truth aNd ideals (N x Hilda)

8. Night Confessions

[Hilda]

It won't take them long, they're smart. And I know just who they'll turn to for the help they'll need to find me.

"I don't quite know why you've got a grin on your face. We just crashed your friend's party, ruined your precious reunion with that preposterous traitor, beaten up your brother and kidnapped you in the space of half an hour. What's there to be smug about?"
God, I hate these idiots. 

The grunt had an annoyed expression on his face as he knelt down beside the pole I'd been unwillingly handcuffed to. Despite his effort to act brutally intimidating, I couldn't stop my small smile from spreading.
"Did you hit your head in the commotion or something? We're the ones with the upper hand right now. You should be begging us for mercy!" His frustration was growing.

"You do realise you've just implied you're going to lose, right?"

"What? No I didn't-"

"Yes, you did."

All words seemed lost to him, "I, how did I?!" The ever existent frown grew larger on his face.

"You said, 'right now'. You guys are the ones with the upper hand, 'right now', implying that my friends and I will eventually find a way to overthrow you...again." The boy flared his nostrils, the colour in his cheeks and his temper flaring up with them.

"You-"

"Now, now, child, why don't you save your witty remarks for those who actually deserve them?" Zinzolin bore his cloak of authority as he appeared in the doorway, brushing off the grunt whose level of command was as low as he was crouching in front of me.
"Run along, boy. Go and do something useful. I'll do the tormenting of this one." More flustered than before, the grunt stood up and hurried outside, his dignity lugging across the floor behind his quick feet.
The old guy flashed smile, "a pity most of these grunts grew up with poor excuses for parents. They lack intelligence as much as they do respect. Regardless of that, they make perfect attributes to our organisation. They're willing to do anything commanded of them, without even considering the consequences." He stopped to draw a large breath, exhaling it with a sigh. "The way I see it, they're wasted potential, but to most of them their lives finally have meaning. And the vast majority believe they'll live their lives 'liberating' Pokémon, when in reality they're like to spend the rest of it behind bars."

"Are you suggesting you expect to be caught again?"

"What I'm saying is no matter how many times we are arrested or sanctioned, we will never be fully prevented from rising out of the ash pile again and again, because just like the rest of those boys and girls, I too believe that this is the best thing for this world. Not just for the Pokémon, but for humans too."

"So did N, and he got past that belief, with the right encouragement. You've seen what the truth did to him. Quit while you're ahead, save yourself from some of that pain."

"I didn't come here for your counsel, nor do I want your pity. N was a blind fool. He lacked the ideals that were needed to complete our mission. If it hadn't have been for the pity that Lord Ghetsis had for him, he'd have been cast aside long ago." The highest authority of the Seven Sages spat maliciously at the floor, the mere mention of N's name earning his disgust.

"So you think you're the one to lead them?" Whatever confession I can get from him now might come in handy later on.

"No, not me, nor any man. None of them possess the ideals set in stone by Lord Ghetsis himself upon the founding of Team Plasma. I have a much better plan in mind, and I've now gathered each piece of the puzzle to set it in motion."

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[N]

My mind was running countless thoughts all at once, and trying to process them at the same time, yet they each took me to dead ends. Every road was twisting deeper into the depths of the unknown, the light dimming as I travelled further down each path, and upon every return I came back empty handed.
"I've got nothing. God knows where they could be, I can't think."

"Zinzolin said it wasn't on the map, so we have to think outside the box. We're going to have to widen our search." Hilbert spoke up in response, the stress biting away at his lip.

"If I may," started Hilda's Pokémon, nodding in my direction.

"Go ahead, Reshiram." Hilbert turned his head to look at her, then back to me as if to try and figure out what we were saying to one another by our facial expressions. 

I forget that other people can't hear the thoughts of Pokémon. It's sad really.

"Before they took Hilda, she was trying to get as many clues out of them as she could, because she was smart enough to know that any decision she made would have ended badly."

"You're right, I could tell she was communicating with you at the same time. She started asking him questions."

"N, what's she saying?" Hilbert was clutching at straws.

"Going with what Hilbert recalled, Zinzolin said that they're not on the map, and that their new HQ is very high-tech. So Hilda recognised that it must be emitting extremely high energy readings."

"Of course! God, she's clever! So we need to find someone who has access to that kind of data and can point us in the right direction. But, who does have access to that?"

"Uh, helloooo? Am I not here? Who do you need the help of?" Hilbert flung his arms around in the air, waving frantically in our faces.

"Sorry, I kinda got caught up in the whole thought process. So we're looking for their HQ right, which Zinzolin said was very high-tech, meaning it must have high energy readings."

"I suppose that would make sense."

"That means if we can gain access to the kind of technology that would pick those readings up, we can then find out where the base is."

"Right! So, who do we go to for that?" Hilbert slumped down into the same position as mine, our thoughts coming to a crash.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"I believe I know just the person." All our thoughts were interrupted by the young boy stood in the corner of the room. Behind his glasses held the eyes of intuition and intelligence.

"I hadn't realised you'd come with us, Cheren." The words sounded cold, masked behind the gratitude of seeing another of Hilda's faithful friends. 

"Hilda made me the person I am today, she helped me grow and become more confident, so I owe it to her to get her home. And I know that if any of us stand a chance against this bunch of idiots, we're going to need to work together, and I sure as hell can think of a few others who would be more than happy to help with that matter."

I could see a part of her behind those eyes and within that speech, it's not just me she became an inspiration to. I felt my mouth break into a small smile, and I nodded my head at him.
"Alright, Cheren, let's start calling these people."