Fire cackled in the fireplace, the flames dancing wildly around the burning remains of logs. N, Anthea, and Concordia stood in front of the fireplace; Anthea's head hung, her eyes casted towards the ground, while N and Concordia kept their heads up to meet the eyes of Ghetsis. Ghetsis sat in his large chair, a glass of wine being swirled in his hand as he analyzed them. He took a sip before finally speaking to them.

"So, my dear children," He began, "After all that I have done for you- given you food, shelter, clothing, top education, and whatever else your heart desires- this is how you choose to repay me? By sneaking out against my wishes, like some low-class juvenile delinquents?"

Concordia bit her lip as N looked off to the side; Anthea merely flinched under her words, feeling despair at the disappointment in his words. Ghetsis set his glass down on the table, folding his fingers underneath his chin as he continued to gaze at them.

"I hope you have realized that I do this for your own good," He continued, "I want to keep you safe; I want to keep you pure; I want you to one day walk out of these doors, facing the world as the perfect individuals who can succeed at everything."

"And this is how you plan to do it," N replied. Concordia and Anthea's heads shot towards him, eyes wide with alarm at him speaking up. Ghetsis merely chuckled, waving his hand dismissively at the girls.

"Let the boy speak girls," He said, resting his chin on his hands again. "I am interested in what he has to say."

Concordia balled her hands into fists as she forced herself to look away from N; Anthea merely dropped her eyes back towards the ground, her bottom lip grasped between her teeth. N nodded towards his father, almost in a way that could be mistaken for thankfulness, and continued with his speech.

"You may keep us safe from the outside world harms," N began, "But you have never kept us safe from the harms of being isolated from anyone else. You may keep us pure, but we're already tainted by the ways you punish us for failure! You want us to be perfect, but you seem to be forgetting one important thing!"

Ghetsis smirked. "And what's that my dear boy?"

"That no one is perfect. That perfect makes for people who are dull, uninteresting, and lonely. It's the quirks and imperfections that allow someone to succeed in life; to feel peace and happiness!"

Ghetsis laughed; a loud, booming sound echoed throughout the large room. "My child, is that what those ragamuffins have taught you? That perfection is unobtainable? That there's no such thing?"

"I've learned that from them," N replied boldly, "And from mother."

Ghetsis's eyes went wide as he sat up straighter. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," He reiterated, "I learned it from mother. I learned from her that there isn't such a thing as pure perfection or failure; that there isn't such a thing as pure black and white. It's a combination of these, of black and white, that makes an individual; that makes a unique shade of gray that people color with their own personalities!"

Ghetsis narrowed his eyes as he stood up from his chair. "You insolent little brat…" He snarled, advancing on N. "After all the times I've told you-"

"Told me what," N interjected, "Told me to never mention mother? Told me to never speak of her again? She's not plague father, she's a human being!"

"A deceased human being!" Ghetsis roared. "She is dead, and you know damn well that it was your birth that caused it! So how dare you speak of her as if you know her; as if you actually got to enjoy the grace of her presence!"

"I'll speak of her if I want to." N spat, glaring back at his father. "She is my mother, my own flesh and blood. She birthed me, loved me in her final moments of life; I felt more love in those few moments than I've felt from you in my entire lifetime!"

Ghetsis glared at N, eyes wide with rage. His hands clenched and unclenched, the fists practically shaking with anger. Concordia watched him carefully, as Anthea cowered next to her. The fire behind them seemed to dance faster than before, obviously finding more fuel to keep it burning. After what seemed like hours of tense silence, Ghetsis spoke, causing each of them to practically jump out of their skins from his voice.

"I see that someone," Ghetsis's eyes shot towards Concordia, causing her to swallow in fear, "About your mother. I now know that, this outburst isn't your fault; it's merely a result of having been corrupted by the outside world and by the delinquency of family members."

N moved towards his father, hands balled into fists. "There has been no-"

"Enough," Ghetsis bellowed, raising a hand in front of N. He stopped moving forward, immediately returning to his place in the lineup. "As of tomorrow, I will have guards surrounding the backyard. Also, each of you shall be watched by your own secret guard. They will be with you at all times, yet you may never see them in your entire lives. Think of them as your own personal guardian shadow. Do I make myself clear?"

Silence was his only answer. "I said do I make myself clear?"

"Yes father," They said in unison, their body language speaking as if they were nothing more than dogs being punished for having chewed on the sofa. Ghetsis smirked, returning to his seat in his chair. He sat down, resting his chin on his fist.

"You are dismissed." He said, staring past them and into the fire. The three walked to leave, passing by his chair. Concordia passed by his chair last, immediately drawing his attention solely onto her.

"Except for you, Concordia," He said, gaze never leaving the fire, "You and I must have a personal chat."

Concordia turned to look at Anthea and N, both of who were staring at her with concern. She nodded towards them, waving her hand as if to shoo them from the room. They left reluctantly, Anthea closing the door softly behind her; the click of the door closing seemed to echo throughout the room. Concordia stood in silence by her father's chair, waiting for him to speak.

"My dear Concordia," He began, picking up his wine glass again, "Where did I go wrong?"

Concordia swallowed before speaking. "Wh-What do you mean father?" She asked, mentally cursing herself for stuttering.

Ghetsis gazed through the glass into the fire, watching as the light reflected off the glass; the flames seemed bigger and hotter through the glass than through the normal eyes. "I mean, my child, why did you speak to N about your mother?"

"He was always asking questions," She replied, "And no matter how many times I told him not to ask, he still persisted. So I gave in, and told him all that I knew."

"I see…" He murmured, the tip of his nose just grazing the knuckles of his folded hands. "I should have known…from the first time I caught you, I should have known that you were the troublemaker."

Concordia swallowed, the memories of that time coming back to her so clearly that it seemed to have happened only yesterday.


"Hey, Concordia," A small voice called out. Concordia glanced up from her large, leather bound book; it appeared to be written for someone with a brain more developed than her young twelve year old mind.

"What is it," She asked, blue eyes meeting bright innocent green. The young boy blinked as he tried to read the pages upside down; he appeared to be no older than nine.

"Can we go outside today?"

She sighed, her eyes turning back to the book. "No N."

"Why not?"

"Because daddy doesn't like it."

"Why?"

"Because he wants to keep us safe," She muttered, her mind forcing her to concentrate on the book as much as she could. "He'll get bored with the questions soon enough; just stay strong." She thought to herself. N crawled up to her so that he was kneeling beside her, his face right next to hers.

"Why?"

She sighed, closing the book and laying it in her lap. "You know the reason why." She muttered, rubbing her temples. N shook his head, his already long wild green locks shaking behind him.

"Nu-uh."

She stared at him, blue eyes wide with wonder. "He…hasn't?"

"Nope," He said, opening his eyes to look at her, "Can you tell me?"

"I…uh…" Concordia stuttered, eyes darting around the room as she tried to think of a way out. The voice of her father echoed in her mind, a tall menacing figure only illuminated by the orange glow of a fire.

"You are to never speak of why you must not leave the house; it is best that he never knows, so that he may grow…pure."

N's eyes widened with excitement. "So you do know!" He shouted as he began to bounce on the bed. "Tell me tell me tell me!"

Concordia glared at him. "I most certainly will not!" She snapped, picking up her book again. "Now shoo; I'm at a very interesting point."

"But-"

"N," She growled warningly, turning her head slightly to glare at him. N slowly backed up until he was on the edge of the bed.

"I was just curious…" He mumbled, plucking at the sheets on the bed. Concordia rolled her eyes as she turned back to her book.

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"But satisfaction brought it back," A voice cheerfully called from a spot hidden from N and Concordia's eyes. The two looked around the room, taken by surprise by the voice that sounded so familiar.

"Was that…" N began, but was interrupted by a trap door opening in the floor to continue. Out of the door popped a pink head, large pink eyes blinking rapidly as they became adjusted to the new lighting.

"Lookie what I found," She said, grinning happily as she pulled herself up from the ground. N jumped off the bed as he raced towards the hole. Concordia sighed as she set the book on the bed, calmly getting it off it herself.

"You're gonna get in trouble for getting dirty Anthea," She scolded, walking towards her two siblings. Anthea smiled sheepishly as she ran a hand through her hair.

"I made sure to stay clean," She said before breathing out an almost silent 'mostly'. Completely oblivious to the world, N's head was stuck far down the hole as he gazed around it in complete wonder and amazement.

"Wow," He said, coming back up above ground, "It's like a whole new world down there!"

Anthea nodded her head excitedly. "I know! And guess what?"

"What?"

"I think there's a way outside!"

N's eyes were as wide and shiny as freshly washed dinner plates. "Really," He asked excitedly, watching as Anthea's head bobbed up and down. He immediately turned to Concordia, bouncing on his knees excitedly. "Can we go outside now Concordia? Can we can we can we?"

Concordia placed her hands on her hips. "For the last time, no! Now stop asking!"

"Aw, but Concordia," Anthea whined, "I was already outside, and got to go to this park with a cool jungle gym!"

Concordia's eyes almost bugged out of her head. "You went outside?"

Anthea rubbed the back of her neck. "Um…Sorry?"

N sat back on his rump, arms crossed over his chest as he pouted. "If she gets to go outside, then I should too!"

Concordia sighed. "N…"

"Pretty pretty please?"

She bit her lip as she thought it over. "….Fine."


N leaned against the wall, Anthea sitting next to him on the windowsill. His hands were in his pockets while his eyes were trained on the door, awaiting his sister's arrival.

"She's been gone a while…Hasn't she," Anthea mentioned quietly, her gaze directed at the floor. Her hands were neatly folded in her lap; her head was bowed slightly so that her face was hidden. N glanced at her, nodding as he turned back to the door.

"She's fine though," He stated without a hint of doubt in his voice. In reality though, he was worried just as much as Anthea, if not even more. Fate seemed to take pity however when the door opened to reveal a perfectly fine, albeit morose, Concordia entering the room. She closed the door softly behind her, immediately triggering a barrage of questions from Anthea.

"What happened? Are you okay? He didn't do anything right? Oh, I'm so so sorry Concordia," Anthea said, rushing to embrace her sister in a tight hug. Concordia smiled slightly, patting Anthea on the head as she returned the hug.

"I'm fine," She answered, "He just decided to bring up the first time we got caught. And…" She swallowed as she remembered. "And its consequences."

Anthea and N shared a glance, both remembering the event as clearly as if they experienced it like Concordia had.


Soft giggles could be heard echoing throughout the dark passageway, yet not through the floorboards. Concordia crawled at the front as N followed, a bright smile on his face.

"I think today was the best day yet so far," He said happily, the smile never leaving his face. Concordia nodded, her own smile on her face.

"You seemed to have fun with that young girl and her friend," Concordia mentioned, remembering how N had been laughing and playing with two young children. N blushed slightly, looking down at the ground.

"Yeah, Touko is really neat," He said shyly, "But her brother's really weird."

She raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"He says the best legendary dog is Raikou, when obviously it's Entei!"

She giggled, knowing that when it came to Pokemon her brother was passionate about his favorites. "Oh really? And what does Touko say?"

"Well…She says Suicune is, but that's okay!"

"And why's that?"

"Cuz Suicune is pretty awesome too! Entei's just better cuz he's got his own movie."

"Is that so," She said as they reached the trap door. "Well you'll just have to prove that to them when we see them again!"

N nodded as she pushed open the trap door, light flooding the dark passageway. Suddenly a large hand reached down and pulled Concordia out, causing her to shriek in surprise. N's eyes widened as he scrambled towards the hole, clambering out to see what caused the commotion. There in Concordia and Anthea's room stood Ghetsis ,holding Concordia by the scruff of her dress as Anthea watched with wide terrified eyes in the corner. N stood up on the floor as his father stared down at him, an angry sneer on his face.

"So, the little troublemaker reveals himself," He said, dropping Concordia onto the floor. She landed on her rear, causing a slight grimace to appear from the sudden pain she felt. N's tiny hands balled into fists as he glared up at his father.

"Don't drop her like that," N retorted, stomping his foot against the floor. Ghetsis advanced on N, causing him to back up slightly. He chuckled darkly as he kept eye contact with his son.

"My my, such a confident voice, yet continually backs up as I come forward," He noted, "My boy, if you don't have the bravery to back up your comments, then don't speak at all." He hissed the final part, causing more fear and adrenaline to pump through N's small body. He grabbed N by the neckline of his shirt, lifting him up in the air as he kicked wildly. Concordia's eyes widened as she stood up and ran towards Ghetsis, her arms wrapping around his lower half.

"Father don't do anything to him," Concordia shouted ,burying her head in his side. "I…I allowed him out! He was only following what I said; he's just an innocent child!"

Ghetsis raised an eyebrow as he stared down at Concordia. "Oh? And what about the trap door? Who found that one?"

Concordia bit her lip as she looked back at Anthea. "…I did."

Anthea gasped, covering her hands with her mouth as she trembled. N thrashed harder, trying to escape his father's grasp. "No you didn't!"

Concordia looked up at him with sad eyes, giving him a strong smile. "Yes, I did N," She repeated, "There's no need for you and Anthea to cover for me anymore. I'm admitting to what I've done wrong, so please, just….just let me take my punishment."

Ghetsis's eyes darted between her and N. "…Very well then." He said, dropping N to the floor. He landed with a loud thud , a small yelp of pain escaping his lips. Concordia wanted to run to him, yet her wrist was grasped tightly in her father's hands as he pulled her in the opposite direction. She looked back, watching as Anthea ran towards N and knelt beside him, checking to make sure that he wasn't seriously injured. Concordia turned away and bit her lip as she heard the sobs begin, only for the sound to be cut out immediately as the door was closed behind them.


N laid on his bed, arms resting behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. His eyes gazed up at the blank ceiling, wishing that instead of the carpet looking like the sky it was the ceiling as well.

"At least then I could pretend I'm outside," He thought forlornly, looking out his window. A soft knock on his door interrupted his thoughts, causing him to turn his head from the window towards the door. "Enter."

The door opened as Concordia walked quietly in, closing the door behind her. N sat up in the bed as she approached him, quietly sitting at the foot of his bed. He moved to join her at the foot, sitting beside her. The silence was tense as both waited for the other to speak; finally Concordia broke the silence.

"I'm sorry," She said quietly. N blinked, so surprised at the words he had heard that he thought he had misheard.

"What?"

She turned to face him. "I said I'm sorry. If I hadn't of gone out, then we wouldn't be in this mess. I should have ignored that stupid boy and just stayed at home, like I'm supposed to."

N shook his head. "Don't be sorry just because you wanted to have fun. Being sorry for something like that is like…is like being sorry for being in love with someone."

Concordia smiled slightly. "I guess."

"In any case," N continued, "I should be the one who's sorry."

Now it was Concordia's turn to be surprised. "What are you sorry for?"

"All those years ago," He began, "If I hadn't pestered you so much…if I had fought harder to take the blame for what happened, then maybe…maybe things could have turned out different."

Concordia shook her head. "No…I doubt that things could have turned out different after you had that taste."

He stared at her, waiting for the rest of her explanation. "Really?"

She nodded. "You may have been more careful-like we've been ever since that day-but you'd have wanted to keep going out. You'd have wanted to keep experiencing the world. You…You would have wanted to keep seeing her."

Realization dawned upon him as he realized that what Concordia said was true; that no matter what course they had taken, he would still have had a desire to see Touko. He chuckled as he ran a hand through his hair, suddenly realizing the irony of their situation.

"It doesn't matter now though," He said quietly, "No matter how much I want to see her, I won't be able to with these new guards and stuff he wants to put in."

"They'll find a way," Concordia said quietly. N looked towards her in question, meeting her blue eyes with his own green.

"You think so?"

She nodded again. "Definitely. Touko and Touya are just far too determined and stubborn to just wallow in misery and let us suffer. No doubt they'll drag Bianca and Cheren into the mess too."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they dragged the whole Elite Four with them as well," N chuckled, knowing how obsessive Touya was of the group. Concordia smiled and laughed quietly as well.

"I wouldn't be surprised either," She said, leaning back on her elbows on the bed. N lay down beside her, arms already folded behind his head. She glanced over at him before turning her gaze out towards the window, the lights of the city vibrant against the dark night sky.

"They'll come for us…I just know it."


A/N: So yeah…If you can't tell yet, this story is kindasorta almost done. I would estimate maybe about….two, three more chapters? Plus a little mini epilogue to help wrap things up nicely. So yeah…Review and you'll get either a Raikou, Suicune, or Entei plushie! (The choice is up to the reviewer. If the reviewer doesn't really care/doesn't specify, they will either be given Entei or Suicune. Most likely Entei. Because I love him a lot) Until next time, JAA MATA!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. If I did, I wouldn't be working my butt off trying to decide on college AND work my butt off to get INTO college.