AN: Hey guys, it's me again, this time with chapter 9! (Holy cow, has it really been 9 weeks since this went up?)

Anyways, enjoy! And as usual, reviews, comments, criticisms etc are very much appreciated and valued!

(And I don't own Pokemon. Nintendo does.)

Xx

Chapter Nine- Broken Bonds

-N's POV-

A harsh wind blistered against my face as I emerged from the top of the stairway onto the summit of DragonSpiral Tower, being closely followed by my father, who lingered darkly behind me, like a shadow. The place before us was barren, apart from several stone pillars and the dusty remnants of broken concrete blowing around at our feet, and was as cold as an arctic winter, the air around us chilling and unwelcoming as the both of us slowly made our way to the centre of the summit.

"It's almost time, my son…" Ghetsis stated, causing me to swallow nervously at the thought of events to come. This was odd; I'd been anticipating this for the last two weeks since we'd made the major discovery about Zekrom's whereabouts, I should feel excited if anything, not anxious. What did it matter now anyways? All that mattered now was getting the Dark Stone to the right place and awakening the mighty dragon, the legendary Pokemon that would lead Team Plasma into its golden era.

Father, effortlessly picking up on my discomfort, smirked amusedly. "Oh don't be such a child, N," he sneered, gazing across at the empty space surrounding us. "Soon you'll be king of all of Unova, how do you expect to rule over an entire region if you can't even keep your composure now?"

I avoided his gaze, staring out through the giant hole looming in the back of the tower. The walls all around consisted mostly of long-since crumbled chunks of stone, with several lumps of still-standing wall dotted here and there around the circle that made up the summit. The moors below were shrouded in mist, making it impossible to see out to the water below, and the cries of several creatures could be heard cawing in the distance.

"You know, I'll bet your precious little princess wouldn't like to see you so shaken…"

I clenched my eyes shut, annoyed that my father was bringing her into the conversation once more. "Why must you always mention White?" I sighed, kneeling on one knee to feel the dusty ground at my feet. I clumped together a handful of grey dust, before absently allowing it to slip through my fingers and escape into the breeze.

"Motivation, N," he said, linking his hands together in front of him. "You work better when you have a goal in mind…"

I exhaled and ascended to my feet once more, pulling the visor of my cap over my eyes. "…I think we should start…"

Ghetsis nodded, raising a single hand. "As you wish," he mumbled, before quickly snapping his fingers. In a brisk flash, three lean figures dressed in black appeared behind him, bowing to him instantly as he cast his eternally cold, unforgiving gaze upon them. "You called us, Master?" one member of The Shadow Triad asked.

"The stone." Father ordered, his voice taking on a sudden seriousness as he stared the three ninjas coldly in the eyes. They bowed once more, before producing a glistening, black stone from what seemed like nowhere. The stone was round and quiet big, with several notches cut into it as a result of thousands of years of erosion. The ninja handed the stone to me, which I clutched tightly, scared of my life for what Ghetsis might do to me if I damaged it.

I could still remember the look on his face when, two weeks ago in the middle of another stormy night, the Shadow triad had informed him that they had obtained the Dark Stone after searching through a relic castle in the Desert Ruins for many days. It must've been about four in the night, but the moment the Shadow Triad returned, I'd bolted from bed and headed straight to my throne room, where they presented me with the legendary, black orb. After that, it was non-stop researching for me, day-in, day-out, to find out where the stone needed to be put in order to reawaken Zekrom. The answer, I discovered, came in the form of DragonSpiral Tower, an ancient ruin located to the north of Iccirrus City. Once our plans were decided, we'd headed out there straight away.

"Master Ghetsis…" one ninja said, lowering his head to him as a sign of respect. Father twisted to face him, an eyebrow arched. "While passing through the city, we noticed that trainer, the one you told us to keep an eye on… just to inform you of her whereabouts."

My mouth fell open as Ghetsis snickered evilly. "Ah yes, beautiful little White. How is my future daughter-in-law doing?"

"She was heading into the city's gym; she seemed very excited about it."

Father rubbed his chin, a malevolent glint flickering in his eye. "I see…" he mumbled, glancing sideways at me with a crooked smile on his face. "Well, N, it would be terrible manners not to invite your precious girlfriend to this momentous occasion, now wouldn't it?"

I blinked, frightened for White's sake that she had once again become entangled in team Plasma's affairs. A part of me didn't want to face her, and was terrified that the worst would come to the worst and she would reject me again, but the other, more dominant side, was longing to see her after so many weeks apart, and couldn't wait to be close to her again.

"Find her," I ordered the Triad. After remembering what they were known to do, however, I quickly added: "…but do not hurt her" fiercely to the end.

Ghetsis sneered again, folding his arms across his chest. "Now that would be too easy. You claim that's she's amazing and incredibly powerful and all that, so now's the time to prove it."

"What? You can't let them hurt her…" I began, but was cut short by my father, who rolled his eyes.

"Not that, you idiot. I'm talking about her strength as a trainer. This tower is thronged with Plasma members- wouldn't you agree that if she can make her way up here by herself, then she'll have proven herself worthy as a queen for our great organisation?"

Oh brilliant. What had I gotten her into this time? Ok, maybe I can stop this if I just shake my head, so come on N, just shake your head, just a simple sideways motion to let your dad know you don't want that to happen…

"Okay…" I uttered, nodding my head up and down. I just couldn't stop myself, as if a powerful, internal force had completely taken me over and was demanding I see White no matter what.

Idiot.

Ghetsis nodded, his pupils narrowing to slits. "So be it. I think this will be memorable… you know what to do, Triad." Again, he snapped his fingers together, signalling for the Shadow Triad to depart. They complied instantly, dematerializing into space in a split second, off to find White, wherever she may now be.

As they vanished from sight, I began to wonder how she would react to this whole event- would she be angry, and pound up the tower in a heated rage to kick my butt? Or would she float up the many stairways in floods of tears and wail at the top of her lungs, pleading me to stop? Maybe she'd had a change of heart over the last few weeks and had decided she wanted to be a queen after all, or worse, maybe she'd decided to give up on me completely and ended up not coming at all…

"N!" Father spat, waving a hand viciously in front of my face. "Wake up, you stupid boy!"

Realizing where I was, I bolted back into my senses, almost dropping Zekrom's stone in the process. Ghetsis rolled his eyes before taking several steps back towards the top of the stairway. "Honestly, sometimes I worry about you, idiot."

"A-are you leaving now?" I asked him as my face flared a dark red, brushing off his last comment. He nodded, raising a cloaked arm and pointing at the stone. "Zekrom can only be awakened in the presence of the hero alone, you should know that, boy. I'll be anticipating your return, along with that of the dragon's, at the castle." He began his long descent down the first step of tower, where Plasma employees would be waiting for him below to escort him home.

When he was gone, I exhaled heavily, feeling the strange aura of the stone resonate between my fingers and flow through my arms and to the rest of my body, filling me with an unknown feeling. I knew then that it was finally time, time to put my endless hours of baffling research into action, to finally reawaken the mighty black dragon after so many thousands of years of its slumber.

My heart pounding madly inside my chest, I began to take several shuffled steps towards the very centre of the summit, where, I knew, was the exact spot Zekrom needed to be woken at. My mind spun as the words from the ancient manuscript flooded into my mind…

The Mighty Black Dragon,

Lending strength to he seeking ideals,

Wakes only in the presence of a true heart,

Tower of Dragons, sky of storms booming,

A thunderous eruption,

A deafening roar,

Two orbs of pure red existing among a pitch-black canvas,

The soul-eater awakens,

A flash of lightning and a roll of thunder,

Then, with hero of pure heart and ideals,

Strength beyond anything ever imaginable.

As my feet collided with the concrete floor, edging nearer and nearer with every stride, my stomach turned flips inside me. The stone was now trembling inside my iron grip, pulsating with luminous, cobalt sparks that surrounded the orb, becoming stronger and stronger as I eventually arrived in the centre of the pillars. The electrical currents seemed to be passing straight through my skin, as if merging with me, becoming one.

The very instant my feet came to a stop beneath the stone seal marking the midpoint of the summit, it was as if the orb came alive, and exploded into a series of blinding flashes, spiralling high above me as an empowering, un-harmful electrical current palpitated through my body. My eyes widened as my mouth flung open, watching on as the pitch-black stone, on its own, escaped my grip and began to levitate above me.

My heart pounded thunderously against my chest as I took in the stunning light-show unfolding before me. The stone was now barely visible in the sky above me, shrouded in a chaotic explosion of brilliant-blue bolts of lightning which darted outwards in all directions, as if consuming everything. The dot of blackness then slowly began to grow, morphing before my very eyes into an unfamiliar figure in the sky. I could barely breathe, as an ear-splitting cry blared into the air and a roll of thunder clapped in the stormy sky above. A sudden gust blasted against me, causing me to stagger backwards, clasping my eyes shut as an all-consuming beam of light flashed in the sky before me.

A series of deafening rolls of thunder blared in the sky above, echoing for miles around and causing the ground below to rumble uncontrollably. I shielded my face with my arm as I attempted in vain to pry my eyes open, only to be met instantly with a blinding flash of consuming white light. I clenched my teeth together and slowly noticed the light tone down until it was almost of normal luminosity, enabling me to see once more.

'Hello, Master,' the internal voice of the mighty, black Pokémon said to me, as I finally laid eyes on the legendary being Team Plasma had spent almost two decades working on to find. The chest of the almighty dragon heaved up and down as it towered more than 15 feet above me, its penetrating ruby-red eyes beaming into me. 'I've been waiting for you.'

Dumbfounded by the amazing sight, I pushed myself forwards, edging closer to the legendary beast. "H-hello…" I stuttered as I gazed at the dragon, which loomed over me on two heavy, black feet. "I'm N… I'm your hero…"

'I know. I am yours, Master, I abide by your rules and will do anything to protect you.' Zekrom lowered its head in respect, and as if naturally, I placed out my hand to stroke his soft face. I couldn't believe it- after so much time, so many gruelling hours of research, so many decades of waiting on my father's side, I'd finally done it. I'd finally awoken Zekrom, and now, it was only a matter of time before all of Unova fell at my feet.

"So you will come with me to the Pokemon League? Together, we'll defeat the Champion and claim Unova as our own, making sure no Pokémon will ever suffer at the hands of humans again?"

'Your wishes are my wishes. My strength is your strength. I shall take you there at once, if you so command,'

I was about to respond, when I suddenly remembered the fact that White was most likely on her way up to the top of the tower, causing me to freeze instantly. "Not yet…" I explained to Zekrom, who stared at me with a perplexed look on his black, chiselled face. "First, there's someone I must wait for… someone very important…"

The dragon cocked its massive head to the side, straightening the rest of its enormous body up. 'Someone important? Are they coming with us?'

"If all goes well, then, yes. I want this person to be with me during our mission, but I think that will prove… difficult…"

Zekrom puffed out a warm breath, his chest heaving up and down. 'No matter what happens, I shall forever remain by your side, my hero."

I patted the side of my companion's giant leg lovingly, pulling the visor of my cap over my eyes with my free hand and sighing. White would be here soon, I could tell. I was dreading encountering her again like this, dreading the fact that now was my final chance to get her to come with me of her own free will. The thought that I would have to take her by force if she decided to fight against me and failed sickened me to my very core, but I knew it was the only way we could be together, and I just couldn't be without her.

Suddenly, Zekrom stiffened and braced itself protectively, its eyes flaming fiercely. 'Master!' it declared, letting out another deafening roar. 'I sense the opposite power approaching! I sense the Light Hero!'

My eyes widening, I gawked at the colossal dragon before me, struggling to understand what it was trying to tell me as it roared ferociously, its screams echoing across the moors below, before it finally stopped, glaring into the space behind me.

"…N…" a cracking voice all but whispered from behind where I faced, as soft as the summer wind. Recognising the voice instantly, I swung round to see a young girl with wavy chestnut hair rooted to her spot several yards away from me, a look of horror on her white face and her cerulean blue eyes wide and brimming with confusion. She was here. After so many weeks apart, she was finally close to me once more.

"Stop this now, N…" White demanded tenaciously, gawking at Zekrom anxiously before staring into me with watering eyes, so powerful it felt like they were burning holes in my soul. "Why do you keep doing this, N? Just stop!"

I shook my head defiantly, taking several strides towards her until there were only a few feet distancing us. "My dream will be a reality, White. Soon, I'll defeat the Champion, and then I'll be king of a Unova where Pokémon are free from humans…"

"Stop it…"

"Together, Zekrom and I are now the most powerful beings in the entire world. We're heading to the Pokemon League, where we'll battle to end all battles. And when that is done…"

"If you love me, you'll stop this…"

"But I do love you. I love you more than anything, you are my life. I want you to come with me, White…."

"STOP THIS OR YOU'LL LOSE ME!" White screeched, tears of frustration spilling from her eyes as she raged at me. "JUST STOP IT! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!"

Zekrom braced himself next to me, a vicious growl emanating from its mouth. White noticed this and staggered back several feet in dismay, the sound of her boots clinking against the floor echoing across the empty space.

No… I couldn't be losing her already… for once, everything was coming together nicely, yet she was still slipping further and further away as I approached my dream. Why..?

For many moments after there was silence between us, apart from the sound of Zekrom's rugged breathing, until suddenly the pounding of heavy footsteps could be heard approaching from the stairway. I hissed under my breath as four exhausted figures arrived at the summit, being led by none other than that idiot Black himself.

"You!" he screeched at me as he stormed forwards, only to skid to a halt a few feet behind where White stood when he caught sight of Zekrom towering behind me. "What in Arceus' name is that!"

His three companions, those other two twits and an older, robe-clad man I realised must have been Brycen, the gym leader of Iccirus City, remained rooted behind with astounded looks on their faces as they gawked at my friend vulgarly, like he was a freak.

"This…" I began, relishing the discomfort of my enemies. "…is Zekrom…legendary black dragon of thunder…destroyer of ancient Unova….and Team Plasma's new ally…"

All four of their faces simultaneously flung open, their dismayed eyes filling with horror as Zekrom spread its strange-shaped wings and roared viciously. White yelled at me as I folded my arms across my chest and smirked, pleading me desperately to stop. I looked up at her then, seeing her in a dishevelled state with tear-clouds brimming in her eyes, banging her foot against the ground and screaming.

Why couldn't she see? Why couldn't she see how powerful she could be, if she'd only open herself up to my world? The whole of Unova was right in front of her for the taking, yet she insisted on staying behind to rot with her awful friends, who were currently all-but cowering helplessly in the background, by the way.

"You've gone far enough, N…" the gym leader lectured, stepping forward a step or two and shooting me a dirty look. I barely acknowledged his presence as he spoke- why did he think he understood any of what was going on? He was just another ruthless trainer who exploited their Pokémon that had wandered up here randomly, expecting to get in on the action as if he actually played a part in unfolding events. No, he wasn't important, just a minor, barely-noticeable mark on my plan.

"White…" I began, sensing her pain as I stepped forward until there was less than a foot between us. The other four, Black, the blonde one, the one with glasses and that gym leader guy, remained ingrained to their spots in fear of Zekrom reacting, though I could clearly see the looks of contempt in Black's dark eyes as he glared at me, etching to dash forward and knock me back from White with a forceful thud. She met my gaze, her teeth gritted in frustration and her beautiful eyes veiled in a misty cover of silver. "…I've asked you this before, and I'll ask you once again…"

She glanced away ignorantly at the sound of the words, recognising instantly what I was going to say. I lifted her face so that we were both facing each other and held it there firmly, noticing out of the corner of my eye Black hissing out curses in the distance. "Come with me to my castle. You can be my queen, and all of Unova will be ours, we can be happy…"

She blinked away an overflowing tear, which streamed down her face, and slowly shook her head, her eyes burning into me. "I can't N… and I never will, so stop saying things like that, because as long as Team Plasma still exists, I will never be with you…"

With my thumb, I wiped the tear away, knowing now that the worst had come to the worst, and we were both in for a rough time when events played out. I was going to have to hold her against her will once I had control over Unova, and she would never be able to see that it was because I loved her and wanted to protect her. She'd think I was a monster, and I'd have to live with knowing I'd be hurting her every day, just by keeping her safe. "I'm not giving up on you, White…" I whispered softly, just low enough so that only she could hear.

She sobbed silently as I pulled away, striding towards Zekrom with my cap pulled over my face. "DON'T TOUCH ME! I'LL NEVER LET YOU WIN!" she barked suddenly at the top of her lungs. "DO YOU HEAR ME? I'LL STOP YOU! I'LL MAKE YOU SEE THE TRUTH!"

I sighed, placing a hand on Zekrom's massive leg and patting it comfortingly. "Reshiram…" I murmured to her, causing her to tilt her head in confusion.

"Excuse me?"

"Reshiram, Zekrom's opposite," I repeated, stopping to stare back at her. "She's your only hope in stopping me. If you can find The Light Stone, you might be able to awaken her, if you are who we think you are. And if you find her, you might just have the tiniest chance in winning against me…"

White blinked, flapping her mouth open and shut in puzzlement. As I continued, I hid a tiny smile. "If you win, everything goes back to the way it used to be. If I win, or more, when I win, everything will change… and you will belong to me…"

White growled angrily, wrathful flames flickering in her sapphire eyes as I mounted Zekrom, rising higher and higher from the group below. I figured she at least deserved a chance to fight for her beliefs, even if that chance was only slight. This competition also made it fair that she would live with me once I'd defeated her, lifting a truckload of guilt from my shoulders.

"You won't win…" she snarled, her eyes overflowing with tiny tears and her body shaking as I whispered to Zekrom to begin his flight to the castle. "Mark my words, you sick son-of-a-Stoutland, I won't let you win!"

Zekrom's wings flapped together, creating a sudden gust of wind on the summit, which raged against the group of trainers below fiercely. As the both of us ascended into the murky, grey sky, I caught sight of the other four idiots rushing to where White stood, the yellow one, I think her name was Bella or something, catching her within her arms and holding her tightly. White buried her face into her shoulder, pressure piling up onto her, as the glasses wearing-one – I think his name was Mike or something stupid, patted her back reassuringly and Black glared up into the sky at me. I leered back, tightening my hold on Zekrom as he took off into the sky, leaving behind him a trail of bright, cobalt-blue sparks.

I brushed away a tear before it could form in my eye, recalling how Ghetsis had always said only girls and wusses cried. I wasn't a wuss- I was a king, and even though I'd just destroyed my relationship with the only person in the world who understood me, I wasn't allowing myself to change that.

'I am sorry about your love, Master,' Zekrom comforted me as he flew through the sky at breakneck speed, the wind crashing against us, almost knocking my hat off my head and down to the moors below.

"Don't be…" I replied, gazing out onto the faint outline of boggy wasteland lying five-hundred feet beneath us. "It's not over yet…"

'I hope you are right, Master…'

Of course I was right, how could I not be? Love like what White and I had couldn't just be broken like that, it was meant to last. Even though tears were clouding her eyes now and her entire body was seething with rage towards me, I knew that soon those emotions would melt away, revealing love beneath. Maybe not today, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon she'd realise that everything I did I did for her and the sake of a new world where we could live in peace without having to see Pokémon hurting. Yes, she'd see that soon.

Because love like what we had didn't just go away…

More Black next chapter, promise!

Xx