Happy New Year! I've been kind of neglecting this story a bit (a lot) what with Christmas and stuff… (also, I might be a tiny bit obsessed with Zelda at the mo…) But, anyways, here's chapter 8!

The second part might be a bit confusing… I had trouble adapting it from the original version in White's perspective, but in case it doesn't make sense, it basically happens after White's gym battle and then Alder shows up and Skyla leaves and then Black appears and gets all pissed-off with Alder and stuff happens… so there ya go!

And also, I don't own Pokemon.

Xx

Chapter 8- Clarified Truth

-N's POV-

The violent wrath of the thunderstorm pounded against the study's windows, causing them, though they were made of the strongest glass in all of Unova, to tremble and quake against the fierce rainfall. The large room was lit up by several crystal lampshades dotted at table ends across the luxurious area, as well as the warm, glowing fire that burned at the hearth, casting a soft, orange radiance across the room.

Grumbling as a heavy textbook fell from a high shelf and thumped me forcefully on the head, I continued searching through the enormous bookshelf that took up the entire wall, feeling the start of a painful bruise begin to surface on my reddened scalp. Reaching upwards to grab a thick hardback from the very top shelf, I moaned, yanking the volume down, but thankfully catching it in my arms before it could hurt me further. I shook my head as I read the title; 'Advanced Geometrical Equations and Theorems." This was definitely not the kind of book I was looking for.

I set the heavy volume down on a lower shelf, not bothering to fix it in among the other textbooks, and strolled over to the plush, velvet sofa placed in front of the fireplace, slinking back against its soft fabric and sighing heavily. Since I'd returned to the castle, I'd failed to find any more 'romance' novels, as they were called, to read. It seemed my study didn't stock anything even remotely close to those, yet I had an insatiable urge to learn more about love, and while White wasn't there to explain to me, I'd had to make do with sneaking in questions here and there to Anthea and Concordia, who'd turn away sheepishly and mumble something that didn't make much sense in response. But I had to learn more about love, so I could gain a proper understanding of it and use it in getting White to join us, but if things continued as slow-paced as this…

It had been nearly three weeks since I'd last seen White, and every day I missed her more. I hated being stuck in the castle with nothing to do but work on our mission and study legends, and I wanted nothing more than for her to be there to brighten my day when I finished, with her beautiful, sapphire eyes and her amazing, bright smile…

Suddenly, the giant, silver doors at the end of the room creaked open, and the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard trekking into the room. I leapt from my seat instantly and twisted in the direction of the doors, only to be met by the smirking face of my father staring back at me. I tensed a little as the older man crept further into the room, his long gold and purple robe trailing behind him.

"Good evening, son," he greeted me, sitting himself down on the blue, leather armchair next to the fire. "I trust you've been working hard?"

I nodded, wondering why he'd come in directly to check on me, as it was unlike him to disturb me while he thought I was working. He rubbed his chin in response, crossing one leg over the other and smirking. "Excellent…" he purred, his single, crimson eye darting around the room, examining the many paintings on the wall.

"Well… what's this?" he asked, his eye coming to a stop on the novel on the table in front of him.

Oh help me, Arceus. The romance novel from Driftveil.

Swiftly, I darted straight for the slim book, but was too slow, for father had already snatched it with a sharp flick of his hand and was closely examining it. I felt my entire face burn up as he read out the title. Now he'd now about White for sure…

"Sex and the City: Carrie's Adventures…" he mouthed, a baffled look on his face. "…N, why were you reading this?"

I swallowed hard, racking my brain to think of an excuse, like I was minding it for Anthea or had just happened to find it on the shelf. "Well... I…"

Just then, a laugh escaped his lips and his mouth twisted into a smug smile, his single, scarlet eye flickering with a mischievous flame. I was taken aback a little at his surprising reaction, as he tossed the novel back onto the table and joined his fingers together in a wicked fashion. His intimidating gaze turned to me next, staring at me menacingly and making me fell at incredible unease. "…I suppose your precious princess White gave you that to read?"

I stumbled flabbergastedly back several steps, almost tripping over a stack of books that lay on the carpet behind me. How had he found out about her? There was no way he could know about the two of us, I mean, I'd made absolute sure that no Plasma members had caught the two of us together! Maybe he didn't know, and he's just teasing me… yes, that's perfectly logical, I mean-

Ghetsis hauled himself out of the armchair and strolled towards the hearth, his arms folded behind him as he stared into the flickering wisps that danced about, a soft orange hue reflecting against his face. "I know about your little girlfriend…" he stated, a tone of amusement in his voice.

Instantly, I felt panic rush through me, as possibilities of what he might do to me now he knew filled my head. I grabbed the side of my forehead frantically, glancing around in search for any ideas as to what to tell him.

"Father… I-I …. I didn't mean…"

"Let me finish," he ordered sternly, meeting my panicked gaze for a moment, before turning to stare into the flames again. "I've known about her for nearly two months..." His voice was cracking with a wicked tone, and a sly smile was etched across his face as he spoke. "I decided to toy with you for a while, to see how you would react…"

"But… how did you find out?" I asked, my mouth flapping open and shut in bafflement.

He sniggered, moving over towards the large wooden desk in the corner of the room and running his finger along the model globe that sat between the stacks of textbooks. "It was the Shadow Triad that first informed me of her existence, and they've been checking up on her ever since. I had the pleasure of meeting her myself in Driftveil several weeks back, and I must say she's a beautiful young girl. You made a fine choice, my son."

I blinked several times in confusion, unable to believe the words that were coming out of my father's mouth. He, who forbid me from ever having a single human friend as a child, actually approved of my relationship with a trainer, and one who challenged our power, at that? There had to be something wrong with the world…

"…What do you mean 'choice'?" I mouthed, unable to think of anything else.

"For a queen, idiot," Ghetsis replied, plonking himself comfortably back into the armchair. "From the information the Shadow Triad has gathered on her, she's loyal, hard-working, intelligent, and also a very powerful Pokémon trainer. These are just the characteristics we need for a perfect spokesperson for Team Plasma, as well as for the next generation of Harmonia children. Not to mention, she's a very attractive young girl, and an attractive, young queen is just what we need to appeal to Unovian people, thus earning us respect and power. Do you follow my logic?"

I just stood there blankly, my mouth hanging agape, unable to even think properly. He was actually encouraging me to make her part of Team Plasma? Now I knew something was off around here…

Father cleared his throat rudely. "I said…" he interrupted, staring me coldly in the eye. "Do you follow my logic?"

I swallowed, a million different thoughts buzzing through my mind. The idea of White joining us as a queen had never even occurred to me before, yet it was as if Ghetsis had been scheming this all along. He seemed to have everything planned out flawlessly in a perfect plot where everything fit together, yet there was one massive fact he was leaving out…

"White doesn't want to be my queen…"

Ghetsis rolled his eyes in exasperation, and sank back further into his chair. "Oh, seriously N, you think what she wants matters? You're a king- you can have whoever you want as your queen! We could go find her right now and take her here by force, if you so willed it."

"But that's not fair to White. I would never force her into this, I love her…" I insisted, not daring to raise my voice to my father, who groaned in frustration, glaring evilly at me directly in the eye.

"It's your choice. But don't tell me you haven't thought about it, just kidnapping her, I mean," His words sparked sudden shock inside me, and although I hated to admit it, I realised he was right. I'd constantly played over what might happen if I'd just taken her in my head, trying to imagine how she would react. Would she kick and scream and rebel, so she would have to be locked in the dungeons until she saw sense, or would she be joyous, and agree to rule loyally alongside me for the rest of her life? As much as I preferred the latter, I knew all too well that the other possibility could quite easily happen, too, and there was just no way I could live with myself keeping her locked up like that.

I simply shook my head, unable to make eye contact with the green-headed man in the chair across from me. "Like I said, I love her, I would never make her do anything she doesn't want to." Father rolled his eyes, rubbing his chin with his forefinger and thumb.

"Think of it this way…" he eventually began, after several long moments. "If she's refusing to come now, then we wait, wait until Team Plasma is all powerful and humans are separated from Pokémon. You know she won't be safe in this new world, I mean, think about it- when she and that sad group of of her's fail in stopping us, those brutes she calls 'friends' will most likely blame her and turn on her. Can you imagine how they'll hurt her? Well, can you? CAN YOU?"

My mouth fell open as the facts registered with me. Of course I knew those three buffoons were incapable of looking after her properly, but I never thought they would go so far as to physically hurt her. The very thought made me sick to my core, but the more I thought about it, the more it began to make sense, and the more terror grew inside me. I promised then that I would never let them touch her, that I just had to protect her from them here once our plans had been carried out… Maybe… maybe this was the logical solution?

"So you see where I'm coming from, then?" Ghetsis asked, leaning back into the armchair. I nodded in response, desperately trying to rid my mind of the awful possibilities that were seeping their way into my head. He smirked, and continued to watch the flames of the hearth flicker. "Good. If you really want her, take her. End of story." He then pushed himself to his feet and made his way back towards the large double-doors, his elaborate robes trailing behind him. Before he disappeared from view, he turned to stare at me, his cruel, crimson eye burning a hole in me. "Just don't do anything stupid. Not when we're so close to victory."

I nodded in response as the door slammed shut behind him, the hostile atmosphere of the room dropping instantly as soon as he was gone. I sighed, sinking back down onto the sofa, my face buried in my hands. What was I supposed to do? If I took White as my own, she'd most likely hate me forever, but at least she'd be safe. I really didn't want to be making this decision, but if there was only some way I could get her to come to me…

And then I was struck by a lightning-bolt of inspiration, a sudden blast of realisation of something I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed before. Without thinking twice, I leaped off the sofa and darted straight towards my desk a few yards away, practically ripping it apart as I searched. It only took several moments to locate the heavy manuscript in mind, the important, incredibly expensive one it had taken Team Plasma years to find. Without thinking twice about the safety of the centuries-year-old volume, I flung the cover open and flicked through the delicate pages at breakneck speed, my eyes frantically scanning each page for what I was looking for.

The illustration of the stunning, black dragon came in to view after several minutes of searching, freezing me to my spot as I read, or re-read, in my case, the text beneath.

~Zekrom, the legendary black Pokémon, leant its strength to the hero seeking ideals~

I must have reread this line 500 times in the last three weeks, just trying to make sense of how we could use this almighty Pokémon to accomplish our plans. We needed power, power to make everyone agree with us, and so far, we'd realised that that unstoppable power lay in legendary Pokémon. I flicked the page once more, revealing a picture of an amazing white dragon, similar to Zekrom. Again, I reread the near-identical sentence beneath.

~Reshiram, the legendary white Pokémon, leant its strength to the hero seeking truth~

In the legend involving the two dragon Pokémon, there'd been two heroes, two heroes from opposite sides who fought for what they believed in. Reshiram and Zekrom had each sided with a hero, but in the end brought only destruction across ancient Unova as a result of their incessant battles, and fell into a deep slumber inside two stones. There'd been two heroes in that story, which meant there was meant to be two heroes in this occurring one, too.

For our plans, we were going to need Zekrom. If I was the hero seeking ideals, like Team Plasma believed I was, he would become our ally, and help us achieve our goals. But there was still Reshiram, who would side with the hero seeking truth. I now knew that there was no way we could ever get Reshiram to join us, because the identity of Reshiram's hero, if my calculations were correct, was already set in stone. Reshiram's hero sought truth, justice, equality. Reshiram's hero was of pure heart and strong of spirit, and forever destined to exist as my equal, my polar opposite. Yes, without a single doubt, I now knew who that hero was. That hero was the only other person in the world I loved, the one person that understood me. That hero was White.

-Black's POV-

"That's no way to talk to a lady!" the flame-headed man scolded me, folding his arms across his chest judgementally.

I ignored the hippie in front of me, instead focusing my attention on not acknowledging the presence of my sister across from me, whose eyes were wide and watery as she begged me furiously to listen to her.

I blocked out her pathetic pleads, trying to think of a way I could get away from here. For the past three weeks, I'd completely boycotted my sister, and Cheren and Bianca, for that matter, and had headed off on my own each morning to train for my gym badge alone. I knew I should have come to challenge Skyla, Mistralton city's gym leader, yesterday, but no, I'd had to wait until today, because I didn't think I was strong enough yet. I was an idiot for waiting; Skyla wasn't even here- instead, when I'd progressed to the back of the cargo-warehouse the Flying-Type Leader used as her gym, I'd been met by these two weirdoes.

"Well, I never…" the older man grumbled, giving me the evil eye and tutting. I rolled my eyes and ground my teeth together angrily. All I'd done was snapped at the traitor over there (and called her a few nasty names in the process), and he was acting like I was the one who was in the wrong, as if I was the one who betrayed the whole of Unova. What right did this oldie have anyways to meddle in our business? Oh, that's right: none.

"And just who do you think you are?" I snapped viciously at him, yanking my hat down over my face and avoiding all eye contact with either of them. To my surprise, the man laughed, and took several confident strides forward until he was right up beside me, towering almost a foot taller than me.

"Well… I'm Alder…" he began, rubbing his stubbly chin. "…and last time I checked… I'm the Champion of Unova..."

My mouth instantly flung open and I staggered back several steps in dismay, reality hitting that I'd just snapped at the Champion of freakin' Unova! Oh fantastic, now he thought I was a total jerk!

"I-I… sorry…" I mumbled pathetically, my face turning red in mortification. Alder shook his head disapprovingly and pointed to White, who was stood behind him with a sour expression and sorrow in her eyes. "It's this young lady right here you should be apologising to!"

White turned away then, knowing straight away there was no chance in H-E- double hockey sticks that I was going to apologise, not after what she'd done. I huffed and did the same, fresh rage boiling inside me. I'd apologise when she apologised, though I knew she was too freaking in love with her magical, handsome prince to ever apologise for it, and so went on the never-ending circle of hatred.

"Well, I never…" Alder snarled at me, crossing his arms once more. Ha, if only he knew the truth, I bet he wouldn't be sticking up for White so much…

Speaking of the she-devil herself, White then began to put on her little show she always did whenever things weren't going her way; puppy-dog eyes, nervous, turned-in knees, the whole thing.

"Don't mind my brother…" she told Alder in a sugar-sweet, innocent voice, in case he hadn't already pieced together that we were in fact related, and I wasn't just some random guy that decided to charge into the gym and curse at her for no reason. "He's, um… a little angry with me…"

A little angry? A little angry! I was far beyond the point of just angry, I'd passed that point freaking miles ago! Angry didn't come close to how I felt when I thought of White- then thought of him. I was furious, enraged, fuming, incensed, irate, wrathful, and just about every other word for angry in the thesaurus!

Alder glanced at the both of us and sighed. "Well…" he mumbled, scratching his head cluelessly. "There's no point falling out over something small, children."

Oh that did it.

I laughed wickedly, glaring evilly across at White, whose eyes were wide with panic as she attempted to open her mouth to speak, only for me to cut her off instantly. "Oh, no!" I bellowed between laughs. "We didn't fall out over something small, now did we, White?"

"Black, please, give it up!" she begged, as Alder flashed quick glances back and forth between us, sensing the tension. Her face was red with distress and a single tear streaked down her cheek, though a prominent frown was set onto her lips.

"No, no, he wasn't small…" I continued, shaking my head while grinning malevolently at my sister. Alder raised an eyebrow at me, his mouth flapping open and shut in confusion. "…he is about 6"4, has green hair, and just so happens to be the king of Team Plasma!"

Alder's eyes widened as he tried to piece together the information. "What are you trying to say, Black?"

I pointed a scrutinizing finger in White's direction, absolute fury engulfing me. "She made out with N! The freaking king of team Plasma!"

There was utter silence between the three of us, as Alder processed the bombshell, casting confused glances between the two of us. White's eyes were wide with horror as she gawked at me, as if I were the one who betrayed her.

"I-Is that… true?" Alder asked eventually, his voice cracking.

She sighed, casting her gaze downwards so her baseball-cap covered her eyes.

"Tell the nice man the truth, White!" I mocked after several moments of silence, earning me an evil look from Her Majesty.

"Shut up!" she wailed defensively, a tear streaking down her cheek. Oh the drama, the conflict! Doesn't it make you want to write poetry, to burst out into song about how the world isn't fair? Doesn't it just make you want to puke your guts out?

"I came here to get a gym badge, not to fight you, you little-"

"That's enough from you!" Alder bellowed fiercely, as I huffed and folded my arms childishly. Sure, stick up for the traitor, Mister Champion who's supposed to be protecting Unova!

Alder turned to White, who was wiping away several tears and had her teeth clenched together in a rage. "Now, what really happened? You're not seriously saying that you…"

"He's telling the truth…" she all but whispered, a frown set on her face as she glared across at me. Alder rubbed his chin judgementally as he stared at her. "…But he's acting like what I did was a terrible thing!" she insisted, interrupting him as he was about to speak. "You all think N is evil, but he's not! You don't know him like I do!" Silver tears over flooded her eyes as she in drew a shaky breath and I rolled my eyes. "…I-I love him…"

"Here we go again!" I moaned, throwing my arms exasperatedly in the air. "But I luuurve him! We're gonna be together forever!" I spat vulgarly, mimicking White's voice as she stomped her feet enragedly against the ground, her face crimson and tears streaming down her cheeks.

"SHUT UP!" she screeched, wiping away floods of tears as she tried to keep her composure. "Just shut the freaking hell up! You're my brother, you're supposed to support me!"

"Yes, but that means I also have to protect you from perverts like N, you idiot!"

"Leave him alone! Why can't you just freakin' butt out for once in your life, you-"

"Shut it, both of you!" Alder suddenly barked, causing both of us to flinch in surprise and instantly pause as he crossed his arms and stared us. "Honestly, what are you, toddlers?" I huffed and looked away rudely, only realising several moments later that I was only proving his point in doing so.

"You!" he yelled, directing a pointed finger at me. "You need to stop bullying your sister!" I rolled my eyes. Who did he think he was, our father? I'd met this guy literally five minutes ago, for no apparent reason, in Mistralton's gym, and he acted like he had control over me. Tsk. That will be the day.

"And you," he said in a kinder tone as he placed a gentle arm on White's shoulder and sighed. "Honey, I know first love is great and all that, but seriously… N is trying to split up people and Pokémon and gain control over Unova… is that really what you want in a man?" White shook her head defiantly, brushing his hand off as she faced him directly.

"But he's not like that!" she insisted, biting her lip. "I'll stop him, I can change him!"

Both of us gave her a look that read: 'Do you seriously think he'll change?' to which she responded with a despondent sigh. What an idiot. Pfft, 'I can change him, just wait and see! He's gonna turn good and then we'll ride through the sky on a magical rainbow!'

"Look, child, all I'm saying is to put things on hold with you and your little boyfriend, just for now. You might be a bit young to understand, but bad things are happening in Unova, and…"

"I'm not three years old!" she shouted fiercely, causing Alder to sigh as he attempted to phrase his sentence differently. "Yes, I know that, and if you're serious about protecting Unova, then I suggest you choose."

"Ch-choose?" she stuttered, casting confused glances between us.

"Us or N…" I mumbled in reply, to which her eyes widened in shock and her mouth fell open.

"That's not fair!" she yelled angrily, flailing her arms about as her face took on a look of pain, one that actually caused empathy to well inside me for a split second there, before I realised what she was upset about. "NO! Please, you can't…"

"White…" I said sternly, gazing blankly at her as she shakily raised a hand to cover her mouth. Her cerulean eyes were watering now and her breathing was heavy as she stared into me, the sorrow in her expression burning holes in my soul. "Black, please…" she uttered desperately, to which I simply rolled my eyes, brushing off her act, though it was affecting me slightly.

"Oh seriously, White, get real! You didn't honestly think that you'd be able to keep your relationship with him without this coming up?"

"I don't want to destroy him!"

"Oh, so you'd you'd prefer to help him destroy Unova? Gee, White, what a choice!" She bit her lip as she processed my harsh words, and clenched her eyes shut in pain.

"So just choose. Him, or your brother and friends, not to mention all the good trainers in the world who love their Pokémon..."

After many moments of unbearable silence and anguished looks, White slowly began to open her mouth to speak, her breathing uneven and coming in heavy puffs. "I-I…" she stuttered, casting her gaze to the floor of the warehouse. Both Alder and I listened intently as her mouth flapped open and shut, fear lingering that she could possibly say the unthinkable. "I…I pick… you…"

Silver tears streamed down both her cheeks and her body was stiff as she avoided all eye contact with us, instead, her eyes focused on the floor. Her chest heaved up and down shakily with every rasped breath and her hands were clenched into fists at her sides. Although seeing her so upset struck a chord with me, I, of all people, knew she was just acting like a kid, and would realise her mistakes soon enough.

Alder rubbed his chin once more. "Well then, I'd encourage both of you to just forget about Team Plasma, and let the experts handle the matters at hand. Like I already told White, I'm travelling to meet with gym leaders and plan our strategy, and I'd strongly recommend you kids just continue on your journey as if nothing has happened and look out for each other. Is that okay?"

We both nodded silently, neither of us making eye contact. "Well then, I guess it's goodbye, for now." With a final wave, he twisted and made his way out into the front of the gym, leaving the two of us facing each other in awkward air. White lifted her head to stare at me, showing the heavy tear-clouds lining her eyes. Unusually, I couldn't find myself able to roll my eyes in exasperation, and instead turned on my heels and took several steps towards the exit.

"I take it Skyla isn't here…" I muttered, only to be met with sheer silence form White. I sighed as I reached the entrance into the front of the gym, and, out of the corner of my eye, glanced back at her, as she stood rooted to the spot many yards away. "I'm heading back to the Pokémon Centre…" More silence.

"Um, I-I'm sorry, White…" She cocked her head at my unexpected apology, and was about to open her mouth to respond, when I'd already passed through the doorway, vanishing from view.

Though I hated to admit it, I did feel empathy for my sister. After all, it's hard to lose someone you love… even if that someone is a deluded maniac…