Allowing Hugh give himself up to the Triad was probably the hardest decision I ever had to make. Choosing to trust N, giving Illie to Hilbert, expressing my stance on letting members of Neo Plasma live, all of that paled in comparison to sending one of my closest friends off to what might've been his death. I made him promise that he'd let us help him, and I was determined that he'd keep that promise.

   But even while most of me was sincerely regretting my own decision, part of me told me otherwise. In some way, letting him face the Triad still adhered to that promise though it was in an unconventional way. It didn't matter now, I let him choose. All I could do now was hope that Hugh was right, and that he would live.

When we exited the cave, I swore that we had entered a different world. We now stood in what resembled a craggy snow-covered mountain with its center viciously clawed out by some force more powerful than Arceus himself. A hastily-built staircase led down to the chasm floor which consisted of dead grass, flattened trees, and ice. Oh, so much ice.

It was everywhere. It coated most of the ground and chasm walls. It looked as if huge waves of water had been frozen in midair, the great swells curled in on themselves slightly, dripping water frozen into sharp daggers that glinted in the dying light. They radiated out from a singular point in the Giant Chasm's very center where it looked as though something spherical had been resting in a hollowed-out spot in the ground. It was like an explosion occurred in that place, and the resulting shockwaves were frozen in their endeavor to escape the chasm's depths. It would have been beautiful if it weren't for what was on the chasm's far side.

Ice crystals resembling the ones in Opelucid City littered the chasm floor near a large cave entrance from which numerous spikes of ice spread out across the ground. The crystals weren't placed randomly, they were lined up in almost perfect five by four rows. There were twenty in total, standing like guards protecting something sacred. I got chills from looking at them, both from the cold and the overall vibe they gave off. I had the feeling that the crystals were formed recently, and they made me uneasy. Like the cavern we left behind, there was nobody in sight, Neo Plasma or Pokémon.

"What is this..?" N gasped in a mixture of intrigue and confusion as he took in the frigid display. "Okay everyone, I don't have the slightest clue of what's going on here. But whatever you do, don't let your guards down under any circumstances." We cautiously proceeded down the stairs and made our way to the second cave. As we were passing the centermost row of ice crystals, I took a moment to examine one of them.

The crystal was nearly six feet tall and deep blue in color with occasional white patches where snow was stuck to it. I looked closer at it and noticed that there was a oddly-shaped shadow in the ice. I hesitantly wiped away the frost and let out a scream at what I saw.

I stumbled back from the crystal, bumping into both Rosa and Hilbert. The moment I made contact with them my legs gave out from beneath me and I collapsed. Hilbert managed to catch me before I hit the ground. I faintly heard them questioning me about what happened. I refused to believe what I had seen. It couldn't be real, it was impossible! But I couldn't deny it.

   It had been person, a Neo Plasma grunt to be more exact. He had been frozen in the ice, unblinking, unmoving, and very dead.

   My mind felt jumbled, and my vision swam in and out of focus while dark spots began to form in my peripheries. I felt as if I were on the verge of passing out, and I was sure I had when everything abruptly went black.

~*~*~*~

I awoke to Rosa shaking me, Bianca kneeling beside her. Rosa's words were muddled and I couldn't understand a thing she was saying. Then everything snapped back into focus and my sight cleared. Rosa noticed this and pulled me into her arms, saying how glad she was that I was okay. I hugged her back, burying my face in her coat and trying not to cry from how scared I was.

"I can't believe it, I can't believe it," I muttered. "There was a person, it had been a person, oh Arceus!" I groaned, hugging my sister tighter. Bile welled up in my throat, and I was sure I was going to be sick.

"It's okay, you're okay," Rosa soothed me, her own voice was trembling, but it was more steady than mine. "Deep breaths, alright? In, and out. In, and out." I followed her instructions, trying to steady my breathing. In time, I had calmed down some.

"I can't blame you for your reaction," I heard Hilbert say from off to the side. I shakily looked up and over to see that he and N were examining the crystal along with N's twin Zoroark. Hilbert was staring in horrified awe at the Neo Plasma grunt while N looked to be almost entranced with what he was seeing. He delicately ran his hand over the ice, his fingers following the barely visible swirls buried within the frozen water.

"Entombed for all eternity, frozen in time... While not ideal when it comes to my standards, it serves as a nice dose of irony, doesn't it?" N seemed to say to the grunt. I saw his reflection in the ice and he was smiling that twisted grin he had when he was threatening the grunts in Opelucid. I felt myself growing sick again, and I forced myself to look away.

"What are you talking about?" Hilbert asked, tearing his eyes away from the grunt's corpse.

"Hm?" N turned and his smile faded. "I'm saying how ironic this is. Trying to control the Warder of Ice only to have it be your end. I can't be the only one who thinks this."

"No, you're right. It's just odd how you phrased it," Hilbert said with a nod. "It's hard take in that a single Legendary has this much power. It makes me a little worried to be honest!"

"Don't be worried. I'm bringing the Fire, you have the Ground, and Rosa has Ice. If we end up fighting Black Kyurem, we'll have every type advantage." A faint roar then echoed from within the cave, and a cloud of powdered snow rushed outwards.

"The longer we stay out here, the longer Ghetsis has to use the Splicers," Hilbert said. "We can expect to see Ghetsis, Zinzolin, and possibly Drayden."

"What about that liar Colress?" Rosa asked, scowling.

"More than likely," Hilbert said with a grimace, as if hearing Colress' name brought up bad memories. "We... we'd better hurry. Design is counting on me, I know it."

   "Are you sure you want to do this?" Rosa asked me, concerned.

   "Of course!" I said. "I-I can't just give up now. Hugh's facing his fears, and it'd be an insult to him if I didn't face mine."

   Rosa nodded acceptingly, smiling. "Alright, then." And without another moment's hesitation, we entered of what was probably Neo Team Plasma's inner sanctum.

It was another tunnel, big shocker there, except that this once was a great deal wider than the others back in the main system. White mist hung in the air and sheets of ice coated every surface. I didn't think it could get any colder than it already was, but it somehow did. I tucked my beyond numb hands into my pockets, hoping that the slight warmth my body gave off would keep them from freezing.

More of the oversized ice crystals stood along the walls of the tunnels, and the figures within were visible to the eye. There were so many that I couldn't count them all. It was clear that the remaining members of the rouge splinter team were now among their drowned comrades. The mist plumed in and out, being sucked in towards the tunnel's end and flowing back outwards rhythmically. Its resemblance to air being drawn in and out of frostbitten lungs more than uncanny. The utter lack of noise made it even worse. We only heard the roar once, then there was nothing.

Finally, we left the tunnel and entered the largest cavern we'd come across yet. In the cavern's enter stood who I recognized as the leader of Neo Plasma, Ghetsis, along with Zinzolin, Colress, and Drayden. However, they weren't what caught my attention first.

The huge gray and ice-blue Legendary Dragon I'd seen in the skies above Opelucid loomed menacingly over the group of four. Its head was covered by a steel mask of sorts with a long gap that let its hollow yellow eyes peer out from the confines of its metal prison. Through the amount of intimidation I experienced from seeing it so close, I felt an odd sense of pity. It was the most dysfunctional creature I had ever seen. Everything from its tiny arms, to its gnarled wings, to its lopsided figure made it look like it shouldn't even be alive. It then slowly, painfully, turned its head to our quintet, and the four people turned to us as well.

"It's you four! Get out of here while you still—!" Drayden yelled to us, only to be cut off when a blue frog-like Pokémon held one of its spike-adorned wrists to his neck.

"It's far too late for that, Leader Drayden," Ghetsis said. "If any of you try to leave or intervene, Toxicroak won't hesitate to attack him," Ghetsis told us. "Give up." And that was what we had to do. It was either that or forfeit Drayden's life.

"Look who decided to show up," Zinzolin said. "N, the freak without a human heart, some lost lab Rattata trying to be a hero, the little girl who'd lost her Munna, and don't forget the two pests who never stay out of other people's business. Where's the third one, pests?" the Plasma Sage addressed Rosa and me. "The boy with black hair who can't keep his mouth shut, where is he?"

Rosa and I didn't say a thing. They knew where Hugh was, they were just trying to taunt us, and we weren't going to let them. The anger I felt for them sending the Triad after us was the one thing keeping fear and panic from taking over. I now knew why Hugh hated being afraid so much, it could ruin your chances of survival, no matter how slim.

"I suspect that the Shadow Triad is entertaining him at this current moment," Colress said. "Your timing really is impeccable. You decide to show your faces right when Drayden has finished instructing me on how to use the DNA Splicers. Perhaps this time, they'll work properly, and won't have to deal with another accident. Now you can witness the creation of something that will end everything Unova has ever worked for. A creature that is able to raze the land with both Ice," he removed a purple Poké Ball from his lab coat pocket, "and Electricity."

"Design!" Hilbert gasped. He almost ran, but another twitch from Toxicroak kept him in place.

"It will be beautiful. Wait and see, Hero of Ideals. A world of ice and electricity will be so much better than this one," Zinzolin said, his eyes glittering with excitement.

"Where did I go wrong? This didn't turn out anything like I had planned," N muttered through gritted teeth.

"Then you should have planned your attack better. If you hadn't rushed so much, perhaps you wouldn't be in this situation," Colress laughed. "Too bad! If you're lucky, you'll meet the fate of those who couldn't handle Kyurem's power. Consider yourselves fortunate, Unova does get quite hot during the summer months."

A fearful whimper escaped me at the thought of being frozen like the Neo Plasma grunts. Eyes wide in horror, blood frozen in its veins, heartbeat nonexistent... I suddenly wanted nothing to do with any of this, that I had never heard the name Neo Team Plasma in the first place. For all the times I tried to act brave in front of others, I couldn't even attempt it now. I already had a brush with death on the Frigate, and I managed to get over it, so why couldn't I do it now? I shamefully hung my head in order to hide my face and the look of terror scrawled across it.

"It's going to be okay, Nate. We'll be fine!" Rosa tried comforting me. I looked up at her to see her smiling at me gently. How was she able to do it? Even while afraid, she still managed to act brave. I had to, I knew I had to. For her sake. I raised my head and nodded, clenching my fists. For her.

"Are the Splicers ready, Colress?" Ghetsis asked.

The scientist nodded. "Yes, Ghetsis. May we begin?"

"Yes, you may."

Colress held a triangular-shaped chunk of metal in each of his hands, they looked like the Splicers had been compressed into singular pieces of metal. He pressed the topaz gem on top of the compressed Splicers and they became surrounded with a purple aura. The Splicers then somehow began to levitate, and they floated from Colress' hand to Kyurem. The Splicers positioned themselves over Kyurem's jagged wings, still glowing. They then extended out into their more familiar versions and spun slowly in midair above Kyurem. With ungodly speed, the Splicers shot downwards, plunging into Kyurem's wings. The loud clatter of breaking stone occurred, and Kyurem's wings broke apart, the blue shards scattering the cave. It seemed that Kyurem never had wings at all.

What took the place of Kyurem's uneven wings were two appendages that looked like thick gray cords with a plug-like growth attached to the ends. Kyurem let out a piercing roar, and with a gut-wrenching sound akin to both shattering ice and breaking bones, the monstrous Dragon stood upright. Its masked head now nearly scraped the cave ceiling, its gray "cords" sticking straight out from its sides. These new visual changes made it appear more freakish than it had previously.

"Amazing! I never knew Kyurem could look this spectacular!" Zinzolin gasped. I didn't even want to address how messed-up that phrase was.

"Now for the main event." Colress held up Design's Poké Ball and released him into the cave. The cave so large that having both Legendary Dragons in it didn't seem to affect the remaining space. The disoriented black Dragon glanced around frantically, not knowing where in the world he was.

"Kyurem! Return Zekrom to its dormant form, return it to the Dark Stone!" Ghetsis commanded, slamming his cane onto the ground. Before Design could notice Kyurem, its cords rushed at Zekrom, slamming into his sides. The cords generated purple lightning that enveloped Design in an indigo flare. Within seconds, Design was shrinking and losing all shape. Kyurem soon held a black sphere between its cords, retaining only Design's color and nothing else.

"D-Design... no..." Hilbert whimpered. "I was supposed to protect you..."

"It's too late for that, former Hero of Ideals!" Ghetsis said mockingly. "Kyurem, absorb Zekrom! Use Absofusion!"

The purple light around the Dark Stone quickly grew from bright to blinding, forcing me to shut my eyes or risk going blind. For nearly a minute, there was nothing but the light and the distinct sounds of crackling electricity. When the light died down I slowly opened my eyes and was greeted with a sight that bordered on both amazing and horrifying.

The creature before all of us had the same body shape as Design, but its arms, one blue and one black, were oversized and reached the all the way to the ground. Its reformed wings looked like Design's except that they were more jagged and were black and ice-blue. Its black, cone-shaped tail was twisted unnaturally and dull-colored wires extended from it to its back. For some reason, its face was the most interesting sight to me. Because its mask broke, I could now see what its face looked like. It looked as if Design and Kyurem's head were smashed together, leaving it with gray shards bordering its dark-colored face. Set above its maw of protruding white fangs was a pair of yellow eyes that had snow-white pupils.

"I never knew Pokémon were capable of fusing like this..!" N gasped.

"You moronic boy, any tool can be combined with another so long as you use the correct adhesive! I couldn't weld you into the tool I wanted, so I suppose I'll have to use this amalgamation to rule Unova with an iron fist!" Ghetsis laughed. He seemed to be reveling in his "accomplishment," but his sadistic joy was immediately cut off by a single question.

"Colress, why did the mask break?" Zinzolin asked quietly.

"I... I don't know, it wasn't supposed to..." Colress responded, confused. "This isn't good. Without my device, it is no longer under our control!"

"What?! How can it not be under our control? You said that the mask was incapable of breaking!" Ghetsis said in disbelief.

"I am telling you, it can't be controlled! The amount of energy given off during the fusion was too much for the mask to handle. It has its free will back!"

"What kind of madness are you speaking? Pokemon don't have any semblance of free will!" Ghetsis argued.

"Then how come it's getting ready to attack right now?" N said with a smile. He pointed to the Dragon behind his supposed father who was smiling down at Ghetsis wickedly.

Ghetsis dodged out of the way just as Black Kyurem let loose a blast of ice laced with electricity. "You're supposed to listen to me, you beast!" he yelled, his tone for once sounding uncertain. Drayden took advantage of the confusion and made his way to us.

   "I'm sorry, but I can't help you. They took my Altaria and the rest of my team is in Opelucid," he apologized.

   Black Kyurem ignored the Neo Plasma leader's shout and began plodding towards us. It wasn't looking at us though. Its gaze was fixed on the tunnel behind us.

"Everyone, send out your Pokémon and attack!" Hilbert commanded. "We can't let Black Kyurem escape the chasm!"

"No you won't! I've dedicated the last two years of my life to achieve this goal, and I won't let you take it from me!" Ghetsis objected. "Even if I'm not the one controlling it, I'll see to it that Unova will be frozen solid!"

This guy's utterly insane! He thinks that he can win this! "We won't let you do this, Ghetsis! You'll have to go through all of us!" I sent out my entire team, all fully evolved, fully healed, and absolutely raring to battle. This triggered everybody to send out their own Pokémon, all with the exception of N who had only his two Zoroark and Dream.

"Is that a challenge? Then I accept. Just try to stop me. Neo Team Plasma will reign supreme for all time!" Ghetsis sent out a team of mixed type Pokémon while Zinzolin had a team of Ice-types and Colress had Psychic and Electric-types. All looked formidable and ready to attack.

"Everyone, let's do this!" Bianca piped up suddenly. "For Unova!"

"For Unova!!" the rest of us echoed.

This is for you, Hugh, I thought as I ordered my team to attack. I won't lose this battle, and you better not lose yours!