White had cried. She was usually a strong girl, and had never cried her whole life. But as she stood at the doorway of N's playroom, she found herself unable to control her tears. He doesn't know what he's doing. He's just been told this, and locked in this room to grow up his whole darn life. And i'm probably his only friend...

She suddenly lost all determination to defeat N. Maybe if White could let him win...he's just a kid afterall.

"White?" White turned around at his voice, shocked to see that he was standing uncomfortably close behind her.

"N..."

"White...are you okay?" N grabbed her shoulders and looked into her teary eyes, concerned. Her heart skipped a beat.

"I-I'm alright," White mumbled as she hastily wiped away her tears. She looked up at him, and forcing a smile, said as enthusiastically as she could, "come on, we've got a battle to setlle!"

It was an easy battle, and White had won, although half-heartedly. She had used her event Arceus as much as she could, so perhaps N would feel better about losing because she was, in a way, 'cheating'.

White sighed and called Arceus back into its Cherish Ball. N was kneeling a distance away, hugging his Zoroark and stroking it fondly. White took a look at him, and was about to say something, when Geechisu cut in, laughing maniacally.

"You useless fool," Geechisu spat at N, who was still hugging his Zoroark tightly, now rocking back and forth in a trance, his face expressionless. Geechisu screamed, "you're a disappointment, no longer needed in this world! You should never have lived!"

"Enough!" White screamed suddenly, seething with blind fury and pity, "as a father, how could you say that to your son?"

Both Geechisu and N looked up at White, one with shocked rage, the other with a hint of fear and concern. Geechisu quickly recovered. He smirked, "you're not happy? We'll battle it out then!" and he reached for his pokeball. In an instant, N had stood up, reached out, and grabbed his father's wrist firmly.

"Father, please don't do this! Please," N pleaded.

"You! Shut up and go away!" Geechisu violently wrested his wrist away and pushed N to the ground.

"N!" White cried and rushed towards N, but was also pushed away from Geechisu. She fell, her head hitting the stone wall, followed by a stabbing pain in her head, and hints of wetness. She blacked out for awhile, but was brought to by a familiar voice.

"No!" N's voice seemed far away, yet strangely clear in the chaos. She heard Zoroark growling, Geechisu yelling in dismay, and then N's voice again, suddenly a lot closer to her.

"White!" N seemed to be on the verge of crying. He held her hand tightly in his own, and shook her lightly. White felt his soft, warm hands touch hers, and her eyelids flitted open. She saw a sea of blurred colours...tea green...dark blue...Cheren! Then she heard Cheren yelling angrily, "N you bastard! What did you do to White?"

"No...Cheren..." White struggled to speak and focus on her surroundings, despite the throbbing pain that now filled her head. The first thing she saw was Cheren kneeling in front of her.

"White...are you okay? Adeku has taken Geechisu away...don't worry, I'll handle N..."

"No, Cheren," White murmured, "it's not his fault...where is N?"

"He was holding your hand, so i pushed him down the stairs!" Cheren said proudly, and pointed at the flight of stairs he and Adeku had come up from.

White groaned, suddenly a lot more conscious and alert, "oh no you didn't, Cheren! Tell me you didn't!" With that, she got up, struggling to keep herself steady, and stumbled down the stairs as quickly as she could, leaving a puzzled Cheren wondering what he had done wrong.

White found him slumped against the wall, halfway down the steps. He seemed okay, so she heaved a sigh of relief and collapsed on the steps, then crawled painfully towards him.

N heard her groaning, and turned his head around. White had crawled up to his lap and was now reaching a hand out to caress his face. He flinched and grabbed her wrist, "White...you're–"

"N...thank you, and I'm sorry..."

"White?" N looked in horror as her head fell heavily into his lap. She was unconscious.

"White! Wait! Don't die! White!" N cried out helplessly as he held her in his hands, "please...wake up, White! Please..." he pulled her limp body close and kissed her gently, again and again, until he finally realised that it did nothing to wake her up. Then he cried and buried his face in her hair, resigned.