Pokémon Darkness

Part 1: Unova

Chapter 10: Dusk

"I don't like sunsets," N whispered idly as he gazed at the receding daylight from the height of the Ferris wheel. The fading light at such a crucial point in his struggles seemed ominous to him.

"Really?" White asked, apparently taken off guard. "Why not? They're so pretty."

"Their beauty is deceptive," N replied plainly. "They appear pretty, yes, but they bring about darkness, despair. I much prefer sunrises. They are just as pretty, and they bring light and hope."

"That… actually really makes sense," White said after a moment. "I've never thought of it that way."

N nodded absentmindedly and continued to watch the last of the natural light beginning to flee. He once again felt a twinge of apprehension when he ominously realized that the sun would now be reaching its highest point around Orre and Hoenn: the center of Cipher's empire. He let out a deep sigh, his dread of the approaching battle growing stronger.

"…You okay, N?" White asked some point later, making N jump slightly by resting her hand on his shoulder. His instinct was to pull away, but the contact was somehow calming, and he merely let it gradually ease his worry away. He determinedly wrenched his gaze from the falling star and turned to his friend White.

"…I am worried," he told her honestly. "I'm worried that Cipher might attack while we await responses from the cities allied with us. I'm worried that we won't be strong enough to stop Cipher's takeover. I'm worried that Cipher is already in the process of creating permanently corrupted Shadow Pokémon. And I'm worried that a lot of innocent Pokémon and people are about to get hurt because of me."

Though he had spoken calmly, by the time he had finished he was badly out of breath. His feared redoubled, he stared White in the eyes, feeling tears of panic and fear forming, silently begging her for reassurance.

"N, no person or Pokémon is ever gonna be hurt because of you," White said firmly, placing her right hand on his other shoulder. N flinched, but did not move away. "Tons are gonna be saved because of you. If any get hurt, it's Cipher's fault, not yours. All you're responsible for is protecting people and Pokémon from them. You got that?"

White's forceful conviction seemed to blast N's sadness away. The knowledge that, at the very least, White did not blame him for bringing Cipher to Unova shone like a bright, warm flame in his heart, dispelling the darkness of despair. With a soft whimpering sound, he threw his arms around White, who, after tensing up for a moment, leaned forward to link her hands behind his back.

"Th-thank you," N whispered with a quivering voice.

"N-no p-problem, N…" White murmured back, oddly equally shaky.

N remained there for a few moments longer, feeling surprisingly at ease. Breathing deeply and slowly, he inhaled White's aroma. Objectively speaking, he knew it was not very pleasant; it was the salty tang of sweat mixed with the earthy odor of dirt and trees and the dank scent that accompanied fog and mildew. Yet to him it seemed to nicely reflect White's tough personality, and he found that rather soothing.

After a few seconds, White stirred a bit uncomfortably, and N, worried that he had annoyed her, hastened to pull back. N was rather startled to see that the slight sunburn White had accumulated that day seemed to have suddenly intensified.

"White! Your face!" N cried out. "Was your sunburn always this bad? You look like you need a Burn Heal!"

To his alarm, White's burn seemed to grow even more severe as he spoke. White quickly looked away, attempting to hide her burn.

"I-it's not… not that bad," she muttered quietly. After breathing loudly for a couple seconds, she looked back up, with a face much less red. "See?"

N shook his head, trying to make sense of this aberration. Eventually, he merely decided it must have been a trick of the setting sun's light, and responded it with a tentative "Yes…"

White laughed softly at some joke unknown to N, but then turned to him and smiled, driving any questions he might have been about to ask from his mind. Now gazing at her smiled, he observed that it was much like her scent: not perfect, being slightly yellow with a few chipped and crooked teeth, but perfectly reflective of White herself in a way N couldn't help but marvel at.

"So, N…" White began after a second. "What all did you do before all of this happened? Were you in Hoenn the whole time, or what?"

N beamed at White's choice of subject. She had been very careful not to bring up any topics that might upset him (as he had been somewhat concerned that she might when she suggested that they ride the Ferris wheel while they waited to hear from the other towns), and he was very grateful for her intuitive understanding.

"For much of the time I was in Hoenn, yes," he began, smiling at the memories of simpler times. "I did live in Kanto and Johto briefly, and Sinnoh for a bit longer, but none of them felt quite right. Though, if I am to be honest, my only problem with Sinnoh was the cold. We did visit Orre, too, but only as a brief rest on the way westward. Zekrom and I stuck out a bit wherever we went, but we tried to help anyone who seemed to need it. After about six months, though, we reached Hoenn…"

Here he paused and sighed, vividly recalling the first moment he and Zekrom set foot on Hoenn's shores. In that instant, he had known that Hoenn could be his home. There was just some indescribable connection he had with the island.

Pulling his mind back to his body, he was surprised to find White hanging on his every word, eagerly awaiting the tale of his Hoenn advent. With a slightly bigger smile, he resumed his story.

"Hoenn was just perfect. The Pokémon and people there were very kind and friendly, and the whole place was very close to nature. For about a month and a half, we just explored all the islands, marveling at the natural beauty. On occasion, we happened across two crime organizations, known as Team Magma and Team Aqua, who tried to stir up some sort of trouble to expand their ideals, but they really were little more than a minor annoyance to Hoenn. All the same, we stopped them from doing anything immoral. We kept to ourselves, though, mostly, until Team Aqua set a very old and very strong Gyarados on a rampage to raise the tides. We confronted the Gyarados, defeated him, and managed to calm him down, but apparently we were caught on camera. Some lady interviewed us, and we were soon famous across Hoenn. We met all the gym leaders and Elite Four, and became good friends with the Champion, Brendan. It was all very nice for about a year. And then, well… you know the rest…"

N felt a twinge of sadness resurface, but White knocked it away with a soft pat on his arm. As he looked into her stormy blue eyes, N felt a swooping sensation that seemed to resemble hope and happiness. With a trainer as strong and brave as White on his side, surely they would prevail.

"…Cheren's coming this way," White mutter, a bit disappointedly. "We must've finally heard from everyone."

"Yes," N agreed with a sigh. He greatly wished that time would just come to a standstill, and that he could simply ride the Ferris wheel with White over and over, and never have to worry about any imminent war. Thus, it was only very reluctantly that he stepped out of the Ferris wheel at White's side.

"We've received word from Clay that Burgh's legion from Castelia has arrived," Cheren stated quickly, if a bit stiffly. "They're going to attack Cipher's forces in Mistralton City in exactly twenty minutes. Zillion Riches is prepared to attack Lacunosa at the same time. Also, Lenora's reinforcements have just arrived."

"Whelp," White muttered. "Sounds good. They all know the full plan?"

"Of course," Cheren said, frowning slightly. "You didn't think we would really not tell them, did you?"

"Well, I just thought it best that I ask," White defensively countered. "So you and Cynthia are still rejoining with Zillion's group?"

"Yes, White-" Cheren began, but White cut him off quickly.

"And me and Bianca are still gonna go with Clay's forces in Mistralton?"

"Yes, White, just like we-"

"And N's still leading this army to Icirrus, before we all rejoin at Opelucid, so we can then-"

"White!" Cheren shouted, rather in the manner of slapping a hysterical friend across the face. "The plan hasn't changed in the past twenty minutes, nor is it going to! Just calm down, White. We've got them outnumbered by at least three to one as is, and we're only going to gain even more once we start reclaiming cities. We're going to be just fine."

"…Thank you, Cheren," White murmured. "I know we will be, I just… you know…"

"Yes, I do. It's fine, White," Cheren nodded understandingly. Then, however, he rather puzzled N by glaring angrily at him for the barest fraction of a second. It happened so quickly that N almost thought he had imagined it, but it had been far too clear to have been a trick of the light. He had no idea what to make of it, but was suddenly grateful that he did not have to be in Cheren's party.

While N was still contemplating this, Cheren turned and walked back in the direction of the Pokémon Center. White took a step forward, turned back and saw that N had not yet followed, and rather suddenly seized N's hand, dragging him along with her through the dense crowd in a moderate sprint. In less than three seconds, N found himself gathered in front of the Pokémon Center with White, Cheren, Bianca, and Cynthia.

"You all ready?" White asked, bouncing nervously on the balls of her feet. "We haven't forgotten anything? Everything's planned out? You all know-"

"We've got it, White," Cheren cut across, half chuckling. "Everything is-"

"Um… N?" Claire's small voice rang out as N felt a tug on his hand. "O-or, e-everyone?"

"Oh? What is it, Claire?" N asked curiously, as the group fell silent and turned toward the small trainer.

"I-it's just… the T-Togepi sorta… w-warned me, I g-guess… I-I'm not s-sure how to describe it…"

"Do you mean, like, you could read it or whatever from his aura?" White suggested.

"Y-yeah! J-just like that," Claire agreed. "B-but he said s-something about… some kind of n-nightmare monster th-that Cipher admin has."

"Nightmare monster? Could he mean Darkrai?" Cynthia asked frantically. Claire whispered something, but N could not hear what it was, and Cynthia, likely unhearing of her, cut her off and carried on.

"I shudder to think of the power of Darkrai in the hands of these people. Darkrai hid itself away for many years to protect others from its uncontrollable power to induce horrific visions of terror in all those around it. But if this Cipher has taken it…"

"Where was this Darkrai hiding until now?" Cheren asked suddenly.

"Newmoon Island, far north off the west coast of Sinnoh," Cynthia quickly explained. "And that's what worries me the most. This must mean that Cipher has been to Sinnoh to some extent; at least enough to track down and capture Darkrai. Do any you have any idea who this admin is?"

"From White's and Cheren's descriptions," N spoke up. "I think he is the Cipher Admin Eldes. He-"

"Eldes?" Cynthia interrupted. "His name is Eldes? With reddish hair?"

"I think so," N restated, a bit perplexed. "We haven't seen nearly as much of him as Ardos, but-"

"But this is no good! It's all my fault they have Darkrai!" Cynthia shouted in despair. N, further perplexed, opened his mouth to provide reassurance, but Cynthia elaborated before he got the chance.

"I told him about Darkrai, and where he could find him! Not even a month ago! I hadn't even heard of Cipher then. He just met me in a café in Sinnoh and struck up a conversation about legendary Pokémon. And of course I told him everything I knew about them! I thought he looked familiar! And now Cipher has information on even the most obscure legendaries, and where they are likely to find them! And it's all my fault! How can-"

"Cynthia!" Cheren shouted, in much the same way he had to White. "Calm down! You had no way of knowing who he was, and they could have just as easily tracked down another mythology expert! But that's not important now! What is important is focusing on the battle that's going to start in less than fifteen minutes! We need to deal with the most immediate threat before we can start worrying about details like that! Now are you ready to leave?"

"You… are right," Cynthia agreed. "And yes, I suppose it is best we leave now. Good luck to you all."

"W-wait!" Claire cried out as Cheren and Cynthia reached for their flying-type's Pokéballs. However, they appeared not to have heard her, so N spoke up on her behalf.

"Wait! Claire knows something else important as well."

Claire flinched slightly as all the trainers' eyes turned to her. Staring at a point halfway between them and the ground, she spoke softly.

"I… T-Togepi also s-said… or, y-you know, thought… s-something about… that 'the s-streets and outskirts of Opelucid are c-completely f-filled with C-C-Cipher agents…'"

"Filled? Like literally filled?" White gaped. "Well… Frickin…"

"Hold on," Cheren said with clearly forced calm. "We need to be sure there are no miscommunications, and quickly. White, Bianca: just give a rough estimate as to how many agents you saw in Mistralton City."

Bianca was quickest to respond. "I guessed it was around two hundred and fifty, but White said it couldn't be more than one hundred and fifty, but neither of us got a very good look at everything. So, like, say, two hundred-ish?"

"Okay. Two hundred. Now let's just assume there's about that many in Icirrus City as well. So that's four hundred. Add to that the one hundred that I encountered in Undella. Now, how much would it take to 'fill the streets and outskirts of Opelucid'?"

A rather grim moment of silence passed. Then, White tentatively spoke up.

"…Seven hundred?"

"Frankly, that's a bit optimistic," Cheren said with a slight frown. "I myself would say eight fifty. But let's say just eight hundred for now. That's a one-thousand-three-hundred-strong army, plus however many are at the League. Now, how many people do we have? The forces I raised in the east number around two hundred and fifty."

"That would depend on how many citizens were willing to volunteer," N responded, grimacing. "I think we can count on three hundred with Clay and Burg's combined forces, and there's probably about three hundred and twenty-five here. That's… Eight hundred and seventy-five total."

Despair seeped into N's heart. He hadn't realized how horribly outnumbered they were. Furthermore, every lowly peon would have at least one Shadow Pokémon on their team, and the higher-ranking ones could have three or four, not even considering the admins' six. He saw his faltering hope reflected in White and Bianca's faces, but Cheren went on unconcernedly.

"The solution is simple, then. Each battalion needs to take their respective city as rapidly as possible. Mistralton, Lacunosa, and Icirrus are manageable. Then, once all of those have been reclaimed, all three of our legions must strike their center at Opelucid simultaneously. I'll send a message via Unfezant to Icirrus once we've got Lacunosa, and you send him back once you've all met up in Icirrus. Altogether we'll be able to take Opelucid. Sound good? Good."

With that, he sent out said Unfezant and leapt onto his back. Cynthia, whom N thought still looked a bit guilt-ridden, climbed onto her Braviary. Cheren turned to face White and Bianca, but seemed to carefully avoid looking at N, as he had the last time they had all parted.

"Good luck, guys. We've got this under control."

He then made to leave, but Bianca suddenly rushed forward, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Ch-Cheren! Wait!" she cried out, reaching her hand forward.

"Later, Bianca," Cheren dismissed, though grimacing as he did so. "I'm sorry, but we've already delayed too much. You need to leave, too."

Despite Bianca's protests, he then immediately took to the skies at top speed, closely followed by an ever-more-apologetic Cynthia. Bianca seemed to shrink where she stood, falling into horribly pitiful yet completely silent sobs. White put her arm around her shoulders and squeezed her comfortingly.

"He's right, B; we've got to go now. Don't worry about him. He's plenty strong enough to take care of himself. We'll see him again before the night's over."

Bianca nodded vigorously in agreement as White threw her Pokéball into the air to send out Reshiram above the heads of the crowd. She nimbly leapt up, grabbing hold of his foot, and held herself up on his leg. She extended a hand to Bianca and pulled her up, and both climbed up onto the yang dragon's back. White glanced back at N, and her face seemed to fall slightly. N offered her an encouraging smile, trying with it to remind her that they wouldn't be apart for long. However, he couldn't help but feel her worry as well; a major battle was about to take place, and people died in major battles.

But he could not, would not, think that. They were going to win, to defeat these selfish, greedy invaders and save Unova, and subsequently the entire world. They were all going to be just fine, he told himself assertively. She's going to be just fine…

By the time N shook his daze off, Reshiram had sped away. Burying his fear as deeply as he could, he made a split-second decision and quickly scaled onto the roof of the Pokémon Center. From this height, he surveyed the vast crowd of trainers, some confused, some frightened, some eager to fight. N inhaled deeply, before calling out in as loud and authoritative a voice as he could possibly manage.

"Would you all please listen briefly to what I have to say?"

The effect was immediate and rather startling. A wave seemed to pulsate through the crowd from the point where N stood. Those closest instantly fell silent and turned to N, followed by those next to them, and those next to them, drawing closer to the Pokémon Center all the time, until, in just under a minute, the entire multitude of trainers was compacted as tightly around N's impromptu stage as possible, gazing intently up at him, keen to take in his words.

N had not anticipated the feeling of hundreds of eyes focused so completely on him; of so many minds ready to absorb anything he might say; of such an extensive crowd ready to go to what could very easily be their deaths at his command. The sensation was dizzying; it vividly recalled the moment his father had placed the crown of Team Plasma upon his head. He couldn't honestly say he disliked it, but it was not a pleasant feeling either. He truthfully did not know what to make of it.

"…I think it only fair," he finally began after a few moments, "that you all know exactly what it is that you about to fight for. I know that there must be some level of confusion amongst you, given the way the story has been conveyed. So I will just tell you exactly what's going on: an international organization known as Cipher has invaded Unova. They originated from the Orre region, and soon took over the Hoenn region. They have influence in the other three regions, but have not quite occupied them."

"Why did they attack Unova then?" someone called out, and was met with a moderate shout of agreement.

"…I… am not entirely sure…" N slowly said, growing nervous. "It is possible that they wanted to surround the three central regions."

He took a deep breath, swallowed, blinked slowly, and carefully went on.

"But the most likely reason they invaded Unova right now… is because I fled here, and they managed to track me."

He paused briefly, awaiting the roars of indignation, but was thoroughly caught of guard when none came, and everyone merely continued staring at him expectantly. A bit tentatively, he continued speaking.

"…I did not intend for Cipher to follow me here. I would not have come had I known they would have. But they managed to, somehow. In other regions, they have attempted to discredit me by spreading rumors that I am a dangerous terrorist, which many of you have likely heard already."

"Well, are you a terrorist?" someone suddenly accused. However, to N's utter astonishment, they were the one met with roars of indignation before he could even begin to articulate a response.

"You even know who you're talkin' to?"

"That's N Harmonia, that is!"

"He was all of the good ideals behind Team Plasma, and none of the petty theft!"

"Haven't you heard about all his humanitarian efforts abroad since he saw the error of his ways with Plasma?"

"The Champion trusts him! White Shirkuro trusts him! All the Gym Leaders and Elite Four trust him!"

"And you'd have to be pretty blind not to have seen that these Cipher people are bad news. He's doing all he can to stop them from taking over our home!"

"That sound like a terrorist to you?"

The shouts eventually faded, and the original speaker was apparently too humiliated to respond. N, however, remained briefly too shocked to continue. He really had had very little idea of the Unovan public's opinion of him when had departed Kanto, and in truth had braced himself for the worst, given his involvement with Team Plasma. He had dared to remain hopeful that White had stemmed the animosity towards him to some extent, but he had never dreamed that she had defended him so fiercely that the entire populace of Unova had completely dissociated him from the less noble facets of Team Plasma. He felt a strong surge of affection for his dear friend, and swore that he would find some way to thank her for her incredible kindness.

"…Thank you all," he said, slowly and sincerely, as he blinked out of his memories. "But to answer your question, no, I am not a terrorist. I seek only to save lives."

Again to his surprise, his plain and honest words were met with shouts of approval. He shook his head slightly, clearing his thoughts and backtracking to his last words before the outcry.

"…But you still do not know exactly what Cipher is," he went on solemnly. "They possess unusually strong Pokémon known as Shadow Pokémon. These Shadow Pokémon have been through horrible abuse and corruption, and no longer comprehend things like love, happiness, and mercy. They will attack your Pokémon to kill, and will not hesitate to attack you yourselves likewise if their trainers order it. The kinds of people Cipher attracts are generally, though it would not be fair to say always, the kinds of people who want power regardless of the suffering it causes. Many of them will order their Shadow Pokémon to attack you. You may be facing death. Please understand the gravity of that. I request, but certainly do not demand, that you aid us in this war. If you do not want to fight, there is no shame in remaining here. I understand how sudden this is, and many of you may simply be unprepared. That is perfectly fine, and you are welcome to stay here, whatever the reason may be.

"Now, I would like to give you time to consider this, but I am afraid there is none to spare. We fly to Icirrus City now. You should have found someone to fly with if you don't have any flying Pokémon. You must choose now. Take flight and follow me if you wish to fight; if not, merely remain here."

Throughout this entire speech, N's audience stared wide-eyed at the roof of the Pokémon Center, stunned by the impact of his words. N had not expected them to hang on his every word so closely, but was glad to see that he had in fact frightened them. They needed to know exactly what they were facing, and this knowledge would frighten just about anyone.

A few moments later, however, once his words had sunken in, many began to cry out shouts of determination, and proclamations of valiance. The cries of hundreds of flying-types echoed loudly throughout the city with inspiring courage. As many of the trainers began to take to the skies, N released Zekrom above their heads and leapt onto his back.

He burned with shame when he nearly forgot Claire in his mounting fear and excitement, and hastily told Zekrom to descend to pick her up. As he hoisted her up onto the yin dragon's back and rose higher into the air, he quickly overlooked the rising mass of trainers, and noted, somewhat bittersweetly, that no more than twenty trainers were remaining behind. He then turned to his legion, and shouted the first words of encouragement that came to his mind.

"Let our endeavors be prosperous! May Unova remain free at sundown!"

Thus, with N and Zekrom at its head, the second battalion of the makeshift Unovan Army charged into its first battle.

If White had to choose one word to describe the battle at Mistralton, she would have chosen "overpowering." As she led the aerial forces upon her Archeops to engage Cipher's sky legion, she ceased to be the independent Pokémon Trainer White Shirkuro, but became (as many of the soldiers had taken to calling her) General Shirkuro, leader of the first battalion of the Unovan Army, merely the head of a large body in an anachronic void.

She was vaguely surprised at how naturally military leadership came to her. In a way, it was a lot like her usual Pokémon battles on a much larger scale; she commanded her troops as fluently as she would her team, or her limbs. As it was when her Pokémon fell in battle, she felt a sharp pang of sadness whenever one of her comrades plummeted from the sky, but did not let it distract from her ultimate victory.

Cipher had evidently underestimated their forces' aerial prowess, as their readily-airborne numbers were few and only moderately skilled. Taking full advantage of Archeops's rock-typing, White was able to take out many of their Shadowed flying-types with relative ease. She gave whatever orders came instinctively to her, naturally citing and utilizing the secondary types of both her allies and enemies. Her soldiers continually drove Cipher's back towards Mistralton, until the battle was literally taking place directly above the city.

The battle raged on for a vague amount of time. White thought it seemed to be a lot, but time had become a rather abstract idea irrelevant to her. She saw no less than ten of her comrades struck from their steeds with bolts of lightning, dropping to their deaths as smoky masses. At least five were pelted with stones of some sort until they too were thrown from the sky, hitting the ground with barely-audible yet horribly disturbing thuds.

And then it appeared: the great, looming gray mass of Kyurem, bringing with it a piercing chill that rapidly spread through the air, ridden by the same blue-haired Cipher Admin that had blasted her from the sky only hours ago. It tore through White's legion with frigid bolts of icy energy, killing ten trainers in less than a minute, at least one of which was in fact a Cipher agent.

White quickly took note of a flock of Skarmory and Aerodactyl trainers engaging several Swellow-flying Cipher soldiers. Taking diligent care not to be seen by the Admin (Ardos, she thought his name way), she swooped upon the enemy squad, bombarding them with Rock Slide attacks, while ordering her trainers to strike Kyurem from behind with steel and rock-type attacks. She could almost feel them obey, the same way she could feel her arm extend to strike a Cipher peon from his Swellow.

The Swellow riders having been swiftly dealt with, White soared directly above the ice dragon, who was struggling to fight off the tiny Skarmory surrounding it. Seized suddenly by an utterly mad idea, White whispered to Archeops to continue attacking the boundary Pokémon, then leapt from her Paleozoic bird and landed on Kyurem's back, directly behind to the Admin Ardos. He turned swiftly around, just in time to meet White's punch to the face. For a moment he seemed stunned, and White moved in for another blow, but he quickly ducked under it and punched her mightily in the stomach. Before White could react, he beat down on the back of her head, knocking her flat on her stomach. She attempted to push herself back up, but he stomped down on her back, nearly cracking her ribs in two. As she laid on the ice dragon's back, wracked with pain, he leaned next to her face and whispered in her ear, with a voice mixed with fiery fury and cool condescension:

"This is what you get for foolishly throwing yourself in Cipher's path, you stupid little girl."

These words ignited a blazing fire in White's heart, numbing all pain and invigorating her with indignant rage. In no more than two seconds, she leapt up, kicking Ardos in the crotch and face, and rolled off of the edge of Kyurem's back, just as Archeops and two Skarmory dealt simultaneous critical hits that finally knocked the wuji dragon unconscious. Archeops dove down and intercepted White's free fall easily, and the two sky warriors soared upward as they watched Ardos and Kyurem plummet from the sky. However, the celebratory shouts of their entire legion became incensed ones when Ardos whipped out a Revive, only to then flee towards Opelucid City upon his badly weakened dragon. Yet even these shouts became ones of triumph once again when they saw a portion of the second battalion flying their way from Icirrus.

White, however, had no time to dwell on the cowardly Admin, nor even much on their reinforcements. As she expediently surveyed the aerial battlefield, she noted that, although the Cipher army had received reinforcements themselves upon reaching the Mistralton City skies, their numbers were beginning to dwindle. Continuing to command her forces to prepare for the second battalion's arrival, White wondered, vaguely optimistic, if this would mean the defeat or surrender of Cipher's Mistralton forces.

But at that precise moment, a sharp pain erupted across White's back, as though countless tiny knives were slashing from her hips upward. Her cry of pain mingled with Archeops's, who struggled weakly to remain airborne. White frantically turned, glancing rapidly around for her assailant, but nearly plummeted from Archeops on her own when she found them.

The blue-eyed member of the Shadow Triad was standing atop a Gyarados in the midst of the chaos. Despite the distance, she could clearly tell that he was the blue-eyed one, so sharply his irises stood out. No one else seemed to even take note of him, but merely continued to fight perfectly around him. But what was most unusual was the fact that he was alone. Where were his normally-inseparable brothers? Were they on some other mission? Did they simply have no Pokémon capable of flight? White sat in shocked silence for a brief moment as she wondered this.

And a brief moment was all the Shadow Triad member needed. The Gyarados summoned several small stones that spun once around it before launching themselves at White and Archeops. The razor-sharp Stone Edge attack rent through White's flesh again, covering her with blood as Archeops fluttered feebly under her own bombardment of jagged rocks. The pain was just too much for her Paleozoic bird, and they both fell from the sky in agony.

White's brain went numb, and time seemed to slow drastically. She was abruptly painfully aware of her own will to live. As she had done during her previous fall, she struggled to reach for Reshiram's Pokéball to save herself, but could scarcely move her mutilated arms. She began to panic badly at her lack of control, contrasting her usual coolness under pressure. This was it; she was falling to her death. She would never see Cheren or Bianca or… N again.

A terrible pang hit her in her last few seconds when she realized that several of her own troops, and even more Cipher peons, had suffered this exact fate, had known this exact terror. Before, she had been able to dismiss them as necessary fatalities of war, all grouped together into a collectiveness labeled "casualties." Now, however, it fully hit her that these were real, individual people and Pokémon, with lives and friends and families they were leaving behind. The revelation of the atrocity that even victory would bring crippled her resolve to even attempt to save herself. She and Archeops would merely…

Archeops. She had to save Archeops, at the very least. Her limbs were flooded with revitalizing energy, and she swiftly but agonizingly grabbed Archeops's Pokéball and threw it about a foot downward, resealing Archeops within it. She then forced herself to reach out and seize the Pokéball, putting it safely back in her bag. The pain of exerting her slashed muscles became too intense to bear, and her consciousness began to violently falter.

As her vision was slowly being filled with darkness, she turned upward and looked at the combatants; what had been her army. She was unsurprised to see that the blue-eyed Shadow Triad member (how odd it was to refer to one singularly!) had vanished without a trace. She also vaguely noted that there seemed to be far more of her own forces than before, and far fewer of Cipher's, but perhaps she had simply never viewed them all at once until just now. Regardless, she was at least partially comforted with the thought that the Unovan forces seemed about to defeat those of Cipher. This was dampened, however, by the thought of all the Cipher peons who had fallen just as she was. In her last moments of consciousness, she prayed to Arceus that not only Unova but the entire world would be free from Cipher with as little death on either side as possible.

And then, finally, after the second that lasted a lifetime, White struck something, and her last thread of awareness was severed. The last things her failing senses reported to her were an earthy scent, a distressed voice, and the tingle of electricity.

The second battalion's victory had been a fairly easy one, N reflected gratefully as he led a rough third of it towards Mistralton City on Zekrom's back. Ardos, who was in command of the forces there, was at the Mistralton forces at the time, and the confused and leaderless Cipher peons fled to Opelucid after a brief skirmish. N was proud that there had not been a single casualty on either side, neither Pokémon nor human.

As he approached the city, N could see that both a battle on the land in and around the city and one in the skies above it were taking place. A horrible chill ran down his spine as he saw bodies strewn across the ground. Every few moments, another would join them by dropping from the sky or being stabbed or fried on land. The atrocity of it all momentarily paralyzed him as he and his legion drew ever nearer to the scene of it. He had always known this was how the war would be, but actually seeing the innumerable loss of life was entirely different from objectively contemplating it.

"Stay focused, N," Zekrom murmured. "You knew it would be this way. This is the price we have to pay for life and freedom of people and Pokémon."

These words seemed to clear the first layer of fog from his brain, and he shook his head to dispel the second. The last bit was swept away, however, by Ardos and Kyurem, who quite suddenly emerged from the midst of the battle and charged headlong for N's squadron of reinforcements. N quickly braced himself to confront the Cipher Admin, but he strangely turned sharply and flew directly around the Unovan forces. Puzzled and slightly worried about his ultimate plan, but also relieved that they had avoided an immediate confrontation, N called out to his soldiers to let the Admin pass and head straight for the battle.

Just as they got far enough into the battle for the designated ground forces began soaring downward, N caught sight of something that turned his blood to ice: White's Archeops fainted midair, and they both fell. In that moment, the battle came to a halt in N's world. All combatants vanished. There was no one left in the world but himself, White, and Zekrom, whom he was urging to rocket forward with as blinding a speed as possible. The yin dragon went into a dive so fast and so steep that he seemed to be in free fall. N's eyes remained frozen on White's descending form, begging that he reach her in time.

Only a second later, Zekrom cut across White's path, saving her approximately half the falling distance. N held out his arms to catch her, but she instead landed directly on his head. He wobbled unsteadily, but managed to keep both White and himself from slipping off of Zekrom's back. As he regained his balance, he exhaled a deep sigh of relief. She was alive, she was okay, she was just fine.

Except he soon saw that, while alive, she was far from fine or okay. She was completely covered in freely bleeding gashes, particularly on her back, arms, and face, and her skin was pale and cold. Her breath was shallow, and she occasionally twitched violently. N gestured to Zekrom to land near the Pokémon Center, but Zekrom shook his head.

"N, have you forgotten about the battle completely?"

The battle. A battle was going on, right around them. N's world suddenly expanded again, encompassing more than himself, his Pokémon, and his best friend. He was needed in the battle. As much as he really deeply wanted to see to White's injuries immediately, he was needed in the battle, and he could not abandon his soldiers as Ardos had. Though it pained him greatly, White would have to wait.

However, just as he made this resolution and faced the legions of Cipher, he saw that they had started to retreat. The peons in the sky swooped down to pick up one or two of their grounded fellows before fleeing in pursuit of their commander. Before N could even begin to make a move, the entire remnants of Cipher's western legion had fled. The first part of the battle was won.

As N glanced down, he saw that Clay was already leading the earthbound forces towards Icirrus, while Burgh appeared to be giving Skyla a full explanation of the situation in front of the (he noticed with a sinking feeling) utterly ruined Pokémon Center. In a split-second decision, N reasoned that he could trust the Gym Leaders to get all the soldiers to Icirrus City without his direct aid, and, calling out nonspecifically a command to convene at Icirrus, he sped away at Zekrom's top speed.

The next few minutes were among the most nerve-wracking of N's life. He could not clearly tell if he was merely paranoid, or if White's breath was gradually growing slower and lighter. He bit his lip, struggling to keep his own breath even, occasionally insisting that Zekrom fly faster. When, after far too long, they finally touched down in front of the Icirrus Pokémon Center, N leapt off Zekrom with White in his arms and rushed in the building without recalling his deep black dragon.

The Pokémon Center was fairly crowded with trainers preparing for the next phase of the battle, but they all gasped and moved out of N's way upon seeing the White's state. Many asked what had happened, but N did not stop to answer.

In a few seconds, Claire was at N's heels with Februa around her shoulders. Most of her words bounced off of N's ears as he hurried to the back rooms designated for human patients, but he was thrown out of his mechanical daze when she jumped in front of him.

"N! J-just let Februa h-heal here!" she quasi-shouted.

For a moment, he merely stood and blinked confusedly, but then her words sunk in, and he was surprised that he had ever thought anything else.

"Y-yes! Of course!" he agreed, kneeling down and holding White out for Februa to see. The pearly snake sniffed her tentatively before turning up to Claire.

"Sh-should I…?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah! G-go on, Feb!" Claire responded with her innate understanding.

Februa nodded and let out his distinct high-pitch cry enveloping White in a soft glow that seemed to melt her gashes from her skin. Though she was still cold, pale, and blood-soaked, her direct physical injuries had been addressed. She would surely recover soon.

"…I-is she g-gonna be okay now?" Claire timidly asked.

"I think so," N happily answered.

"Well I certainly don't," someone called out from behind them. N spun around to see the Pokémon Center's nurse shuffling over to them through the crowd.

"Um, I'm-" N began, but the nurse impatiently cut him off.

"She's clearly lost a lot of blood. All Heal Pulse does is mend injuries. It's great and all that she isn't still losing more, but I can tell you right now she's gonna need a blood transfusion. Give her here, now, so we can take care of that."

"I'll give blood for her," N blurted out immediately. The nurse shook her head with a bemused smile.

"Look, as sweet as that is, it'd only take longer to check both your blood type and hers, rather than just use some of the labeled donations. Just tell me one thing, though, and tell me straight-up," she said with a sigh. "How many more injured people and Pokémon are on the way?"

"…Most likely… at the least… a hundred Pokémon and fifty people… that aren't dead…" N grimly estimated. "But how did you know the Mistralton Pokémon Center was destroyed?"

"PC message. Cipher couldn't shut those off," she explained tersely. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to have her set up before the others arrive."

"W-wait!" N called out loudly. "How long will this take?"

"Three weeks ago, it'd've taken two to four hours," she called back from the doorway. "But you're pretty damn lucky that a new technique's been proven safe, and she'll be good to go in half an hour, an hour max. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get going."

She then briskly strode off, leaving N and Claire in the crowded lobby. After a moment of mental numbness, N felt Claire tug at his hand, leading him back to where she had sat before his arrival. N sat down wordlessly, reflecting now on the violence of the battle.

He could not deny that he was rather disturbed. He had seen death before, when Cipher had invaded Hoenn, but never even remotely close to the magnitude of the battle over Mistralton. The attack on Hoenn had been swift and decisive, allowing not a moment for the citizens to organize a resistance against it. As such, there had never been a true full-scale battle. The carnage today was the true beginning of a long and terrible night. N sighed deeply, closing his eyes to briefly make his troubles vanish.

N opened his eyes what felt like two seconds later, but saw that many Pokémon and trainers were being rushed into the Pokémon Center. His tired mind couldn't reason through how long must have passed, but he knew he must have slept for some notable length of time. As he shifted to stand up, he saw why he had awoken in the first place: Leader Lenora was kneeling next to his seat, apparently having pushed him awake.

"Pst, N. That boy Cheren's Unfezant showed up just now. Means they've secured Lacunosa Town, right?"

"Um, yes, it does," N mumbled, rather surprisingly tired. "Leader Lenora-"

"Just 'Lenora', dear," Lenora insisted.

"…Lenora," N amended. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Oh, thirty-five, forty minutes, maybe? These are just the last of the hurt making their way in right now. But plenty of people are good-to-go for the attack on Opelucid. We about to start?"

N was vaguely startled at this information, but quickly shook his head to dismiss it. Right now, he needed to be certain of the status of the third battalion.

"Soon, yes," he responded. "I'm going to speak with Unfezant. Is he just outside?"

"Oh yes, you won't miss him," Lenora affirmed. N beamed in thanks and, careful not to disturb Claire, who was sleeping next to him, hurried out of the Pokémon Center. As soon as he set foot beyond the door, Unfezant landed swiftly beside him.

"Hello," he greeted, somewhat stiffly. "I have been told you are capable of understand our speech."

"Hello, good friend," N said, smiling. "Indeed I can. It's nice to formally meet you, Un-"

"Yes, yes," Unfezant interrupted. "Let's get this done quickly. The forces at Lacunosa Town were very strong, as they had seen the size of our forces at Undella already and received reinforcements. However, we were able to successfully drive them back to Opelucid City. We are currently tending to the wounded in Lacunosa, but have sufficient numbers for an assault. When shall we begin?"

"Well…" N replied, a bit uncomfortable at Unfezant's moderate callousness and objectivity. "How about ten minutes from right now? We should be ready by then. Will you be?"

"We will be," Unfezant confirmed, before briskly flying away. N, with suddenly mounting unease, turned back to the Pokémon Center.

And crashed directly into White, who stumbled backwards, but was held steady by Bianca. N, after recovering from the collision and registering what his eyes told him, felt as though he had chugged some sort of revitalizing energy drink. His weariness, his apprehension, and his sadness immediately evaporated as he saw White standing there, looking, though still a bit beaten, as healthy and beautiful as ever.

"Wh-White!" he cried out, throwing his arms around her shoulders. "Y-you're okay!"

But as he embraced her, she stiffened and flinched slightly. N, worried that he had hurt some still-tender injuries, quickly drew back.

"I-I'm sorry!" he half-yelled. "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry! I… am just glad that you're all right."

"I-it's fine, N…" White mumbled, her face burning red again. "You, erm, didn't hurt me."

"Are you sure?" he asked, still concerned.

"Course I'm sure. I'm totally fine now," she insisted, regaining her usual tough demeanor. "So when're we gonna go take Opelucid, huh?"

"In about… eight minutes," N told her, checking his watch. "But-"

"Sweet," White replied, and, before N could say anything else, she turned to the streets and hollered "We take back out last city from those Cipher bastards in eight minutes! Everyone who's fit to fight get ready!"

This announcement was greeted with several shouts of approval. N made to ask White if she was feeling well enough to fight, but she gently pushed him away as she hurried back into the Pokémon Center to shout the same message, which was greeted with the same response. As White again exited, N opened his mouth to ask her again, but, seeming to read his mind, she placed her hand over his mouth.

"N, you know me. You know I'm strong. You know I'm stubborn. You know I'm not the kind of person to stay behind and not fight for the freedom of not just my country, but of people and Pokémon everywhere, just because I got stabbed with a thousand tiny stone knives and fell five hundred feet onto the back of a dragon. So don't even try to suggest that I stay here, 'cause I'm fighting with you till the end."

Tears began to well up in N's eyes at White's words. In that moment, he doubted neither her physical nor psychological resilience. He was completely certain of her sincerity; he knew that she truly would fight to the finish, to Cipher's death or her own.

"But it will not come to that…" he thought somewhat desperately. "I couldn't go on if it came to that…"

The conclusion was simple, then. Cipher would die. Sighing, N stood beside White and rested his head on her shoulder, looking again at the almost completely faded sunlight. White tensed slightly, but relaxed almost immediately, so he knew she wasn't hurt. Then, he suddenly remembered he still owed her.

"White? Thank you for defending everyone's memory of me here" he said, plainly sincere and grateful. White laughed happily in response. Also smiling, N glanced again at his watch. Four minutes remained.

Cheren paced rapidly back and forth on the western outskirts of Lacunosa Town, silhouetted against the setting sun, trapped in a vortex of excitement, apprehension, joy, fear, triumph, and at least six other emotions. He checked his watch again and again, but each time he found that only five or six seconds had passed, and let out a frustrated growl.

"Ten minutes," he thought bitterly. "Why in Arceus's name does that fool want to wait ten whole minutes?"

But he knew that, while he was many things, N was no fool. He knew there were very likely legitimate reasons for the wait on N's side, but this did not make the wait any more pleasant. He was still filled with a burning desire to finish the battle. He partly did not care whether they won or lost; he merely wanted to know the results of the battle. This uncertainty was worse than anything.

For the umpteenth time, he rapidly replayed the battle in his head, in an attempt to kill at least a full minute. He had led the land assault, which had rapidly besieged the town and engaged all of Cipher's forces. This had allowed Cynthia's aerial assault to pick off many of the peons before they even realized that attacks were raining from above. Then, Zillion Riches led an attack from the north, which had finally pressure the Admin in command (Eldes, his name was) to retreat to Opelucid. Bada bing, bada boom, and the fight at Lacunosa was over.

Cheren looked at his watch again, and nearly tore it off when he saw that he had consumed a grand total of twenty seconds. He still had nearly two full minutes before they could begin the attack. He again considered merely striking ahead of time, but he knew that could be disastrous for his battalion, if Cipher's forces at Opelucid were as vast as the girl had reported they were. They needed to hit both sides of the city simultaneously, or the early side would be crushed.

His thoughts drifted to White, and his pent up energy seemed to abruptly flicker out. He was jealous of N; he would not deny that, at least to himself. White had said on more than one occasion that Cheren was like a brother to her, and Cheren had forced himself to be flattered by this each time. But no matter how much he insisted otherwise, to anyone, he was in love with her. He frequently told himself that he was not, that he was perfectly happy thinking of her as a sister, but he was far too clever to be deceived by such pathetic lies. He persisted in trying, though, because he knew that was the relationship that White wanted. She loved N, not him, and that wasn't going to change.

"Cheren?" a voice called out. Cheren whirled around to see Zillion Riches approaching slowly. "Are you ready? It's almost time."

The burning desire for battle flared up violently in Cheren's chest again, and all his fear, excitement, triumph, and everything else overwhelmed him again. This was it, at last; the decisive clash for the fate of Unova was at hand.

"Excellent," he said, as coolly and evenly as he could manage, gazing thoughtfully at the receding daylight. "Let's begin, then."