Chapter 53

(I haven't put N in a very good light throughout this book, so here's N's side of the story and what he really did to help White.)

N jumped as the bushes rustled behind him. His baby sister gave a small cry of surprise in his arms, and reached out for him. He smiled at her and cradled her gently. His sister watched him curiously for a moment before falling asleep again.

He was supposed to watch Whitney until their mom or grandfather came home. Hannah Gropius had gone to the police station and Gregory Copperfield had gone off on a nearby route. Whitney was only three months old, so she couldn't be left by herself.

N had taken refuge in the forest near their house. The neighborhood kids always tried to bully him whenever they went by their house. It was safer in the woods than in the neighborhood.

The kids in the neighborhood called him "The Whisperer". Whenever N talked to his grandfather's pokemon using his ability, it looked like he was talking to himself. One of the bigger kids spotted him talking to his grandfather's Haunter, so the kids spread a rumor that N could speak to the dead.

He looked around again as the bushes rustled. N saw something move behind the trees. It didn't sound like a pokemon at all.

Before he could stand up to move away, something hard hit him in the back of the head. N yelped and tripped over a tree root. He felt his wrist break as he fell on his side. His baby sister wailed as she fell to the ground a few feet away from him. N growled as someone stomped on his leg.

"What are you doing here, Natu?" Someone sneered.

Mike, the kid who bullied N the most, was standing over him. He was the one who started the rumor about him being able to talk to ghosts. Mike would torment him when adults weren't looking and physically hurt him when no one was around.

"Leave me alone, Mike!" snarled N, trying to stand up.

He found himself being forced back down by Mike's Venipede. It hissed and pointed its stinger at him. The stinger was only a few inches away from N's face.

"W-What are you doing?" He squeaked timidly. He saw the delight on Mike's face. "Aw, Natu is scared! What's wrong, Whisperer? Scared of being poisoned?"

N didn't take his eyes off the Venipede. He wouldn't put it past Mike to poison him. Mike didn't come from the best family. His father was in prison for murder, and had turned into his son's hero.

"Relax, Natu, you said for me to leave you alone," hissed Mike, "but you said nothing about your sister!"

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" N bellowed at Mike. Mike smirked and ignored him.

He watched in horror as the bully picked up his crying sister, and held her over the small pond that N had been sitting next to.

N tried pushing the Venipede away from him, but it gave him a sharp prod in the chest. He yelped as it punctured a tiny hole through his shirt and into his chest. Fury burned through him as Mike laughed at him, watching his victim try and wipe off the little bit of blood.

Then his body went numb. N then realized what the Venipede did. It didn't poison him, it paralyzed him.

"What are you going to do now Natu?" taunted Mike, holding Whitney farther away from him.

N couldn't do anything but snarl. Mike wouldn't drown Whitney... would he?

"Telekinesis!"

He was then slammed into a tree. Mike and his pokemon roared with laughter as the bully's second pokemon dropped N. Mike's Solosis giggled at him and floated next to its trainer.

N didn't know what to do. He was defenseless and immobilized. He couldn't stop Mike from hurting Whitney or even stop Mike from hurting he himself.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

A white and black blur sped past him and lunged at Mike. N heard a scream and more hollering.

"IF I FIND OUT THAT YOU'VE BEEN ABUSING MY GRANDCHILDREN AGAIN, I WON'T ONLY REPORT THIS TO YOUR MOTHER, BUT TO THE POLICE AS WELL! NOW GO BACK HOME AND RETHINK ABOUT YOUR ACTIONS!"

He heard Mike squeal as he ran away. Whitney began crying again, which probably meant that the bully had dropped her.

"Natural!" A familiar voice yelled anxiously. N was unable to speak still, but whimpered as loud as he could.

He felt strong arms help him sit up straight. "I'm so sorry, Natural!" His grandfather's voice whispered desperately.

Something furry leaned against N as a sharp pain spread through his arm. "It's alright, son," Abram the Absol's low voice said soothingly, "Grandad has ya covered. You'll be good as new in no time."

N then regained feeling in his body and was able to open his eyes. Grandfather Gregory was sitting next to him, holding little Whitney in his arms. His grandfather's Absol, Abram, was sitting on N's other side. A syringe with yellow liquid in it was laying between them.

"Are you alright, son?!" Grandpa asked him, looking concerned. N nodded. "Everything but my ego..." he said, more to himself than to his grandfather.

He must have heard him because he smiled and hugged him. Abram gave a small noise of amusement and nuzzled against N. Whitney's wails turned into small squeals of delight as she tried catching Grandpa's nose.

N shivered and buried his face in his grandfather's chest. He was still scared that Mike would come back. He always lived in fear after an encounter with him.

"Natural, lift up your shirt for a minute." His grandfather then said, letting go of N. He obeyed and lifted up his shirt to reveal the small wound the Venipede made.

Grandpa then set Whitney down and rummaged through his bag. Whitney was now trying to catch Grandpa's wedding ring.

"Now hold still, this might sting." murmured Grandpa as he dabbed some medicine on the wound. N bit his lip to keep himself from crying out. Grandpa then wrapped a white bandage around his chest.

His grandfather then examined his wrist gently and prodded it with his finger. N yelped as it became overwhelmed with pain. He yanked his hand away from Grandpa and stumbled backwards.

"We're gonna have to visit the doctor, son." Grandpa sighed, standing up and taking N's hand. N nodded and stayed close to his grandfather.

He tried to blink back tears as Abram tugged his shirt back down.

Why did he have to go through this? Everyone seemed to hate him. His own father left him just because of his sister. Now all the kids avoided him and bullied him just because he was different. He was branded as an outcast, and he couldn't change that.

"Who was that boy?" asked Grandpa after a few minutes. N didn't answer right away. He found it hard to keep up with Grandpa.

"His name is Mike Wilson." N finally said, moving closer to his grandfather, "He's one of those spoiled rich kids. His dad went to jail for killing someone, and he looks up to him. Now he's more bad than before."

"How old is he?"

"I think he's ten."

"They start young, don't they..." Grandpa hissed furiously, "Ten year olds beating up kids six years younger than themselves, what's next..."

"I'm use to it..." sniffed N, "They always do that to me..."

"You mean," Grandpa started, stopping and looking down at him, "that this is not the first time the kids have beaten up on you?"

N blinked up at him. "They do it all the time, it's just usually not this bad..."

Grandpa then sat down on a fallen tree branch and gestured for N to sit next to him. He obeyed and looked up at his grandfather. Abram laid down and began playing with a pine cone.

"How long has this been going on?" Grandpa asked seriously. N shrugged and looked at the ground.

"A few months before Mom had Whitney, but it got worse when Dad left." He said quietly. Grandpa nodded solemnly and frowned.

"Why haven't you told anyone?"

"The kids threaten me..."

"In what way?"

"They say they'll knock my skull right out of my head..."

Grandpa's face seemed to harden. N wished he never told him this stuff.

Whitney began crying again because of the lack of excitement. Abram stood up and leapt next to Grandpa. The Absol pawed at the bundle of blankets she was in and stuck his nose in front of her. She stopped crying and tried touching Abram's nose.

"What else do the kids do?" his grandfather then asked.

"They spread rumors about me," said N hurriedly, now finding it hard to stop telling his grandfather all of this, "they call me names like "The Whisperer" or "Natu", and they hurt me verbally and physically."

"Do they do this when an adult is with you?"

"No, they only do it when you and mom aren't at home."

N avoided looking at Grandpa now. He was now wondering if he was going to get in trouble for not telling anyone about this.

"We are going to have to report this." Grandpa finally said, "We can't have kids doing this all the time."

"But it's just a little thing!" N protested, "It's not that bad!"

"Natural, things can get worse!" His grandfather replied sternly, "Older bullies have shot people! They have beat up children so badly that the victims lose their memory or have disabilities! We have to stop this before it gets out of hand!"

This changed N's view on the matter.

"People shoot other people?!" He squeaked, shocked.

Grandpa's face softened a little. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I got a bit carried away. Older kids around sixteen or seventeen only do that. It's becoming more common these days though..."

"Never mind, let's report it!" whimpered N, grabbing onto Grandpa's arm. He didn't want this to turn out like that.

Grandpa then stood up and handed Whitney to N. Abram was rubbing his nose with his paw. Whitney must have hit him on the nose.

His grandfather smiled at N before picking him up. N winced as he put his bad arm around Grandpa's neck. He tried adjusting his baby sister so his hand wouldn't hurt as much.

Before he knew what happened, Whitney's small fist came out of nowhere and bopped him in the nose. N yelped and almost dropped her. Grandpa laughed as Whitney gave a shrill giggle.

"She'll be quite a fighter someday!" Grandpa chuckled, starting to walk back through the forest. N didn't speak, but he glared at Whitney.

"You thought that was funny, didn't you?" He growled so only his sister could hear him.

The baby girl was smiling curiously and tried to grab his nose again. N jerked his head away from her before she could grab it. Whitney squealed and grabbed a bit of his long green hair instead.

He tried not to wince as she tugged at his hair. His head throbbed as she continued to tug at it and squeal shrilly.

For a girl of three months old, she could sure beat him up. N hoped silently that she would grow out of this phase of torturing her older brother.

***

"STOP HIM, HE'S GETTING AWAY!"

N hissed as the yells got louder. He continued to run down the deserted hallway. He pulled his hood farther over his face as he turned a corner.

He had no idea where he was going to hide. The group of Team Plasma grunts weren't far behind him. If he was caught, they would take him to his foster father. Then Ghetsis would either kill him or ask where he hid White.

Hopefully White had obeyed him, or else both of them were at the end of the line. N didn't want to get caught and realize his actions were pointless. His sister had a habit of ignoring his warnings and disobeying him.

Something shot past his head and missed him by inches. N looked over his shoulder to see what was attacking him.

A large, purple, sludge like pokemon was behind him. A slimy purple hand was protruding from it's body. Two eyes were staring at him from the pile of slime.

A Muk.

"PURR!" N shouted, taking a pokeball off his belt and throwing it at the Muk.

White's Liepard appeared out of the pokeball and landed in front of the pokemon. Purr hissed and sniffed the Muk.

"Phew!" scoffed Purr, wrinkling her nose, "When was the last time you had a bath?"

The Muk growled and swung its hand down. Purr leapt back just as it the floor.

"Use Assist!" N yelled at her, the Muk swinging its hand toward her again.

Purr yowled and started making paw prints on the floor. Then a burst of fire swirled around the Liepard and shot toward the Muk. It flinched as the flames absorbed into its slimy body.

N could hear the patrol coming closer. They had to take down the Muk and fast.

"Sucker Punch!" He ordered her. The Muk was now trying to squash Purr.

Purr's lip curled in a leer, and punched the Muk right under the mouth. It moaned and swayed slightly.

"You little beast!" N heard the Muk snarl furiously, its giant hand clawing at the Liepard. Purr snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Look who's talking, purple poop head!" She snapped back at it.

This was a mistake.

Before N could yell a command, the Muk roared and lunged itself at Purr. She yowled as the pokemon landed on her. Purr struggled to free herself from its muddy body, but it was useless.

"RUN, BOY!" She shrieked at him, "FORGET ABOUT ME AND GO!"

"I'm not leaving without you!" N argued back.

"BUT WHITE NEEDS YOU MORE THAN ME! PLEASE GO! YOU'RE HER BROTHER, I'M JUST HER POKEMON!"

He didn't know what to do. The Muk was cackling stupidly as it watched Purr try to free herself. N saw that the Liepard's body seemed to be stiffening.

"Try Dark Pulse!" He yelled desperately, "Please don't give up!"

Purr was motionless. N began to think the worst, and that Purr had fainted.

Then a dark purple aura erupted from under the Muk. It roared with pain and put more pressure on Purr. The cat like pokemon shrieked and tried to free herself again.

"MINIMIZE!"

The Muk roared and suddenly vanished. Purr stopped shrieking when she realized that the Muk was gone.

N barely had time to straighten up before four Plasma grunts appeared down the hall. They must have been the ones who sent out the Muk.

"MUK, CATCH HIM!" A woman screamed, pointing at him furiously.

"NATURAL, IT'S BEHIND YOU!" Purr suddenly screeched staring at something behind him.

Something suddenly grabbed him from behind and held on tightly. N winced sharply as the Muk's poison burned into his side. He felt his hood fall off as he struggled to free himself.

"You freak of a king!" Someone yelled at him. He felt the Muk's grip tighten as he heard people running toward him.

He heard Purr yowl as she was pushed aside by the patrol. N snarled as someone slapped him.

"CREEP!" The woman shrieked at him. He hissed and tried to move the Muk's arm.

"Came for your sister, did ya?" A male grunt cackled, kicking him in the side. N felt a bruise form on his side and cheek.

"Where'd you hide her?" Another male grunt growled, grabbing his hair and pulling it. N winced but didn't say anything. He wasn't going to turn White back over to them.

"I said," the man hissed, pulling his hair harder, "where did you hide the girl?"

"What makes you think I have her?" N finally snarled.

"We're the ones asking the questions, you little freak!" snapped another female grunt, "Now where is she?!"

"I don't know."

"Stop lying!"

"I'm not."

N tried not to smirk as the grunt's face turned red. He knew they didn't believe him, but they didn't have any real proof.

"Go get Ghetsis!" The woman hissed excitedly to the other.

"That won't be necessary."

A man was standing at the end of the hall, watching them curiously. Purr, who was now being restrained by one of the male grunts, was snarling and hissing at him. N recognized the man's appearance. This must be Colress.

"Who is this?" asked Colress, staring at N. Colress looked around the same age as N, except Colress was possibly a bit older.

"He's a rat!" The first male grunt snarled, "He was our king!"

"Rat?" N heard Purr hiss, "If he was a rat, he wouldn't be alive right now..."

Colress stepped closer to him. His gaze seemed to be staring right through him. N suppressed a shiver as the Muk's grip tightened around his waist.

He then turned away after a moment and looked at the four grunts. "I will take care of this. I want you four to search the ship. The girl couldn't have gone far."

The four grunts nodded and began to run back down the hall. The woman who had hit N clicked her fingers, and the Muk released him. It growled and pushed him onto the floor before leaving. He winced but didn't try standing up.

The man who had been holding onto Purr had let her go. The Liepard hissed and ran to N's side. Her fur was on end and she was leering at the retreating grunts.

"You are Natural Harmonia Gropius, aren't you?" Colress said quietly after a minute.

N didn't speak. He had just noticed that the Muk's poison had burned a hole through his cloak and shirt. A small burn was now appearing on his side.

"Are you Natural Harmonia Gropius?" repeated Colress, moving closer to him. Purr hissed and scooted away from him.

"What if I am?" He finally snarled. N saw Colress smirk as he pulled a small syringe from his lab coat.

The scientist picked up Purr's pokeball that was laying a few feet away from N. Purr yowled as she was sucked into the pokeball. The pokeball was shaking violently in Colress's hand.

Next thing he knew, Colress had given N a shot in the shoulder. The moment the needle left his skin, he was plunged into darkness. All five of his senses seemed to have stopped working. He was still awake, but he was unable to see, hear, feel, taste, smell, or even move. N felt just as defenceless as he was when his childhood bully tortured him.

Panic was taking over him now. He felt like he was trapped in his mind. It was like being trapped in a cage of nothingness.

Was this temporarily or was this permanent? N didn't know how long he could keep himself sane if this was permanent. Why did Colress do this? What good would he be to him if he was unable to hear or move? Was he moving him somewhere else?

After what felt like a decade, N's senses turned back on. He felt cold metal beneath him, and he could hear something like a loud machine. Something hard and cold was fastened around his wrist.

"You and your sister are very different." Colress's voice said sneeringly.

N forced himself to open his eyes. He was in the engineering room on one of the lowest levels of the frigate. Pipes and crates were scattered around the place. His hand was handcuffed to a pole behind him. Colress was standing in front of him, smirking at him slightly.

"I know where you hid her." Colress hissed quietly. It took N a minute to realize what he was talking about.

"If you knew, why didn't you tell anyone?" N snapped after a minute, "You could've turned us over and everyone would be happy!"

"But I wouldn't be able to test you, would I?"

"What test?"

He saw Colress's smirk broaden as he began to pace. N tried his best to hide his panic. What did he mean by test? Did test mean experiment?

"Compared to your sister, you're pathetic!" the scientist growled harshly, "White Copperstone is a well-known, feared, skillful trainer. I have heard of her power. Even the highest leaders of this organization fear her. You however, former king of Team Plasma and older sibling of this White Copperstone, are known as a cowardly and pitiful man who always loses because he thinks only about his pokemon's feelings."

N didn't reply to this. He didn't push his pokemon in battle because he was worried that they would become seriously injured. Not all pokemon enjoy battling.

"I have heard enough about what others think of me," N finally snarled, "why don't you tell me a bit about you, why did you join Team Plasma?"

"I joined so I could research how to bring out the full power of pokemon."

"That's it?"

"Pretty much."

"That's a stupid reason."

Colress scowled at him. N waited till he turned away before pulling at the handcuff chaining him to the pole. He winced as it dug into his wrist. It seemed to tighten the more he pulled.

"Don't bother trying to escape." said Colress coolly as he turned back around.

"Well I'm losing my patience, so tell me what you want so I can leave!"

"It's not that simple," the scientist said quietly, "your sister and yourself still have a price over your heads. The price isn't dropped until both of you Gropius siblings are dead. Fortunate for me, I know which room you hid your sister in and I have already captured you. I haven't turned you two in yet because I still need you."

"And why do you need me?" asked N, "Why are you even keeping White alive?"

"If she was dead then you wouldn't put much effort in battling, would you?"

N didn't speak. If Colress meant that he had to battle for his freedom, then he couldn't see how he could get out of this situation alive. N had half lied to White when telling her that he had no pokemon. He didn't have any pokemon that he had caught and trained, but he did have pokemon that belonged to White and Leia.

"I'll make a deal with you," Colress said after a minute, apparently noticing that N understood what he was saying, "if you battle me and you win, I will help you and your sister escape. But if I win, then I will turn you both over to Ghetsis."

"What if I refuse to battle you?"

"Then I will still turn you over. You don't have much of a choice."

N glared at him but didn't reply. The only pokemon he had with him were Rapi, Silky, Minty, and Purr. Purr was gone, so he only had one pokemon he could battle with.

"Rapi!"

N threw a pokeball at Colress with his free hand. If this was what he had to do to get White off the frigate, he would do it.

The Rapidash escaped from the pokeball and landed in front of him. Rapi gave a small cry as she looked around the room. N then remembered that Rapi didn't know about the sudden switch of trainers.

"Magnezone!" yelled Colress, tossing a pokeball toward Rapi. A large metal pokemon appeared in front of Rapi. It made a strange clanging noise and glared at her.

Before N could understand what was happening, the Magnezone was already attacking Rapi. Colress had shouted a command and now the metal pokemon was shocking the Rapidash with electricity.

Rapi shrieked and stumbled backwards. She was shaking violently and N saw that smoke was rising from her shoulder.

"Why are you making me do this?!" Rapi screeched at him, whirling around to face N, "You're not even my trainer!"

"I'm doing this to try and protect your trainer!" He snarled at her in her language, "Both me and White's  lives are on the line!"

"What makes you think I'll listen to you?"

"Because you care about White! Please, Rapi!"

Rapi didn't respond. She began to stare blankly at the Magnezone. N knew this was going to be her reaction, but he didn't know if she would listen to him still.

Then a sprout of fire burst from the tip of her horn and shot at Magnezone. The pokemon made a beeping noise and floated down a few feet.

Rapi glanced back at him and gave him a defeated look. N gave her an encouraging smile in return. Maybe they could win this battle still.

"Thunder!" Colress shouted at his pokemon. The Magnezone made a hissing noise and began to charge energy.

"Try Extreme Speed and Fire Spin!" shouted N. Rapi nodded and vanished in thin air. A blast of fire swirled around Colress's Magnezone as she reappeared.

The Magnezone had already released the electricity when Rapi attacked it. Bolts of lightning were flying everywhere. A bolt narrowly missed N's head as it bounced off the pole he was chained to. He saw Colress duck as one shot toward him. Rapi shrieked and fell to the ground in front of him. A bolt had hit her straight in the chest.

"Rapi!" He hissed anxiously, moving as close as he could to the Rapidash. Her chest was rising rapidly and her nostrils were flaring. He put his hand on her forehead and felt a blast of heat.

"P-Please don't make me fight too hard!" Rapi whimpered, putting her head on N's knee. Sweat was sliding down her muzzle as she looked up at him. N then wondered if she was seriously sick.

"I'm sorry!" He whispered, "I never meant for you to get involved in this! I didn't think this would be that difficult!"

N waited for her to respond. Rapi had always been like his mother. She was the one who had decided to raise White and himself, even if it meant dying for her choice.

"Life is always more difficult than it seems," Rapi said quietly, "you should know that, Natural."

"I know, but-"

"Flash Cannon!"

The Magnezone roared at Colress's command, and unleashed a large ball of light. The Rapidash shrieked as it rammed into her side, making her collapse back on to the ground.

"Stop it!" N shouted at Colress. He saw him smirk and turn away from him.

Rapi was making panting noises as she tried standing up. Her muscles were tensed and she was still shaking.

"Rapi!" He hissed desperately, "You're not in any condition to fight -"

"Please don't, Natural," the Rapidash interrupted, "If I need to fight to get you and your sister out of here, I'll do it. Let's just get this over with."

Flames burst from her horn at this. Rapi gave a loud cry and the flames shot toward Colress's Magnezone. Steam rose from the metal pokemon as fire burst around it.

It made a loud grinding noise before falling to the ground in a heap. Rapi wheezed and stumbled backwards as sparks flew from the unconscious Magnezone.

"Magneton!" Colress yelled, switching out the Magnezone with another Steel type. It made a loud noise like the beeping noise on TV whenever there was cussing.

"Use Overheat!" N shouted at Rapi. He wasn't going to let him take the upper hand.

The temperature rose remarkably as Rapi's fiery mane turned white. It grew until it could have wrapped the Rapidash up completely. Rapi swung forward, and her mane spiraled toward the Magneton.

It made a sound like a siren before falling to the ground. Rapi seemed to cringe as Colress sent out a Beheeyem.

"Silky!" N suddenly yelled, throwing a pokeball out in front of her. The small Eevee squealed as she jumped out of her pokeball, but trembled as she noticed Colress laughing at her.

"That's a stupid choice!" Colress sneered at him, the Beheeyem snickering next to him. Silky's ears drooped, and she started to become teary eyed.

Rapi huffed furiously, but she was glaring at Colress and his Beheeyem. She then bent down and gently nudged Silky forward.

"Don't be scared of them." said the Rapidash soothingly to her.

Silky shivered and turned around to look back at N. He had somehow became something like Silky and her siblings' foster father. He knew Silky couldn't fight this battle alone, and he didn't want her to battle at all. But Rapi was about to pass out, and Silky had a better chance of getting through the battle than Minty.

"I can't do this, Ne-Ne!" Silky wailed unexpectedly, breaking into a run and pelting toward N.

"Silky, don't-"

But a pink ball of light shot toward Silky and slammed into her back. Silky shrieked and collapsed onto the floor. Rapi gave a cry of outrage and bolted toward the Beheeyem.

"NE-NE!" cried the baby Eevee, tears sliding down her face. N tugged at the handcuff and tried reaching Silky, but she was still too far away.

He ignored the flames that Rapi was now sending everywhere. He had forgotten that his and White's lives were both on the line if he lost this battle. He just wanted to help Silky.

"Come here, Silky!" N said encouragingly, "I know you can make it!"

The Eevee whimpered and tried to crawl over to him. He winced as she dug her claws into his hand as he pulled her closer to him.

"I don't want to fight!" Silky sniffed, clinging to his cloak and burying her face into his chest. Her small body was trembling violently. N was starting to feel ashamed of himself for getting her in this position.

"Please don't cry!" N begged her, stroking her fur. But she ignored him and continued to cry.

A loud crack echoed around the room as the Beheeyem threw Rapi against a crate. It cackled as her mane of fire went out. Rapi growled and tried forcing herself to stand up, but collapsed halfway.

"I've never seen a more pathetic trainer in my life." Colress's voice hissed as he came into his sight. N growled and tried standing up. He felt stiff all over, and it didn't help that Silky had climbed onto his shoulder and fell into the cloak hood.

"Who asked for your opinion?" N snarled at Colress, "I battle my way, you battle your way. Who cares?"

"No one," replied Colress, smirking again, "but I would expect more from you. This battle is going to determine you and your sister's fate, and you don't seem to care that much. You only seem to care about your pokemon. Don't you even care about your sister?"

"I care about her!"

"You have a strange way of showing it."

Fury flared up in him as a pink aura surrounded Rapi and lifted her off the ground. She shrieked as the Beheeyem threw her at a wall. A sickening crack split through the air as the Rapidash's front leg broke.

"Stop!" N shouted, pulling at the handcuff again, "Don't hurt her!"

"You've proved my point." said Colress, ignoring him completely, "I would expect you to take this battle more seriously, even if it meant your pokemon getting hurt. But you seem to care more about your pokemon's safety than your own, not to mention your sibling's."

"Leave Whitney out of this!"

"No, I want to know all of this stuff! You seem to care more about your pokemon than anything else! From what I've heard, the Liepard you had earlier doesn't even belong to you! I also know for a fact that this Rapidash isn't even yours! They both belong to another trainer, your sister to be precise! Did it ever occur to you that they're still fighting because they want to save their trainer?! Well you're not helping them! I can't hear them like you, but they clearly want to save their trainer! Why can't you see that, why don't you love your sister like them?! What have you ever done to help her?!"

Colress's words stung N. He knew that they were true. He glanced at Rapi, and she gave him a look that told him that she agreed with the scientist.

"I love Whitney very much," N finally said after a minute. He had to explain everything now. He couldn't hide everything for much longer.

"I don't know what I was thinking when I left her." he started dully, "I loved her more than anything, and I still do. But I just wanted out of that forest. I wanted to be loved by more than one human, but I didn't realize that I already had what I wanted until I left.

"I tried everything I could to escape from the castle Ghetsis brought me to. I did everything in my power to get her back, but Ghetsis always seemed to be one step ahead of me. I tried begging, I even tried starving myself to make him bring her back. Nothing I did worked. I soon gave up on seeing her again.

"Eight years without a younger sister changed me. I began to think that I would never have to face White again, that I wouldn't have to face her anger. But I didn't know that she would soon be my enemy.

"When I met White for the first time since I left her, I wanted to try and fix things then and there. But White had changed. She wasn't the innocent little girl I once knew. She had turned colder and more serious. I wanted her to be more independent when I was younger, but finally seeing her like that was scary.

"After that encounter, I kept my guard up. I heard more and more reports about her fighting and defeating Plasma patrols. I knew why she was doing it, so I stayed hidden until I knew I couldn't hide anymore.

"But I never got to fight White. On the same day I stepped down as Team Plasma's king, my sister's friend lost his eye to my foster sisters. White blames them for her friend's lost, but I feel responsible. So before I left the region, I visited Anthea and Concordia, and I told them about White. I told them that White might avoid them, and to not try and force her to speak to them.

"After that, I didn't have any contact with anyone for two years. I had released all of my pokemon except for one, and I caught one more. During that time, I tried to make up with White. I sent her letters, but they were only empty words. I put no emotion in them, and White noticed. She didn't want those empty words, she wanted action. She wanted proof that I really loved her.

"Two years passed, and I began to hear rumors about Team Plasma coming back. I tried looking for the two trainers that defeated Team Plasma last time, but I couldn't find them. So I was only left with the choice of finding my sister, and asking her to traine three rookies so they could take the places of the missing dexholders.

"White was reluctant, but she agreed. Everything was going fine for awhile. She had gained the rookies' trust and they were growing stronger. But things got more difficult. You were the one who sent the police after me and White, weren't you? It was your idea, wasn't it? You suggested it to Ghetsis. Instead of having one group look for two teenagers, you suggested having the entire Unova region keep an eye out for us."

N looked up at Colress. His face was expressionless. For once, he seemed to have caught Colress's attention.

N knew he was the one who sent the police after them. He had spied on Team Plasma long enough to realize who was behind all of the obstacles he and White had faced. Colress had come up with the ideas while Ghetsis and Zinzolin took the credit for them.

"Yes, it was my idea." Colress said after a minute, "I didn't expect them to actually put it into action, though. I only suggested it because they kept badgering me to help them think of something."

"You said you joined Team Plasma so you could research on bringing out the full power of a pokemon," N started, changing the subject hurriedly, "but did you know that you just said the answer a few minutes ago?"

There was a short pause after this. Even the Beheeyem was listening to him now.

"You said that Rapi and Purr were still fighting because they wanted to save their trainer, and you're right." He continued, not looking away from Colress, "I've known Rapi for a long time, and she has done everything in her power to protect me and my sister. She shares a strong bond with White, and it's almost unbreakable. During this battle, I've noticed that Rapi isn't in the condition to battle. She's sick and can barely fight. But she knows that my sister's life is at stake. She used all of her power to try and save her trainer. The bond between the trainer and the pokemon can bring out that power! If that isn't at least one way to bring out the power of a pokemon, then I don't know what else there is!"

N stared at the ground once he stopped speaking. He couldn't believe what he just said. He felt like the last person who should be saying all that. He had no pokemon to share a bond with. Zoroark and himself had become more distant and Hydreigon had always hated him. What did he know about this?

The handcuff then fell off his wrist. N looked up to see that Colress had freed him. The Beheeyem was also helping Rapi back onto her feet.

The Rapidash ignored the other pokemon and limped over to him. Her expression was blank as she met his gaze.

"Thank you." She wheezed after a moment, "I think you just saved all our lives."

N tried giving her a forced smile. Rapi bowed her head slightly and turned away. Silky had now started batting at his green hair.

"Here," said Colress, handing N the pokeball that contained Purr, "I think you're going to need her."

"But I thought I lost!" N protested, but he still took Purr's pokeball.

"You lost the pokemon battle, but I believe you won a different battle." The scientist replied.

"So you're helping us?"

"I said I would, didn't I?"

N didn't reply, but he felt like this was too easy. Rapi gave him a sharp look that clearly told him to accept this sudden change but to keep his guard up.

"We better get this done quick, because things will get dirty if we're caught." He heard him mutter as he began to walk away.

"I need to ask you something first." N said seriously. He saw Colress glance back at him before gesturing for him to continue.

"I've heard that you did a test on White to see her health condition."

"I did."

"Then I wanted to ask you how long she has to live." 

N saw Colress stiffen at this. Rapi stepped next to him and watched Colress suspiciously. He could tell that the answer wouldn't be very good.

"When we recaptured White Copperstone, I was told to inject an eixir  into her that would slow down the poison in her arm." Colress said after a moment, "But instead of slowing down the poison, it sped up and gave her a shorter length of time to live. At first, she had a month to get to the hospital to remove the arm before the poison took place. But now she only has twenty four hours."

~~~

dun, Dun, DUN!

Long A/N coming, and I advise that you read it. A few warnings are given.

So, yeah. White has a day to live. Well, HEY. IT COULD'VE BEEN WORSE. I COULD'VE GAVE HER AN HOUR.

So first off, school starts tomorrow (wait, it's thirty minutes after midnight, it is tomorrow) so the lack of updates will increase.

Another thing, most chapters now have lyric/music videos on them. I even had the nerve of putting on "Wide Awake" by Katy Perry, and "I Knew You Were Trouble" by Taylor Swift.

Ok, so lately I've noticed, well I wouldn't call them hate comments, but they were a bit rude towards N. So I decided to make an early chapter from N's POV. I wanted to see if I could change people's view of him (tell me if I did) So N tried his best to help his sister when he was younger, and he struggled with rebuilding their relationship and all of that in the future. He was even bullied in his childhood before his mother pulled the worst crime in the world. (Good gracious, his POV is hard -_-)

I just wanna say that Colress is probably the most difficult character in Pokemon for me to write about. It's been awhile since I played (or finished) BW2, so I've forgotten his personality and all of that. Even when I played the game, I'm pretty sure I fell asleep while that guy was talking -_- He was just so boring.

Yeah, the part about bullies actually shooting others was added on purpose. That is what's happening today. Kids have beaten up the so called "dorks and nerds" into the extremes. It is not pretty. We need to notice it. We need to stop it. Please keep this in mind. 

WARNING: Next two chapters will contain the two deaths that were planned out for this story! (And no, I'm sorry to disappoint you guys, but I'm not gonna kill Ghetsis. If he survived in the game, he survives in this book) There will be one death in each chapter! This is just a heads up for those of you who are sensitive to violence! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

HEADS UP: "Spite Without Shame" has six to seven chapters left! Just a little heads up for everyone who thought this would never end!

Ok, good night. It's 12:45 AM over here and school starts tomorrow. So good bye and see ya later! :3 Please vote and comment, they are very much appreciated! Bye!

(Nightcore video: Blink by Revive)