Welcome to the very last chapter of DE. And I am choosing to end this story with a chapter request made… a long, long time ago.
Primary: Black & White.
Farewell:
White let out a long sigh of relief as she finished typing. She double checked her work to make sure everything was neatly organized before sending the data to the printer. Now that the employee evaluation forms were filled out, she just had to sign it and get the vice-presidents of BW Agency to sign it as well. And once that was done, she was officially done with her workload for the day. … For now, at least. Something always seemed to pop up that required her attention instead of being managed by the layers of managers that worked for her. … Stupid compartmentalization…
White stretched her arms before opening up her email. As usual, there were tons of new mail waiting for her, ranging from junk that somehow bypassed the junk filter, confirmation of purchases, product delivery reports, various status reports from employees, and new advertisement posters awaiting approval.
"Ugh… so much stuff…" White grumbled as she skimmed through the new reports. She opened up the advertisement poster for the new BW Agency project and smiled. "Ah, this one's looking very nice…" she muttered, looking at the fine details and the clever lines written in eye-catching places. It was an advertisement for the special joint activity that was going to happen in Hoenn, as a mix of Nimbasa City's Pokémon Musical, and Lilycove City's Master Rank Contests.
White momentarily thought about the opening ceremony for the joint activity, and how she intended to take Black to Lilycove City for that reason. It would double as a nice… date, so to speak, or at least a vacation together to another region.
Lately, Black looked like he was… lost. Ever since being freed from the Light Stone, he had aimed to pursue his dream yet again, except that he couldn't. His dream of winning the Pokémon League in front of everyone couldn't be achieved since the Pokémon League of Unova was still undergoing massive repairs, and people of Unova already sort of knew him, so a victory in the league in this state wouldn't be nearly as meaningful.
White didn't know how to cheer him up right now. All she could do was spend as much time with him as possible and let him know that she was there for him. He seemed to appreciate her company, at least. So maybe going to another region with her could cheer him up a bit.
She soon finished skimming through all the new emails and opened the news website to see if there was anything interesting going on in other regions that could use a little joint activity with either BW Agency or Pokéstar Studios. Her companies could always use more expansions.
An article soon caught her attention. And for a while, she stared at the article, wondering about its effects on… her.
"A brand new Pokémon League opening… in the region of Alola…" she muttered. 'A grand opening of Alola League… It's bound to get all sorts of attention from everyone in the region, and even those from other regions. If Black was to participate and win this, it'd be as meaningful as him winning the Unova League… just like his dream. … But… the BW Agency is expanding to Hoenn, and I have to be there. … That means…'
…
Meanwhile, Aspertia City…
…
Black headed towards the small cafeteria inside the city's Pokémon Center. Cheren and Bianca were with him for a friendly hangout. And through Cheren, Black could hear news from the Unova Gym Leaders about the status of the Unova League and whether it'd reopen any time soon.
Black walked past the bulletin board of the Pokémon Center before abruptly stopping in his steps, causing Bianca to bump into him, and Cheren to sidestep to avoid the human domino effect. Black didn't notice his childhood friend bumping into him as he looked over to the side at a poster on the board.
"Something wrong?" Cheren asked.
Black blinked a few times as he read the information on the poster. "… A Pokémon League grand opening in the region of Alola?"
"Hey, a great opportunity," Cheren said. "Your dream of winning the league in front of everyone kind of went sideways here in Unova."
"But if the Alola region has a grand opening, even people from other regions would be watching it too! Imagine if you won that!" Bianca exclaimed. "It's what you always dreamed of doing!"
Black clenched a hand into a fist. "All right! Looks like I can still achieve my dreams after all! It looks like this league has its grand opening in… 6 months. Good. That's enough time for me to go to Alola, get whatever requirements I need for the league, and win!"
"And we'll be cheering for you," Cheren said. "And once you're about to enter the league, give us a call so we can go there and watch you."
"And make sure to let White know too," Bianca added. "She's going to want to see you win too."
"Yeah, and it'd be great to travel with Miss President again," Black said without much thought. "I should probably ask her if she's willing to come."
"I don't know if she'd be able to go with you to another region," Cheren said. "She has two companies to run, you know."
"And last I heard, White was planning on expanding her company to the region of Hoenn," Bianca said as well. "So she'd have to go there."
Black blinked a few times as a bunch of thoughts flooded his mind. "… So if I want to pursue the Alola League… I have to separate from Miss President?" He frowned as he recalled how… overjoyed she had looked when she saw him for the first time since the whole Light Stone incident two years ago. "… I can't do that… I can't… leave her again like this… Not after what happened…"
"But Black, this might be the very last chance you get for your dreams," Cheren said. "Surely you can't give up on that after all these years."
Black put a hand on his forehead. "… I can't lose this opportunity. But to pursue it, I have to go alone. But I can't leave Miss President behind after what happened. I can't take her with me when she has her own dreams to pursue, and her business expansion is occurring in another region…"
"Surely White will understand if you talk to her about it," Bianca said.
Black shook his head. "If I tell her, she'll just tell me to go to Alola and pursue my dreams. She'll hide how much it'll hurt her. I… can't do that." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm not going to Alola. … I'm going to Hoenn. … With Miss President."
"Are you really sure about this?" Cheren asked. "If you lose this chance…"
"I'm sure," Black said. "… I'll just have to wait for another opportunity that doesn't conflict with Miss President's dreams. … I am her employee, after all. … Her dreams take priority." He let out another sigh as he stared at the Alola League poster. "… Let's go eat lunch or something…"
Bianca sighed as well as she watched Black walk away. … She couldn't let Black skip out on this opportunity. She had to tell White about this and let her decide what should happen.
…
Next day, BW Agency HQ, classified location…
…
Black looked at the map of the current floor that was attached to the wall. For some reason, White had asked him to meet her in this… seemingly random ass location. There weren't any important rooms on this floor. In fact, this floor seemed to be comprised of mostly storage rooms.
'I wonder why she called me up here,' Black thought to himself as he waited patiently. 'Maybe a secret?'
Before long, White showed up from the stairwell, with a very serious expression on her face. She saw Black waiting for her and lightened her expression a bit.
"Hey Miss President," Black said as he saw her too. "You wanted to see me up here?"
"Yes," White said rather quietly. "There's something… important I want to tell you. And I don't want anyone else to hear."
White led Black further away from the stairwell and stopped in the middle of a hallway. She didn't look at him quite yet, and she looked very tired, as if she didn't sleep at all last night.
"So… what did you want to tell me?" Black asked.
"… Bianca told me," White said abruptly. "… She told me all about what happened yesterday. … What you said, more specifically."
Black took a few seconds to realize what exactly she meant. "… Uh… what?"
White let out a long sigh as she lowered her head. "… And I remembered something that I tried to keep hidden from myself for a few years now. … I'd appreciate it if you don't say anything and just listen to what I have to say."
"… Okay."
"… I know how much you've jeopardized your lifelong dreams because of me," White said, her voice beginning to shake. "… If you never met me during your travels throughout Unova… you would have achieved your dreams by now. Throughout our travels, you… wasted so much time because of my business tasks. If you never met me… you probably would not have been sucked into the Light Stone and lose two years of your life. But more importantly… if you did not meet me, you would not continue to jeopardize your lifelong dreams because of me."
"… Jeopardize?"
White took a shuddering breath. "… I know about the Alola League grand opening. I knew about it before Bianca told me. And the truth is, I didn't know what to do. You have to go to Alola to achieve your dreams of winning the Pokémon League in front of everyone. But I can't go with you to Alola because of the BW Agency expansion in Hoenn. But I don't want to be separated from you… And after what Bianca told me, I suddenly realized something. Your lifelong dreams are very important to you. It's what you strived for many years now. You can't continue to jeopardize it because of me. And I can't hold onto you for my own selfishness." She looked into Black's eyes and began to tremble a bit more now. "… I know that as long as you're with me, you'll continue to skip out on opportunities towards your dreams because of me. And I know just how much you strived to achieve your dreams. I can't let you give up on your dreams because of me."
"Miss President," Black interrupted. "I-"
"So I'm going to give up on you," White said, interrupting him. She gave him a faint depressed smile. "… I don't want to be the one dragging you behind any longer. I don't want to be the reason why you keep missing out on the opportunities for your dreams. … So let's just stop this now."
White broke eye contact once more and reached into her pocket with her right hand as she held Black's right hand with her left. She pulled something out of her pocket and placed it on Black's palm. He looked at it and noticed that it was a one-way ticket to Alola, for one person.
"Don't worry about me," White said quietly. "… I can manage on my own." She clasped her hands over Black's right hand now, forcing him to hold that ticket firmly in his hand. "So… don't even think about me anymore. Don't hesitate because of me. And just go for your dreams. You can do whatever it takes to achieve your dreams."
Black looked into White's eyes, feeling as if something inside him was breaking apart. "… Are you sure?"
White forced herself to smile and nodded. "Yes. I'm sure." She broke eye contact once more as her façade was failing. "… I have to get going now. Business calls…"
She quickly turned and started to walk away. Black grabbed her hand before she walked out of reach and held her, as he was actually afraid of letting her go. White slowly turned to look at him again, tears welling in her eyes. For a few seconds, she looked into his eyes before she stepped closer to give him a kiss.
Black kept his eyes open as White kissed him on the mouth. He could see her tears falling from her closed eyes, and noticed that she was beginning to tremble much more than before. He slowly closed his eyes as he realized that this was a farewell kiss. And all he could do was savor this moment before it ended.
The two Unova Dex Holders remained locked in the kiss for several seconds, both trembling as they fought the urge to cry. White soon broke the kiss and shakily looked into Black's eyes as more tears fell from hers. Black felt his tears rolling down his cheeks as well as he felt his grip on White's hand loosening.
White looked down at her hands and freed herself from Black's grip. "… Good bye, Black," she said quietly as her voice was shaking far too much for her to speak at a normal volume. "… And please forget about me…"
Black tried to say something, but no sound came out. White turned away once more and forced herself to walk away, and Black tried to chase after her. But his feet remained rooted in place, as he didn't have the strength to go after her. He feebly tried to reach out for her with his hand, but she was already well out of reach. He could only watch her back as she walked further and further away from him, and from his life.
Soon White had turned a corner and Black couldn't see her anymore. Only then was he able to look down at the ticket she had given him. A one-way ticket to Alola… for one person. The flight was set for departure tomorrow at noon. So there wasn't even time to try to reach out to her again. … This was her way of saying good bye forever.
Black wiped away his tears and looked down the hallway where he last saw White. … He had to leave now and pack. And she had to continue with her business operations. This was the best for both Dex Holders' dreams, even if it hurt both of them beyond words. Black wiped away the new tears forming in his eyes and turned away as well, unaware that White was still just around the corner of the hallway, listening for his movements. Black walked into the stairwell and looked down the hallway one last time before closing the door behind him.
And he never saw her again.
Apologies if this chapter seems rushed in places. And the fact that this chapter is quite… short. The pieces that were on this document are quite old, as some of those pieces were from when the request was made, which I believe was before the previous update, which was 7 months ago. And things have been… hectic recently, so I may have rushed in some places.
The request was for a chapter in which Black and White say farewell to each other and actually separate. Without physical pain, so no death, injury, or incapacitation. And that left one obvious solution: dream conflict. This scene is heavily influenced by a drama scene but with much less catastrophic backstory, so much less impact on the stuff said. But… it's still best suited for Black & White.
And in a bit of a twist, the whole story (DE) ends at this point, which means… Black and White said farewell and they literally never saw each other ever again in this story.
Speaking of which… DE is now over! FIN. Complete. It may be abrupt, but… abrupt times call for abrupt endings. Thank you all for reading!
