*Nathan's POV*

Seven seconds. That's all the time I've got before the electricity fries me.

I had done my research- that's what gave me the confidence that I could actually pull this off. Between my lab coat and my body's own internal resistance, that's all the I can muster without overcharging myself to death.

Maybe it was just desperation nagging me. Maybe I've just doomed myself to die by my own friend's electricity. But maybe, just maybe, I've found a way to save him. It all comes down to what I do with these next seven seconds.

"Colress!" I yell, and I run towards the Scientist. The current speeds through my body, and the clock begins to tick.

Seven seconds.

Six seconds.

I dash across the lab floor and grab Colress by the wrist before he can even react to my desperate sprint. He immediately begins to panic.

"Magnezone!" he commands his Pokemon,

"Get this maniac off of me! Use Thunder Wave! Do something!"

Five seconds. Four seconds.

"Z0N3! Thunder Wave!" Colress' Pokemon whirrs, and it releases a purple wave of electricity towards Colress and I.

I've got to get that remote! If I can just get a hand on it, I can fry it and save Voltflare!

Three seconds.

"Colress, let him go!" I yell, and I grab his other wrist, the one holding the remote.

Two seconds.

The current inside me is starting to fully debilitate my body. My breathing is becoming staggered, and I know that my heart will stop very shortly.

One second. One second left to live. It has to count.

With the last of my energy, I slam one fist into Colress' gut and wrench the remote device away from him with my other hand as he falls backward.

I can feel the electricity happily leap towards the new conduit, but I can't keep my eyes open any longer. Red spots begin to appear along my vision, and I realize what's happening the instant my consciousness begins to fade.

The last thing I see before I fall to the ground is Voltflare running towards me with tears in eyes.

"Nathan!" he yells, and the voice echoes off my near-deaf ears as I slip into a coma on the floor of the P2 Laboratory.

...

...

...

......

"Nathan!" a voice calls from deep within me.
I can feel myself coughing, but it's like I'm detached from my own body. Time seems to last an eternity. Seconds last for years, and years, millenia.

...

...

"Nathan! Are you there?" the voice shouts again.

...

...

...

"Nathan, please! Wake up!" the voice exclaims again. This time, it's accompanied by a light pressure squeezing my arm.

Then, the most interesting thing happens- feeling begins to return to my arm, like a seed of rejuvenation had been planted in my elbow, and its life giving roots are simultaneously spreading all across my body. I can hear each and every heartbeat of mine in this deadened state, yet I still don't have full control over my body. My eyes remain closed, but, with this slow return of feeling comes the realization of the massive amount of pain that I'm currently feeling.

... Nngh... What is...

I flashback to the daring stunt that I had just attempted to do, and control returns to my body. Immediately, I open my eyes in worried surprise, and color paints a beautiful picture all over my vision. Riku, Maxwell, and his Dragonite are all looking at me with concern. A forlorn expression is on his Dragonite's face, but I can't place why that is. The specks of light streaming from a single window tell me that it's nighttime right now.

The Shaymin, who had been grabbing onto my arm (accounting for that pressure from before) with both of his yellowed forepaws, suddenly cries out in alarm when I turn my head. Tears are streaming down his face, so I try my best to calm him down.

"Riku?" I ask, unsure of what to do,

"Am I... Am I alive?"

"Yep... Yep, you are," Maxwell answers me in his stead. I turn around to look at him, and Riku tags along with my moving arm. He doesn't seem to want to let go of me, but I don't mind- I find it rather fulfilling that a Pokemon besides Voltflare would act like this towards me.

Then, I remember that

"Did... Did I do it?" I inquire, frantically bobbing my head to look for Voltflare. Then, I try to stand up, and I immediately trip over something underfoot. I cover my head to prevent injury and check to see what it is that I'd tripped over. Voltflare yelps in alarm, and I jump backwards in surprise.

Turns out, Voltflare had decided to nap, curled up around my legs, so, as soon as I moved, he would wake up and be able to greet me. The sudden motions trips his makeshift alarm clock, and, the second his eyes are open, he runs towards me and playfully tackles me. Voltflare plants his paws on my chest and begins to nuzzle and lick my face for all that he's worth.

"I... I... I..." his voice halts in his throat,

"I thought you were dead! When I could finally see straight again, I ran over to you, and... And you weren't even breathing!"

His words send a chill down my spine, but, at the same time, it's relief to hear him talking. He's alive... And I get to greet him- that's all that matters to me right now. But, if I wasn't breathing, how am I still here?

"Then, Maxwell came back with his Dragonite, and I... I didn't even know what to think! I didn't know what to do- didn't know how to explain what had happened to him. He immediately ran over to me and quickly began to assess your condition. He didn't really know what to do, until a small purple capsule rolled out of your pocket, like it didn't have a care in the world. Maxwell picked it up, and help the object in his hands.

'Riku...' he said. Then, he threw the object at the ground and released the little Shaymin inside. Within seconds, he flung himself to the floor in agony, shutting his eyes tight, and, when they opened again, they were blood red and all demonic-looking. I almost ran away in fear, but..." he trails off , giving me time to realize that, in his frostbitten coma back in the Giant Chasm, Voltflare must not have seen or realized the gravity of Riku's color change.

I'm still trying to find the reason behind that transformation, myself... I can tell that it has something to do with the night, but, why does it happen?

"Anyway, as soon as he saw you," Voltflare continues,

"Riku just about lost it. I tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't listen to me. He wrapped his paws around your arm to cry, and then he cried out in extreme pain for some reason. I tried to pull him off your arm, but he didn't want to let go. Then, you started slowly breathing again. You starting coughing, and I backed away from Riku. I had no idea what he was doing, but it looked like he was helping you, so I didn't want to stop him if it meant reviving you."

Riku was reviving me? I wonder... Does that have something to do with his nocturnal color shifts?

I don't have long to process my thought, though. Maxwell grabs my by the shoulder and turns me to face the wall to my immediate right. At first, I have no idea why, until I see a struggling Colress gagged and bound to it by a sturdy set of rope. His angry demeanor from before has all-but dissipated, and he calmly looks at me, like he's content to just study me. I notice that his clipboard, which seems to be full of notes detailing Voltflare and his actions while he had been under the influence of Colress' machine.

At least his glasses are intact. He's going to need those, whatever it is that he'll do next...

If I were to guess, Maxwell's the one that tied up the Scientist, probably as revenge for siccing his own Pokemon on him. An idea crosses my mind, and I step forward to ungag him. Riku peeks over the top of my shoulder, and he quickly shuts his eyes.

"Why are we going near him? Didn't he just try to kill you?" I know he's thinking, but Colress is bound to have necessary information with him- after all, he's a Scientist, just like me.

Plus, if he's really working with Ghetsis, then we might be able to figure out what we need to do next by asking him...

"I took care of him for you," Maxwell laughs when I approach him,

"He's no threat to us, now. Just, don't let him bite you!"

He chuckles again, and I calmly untie the piece of rope that had kept him from speaking. As much as I wanted to feel sorry for him, I didn't want him to believe that I still possess some sort of weakness in his eyes. After all, he had just watched me knock on Death's door and live a ten thousand volt shock coursing through me for who-knows-how-long.

Although, I'm starting to think, more and more, that the only reason that I'm still alive is because of whatever Riku did. If the electricity had left me right as I passed out, my heart might have been able to take the brunt on its own, but I don't think that was the case.

"Thanks," I finally whisper to the Shaymin, who has since decided to nap while curled around my neck. He doesn't respond to my gratitude, but I know that he still heard it, deep in his heart. Whether he really knows what he did remains a mystery, but something tells me that I'm the only one who knows about Riku's ability to heal right now, even more so than Riku, himself.

I look at Colress with a purpose written on my face, and he calmly returns my gaze.

"I can see it in your eyes," he says,

"You're wonder why I do, or should I say, "did," what I do. I told you this back in the Giant Chasm- that my ambitions are solely for the advancement of my own scientific curiosity."

He shakes his head before continuing.

"That was a grievous mistake," he laments,

"And, now, I want to make amends for all this- because has the last prototype of the..."

The terrifying crack of an enormous thunderbolt resounds from outside, interrupting him and threatening to tear off the very foundation of this laboratory. Chairs and desks shake from the power of the imminent storm. Maxwell's eyes light up with fear, a feeling that he doesn't often show.

"Oh, yeah," he scratches his sweaty head nervously.

"I forgot to tell you- It's still storming outside. Even harder than it was before. I'm starting to think that Ghetsis has something to do with the freak weather. Remember what N said when he left for the Dragonspiral Tower? 'Zekrom is a large black draconian that monitors the world's ideals. I have a sinking feeling that Ghetsis is planning to release both of them at once, utilizing their combined power to quell any sort of rebellion against him. I don't really have any reason to believe anything else from my own father; he hasn't learned his lesson, and I need to stop him. I believe that the best course of action is to leave for Dragonspiral Tower as soon as we can- if we're lucky, that's where Ghetsis will be.'"

My eyes widen at the horrid realization,

"You don't think that he..." I trail off.

"Did you say 'Dragonspiral Tower?'" Colress' eyes narrow, and his gaze suggests that he knows something that the rest of us don't.

"What's it to you?!" Maxwell quickly cuts him off,

"Don't think I've ruled you out as the problem, old man! Just because you tell me that you're going to 'make amends,' doesn't mean that you're suddenly no longer guilty of attempted murder!"

"Maxwell!" I gasp, lowering my voice to a scolding whisper,

"If he knows something that we could use to stop Ghetsis, like where he's hiding, we shouldn't attempt to make him angry..."

"Hmph," Colress sighs. He obviously doesn't care about Maxwell's obtrusiveness.

"It's only natural for him to hate me after what I did to you," he says, matter-of-factly,

"I mean, I understand now. Which one of us is the better Scientist, now, hm? It appears to be Nathan. Even with the combined power of my Colress Machine and my Magnezone, I still could not put a dent in your partnership and devotion to your Pokemon. What you did was very risky, and it could have resulted in your death. Yet you went through it anyway, just to save Voltflare. That depth of bond is not something that science can create- I will concede that much to you. Perhaps I will start my own chain of experiments to communicate with Pokemon, to make them happy instead of myself... Maybe something like that earpiece you were working on, Nathan?"

I lift an eyebrow in surprise. I could only wonder how he knows about my prototype translator, but, at the time, I don't really care. All I'm focused on is information.

"So, Colress," I reign in the conversation again,

"You wanted to say something about the Dragonspiral Tower?"

He nods, and, against Maxwell's discretion, I undo the bonds holding Colress to the wall, and Riku tentatively peeks out over the top of my shoulder. His tall white ears tickle the side of my face, and I have to try not to laugh. I still need to be serious with Colress, even now.

Maxwell's right. He always have the potential to be lying. But, somehow, I don't think that's the case.

Colress picks his clipboard off the ground and dusts off his lab coat. His blue crest is in tatters, and he nervously taps the machine on the side of his neck.

"This little device's caused me more trouble than it's worth," he mumbles,

"I'm no better than Cyrus by using it so relentlessly. Ghetsis..." His voice reaches a crescendo, and he suddenly bursts out,

"I'm through with trusting you and your outlandish ideals! Today is that day that you pay for everything you've done to corrupt this Scientist!"

He nervously ruffles through his hair, attempting to make himself look somewhat presentable after his miniature tirade.

"Now..." he turns back to me,

"Where were we? Oh, yes. The Dragonspiral Tower... The place where Ghetsis' first plot to take over the world was foiled by another Trainer, one with a pure heart not unlike your own. The place where Reshiram and Zekrom's power are said to be unmatchable. If Ghetsis is really there, he's bound to have at least one of those two, if not both. But..." he trails off,

"We'll never reach the tower in this infernal storm. It's on the other side of the region, and our fastest method of transportation would be Maxwell's Dragonite."

A lightning bolt flashes outside, deafening me with its accompanying rumble of thunder, only a mere second after the current had appeared.

Crash!

The electricity shakes the entire foundation of the P2 Laboratory with its intensity, and the churning of tumultuous rain can be heard pounding on the roof. Colress looks towards the lab's door with a forlorn expression on his face.

"That sounded very close," I tap him on the shoulder,

"Something tells me that we won't have much time. We need a quick and painless way to appear in front of the Dragonspiral Tower before this storm destroys this entire building!"

"Got any better ideas than my Dragonite, chief?" Maxwell asks sarcastically,

"It's not like we can just teleport over there or anything..."

Colress puts his hand to his chin in thought.

"Or maybe we can!" he muses,

"Give me one moment. I think I may still have a Pokemon here, somewhere, that can help us."

With that, the Scientist quickly disappears into another room, a renewed fire in his eyes. I turn around to look at Maxwell, who immediately defends his sardonic comment, as if I'm intending to shut it down right then and there.
"Hey, it's not like you had any other ideas! What did you expect me to say? That we walk there?! Please, it took us a while to get here on my Dragonite, and he's a lot faster than walking! Plus, we're surrounded by nothing but water; What do you propose us to do, then? Hm?!"

"Cease your obtrusiveness!" Colress shouts, hastily returning with a sweaty brow and a black Pokeball, undertoned with green, in his right hand.

"I've got a plan," is all he says.

The Scientist's eyes light up when he pushes the button in the middle, and the capsule's contents open in a flash of purple darkness. While the odd light show does make me wonder what kind of Pokeball that is, the Pokemon inside is even more enigmatic. Looking like something straight out of an old alien movie, the predominantly-brown Pokemon has a depressed torso with an oblong head. Indecipherable markings dot the entire length of those two structures. Two peering green eyes peek out of its shell-like face, and its markings soon spiral out to reveal two miniature appendages that must serve as its legs, although I do not know why the Pokemon would need them when it levitates a few inches off the ground. Finally, the Pokemon bears two small arms with three fingers on each. One is red, one is green, and one is yellow.

"This is my Beheeyem. The best set of brains in my entire team of Scientists besides myself. I'm sure that its power will come in handy," Colress beams.

The humanoid Cerebral Pokemon points one of its nubbed arms at me, and its fingers flicker every color of the rainbow in rapid succession. I know that it's attempting to communicate with me, but I have no idea how to understand it. Fortunately, Colress does not share that problem with me.

"Yes, Beheeyem, he is a friend," Colress nods.

The Pokemon's fingers flicker again, this time faster and more sporadic than before. Colress simply monitors it like he'd been reading this "light-language" since he was a child.

"We're all slightly overwhelmed here. Ghetsis is at the top of the Dragonspiral Tower, and we have no way of braving the storm to get there without being blown out of the sky by the wind or dashed to pieces by a stray lightning bolt. We need you to Teleport us to the entrance- that should give us enough time to enter the Tower and surprise Ghetsis before he even knows that we're here." Colress informs his Pokemon, which replies with more sequential auroras.

Colress turns to me, a small grimace hidden behind his calm demeanor.

"We have one small problem," he tells me,

"My Pokemon only has enough power to transport two of us there. The Dragonspiral Tower is indeed a far distance to telekinetically transport anything, let alone two entire humans. I'll stay behind and keep this laboratory from falling apart. In the meantime, you must promise me that you will stop Ghetsis at all costs. Understood?"

He doesn't even wait for a reply, as he reads the answer right off my determined face, and he points to his Pokemon.

"Beheeyem," Colress says,

"They are ready. Commence Teleportation."

He turns to us one last time and waves, as if to say goodbye. Maybe we would see him again- maybe we wouldn't.

"Ghetsis possess a machine not unlike mine- you need to stop it before he falls into the same trap that I did. You saw its destructive potential when I used it on Voltflare. Imagine that magnified to capture a Pokemon like Reshiram or Zekrom. I fear for the consequences if Ghetsis succeeds..."

If we fail now... The thought rings in my head like a death knell,

We won't have a choice. This is it. Either we stop Ghetsis here, or we'll be stopped, ourselves!

Maxwell and I exchange a silent glance. Each of us return our Pokemon to their respective Pokeballs, to ease the strain of the Beheeyem having to Teleport them, too.

'Good luck, Colress," I smile, the first time I had done so for Colress. He returns my grin with a sarcastic scolding.

"Don't get yourself killed out there," he responds,

"Now, go save our Region, too. I have faith that, if you can change my heart, you will succeed."

Colress' Beheeyem turns to us, and its fingers flash a few more vibrant colors of light.

Maybe it's waving goodbye to us, too... I wonder, for a moment. Then, before I can react, a splitting headache drives itself through my brain like a nail, and an immense blast of telekinetic energy knocks me unconscious.