Edit: Sorry if you got an email saying I updated... I changed the chapter and accidentally pressed the "add chapter" button instead of the change chapter button.
I love NxWhite shipping. XD It's one of my favorites, and I think it's because it's so versatile and yet so defined. Both characters have enough that they're very solid characters, but you can do so much with them because so little of them is described. And the entire setup of B/W is made so that there's so much to ship even if none of it is stated outright. It's so subtle, but so real. So, anyways, enough of my rant.
Not really your average N/White fanfic... yeah. I came up with this while I was thinking about Ponyo and how I didn't like the ending because it made Sosuke wayyy too mature. The quote was epic - something like "I like all the Ponyos" - but they way it was acted made it so bland I wanted it to have more childish innocence. No offense if you like Ponyo, btw. I liked it - just not that part, it was a bit disappointing. Anyways, the fanfic was originally gonna be totally about their childhood, but it changed. I like it better this way.
So, without further ado, enjoy!
PS: Sorry for typos, I type most of these up on my iPod cuz it's more portable.
PPS: The italics are not flashbacks, just for clarification. They're simply the past, being told parallel to the present.
A small, fragile-looking boy walked slowly along the path. Two elegant young women flanked him, their expressions gentle but somber. The boy's eyes were equally downcast, and his entire form seemed lifeless.
"This will be your home for a while, N" Anthea said, attempting to be cheerful. "It's called Nuvema Town. Your mother was born here. There's a lovely beach and... everything..."
"Mom is gone..." N said, his voice dead.
"I know it's hard for you and your father, but... Try to keep your chin up. You both have the same dream, don't you? Look, we're here! There are some kids your age in this town, I think."
As if on cue, a small, brown-haired girl shrieked and ran giggling out of a doorway. "No fair, Black! You didn't count all the way to twenty!"
"I'm your older brother, I can do whatever I want." A boy poked his head out the door and stuck his tongue out at her.
The girl threw a rock at him, and he ducked. "Hey! That's dangerous!" As he turned, he noticed N standing dumbfounded in the middle of the road. "Ooh! A new recruit! Here to be my apprentice?" He grinned cockily and puffed out his chest.
"No! He's going to be on my side!" White threw her Pokeball plushie at Black before running towards N and pulling on his arm. "Black is a big, bad meanie, so you should help me fight him," she told the puzzled boy.
"Stupid violent girl," Black muttered, rubbing his head.
"Sissy cat," White taunted. "It's just a plushie."
"Umm..." N interrupted and tried to pull his arm away tentatively, but White only held on tighter with her small fingers.
"You can't join his side!" She protested. "If I show you my secret base, will you stay?"
"I... I guess..."
Excitedly, she pulled him with her as she ran through the grass, stopping at a strange bush. They just barely managed to squeeze underneath, crawling through until they reached a grove of trees. In one particularly large tree, there was a ladder made of vines, and White jumped up nimbly, scurrying into the treehouse above.
N ducked through the entrance, finding a surprisingly large space filled with dolls, rugs, tables, and miscellaneous items. White had grabbed a small camera and was giggling.
"We should take a photo! For your first time into the secret base! That way, we'll remember it foreeever."
"Mom... Whose picture is this?" White picked up a dusty picture frame, carefully brushing away a bit of dirt from the faded photo inside.
"What? That's you, isn't it? From when you were nine, I think... seven years ago." Her mom looked up from her cooking and squinted at the barely visible picture. "It's rather faded, but I'm sure that's you."
"No, I mean the other person..." She tried to brush some more dust off, but she was afraid of damaging the photo. "A taller person... He's sort of skinny-looking. I can't make out his face or hair, though."
Her mom thought for a few moments. "I think it was that boy who came to Nuvema Town to stay for a few months. His mother was raised here or something, so he was visiting. You two were quite close... Some things happened, too. You really don't remember?"
"Not really..." White brushed her fingers softly against the old frame once more and sighed, then put the picture on her desk and left.
"Off on more adventures, dear?"
"Yeah..." She ran her fingers through her long hair once, then sighed and walked out the door.
After a short flight on Zekrom, she landed in a grassy meadow, then called him back and walked into Lacunosa Town, where she had heard reports of trouble from some sort of ice Pokemon.
The air seemed strangely chilly for some reason, and the town was silent as a grave.
Carefully, she opened the door of one particularly run-down house, looking around for signs of life. She jumped as a shadow in one corner moved, and she realized that it was actually an old lady.
The withered woman gazed at her sharply. "A young face... I know what you're here for, and I'm telling you to leave."
"What?" White looked at her in puzzlement.
"The trouble in this town... You heard about it and you want an adventure. I'm telling you to leave. We've dealt with it for eternity and we will keep at it for eternity."
"But surely you'd appreciate some help," White argued. "Besides, what's wrong with adventures?"
The woman narrowed her eyes. "You outsiders never understand. The myths, the legends have been forgotten. Only the new blood survives in stories, and only the old blood remembers the old tales. The Giant Chasm swallows all that go near!"
"Don't worry," White assured her. "I have Zekrom. I'm sure I can take it."
The old lady's eyes widened at the news and she inhaled sharply. "You musn't! The Forgotten One will devour you if you enter with the legend of darkness alone!"
White shrugged, not understanding the lady's riddles. "Like I said, I've handled this sort of stuff before. The Giant Chasm, right? Thanks... I guess." She waved and exited hastily, while in the darkness, the old woman hissed in frustration.
"Fools! The legends of old will not be tamed so easily..."
"Your mommy is gone?" The nine-year-old gasped, and her small hands flew to her mouth. "But... where?"
"Up there." N gestured vaguely at the sky. "Father says we'll never see her again." He sniffed and rubbed his eyes. "He said that now we have to make our dreams come true for sure."
"Oh..." The little girl fell silent. "What's your daddy like?"
N thought for a moment. "I don't see him much. He's always busy with work. He wants to keep Pokemon from being hurt, and he's really nice to Pokemon. He brings me friends to play with. I like him, even if I don't see him a lot. But..." He hesitated.
"But what?" The brown-haired girl prompted curiously.
"Well... Ever since Mom... left... He's been sort of strange. Sometimes he laughs weirdly and he brings me hurt Pokemon now... And now he always says that we have to make everyone obey us if we want to save our friends... And once he h-hit me."
"Oh..." White sat awkwardly for several moments, the patted the boy's green hair comfortingly. "I'm sure he'll be back to normal. He's your daddy, after all."
The boy smiled. "Yeah, you're right. Father is always awesome. He always keeps his promises."
"I keep my promises, too," The girl pouted indignantly.
"Oh, really?" N laughed for the first time in weeks, and he pinched her nose fondly. "Promise we'll be best friends forever, then."
"Of course! We're the Anti-Evil Organization! Protecting innocent kids from evil big brothers everywhere!" White giggled and held out her pinky. "Promise?"
N smiled and linked pinkies with her. "Promise."
All of a sudden, White jumped up. "You should come with us! We're going to Icirrus next week! It'll be like a mountain adventure!"
"Umm... I..." The boy hesitated. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea..."
"You definitely should," the little brunette insisted stubbornly.
"Sir!" A Plasma grunt knocked on N's door in panic.
N rubbed his eyes sleepily and glared at the door as if it would pierce the wood. "Who is it?"
"I'm from Team Plasma! I have urgent news!"
Reluctantly, N dressed and opened the door. "What could possibly be so important that you would come all the way to Kanto in the middle of the night? Besides, I thought Plasma became a nonprofit Pokemon welfare volunteer group..."
"It's not about that... Something terrible happened three nights ago! I rushed here as soon as I heard the news!"
N frowned. "What is it, then?"
The grunt hesitated. "The Unova Champion, White, disappeared at the Giant Chasm five days ago..."
"White? Is she okay? What-" He stopped and furrowed his eyebrows. "You said the news happened three nights ago, didn't you? What... what else happened? She's not... she can't be..."
"Wheeee!" The little brown-haired girl giggled gleefully as she tumbled down a snow-covered hill. She landed at the bottom with a thud, spraying snow on the twelve-year-old boy.
"White!" he complained, but he laughed nonetheless.
She stuck her tongue out at him and waddled back up the hill, looking for all the world like a little stuffed doll with all the layers of clothing she had. "Mommy, N and I are going on an adventure!" She called.
Her mom waved back cheerfully. "Remember to come back well before dark! N, take care of her, okay? Make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble. If you can, anyways."
"I will," the boy promised. He waved back and began running in White's direction. After a few moments, he caught up, though she was already far ahead.
"Whoaaaa," the two of them breathed. They had reached the valley, where the vast expanse of snow stretched forever. The entire place was full of white, and the snowy wind obscured anything beyond a few feet.
"I bet there are lots of ice Pokemon here," White exclaimed excitedly, clapping her hands.
"Yeah, I'd like to see a Vanillite," N agreed. "If I ever meet one, we'll be friends.
"Ooh! Look! What's that?" White squinted at a dark spot in the distance. "Is it a Pokemon?"
N looked over at the shadow. "I think so... It seems to be moving."
"Let's go check it out," she suggested, and began running on her short legs.
With his longer stride, N caught up easily and pulled her back. "Careful, it might get spooked and attack. You should approach slowly."
"Huh," White pouted, but obeyed nonetheless. They walked forward cautiously, and the shadow soon became a distinguishable silhouette.
"A Cryogonal, I think," N remarked. "They can be rather defensive but normally won't attack."
"You know so much about Pokemon," White giggled. "And you can even talk to them."
"Yeah," N agreed proudly. "Anyways, let's go see it."
Before they had even taken a few steps, though, the older boy stopped. He frowned and paused for a seconds, as if straining to hear something.
"What's it saying?" White asked curiously.
"Hang on... I can't quite make it out... It's a bit strange, though." He continued to listen, and White obediently clamped her mouth shut.
Within a few minutes, her patience had already worn thin, though, and she asked, "Have you figured it out yet?"
His expression became worried. "No, but I think it's somehow odd... I wonder..." He squinted at the figure, and then suddenly his eyes widened in horror. "White, run, run!"
Stunned, the little girl stood frozen for several seconds, and N quickly grabbed her small hand and ran, stumbling through the thick snow. Alerted by the sudden movement, the Cryogonal turned around and began gliding towards them with a predatory grace.
"What's going on?" White panted as she ran.
"Something's ordering that Cryogonal around," N yelled back over the wind. "Not a trainer-It's wild. Something big and powerful."
"But why are we running?"
"I think it's dangerous," N called back.
Behind them, the Cryogonal's harsh cry melted into the wind and sound of their footsteps and frantic breathing. They listened as the Pokemon began picking up speed, and their awkward run became even more desperate, though White could barely keep up on her short legs.
"Maybe it's trying to tell us something," She panted, exhausted. "Let's stop and see." With that, she slipped out of N's grasp.
"No!" N cried. Frantically, he turned around and tried to pull the little girl away, but she refused to run, and he was too slow to outrun the gliding ice Pokemon.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked desperately as the Cryogonal swooped down on them.
The Pokemon knocked into White, knocking her away from him, and swiftly picked her up and began to fly away. Terrified, the nine-year-old hung on to the oversized snowflake in fear of falling off.
"N! Help!" She sobbed over the falling snow.
"Why?"
The Pokemon paused for a second and looked back. It is as the Great One demands. All of us are bound to him, for his power is the mightiest... It is the Original Power. Then, the Pokemon turned and flew off into the distance, invisible through the heavy veil of snow.
N fell to his knees in disbelief for several moments before shaking his head slowly and getting up. He looked around and began following in the direction that the Cryogonal had flown, hoping that he would eventually find some clue as to where they were headed. The Great One... He frowned. Who were they talking about?
After walking for half an hour, though it seemed like days, he finally reached a cave. His feet ached abominably, but he was too scared to sit down, fearing that something awful might happen if he did. He saw a Woobat flitting around, and he called out to it.
"Have you seen a Cryogonal carrying a nine-year-old girl somewhere?"
The Woobat stopped and flew to him. No, I don't think so.
"Then... Do you know who this 'Great One' is?"
The Pokemon gave a start and almost fell. Why do you know that name?
"He seems to have caused White to be kidnapped... I need to know why, and how to get get back."
The little bat Pokemon's fluttering became more rapid, and it said nervously, I don't think that's a good idea. The Great One is powerful... Very powerful. He holds the Original Power, and he commands all ice Pokemon. He was asleep for a long, long time, but now he's waking... Me, now, I just try to stay away from all those ice Pokemon so I won't get blasted or anything.
Frustrated, N grit his teeth and continued trudging along through the labyrinth of caves. Eventually, he reached the city, knowing the the Cryogonal would most likely avoid it. Shivering, he decided to go through it anyways since it was the fastest way, though it was noisy and crowded.
His vision started blurring as flashing lights and screaming billboards blared at him. Red and green and blue became one meaningless stream of color that flew by at the edge of his vision, and the chatter of people and Pokemon alike began to fade into a drone. He only paid attention to one direction-straight ahead.
The massive hulk of Dragonspiral Tower loomed over him, and he found himself irresistibly drawn to it. Tiredly, he opened the door, wincing as his muscles protested against the heavy stone. Litwicks all over glanced at him curiously but paid him no heed otherwise as he made his way up despite his fatigue.
Small boy... You have the blood of the dragon tamers, you who hear the hearts and wishes of Pokemon. What is it you desire?
Blinking, N looked up to find a large Hydreigon, the largest he had ever seen: the king of the tower, most likely.
"Nothing, really... I just need to find my friend. Have you seen her? She's pretty small, brown hair... She was kidnapped by a Cryogonal..."
The Hydreigon snorted in surprise and roared. A symphony of dragons, agitated by either his words or the great dragon's roar, began to stomp and thrash.
Little one, you desire much indeed. The dragons pay homage to the Master of Ice, the Great One of Old who has just awakened from the depths of slumber. He is not at his full strength, but to oppose him is still something that precious few would dare, most of them fools. If you wish to take back what he has captured, you must be willing to risk your life, indeed.
"I don't care! I want White back!"
The Hydreigon regarded him and shook his head. There is one way, I suppose. If you find the children of Fire and Thunder, it is possible that you may defeat the Great One, but the chances of taming or even finding either, let alone both, are slim indeed. But that will take much time.
"Isn't there a faster way?" N asked desperately.
The dragon sighed. If you truly wish to go now, I will take you, young tamer of dragons. But be warned-it may not go as you wish.
N nodded, and the Hydreigon lowered his neck to allow the small boy to climb on. Then, with a mighty roar and a flap of its great wings, it began to ascend slowly but powerfully into the gray sky. N clung on tightly for dear life as the landscape became a blur of green and blue and brown, and he kept his eyes squeezed shut until they were firmly on the ground. He almost fell as he found solid ground, and the dragon rumbled in what may have been laughter.
Go. I will wait until I can no longer hear your voice.
The green-haired boy nodded and scurried into the cave. It was dark, and he had to squint to see anything, but as he proceeded, he heard a rustling and a familiar voice singing gently. Excitedly, he ran forward, almost tripping in his haste.
"White!"
Professor Fennel sighed and pushed away the dream machine. "I'm sorry, N. We can't find anything...
She patted her white lab coat nervously and adjusted her glasses before replacing the dream machine and moving her stool back to its corner. White's lifeless body was on the crisp linens of the soft bed usually reserved for use of the dream machine, and a restless green-haired boy sat near her on the other stool in the room. The silence in the air was filled by the steady pitter-patter of the rain outside, and the dimly lit room felt unreal.
"It may be that the machine is not working properly on humans, or it may be that White just isn't dreaming. That isn't so unusual, since she's in a very deep coma."
N put his head on his knees sighed as well. "If only I hadn't left... Where did you find her unconscious?"
Fennel thought for a moment. "I think some villagers found her a few days ago at the mouth of the Great Chasm... They were muttering something about the 'Forgotten Legend' and some 'Master of Ice.''"
N's head shot up. "What did you say? A 'Master of Ice'? Are you sure?"
"Well, I wasn't listening very closely, but I think so..." Fennel answered, bewildered.
"The children of Fire and Thunder..." N muttered. "I have both, don't I? It'll be fine." He shivered and put his head back on his knees, listening to the calming beat of rain on the glass windows.
He jumped slightly at a knock on the wooden door and watched as Fennel hurried downstairs. There was a clatter from as she knocked something down, and he heard her swear vehemently in her characteristic soft voice. Then there was the creak of the door.
Thump. Fennel probably dropped something.
"N... I think you should come..."
Curious, N got up and walked downstairs, not sure of what to expect. "Is something wrong?" he asked uncertainly as he rounded the corner and reached the bottom step. His eyes widened as he saw the person at the door, and the words were knocked out of him.
"White...?"
A little girl of no more than nine, with dripping brown hair and wide blue eyes that seemed somehow blank and empty, her tiny hands clutching a faded photo in a rusted bronze frame.
Hope you enjoyed that, and please review! XD I like to know what's good and what's bad so I can improve. Thanks for reading!