Chapter Nineteen – The Found Ones

Ghetsis and the last Shadow each had more fight left in them than N and Cheren combined. That was what N could infer, at least, in the two seconds of peace before the fight began again. If N thought he was exhausted, worn out from his tears and his heartache, then the fact that Cheren was even standing was astounding.

He realized that Cheren had brought the police along to help, too, but he also knew that Cheren's lack of comment of N's decision to have the Golbat protect the officers was silent consent—this battle belonged to N and to Cheren.

Well, it belonged to Rosa, too… and N felt a lurch in his stomach thinking about her. If she wasn't here with them, then where was she?

In progress, the Shadow had said when Ghetsis asked if they took care of Rosa.

No… he didn't exactly have time to concern himself with those negative thoughts, nor did he have any time to ask Cheren if she was okay. All he could do was hope that Rosa was fine and that she hadn't met the same fate as Hilda. Cheren would fill him in on everything he needed to know once the battle was said and done.

Of course, N wasn't much of a battler, and Ghetsis, as a trainer, was stronger. He felt guilty enough as it was asking those Golbat to help him, though the fact that they responded to his whistle on the way over to this cavern reassured him that he was still trustworthy to Pokémon. But he didn't ask them to sacrifice themselves for him—they had taken it upon themselves to create the barrier between N and Ghetsis's and the Shadow's Pokémon.

But now, he was essentially alone. Cheren would take on the Shadow, though it was likely that his battle would conclude shortly. Until then, though? N would have to take on his father in what would hopefully be the final showdown.

N couldn't redeem Ghetsis. No matter how much he wished that the end to all of this might be happy, the probability of the opposite spoke louder than words.

It wasn't even probability anymore… it was fact. Ghetsis didn't want to be saved—he didn't want to be redeemed.

N inhaled slowly, turning his eyes for just a moment on Cheren, who already had his Stoutland tackling one of the Shadow's Bisharp. A second Pokémon, an Arcanine—no, that had to belong to Rosa—growled at Cheren's side, but he held a hand out to stop it from attacking. Both Pokémon, N noted, could sense Cheren's exhaustion, which only made them want to fight even harder for him.

Turning his gaze away from his opponent was a mistake. N was barely facing forward again before he was knocked to the ground. He curled up into a ball, holding his stomach and struggling to find his breath. Cheren called his name, but N's ears were ringing so loudly that he wasn't sure that Cheren spoke at all.

He managed to roll over onto his knees, and he lifted his head enough to see the weakened Hydreigon charging for another attack. N didn't have much time.

"Forgive me… for using you… but please… Ice Beam," he breathed, letting one of the Poké Balls fall from his hand and roll along the floor.

Abomasnow made it out in time, but its attack met Hydreigon's and exploded. The air turned cool and hazy, enough so that N couldn't see Cheren until the icy mist settled on the ground. Hydreigon, who had already been weakened by Cheren's Stoutland, was barely able to keep itself in the air, and Ghetsis didn't miss this.

"Useless!" he hissed, and his eyes flickered to the Cofagrigus waiting behind Hydreigon. "Don't just wait! Get him!"

It was clear from the very beginning that Ghetsis had no intentions of really battling—all he wanted was N's head hung on a wall. There was no chance of him fighting fair, not like he had in the past; it hadn't worked well for him then. Hilda and Rosa both showed him up. Now, in this last chance, it was all or nothing.

N glanced over at Cheren again—one of the Shadow's Bisharp had taken out the Stoutland, and the gym leader had sent out his Watchog to fight.

He'd have to fight fair. It was only right, at the very least stupid, but Hilda would've fought fair, too.

"Abomasnow." N faced his battle again. "Use Ice Beam again, please."

There was no way the attack would hit both enemies, but he only needed to get rid of one for now. As Cofagrigus launched a Shadow Ball at N, Abomasnow shot off an Ice Beam at Hydreigon. N didn't see the attack, though. He pushed himself up and into a wall, glancing back where the ghost-type attack hit some of the Golbat.

Ghetsis's roar of frustration confirmed Hydreigon's defeat. His most powerful Pokémon was down, but that didn't mean that it was a sure-fire victory—even less so as Ghetsis, with a crazed and desperate throw, released the remainder of his team onto the battlefield: a Drapion and a Toxicroak. But that only brought the total to four.

"Nothing else?" N wondered in a slightly taunting tone, which shocked himself that he could manage it at all.

Ghetsis's eye practically burned, reflecting the light from the torches on the wall. "The rest couldn't cut it."

Perhaps it was due to naïveté that this made N's stomach lurch again. It wasn't really unlike Ghetsis to say something so rash, but the words hit like punches. What happened to those other Pokémon, or were they now free from the chains Ghetsis made them hold? Somehow, the latter seemed too fantastical a thought.

This is no time to be noble, N thought, and he released two more of his Pokémon a little reluctantly. He could fight fair and lose, or he could equal the playing field and have a chance. Guilt lingered in the back of his head that he wasn't playing by the rules, like Cheren, but this was all he could do to stop Ghetsis from walking out of here a free man.

His Abomasnow, Ninetales, and Armaldo fended off Ghetsis's Cofagrigus, Drapion, and Toxicroak, and all of their thoughts and desires overflowed. N's friends wouldn't let him down—they understood what was at stake here.

Abomasnow, weakened from the ongoing battle, was the first to fall. "I'm so sorry," N told it as it disappeared back into its Poké Ball. "But thank you for helping me."

Ghetsis, now one stronger in number than N, moved frantically. As the Pokémon battled, he paced back and forth, barking order after order. But in his head, he wasn't winning—N was still standing, his heart still beating, and victory only came when his body hit the floor.

"Ninetales, Fire Blast!"

Cofagrigus, who had continued shooting off attacks towards N, fell with Ninetales's fiery hit. But neither Drapion nor Toxicroak waivered as they shifted their focus to N—with such an aggressive display, how was one supposed to survive?

Armaldo moved into range, taking the attacks from the two opponents. Another teammate down… another Pokémon who put itself in jeopardy to save a human. This was why N found battling so cruel—he had to request the aid of those Golbat; his friends, his teammates, protected him. How was this fair? He couldn't protect them.

Reshiram could help him… but Reshiram wasn't here.

"Ghetsis," N began, "please just surrender. No one else needs to get hurt."

"Shut your mouth. Stop with that damn innocence of yours," Ghetsis growled back, his voice thick and raspy. "I want to see the hatred in your eyes as the light fades from them."

There was another barrage of attacks, but Ninetales shot some flames of her own to counter them. The battle resumed to full power, and Drapion was the next to fall. Ghetsis's body shook, and the tremor moved through his whole body as he hung his head.

But when he looked back up, his uncovered eye spoke more terrifying words than his mouth ever could.

Ghetsis was going to lose. Ninetales was more sure of that than N was, but as she fired one final flame at Toxicroak, N could see the end of the battle. He held his breath and looked over at Cheren, whose battle was surprisingly still ongoing. The Shadow had a single Pokémon left, but he, unlike Ghetsis, appeared calm.

And there had to be a reason for that calm. The Banette that Cheren's Cinccino was trying to parry abandoned its foe, and with movements as swifts as those of its master, it made a dive towards N with a zippered grin on its face.

The Golbat that had been protecting the policemen from the explosions of battle moved just as fast as that Banette, owing to the instincts that N didn't quite have. Even Cheren stood in awe as the swam of a dozen Golbats surrounded the Banette, and in a moment, the ghost, too, hit the ground. He could hardly fathom the trust that these wild Pokémon put in N—but he knew that, somehow, N deserved it.

Ninetales moved before N could stop her. It growled at Ghetsis, getting close enough that Ghetsis took steps back until he was against the wall. Out of the corner of N's eye, he could see Cheren approaching the Shadow with the support of some policemen not too far away. But could anyone say if this battle was won?

N walked towards Ghetsis and put his hand on Ninetales's head. Ghetsis was the only one now baring teeth.

"We could have been happy. You could have been my father—I could have been your son. But you were the one with a warped perception of reality. You made the choice to turn me into a tool." N leaned closer to Ghetsis, and the man let his eye wander from N's face. Coward. "If things had gone differently… I think you could have been someone who brought meaning into my life. But all the meaning my life had with you… all of that was false. The one who let me have the chance to find myself, the way I wanted, was Hilda."

"And now she's rotting like she deserves," Ghetsis spat back.

He reached a hand up towards N's throat, but the young man smacked it away. Shocked at his own reaction, N's eyes widened, but he didn't back down.

"You're deplorable. I understand that you were not the one to kill Hilda, but that you think she deserves death makes you just as guilty of the crime." N's eyes watered, and he faltered now—he never intended to show weakness in front of Ghetsis.

But then he remembered what he thought earlier—Ghetsis was the one who believed tears signaled weakness. Hilda believed strength came as a result of them.

Hers was the only opinion that mattered now.

"I'm still learning what it means to have a human heart and to feel human emotions…" he started, and the first tear slipped down his cheek. His voice cracked as he continued. "But I know now what it feels to have a heart broken. So let that be your only solace in your pitiable life. You got at least that much from me."

The police grabbed Ghetsis, like the Shadow, and spun him around to face the wall. N couldn't bring himself to watch. In fact, it was only as they pulled him and the Shadow away that N finally opened his eyes again.

"I want to talk," Cheren told him, standing close beside N. "But I'm too tired. Do you mind if we get out of here first?"

N leaned against the wall of the cave and sighed. "Lead the way."

The Castelia General Hospital saw a peak in patients that day. With the admittance of half of the police force who had undertaken the challenge of going into the sewers—including Mallory and his two teammates, who the Shadow had critically injured but not killed—and three injured young adults, most of the critical units wing was filled.

Luckily, N's admittance was a short one. He was the first of the three to be discharged and the first of the three to be interrogated about Hilda, something for which he was not prepared.

"The DNA tests have begun, but results do take awhile. However, based on the age of the body and most of the other evidence currently available, I think it's fair to say that the body does belong to Champion Hilda. I already informed her mother, and based on what Cheren told me, it's only fair that you be the second to know," the woman who came to see him, someone named Avani, told him. "And don't worry: the men who are responsible for her death will be in prison for the rest of their lives. I can guarantee that."

What N said to Ghetsis back in the cave was true. His heart was broken. He opened his heart to Hilda, something that he didn't even know he could do in the first place. How was it possible now that he could ever mend the hole left behind by her death?

But, regardless of that hole, his heart still beat. And N had been particular about his wording earlier. Ghetsis gave N's life false meaning—Hilda gave N the opportunity to find his own meaning in life.

He would recover. And even if that hole never mended completely—and how could it when Hilda was someone so special in his life?—that heart would keep beating.

N considered leaving again. Cheren and Rosa would be free from him, just as they were now free of Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad. But he also realized that his regret now was leaving when Hilda asked him to stay. Sure, he found himself. But was Hilda's death worth betraying her feelings, even if he hadn't understood then?

He was halfway out the door when he turned back around and walked to Cheren's room. Reshiram would understand and wait a little longer—it was satisfied enough just seeing him when he walked out of the sewers with Cheren.

"Thank goodness!"

The words were followed by touch. Rosa pressed herself against him, holding onto him so firmly that it seemed possible she might never let him go. One of her arms, though, was wrapped and pulled up into a sling, but that didn't stop her from hugging N any less tightly. It was her lack of hesitance that made N hold her back.

"Rosa, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for making you come," N offered, and Rosa shook her head as she backed away and sat on the edge of Cheren's bed.

"Cheren told me that Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad, save for one, are all in jail without bail right now. The world is safer now. But…" Rosa paused and glanced down at her arm in the sling. "There are things cannot be unseen. I've been having nightmares every night. I just want them to stop, and I can't make them… and Cheren…"

She looked to the dark-haired young man now, and N slumped into one of the chairs. Cheren, though, rolled his eyes. Now that he had managed to get some significant sleep and some nutrients in his system, the world seemed clearer and better.

"I can't eat," Cheren explained. "They're trying to wean me off liquid meals at the moment, but I can't seem to keep any food down."

N considered now that he might have left to spare the two their miseries. How was it fair that the two endured such pain, and N made it out relatively unscathed? It was only his heart that ached now, and who knew how long that would last?

"I'm sorry," N repeated.

"Don't be. We wouldn't have known if we didn't go looking, and it's better to have closure than know nothing at all," Cheren said, his voice wavering slightly. Perhaps he was stronger than N in that regard. "Of course, I also have a feeling we walked into the Shadow Triad's trap. I think they would've moved sooner otherwise, don't you think? They were waiting for us to come looking. And, from what Rosa said of your bargain, it was important that you turn yourself in."

"Yes, I think so, too. Though I never really intended on doing that…" N added, rubbing his chin with the tip of his thumb. "It was my fault that I believed that they would truly let the two of you go by handing myself over to them."

Rosa touched the elbow of her arm in the sling, and everything she felt then reminded her of how much worse things could have been. "They took advantage of us—they outwitted us. It wasn't that they were stronger… they just had this whole thing planned out way ahead of time, and we moved exactly like they wanted us to."

The three sat in silence for a little while, the constant beeping of Cheren's heart monitor like a soothing lullaby to them. The silence of the sewers had been unnerving, and to have some background noise now made it a little bit better. But even N had asked the nurse to keep a light on last night when he slept.

"N." Cheren's voice cracked on that single syllable, that one letter, and N pulled his legs up on the chair. He had been taught to sit properly when he grew up at the castle, and to sit like this now created a pleasant dissonance in his mind, if that was even possible. "I still want to talk to you about something. About Hilda. We need to talk." Rosa stood from Cheren's bed, but he waved her back down. "You can stay, too."

Rosa sunk back down, but she didn't say anything; N just couldn't bring himself to speak.

"I know that this must be difficult for you—if anyone knows and understands that, I do. I'm empathizing, not just sympathizing," Cheren explained, tone as somber as the words. "I loved Hilda, too."

Rosa's head sunk a little, but it wasn't disrespectful or even that noticeable. It was just a little dip of the head—a little dip that meant that she knew Cheren wouldn't return her affections soon if at all, but she understood, too. And she was going to keep quiet on those feelings for as long as necessary, until the wounds healed into scars and faded.

N, on the other hand, lifted his head. It wasn't that he didn't know—human emotions were sometimes too blatant. But hearing those words reminded him of the power of expression the emotions out loud.

"I just want you to know that I'm the one who is sorry. I know this is belated, but Hilda's death made me realize something," Cheren continued. "I've been rude to you ever since I met you, and many times it was unfounded. I continued to be rude even after Hilda told me not to be because you only wanted to help. I continued to be rude again after it became obvious that this was the case—beyond words. So, I'm sorry. I'd rather be your friend than your enemy."

"Oh…" N was innocent as always, in on things at the last minute. "I thought we were friend already. I guess I'm still naïve."

The three laughed dryly and awkwardly, though the sound was short-lived. To laugh without Hilda here—without her here—didn't seem right. But they were going to have to learn to live again because it was too late to go back and change things.

"I know Hilda wasn't around these past three years, but she was always still there." N sighed. What would it be like to be set free now? "It's different knowing that she's not coming back, and I'm not sure I can explain what that pain feels like. I've never felt this way before. But don't you… think that it confirms I'm human?"

"You've always been human. Pain just reminds us that we're alive," Rosa said, running her fingers over the thin sheets on Cheren's bed. "If it hurts, good. That means you can keep going."

Keep going? N wanted to keep going. Hilda would want him to keep going! But that was easier said than done.

"How?"

They all pondered this for a moment. They each had their hurdles to overcome. Rosa would need to move past the violence she faced in the sewers; Cheren and N would need to move on from Hilda's death, each in their own ways. But how did they keep going when they could barely tread water as they were now?

"I think… we remember what she stood for," Cheren offered. "N, she helped you find your own path, right? Keep walking down that path. And I'll keep aiming to become as strong as I can—strength for myself, like she taught me. It won't be easy, and it won't be immediate. But…"

N nodded, pulling his knees against his chest. This devastated him—he couldn't forget. He couldn't very well just get up and keep walking. Cheren was right—it would take time to make it that far. But for now, a single step forward was a step forward at all. Hilda would want him to live, and she would want him to keep moving forward.

"What's the probability of feeling whole again?" N asked.

Cheren exchanged a quick look with Rosa. "Well, it's called loss for a reason. We've lost something we can't get back. So, whole? Zero percent. But the probability of feeling better is one hundred. Someday. Weird how a heart can weigh so heavy when it's lost so much…"

Rosa stood up again and put her hand over Cheren's. She nodded at him, but he could only stare in response. Then, walking around the bed, she stood in front of N and put her hand over his, too.

"She loves you," she told them both, the tense a conscious choice. "She wants you to smile. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But how about the day after?"

N stared at Rosa for a moment without saying anything before looking over at Cheren. "The day after?" he repeated, and Rosa nodded. Cheren, too, brought himself to nod.

The world was safe again, at least from Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad. Avani assured him that they'd be in jail for the rest of their lives. N's life was up to him now. Whatever he wanted to do, he could do. So, if he wanted to smile again, he believed that Hilda would give him permission as fast as she could offer it.

N nodded, too, and then, with some effort, smiled. "I'll do you two days better."

Author's Note: I want to thank everyone who has stuck around and read this whole story, even through my little bump in the road in the middle. I can't say it was the best thing I've ever written (I probably left some loose ends), but it was a good experience going back to third-person. (Although it might have confirmed that I prefer first-person narratives.)

Next time you'll see fanfiction from me, it'll be (one-shots) after ORAS comes out.

In the meantime, feel free to follow me on Figment if you're interested in reading the original story I'll be working on for NaNoWriMo starting November 1st. The link to my page is on my profile and the story is called "Until Tomorrow Ends".