"No… no…!"

White's cries brought Black back to his senses, snapping out of the shock that had paralysed him. How was this even possible?

Zekrom was on the other side of the room, glaring at them, a growl deep in his throat. Black wanted to believe that it wasn't really him, but the dragon was the only one of his kind, one of the legendaries. Yet he didn't seem to recognise them.

And not to mention, Zekrom was supposed to be dead.

Had Team Plasma managed to revive him somehow? Black knew it was possible to revive a fainted Pokémon, but a dead one?

Still, Team Plasma had a lot of technology. More than Black's understanding could handle. And they'd had to leave Zekrom here when they faced the gang before, the dragon too heavy for them to carry out and unable to return the lifeless form to a Pokéball. But why would they do something like bringing the legendary dragon back to life after they went to all the effort of killing it in the first place?

Of course. Ghetsis had called it Team Plasma's 'secret weapon'. This must have been a last resort. And now they were trapped in here, unable to use their Pokémon, with a powerful dragon.

Oh, great. So this is what they were doing.

Thanks to Zekrom there was now a massive hole in the wall, at least. So there was a way out. The only problem was that way was currently blocked by the Pokémon. Whatever Team Plasma had done to bring him back to life, he clearly didn't recognise his old trainer. If they tried to escape past him they could end up getting attacked or, even worse, killed.

Black glanced over at his friend. White had completely frozen, staring up at Zekrom with a mixture of fear and distress. She looked on the brink of crying. And after all the trouble she'd had getting over what had happened here before, to be faced with this now, Black couldn't help but be concerned for her.

"White, snap out of it!" he gripped her shoulders. "We have to get out of here somehow."

"How?" White asked feebly. She sounded like she'd given up. She'd managed to remain more or less confident until now, it seemed, but this had finally been too much for her. Perhaps it had been cruel of him to persuade her to help them in this fight.

"I don't know," Black admitted. "But we'll find some way out."

The alarms had stopped blaring by now. At least that meant it he could hear himself think again. It also meant he noticed a sudden sound from nearby, glancing around in surprise.

"Look out!" he gasped, pushing White aside and only just managing to jump out of the way himself as a pillar of energy seared the ground. It seemed Zekrom was going to attack them anyway.

"Sorry," Black apologised as White dejectedly picked herself up off the ground. He glanced around the room. There had to be another way of escaping. He didn't want to die here.

Eventually his eyes came to rest on the orb. A small red light flashed on it, showing it was still activated. But it couldn't be too difficult to turn off, right?

"I got it!" he announced, looking to White but trying to keep an eye on Zekrom at the same time in case the dragon tried to attack again. "If we can turn off the orb then we can send out our Pokémon. Looks like we'll have to fight out way out."

White's eyes flew wide. "N-no, I can't…! I can't fight… I-I can't hurt Zekrom…"

"White, it's not really Zekrom!" Black exclaimed, hoping he wasn't being insensitive. "If it was, he wouldn't be trying to kill us! Team Plasma must have done something to him. I don't know what, but… this is the only way out of here."

"But…" she moved away slightly. "Black, I just… I can't… I'm sorry…"

Black's expression softened slightly. "No, it's okay. Leave this to me, 'kay? Just try and make sure you don't get attacked."

She glanced up at him for a few seconds, her eyes still glazed with fear. Then she nodded.

"Okay. Well, here goes…" Black turned to face the dragon, tossing his bag aside so that it wouldn't slow him down.

The metal orb had rolled to the ground nary five metres away from Zekrom. If Black was going to try and retrieve it then he'd have to somehow avoid getting killed in the process. This was one of the few times he wondered if perhaps he depended on his Pokémon too much. If he had them to help him, this would be a lot easier – and a lot less dangerous.

At least right now the dragon's attention was focused on him rather than White. In her current state, she probably wouldn't be able to do much to stand up for herself…

And what was he supposed to do when he could use his Pokémon again? Sure, he'd be able to defend against the dragon then and they would have a better chance of escaping, but what would happen to Zekrom after that? If Ghetsis had been able to command Zekrom he probably would have stayed to do so. When Team Plasma brought the dragon back, they'd changed him into a killing machine, not afraid to attack them. They couldn't just leave him, especially so close to a city crowded with people. As much as he hated to admit it, they might end up having to kill him.

Would White be able to handle watching her Pokémon die a second time?

There had to be another way. But right now, Black needed to get to that orb…

Zekrom gave a snarl, energy starting to build up around the dragon's mouth. He was going to attack again.

Well, here goes nothing, Black thought silently, taking off at a run and hoping he wouldn't get hit.

A purple glow lit up the room as Zekrom sent a pillar of energy shooting through the air. Black skidded to a halt as the ground in front of him nearly imploded, falling over backwards out of surprise. So much for 'if he ran fast enough the attack wouldn't hit him'. Even totally brainwashed, Zekrom was still smart enough to know that he'd be more likely to hit if he aimed the attack in front of him, not at him.

The dragon attacked again, and Black managed to scramble away just in time before he was hit. He tried making a dash for the orb once more but Zekrom was faster, and this time Black felt the draft from the energy against his face.

"Dammit, Zekrom!" Black huffed. "Stop attacking me and maybe we can find a way to help you, geez!"

Either not understanding or just plain ignoring his words, Zekrom sent another Dragon Breath attack shooting at him. His attacks weren't as powerful as before now, but he wasn't taking as long to charge them either. Still, from the way the ground was seared by them, getting hit was not an option. Black made a slightly overdramatic dive out of the way, narrowly avoiding the wave of energy.

The dragon was charging for another attack. Black didn't know how much longer he could keep avoiding them. Already he could feel his heart racing in his chest. There was every chance that he could die here.

Suddenly there was another fierce roar from somewhere nearby. Immediately Zekrom stopped charging the attack, the dragon glancing around with a snort as if he was trying to work out where the sound had come from.

That roar was familiar. Black couldn't decide whether he was relieved or not.

Metal scattered across the room yet again as the opposite wall shattered. A couple of white feathers fluttered to the ground as Reshiram forced her way into the room, letting out another loud roar.

And, of course, N was sat on the dragon's back, looking slightly alarmed at the sight before him.

"Geez," Black muttered to himself, scrambling back to his feet now that Zekrom was too distracted to attack him. "These dragons sure know how to make an entrance…"

White practically jumped out of her skin as Reshiram burst into the room. Clearly the dragon had recovered since the collapsing floor incident earlier, but why were they here now?

"Nice of you to show up, N," Black called. "It's not like we were about to get killed or anything."

"Reshiram knew that something was happening to Zekrom," N stated, ignoring the trainer's sarcasm. "What's going on?"

"What do you think? Team Plasma locked us in here with a rampaging dragon that they somehow brought back from the dead!" He rolled his eyes. "Y'know what? Just cover me; I need to switch this damn thing off…" He made a dive for the orb.

Zekrom ignored the trainer this time. His attention was on the white dragon across the room as he let out a snarl. Reshiram responded with a despondent huff, still hovering in the air.

White remembered when N and Reshiram had first rejoined them a few days ago. The legendary dragons had seemed so happy to see each other again.

Zekrom, what have they done to you…?

"Aha!" Black cheered as he snagged the orb, pressing a button on it. The blinking red light vanished. "I turned off the—whoa!" he jumped out of the way as Zekrom blasted another wave of energy towards him. Hurriedly he took a Pokéball from his belt. "Lucario!"

Red light split through the air and the aura Pokémon appeared with a grunt, looking up at the dragons with wide eyes.

"White, send out one of your Pokémon!" Black shouted.

"W-what? Black, I can't fight Zekrom…!"

"Whether you're fighting or not, they can still protect you! I may not be the Pokémon whisperer but I'm pretty sure they don't want you to get killed!"

"But…" she started, trailing off. Right now White could hardly make sense of anything. This was all just too much…

Still, she managed to nod and send out Excadrill.

"The Dark Stone…" N muttered.

"Eh?" Black threw him a confused glance.

"The Dark Stone. That must be how Team Plasma is using Zekrom. He must have transformed back to the dark stone after they killed him, like in the legend…"

"Well, I guess that explains how he's here," Black shrugged. "But what are we supposed to do? As far as I can tell, the only way to stop Zekrom is to kill him again!"

White was in too much of a daze to protest. Luckily N did it for her.

"No!" he cried. "No killing! He doesn't have to die!"

"Trust me, N; I don't fancy being a Pokémon murderer any more than you do! But if you have any better ideas you better spill 'em now!"

Throwing Black a frustrated glance, N looked back over at Zekrom, an almost pleading look in his eyes. For a moment, nobody said a word. The black dragon gave a threatening growl.

"Zekrom's still in there," N said eventually. "But the power Team Plasma used to control him has put him like this… I-I don't know what to do, I just… I don't know if I could get through to him…"

He sounded desperate. N was trying to think of some way of saving Zekrom without having to kill him.

White wanted to help. She really did. But right now she could barely even think clearly. Her head had been spinning ever since she'd first heard the sound of revived Zekrom. Why did she have to be so useless?

She slapped a hand to her head, wincing slightly as she managed to catch the place where she'd been hit earlier. Just think. If she could think of a way to help Zekrom then maybe they could save him.

He didn't remember them. He didn't even recognise Reshiram. It was almost as if Team Plasma had forced him from the Dark Stone, like he wasn't ready to come back, and his conscience had been wiped out in the process…

Desperately she tried to think if any of that had any meaning. The part about not remembering seemed familiar. White had heard of people getting amnesia, forgetting memories… she doubted this was the same thing. But that did give her an idea. Not that she was entirely pleased with it.

"If… maybe if he faints… that might work too…" she suggested, raising her voice as much as she dared so that the others would hear her.

"White…" N said quietly. She flinched, expecting him to snap at her for suggesting something that would hurt the dragon, but to her surprised relief his voice remained level. "I guess… that might work… it's better than killing him, at least, so—"

He broke off suddenly as Zekrom sent another pulse of energy shooting through the air. Reshiram screeched as she was hit by the dragon-type attack and forced backwards.

"N!" White cried.

"Hang on, Reshiram!" N pleaded, narrowly managing to avoid falling from the dragon's back as he wrapped his arms around her neck. Reshiram managed to regain her composure, flying back forwards again with a huff.

"Well, looks like White's idea is all we've got at the moment," Black muttered. "It's either that or we all end up as toast. White, let us handle this."

"No," she protested, sounding a whole lot more confident than she felt. "If it means saving Zekrom, I'll fight too." As much as she didn't want to hurt the dragon, she couldn't bear to see him like this either.

Black's eyes widened slightly. The he nodded. "Okay. Let's do this! Lucario, use Dragon Pulse!"

Still looking slightly intimidated by the massive dragon Pokémon, Lucario let out a loud yowl, sending a shock wave at Zekrom. He snarled as it hit him, backing away slightly.

Looks like it's our turn now. "Excadrill, use Drill Run."

The mole charged forward, jumping when she was moving fast enough and using the metal on her claws and head to form a drill shape. Zekrom let out a loud wail as Excadrill crashed into him and swatted the mole away with one arm. Excadrill fell to the ground, rolling over a few times before managing to land on her feet once more, growling quietly.

"Ah—hey! Reshiram—!"

White glanced over in surprise just in time to see the white dragon practically drag N from her back, dropping him on the ground nearby. At his protest, she let out a grumble.

"What was that for!?"

Reshiram gave a quiet yowl in response. Even White could work out what the dragon meant.

She doesn't want him to get hurt…

That theory was proven a moment later as the white dragon was hit by Zekrom, shrouded in blue lightning. Fusion Bolt.

"Reshiram!"

Launched half way across the room, Reshiram let out a fierce roar, summoning a massive fireball in the air and sending it flying at the black dragon. N had to hold up an arm to defend himself as fire and lightning collided in the air.

"N, if I were you I'd get outta the firing line!" Black warned.

Not replying to his warning but obviously taking it in, N scrambled out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting hit by another of Zekrom's Dragon Breath attacks. Reshiram hurriedly flew in front of the black dragon, letting out a screech, her eyes glowing as Zekrom was hit by an Extrasensory attack. Letting out a snarl, the black dragon crashed to the ground.

This is starting to turn into a fight between the legendary dragons, White thought to herself. Lucario and Excadrill can't attack without the risk of hitting Reshiram by accident…

Obviously N had picked up on that as well. He was standing not far away, a worried look in his eyes.

Reshiram flew back slightly as Zekrom got back up off the ground. He wasn't defeated yet, nowhere near.

"Zekrom!" N called. "Why are you doing this? Whatever Team Plasma has done to you, try and snap out of it! I don't know if you can hear me, but… please…!"

The black dragon turned to face him, using his wings to hover just above the ground. He watched the green-haired teen through narrowed eyes. Eventually he started to fly towards him.

Did N manage to get through to him…?

No. She recognised the way that Zekrom held his arm up slightly, claws glinting in the dim light.

"N, look out!" she called. "He's trying to use Dragon Claw!"

N stood his ground. From across the room, Reshiram growled, summoning a large fireball in the air and sending it flying at the dragon.

But White noticed how Zekrom's eyes quickly flicked to the white dragon while she was creating the attack. She knew he was going to avoid it. And she knew that she had to do something before N got hurt again.

The fireball smashed into the ground, narrowly missing Zekrom, and N's expression changed to a look of somewhat fear, knowing he wouldn't be able to get away in time. But having realised what was going to happen, White was already running.

"N!" she cried, hoping she'd be able to make it.

She just managed to catch a glimpse of the shocked look on his face as she rammed into his side, shoving him out of the way of the attack.

Yet she wasn't fast enough to save herself too.

White screamed as she felt the dragon's claws slice through her skin. She fell to the ground, blood staining the concrete floor.