N observed the gym from the shadows of a nearby alleyway. Fluorescent light spilled from its glass windows, bathing the street, but the shroud of night prevented him from being seen his small distance away. Around him, the buildings of Opelucid City rose, opaque towers of black, with illuminated windows as pinpricks of light on their inky surfaces. The city breathed with noise from afar, but not from nearby: there were not many people outside the gym. The night air was warm and sticky with moisture. N tugged at the color of his black shirt.
"He must not see you, my son," Ghetsis said to him. The other members of Team Plasma crowded around his father, both of them wearing dark clothing to shield themselves from view. "Drayden is powerful, as much as I loathe to admit it. If he discovers you before you capture the Pokemon, he will loose them on you. Nevertheless, I have provided something that may yet aid you should you need it. Do not fear its use. Am I understood?"
"Yes, father."
Ghetsis looked to the two others, Emile and Julia. They each nodded their agreement.
"Good," Ghetsis said. "I will be waiting for you where we discussed earlier. Do not fail me."
His father took to the streets. N looked again at the gym. Ghetsis was gone; it was up to N.
Julia nudged him on the shoulder. She unzipped a backpack and pried it open. N turned and looked inside.
Inside was a pistol.
"Damn," Emile whispered, peering in. "Where the hell did your father get that?"
"I… do not know," N said, then shook his head. Tentatively, he took the weapon, examining it. Could a thing this small be so dangerous? "There is only one?"
"Yeah," Julia said.
"I will take it. My father wishes, above all else, for us to be safe, but I do not think he thinks we'll have to use it. It is a precautionary measure, I'm sure."
They nodded.
"Alright, let's go already," Julia said, slinging the pack over her shoulders. She was undoubtedly an eager one; N could tell it by her tone and the way her expression changed when she spoke of Pokemon. Not that it was a bad thing. "Steal this guy's Pokemon, right? Easy."
"Gyms are always unlocked," Emile said. "I guess because nobody ever thinks of breaking into one, you know? Everyone admires them and everything. Oh, and there's not much to take, anyway. Unless you're us."
Julia glared at him. "How do you know that?"
N looked at him as well.
Emile glanced between them, then shrugged. "I… used to be a trainer for a gym. You know, one of the supporting people?"
"You were a trainer?" N spat.
"Woah, woah," he said, holding up his hands in a pacifying gesture. "That was a long time ago. And, don't worry, it showed me that being a trainer is wrong. I couldn't stand to watch the Pokemon get injured anymore. That's why I'm here, N. Sir."
N breathed a sigh of relief. "Ah, that is good to hear, Emile. You had me concerned for a moment."
"Ha, yeah. Apologies, boss."
Julia did not look away from him. "He's suspicious. Once a trainer, always a trainer. You think you're ready to commit a crime?"
"It's not really," Emile said. "We're saving Pokemon."
"We're stealing."
Emile shrugged. N shook his head and ushered them closer to him.
"Come. We have work to do."
He led them across the street toward the gym, where they crouched along the side wall, no light to illuminate them. Very few people lingered in the street, not at this time of the night. Opelucid City was not Castelia City, and they were not in the center of Opelucid, where traffic was most oppressive.
Even so, N's heart thumped against his chest. He clenched his hands to prevent them from shaking, gripping the gun tight in one of them. What if Drayden discovered them? Called the police? N would return to jail.
That could not happen. N would not let it.
He pictured his father, awaiting their arrival. Even after N had disobeyed Ghetsis once, he was still allowed this chance. He could not fail when it mattered most.
He signaled Julia and Emile to follow him as he dove into the light cast from the gym, jogging to the sliding glass door. Could it open any slower? He sprinted inside with his partners behind him and looked out once the door had shut. No one had noticed them. N exhaled deeply.
"Do you think Drayden heard the door open?" Emile whispered.
"Shut up," Julia hissed. N crouched against the wall and led them further inward, stepping lightly on the metal floor. They crossed the fighting stage, where trainers abused Pokemon every day. It reminded him why he was going to such lengths.
He gripped the gun tighter.
Their footsteps, no matter how quiet, sounded to N like cannon fire. His heart thrummed even louder. Sweat seeped from his forehead, trailing in a line down his chin. He wiped it with the sleeve of his shirt before it could fall and hit the floor.
Another sliding door marked the way forward. N heard nothing coming from inside, and so they crouched through. Beyond was a room with sleek white walls and a ceiling too high for N to see in the darkness. There was a door on the right wall, and nothing more. N inched toward it.
"Hey, wait!" Emile called silently, causing N to look over his shoulder. Opposite the door, Emile had found and opened a shelf hidden as part of the wall. Pokeballs jutted out from hollow indents inside.
N rushed over, smiling, Julia behind him. "Excellent, Emile! Come, Julia, let me see that pack." She handed it to him. As fast as he was able, he stuffed the Pokeballs into the backpack. Emile discovered more shelves and began to pry them open, revealing Ultraballs and Greatballs, Duskballs, and Heavyballs. N's smile widened to a grin, his anxiousness disappearing. He moved down the wall, shoving the devices into the pack with Emile and Julia's aid.
"Look at all of these!" Emile exclaimed. "How the hell did he get so many? And they're all dragon-types?"
"Who cares?" Julia said. "Let's grab them all!"
N nodded. "I cannot believe we found them all so easily! Still, we must hurry! We do not know where Drayden is, but-"
The door opened. Light spilled from inside, crashing over them. A large shadow blackened the ground.
"What is going on here?" Drayden boomed.
Emile dropped a Pokeball he was holding. It thumped to the ground. "Shit!"
He sprinted for the door.
"Emile!" N shouted. Dread gripped his throat. Drayden lunged for Emile, tackling him to the ground. He slammed burly arms down on Emile's shoulders, pinning him. Emile kicked and yelled. Julia backed against the wall, cursing.
"Use the Pokemon!" Emile screamed. "Does that work? Dammit, try it, try it!"
"I will not!" N shouted. Thoughts whirled through his mind. The gun. I must use it. There is no other choice!
N pointed it at Drayden. His voice shook and trembled as he spoke.
"You will back away, and you will let us leave, Drayden. Release my friend. I do not want to harm you."
Drayden froze. He turned his head to look at him. He did not release Emile, who grimaced and cried out.
"You're the one," Drayden growled. Veins ripped through his forearms. "The one from the tournament."
"Release Emile!"
Drayden did not move. His gaze bore into N. Another moment passed. Then another. A herdier barked in the distance. The gun shook in N's hand. The walls seemed to be closing in on him. Closer, closer, closer. Suffocating. Numbing.
The gym leader charged at him.
Time seemed to slow. N's throat locked. His eyes went wide, eyelids peeling back in horror. His heart broke, collapsed, crumbled. He did not want to do it. He did not. Could not. He wouldn't!
I won't do it!
He fired the gun.
The explosion seemed to crack his mind in two.
Drayden crashed to the ground. Blood pooled from a wound at his throat. A cold blanket of silence enveloped the gym.
Julia grabbed N's arm. "Come on! We have to leave!"
The bag and the gun fell from N's grip. He looked down at his hand. It was pale. Ghostly-white. Emile cursed and grabbed the Pokeballs rolling out from the pack before he could grab it. Julia led them away.
Numbness crept over him. The scorching night seeped into his skin. He ran, following the shadowed figures ahead of him.
He did not look back.
He did not think.