Castle of Shadows

-.-.-

Part 1: Ideals

-.-.-

Chapter 20: Team Plasma's King

-.-.-

"D-D-D-Dew-" White scrambled backwards, unable to force her voice to function properly through her trembling lips. Dewott, completely baffled by the sudden alteration in her mood, examined her quizzically. As her trainer's back hit the headboard of the bed, she cocked her head to the side, frowning. Had she done something wrong?

White was shaking, eyes wide in a state of complete shock. What on earth was going on? As far as she knew, the closest Pokémon had come (at least, since Ancient Unova) to communicating with humans was through telepathy, and she knew Dewott did not have a hint of psychic-type in her. Had she been hearing things?

"White?" Dewott said. White would have felt guilty, having quickly identified the genuine concern in her partner's face, had her mind been clear. At the moment, guilt was not a priority emotion. "Are you alright?"

"What do you think?" White snapped back, her retort aggressive.

This time, Dewott recoiled. "Wait…" She trailed off, crossing her arms. Suddenly, Dewott seemed human, and White was incredibly unsure of how she felt about it. "Did you just…?"

"Hear your every word in plain English," White finished. "Yes I did. Now can you please tell me what the Hell is going on here?"

Dewott shrugged in what was to White an annoyingly casual manner. "Dunno. I'm not a psychic."

"Then what are you doing to talk to me?"

"I'm just communicating how I normally do!"

Hearing the frustration in her Pokémon's voice, White took a deep breath, and another, and continued to do so until it felt like her lungs would explode. Only then did the discomfort of doing so replace her sheer confusion.

"Okay…" she said, through her final breath. "Sorry. I just… I don't know what's going on." When Dewott did not say anything, she shrugged. "I was just reading and… Well…" To the water-type's surprise, she laughed. "I guess I'm taking everyone literally when they told me to listen to you guys."

Dewott smiled. "It's alright. To be honest, I'm just as confused as you."

A thought entered White's mind, and she dived down into her bag, almost throwing herself off the bed as she did so. "I wonder…" A little too triumphantly, she pulled Lillipup's pokéball out of her bag. Dewott's face scrunched—she couldn't help but notice how much more human her Pokémon looked now that she could communicate in what seemed like plain English. That is, assuming she wasn't dreaming.

Heart pounding, she released Lillipup onto the floor of the room. The normal-type cocked its head to the side, previously-wagging tail progressively slowing to a standstill as the two eyed each other for a few moments. White knew she did not have to say anything to potentially begin a conversation. All she had to do was wait a few moments, before the dog would inevitably release a confused yap.

To her dismay, that was all that came out of her Pokémon's mouth. In response, she stared at Lillipup, puzzled, although Lillipup himself hadn't the faintest idea why.

"Uhh, White." Dewott lifted a finger, knowing what White was trying to do despite now noticing that it was definitely not working. "I think you're scaring him."

Lillipup barked in agreement, a sound that was unmistakeably that of a Pokémon. Groaning loudly, she quickly recalled the normal-type, almost as quickly as she released him. Dewott frowned.

"I take it you couldn't hear anything vaguely human-like," she said. White nodded slowly. "Well, I don't know, then," she continued, in response to her trainer's questioning look.

White shook her head. "Ugh, not even a word," she groaned. Frowning, she turned to face her Pokémon. "Are you sure you're not pranking me?"

Dewott grimaced, her imminent offense apparent in her voice. "I think this is a little too impressive of a prank to realistically pull off."

Defeated (far too easily) White slumped against the wall, crossing her arms and pouting her lip. If her persona was to be likened to anything, it would be to an annoyed child, staring down at her lap as she refused to say another word. Or, rather, was too deep in thought to do so, but any normal person would have interpreted this depiction as irritation rather than confusion. After a few moments of silence, her eyes trailed to the book which she had carelessly discarded only moments before and her eyes widened.

"That's so weird…" she murmured, frowning. More calmly than she had done anything in the past few minutes, she flipped back onto her hands and knees, pushing herself off the wall with her shoulder blades, and crawled over to it, clutching it almost desperately in her hands. "Only the Heroes have had this kind of ability…"

"Well, actually," Dewott cut in, "I'm pretty sure you're missing a certain human whom I have conversed with quite fluently."

White blinked, then she slammed the book shut in revelation, eyes lighting up and a grin spreading across her face. "N! I need to find N! Maybe he knows something about this."

Dewott rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I never thought I'd hear you say that."

But White was not listening as she leapt off her bed, tripping as she lunged towards the window, managing to successfully steady herself on the sill. Eyes darting eagerly, she scanned the now dimmed streets of the city as if she would automatically catch a glimpse of him. He seemed to be everywhere she went, so surely, by the logic she had told herself previously, he would be somewhere in the city by now. Or, perhaps, she was just being superstitious, but such rational considerations were not loitering about her already crowded brain as she searched.

However, instead of catching sight of his messy green hair, her eyes rested on another sickeningly familiar image—a pair of twin grey outfits, capes flicking behind their wearers in the faded wind as they dashed down the street, gripping a pair of pokéballs each in their bony fingers. White gasped, deftly pushing herself off the window sill and stepping back towards her bed. Suddenly furious at the mere sight of their presence, she stormed towards her bag and slung it over her shoulder in a single swift movement, gesturing aggressively for her partner to follow.

Dewott rolled her eyes. She knew that face—leave it to Team Plasma to hold the ability to single-handedly distract her from what would otherwise be a period of extensive research and utmost confusion regarding an incredibly significant discovery. Unable to keep up to standard with White's desired pace (which was far too fast for Dewott, considering their obvious height differences) White quickly recalled Dewott to her pokéball, stuffing it in her pocket. As she did so, Dewott sighed.

-.-.-

N watched as the pair of Plasma grunts exited the amusement park, faces close as they conversed in harsh whispers between each other. Apparently, White had been making a name for herself among some of the members, even those of higher-up status. So, naturally, if she were to catch sight of one or two of them, she would drop what she was doing to investigate—that was the logical outcome of someone with her personality. Having sent the grunts to the Pokémon Center, each with a pair of empty pokéballs in their hands which she would inevitably assume to be stolen, he waited.

If I cannot go to you, White, he mused, you will come to me.

Burying his hands in his pockets, he gracefully lowered himself onto a nearby bench, eyes sparkling as he gazed up at the night sky, which slowly revealed itself as the sun retreated over the horizon. His anticipation had almost made him call upon her during the day, but the Zorua had since reassured him that the quaint nature of the amusement park during nightfall would bombard them with far less distractions. He was happy he had done so. The city at night truly was beautiful.

He would not have said so a few weeks ago. Having been cooped up in the Palace most of his life, the only glimpses he had stolen of the outside world were of the natural environment, created and destroyed by the forces of the earth in an endless cycle. His seclusion meant he despised cities, because they had overtaken and subsequently destroyed that cycle. Now, having spent endless minutes pacing the streets of whatever city he may find himself in, he was beginning to appreciate the complexity of urban architecture, if only slightly. Because, when he blinked, the flashing lights of the buildings continued to gaze at him, glazing the insides of his eyelids with faded yet ever-present spots of colour.

He smiled as he closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of the city as the lights embedding themselves in his mind's eye blinked back at him. It smelt of pavement and concrete, the gritty scent humbly combining itself with the lilies framing the edges of the amusement park. As he exhaled, he lost himself, burying his brain in the newfound blissful seclusion. For the first time in his life, such a state was optional and personal, and it somehow made him happy.

-.-.-

She walked purposefully over the roads of Nimbasa City, the lack of crowds at this time of night allowing her to break silently through the air in a perfectly straight line, diminishing the amount of time it took for her to reach her destination. The air was cold against the bare skin of her limbs; she could, when standing under the night sky, feel the first hints of Winter creeping up on her, making its presence known subtly at this time of evening. It was strong enough to bite her, but weak enough for her to ignore it in favour of more important matters.

"I think they went this way!" she announced, to no one in particular, her gate travelling only slightly diagonally as she prepared to take the sharp turn to the east. She did not say anything as else she resisted the urge to jog to her destination, figuring such a gate would appear a little strange.

But it was not Team Plasma that White encountered when she began scouting the park, but the green-haired boy who often unexpectedly graced her with his presence, which she always reluctantly accepted. She first saw him melted into a park bench in the corner of the park, eyes closed as he breathed rhythmically into the cold night. She halted when her eyes landed on him, and she simply stared for an incalculable amount of time, watching him. Watching his eyelashes flutter across his cheek, watching his lips part slightly as he released visible puffs of water vapour into the cold night air, watching the outermost strands of his tangled hair dance freely in the barely-there wind. Every faint movement was dusted by a delicate layer of emerging moonlight.

If it weren't N she was looking at, she might have called him beautiful.

She blinked, suddenly realising her true motives. She was not here for him—he was clearly too mentally immersed in god-knows what to notice her, anyway—and she had far more important matters to attend to. Notably, the Plasma grunts had disappeared from her sight, and the last time she had seen them was when she was an easy three blocks away from them, when their capes had trailed around the corner and managed to escape her line of vision. Perhaps she had no hope…

But the amusement park was practically empty, aside from the occasional teenager and their friend or partner, and their uniforms were obscure. Surely, there were not that many places they could conceal themselves.

The distraction soon came again in the same form that it had previously. As she passed N, she stole a quick glance at him over her shoulder, flinching as she thought that her footsteps, the only sound to disturb their otherwise silent surroundings, might wake him from his spell. They did, to her dismay, although he somehow looked delighted to see her. No, not delighted. It was more... relief, maybe? She couldn't quite put a finger on what his face would suggest he was feeling as he stood up gracefully and strode over to her, hands in his pockets and eyes shadowed from countless offered light sources by his cap, but she could just determine that they were wider than usual. This was, she thought, strange—N's eyes were usually naturally wide, only adding to the innocence his face conveyed, so to widen them any further had seemed impossible up until now.

His height enabled her to stand at an angle which slowly revealed his eyes as they approached. They appeared dark, despite their size, without a hint of shine infiltrating them. She felt feelings of anxiety breach her body, but she managed to tuck such feelings away at least temporarily.

"White," he addressed, voice somewhat slower than his normally weirdly-fast pace. This did not last long, however, and was only apparent in the single, drawn out word. The fact that it was her name sent shivers down her spine. "How are you?" He was back to his jumbled mass of speech, so much so that it took her a few moments to comprehend exactly what he had said. It was like trying to decipher gibberish, even in the simplicity of the question.

Her eye twitched. She really didn't have time for this. "I'm fine," she said, throwing the words carelessly out of her mouth. "Look, N, I really can't talk because I know you'll inevitably engage me in some sort of weird, overly-philosophical conversation, and to be honest I'm really busy right now." She sighed, forcing her speech to slow down. "I have to go, I'm…"

"Looking for Team Plasma?" he finished, following her eyes as she glanced around her worriedly. At the sight of her hesitance, he chuckled. She found herself wondering why he was acting so calm about the situation. "I figured as such. I saw them a few minutes ago."

White's face hardened. "Really?" The dancing in her stomach which had occurred when she had initially sighted him had subsided in favour of anticipation. "Where did they go?" She had adopted the look of an eager watch dog, eyes twitching as she quickly took in a fraction of the surrounding environment as if, just by the word of N, the people she sought would appear.

"This way." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder, a little too casually for her liking. "I can help you look for them, if you like."

White considered for a few moments, tapping her chin. Then, deciding she did not have time to consider, nor did she have the patience to say no to him and provoke a possible argument, she nodded firmly. "Would you? Thanks." Reluctantly, she felt grateful.

With the grace of a large beast, she lunged forward. He followed her attentively, a little taken aback at how quickly she had accepted his offer. They had been talking for a solid minute, and he had already caught her attention without having to engage her in intellectual conversation. Although, he supposed, it was not he who had her attention, but the idea of Team Plasma running rampant around the park.

He shook his head, smiling to himself. Perhaps this encounter would not be as difficult as he had initially anticipated.

-.-.-

Of course, they were never going to find Team Plasma. N had not been lying when he said he had seen them, but his assistance was feigned; he simply wished to distract her long enough to forget about her pursuit of the team. This turned out to be a more troublesome feat than he had originally anticipated, and they walked around for about half an hour before she finally gave up. In this time, he found it amusing how her eyes darted around her, picking up any sign of movement or any disturbance in the otherwise stagnant area. She resembled a puppy, one with a rambunctious attitude and an eye for trouble. He caught himself smiling for the time in which they were searching. Luckily, she did not notice his expression with her mind fastened to other intentions, for if she had seen his face she would have inevitably grown suspicious.

She finally stopped her pursuits when she reached the far end of the park for the third time, after scanning the place thoroughly each cycle. When she halted, she collapsed onto a soft patch of grass which cushioned her fall as she threw herself against the wall which bordered the city from route 16. Clearly exhausted, her posture faltered as she melted into her position, slowly sliding down until she was only just sitting up. Soon, her head was propped against a mound of dirt that had been disturbed by the wall, resting her hands on her stomach. At first, N thought she looked defeated, but he was surprised when he instead saw a complete lack of disappointment on her face. For the first time since he had first confronted her, she looked relaxed.

N could only watch her as she closed her eyes for a few seconds, before opening them and meeting his. Her gaze was sharp, and he twitched as he tore his own eyes away from hers, as if he had been pained by the stare. To his surprise, a single "heh" entered his left ear—a noise that sounded almost compromising, as if she had finally accepted his presence.

"Staring's rude, you know," she said bluntly. When he looked over to her again he saw her gesturing to the side of her. "Well, aren't you going to sit down?"

He was initially suspicious at her welcoming his company, tempted to question her on why she had only thrown vague levels of hostility as oppose to the usual consistent amounts. A few weeks ago, there was no way she would have invited him to sit down next to her. However, upon realising that his staring at her was becoming uncomfortable for the both of them, he quickly (and awkwardly) slid down next to her. His stiffness appeared to irritate her slightly, judging by her scrunched nose, but thankfully she decided to keep her mouth shut.

Her fiddling hands nagged at his peripheral vision, and he looked down to see that she was pulling at individual strands of grass, looking quite amused as she dropped pieces onto her knee. The actions were not without consequence, and he noticed that several lines of dirt were being painted across her pale skin, courtesy of the blades. She clearly did not care—regardless of her exhaustion, she was restless in nature.

"So," she said, pushing herself up so she was more on-par with his height (a futile attempt, since even when sitting he still towered over her), "what were you doing here in the first place?" He opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off with an unexpected laugh, although the sound was somewhat monotonous. "I want to say you're stalking me or whatever, but I haven't actually seen you since Nacrene, so I can't say I'm not impressed by your willpower. Or, if that's what you want to call it, since you clearly have a difficult time staying away from me."

Taken aback at the sudden playfulness underlying her overtone of annoyance, he could only manage to laugh awkwardly. A jolt of nervousness had been sent down his spine at her comments, and he resisted the urge to joke about how he had been following her since before their second encounter. In the laws of social etiquette, which he was gradually learning to understand, such actions would not have been deemed acceptable. "I like amusement parks," he said; not a total lie.

To his relief, she shrugged, face blank. "Fair enough." Having calmed down, she leant back to place her head on the wall. "I'm pretty bummed we couldn't find Team Plasma." Clearly, she was more than "bummed"—as she said their name, her teeth were gritted and her tone was sharp.

"Yes, such a shame."

White squinted her eyes. He didn't sound at all disappointed about their failure, and that could have been deemed suspicious. She would have stated her concerns had she not been in the mood she was. Exhaustion had determined that it was too much effort to question him. Besides, he had offered to do something as nice as helping her search for a criminal organisation, so perhaps he was changing?

Deciding to dismiss it, she turned her attention back to her grass pulling, heart sinking as she noticed she had pulled up an entire patch, leaving an ugly pile of dirt-stained stubble breaching from the disturbed earth. She noticed him watching her as she proceeded to idly flick one of the cut-off blades back and forth with her index finger and, in doing so, she suddenly became aware of the situation she was in.

Why on Earth had she allowed him to sit with her so easily? Why wasn't she actively avoiding him, or arguing with him? What the hell had changed in her brain to encourage her to perceive him as tolerable?

She sighed, putting aside her confusion. He had failed to say anything weird yet, and somehow his presence was a little easier to swallow when she'd found him first. For now, she thought, it would be easier to just play nice until he eventually said something strange.

The two remained in silence for awhile, both of them unable to think of a conversation topic. Well, White was. N's situation was a little more complex, his mind swimming with conflict. For days, he had been waiting for her in this very spot, ignoring his duties or any other outside contacts simply because he wanted to see her, to talk to her, to tell her everything, down to his last memory. He could almost imagine the weight being lifted off his shoulders, as Anthea had once told him that honesty granted freedom to the mind. He had never been honest about this—about his life—to anyone outside the Palace, and White, with his suspicions regarding her identity, seemed like the adequate subject.

"I lost today," White said, suddenly remembering the defeat of that morning.

Shocked at the frailty in her voice, his heart leapt and he turned to face her.

She knew she must have looked fragile as she nodded, barely-open eyes twitching as her eyelashes tickled her cheek. Somehow, she did not care in that moment. "To Elesa. She destroyed me, actually." The laugh she let out was hoarse, as if her throat was lined with gravel, yet it was by some means more emotive than the ones previously let out.

N nodded. "I know."

Realising the implications of what he had just said, she jumped out of her confessional state and pushed her body away from him, instinctively seeking to widen the distance between them as much as possible in her current position. "W-what?"

"I watched it." N pointed casually to the gym. "There's a window at the side. I saw you going in and I was curious, since I have never seen you battle before. Other than against me, of course. So I watched you."

Although her stubbornness was protesting against her current mindset, she was almost relieved at his bluntness. His lack of effort to hide such strange exploits behind lies was almost admirable. "T-that's… r-really creepy, you know?"

He shook his head, the statement reassuring him that it was, in fact, still White that he was conversing with and not some strange, calmer imposter. "Is it? I thought humans watched Pokémon battles all the time?"

"W-well, yes, but…" She shook her head, frowning. "There's stands in there, you numbskull," she snapped, rolling her eyes. "They're literally made so we can watch each other battle. If you were that desperate you could have just come in."

"Would that not have been 'creepy'?"

"Less creepy than you admitting you were watching me through a window for about twenty minutes!" She breathed harshly through her nose. "You really need to learn what is acceptable, N. Also, can you stop talking about 'humans' as if you aren't one," she added. "It's weird."

N ignored her second comment. "I do not understand how simply watching you is not acceptable."

"It's just…" White trailed off, accepting that arguing with him was pointless. "Whatever. It's just not."

"I cannot say I understand."

"Well, that's not surprising, since you don't seem to understand-"

In her annoyance, snapped her head towards him to shoot him a glare, but instead found herself cut off. He was staring ahead, a blank expression on his face, eyes circling the rhythm of the Ferris wheel before them. She looked him in the eyes, something she had never done before, and noticed that they were somehow brighter in the steadily arising moonlight. A deep green that resembled the colour of flower stems, or tealeaves, or everlasting meadows of fresh grass, sparkling in the limited light provided. She sat forward to get a better view of him, hoping he would return the eye contact. It almost made her uncomfortable that he did not. Doesn't he know that you're meant to make eye contact with a person when you talk to them?

Although, she finalised, she should not have been questioning this person. He was different, in more ways than one.

"I don't seem to understand…?" he pressed, turning towards her and meeting her gaze. He was a little confused to see her mouth agape, a faint shade of pink tainting her cheeks.

Realising her situation, she swallowed and looked down, so hard that her throat began to ache. "Anything," she finished. "You don't seem to understand anything. And I really don't know how someone can be this… I don't know, oblivious?" She paused for a moment, then said, "Sorry, that was probably rude." Although she did not sound apologetic, N had not caught onto the initial rudeness in the first place, so was not fussed at her lack of truthfulness.

"Perhaps I do not," he said blankly. "But there is an awful lot I do understand. And because of that, I can understand that you rushed into that battle far too quickly." His tone was almost scolding, and it made White slightly ashamed.

She breathed a sigh, accepting his words. "Yeah, I know." Her face was now turned completely away from him, subconscious appointing avoiding his gaze as her number one priority. "I just… I want to see everything, you know?"

As she spoke, N noticed her head turn until she was resting her chin on her knees, which were tucked into her chest. Despite the almost solemn sound in her voice, she did not look sad. Her eyes were wide, sparkling in the moonlight, reflecting the stars that blinked down at her. Suddenly she resembled a child, one with dreams bigger than her capacity to follow them and an imagination larger than her entire world.

"I want to see everything," she repeated, voice slightly muffled due to the limited range of movement in her jaw as it pressed against her chin, "and do everything. And once I've seen everything and done everything, I can go home and I can tell everyone I know about all the things I've done." She let out a feathery laugh. "And when I do, they'll all be amazed."

In her silence following her sudden ramble, N thought it fit to cut in. "Perhaps you should slow down," he offered, thinking his advice was pointless. "You learn much more when you are slow." What he was saying was not necessarily authentic—he had heard the same words from a passing father talking to his rambunctious child son, and right now they seemed fitting.

To his surprise, his words encouraged her mouth to form into a smile. "Yeah, maybe you're right." She breathed a heavy sigh, wrapping her arms around her knees. "I just… I want to go home soon, you know? I want to tell my Mum about everything, and I wish she could know how I was feeling as things happen, right in the moment. She says she's just a phone call away, but…" Her words faded into almost silence, the last words uttered as quiet as the almost non-existent breeze. "Right now, even a phone call seems too far."

N let out a soft "hmm," unsure of what to say, but White had not expected him to speak. Instead, she simply continued to stare forward, hugging her knees closer to her chest.

Then they sat, eyes dancing simultaneously as they tracked the same sight; the wiry silhouette of the Ferris wheel against the golden light cast by the horizon. The amusement park was barren now—White had not noticed because her thoughts had taken over and the world outside her and N did not seem to matter anymore. The voices, the laughs, the children's tantrums, they were all discarded by her brain as irrelevant, and now that they were gone it was like they had never been there. In that moment, it was just her and N sitting alone, bathed in city lights and stars.

It was only when a Pidove flittered in front of them that she became aware of her consciousness again. She blinked suddenly, jutting her head back violently as the sound of the wings startled her back into the outside world. Now she was watching it, a much less rhythmic movement, pecking aggressively as a discarded chip that had been dropped long before. This was much less relaxing.

Finally, her eyes landed on N. She stared at him, for a period of time she could not calculate, the twitching movements of the Pidove going unnoticed as her mind locked onto N's eyes. He seemed completely enamored by the bird, lost in the beauty of natural life that she could never hope to understand. Gradually, she felt a smile creep up onto her face as she rested her chin in her hand, leaning her elbow on her knee for support. He… He really loves Pokémon, doesn't he?

And she thought about what he had said back in Accumula Town—how he sympathized with Team Plasma and, later, how he pondered the ethicality of pokéballs. Somehow, she was beginning to understand; N saw these creatures not just as Pokémon, but as his friends, crossing the barrier between species and seeing them truly as his equals. And, as she thought more about him, she realized that she, too, shared this mindset.

"You know," she said, flinching as he tore his eyes away from the Pidove to stare at her. She was cut off as they made eye contact, and her breath hitched in her throat as she gazed, wide-eyed at his irises. The colour was now a deeper green, freckled by the sparkling lights of the city reflecting flecks of gold, creating the illusion of the canopy of a forest, the golden light of the sun breaking through the otherwise tessellated mat of leaves and branches. This was the first time they had made proper eye contact, and somehow it made her pulse race.

Forcibly breaking the contact in favour of looking at her lap, she coughed, ignoring the dropping sensation in her stomach as she did so. "I-I… I don't agree with you." Her words were firm. They made N recoil slightly. Before he could say anything more, she continued. "Not with the Pokémon and pokéballs and all those ethical things—I can see where you're coming from in that respect. B-but… you said you agreed with Team Plasma." Nerves suddenly eradicated, she shook her head firmly, meeting his paralysed gaze with a steely glare. "I cannot agree with them. They say that the only solution to these issues is the separation between humans and Pokémon. But our friendship—the bonds that we share between species. That is a way of life. And what stands now between us… To me, that is the true way of life."

N could only stare at her, taking in her words like oxygen. They were the words he needed to convince him of what he had been searching for his entire life. Now, N knew, and it made him even more eager to reveal his own identity. One way or another, she would understand—he was sure of it.

To her surprise, he stood up, and she jumped back slightly, flinching as her back knocked against the hard concrete behind her. He was staring down at his feet, hands balled in fists at his sides. She thought he was sad, or annoyed, or anything negative, as would be expected when someone disagreed with ideals one clearly held strongly. But, to her surprise, when he finally looked back at her, a grin decorated his face, and suddenly her heart was once again beating far too aggressively.

It did not help when he held out a hand. "Come with me," he almost demanded. After staring at his hand for a few moments, she did not refuse. But she also did not grab his hand, preferring to ignore its offering if only for her own sanity. She stood on her own accord, smoothly pushing herself off the ground and only stumbling slightly when she stood on her feet as a pounding sensation hammered through her head. It must have been close to ten o'clock, she thought—after today, her current state begged her to sleep.

She followed him as he stepped forward, his strides hasty as if he wished to get something over with as quickly as possible. The height difference between them made him exceedingly difficult to keep up with, and she found herself jogging to catch up to him. Even then, she opted to remain behind him as he showed no clear interest in facing her again.

When he stopped before the entrance to the Ferris wheel she was undeniably suspicious, placing a hand on her hip and shifting her weight as she stared him down. He examined the structure with almost as much adoration as he had expressed whilst staring at the Pidove earlier. "I love Ferris wheels," he murmured, so inaudibly that she doubted the phrase was aimed at her. "The circular motion, the mechanics… they're like collections of elegant formulas."

White frowned. "Right…" Before she could react, he was climbing aboard one of the carriages. White was startled, and hesitated to steal the seat next to him. The worker who controlled the area looked exhausted, visible dark bags under his puffy, bloodshot eyes. N hardly addressed him when he walked past, and the man only offered him a silent grunt which N ignored. Nodding to the man as she walked past, White pulled herself up and took a seat next to him, clearly puzzled.

N was, admittedly, rather pleased with himself as the Ferris wheel began its slow ascent. Now, when she heard the news, she couldn't escape and leave him forever, at least not for about ten minutes. Although knowing her attitude he wouldn't have put it past her to bound out of the car regardless of how high up they found themselves. He only had to hope she wouldn't.

"White, I…"

He paused when he looked over at her. The carriage had since taken off, and they were flying. White's head was sticking out of the metal bars that separated them from empty atmosphere, hair fluttering in individual strands in the delicate breeze. He couldn't see her face, but he found himself staring. At first, he thought she was ignoring him, purposefully shunning him. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…

But then she turned and he saw the light in her widened eyes and the beaming smile stretching across her face. Her cheeks were lightly pink from a combination of the cold air and the wind nagging at her skin. The moonlight dusted her face as they rose out of range of the city lights, retreating further and further into the sky.

"Hmm?" She cocked her head to the side. "Did you say something?"

His breath caught in his throat. How was this the same girl that, only a short time ago, addressed him with such hostility? Heart pounding, he could only manage to smile back at her, one that he found to be forced.

Sighing happily, she slumped back into the seat beside him, stretching out her arms across the back rest. "You know," she said, her usual rough tone of voice having returned, "I really hate Team Plasma."

N's chest tightened and he suddenly sat up straight, a pounding sensation hammering through his head. Exasperated, he looked over at White who, thankfully, had not noticed his sudden expression of discomfort. Hands behind her head, she was leaning back against the window, feet up on the other seat. Her position was almost too casual, and it made N uncomfortable.

Hearing his silence, she laughed. "Sorry, that was probably a little bit abrupt." She leant forward, resting her cheeks on her hands, elbows stationed on her knees. "They're just… ugh, they're just so frustrating." Her teeth were gritted.

N leant forward, suddenly curious. "How so?" he asked.

She eyed him and scrunched her nose. "Isn't it obvious? Every time I see them, they're stealing Pokémon from some defenseless person. It's really dumb." Sighing, she looked over to him. "I mean, I sort of agree with what they're saying, to an extent. Abusive actions toward Pokémon are definitely an issue, but…" Staring at the palms of her hands, she frowned. "Very few trainers are like that, you know? Yeah, we make mistakes, but it's all part of learning."

"Haven't you ever sought to question the intention of humans?"

White's face was quizzical. "Yeah, all the time. I used to feel really sorry for Pokémon who were under the control of trainers, to be honest. Well, when I was a kid." She shrugged. "But now that I've gotten older, I can see the way we love each other, and how we interact, and I love seeing people and Pokémon making each other happy." Slowly, her voice became quieter. "I think it's amazing how two different species can be so involved with each other."

N shook his head. "I disagree," he said bluntly. "I have only ever seen humans who mistreat their Pokémon, or use them as tools in battle."

"Jeez. You must have been pretty secluded."

"I have been well educated," N said. She flinched at his remark, expecting the reply to demonstrate some level of offense, but she widened her eyes and relaxed again as she realized that his tone was as soft as ever. "I know the true nature of Pokémon, and their true potential."

"Well." White paused, crossing her arms. "You should educate yourself more. Pokémon like people, if they didn't they would just leave."

N remained silent, deciding that arguing with her was futile. She was not going to be swayed. Such stubborn characteristics were in her nature, of course, so it was not at all surprising.

"And besides." She laughed through her words. "Who can take them seriously when they're going on all the time about their stupid king?"

N gritted his teeth.

"Like, since when do kings still exist these days? I mean, I have to hand it to the guy—controlling that band of idiots must be difficult. He's got a lot on his hands. But do they have to advertise him as a king?"

"My job," he snapped, "it actually quite easy." His tone was poisonous.

White, who was otherwise in the middle of spitting out another hostile comment she would later regret, snapped her mouth shut. As her teeth clamped together, silence drowned out the sound of the breeze. The air felt icy and still, and N's fists were clenched, his heart pounding. But he did not regret his outburst. This was probably, he noted, the first time in years he had felt outwardly frustrated, and to feel such strong emotion felt somewhat good.

"W-what did you say?" she spluttered. Her face was pale, hands shaking, as she inwardly prayed that he had not said what she had initially thought.

"I said," he continued, the detest now absent from his voice, "my job is actually quite easy."

"Your job?"

"My job," repeated N. He took in a huge intake of breath. "White, I must tell you this; I am the king of Team Plasma."

As if an earthquake had just occurred beneath her, White began to shake. Subtly, at first, then the involuntary movements grew progressively more violent until she could feel nothing else. Surely, N could feel this, too. To her disgust, he was staring at her, adopting a horrified look as if he was at all surprised by her reaction.

"Y-you…" Her voice was raspy, confused, and… scared? "You… you can't be." Suddenly, her face hardened, and she stopped shaking altogether. "No." She shook her head firmly. "No you're not. You're lying."

But White knew he was not lying. Suddenly, every odd thing he had ever said made sense. His questioning towards human activity in Accumula, the casual tone of voice he employed when speaking of Zekrom. And his ideals… they aligned with Team Plasma perfectly; separate humans from Pokémon, and enlist the assistance of the legendary dragon.

"I am afraid I speak only the truth."

She gritted her teeth. "Yeah, I know," she spat, suddenly angry. "I hate to know, but I know."

He remained silent, awaiting an outburst. It never came.

"H-how…" If anything, White sounded confused. "How did this happen?"

The Ferris wheel turned to a halt, but the guard did not question then when they were too engaged in their own matters to step out.

"Ghetsis asked me to work with him to save the Pokémon," he said simply. "But I am unsure of how that will happen… there are many Pokémon in this world, more than any numeric record can determine. And perhaps even more humans who seek companionship with them. It will be difficult."

White gritted her teeth—of course he had not realized that she had hardly been listening. "I won't let you."

"Excuse me?"

"I said…" Her face scrunched, eyes squinting down, shooting daggers that she wished could be thrown physically at N to the ground. "I'm not going to let you!" Promptly, she leapt out of the carriage, arms outstretched. "You're all idiots. All of you. I see what you do to people. I see the horror in the eyes of the Pokémon you have stolen. I see the fear in the people who are your victims, because they're terrified that they will never get to see a friend that they have grown to love ever again. How can you be so blind?"

"It is all for the best." N's voice was insistent.

"You guys are seriously delusional," White snapped, venom spitting from her lips. "How the Hell do you actually think this is a good idea? What gave you the right to decide-?"

N sighed, cutting over her rant. "This is troublesome." Smoothly, he jumped off the carriage and onto the ground. At the sound of his feet hitting the ground, two Plasma grunts—the ones from before, to White's disgust—poked their heads out of the bushes.

"Lord N!" they chorused. Hearing those words put a bitter taste in White's mouth. "Do you require our assistance?"

"Yes," he said calmly. "Please distract Miss White, if you will. I have a meeting with Ghetsis."

She was shaking again, this time with rage instead of shock. It was a preferable feeling, but still undesirable nonetheless. Stepping forward, she raced towards N, who was already striding away. "You seriously want to use these phonies as a distraction?"

N frowned, as if he thought her question was unintelligent, clearly not understanding her tone. "Yes."

Feet hitting the ground like thunder, she began storming towards him, completely disregarding the presence of the grunts. However, before she could reach him, she was struck back by the swiftly executed Tackle of a Patrat that had seemingly come out of nowhere, grunting as it made contact, albeit weakly, with her abdomen. Before she knew it, she was separated from N by not only the Patrat, but a Sandile, both staring her down with eyes of steel.

She took a few slow breaths, trying to steady herself. When she looked up, N was already far away, disappearing into the night. For some reason, she yearned for him to return. "You know…" she called, voice rippling like a smooth lake disturbed by the careless toss of a stone. He turned at her voice, a hopeful gleam in his otherwise dark eyes. "I was actually beginning to like you a little bit."

Her words stung, but he brushed the hurt aside. "I wish I could have time to accept your friendship," he said. His voice had risen in volume, making it easier for White to determine what he was saying. "But I have a future I must attend to, and for that future…" He took a deep breath. "I will befriend the legendary Pokemon, and ensure the separation of the two species to enable Pokemon to reach their full potential."

She opened her mouth to retort, but he continued to speak, words cutting through the frozen air like knives. "If you dare to stop me, then defeat all eight gym leaders, and come to the Pokemon League. Only then will you have proven the sufficiency of your strength enough challenge me."

Face hardened, she nodded firmly. "Fine then, I will." She had, she hoped, never spoken truer words.

The threat of the Plasma grunts escaped White. She could only look at N as they stared at each other for time that felt endless. Then, the hope from his eyes disappeared. His face was cold as he turned his head, not caring to acknowledge her comment. His eyes were half-closed, his cap shading his forehead, just like it had been when she had met him earlier that night. But now his demeanor was the opposite. Suddenly, even through his graceful movements, the outline of his body delicately feathered by moonlight, he appeared menacing, darkness contorting his figure into that of a monster.

White clenched her fists, ignoring the pain she felt as her nails dug into the soft skin of her palm. She did not know who this boy was anymore. All she knew was that the loathed him.

-.-.-

Hey readers! Short time no see. This chapter was, honestly, really easy to write. I've had the bulk of this chapter (that is, the interactions between N and White) in mind for awhile now, and I had about 1000 words already written, so it made it easy enough.

So yeah, I switched around the battles. In the games, it's actually N who battles White at the end, not the Plasma grunts, but I decided to switch it for the sake of this story. I'm not even going to explain why, I just wanted to, and it fits better with what I have in mind for the next chapter.

I really don't have too much to say, only that I'm hoping to get another chapter out next Wednesday because I'm anticipating it being quite short and I'm at my aunt's on the other side of the country until the 16th, and I always get a lot done here since it's a different environment which often brings me more inspiration.

So, until then, thanks for reading, favouriting, following and reviewing, and I'll see you all in the next chapter. Stay tuned!

-Natasha