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The noise was overpowering, the yelling, the sound of pokemon cries, the destruction. All in the cold, freezing Giant Chasm, face to face.
“You know what happened was your fault, right Cheren?” stated Bianca, her brown eyes staring daggers at him.
Cheren stared back at the blonde.
“Rosa, Rosa you need to get out of here!” begged Cheren, looking over at his frozen student, trembling as she watched her teacher and Hilda’s struggle against Ghetsis and his team of Pokemon. Kyurem’s were so loud, all as it fought against the Reshiram Hilda had been ordering from the ground, and N atop his Zekrom.
Even Keldeo, who might as well have been as young and as small as Rosa, trembled, looking up at its trainer asking what to do.
Cheren couldn’t focus on the battle at hand, just at his hyperventilating student, who could only breathe and cry and stare off into the distance as she held on to the DNA splicers, the one she herself stole back, like her life depended on it. “Rosa please, listen to your teacher for once!”
She didn't though, dropping the DNA splicers and moving to cover her ears, all as she shrieked.
How could he ever not know what happened was his fault. The sight of their shared childhood friend frozen in the ice of Kyurem in the middle of a castle. It may not have been him who told Kyurem to do it, but it was him who incited Hilbert in the first place.
A sacrifice, an ultimate act of love, in his name, one who did not deserve it. One who stepped on his friend and their friendship and tossed him to the wolves for a promise of strength and his name to be revered across the world.
One promised to him by the devil himself. Strength at the promise of betrayal of his thorn in his side.
Strength that promised his friend would never leave him behind, just as he knew the rest of the world will.
A loud noise grabbed Cheren’s attention, turning his gaze back to the battle at hand. “Odyssey!” he cried, his Bouffalant being thrown off to the side by Ghetsis’s Seismitoad. He pulled out his pokeball, returning the poor cat pokemon to safety.
He turned back up to stare at the man in front of him, biting his lip as he saw the man who haunted him in his nightmares, the one who offered him the fruit of his desire all those years ago. The one who welcomed him into his team and told him everything that happened would be normal, would be ok, because everything he wished for, everything he aspired to be, would be granted if he just followed.
He dove into his collection of pokeballs, following Hilda’s lead. Knowing full well he couldn’t falter now, not when Unova was at stake.
“Come, Astraea!” he yells, releasing his Persian from its pokeball to continue where Odyssey left behind.
“So why are you sad? Isn’t that what you wanted? To kill Hilbert?” interrogated Bianca, slamming her hands on the table. “Because congratulations! Hilbert’s frozen in ice all because he couldn’t bear to look at you!”
His singular glove without its other half will always be a reminder of that. It’s other half was with Hilbert.
Talented, kind, perfect, untouchable Hilbert.
”I’m sorry,” was all he could muster.
His mind was running a million miles per second he almost forgot about N. But a loud blast, the cry of the twin dragons, Hilda and N’s yelling, and Rosa and Keldeo’s further distressed shrieks. Cheren turned to look in either direction.
He watched as both dragons fell to the ground, N holding on to the dragon he’d been riding initially with a death grip all while Hilda ran to the side of her own dragon partner.
Ghetsis grinned, one not unlike his own when Hilbert confronted him inside Team Plasma’s castle.
Cheren didn’t know what to do anymore. He didn’t know if he wanted to fight anymore.
Bianca gritted her teeth, staring down at him with a look that killed Cheren. One he knew fully well he deserved. He wished Hilbert looked at him like that in their last battle.
But no. Despite his cackling and his open yelling about how much he thought about choking Hilbert with his two hands, no matter how much he didn’t mean it. Shrieking that it shouldn’t have been possible for him to escape his cell, crying that he hated him. All Hilbert did was look at him with love, with pity, like he was watching his entire world whimpering in pain in a darkened alley.
He sometimes wished Hilbert had tackled him instead. He wished he took his two hands around his neck, pressed down for however long it took, and left him there, leaving with Bianca and living a happy, peaceful life.
But no. The last thing he remembered of that night was yelling until he fell asleep, collapsing into a familiar pair of arms that held him like he was precious. All to wake up, and see that god forsake pillar of ice with his whole world trapped in there.
A loud clack rang through the giant chasm, echoing off the water and the ice alike, commanding the room to pay attention to the wielder of the cane.
“Enough of this foolishness! Now you four, pay attention,” he ordered, with an almost growl in his voice. He raised his cane, and pointed at the student Cheren wanted nothing more than to protect.
Bianca slammed a fist down on the table, “You’re such a fucking waste of space! If you’re so sorry I hope your guilt sticks with you for all of eternity!” she screamed, storming off.
“Kyurem! Kill the child right in front of you! Once she’s gone, we’ll be able to get the DNA splicers back, and make you whole once again. That’s what you want, right?”
Rosa gasped, eyes widening in further horror as Keldea cried, stepping on its hooves over and over again, running around her to try and convey to her to move. But the girl couldn’t move, she could only tremble like a deer, fear freezing her before Kyurem could even get a chance to.
Hilda and N screamed for her to move out of the way, Hilda moving for her pokeballs and N trying his hardest to urge Zekrom back up so he could fight once again.
Cheren turned to look at his student, staring down the Kyurem gathering its power, all just to kill one helpless girl. A girl who hated him from the start, just as he did. But all the same grew to love him, welcome him into her heart, and rely on him. And when he fell back on his worst behaviors, she grabbed him and pulled him back.
A girl he loved like he was her own.
He saw a familiar man behind her. One with a familiar hat, the same one Bianca carries around like a good luck charm ever since that day, and a familiar glove. One that matched his own.
One that walked him home, one who held his hand as he led him through route one. One who promised his eternal rivalry. One who looked at him with so much pride and joy, one who made him feel like he was the only person who mattered in the world. One who promised he’d always stay beside him even when he wasn’t there anymore.
Yes… he never broke his promise. He's still here.
A man who gave him an act of love he would never be able to return.
He looked sad.
And for a minute, Cheren’s mind became clear.
Hilbert was right next to him.
His mouth felt dry, and his body acted before he could think. Running to tackle the girl who saved him, just as Hilbert did.
A sharp stabbing pain was felt through his body, and he could feel every cell freeze to a halt. The world became blurry, sounds blending into one another as he felt his senses slowly die. All he could feel was pain.
He couldn’t register time. He didn’t know how long he laid atop Rosa, he didn’t know how long it was until he was rolled over onto his back.
He saw the familiar buns and star earrings of his beloved student hanging over him, screaming for him to hold on. To not let go.
He raised his hand to touch her cheek, the girl using her own to hold onto him. Not ever wanting to let go.
She was so warm.
Cheren could feel the watchful eyes of the person he treasured watching over him.
And in that second, as every single one of his cells froze over, he knew everything was right in the world.