every hard choice he ever had to make was simply a matter of either following the house's rules and traditions, or doing what and Equinox would do. Even risking his life was made easy by it: risking one's life for honour or to help others was what an Equinox did.
Boreas and Toxica were not like that at all. They had no such simple answer to the question of who they were, and had to completely define who they were themselves. They had no solid rules for making hard choices; a strange, scary idea to Octa, yet Boreas had praised it. But in truth, Octa had made plenty of choices that weren't the Equinox choices when it came to them. Saving Boreas' life and taking care of him was what an Equinox should do. But his Equinox heritage certainly didn't tell him to become such good friends with a common, non well-bred Eevee like him. It very much dissuaded him from falling in love with Toxica, yet he had done so and rejected his chosen bride for her.
But now he had made the most difficult choice of his life: keeping to his family's ways and rejecting Toxica was by far the easiest choice here, the one his heritage told him to make. And he had almost made it. The alternative was far scarier than all the life-threatening horrors he had encountered together.
Lost in thought, Octa had walked through the nightly League, and now stood at Gaius' door. He took a deep breath, knowing this had to be done, though his loss was terrible. He knocked at the door. He knocked harder after a while.
"Who disturbs me at this hour?" said his brother's sleepy voice.
"'Tis me, brother, Octa. I need to speak to you immediately."
The door opened. "Very well then, enter... I do hope this is something important..." Gaius guided him into the room.
"Yes, brother, it is. I have come to tell you I am stepping out of the house of Equinox; rescinding my nobility."
Gaius' jaw dropped and he stared at Octa silently.
"I wish for you to return to our ancestral home, announce this to my family, and request my name be stricken from our family tree."
Silence.
"I am no longer Octavianus VII of the house of Equinox; I shall simply be Octa."
More silence.
"'Tis not the first time in your house's history this has happened; though most of the other cases were involuntary. I make this choice voluntarily, for I choose Toxica. I choose my friends."
"..."
"I make this choice, because my relationship with Toxica and my friendships are incompatible with house Equinox's philosophy. While I could reunite with Toxica, yet attempt to remain a member of our house as I have done so far, I have come to see these things are impossible to unite. Too many of you are opposed to my relationship, and eventually this choice would be forced upon me anyway. 'Tis very possible my resolve to make the right choice, not the easy one, will not be as strong as it is tonight when that time comes. Therefore, I am making this choice right now."
"..."
"Well?" said Octa impatiently. "Have you nothing to say?"
Gaius frowned and spoke slowly. "This is the greatest error of your life, brother. You cannot throw away your heritage; least of all for this."
"No, not an error" said Octa resolutely, "'tis the hardest choice in my life, yes. The one that will give me the most difficulty, certainly. The one that required most bravery to make, easily. Despite all that, 'tis not an error, but the best choice I have ever made."
"...Fine, do as you wish, Octa the Houseless," spat Gaius. "I shall return home right now to ensure your will be done. But I must warn you: if this is a ploy to gain sympathy for you, it shan't work. I will see to that."
"It isn't. I have told you my reasons."
"Fine. Our house shall be better off without your foppery threatening its very foundations. And with you gone, none other shall remotely stand a chance as father's successor against me. How ironic; your decision to betray your house shall benefit it so greatly by ending your negative influence over it once and for all and ensuring its future leader shall be a wise one indeed."
"Wisdom is clearly in the eye of the beholder. Now if you will excuse me, I have others to reveal my decision to."
"Do as you wish, Octa Vagabond, I care not. I shall depart shortly to ensure this joyous news reaches my family."
"They still are my family as well, brother," hissed Octa. "I stepped out of our house, but this does not mean you are no longer my brother, lord Publius Cornelius still my father-"
"You betray us!" snapped Gaius. "You have been seduced by this common witch to betray our house and everything it stands for and still you claim relation! You are no brother of mine, Octa the fallen; you have failed and lost your grandeur. 'Tis no more than right that you should leave our house; in fact I likely would have forced you to leave once I became our family's leader!"
"Now-"
"I thought you had regained your wisdom, but it is clear to me now you never had it in the first place. The obviously higher concentration of Equinox's blood that flows through my veins must have come at the expense of your own. Leave my room now, I have nothing more to say to you!" snapped Gaius.
Octa looked in shock at his brother's face, contorted with hate. "So be it," he said, leaving. "But 'tis not I who has fallen, Gaius; it is you. The day you lead the house of Equinox shall be a dark one indeed."
The door slammed shut behind him, and he soon found himself trembling with anger at his brother's insults. Yet in Gaius' face and words, both twisted by fury, he had at last seen what was truly wrong with their house, even with him: their pride had turned to arrogance. They all considered themselves naturally superior to others. Octa had realised the true reason for Gaius' anger was his leaving meant he considered houseless life an improvement. By giving up his nobility, he had implied an Equinox was an equal to commoners, far more so than just by choosing Toxica. He knew now the rest of his family would see it the same way as Gaius, that he himself would've seen it in the same way had it been someone else making this decision. For he knew he was no stranger to this arrogance himself.
Lost in thought, he had walked across the nightly League again and reached the complex where their own rooms were. Now, he knew, he would have to beg Toxica's forgiveness. The thought of it didn't appeal to him, yet he knew it had to be done. The voice that told him an Equinox couldn't do something like that was hard to ignore, even now that he was no longer a member of the house. He would have to do it now, while he could overcome his pride.
He knocked on Toxica's door with his tail.
He knocked again when there was no answer.
"...Hwhah...?" sounded a sleepy voice from inside.
"Toxica, my darling, may I please enter?"
"Don't you 'darling' me," said the voice, suddenly very awake. "Piss off, Octa."
Octa was going to parley more to try and gain permission to enter, but realised they'd wake up everyone. Instead, he simply entered. "HEY!" shouted Toxica from the bed. "I told you to piss off!"
Octa closed the door behind him but didn't approach any more. "My apologies for the intrusion at this late hour against your wishes, but I need to speak to you right now."
"You can go jump off a mountain, Octa, I don't want to talk to you."
"Please hear me out... What I have to say is incredibly important, and I fear if I don't say it now, I never shall. You do not need to say anything in return, I just want you to hear it."
"Well, I don't want to hear it, sod off."
Octa didn't obey, but talked. "I was wrong. I have been terribly wrong all along to consider you beneath me. I am an arrogant Serperior, from an arrogant house. But no longer; for I have just informed my brother I am leaving the house of Equinox. I have rescinded my nobility, for it prevents me from being with you and gave me illusions of grandeur. If I have learned anything from the two years I have spent with you and other pokémon not of noble descent, it is that a descendant of Equinox is no better than you. That I am no better than you.
My arrogance blinded me. It made me blame you for my weakness on Victory Road, for I could not believe I could possess the same failings an ordinary person would." Octa was a little shocked he had said all that, yet he knew it was nothing but the truth. He prostrated himself humbly before Toxica. "My dear, dear Toxica. I have not given you the respect you deserved. Leaving you for my own shortcomings was an arrogant, awful decision. I am sorry. I beg your forgiveness for my shortcomings and my treatment of you. I have left the house of Equinox for this, and now am truly nothing more than Octavianus. If you can find it within you to forgive me and give me a second chance, I will treat you as you deserve in the future."
It was silent. While Octa could see Toxica, it was too dark to see the expression on her face under her flower. "You... Gave up your nobility for me?"
Octa nodded. "I realised I could not have both you and it. I have made my choice."
"Look," said Toxica hesitantly, "why don't you go back to your brother and tell him you've changed your mind? That it was all a joke or something?"
Octa felt his hope sink. He knew why she was saying this. "No, I shan't. Even if you reject me, I shall consider myself to be of the house of Equinox nevermore. For my brother's reaction educated me. He accused me of treason, among other things. I know now of our greatest flaw: our arrogance. My arrogance. I see myself as better than others, and it has to stop. Whether you forgive me or not, I do not wish to be a part of the house of Equinox again."
"Well..." Toxica said hesitantly. "It was really brave of you to leave your house... But you've really gone too far this time. I don't feel I can trust you any more, so it's really over between us."
Octa sighed in resignation. "As... You wish. 'Tis my own fault for breaking up with you like that, I suppose. If I hadn't been so foolish, so arrogant..."
Octa felt furious at himself, and realised he couldn't control his emotions any more. He rushed out of the room, not listening to something Toxica said, and rushed to his own room.

25 January of that year was a date well remembered by the history books as the day the Plasma War's outcome was decided. A dark, violent, bloody day; a day of great sorrow when hope died along with its heroes. A day of death.
Yet for Boreas the day began as peaceful as it could be. He softly hugged Aqua, watching her sleep next to him. It sounded like a storm was brewing outside, but Boreas just listened to Aqua occasionally mumbling or giggling cutely in her sleep. Eventually she slowly opened her eyes and smiled as she saw him. "Happy birthday, good-looking."
"Birthday? Oh yeah, it is my birthday... I hadn't even remembered with all that's going on."
"I know," chuckled Aqua, kissing him, "that's why I remembered it for you."
When they left Boreas' room an hour later to have breakfast, they found the mood had changed from the days before. Toxica no longer stared at Octa furiously, instead they mostly evaded each other's gazes and said little to each other. At least it didn't make the atmosphere as pressing as the days before, and they chatted about the storm raging outside a bit.
At last it was time to go, as Bianca and Cheren came to pick Black up. As soon as they walked outside, Boreas was almost blown off his feet by the tempest. The valley of the League was very dark, though dawn - which came very late here - was likely near. The occasional flash of lightning illuminated the entire valley, though, showing scary purple-black clouds gyring above. A constant downpour of cold rain soaked Boreas' fur in an instant.
Aqua struggled against the storm as they walked. "Can't you stop this storm?"
Boreas chuckled, though he too was struggling. "Not really, no. I can make it stronger, if you like."
"But your powers allow you to create wind, don't they? Just make wind in the opposite direction or something."
"It doesn't work like that. I don't really control the air when I do that, it's more like I remove the air's inhibitions and unleash the chaos in it. I basically let it do what it wants, but it's already doing that. So I can make wind, but I'm not very good at calming it down, because that requires controlling the air instead, and that's far harder to do. Besides, if I made wind in the opposite direction of already blowing wind, they wouldn't cancel out but circle around each other, forming a cyclone."
An ear-splitting thunderbolt drowned out Aqua's reply. Boreas was going to ask her to repeat it, but Octa began talking to him. "My dear fellow, I have taken your advice."
"Huh?" asked Boreas. "Well, good job! What advice?"
"That which you said about choices. I have taken it to heart and informed my brother I am leaving my house."
"Sorry, I think I misheard you over the wind's howling."
"No, you haven't. I have come to realise the arrogance of it all, the danger of the belief one is inherently superior to others. My brother's reaction confirmed it. He shall probably have arrived home by now, so my family likely knows of this now, so alea iacta est."
"Woah... Octa, couldn't you have just tried to make up with Toxica instead? I'm glad you came to your senses, but isn't this a bit too extreme?"
Octa braced himself against a particularly strong gust. "No, my dear fellow, for I have come to realise the nature of the greater problem. Besides, 'tis likely I would eventually succumb to weakness once more if I stayed with my house. And this way I also show Toxica I am serious about my desire to make up with her."
"So how'd she respond?"
Octa looked away sadly. "She rejected me."
"Then I'll talk to her later," said Boreas. "I know how much your family and your ancestors mean to you."
"Thank you, my dear fellow, but it is unnecessary... I just wish all this wasn't necessary... I had hoped despite leaving my house I wouldn't lose my family, that they could accept my choice, but Gaius' reaction told me all. I have essentially lost my whole family."
"Not your whole family. You're my brother, Octa."
Octa smiled warmly. "Thank you, my dear fellow."
By then, they had gone as far as Bianca and Cheren were allowed to go. "Good luck, Black," said Cheren. "I wish I could go in to fight with you, but you'll have to do this alone."
"I can't believe you have to go into Plasma's castle alone..." said Bianca. "Be careful, okay?"
"Thanks, guys. But I won't be alone: I've got my pokémon."
They walked into the building. This time, however, something had changed: a circle on the floor around the statue in the plaza's centre was glowing green. Black cautiously stepped into the circle and motioned for his pokémon to follow. Once they were on it too, the entire circle, including the statue, rose like an elevator. A hatch in the roof opened and the elevator made them go through, statue and all. They emerged into a wide area on top of the building. The four towers of the Elite Four were all around them, while the fifth tower was ahead, a huge flight of stairs ascending to it. But behind that tower, dark shadows of the Plasma castle stuck out against the dark clouds. They ascended the stairs in silence. The entrance to the Champion's tower was beautiful, ancient columns supporting it.
The Champion's room inside had obviously been very beautiful once. More stairs led up to a platform in the middle of a golden room which was supposed to be lit by torches. But the wall had been breached by three dark bridges. Rubble from the intrusion was all over the room, and a powerful stormwind blew through the tower and had extinguished the torches. Puddles of water had formed from the rain. Through the holes created by the bridges the many dark towers of the castle were visible.
"Not quite," whispered Octa to Boreas, "the chamber I imagined when I first told you about our quest, my dear fellow."
"Well," said Black, taking the Light Stone from his pocket, "this is it. If you have any plans to come out of that thing, now would be a good time." The stone was as immobile as ever. Black turned to his pokémon. "It's up to us. But that's alright: we can do this."
He stepped onto the bridge and walked through the hole. On the wet path over abyssal depths the storm's unpredictable winds became quite scary and made Boreas wish he was able to calm it down. Fortunately they managed to cross the bridge without any of them falling off, and they entered the castle's dark gate. It led into a large open-air courtyard on the top of a tower. Black and his pokémon instantly braced themselves for a tough fight, but the courtyard was deserted. In the darkness of the storm, the courtyard was dominated by the tallest tower of the castle, which had huge Plasma banners hanging from it. It seemed likely that was where N's throne room was.
Crossing the courtyard, they entered the castle's inner parts. Large hallways and rooms decorated with Plasma banners and large ceremonial shields with the Plasma logo on it were all along their path, yet they didn't meet anyone. "It's gotta be a trick..." mumbled Lucius.
Boreas looked behind him every now and then so he could recall the way back if needed. They occasionally left the inner parts of the castle, walking through courtyards or over walls outside in the storm.
When they were getting close to the tallest tower, they passed a very unusual room. It was larger than any other they had passed, but looked like a child's bedroom. There were many toys, including model trains and a little Ferris wheel. Pictures of pokémon hung on the walls. There were dolls laying around, all of them were of pokémon: not a single human.
"What the hell?" mumbled Black as they wandered inside in confusion. Boreas chuckled when he saw one of the model trains had been thrown through a basket ball hoop and got stuck there, still hanging. There was a full bookcase too: all books about pokémon. With the exception of one shelf, which seemed mainly to contain history books. Reading their spines, Boreas realised most of them were about various atrocities humans had committed.
"Do you suppose this is where N grew up?" Boreas wondered.
"If that's so," said Octa, "this castle must be far older than we thought. It must have existed underground for at least fifteen years, probably twenty."
"Look," said Toxica, with a piece of paper in her hand. "I picked this up from the ground." It was a childish drawing of a stickfigure and a Zorua, captioned with 'me' and 'deigo' in a child's handwriting. Boreas picked up some other papers. Many of them had similar childish drawings. One of them had the stickfigure wearing a crown and was captioned 'n the king of all pogeymans'. This one featured another human (as well as many pokémon): a bigger stickman captioned 'ghestschitch'.
"Yeah," said Aqua, "this must have been where he grew up... He always said he grew up with pokémon, even believed he was one in human form himself. I guess the Sages must've kept him here. He's not a bad person, really, they've just brainwashed him. I hope I can talk some sense into him... After all, I'm his friend, or was anyway."
"I hope you can," said Black. "But in any case, we've lingered here long enough. Let's go and do what we came here to."
They left the room, walked out of the corridor, and onto a section of the wall ascending to meet the highest tower. They entered the doors and saw N waiting on his throne.
 
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  • Seen May 24, 2013
Chapter Seventy: Black and White
"Black, we meet again!" N shouted theatrically. "At last this prophesied day has come! What I desire is a world for pokémon, and pokémon alone. I will separate pokémon and humans, so pokémon can regain their original power!"
The throneroom was huge and lavishly decorated. A long red carpet led in a straight path from the door to N's throne on the other side of the room, up on a series of steps. The throne was large, golden, and decorated with the shapes of various pokémon. To each side of the red carpet were two bodies of water like small indoor lakes. The roof was held up by series of huge columns at the sides of the room, and behind them were impressive statues of pokémon. Four pokémon stood before N's throne: Klinklang, Carracosta, Archeops, and Vanilluxe. There was no sign of any other human or pokémon. Other than the main door they had entered through, there were several other doors in the half of the room where N's throne was.
Aqua spoke up. "N, it's time to stop this charade!"
N stood up from his throne, surprised. "Aqua? So you really survived what those trainers did to you? Boreas told me, but I could barely believe it; this is great!"
"The only one who did anything to me that day was your friend Diego. He was the one who broke my back and tried to kill me, but I survived it thanks to human medicine. He and the Sages have been lying to you all along."
"How can you say something like that?!" exclaimed N.
"It's simple, I'm afraid:" said Diego, emerging from behind N's throne. "She was captured and nearly killed in the battle by the trainers despite my efforts to stop them. They have brainwashed her, like they do to all pokémon, until she truly believed their lies. We should pity her, and try to help her. She truly believes her lies."
"Shut your lying trap!" shouted Boreas furiously as they walked forward. "You know all too well what you did, and so do we!"
N and his pokémon walked forward as well. "As you can see," lied Diego, "poor Boreas has also been brainwashed by our enemies. It's tragic."
"You're right, Diego," said N. "But we can save them, right?"
"Of course," said Diego. "Once you free all pokémon, they will know the truth again."
"I'm sorry, Aqua," said N. "I shouldn't have sent you into battle... But I know you would be proud of me if you hadn't been brainwashed. I have brought freedom to so many pokémon already, and my victory here today will finalise that, and liberate all remaining pokémon."
"N, have you ever looked at your new kingdom?" asked Aqua. "You can believe I'm brainwashed all you like, but the evidence is out there: just look at what Team Plasma has done to Unova! Pokémon should be free, but under Team Plasma they're no more free than under their trainers, but their taskmasters are cruel tyrants instead. Instead of giving pokémon their freedom, Plasma has taken away that of the humans! You're a good person, I know this isn't what you wanted. I've come to realise the true enemy isn't trainers, but the Seven Sages. It's not too late for you to join us; and after we defeat them we can truly liberate pokémon: but not just forcibly remove them from their trainers, but give them the choice whether they want to be wild or befriend a human!"
"That's not true!"
"You've been lied to all your life, N!"
"No," said N. "It's you who has been lied to. But once you're free again, you'll realise I'm right. For now, I don't want to hear any more of this; it's spoiling this moment."
"Well said, N," said Diego. The two sides now stood in the middle of the room, between the bodies of water, only a few metres between them.
"N, she's right," said Black. "But I can see you don't want to hear it. Maybe you will see reason if I beat you."
"You're right!" said N. "It's time to settle this once and for all! My determination is absolute, and I will prove my beliefs. Since you've come this far, I know you are equally determined! Let Reshiram and Zekrom battle to decide whether truth or ideals are more powerful!"
"No," said Black. "Reshiram won't fight, because it hasn't responded to me yet. But that's okay: I only need my pokémon, my friends, to beat you. I'll battle you with them."
N made a face. "How disappointing. I actually kind of liked you a little. Through our many battles I got the feeling you might be a trainer who truly cares for your pokémon, like me. But I was kidding myself."
Black chortled. "So because I choose to trust my own pokémon in battle instead of relying on the power of some legendary I never met before I'm demonstrating I don't care for my pokémon? Your logic is twisted up worse than the Gordian knot."
N ignored him. "You have two options. Challenge me to a fight you can't win or leave this place and let me finish my new world where pokémon are free!"
"Do you ever shut up and listen to someone else?!" snapped Black. "I'm fighting you, and I'll win. Because my pokémon are my friends."
A fierce white light emanated from Black's pocket. Startled, he retrieved the Light Stone from it: it was ablaze with light, shining like the Sun. It levitated out of his hand and grew enormously. As it grew, it slowly changed shape to the form of a dragon. Reshiram roared and the entire tower shook on its foundations. Boreas felt a powerful, fiery conviction they were fighting for the truth fill him with pride. They couldn't lose: the truth never did.
"YOU FIGHT FOR THE TRUTH," thundered Reshiram's voice like a raging inferno. "I AM THE TRUTH. YOU SHALL FIGHT WITH ME, HERO, LIKE WE DID LONG AGO."
All stood in awe, and Black threw a pokéball, making Reshiram disappear into it. It felt oddly undignified to Boreas, capturing a legendary pokémon like it was a Pidgey. Black carefully picked up the pokéball.
"...Maybe I was right about you after all," spoke N. "Reshiram who lends its power to the hero who searches for truth has recognised you. It is finally as it should be. We shall finally battle, but the rules are that you can't have seven pokémon for an official battle like this. So we'll begin once you send one of your pokémon away to bring you back to six."
Black looked at Reshiram's pokéball, trying to decide who to send back to the pokécenter. After a moment, he looked at Octa. Then he looked at Boreas, and Boreas realised what he was going to do. He nodded in agreement, though he wasn't entirely sure it was such a great idea. Black looked at his other pokémon one by one. Finally, he pressed a few buttons on Reshiram's pokéball and it disappeared.
"You... You made a mistake," stammered N. "Reshiram was in that pokéball, you must've meant to send one of your other pokémon away instead."
"No," said Black. "I told you: I don't need Reshiram; I trust my pokémon."
"But-but this isn't how it's supposed to be!" whined N. "Reshiram and Zekrom are supposed to battle! We're like the heroes of legends, you have to get it back!"
"I don't care how it's 'supposed' to be. My pokémon are my friends; if I loved power so much I'd rely on some legendary's power over any of them, I wouldn't deserve them in the first place. I'm sure these legendary pokémon are very powerful, but they're nothing else. Truly skilled trainers should try to win with the pokémon they love best, not with those acclaimed as powerful. I wouldn't be much of a defender of the friendships between humans and pokémon anyway if I forsook my own like that."
N was speechless. Boreas felt proud and happy by his trainer's trust, yet also a little worried about Zekrom.
"If that's the way he wants it," said Diego, "then why should that bother us, N? Zekrom will sweep him before you."
"But..." stammered N. "What if he loses, but would've won if he had used Reshiram... How can I know the truth after this battle?"
"You already know the truth. We are right. You would win this anyway, so battle him!"
"You're right, Diego. It's time to create the future I desire!"
"Boreas," said Black. "I know this will be hard. But you can do this."
Boreas stepped forward, a lot less happy about Black sending Reshiram away now that he stood a good chance of meeting up with a teravolt of electricity soon. "Zek-"
"I've got an idea:" said Diego. "Why don't you save Zekrom for last? Give them a chance to at least save some face by battling the rest of your team before Zekrom obliterates them."
"Good idea. I suppose they've deserved that respect from us."
"You, Klinklang," ordered Diego. "Grind him."
Boreas felt relieved not to have to fight Zekrom, but wondered what Diego's game was. Did he think Boreas stood a chance at beating Zekrom, and therefore want to have him battle other teammembers instead? Or maybe he wanted to beat Boreas himself, but have this Klinklang weaken him first to ensure victory?
Well, if that was his plan, Boreas wasn't going to let it happen. Klinklang rolled towards him rapidly on its largest gear, clearly planning to roll over him. Boreas simply walked onto the water, forming ice under his feet to stand on, then grinned smugly at Diego. His metal foe shot a beam of electricity at him, but he parried it quite easily.
Boreas quickly formed a raging blizzard around his opponent. It could either get into the water to attack him, or allow him to slowly penetrate its metal with his cold. It fired metal spikes at Boreas, but he simply waved his paw and let a powerful gust blow them away. Another beam of electricity was parried by a pulse of cold before the Klinklang realised it could never beat him at a distance and rolled into the water, its metal body covered in a white layer of frost by now.
"Gotcha!" laughed Boreas, freezing the water under him entirely once Klinklang was in. It took a lot of energy, but now the metal creature was frozen in. Boreas could see and hear it still slowly grind its way through the ice, but he just moved away from it. He could afford to wait: he wasn't the one encased in ice.
Boreas smirked at N and Diego. "So now what?" he asked, expecting Diego to battle him personally now.
"Oh no..." muttered N. "I'll have to retreat it..."
"I'm afraid so," said Diego, "looks like they- Archeops, Rock Slide right now!"
Boreas had mere moments before the rain of heavy boulders from the sky struck. He managed to protect his head, but got badly battered, his limbs aching and feeling bruised. And Archeops was already diving for him, its claws and jaws extended. Boreas crawled out from under the rocks and tried to stop his enemy, only to receive a deep slash from its claws that knocked him down. Boreas could barely focus with pain as his opponent turned around for another pass at him.
He lashed out with an Ice Beam and hit Archeops' wing more by luck than skill. Archeops instantly turned, keeping away from him in fear. It kept at a distance cautiously, scared of him. This allowed Boreas to regain his composure, letting him dodge Archeops' next few rock attacks from a distance as he created a snowstorm in the tower. Archeops soon had trouble flying, preventing it from attacking at all while he weakened it with the cold.
Boreas was about to end the fight with an Ice Beam, but Archeops still had some fight in it: it suddenly lunged for him, unconcerned with its own health, and caught him in a wave of boulders. He easily hit it with an Ice Beam, but couldn't dodge the boulders. His hip was hit very hard, so it was hard for him even to stand up again.
Boreas was sure Diego would come battle him personally now that he had been weakened so much, but instead the Zoroark ordered Carracosta to battle him. Boreas had trouble thinking of a reason why Diego would have the turtle fight him, until he had an odd thought: maybe Diego wanted to spare him from fighting Zekrom? Maybe the Zoroark was actually trying to save his life like he had done on Victory Road?
It was a strange idea, because Diego had never before shown any kind of compassion or remorse towards him. Could it be that the time Diego had spent impersonating Zeph - which paradoxically made Boreas both hate him more than ever and feel kinship to him – had affected Diego as well? Was it possible Diego still thought of him as his brother in an odd way?
Boreas was snapped out of his thoughts by a roaring wave rushing towards him with a sturdy turtle riding it. He instinctively extended his front paws and unleashed a powerful blast of cold to freeze it. He managed to do so and prevented the worst of the wave from hitting him, but he felt horribly drained and exhausted by it. Carracosta swum around the frozen wave and formed a powerful whirlpool around Boreas. He made an attempt to freeze the whirlpool too, but found himself on the edge of blacking out with exhaustion at the mere try. He swam weakly against the current, but even after all the time since meeting Aqua, he wasn't much of a swimmer.
He had one final idea and let himself go limp, trusting the air in his lungs to keep him afloat. His enemy should've just used the whirlpool to beat him then, but he was lucky as it made a mistake: it swam for him to use its claws instead.
Boreas suppressed a grin, waited for it to come close, and when it did he put a paw to its face, unleashed a pulse of cold to daze it, climbed onto its back, and froze himself to its wet shell. He nearly blacked out once more from the energy required, but this time he was firmly stuck to his opponent's shell and couldn't fall off. Carracosta clumsily tried to reach him with its sharp claws, but didn't even come close. Then it began wiggling to shake him off without much effect. Boreas had by now recovered enough that he could start sending pulses of cold through its shield into its body to slowly freeze it.
"Just dive!" snapped Diego. "Dive and drown him!"
Boreas took a lungful of air as he was forcibly submerged. Eventually Carracosta would have to resurface, of course, but words he and Aqua had spoken nearly a year ago echoed through Boreas' head: "I can hold my breath for five hours, you know."
"I can hold my breath for five minutes. I hope."
Since he had far less time than the turtle, Boreas gave it his all, sending pulse after pulse through Carracosta's shield until it finally stopped swimming and just floated limply in the water. Unfortunately Boreas' paws were still frozen to its shield. With no paw free to swim, he tried to stretch his neck far enough to reach the surface, but it was futile. Brilliant plan, really, freezing myself to a living rock while underwater...
Fortunately with Carracosta unconscious, the water flowed back into its ponds, eventually leaving Boreas coughing and wheezing on dry land. He finally managed to tear his paws loose.
"Woohoo!" cheered Aqua. "You beat half his team! "
Boreas wanted to say something back, but he could only cough up more water and gasp for air.
"N," said Diego, "remember when I advised you to keep some pokémon with you and train them instead of relying on wild pokémon temporarily joining us?"
"Yeah, I do, but that would make me just as bad as our enemies, enslaving those poor pokémon."
"You've never had trouble with having me with you," muttered Diego.
"Well, you're different."
"Of course I am."
"Enough talk," coughed Boreas, managing to stand on all four legs. "Come fight me!"
Diego threw him a sneer. "Vanilluxe, finish this."
N asked Diego: "Don't you want to-"
"No."
As the Vanilluxe hopped forward it made a rapid snowstorm around the both of them, quickly freezing the puddles that had formed in the throneroom. Boreas chuckled: his opponent's failure to realise this could just as easily be used against it might just be his salvation.
"You think you'll be able to beat me at this just because I'm wounded, battered, and half-drowned," stated Boreas.
Vanilluxe shot a powerful ball of icy energy out of its forehead; Boreas got the snow to fall in such a way it masked his movements; a very handy trick Froslass had taught him. The beam missed him as he dodged it. His opponent fired a few more attacks on the general region, but Boreas had already sneaked away and was now behind it. He pounced the icecream from behind, slamming its head against the ground hard and sending several pulses of cold through it. "Well, you thought wrong!" he laughed.
He was thrown off Vanilluxe by a powerful pulse that nearly blacked him out, but made sure to quickly use his Snow Cloak to hide from Vanilluxe again. Though he was pretty sure he'd hurt it more than it had hurt him there, he was so weak he couldn't afford even a small bit of damage any more. As he dodged his enemy's attacks, he instead counterattacked from a distance, firing Ice Beams and directing the storm against his opponent. It was clear these pokémon were poorly trained: all Vanilluxe would need to do to beat him was let the storm dissipate, robbing Boreas of his cover. Yet it didn't do so, and with its attacks all missing while Boreas could hit it it weakened soon, and Boreas defeated it too.
Boreas felt proud for defeating two-thirds of the enemy team by himself, but knew these were just a warm-up. Diego and Zekrom would be the true challenge. He was too weak to keep the storm going on his own; it quickly dissipated.
"If you want something done properly, you've got to do it yourself!" snarled Diego as he walked towards Boreas, his front paws enveloped in darkness. Boreas wondered if he should kill Diego if he won. In a sense, this was an official League battle, but then again, in a sense it wasn't. He had sworn to kill Diego, yet part of him didn't want to. Of course, it was unlikely he could beat Diego anyway.
"Then why didn't you?" Boreas challenged his nemesis. "Why did you hide behind those four? Are you afraid to face me when I'm not half-dead?"
Diego fired a beam of utter darkness from his paws. Boreas quickly moved his own paw to parry, but it was so powerful he only managed to weaken it. Sharp pain and nausea overwhelmed him as the beam of darkness hit him and he drifted off into darkness.

He woke up moments later with severe pain in his neck and squirmed against an iron grip lifting him up by it. "Afraid?" said two malicious purple eyes. "Why would I ever be afraid of you?" he tightened his grip, making Boreas gasp for breath. "You are nothing, you are weak! You are no more than an arrogant, pesky flee. I could snap your neck right now and end your pathetic life. I've grown far more powerful since our last meeting."
"Yet," Boreas gasped. "You still – haven't learned – to protect your – vulnerable spots." He gave Diego a kick in the loins as hard as he could. The Zoroark howled in pain and threw him away, and as Boreas landed painfully hard he shot two Ice Beams at Diego; all he could still manage. He dragged himself away to seek cover behind a statue as Diego got up.
"You just don't give up, do you?" He breathed a wave of fire, and Boreas' way was suddenly barred by the searing flames. He winced back from the heat and faced the Zoroark once more.
"Never," he growled as he shot another Ice Beam. A wave of Diego's paw, and darkness swallowed the attack.
A beam of lighting shot out of both Diego's paws. Boreas was exhausted and unable to do anything, except howl in pain as the electricity shocked him. He convulsed as it kept electrocuting him, until it finally ended. Diego approached him and put his foot on his head. Boreas was too far weakened to do anything. So, this is how it ends...
Then, for one moment, he had eye contact with Diego. His purple eyes didn't look like those of a merciless killer now, but Boreas almost recognised his brother in them. It was probably just the shocks playing tricks with his eyes, but he thought he saw regret in those eyes.
Diego took his foot off Boreas' head. "He's defeated. Send your next pokémon."
Boreas reached out for Diego's leg and dug his teeth into it. He received a sharp kick in response, finally blacking him out.

Boreas regained consciousness. His body ached badly, but it was quickly getting better due to the potion Black had given him. The first thing he saw was unfortunately Black giving another potion to an unconscious, and partially burned, Octa. Boreas was startled Diego was powerful enough to beat his best friend, who was the most powerful member of the team.
Boreas thought about their battle. He was annoyed he'd lost to Diego yet again, but also intrigued. Diego could've killed him, yet he chose not to. It could just be because an execution wouldn't exactly be looked on kindly by the League, but he and N were planning to abolish the League anyway, and there were no cameras here. Boreas thought he'd seen compassion in Diego's eyes, possibly even regret. Maybe he had really been mistaken when he swore to kill Diego. He would certainly never turn his back to the Zoroark or consider him a friend, but giving him the benefit of doubt by no longer planning to kill him seemed reasonable. Because once he killed Diego, there was no longer any way to change his mind.

"Good job," said N as Aqua finally defeated Diego. "You have fought very well, and are clearly powerful. But now, you will lose. Zekrom, show them the power of my ideals once and for all!"
Aqua had enjoyed finally fighting Diego again. She had once considered him a friend, and he had tried to kill her. That was unforgivable, just like all he had done to Boreas. He had tried to talk to her during the battle, but she had made it clear she had nothing to say to him by ignoring everything he said and wordlessly fighting him. It felt really good to finally beat him. And now she considered executing the unconscious Zekrom with a wave of boiling water when Zekrom appeared.
The black dragon's appearance filled Aqua with utter fury as old wounds were suddenly reopened. The pain when her grandmother had been killed by humans set her heart ablaze, and Lothario's lifeless body filled her mind. The weight of every single day she had been alone pressed on her mind, and Aqua was furious at the memory of every city she had seen: disgusting, filthy places where nature had been massacred and pokémon captured to make way for the cancer that was humanity. It had been a long time since she's felt like this, known she wouldn't rest until every human being was dead.
Aqua turned around, ablaze with hate, to join Zekrom and kill the horrible bald ape who was so arrogant he thought she was his to command. He was saying something in his annoying human voice, and she spit a powerful ray of water at his face, flooring him. She ran for him, planning to finish it. Other pokémon - misguided slaves of the human - said things she didn't listen to. They would thank her once she'd freed them from the human and tasted its blood.
Suddenly Boreas was in front of her. He had her attention even in her murderous rage. "Aqua!" he said. "My love, think! Remember why you joined us, remember what Plasma did! Black isn't your enemy: Team Plasma is!"
Aqua stopped as she recalled seeing a trainer and her pokémon murdered before her very eyes. It brought her no joy even now. She realised Zekrom's power had turned her against Black; it had twisted her ideals and strengthened them so badly she had switched sides. She quivered with horror at the treason she had almost committed, how easy she had been to turn to the side of evil. None of her friends had done anything like that; they had been strong enough to resist Zekrom, but Aqua hadn't. "Oh- oh no... I-I'm so sorry..."
Boreas firmly kissed her, bringing a moment of happiness to her. "He'll be alright, don't worry. I'm just happy you're well again." Aqua began to protest, to tell him she was far from well, but he looked her in the eyes and said: "I know this is hard, my love, but you can do it."
As she looked into his lovely cyan eyes while he spoke, she was filled with a new certainty that she could do it indeed. "You're right."
That certainty coalesced into a single ice-cold point on her forehead as she turned around again and fired an Ice Beam at the legendary dragon. It probably wasn't nearly as powerful as one of Boreas', but it was enough to make Zekrom roar in pain. Aqua took control of the ponds of water and crushed the black dragon between two powerful waves.
"You'll pay for that! You made me betray my friends!"she shouted furiously as she tried to drown Zekrom in a whirlpool.
A terrific shock made her convulse in agony, set her fur on edge and made the water on her skin boil. "THAT IS IDEAL."
"No, it bloody isn't!" she shouted as she fired Ice Beams at its head while making the water it was submerged in boil.
Zekrom struggled to escape and shocked her again. "IMPERFECT."
Aqua's body was smoking from the electrocutions by now, yet she kept attacking. "Yeah, I am! If I've shown any trait in my life well, it's imperfection!"
Zekrom's head emerged from the water, and Aqua aimed another Ice Beam for it, hurting Zekrom again. The terrible shock she received in return made her jump, every muscle in her body cramp, her fur stand up in spikes, smoking, and brought her near unconsciousness. Her legs twitching, she lay on the ground powerless as the water flowed away from Zekrom. Her eyes showed random and painful flashes of colour and she struggled against the heavy sleepiness that tried to pull her under.
"IT IS DEFEATED," stated Zekrom.
With her last strength, Aqua managed one last Ice Beam to her legendary opponent. "Sink into the depths," she spat defiantly before one last sharp pain turned everything black.

"Stop fooling yourself, pup! She finally showed her true colours!" snapped Lucius.
"Are you mad?!" argued Boreas. "Didn't you see how she fought to the end?"
"After she attacked Black! We all felt Zekrom's power, but none of us did that!"
"So she's-" Boreas began.
"Gentlemen!" interrupted Octa. "Cease your arguing, this doesn't help! Lucius, Black ordered you to fight, now go and do so!"
"Fine," grumbled Lucius. "I'll deal with the traitorous ***** later."
Boreas ignored Lucius as he began to fight Zekrom, focussing instead on helping Black – who fortunately wasn't hurt too much by Aqua's attack - nurse his unconscious girlfriend to health. "I do not like to agree with Lucius," said Octa softly, "but you have to concede he has a good point. None of us even came close to attacking Black, yet she did..."
Boreas forced himself to remain calm. "She was just overwhelmed by Zekrom's power, that's all... When I looked into her eyes, I saw only mad anger, nothing deliberate."
"My dear fellow, the extent of her anger shows it wasn't created solely by Zekrom. She clearly harboured ill feelings towards Black anyway; a clear indication she is his, and therefore our, enemy."
"Look, it's just some repressed feelings against all humanity for what they did to her."
"And what is that?" asked Octa.
Boreas remembered when Aqua had broken down in his embrace long ago in her burrow by the river and told him all about the human hunters who had killed her previous boyfriend. He was also certain she wouldn't want him to tell that to Octa; he was likely the only person that knew about it. "I can't tell you."
"Well, then it can't be of much importance."
"Leave it, Octa," said Toxica. "She's got a good reason to be angry, but you can trust her."
Octa sniffed. "Were that I could believe you." However, he turned his attention to the battle.
"Thanks," said Boreas.
Toxica nodded. "She told me a bit about her past. Not much, but enough to guess more. I hate to see those two bein' such tossbags to her... Oh, bugger." Lucius had been enveloped by a huge spherical ball of lightning after only getting off a few bites into his enemy. "I guess it's my turn, innit?"
"Good luck..." mumbled Aqua.
Boreas pet her face a little. "How are you feeling, love?"
"Like I've just committed treason and was then electrocuted..."
"It wasn't your fault, my love. It was Zekrom's power. It took your anger and gave you no choice-"
"But I did have a choice! I could've resisted it, but it seems betraying is just what I do... I shouldn't have joined your team, I'll only end up letting you down and hurting you..."
"No, Aqua," said Boreas, his face closer to her, "you won't. You're far braver and more loyal than you think."
Aqua gave him a disbelieving little smile.
"No, really, just wait and see. When it comes down to it, you're a far better person than you think. You fought Zekrom to the end. I believe in you, and so does Toxica."
Aqua averted her gaze and got up, looking at the battle. "Toxica seems to be doing well..."
Boreas nodded, allowing her to change the subject. Toxica was indeed doing well. She had been shocked several times, yet was still fighting, her plant tissues making her more resistant to electrocution. Zekrom was poisoned by a large cloud of toxic powder, getting weaker by the second. Massive bolts of electricity and energy were exchanged between Zekrom and Toxica. Though Toxica was more resistant to electricity than most, the shocks were powerful enough to weaken her quickly. She fired Solarbeam after Solarbeam at her poisoned opponent, but it just kept on shocking her, demonstrating its incredible power. Eventually Toxica stopped getting up after a shock, defeated.
"It's up to you, Selene." commanded Black, biting his nails nervously.
Boreas groaned. With Selene's type disadvantage, it was unlikely she could withstand even a single attack. Fortunately she flew right for Zekrom quickly, swooping around it so fast its first attacks missed. It tried to hit her as she spun rapidly around it, raining lightning bolts around randomly. Then Selene flew close to its tail, and it almost seemed like a powerful lightning bolt would fry her, but she made a sudden turn and with dark energy slightly bent the bolt's trail so it hit Zekrom's own tail.
Zekrom roared in anger and tried to physically punch Selene out of the air, but her movement was so quick it looked like she teleported away and Zekrom tripped clumsily. It got up, clearly weakened by the poison inside it, and spat thunderbolt after thunderbolt after Selene, who was moving quicker than Boreas had ever seen her do, seeming to be in multiple places at once, and never the same as Zekrom's attacks. Zekrom turned around and around to try and get her, but she was too swift, and Zekrom got clumsier each time, frequently hurting itself while the poison took its toll.
At last, Zekrom's tail flickered and it staggered weakly. "IMPERFECT."
"Tell me about it," said Selene before swooping down and slashing at Zekrom with wing and claw. Slowly the legendary creature toppled and fell with a titanic thud.
The flapping of Selene's wings as she landed in front of her team was the only sound in the tower. She looked at them for a moment before she was rushed by Toxica, picked up, and held in her arms. "You did it! You did it! You beat that thing, I can't believe it!"
Lucius laughed. "That thing was stupid enough to be beaten by you, huh, birdbrain? Whatever, you did really well."
They were all congratulating Selene for a while and only after that was over realised N had been standing still and wordless like a statue. Silence fell until at last he spoke:
"Everything's ruined..." he said in an empty voice. "The dreams I had... My ideals... They were false after all..."
"No, N!" interrupted Diego, recovered from his wounds in battle. "You can't say that, you know it's not true!"
"But it is!" said N desperately. "They defeated Zekrom, even without using Reshiram..."
"Well, that doesn't mean we're wrong, it just shows they're stronger!"
"...But you've always told me the winner of this battle was right. I was wrong, that's all there is to it... I guess it was wrong to liberate the pokémon..."
"You can't reject Team Plasma!"
"But we're wrong, this battle clearly shows it... Black, you won. That means you were right and I was wrong... Pokémon should belong to humans, I suppose..."
Black sighed. "N, have you ever considered we could both be right?"
N looked at Black like he'd asked him kindly to saw his legs off. "Of course not, that's preposterous."
"The world is a place with many colours; you should embrace its diversity, not paint it black and white. You were right that many humans treat pokémon as their property, or worse; and that's a bad thing. But forcibly liberating all pokémon to separate them entirely from humans is bad too."
N thought for a long time. "Well... Maybe... when I grew up, I only met pokémon that didn't like humans... But when I began my journey, I began meeting pokémon that liked humans, including yours. I couldn't understand it, even if Diego tried to help me understand it as he told me they were brainwashed... But now I see: you, my friend, were just as mistaken as I was! Some pokémon really do like humans, and so we should allow them to choose whether they want to be with humans or not instead of liberating them all. Thank you, Black."
"You're welcome."
"Well," said N. "We'll need to change things. I may no longer be Champion, but I am still Team Plasma's king. And I see now that it's time for peace. This war was terribly misguided, and the remaining trainers should be allowed to keep their pokémon, and others too; though we should make sure pokémon never again suffer at human hands. And we'll begin making peace right here. Diego."
"Yes?!" Diego startled, having looked lost in thought during N's speech.
"This enmity between you and Boreas ends now. We're all friends now, so I want you to shake his paw and forgive him."
"Good idea," said Black. "Boreas, I know he's hurt you in the past, but you have to forgive and forget now. Shake his paw."
"But-" started Boreas.
"There's no way-" began Diego.
"I can't possibly-"
"Are you insane?"
"He tried to kill Aqua!"
"I'm not shaking his paw!"
"I won't forgive!"
"You can't make us-"
"Please, Diego!" pleaded N. "It's over now. Do it for the peace we'll build."
"Come on, Boreas," said Black. "N and I made up, now you have to do the same. This is our chance to end this war."
Boreas and Diego stared into each other's face. Boreas still hated him. He was no longer planning to kill the Zoroark, but he had no intention to forgive either. "Fine!" snapped Diego, taking steps forward, his paw extended.
Now Boreas didn't feel he could refuse; that would make him be less forgiving than Diego. "Hmpf, alright then." He placed his paw into Diego's. Diego squeezed far harder than he needed to and Boreas chilled Diego's paw down very rapidly, but they shook paws grudgingly before rapidly retracting them, trying not to wince in pain from what the other had done.
"Excellent!" laughed N. "Aqua, my friend, looks like you were right after all. I'm sorry for doubting you."
"That's alright," smiled Aqua. "I guess you've finally come to your senses now."
"Well," said N happily. "Why don't you go get Reshiram, and then we'll address Unova together, as Team Plasma's king and the Champion, and tell everyone it's time to stop hunting pokémon trainers. It's time we made peace."
"No, it isn't."
From each of the rear entrances to the throne room came one of the seven Sages, their entire teams with them, each with a single, mighty addition. Rood's fire-types were joined by a Salamence, ferocious and powerful. Gorm's water-types had been joined by a kinder-looking, but no less powerful, Dragonite. Bronius now had a Tyranitar, mightiest of all rock-types, and Giallo a cold, robotic Metagross added to his steel-types. Among Ryoku's grass-type ranks was a mighty, shark-like Garchomp, and Zinzolin's poison-types had a Hydreigon with them.
Ghetsis was the only one of them whose addition Boreas didn't recognised as a pokémon of almost legendary power. It was a strange, grey and blue creature with a vaguely draconic head; it seemed to be hunched over. It seemed a weird, almost pitiable thing, yet it frightened Boreas. Somehow it reminded Boreas of Reshiram and Zekrom, even though it seemed more like the antithesis of the powerful pokémon.
Boreas could've sworn he saw Diego flinch, looking almost pained for a moment, as the Sages entered, almost surrounding them.
 
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