Disclaimer: I really want another pokemon game to come out. Actually, know what would make the best pokemon game ever? Cutscenes, music like in PMD2/3, a good storyline like the PMDs and B/W, full-body sprites like in the Ranger games, characters that you can customize, 3D battles, romanticalness (like being able to date your rival if you want), pokemon being able to follow you around and stuff like that. What? That wasn't a disclaimer? No, it wasn't, but everybody knows that 'Turn To Stone' and Pokemon aren't mine so I don't see why it matters.

Characters: N X Touko. Aweh, I want to cuddle the crap outta him 3

Summary: The scene that started it all…butchered by me :)

Ferris Wheel

~Let's take a better look, beyond a storybook

And learn our souls are all we own

Before we turn to stone~

Rain refracted off the pavement like fast-blooming flowers, instantly soaking Touko as she walked out into the nighttime downpour. Her messenger bag bumped against her hip, just as wet as the rest of her; water pooled in her sneakers due to the tears it had sustained from travelling. Her hair stuck to her face and back, a watered-down mane of brown that gleamed under the lights that adorned the gates of Nimbasa's theme park when she strode through them.

No cheers of thrill-seekers or giggling children greeted her, the weather having chased most indoors. Only a few smoking teenagers and patrolling policemen inhabited the place, along with a green-haired boy that stood against the ethereal light of the ferris wheel.

N.

She stopped in her tracks, droplets running off her lashes and onto her face. He was as drenched as she, his slightness heightened by the way his clothes were plastered to his body. His spring-coloured tresses were outlined in white, illuminating the face that had lit up the instant he had seen her, and Touko traced each extraordinarily delicate features: the heart shape of his lips, the bottom too full to match the top; the translucent skin of his cheeks, as breakable as blown glass; the long, silvery lashes; the curve of his brows. Pretty as a flower, Touko thought. And just as fragile.

He came towards her in those measured, flowing steps of his, each motion blending into the next. "Good evening," he said with a slight tip of his hat, the timbre of his voice as warm as an old friend's. "What brings you here in such weather?"

His words leapfrogged over each other and he was almost too formal, but Touko liked him. He was nice. Genuinely nice. Most of the boys she knew were mean and self-centered, but N…he was strange and could sometimes be narrow-minded, but kind. "I'm looking for some Team Plasma grunts, actually," she answered. "They were harassing this old man earlier, and they've done some other stuff that doesn't sit well with me, so I wanted to give them a piece of my mind. Have you seen them?"

"Ah." His eyes, twin lakes with no shadows, all at once seemed incredibly sad. "Yes, as a matter of fact I have. Here." With a hesitance that Touko found endearing, he offered an arm. "Would you mind accompanying me on the ferris wheel? We may be able to see them from the top."

If it was any other boy (aside from Cheren or Black) she would have refused and called him out for hitting on her, but because it was N she smiled, thanked him and linked arms. Together they made their way to the ferris wheel, its polished exterior aglow; N paid the operator and then proceeded to open the door for her, allowing her to slide in first. He sat down across from her, taking the hat from his head and twirling it in his lap in a nervous fashion as the rotation began.

"I love ferris wheels," he admitted, luminous cyan eyes downcast. Touko, who was busy watching from the window for any sign of the Plasma grunts, was too busy to notice how he was fidgeting. "The circular motion, the mechanics…They're like collections of elegant formulas."

She nodded, pulling her eyes away to fix them on N. "I like them, too. My parents used to take me and my friend Black here all the time when we were little. My favourite ride was always the ferris wheel, but Black would always drag me onto the roller coaster in the gym and laugh when I screamed my head off." She smiled at the memory. "Did you ever come here?"

Slowly, as if it pained him, he shook his head.

"That's okay. You're here now." Her smile faded a little at the wistful curve to his mouth. "Hey, so you said that you saw Team Plasma here, right? Do you remember where they were?" She turned to peer down at the fairgrounds again. "Because I don't see them anywhere, and I really need to talk with them. Seriously, do you know what they've done? They stole my friend Bianca's pokemon, nearly beat up Cheren, and are spouting all this crap about how pokemon should be released-"

"Touko." He was wincing, his blue eyes oceans of emotion. "Touko, I…I have to confess something."

"What?" She blinked, thrown off her stride. "What is it?"

"I am the king of Team Plasma." Touko felt herself freeze, staring at him blankly. Then all of a sudden she felt her stomach flip, memories reeling before her mind's eye: meeting N at Team Plasma's speech; the tenderness in which he treated all pokemon; what he had talked to her about in front of Lenora's gym; Cheren begging her, There's something off about him, Touko. I want you to stay away from him. Please. For me.

"Ghetsis asked me to work with him to save the pokemon," he was continuing, even though she still couldn't fully wrap her head around his previous words. "We're working towards a world in which everyone is equal. Now, if there are issues with their behaviour then discipline will be arranged- but their hearts are good. You trainers need to understand that. You are defensive because you've grown up thinking that forcing pokemon to battle is acceptable, but it is wrong. Pokemon die, and trainers get nothing but glory. Pokemon in the wild are caught and taken away from their families. It's all wrong, Touko, don't you see?" He leaned towards her pleadingly, and she flinched back. "We're not thugs, Touko. We're saviours."

She felt sick, and to her horror she could feel tears welling up. "You lied to me," she spat. "How could you not tell me you were one of them?" All at once she had the horrible feeling that his eyes were wet, but she beat the guilt away. "You and your stupid Team Plasma are wrong! Yes, pokemon get hurt sometimes; yes, pokemon are sometimes taken away from their families- but the majority of them love their trainers, and their trainers love them. Not all pokemon suffer under the hands of their trainers. Most of us are equal. Why can't you understand that?"

At that moment the ferris wheel lurched to a stop, and Touko scrambled to her feet, yanking the compartment door open and running out into the downpour. N followed after her, taking her hand in both of his and tugging her back.

"Please." He sounded so ragged. "Please, Touko. I-"

"Lord N!" Two Plasma grunts dashed into view. "You're safe, sire!"

"Is there a problem?" one asked, sending a spiteful look at N and Touko's joined hands.

"There is no problem. Go, quickly." They bowed and fled with one last look at Touko, but she was too shocked to run after them. All she could do was try to blink as N turned back to her, wet tracks running down his cheeks. "Can you follow my logic?" he asked, azure eyes searching cobalt. "I know that you're upset with me, but can you see the world the way I see it for only a moment?"

She could, but it sent a sick twinge through her. "Yes," she nearly whispered. "But that doesn't mean I agree with it."

"I understand." He dropped her hand, his sorrowful gaze glistening at her through the rain. "And I'm sorry that you feel that way, but my conviction is stronger than yours."

"Maybe," she murmured. "But my love for my pokemon beats that sevenfold."

Surprise flickered across his face.

"Hey! Team Plasma, stop!" Howls of nearby policemen caused them both to start. "Where is the third member of your party?"

"I have to go." He took a step back, the chain around his neck winking in the light. "I am so sorry, but I-"

Just then a beam of a flashlight passed over them both, and N stiffened, looking all the world like a deerling caught in headlights. That awful feeling was still bubbling in Touko's stomach, but against her will memories were swarming her: meeting N for the first time, and the sweet smile he had given her; him telling her about his pokemon friends, and letting them play with hers; sharing apple slices in Pinwheel Forest; finding him sitting in an empty stairwell in Castelia, his face abused by bruises and tears and him collapsing onto her and sobbing out that he had made his father angry again when she had demanded what had happened. An emotion she didn't fully understand herself rose in her on a great wave, and without thinking she grabbed his wrist and began running.

"What-"

"Shhh!" They reached the gym, and she shoved him down so that he was concealed by one of the neon signs. "Stay here until I come back, alright?"

Dazedly, he nodded.

She jogged back, crossing paths with the policemen. "Have you seen a Team Plasma grunt running around here?" they asked.

"Yes," she said, and predictably pointed them in the wrong direction.

Afterwards she returned to the place where she had hid N, expecting to find that he had taken off. To her surprise, he was still there, huddled there on the ground and looking pitifully small in the rain. Once again she remembered the way he had cried in Castelia, the way he had laid his head upon her lap and cried as if he had never done so before in his life. I'm sorry, he had whispered after. I'm sorry that you had to see that, but…why did you stay?

Because you needed me to, she had said.

"You helped me…again." His voice pulled her out of her reverie, and her eyes refocused to see him staring up at her, his head leaning to the side as he examined her. He seemed to be puzzling out the situation verbally. "You hate me, but still you helped me."

"I don't hate you." She still felt raw, and tears were mingling with rain on her face, but she couldn't deny the positive feelings she still held towards him. "Hate and hurt are two very similar things, but I don't hate you. Your heart's just in the wrong place."

He gazed at her for an immeasurable moment before speaking again. "You helped me again. Why?"

"Because you've been kind to me." As she said it he rose to his feet, and she took a step back, no longer hidden by the sign. "And I wanted to thank you for that."

He stepped forward so that they were separated by only a millimetre of space, so close that she had to tip my head back to meet his eyes. "Nevertheless, we can't be friends," he murmured, softly and remorsefully. "Not until I reach my goal."

"I'm going to stop you." She could feel the heat coming off his skin now, and it felt as if the entire world had shrunk down to just the two of them.

"I know." Timidly, he reached to sweep a damp mass of brown hair off her shoulder, conflict clear on his face. "But thank you, Touko, for everything." Shutting his eyes, he leaned forwards, and she felt her heart spasm in anticipation- but then his forehead touched hers, and as he left it there she felt herself relax if only for a moment, wondering how such a sweet boy could possibly be wrapped up in Team Plasma.

"Goodbye, Touko." It was the barest of breaths, and the warmth that had surrounded Touko faded. Her eyes fluttered open to see him walking away, a white blur against the rain.

"Goodbye, N." His name felt heavy on her tongue, and she stepped out so that shewas in front of the gym, a hand pressed against her still-rampaging heart-

When she saw Cheren standing a metre away from her, his electric blue eyes telling her that he had seen the entire thing, before he clenched his fists and stalked off.

~And maybe we won't feel so alone,

Before we turn to stone~