"Are you able to walk okay?"
This question snapped Black back into reality. Well, his version of reality. It felt as though he had been trapped in a long slumber. Just like Sleeping Beauty. But this kind of sleep wasn't restful. He was tired. His knees felt weak. Black found it hard to focus on the path in front of him, and especially hard to remain engaged with the girl who found him.
Thankfully, she wasn't too eager for conversation.
Her name was Whi-two, from what he could remember. It was too late to ask again, and in his opinion, far too embarrassing. They had been walking for about ten minutes now.
"Walk?" he dumbly asked. He then paused for a moment. He had been wobbling slightly, so yeah, he saw where Whi-two's concerns came from.
"Yes," she quietly answered. "You're kinda… limping. Are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah," Black said. "Better now that I'm out. Thank you again," he then genuinely tacked on.
Whi-two barely formed a smile at this. She had no idea what kind of person Black truly was, but he couldn't be all that bad. He spoke from the heart, and that alone was something rare to find these days. She recalled White saying how loud and outgoing he normally was. It was a shame to see how the stone's slumber affected him.
"I stumbled across you. Anyone else would have done the same."
Black let out a breathy laugh. "You said you knew White, right?"
"I wouldn't say know," Whi-two elaborated. "But I did meet her just earlier. I know she'll be very happy to see you. Everyone else too, I guess. You're the missing champion N always talked about… you understood your Pokemon. Fought against him in a fair battle…" she trailed off.
"It's all a blur," Black frowned. "Two years."
"Yes," Whi-two confirmed. "It'll bring you comfort to know N's been gone for two years too."
"I remember him riding off," Black added on. "He wasn't a bad guy. I used to hate him, but for someone who loves Pokemon that much… he has a good heart."
Whi-two brightened up at this. He understood. Even though her outlook on Team Plasma was now split, as she completely disagreed with Neo Team Plasma and stuck to her old beliefs, her opinions on N never changed.
"You think he'd come back," Black continued. He frowned. "I missed so much… I…"
"There's still time to catch up," Whi-two reassured. "But for now, you need to meet the others… Team Plasma… they've changed. It's so cold now because of Kyurem. Unova's..."
"Anyone could tell you about Team Plasma," Black bitterly answered. Whi-two flinched somewhat at this. "I… don't understand what's happening, but yeah, we need to move."
"Being totally honest though, I dread going back," Whi-two then commented. "International Police has been hot on my trail. I was lucky to escape and come across White. And then you. We should be splitting up soon. I can't come."
"What? Why?" Black asked.
"Well, because you know..." Whi-two tried to explain. "The International Police will talk to you first thing. You'll need to help them. I want no part in this. I have no part in this."
Black wouldn't say it out loud, but he was nervous as well. While it felt like a night to him, it was two years for everyone else. To Cheren, Bianca… to White. They would all look different, speak different. He was so nervous.
He didn't understand Whi-two's dilemma, and couldn't fully trust her, but he knew better than to comment on it.
Good people made bad choices sometimes, and she seemed innocent enough.
And she opened the light stone. He had no idea what that meant, but he knew to keep close and see what she had in store.