A/N: From anonymous prompter on Tumblr: " 'even if you still do' with any ship you like". I wrote this over a year ago, and it still hasn't been contradicted by canon. Spare me from the agony of hiatus.
"Hey...stay with me..."
I want to. I don't want to slip out of reality, not yet. But all I can manage is a pathetic groan. It's cold, so cold. What did that thing do?
I hear her sneeze. She must be feeling the cold, too. At least it seems she hasn't been affected by the shockwave of energy that pulsed out from the area that cannon targeted. I protected her from that. I pushed her behind me, away from the blast.
She cries out...something has terrified her. I'm too cold to move, to see what it is. I can faintly hear more voices now, all unfamiliar to me, to indistinct to understand. Even they begin to fade away, after a time. I don't notice the cold anymore. All my senses have finally slipped away.
The question still remains, though: why?
Why was my impulse reaction to push her out of the way, rather than to protect myself? I can think of plenty of reasons why I shouldn't care about her well-being. For one, she admitted that she's part of that damned Team Plasma, and she even had the gall to try to defend their actions. For another, she surely hates me for the way I've treated her, just like those stubborn, self-absorbed girls she loves to hang out with. Hell, the fact that she's actually friends with people like them is a pretty good reason to hate her.
But...the girl has talent. Serious talent. I'm not just talking about that incredibly powerful Foongus of hers, though it's definitely a force to be reckoned with. I've seen her battle a few times, but she always holds back – I used to think it was because those other girls were influencing her, but now I'm sure it's because of her stupid Plasma ideals. The thing is, though, when she was battling at Pokéstar Studios, I caught a glimpse of what she can really do as a Trainer. She has more strength than she knows, I think, and I'd love to see it fighting against Team Plasma rather than fighting for it.
I'll admit, when I first realized that she's the Team Plasma member in our class – well, it's not really "our" class anymore, since I dropped out – I just wanted to use her to get my sister's Purrloin back. The pendant was my leverage against her. I wasn't interested in any of her excuses for Team Plasma's behavior.
But then she said that she agreed with me, and she apologized on behalf of her teammates for the cruel things they did. She sounded so sincere in her apology that I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps I was jumping to conclusions a little in assuming that all Team Plasma members were heartless, lying criminals.
That's why I want to see the Team Plasma house that she lived in. Depending on what I find there, I might be able to believe that there really are Team Plasma members with sincere intentions for the Pokémon they're trying to protect. When I recover enough energy to rejoin the world, she's going to take me there...
Even if you still do support them, maybe I can forgive you.
However, when I do regain consciousness, she's gone. I'm lying alone on Prime Pier, and there's still a chill in the air. When I push myself up and look back at the city, I realize what had scared Whitley so much.
Everything is covered in a thick layer of ice.
The crowd of people who had come to gawk at the strange ship in the sky is literally frozen in place, their expressions ranging from frightened to mildly confused. There's one girl who was frozen clinging to the boy in front of her, and a frozen Pokémon clings to her leg. The man who first pointed out the ship is perpetually pointing to the now-empty sky. Even the skyscrapers behind the crowd are coated with ice up to at least their fifteenth stories. I think we're exceptionally lucky not to have frozen along with them.
Behind me, I can see that my ex-classmates as well as Mr. Cheren and Leader Roxie are still asleep on the pier from Foongy's Spore assault, untouched by the ice. I don't know where Whitley is, but she's obviously not among them. The rest of them mean nothing to me – I don't see Leo on the ground, either.
Leo should have been protecting my little sister.
I whirl back around to face the frozen crowd and dash up the staircase. Dread builds up in my stomach as I maneuver through the forest of frozen people; I fear the moment that I spot the familiar lanky figure of my little sister encased in ice. Perhaps I ought to have more faith in Leo's ability to protect her, but how could he protect her from that?
Near one edge of the crowd, there's a group of smaller figures – children, I presume. I examine them hastily, looking with trepidation for one that looks familiar. All the ones I've looked at so far are strangers to me, but there are still four or five kids in the group. One of them is wearing a baseball cap, and I quickly make my way over to it.
"Hugh!"
"Brother!"
Relief floods over me as I recognize the voices that come from an alley nearby. Leo and my little sister creep out of it towards me, and I close the gap between us in two quick strides and crush my little sister to my chest. "You're alive," I mumble to myself. "You're safe."
Leo evidently overheard me, though, because he lets out an indignant huff and grumbles, "I thought you trusted me. I promised to protect her, didn't I?"
"Brother...you're crushing me..."
I release my little sister at that and fold my arms. I'm not usually big on physical contact, and I don't need the two of them to notice just how relieved I was to see that she wasn't frozen and realize just how panicked I was at the thought of it. I never would have forgiven myself if my hasty decision to leave her with Leo while I chased Team Plasma resulted in my little sister getting hurt. "I'm sorry," I say.
Leo looks at the ice that covers everything around us. "What...what happened here, Hugh?" he asks.
"I don't know exactly," I admit through gritted teeth. I have a suspicion that Team Plasma was involved, but since I can't prove it, I don't voice it. I don't want to alarm my little sister any more than I have to. "There was a giant flying ship, and it just...froze everything."
"Are your classmates alright?" my little sister asks, genuine concern written on her face. I wish I could just pick her up and wipe that worried expression away.
I refrain from correcting her about the classmate thing; I'm not ready to have the conversation with her explaining why I quit school yet. "They're asleep, but not frozen," I say. "They're near the end of the pier. You guys should go find them and wake up Ms. Roxie. She'll get you somewhere safe."
"What are you going to do?" Leo asks.
"I'm going to find Whitley," I respond. "We got separated in the sewers, and she's supposed to...take me somewhere. Where she used to live." Again, I don't want my little sister to know about my quest for vengeance against Team Plasma. Mostly it's because I don't want to worry her, but a small part of me wants to see the smile on her face when I surprise her by bringing back Purrloin.
"I want to help you, brother," my little sister suddenly declares.
"No," I retort automatically, though inside I'm still somewhat taken aback by her determination. What happened to the shy little girl who depended on her big brother for everything?
"But I came here to see you, brother," she pouts. "You keep running away and leaving me behind, like...like a defenseless little kid!"
"I'm just trying to keep you safe," I say, trying my hardest not to snap at her. Doesn't she understand that I'm doing this for her own good? My recklessness five years ago resulted in her Pokémon being stolen. I can't let her get hurt again. Plus, I don't need her getting involved in my deal with Whitley – I'm trying to keep her away from Team Plasma, not lead her to them. "I have to do this alone, sister."
"No, you don't," she replies stubbornly. "I'm not a helpless child anymore, brother. Let me come with you, and I'll prove it to you."
"Hugh, I think you should listen to her," Leo adds hesitantly. "When you left us, she...took the lead and guided me around the city, and...well, she's a lot braver than I am, at any rate," he says, blushing.
"Thank you, Leo," she says, making him blush even more. "See, brother? If you won't listen to me, at least listen to your best friend."
I let out a defeated sigh. I still don't want her to come with me, but I can't come up with any more excuses for her not to go. "Fine," I say, "but you have to do exactly what I tell you. I can't have you making situations more dangerous than they need to be. Got it?"
"Got it!"
"Then let's go," I say. I send out my Vibrava and Unfezant, and when she looks at me quizzically, I explain, "We're heading west - across the water." I intend to begin my search with that giant flying ship, and I don't know where else it could have gone - Leo and my little sister would have noticed it if it flew over the city, it approached from the south, and it couldn't have been flying high enough to clear the Skyarrow Bridge.
My little sister nods and climbs on Unfezant's back, stroking its feathers as a way of greeting it. Vibrava wraps its legs underneath my armpits - not exactly the most comfortable way to travel, but I can't exactly climb on its back - and pulls me off the ground. We wave goodbye to Leo, and begin our journey in the direction of the setting sun...our search for Whitley.
A/N: Reuploaded to get rid of a bot leaving spam reviews on the story.