Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or anything, hence the name fanfiction.

Enjoy!

Chapter 4- Selfish

-Black's POV-

I blinked rapidly, trying in vain to adjust my poor eye-sight to the sudden change in lighting of the depths of Chargestone Cave. The tunnel ahead of us was more or less black as night, but was thankfully lit up by several sparkling, blue crystals, which aluminized the empty passageway on the harsh, rocky walls of either side. They were giving off some sort of electrical spark, one I was sure could electrocute you if you were stupid enough to lay hands on it, and believe me, I'd had a pretty annoying week; I was in no mood for acting the idiot while we were trying to make our way into Mistralton.

I grumbled under my breath as recollections of the past week seeped back into my head. First, there'd been that embarrassment in Nimbasa with the two Plasma members, and, as if to top that off, that very day, we'd had to go tracking down another group of those creeps in the Driftveil Cold Storage. That mission, unlike the last, had been victorious, and we ended up capturing the lot of them, stupid sage and all. The triumph over them would have been enough to put me in a stellar mood for the rest of the evening, had it not been for what happened after that…

I ground my teeth at the memory of that annoying guy that had showed up after that: Ghetsis, head sage of Team Plasma, or whoever he was supposed to be. Not only had he managed to bust out all the captured grunts from before, but he'd also had the nerve to start getting all chitty-chatty with White afterwards. His words still rang in my head, the look of satisfaction on his face when she'd told him her name set into my memory forever.

"Oh!" he'd purred, eyeing her up and down curiously, a sly smile etching onto his face. "So you are the young trainer our King N is so taken with…"

I could have punched him forcefully in the face right there and then. In fact, I tried to, but was instantly caught and restrained by his bodyguards, a pair of impossibly muscly men who pinned me to the floor in an instant. I didn't know what shocked me more- the fact that that weirdo N was their King, or that he'd become 'taken with' my sister. I knew well what that meant, and the thought made me sick to my core. The creep was in love with White, and this was bad news. Very bad news.

After Team Plasma left, I'd completely lost it, demanding an explanation from White, who only stood with her knees sheepishly turned inwards and her face as red as a cheri berry. She insisted countless times that she hadn't done anything, and mumbled something about overhearing a group of grunts conspiring in Nimbasa City, mentioning some sort of legend. This was obviously not the full story, and probably just a lie she'd devised to mask some other event, but I didn't care too much about that fact in that moment in time; I was in too much of a rage. I calmed down eventually after a while, following many reassurances from White, as well as a promise that she would stay away from that lunatic from now on.

The rest of the week was tough. Although I'd spent forever training my Pokémon on Route 6, I just couldn't defeat Clay, Driftveil's gym leader. No matter how many times I took him on, it was always his Ground-Type team that triumphed over my my Gurdurr, Whirlipede and Darumaka. It was enough to drive me berserk, but I kept going nevertheless, and after hours and hours of intensive training, we eventually became strong enough to defeat him, earning us our 5th gym badge.

Pebbles were piling up in my shoes now, as the four of us made our way through the seemingly never-ending passageways of Chargestone Cave. It must have been nearing half-eleven now, and I could feel my eyes slowly beginning to droop as we wandered cluelessly past countless rocky tunnels, with not so much as a map to guide us in our way. The trio behind me seemed to be amusing themselves with rumours of rare yellow crystals said to exist in the deepest parts of the caves, though, unable to stand listening to Cheren prattle on about 'geological value', I'd tuned out, occupying myself instead by scanning the scenery.

There wasn't much to look at, just the surrounding rocks and crystals, and they got boring pretty soon. It seemed, before long, I could already feel myself start to daydream, almost falling into a deep sleep right there and then as I pictured a warm bed in my mind's eye. I yawned drowsily at the thought, and stretched my arms. What I wouldn't give for a cosy bed right now…

I snapped back into reality, however, when I suddenly noticed, out of the very corner of my eye, some sort of figure looming eerily in the distance, staring into me with glassy, emerald eyes just visible protruding out from behind the shadows of many enormous boulders.

"Stop!" I yelled in warning to the others as I skidded to a sharp halt instantly, my eyes scanning the boulders in the distance for any sign of the mysterious figure and my finger pointed outwards the boulder to signal to the other three. I groaned irritatedlty after failing to see anything but rocks, and mumbled under my breath. I'd been so sure I'd seen someone there… I racked my brain, trying to piece together some sort of explanation, as the others looked on, baffled expressions on their faces. Let's see… It couldn't have been..? My body tensed as a sudden thought entered my head, though relaxed several seconds later after I eliminated the possibility.

"Is everything okay?" White questioned me, taking a few awkward steps forward to face me.

"I…I thought I saw someone, over there…" I murmured, cocking my head to the side in confusion. She glanced back towards the boulder again, before shaking her head after failing to see anything out of the ordinary. I exhaled deeply, turning back onto the path.

"…Sorry about that... Probably just tired, I should be in bed…" I told them, groggily rubbing my eyes. Lack of sleep must've been getting to me, causing me to see things that weren't there…

We continued on deeper into the cave for what seemed like an eternity, until, after what must've actually been an hour's journey, the saving light that was the exit came into view in the distance.

"Sweet Arceus, fresh air!" Cheren sang, as he, Bianca and I began sprinting towards it, smiles the size of the moon on our faces. We stopped, however, once we noticed White glued to her spot several paces behind us.

"Aren't you coming, White?" Bianca asked her, fixing her hat firmly atop her bob of tousled blonde hair.

"Well… I'm not really tired…" she began, stopping to glance behind her, as if looking for something. It seemed true, he eyes were still bright and alert and she was standing upright, swinging her shoulder bag playfully from side to side. "…I thought maybe I'd go look for those yellow crystals we were talking about… I could really do with some…"

"Suit yourself…" I muttered noncommittally, having pondered the thought for a few seconds, a wide yawn escaping my lips. I hadn't really any idea why she would want to go treasure hunting in the middle of the night, but figured she could look after herself for ten minutes or so if her heart was really set on adventure. Something extremely erratic to me was that I didn't really care too much of what she did either, as at that particular moment in time, all that really concerned me was getting to the Pokémon centre in Mistraltron and renting a bed a.s.a.p.

She waved at us as she turned and ran off back into the cave. I knew it was lazy and irresponsible of me to just let her do as she liked, but she had her Pokémon with her, what could go wrong if she was only gone for a little while?

Famous last words…

-N's POV-

I was 99% sure Black had seen me.

At first, I didn't think he possibly could have, as I'd estimated I was too far away and hidden to deeply in the shadows of the rocks for any of the four young travellers to notice me, but was proven wrong when the keen-eyed eldest trainer suddenly twisted round to examine the boulders I'd been standing next to. I'd ducked out of view instantly, but was left with a daunting fear I'd been rumbled- something I really didn't need right now…

I wasn't following them, honest. In fact, I hadn't even expected them to be here, they could quite possibly be following me! I was here for research purposes only; I'd heard that ChargeStone Cave had been tied with ancient legends in the past, and had come to investigate. So far, I'd come across no new information, just endless hallways of old rocks and crystals…

And then I'd seen White.

I'd watched her shuffle awkwardly through the cave, her bare arms shivering as she did so. She was fiddling with the chestnut strands of her ponytail and gazing around at the crystals surrounding her, her face lit up like the stars, as she trailed behind those three morons, her heavy boots clinking up and down against the rocky cave floor. I felt a pang of aching inside myself as I laid eyes on her, accompanied by the familiar increase in my heart beat whenever she was around.

I'd backed away a bit then, remembering the promise I'd made to myself. Leave her alone, like she wanted…

The words echoed in my mind like a bell. I wanted nothing more than to talk to her again, to desperately try to get her to see reason, to understand what she could be, if she only opened her eyes. A tiny part of me had even contemplated just taking her back to the castle anyways- I knew that it could be easily arranged- but I also knew I could never ever force her to do anything against her will…

No- I owed it to her to stay away from her from now on. I didn't want her caught up in Team Plasma's affairs anymore, I just couldn't let her stand in our way and get crushed like a grepa berry in the process. I was all too sure she and her small-minded friends would easily defy against us, if provoked enough, and I wasn't about to let it come to that. They were just a bunch of rookie trainers, after all…

…But she wasn't just some rookie trainer…

I escaped before that thought could fully set into my mind, ambling off in the opposite direction to the group of trainers, who were now merely fading grey shadows in the distance. I didn't want to think about it anymore- as much as it pained me to have to leave her yet again, I'd sworn to myself I wouldn't drag her into the plans, and I had to stick to that promise, like every true king did.

I wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to do now, as this little field-trip had been more or less a dud research-wise, though for some peculiar reason, a part of me was bursting to keep going deeper into the cave, to see what secrets and treasures its hidden passage-ways held. Besides, I didn't have much time left before I had to finish up my travels and return to the castle; I wanted to get the most out of these precious last hours.

So, against my better, more sensible, judgement, I embarked on my mini-adventure into the depths of the Chargestone Cave, my mind abuzz with possibilities of treasure to be discovered. I didn't really know where to start, but decided to just follow wherever the tunnels led me. I didn't need to worry about getting lost: I had Zoroark with me- he could dig me out the cave if I strayed the wrong way, which was often the case whenever I was let loose anywhere.

The shining, blue lights of the crystals guided me past several hallways of rock, until I eventually discovered a stone staircase hidden beneath a frame of shimmering gems and stones. Without thinking twice, I descended the rocky surface into yet another hallway, a practical copy of the previous. As I wandered to the end of that tunnel, I began to realize that maybe there wasn't much to see in Chargestone Cave, as I was faced by yet another identical passageway branching off deeper into the desolate caverns.

I must have spent the best part of an hour wandering aimlessly through those tunnels, yet failed to discover anything of interest. I knew I should have turned back ages ago, but for some unknown reason, a part of me urged to keep going on, as if it somehow knew there was something within this cave just there waiting for me.

All of a sudden, the usual background of blacks, browns and sparkling blues was abruptly interrupted by a new bright collection of shining yellow, bright and refreshing, like a bolt of lightning over a dark, stormy sky. I grinned as I set eyes on the sparkling golden crystals on the wall in the distance; something of interest!

Instantly, I dashed towards the wall of glowing gems, and stared at it in awe. I remembered overhearing White and her other friends talking about these earlier; according to them, they were incredibly rare, and could significantly raise the attack of a Pokémon if used. Cautiously, I stretched out my hand to touch the jagged yellow crystals. They were giving off a light electrical spark, which buzzed softly under my skin as I laid my fingers on it. They were warm, and pleasant to touch, like warming your hands over a fireplace. As I withdrew my hand, I realised one was slightly loose, and could be removed easily if pulled out. It wouldn't hurt to take just one… after all, I'd need items like this if I was to become a hero.

I tucked away the small-sized jewel into my pocket, to be used later on Zoroark. I'm sure he'd be delighted with his present, he'd always loved it back when he was a Zorua and I was a prince and I would sneak him berries from the palace kitchen. It was a good thing that Father, or anyone else, never found out, or I could only imagine the punishment I'd have been given for sneaking off to see the Pokémon after the hours I was supposed to.

I figured I must be near the exit of the ChargeStone Cave by now, as altogether I'd been moving through the tunnels for many hours. I decided to just keep going until I emerged in Mistralton City- I was supposed to meet with Plasma members who would escort me back to the castle in Driftveil City tomorrow morning, but they wouldn't mind if I changed cities; I was their king, after all.

I continued on into the next hallway hoping for the best, but could see no light in the distance to signal the exit. I sighed, and edged up along the side of the tunnel, examining the walls for any signs of other treasures. At this point, I was contemplating asking Zoroark to use Dig for me, but decided against calling on my furry friend for assistance, as it'd been a long day, and he was most likely worn out.

I stopped to stare into a set of particularly large crystals jutting out from the wall, becoming lost in the stunning, never-ending pools of blue. I could have gazed into their beauty forever, had I not noticed the shimmering reflection of the even more beautiful, young girl standing behind me with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

I bit down hard my lip as my heart rate escalated to impossible levels inside my chest. No she couldn't still be here! She should be long gone! My eyes widened in panic as I watched her through her reflection. A pair of aquamarine eyes were gazing at me, filled with surprise and confusion. I could tell she was unsure about what to do too, and stood with her knees turned in, her head cocked ever so slightly to the side. I knew then that there was no way I could escape, no matter how long I pretended I hadn't noticed her…

"Hello, White…" I greeted her, as I slowly turned to face her, a faint smile playing at my lips. I couldn't help it- her expression was priceless, a mixture of shock, bewilderment and barely noticeable traces of joy, taking shape in the form of glistening sparkles in her cerulean eyes.

"Hello, stalker…" she responded, taking a few unsure steps towards me. I felt my muscles tighten then as I remembered my pact to stay away from her. Well, it was too late now, I figured. I couldn't just run off, not when she'd already seen me. "…I thought I told you I didn't want to see you anymore?" she questioned me, the tone in her voice changing suddenly to one of severity as she looked me over.

"Oopsie…" I joked with a crooked smile, an attempt at lightening her sour mood. There was no need for her to be upset right now, not when my associates were nowhere to be seen. "…I guess you're just hard to stay away from, White…"

She looked away huffily after that, but I could see the faintest of smiles lingering on her lips. It wasn't long, however, until that tiny smile faded away, and in its place formed a bleak expression; a pair of sad, shimmering eyes accompanied by a faint frown. What had I done to her to make her so unhappy? I tried running over the last two minutes in my head, but could come to no obvious conclusion.

"Y-you're upset…" I stated, tilting my head as she shook her head meekly, her eyes still focused into space.

"Now why would I be upset?" she sighed softly. "I've only gone and run into a crazy person who wants to take over the world!" I fell silent, trying to string together a logical meaning to her nonsensical words as she only shook her head in exasperation.

She looked up, her gentle eyes meeting mine for a second, before twisting in the opposite direction with a tired sigh. "I should really go now… the others will be wondering where I am…"

"Wait…" I called out to her before she'd fully turned round to leave. Even I was shocked by my sudden actions- I mean, I was supposed to be keeping away from her, not trying to keep her close! But for some wild reason, a part of me longed for her not to leave, to stay with me, if only for a short while… She gazed up at me again, this time with slightly more happiness in her expression, as if a little sorrow from before had melted away. "….I overheard you and your friends a while ago, talking about yellow crystals…"

She paused to think back for a moment. "Yes?" she answered, new sparkles taking shape in her eyes.

"Well, I found some. I thought you might want to use them?" It was literally the first thing that came into my mind, and I had to admit, it was a fairly good excuse. White had seemed so eager to find those crystals before, I couldn't wait to see her face light up when I showed her the ones I'd found.

She blinked, thinking to herself for several moments. I could imagine she'd have reservations- after the bombshell I'd laid on her in Nimbasa, I wouldn't want to go with me either…

"Well?" I repeated after several moments of silence.

She flashed a quick, wary glance behind her, before turning to meet my gaze yet again. "Um, fine…" she began, fixing her shoulder bag around herself and taking another step towards me. "…but we have to be quick, ok, or else Black will kill the both of us…"

I smiled down at her, excitement bubbling inside me. "Don't worry," I assured her, taking a step back into the passageway I'd come from. "He already wants to kill me! Come on."

She followed me through into the next hallway, then into the corresponding one at an angle to it. She was smiling now, that gorgeous smile that lit up the room, the one that I longed to see every time she was gone. My heart was racing, as memories of the promise I'd made to myself faded into oblivion in the back of my mind. The promise could wait- there was no reason why we should be apart at this moment: Team Plasma's plans were on stand-by, and her friends were nowhere in sight. For now, it would be just the two of us.

"Just down here…" I told her, signalling at the wall at the end of the passageway. The shining golden gems were radiating a strong light as we approached them, though nowhere near as bright as the twinkle in White's eyes as she gazed at them in awe, her mouth flapping open. I watched as she reached out to gingerly touch one, a contended expression forming on her face as she felt its warmth beneath her fingertips.

"They're so beautiful…" she sighed, gently plucking the crystal from the wall. She examined it in the palm of her hand, a sweet smile stretching across her face. She gazed up at me then, a pair of bright, azure eyes meeting mine. I smiled back at her, as we continued to simply stare at one another, a strange, though surprisingly… happy… aura drifting through the air. I noticed her cheeks were a pale scarlet colour, which lead me to wonder, yet again, why? Had she eaten too much hot sauce or something? That had happened to me once… I shuddered at the memory. Never again….

She was first to snap out of the trance, and fixed her gaze back on the jewel she had held in her hand. After smiling at it for a second longer, she reached down to place it into her bag.

That's when I heard it- a thunderous rumbling sound echoing from above us. I gasped, as the walls around us began to quake uncontrollably, and heavy chunks of rock began tumbling from the ceiling. It must have been caused by a group of Boldore above us, I figured, as I remembered reading somewhere that those particular Pokémon were well known for causing earthquakes. I panicked, however, when I realised the ceiling above us was beginning to cave in, as dust clouds began forming and the sounds of shards hitting the floor boomed in my ears.

"Get down!" I screeched, I grabbing hold of White, and pushing against her forcefully, sending us both toppling backwards deeper into the next passageway. Instinctively, I covered her with my arms, shielding her from the mountain of boulders that was crashing into the ground behind us, as she let out an ear-splitting scream, kicking frantically against my body with strong legs.

I winced in pain as she rebelled against my grip, struggling desperately to reach out for something on the other side of the wall. I glanced back at the pile of booming boulders, only to fleetingly catch a glimpse of something pink quickly disappearing behind the wall of rocks. It was several moments before I realised what it had been- White's bag, along with her pokeball case.

"No! White!" I yelled, as she continued screaming, her eyes tear-drenched, as she watched on in horror as the boulders fell from the ceiling, her precious Pokémon quickly disappearing from view.

Eventually, the crashing subsided, and there was deadly silence. The instant I loosened my grip on White, she leapt to her feet and darted straight towards the gigantic wall of boulders that lay between us and her pokeball case, rivers of tears flooding her eyes and streaking down her cheeks. She began searching frantically for some sort of opening, twisting this way and that to try to get a view at the scene on the other side, angrily smacking her fists against the stone barrier. Eventually, she calmed herself, and let out an enormous sigh, sinking to her knees as she did so.

"They're… they're ok…" she whispered, her voice cracking, as she wiped stinging tears away with the back of her hand. Her breathing was heavy and erratic as her eyes scanned her surroundings curiously, an anxious expression forming on her face.

It was then I remembered what exactly had happened to us- the boulders were falling, so I'd pushed her back into the next tunnel… At that thought, I began examining our whereabouts, and felt dread run through me as I did so.

I'd miscalculated terribly. This was no tunnel, I realised, as I bit down hard on my lip, feeling like a complete idiot. In disbelief, I stared at them over and over again, those rocky, luminous walls that surrounded us, caging us in into some sort of chamber, preventing us from escaping. I wanted to smack my palm against my forehead as the reality sunk in that we were trapped like Ratattas, and it was completely my stupid fault.

White was trembling as her gaze met mine once more, her aquamarine eyes wide and filled with anguish and her mouth hanging open.

No… please no… I told myself. How could I have done this to her? I told her I'd get her back safe, and now I'd trapped her here! I should have just let her walk away, then none of this would be happening!

"White… don't worry…" I uttered, a sad attempt to console her. She blinked, several times, before covering her mouth with her hands, shaking her head defiantly. Idiot! A voice in my head screamed.

Suddenly, I remembered the presence of my Pokémon friend, and hope came flooding back into my being. Of course, why hadn't I thought of it! Zoroark could easily claw away the boulders blocking the tunnel, saving the both of us. I was about to reach into my pocket for his pokeball, when I was suddenly hit by yet another, darker thought.

What if I didn't want White to leave yet?

It was selfish, I knew, but this was a golden opportunity- an opportunity for just the two of us to be together, to talk, and maybe, if I'm lucky, convince her to join us. Slowly, I released my grip on Zoroark's pokeball, letting it silently sink back into the bottom of my pocket.

One, tiny hour for just White and I couldn't hurt, could it?

Ooh, N's turning a little eeeevil! Mwahahah! What's gonna happen now? Gonna have to wait a while to find out, ChargeStone Cave goes on for a looong time (something like 4 chapters I think).

Oh, and reviews are very greatly appreciated!

Xx