"N?" I exclaimed. "You're the leader of Team Plasma?"

"W-well...the king, but it all means the same thing. I-I wasn't ready to tell you yet," he confessed. "I was hoping that I would've been able to tell you on the Ferris wheel in Nimbasa City, but I guess that things don't always turn out like they're planned."

"Why?" I asked him, trying to stifle the waterworks that would soon flow from my eyes. "Why would you keep something like this from me? I-I thought I could trust you."

"I didn't want to see you getting hurt," was his answer.

But I didn't buy it. "I bet the only reason why Ghetsis knew so much about me was because you fed him and the rest of Team Plasma my information!"

"Look, maybe I should start from the beginning."

"Oh, you'd better explain, because I want answers. Now."

"Okay, okay." N took a deep breath. "Before I first met you in the woods, I just so happened to be in the Castelia City Pokemon Center at the same time that you were there. At first, I was trying to hide from the Seven Sages-Ghetsis and six other elders that act as my advisors and accomplices-and the rest of Team Plasma, but then I saw you and that blond girl. The blond girl had picked up the Dark Stone from the ground and handed it to you, as if it were yours. I first pondered the fact that you were the Chosen One, but I didn't know for sure. I then managed to find you lost in Pinwheel Forest, so I figured battling you so I could listen to what your Pokemon had to say was the best first move."

"In other words, you stalked me."

"For a good reason."

"There's never a good reason to stalk someone."

"As I was saying, I found a stray Pidove and asked it to help me for one mere battle with you. After I heard what your Gardevoir had to say to me, I fled the scene and let go of the Pidove. I then headed to Nacrene City, where I unintentionally ran into you at the Nacrene Museum."

"So wait, what were you really there for?"

"I needed to steal the Light Stone, which I managed to do while Team Plasma created a diversion for me."

"Wait, so the stone that I saw in the display case-"

"It was a duplicate, yes. Ever since I obtained the Light Stone, I began to have dreams similar to the ones that you had, and so did Ghetsis, apparently. Once you described your dreams for me in depth at the Dreamyard outside of Striaton, I knew that there was something about you that was special. You see, our dreams were intertwined, which is why you saw Ghetsis and I in your dreams. Then days passed, and you had your battle at the Castelia City gym. Once the both of you passed out, I knew that there was something wrong with that picture. I consulted Ghetsis about it, and he told me that he secretly managed to sneak into the gym with his Cofagrigus. Right before Grace was attacked with the move that caused her to faint, he commanded Cofagrigus to use Destiny Bond to connect your Gardevoir's pain to you so you'd both pass out (which I didn't approve of in the least)."

"And that brings us to that dream I had where Ghetsis stepped on me and could've killed me if it happened in real life."

"It could've killed you regardless. You're lucky that you woke up in time. Those dreams caused by the Dark and Light stones are not average dreams. Plus, you and your Gardevoir are probably still affected by Destiny Bond. If your Pokemon fell through, well, the same would've happened to you, and vice versa."

"So the fact that my ribs were hurting-"

"-reflected the pain in your dream, yes. Anything that happens there can affect you in real life. It wouldn't be a surprise if your ribs were sprained or cracked, even broken."

"I totally want to kill him now. Can you do that for me, or are you just going to tell me something that isn't true like you've been doing for, like, two weeks now?"

"Look, I feel awful for lying to you, Cecilia. I just-"

"I don't want to hear it! You lied to me. If I could, I'd stamp angrily out of this room and slam the door behind me. Unfortunatley..." I turned around and waved my bound hands at him."...I'm a bit tied up at the moment, if you know what I mean."

"Oh, uh, let me help you with-"

I turned around and faced him once more. "NO! I'd rather die like this than be helped by a renegade." And then I revealed something that I'd never thought I'd tell N in a million years, considering it was such a sincere and personal thought of mine: "To think that I actually began to have feelings for you."

I shed a tear that trickled down my cheek and splashed onto the floor.

Silence soon followed.

After a few minutes of speechlessness, a siren blared. The door flung open behind me, and I was knocked onto the floor because I was so close to it. In marched Ghetsis, angrier than ever. I rolled onto my back to see his face red with anger. It was so red that a tomato would be lucky to be such a rich hue. "The International Police have found us!" he announced to N. The Sage then looked down at me, and his anger pierced through my heart. "You!" he shouted. "You must've told the International Police that we were here before my minions brought you up here, didn't you?"

"W-what?" I cried. "N-no! I didn't, I swear!"

He grabbed my shirt and pulled me up from the ground. I was suspended from the ground as he shook me back and forth with the hand he grabbed me it. "TELL THE TRUTH OR FACE MY WRATH!" he threatened.

For the record, he's a lot stronger than he looks.

"But...I...am..." I replied weakly. I would've spoken up, but the collar of my shirt was practically choking me at that moment.

"Put her down!" N ordered. "She didn't do a thing. She didn't even know what she was getting into until she snuck into headquarters."

Ghetsis threw me onto the ground. Hooray, I thought sarcastically as basically my entire body was harshly aching, more pain. I was hurting so much that my eyes were squinting and my teeth were clenching. It was unbearable, really.

N came to my side to see if I was okay. "Get...away...from...me..." I muttered.

"No," he said in a strong voice, "I'm not leaving your side."

Ghetsis looked like he was ready to barf, no joke. "Fine, be that way," he told N. "If you get sent to jail and our plan is ruined, don't blame it on me."

Ghetsis then bolted out of the room as fast as he could in attempts to escape.

N looked down at me. "I told you that telling you too soon would get you hurt."

"I didn't think that you meant it literally!" I exclaimed. My ribs began to hurt again, and I flinched. "Agh!" I shrieked in pain.

A woman with a dark tan trench coat, a black fedora, and blond hair tied back into a ponytail ran into the room. I couldn't see her face, but it didn't matter. I was in too much pain to care, and the only thing that I was hoping for was that she was there to help me. In a deep voice, she said, "I am Agent Summer of the International Police." Summer looked down at N and I. "What in the name of Arceus is going on here?"

Innocently, N lied to the agent, "I was walking past this building when I heard a commotion coming from one of the upper floors, so I came in to investigate and found this girl being held hostage by Team Plasma. One of the team's administrators was abusing the poor girl, and now she's in excruciating pain."

"Help...me..." I moaned frailly, "...p-please..."

"You!" Summer instructed N. "I need you to help me carry her downstairs. I'll need you to help me take this girl to the hospital on the other side of town."

Together, the two picked me up and carried me out of the building. As they did so, I considered, Maybe N does care about me...