Chapter 48

"Hey, wait for me!" Pinch called from behind Mira. She stopped running to let her Pikachu catch up. She was surprised that no wild pokemon had come to investigate the sound of his panting.

"Why does White... always disappears... at night?" he wheezed, sitting on a tree root to rub his small foot.

"I don't know," Mira sighed, looking at the dark forest, "that's just how White is. I guess she likes the dark. It comforts her in a way."

I know exactly how that feels, she thought.

She and White had similar pasts, but they both admit that Mira's was more painful. They both were the youngest in their families, and had both had a not so perfect family. Mira's parents died when she was young, leaving her older brother in charge. He didn't do the best job, though.

Mira personally thought that White was lucky to have a brother who still cared about her. She even went as far as saying that she would gladly switch brothers with White. Except White said she would rather be stuck with "Ghetsis's little pampered prince" than have Mira's brother.

If she was perfectly honest with herself, she was glad Team Plasma came back. It gave her a opportunity to watch or hear N and White fight.

"Well I don't like the night!" Pinch snapped furiously, "All sensible people would be asleep by now!"

"So you're saying she's a oddball?"

"Sorta. I'll give her credit for being more serious than Sky, though. Now HE'S a oddball. I'm very surprised he's related to-"

"Be quiet!" Mira hissed, looking around. She had heard something a little ways ahead of them. Pinch's ear twitched as he stood up.

"That has to be White." he said after a minute.

"How do you know?"

"Because who else would have a guitar and start singing at eleven thirty at night?"

"Good point." Mira agreed, and she started walking toward the singing. Pinch yelped and ran after her.

Pinch was right. White was in a small clearing with a small pond in the middle. She was sitting on a large rock near the edge of the water. Her guitar was out, and she was singing.

There is a time for love and laughter

The days will pass like summer storms

The winter wind will follow after

But there is love and love is warm

There is a time for us to wander

When time is young and so are we

The woods are greener over yonder

The path is new the world is free

There is a time when leaves are falling

The woods are gray the paths are old

The snow will come when geese are callin'

You need a fire against the cold

There is a time for us to wander

When time is young and so are we

The woods are greener over yonder

The path is new the world is free

So do your roaming in the springtime

You'll find your love and summer sun

Frost will come and bring a harvest

And you can sleep when the day is done

There is a time for us to wander

When time is young and so are we

The woods are greener over yonder

The path is new the world is free

The path is new the world is free

There is a time for us to wander

When time is young and so are we

The woods are greener over yonder

The path is new the world is free

White?" Mira said in a low voice after she knew White was finished. Her friend jumped but didn't turn around. She saw her body stiffen. 

"What are you doing here?" White said in her familiar growl. Pinch nudged Mira's leg as he backed away from her.

"I was looking for you." Mira said in her squeaky voice, "You weren't in the grotto, and I got worried."

"Oh. Well thanks, but I'm fine."

"Don't you hate country music?"

"Yeah."

"That song you were just singing was a country song."

"Ok, I lied, that's the only country song I like. Plus I don't have any other song ideas."

"I see." She said, trying not to smile. White snarled something and started to tune her guitar.

Mira then realized this was the first time she was actually alone with White. Leia, Amos, or Hugh was always with White when she was around her.

"I have been meaning to talk to you." White suddenly said, looking up at Mira for the first time. "You were?" she replied, startled. White nodded.

"I wanted to ask you something. Some advice."

"What kind of advice?"

White looked uncomfortable about saying. Mira heard Pinch snort behind her.

"You have had one of your kin as the bad guy before, right? I mean, like that incident with your brother."

"I guess you can say that." She said uncertainty, "Except it wasn't like he was part of Team Rocket or whatever."

"The question I'm trying to ask is how... how do I face up to someone who could possibly be family?"

Mira knew instantly where this was going. "Are you talking about Ghetsis, and how he could possibly be your real dad?" She said. White glared at herself but nodded.

"Why would you want to know that?" Mira asked, sitting on the ground next to White, "You faced N almost twenty times."

"But I didn't exactly face him two years ago. I didn't get very far." White pointed out. She didn't reply to this. They both seemed to be thinking about the incident with her foster sisters and the loss of Sky Blue's eye.

"Whitney, you don't have to do this!" Mira finally said. She saw White flinch at the sound of her real name, but she did not speak. She waited a moment before continuing.

"Team Plasma is turning you into a wanted criminal!" Mira continued on, "There making it difficult for you to even walk through a route! You can turn back!"

For a second, she thought White wasn't listening. White was to busy fixing her guitar, and Pinch was poking a stick in the pond.

"Are you even listening to me?" Mira asked irritability. White shrugged but didn't look at her.

"Just answer my question, please."  White snarled in a bored voice. Mira heard her Pikachu snicker.

"Ok, fine, but I can't promise you'll like my answer." She sighed, hoping that she would never tell White her answer, "But first, do you honestly think Ghetsis is your dad?"

White didn't answer. She shot her a small glare but said nothing. Her silence was making Mira very irritated.

Trying to get White to cooperate, Mira started talking again. "Would a father really try and capture you, kill you, or anything like that?"

"If the father in question was ok about abandoning his family and tearing them apart, then yes!" White suddenly snarled, her voice sharp and deadly.

Mira recoiled at this sudden outburst. Her friend was starting to run her hand through her now blond hair. Mira and Sky had decided that Team Plasma would least expect her to have blond hair instead of another color. (They were going to dye her hair orange, but White threatened to burn them alive) White clearly hated the color. Even though she would complain about having green and brown hair, she liked her hair color more than any other kind.

"White, you don't know if he's really your dad, do you?" She whispered, bracing herself for another outburst.

But it never came. White had heard her, but she didn't look very angry. She looked as if she wanted to tear up something.

"I think he is." She said quietly, "I wasn't there when Team Plasma fell, but Rapi was."

"What are you talking about?"

White took a deep breath before she blurted out the words. She seemed to have been wanting to say them for weeks.

"I didn't give Rapi to Rachael so she would be able to fight. I gave her Rapi so that she could spy on Ghetsis and N for me. I knew something would happen that would stop me from reaching N, so I stationed Rapi with Blake and Rachael."

"That was a bit risky, wasn't it?" Mira said, surprised by this, "I mean, N had known and seen Rapi daily for years! Why her?"

"I have a Serperior who is a jerk, an Arcanine who has a habit of going too far in battles, a Gorebyss who is extremely hyper and rarely serious, a legendary pokemon who has to stay hidden, a Espeon who can not be trusted, a once immature Purrloin who called everyone darling and doll, and you ask me why I chose Rapi?" White demanded, the corner of her mouth twitching.

Mira gave her a small smile. Her team had started falling apart a few years ago, and now it was completely shattered. White had released Tiny after she attacked Severusa, and Purr was replaced by Zoroark after White agreed to help N. The death of Ray and the departure of Pikachu made the most impact on the breaking of her team.

"And she heard that Ghetsis was your dad?"

"Kinda. I could be wrong, and Ghetsis was lying." White admitted, smirking slightly, "I was listening more when she told me what Ghetsis said to N."

"Oh, yeah, I kinda heard something like that from... someone." Mira said quietly. The "someone" was Blake, the boy White had a crush on. She never mentioned him around her, because White had been heartbroken when he had screamed at her that she was to never show her face in front of him again. 

"Ok, I have a question for you." Mira suddenly said, trying to break the nasty silence, "If you heard Ghetsis call N a freak for the second time, what would you do?"

White didn't answer. She looked surprised at this question, but also looked furious. Even Pinch looked up at them.

"I'm not telling." White finally snarled, "That's a bit too personal."

"Give me a little hint! You don't have to tell me exactly!" whined Mira, moving closer to White. Her friend growled and turned away from her.

"Fine, I would kill one of them for starters."

"Anything else?"

"I would mentally burn him alive."

"Annnnnnd?"

"I won't go into details."

"Fine." Mira snapped, defeated, "You're a party crasher, you know that?"

"I already knew that, thanks."

Pinch snickered and went back to poking the water. She glared at White and started to pull grass out of the ground.

She knew White didn't really hate N, but she would never admit. Mira thought that she kept it secret because she believed that her brother hated her. She would have to White about her talks with N, but not right away.

"Ok, now I have a question for you." said White, putting her guitar aside, "Do you have a crush on my brother?"

"Wait, what?!" Mira yelped. The first thought that entered her head was that White already knew that she had seen N in the last four months.

"You heard me!" snarled White, "Do you like him?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Mhm."

"I don't!" Mira squeaked, trying to sound innocent, "I'm being honest! I don't have a crush on him! I mean, I have seen him and all that, but I don't have a crush on him! I-It's not like that!"

Pinch snorted loudly, and Mira wished he hadn't done that. He knew about the meetings with N, but that was only because the Pikachu was always present. She knew he would love to tattle on her.

"I'm glad to hear that." White growled, "I was worried for a minute."

Mira didn't reply. She really didn't have a crush on him, but she didn't blame White for being suspicious. (If she had a crush on anyone, it would be Hugh)

She swore that good looks ran in White's family. Both siblings were very attractive, but neither of them ever dated. Mira thought it was because the two people they had actually liked had both turned their back on them.

It was obvious why White and Sky Blue never went out, and that was because Sky was scared of N's reaction. N had already had a talk with him, and the result was that Sky got a cut lip.

Mira suddenly realized that Pinch was now poking her arm. He looked annoyed and tired. He kept chanting her name over and over again.

"Hey! Mira, Mira, Mira, Mira, Mira, Mira, Mira!" He chanted, poking her at every word, "I'm tired! Lets go back! Please!"

She looked at White to see that she was tuning her guitar again. She looked as if she was trying to ignore Pinch's continued chatting, but was doing a terrible job hiding her frustration.

"You should go." White said quietly, "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" she asked tentatively. When the older trainer nodded, Mira knew that she had no choice but to leave.

"White, before I go, can I ask you something?"

"If it has nothing to do with my brother, then fine."

"Does Sky know that you took your guitar out of its hiding place?" Mira asked, smiling slightly. White gave her a swift smile.

"What he doesn't know won't kill him."

***

"Toro! Sora! Pepper! Lily Rose! Come back here!" Mira screamed from on top of Spika the Steelix's head. The four Eevee were running in four different directions. She heard them giggling as Shane, Suicune, and Ferggy the Feraligatr ran after them.

Even after almost two days of being with four of Tiny's babies, none of them seemed to listen to her. Mira assumed that this was because they had been with N since Tiny left to go look for White. He got annoyed with four out of six of them, so Mira took most of the Eevee babies. N had kept two of the female ones, Silky and Minty.

Mira had ran away from the hospital after she heard the news that Sky Blue was gone. It wasn't like she chose to run away, though.

After the police were tipped off about Sky helping White into cities, Zinzolin told them that Mira had been helping White by disguising her true identity. She was able to escape Undella Town with the help of Chatter's warning and Shane's ability to teleport.

Now she was hiding in the Seaside Cave since all the routes were being watched.  Mira had to ride on one of her pokemon since both her legs were broken, but it was still difficult to make it through the cave. For one, Pepper, Toro, Sora, and Lily Rose kept running away from her and had each almost fallen off a cliff.

"UGH, THIS IS USELESS!" Shane bellowed as Lily Rose escaped his grip. "No kidding!" shot back Ferggy, who was trying to catch Toro, "That little rascal bit me!"

"No, no, no, no, no, NO!" Suicune yelped as Sora tried jumping onto a mountain of rocks. The female Eevee giggled and leapt away from him. Pepper and Toro were running in circles around Ferggy, both yelping and barking at him. Lily Rose was still avoiding the Gallade.

"I swear that someone is gonna break their- OH MY ARCEUS, SOMEONE STOP HIM!" Spika suddenly roared, making Mira almost fall off him.

Pepper, unable to see it in the darkness, was clinging to a rock that was by the edge of a cliff. He yowled and tried to scratch his way up, but slid another inch.

"IRON TAIL AND DIG!" Mira shouted at Spika, "DO IT NOW!"

"But-"

"NOW!"

She heard the Steelix give a small groan as she slid down his back. He flung his tail upward and Mira let go. Spika dived into the ground as she fell down toward the bottom of the ravine. Pepper yowled as she grabbed hold of him on her way down.

There was a sudden roar and Spika exploded out of the ravine wall. Mira grabbed one of the remaining pokeballs off her belt and threw it at Spika's back.

"FRANCESCA!" She bellowed, and her Fraxure appeared on the Steelix's back. Francesca shrieked and caught Mira and Pepper as Spika made a bridge between the two ravine sides. The Steelix's tail and upper part of his body were twisted around a rock on each side of the ravine.

"WHY IN THE NAME OF ARCEUS'S HORN DO YOU DO THAT?!" She yowled at her.

"Yeah, why did you do that?!" Spika hollered, "That wasn't the only way you could have gotten him!"

"Can we do that again?" Pepper squealed, looking up at Mira with his large brown eyes. She ignored him as Francesca set her down. Pepper bounded out of her arms and skipped around the Fraxure.

"Never... do that... again!" Shane panted as he leapt onto Spika's back, holding Lily Rose in his hands. The Eevee giggled and wagged her tail as Shane set her down.

Suicune and Ferggy jumped onto Spika. Suicune was holding Sora, and Ferggy was holding Toro. Both Eevee twins looked curious and happy.

"Hey, hey, HEY!" Spika called down to them, "The limit is two full grown pokemon at a time!"

"Fine!" growled Shane, letting Mira return him to his pokeball. She also returned Francesca and Suicune, leaving Ferggy out of his pokeball.

Ferggy the Feraligatr was one of her first pokemon besides Spika, Pinch, and Sparky. A boy in Johto had given Mira a baby Totodile when she was little, and she had named him "Ferggy". There had been a few times when people would pick on her for giving him such a baby-ish name, but she was only six or seven when she got him.

"What are we going to do about them?" Ferggy asked as the four Eevee started jumping around.

"Do you want my honest opinion?"

"What?"

"If they didn't belong to a psycho Espeon, I would ship em' to Johto and send them to my brother. It seems traditional to send a Eevee to your least favorite person."

"Not a bad idea." admitted Ferggy, "Except, of course, you would have to suffer the wrath of the insane psycho Espeon who tries to kill people for fun."

"True, true."

"Look at that!" Lily Rose suddenly cried. Mira looked up just in time to see a red jet of fire flying toward the middle of Spika's back.

"Hydro Pump!" she screamed at the Feraligatr. He roared and shot a large jet of water at the fire torpedo. The fire was extinguished, but another shot toward them.

"What's that?" Toro asked, watching the fire with delighted curiosity. "Is that a shooting star?" piped up Sora.

"SPIKA, LET GO OF THE ROCK THAT YOU'RE HOLDING ONTO BY THE TAIL!" Mira ordered the Steelix. Spika obeyed and his tail released the rock. She grabbed onto one of the spikes on his back while holding onto Toro, Sora, Pepper, and Lily Rose. Ferggy grabbed onto a spike as well, just as Spika swung forward and landed on the other side. 

Mira let go of Spika and landed on the hard ground  with a thud, still holding onto Tiny's babies. She screamed with agony as her side and legs exploded with pain. The tight bands that she had tied around her each of her legs made the pain worse.

Spika slid around her like a guard. Sora and Toro were already leaping away from her, starting to tackle their other brother and sister.

Ferggy wheezed as he straightened up. "What was that?" she asked, still shaken. "Let me ask you this," Ferggy growled, "Are you ready to face Amos and Hugh?"

"Oh snap." Mira groaned, laying back on the ground, "I don't want to see them! They'll probably tattle on me to White!"

"He isn't kidding." reported Spika, watching at a spot a little ways away from them, "I see them."

"Hide me!" She hissed, ignoring Spika. She ducked behind Ferggy as voices echoed up to them.

Mira mostly didn't want to see them for three reasons. One, they would ask why she wasn't in the hospital. Two, they would tell White about her escaping from the hospital. Three, she was wearing her brother's old clothes which made her look like a guy. 

Then Sora suddenly bounded out from behind Spika to see the newcomers. Mira facepalmed as she heard the young Eevee start yelping and squealing.

"She's gonna give us away!" snarled Spika, who coiled around them to make himself look like a rock. "Shadeap!" Mira growled viciously.

"What is this guy doing here?" Hugh's voice asked from a few feet away. "Guy?" squeaked Sora, "I'm a girl!"

"I actually think that's a girl." Amos's voice said, and Mira remembered that he had been given one of Sky's special hearing aids.

"But isn't the Eevee species found in Castelia City? We're not even close to that place!"

There was a sudden wave of water and it crashed onto Spika. The Steelix roared with fury and uncoiled, sliding away from the source of the wave. She yelped as Spika's tail bumped against her leg.

"Mira!" Amos yells, and Mira could see them plainly now. They were only five feet away from her, and Amos's Samurott was out. Hugh's Emboar was also out, which now answered where the fire jets came from.

"What are you doing here?!" Hugh yelled at her as Amos helped her to her feet, "You're supposed to be Undella Town!"

"I was!" Mira snapped, wrenching her arm out of Amos's grip, "I ran away!"

The other three Eevee squealed and began to run toward Oliver. Ferggy was now trying to catch a furious Spika, who had twisted himself around a pillar of rocks. Sora was swaying next to Hugh, looking delighted with herself.

"So that Steelix was yours?" Amos asked, looking up at Spika. She gave a forced nod, trying not to show any signs of the pain she was feeling in her legs. 

"Sorry about that, then." Hugh muttered, glancing at his Emboar, "I thought you were a Team Plasma grunt."

"Why did you run away?" Amos demanded, glaring at Mira, "You were supposed to stay there until you-"

"You wouldn't have stayed if Zinzolin was searching the entire town for you!" She snapped furiously, "I have now reached Team Plasma's expectations as a threat! After Sky Blue went missing, they started looking for me! I don't exactly know why, but Zinzolin came to the hospital a few hours after Opelucid City was attacked!  I was having surgery, so he couldn't see me! But he told the nurse he would come back later, so I had to leave as soon as I could! I have been hiding here ever since!"

"Then what about these four, annoying furballs you got with you?!" Hugh growled as Sora started poking his leg. "They're Tiny's babies!" Mira retorted, "Tiny had a litter of six of these guys and dumped them on me!"

It would not have been wise to say that she wasn't the first to take care of Sora and the others. She knew Amos would understand, but Hugh didn't know about N and she wasn't about to tell him. White would kill her if she even hinted about her brother.

"You said six, there are only four!" Amos pointed out. Mira glared at him and bit her lip. "Someone else has the other two."

"Who?" asked Hugh. "No one you know!" She snarled.

"Ok, ok, never mind!" Hugh snapped, "Where is Tiny anyway? Didn't White release her?"

"She did!" Mira hissed, rubbing her side, "That's what caused Tiny to have the babies in the first place! She was always in her pokeball because she attacked pokemon for fun! Now that she has a lot more space, she was able to have these guys! And don't ask me where she is! She's looking for White!"

"She and the rest of the world!" snarled Amos turning away from her. He looked just as irritated as she felt.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mira asked. She looked from one boy to the other. Hugh looked worried.

"White's gone."

"What?"

"She's missing." Hugh explained, "White disappeared two days ago and we haven't seen her since. All of her pokemon and items are still in the grotto on Route 22, but Zoroark and Sky's Alakazam are gone as well. Amos hasn't seen her on any other route so we're checking here. Leia will come here to after her gym battle."

Mira snorted loudly. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You two are super dumb." She sneered. Amos folded his arms and glared at her again.

"Why?"

"Well isn't it obvious?" She said, exasperated. When they didn't reply, she continued on.

"If she isn't on Route 22, Humilau City, Undella Town, or anywhere else, then she probably turned herself in without telling you."

"Why would she do that?!" Amos snapped furiously. "I'm probably wrong, but I'm sure it's because of Sky Blue." Mira said instantly.

"But wouldn't her arrest be in the newspapers if she had turned herself over?" Hugh asked, sounding doubtful.

Mira facepalmed. They obviously knew nothing about White's habits.

She heard Ferggy yelp as Spika finally fell down from the rock pillar. Emboar was now cursing because Lily Rose was biting his ear. Toro and Pepper were chanting Oliver's name as they skipped around the Samurott.

"Ok," she finally said, looking up at the two boys, "I'm pretty sure we can find White if you follow me. I think I know what happened and where she could be."

"Fine." Amos growled irritability, and he returned an annoyed Oliver to his pokeball. Hugh did the same to his frustrated Emboar, and Mira returned Spika.

Ferggy bent down next to her and she tried climb onto his back. She winced sharply as she bumped her leg against his side.

Then Sora, Toro, Pepper, and Lily Rose ran up to her. "Can we ride to?" Pepper whined, wagging his tail. "Please?" Lily Rose begged.

Mira sighed and put Lily and Toro on her lap. She reached out to pick up Sora, but the Eevee growled and backed away from her.

"When can we see Ne-Ne again?" she asked fiercely. "I don't know, now come on!" Mira hissed. She was aware that Hugh was watching her.

Sora snarled and trotted toward Hugh. The young female Eevee seemed to have taken a liking toward him.

Pepper, who was watching his sister, looked disappointed. He glanced from Mira to Amos before moving. Like his sister, he seemed to like Amos more than Mira, but she didn't care.

"Who's Ne-Ne?" Amos asked her quietly. Mira smirked at him.

"That would be their nickname for N. They like him more than me, because he's the first human they met. Only two of them were behaving for him, so that's why I have the other four."

"I like that name." Amos said thoughtfully as Ferggy started to walk down a path. Hugh was trying to get rid of Sora, who was barking and yelping next to him.

"Yeah, I've grown to like it to." She admitted, "I won't tell White though. She'll probably start calling him Ne-Ne to."

~~~

I wanted to upload Chapter 47 and 48 at the same time so those of you who had read 47 the first time got to read something else.

I am writing the chapters on my notebook app, but the italic button goes crazy sometimes. So if a sentence or word is messed up with the italics, I probably missed it on my scan through the chapter.

DID YOU GET THE HINT THAT SKY BLUE IS RELATED TO SOMEONE? *O* Mira, shame on you, we could've found out about Sky's secret relative -_-

White, Mira, and Sky Blue are all related to someone from the anime and games.

NOW I HOPE EVERYONE KNOWS WHO WHITE'S RELATED TO, OR ELSE I SWEAR I WILL ASK YOU WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING DURING THIS BOOK. A few people have already guessed who Mira's brother is, so yeah.

I'll say this much about Sky's relative: It's some woman from Johto or Kanto. She has been seen in BW2.

So, sorry for the delay in updating, and thank you for being patient >_< Again, I have technical difficulties. It took almost two days to find Chapter 47, and three days to write this one. 

Bye bye! ^^

(Song: There Is A Time by Alan Jackson. It is also by the Dillards)