Three weeks later…
Touko's POV
I sat on the forest floor with my face in my hands crying my eyes out. I left Mom, Cheren, Bianca, Professor Juniper, and everyone else I cared about to go rescue N, but for what? For nothing. N's been gone for almost a month now. In a couple of days, it will have been one official month. I haven't seen him for a whole fucking month. Excuse my language. I feel so lost and alone. "I hate Team Plasma!" I cried out as hot tears streamed down my cheeks. The tears hit my lips as I licked them. A salty flavor covered the tip of my tongue. "Enough crying for the day, I better get a move on" I told myself. I stood up and dusted off my shorts then rubbed my eyes to clear the liquid away. I could feel the sun bask my shoulders and legs in warmth. It was the first soothing thing I felt in a long time.
"Hey, you!" a deep voice called out. Dang it! I picked up my bag from the ground and made a run for it. Ten to fifteen men appeared behind me. They were all dressed in the Team Plasma uniforms. None of them were friendlies. If N sent them, I would know. These guys were the real Team Plasma deal. Hee hee, that rhymed. No time for jokes. "STOP!"
"Leave me alone! I just want to be left in peace!" I called back over my shoulder. I continued to run and weave through the trees until a guy came out of nowhere and blocked my path.
"Surrender and no harm will come to you. If you resist, then there can be no promises" the guy blocking my path threatened.
"I'll never surrender. You can tell Ghetsis to go to hell" I snarled.
"I tried to let you off easy, and you turned me down. There can be no promises on your safety now" the guy said darkly.
"I love a challenge" I said. I smirked. "Come out, Zekrom!" My pokéball flew up into the air and opened as a bright red light escaped the containment device. "Use thunderbolt!" Zekrom roared in response and its tail started to glow as electricity started to jump off its black body. A crackling noise could be heard as the electricity touched the air. The thunderbolt reached its maximum power and shot forward towards the guy in front of me. He screamed and jumped to the side and into a bush. He barely dodged the attack as it passed him. I silently claimed triumph and ran past the guy who was currently upside down in the shrub. Idiot. As I ran, I thought about the past month. I've been running and battling to save N, but those stupid Team Plasma members follow me everywhere. I can't get close enough to the castle and when I do there are too many people and Pokémon for my legendary Pokémon to handle. They may be strong but they don't have the energy to fight all of them.
"You won't get away this time!"
"You want to bet?!"
"Lucario, use aura sphere!"
"Zekrom, thunderbolt!" The two attacks hit head on. An explosion was heard behind me as my feet pounded against the ground. "Zekrom, over here!" Zekrom flew to my side in an instant and landed beside me. I jumped onto its wing and then onto its back. We took off and headed to the clouds for cover.
"She's getting away!"
"Let her go. We'll find her again. She always comes back. One day she'll give up, and we won't have to deal with her again." I sighed. They were right. I just couldn't seem to give up. I didn't want to leave N, but maybe it was my time. It was time to give up. The decision seemed rational. I may have had the power, will, and hope but their numbers beat me by a long shot. One versus a hundred wasn't a fair game.
"I'm sorry, N. I may be giving up on myself but I will never give up on you" I whispered to no one as a lone tear slid down my cheek. "Come on Zekrom…we're heading home. I think everyone's waiting for our return."
N's POV
"It's time. It's the day you've all been waiting for. The 25th anniversary of Team Plasma!" my voice boomed throughout the throne room. The crowd in front of me cheered. "I know you are all excited to celebrate today so for the rest of the day I want you to have fun and celebrate. You all get the day off. Enjoy!"
"King N! King N! King N! King N!" everybody chanted even as they went out the large double doors. I sat down in my throne with a small smile on my face as the room cleared out until no one was left but Rosaline, Eve, Prescott, and the two throne room guards. I had one last thing to do before I could set the escape plan into action. My gaze scanned the room for any unwanted stragglers. I didn't see anyone that was important. I raised my hands up in front of me and clapped three times. The Shadow Triad appeared in front of me out of thin air like ghosts.
"I want you to keep the party goers in line. Make sure nothing gets too out of hand. Have fun while you're there if you want" I said. A grunting noise came from the group before disappearing into nothingness. I turned to my companions to see one unwanted guest. I put a hand to my forehead and sighed in exasperation and annoyance. "What is it that you need, Prescott?"
"Oh!" the blue haired girl jumped up in surprise. We stared at each other a moment before she moved to my side. Her arm wrapped around mine, and she gently tugged me to try and get me out of my seat. I rolled my eyes. "What is it?"
"I want you to come celebrate with me. You can come to the Worker's Wing and meet my parents too. I never introduced you, and we're getting married in a few days. What kind of person forgets a silly thing like that?" Prescott joked. She pulled on my arm again. "Are you coming?"
"Prescott, I don't have time to meet your parents or spend the day with you. I have more important matters to attend to. I have tons of paperwork to fill out that should get done. Today is the perfect day to do it because I won't have any interruptions. I hope you can understand. This is my life as a King. We may be able to spend a little more time together when we're married but for now…there is business to attend to" I said softly. Hurt flashed in Prescott's eyes, but I brushed the feeling of guilt away. Touko was way more important to me than her. I hope Prescott can find someone who loves her and won't just throw her feelings around. Prescott put on a fake smile and skipped down the stairs that led up to the throne until she was on the floor again. She turned around to face me. Her hands were clasped behind her back as she bent forward a little and playfully stuck her tongue out at me.
"Killjoy" she said happily and laughed afterwards. As she skipped out the room, I noticed the excitement and shine leave her eyes as she cast one final glance at me. Her playful act was just a façade. Deep down, I truly broke her heart. I felt like a monster. I looked at the four remaining people in the room. Rosaline, Eve, and one of the guards looked at me expectantly. The second guard, however, was looking at the door that Prescott left through. He had a sad smile on his face but happiness danced in his eyes. That was when it finally struck me. This guard loved Prescott.
"Ahem" I said to catch the guard's attention. He immediately turned towards me. "Now let's get to work. Rosaline, do you have the letter I wrote for you to read to everyone once I'm gone?" The blonde shoved a hand in her apron pocket and dug around for a moment before producing a white envelop from the area.
"Here it is" Rosaline proclaimed.
"Great!" I looked towards the guards. "You two volunteered to watch the security cameras and patrol the castle with one or two other people, right?" Both guards nodded their heads. "Do you each have a walkie talkie to communicate with each other?"
"Yes, your majesty" they said.
"Great. Eve and Rosaline each have one too. All four of you can talk to each other and update each other on positioning and status. Here's what I decided to do. Rosaline will cover for me and Eve and tell anyone she meets that we're in the garden. I'm going to take Eve here with me, and we are going to go to the enclosed garden. I'll speak with all the Pokémon there and have them become a diversion or use them to stall anyone if needed. Hopefully, we won't have to do that. Afterwards, we'll use the Abra there to use teleport and get him to get me out of the building. Ghetsis is too heartless and uninterested in our Pokémon here to bother learning what moves they know. He doesn't even know that the Abra here can use teleport. He was never very good at keeping me inside."
"What do you mean?" one of the guards asked.
"When I was little, I always visited my friends and learned everything about them. Let's just say that I might have made a few friends outside the castle too. But back to the plan, Abra will teleport back inside and then the psychic and ghost Pokémon will work together to create an illusion. Anybody that goes into the garden will think I'm there. Outside of the castle, I'll meet up will up with some old friends and get them to take me back to Nuvema Town. Everybody got their roles implanted in their brains?"
"Yep!"
"Alright, then disperse. I'll meet up with Eve outside my old toy room in a few minutes. Into your positions!" Rosaline and Eve scrambled out the door with both guards following. "Ahem" I said for the second time that day. The guard that was at the door to leave and the only person in the room besides me stopped in his tracks. He looked at me in question. "Do you love her?" I asked bluntly. The guards face flushed.
"W-W-Who?" he stuttered out.
"Prescott, who else?"
"Ummm" he said awkwardly.
"It's okay if you do. I going to leave before I marry her, remember? Besides, I never loved her. She deserves someone like you" I said truthfully. The guard stared at me for a moment before giving me a soft smile.
"Thank you, sir. And I do love her. I've known her since we were kids. We grew up in this castle together" he said. His sandy brown hair fell in front of his green eyes as his head tilted to the side in a weird but reassuring way. "I'll do my best to make her happy once you leave."
"I hope so" I said sternly. "Now you better get going. We have a long day ahead of us. Well I do at least. Thanks for the help. I couldn't have done it without you. You would have made a great friend."
"Thank you. It's a real honor...Natural" he commented with a bow and goofy grin on his face before leaving the room. I shook my head back in forth. I loved my new friends here at the castle, but I missed my old ones more.
"Touko, I'm finally coming home" I thought out loud. My body hunched forward as I stood from my throne. I looked at its red velvet cushions and gold frame one last time before heading towards the door. I couldn't help but think about how I would actually miss the place where my life was ruined and dreams crushed. With another shake of my head and swish of my robe, I left the throne room and went down the hallway. My crown gleamed as I passed through a patch of sunlight coming in from the windows near the top of the high ceiling. Behind me, I left a throne room that would grow cold and dusty with time. I left the place I would be known as King N, all for my selfish desires and love.
A/N: The story's not over yet despite this chapter's ending. Don't think Touko's a jerk either by what she did. The next chapter is all N's POV. Review. You don't have to if you don't want to, but the truth is that I really want you to.