Chapter 4

"White, what's she doing outside, hiding under a berry tree in the middle of winter?!" Danny demanded urgently.

White didn't answer. She was speechless. The little girl didn't seem to know they were even there. She was just curled up between the roots, sobbing.

"Hold this," White whispered to Danny, handing him the torch. She got down on her knees and reached her arms under the tree to scoop up the girl. She saw a few half eaten berries fall out from under the girl as she pulled her out.

The girl looked half asleep as she softly cried. Her tears were frozen on her cheeks and her nose looked running. She was wearing a thin, dark gray coat over a light red dress, and also wore denim shorts. White held her closely to her chest. She felt the girl shiver and snuggle closer against her.

"I wouldn't be surprised if this little one is our berry thief," said Samuel, bending down to gaze at the girl.

"You mean I've been sitting outside looking for a human girl?!" Raichu snapped, her fur puffing up.

"Yeah," sneered Abel. "That kid has been stealing berries right under your ugly mug this entire time."

"Use your manners, Abel!" Samuel growled, glaring at the Charizard.

"I've seen this girl before!" said Danny, who was unable to hear the pokemon like White was able to.

"You have?" White asked curiously.

"She was in the paper! A five-year old girl went missing in Kalos, and her description matches this girl here!"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely sure!"

White frowned and looked down at the girl. She remembered reading about the missing girl as well. She didn't read the article carefully, and now she wished she had.

"Let's get her inside," White finally told Danny. "We don't know how long she's been out here already, and she might have frostbites."

Danny glanced at the girl before nodding. White shifted the girl in her arms before carrying back towards the side porch. Raichu, Abel, and Samuel had stopped their bickering long enough to listen to Danny and White's solution, but their argument flared up again as they followed the two trainers back.

"What do you think Mrs. Parker will say if she sees that we found a kid who somehow ran away from Kalos to Kanto?" Danny asked her as they climbed up the porch

"To be honest, I'm more worried about if this is considered kidnapping." White replied.

"I highly doubt that."

"You better be right."

Danny opened the door for her and she stepped inside. Mrs. Parker didn't appear to be in the kitchen or the living room. The only one there was Jeremiah, who had his face pressed against the oven.

"What's he doing?" Danny whispered to White, watching the Gengar uncertainty.

"There's probably a cake in there," White said with a smirk.

Samuel, who had just followed them inside, scowled at Jeremiah. The Delphox took back his torch-like wand from Danny, strolled over to Jeremiah, and smacked him over the head with the torch. The Gengar yelped and leapt a foot in the air.

"You idiot, what do you think you're doing?!" Samuel snapped at him.

"What are you talking about, can't I just watch the making of food?!"

"That's ridiculous!"

"To you, maybe!"

"Ok, just ignore them and hold her," White told Danny, smirking at the pokemon and giving the girl to him.

Before Danny could protest, White pushed past Jeremiah and Samuel and left the kitchen into the living room.

"Mrs. Parker?" She called, looking around the room which appeared to be empty. She was about to go back into the kitchen when she heard Mrs. Parker coming down the stairs.

"What have you been doing, girl, it's nearly six!" Mrs. Parker demanded as you reappeared downstairs wearing a pink apron.

"We found your berry thief," White told the elderly woman, ignoring her question.

"Oh?" said Mrs. Parker, raising and eyebrow. "Was it a Bunnelby as you suspected?"

"No, it wasn't. It-"

But before White could finish her sentence, the kitchen door opened and Danny stepped out, still holding the girl. The girl was curled up in his arms, gripping the end of his scarf in her small hands. She noticed Loopy was peeking out of Danny's hood and watching the girl with great interest.

Mrs. Parker stared at the girl for a whole minute, a look of stunned disbelief on her face. White didn't know if she should be scared or not. She didn't want Mrs. Parker to think that she had gone back to her days of crime and decided to kidnap someone's daughter.

"H-How, w-where..." stammered Mrs. Parker, moving over to Danny to feel the girl's forehead.

"She was in your garden," answered Danny. "And before we move onto the subject of this kid, I think I should tell you that the Charizard is stuck in the door, and that your Gengar tried eating what ever was in the oven."

"Tried to eat it?"

"Your Delphox shot fire at him."

Mrs. Parker made an angry hiss and turned back to White. "How long was this girl outside?" She asked sternly.

White shrugged. "I don't know, we just found her a few minutes ago, but she's probably been outside for over a week now."

"Then White, I want you to try and keep this girl warm. Try to take care of her for a while. Danny, call your uncle and tell him to get over here with his medical kit."

Danny nodded and tried handing White the girl as Mrs. Parker disappeared into the kitchen. It took White a minute to take the girl away from Danny. The girl was gripping his scarf tightly and refused to let go.

"I think she likes you already," White told Danny with a smirk after finally getting the girl to let go Danny.

"She likes my scarf, she doesn't like me." Danny said flatly, but the corner of his mouth twitched.

White smiled and carried the girl upstairs as Danny took out his pokegear to call his uncle. She didn't know why Mrs. Parker wanted Danny to call his uncle, but she did remember hearing somewhere that Pastor Jonathan had been a doctor before becoming a pastor.

Once she reached her room, she kicked opened the door and yelled, "WHO'S EVER ON MY BED, GET OFF NOW!"

There was a yelp and a thud as whoever was on the bed rolled off it and fell to the the floor. Archy was scrambling to his feet as White rushed into room. He looked flustered and a bit bad tempered.

"White, what are you- good gracious, what happened to her?!" Archy demanded as he noticed the girl in White's arms.

White didn't answer as she pulled back the sheets on her bed with one are while holding the girl in the other. She then laid the girl gently down on the bed and pulled the covers back over her. The girl whimpered and curled up under the blankets.

"What-"

"I didn't kidnap her!" White snapped before Archy could finish his sentence.

"Then why do you have a kid here in the first place?!" Archy growled back.

"She was in the garden!"

"Well- wait, the garden?!"

"Well how many gardens do we have?!"

The Arcanine glared at her as she turned away from him. She took her glove off her real arm and tried feeling the girl's forehead. She didn't get very far however because the moment White got her hand near the girl's forehead, the girl grabbed her arm and hugged it.

White blushed and she heard Archy snicker behind her. She tried twisting her arm out of the girl's grip, but the girl only held on tighter. She heard her giggle as she ducked under the covers, still hugging her arm.

"Aw, she likes you!" said Archy with a smirk.

"Stop it!" She hissed at him.

White felt the girl release her arm as she poked her head out from under the blankets. She pulled her arm back and looked into the girl's face. The girl still seemed weak, but she was no longer crying.

"Do you have a name?" White asked the girl kindly.

The girl blinked up at her. White wondered if she didn't understand her. Then she pointed at White's desk. White looked over at it and only saw the papers she threw on it.

Confused, White reached over and took a blank sheet of paper and a pen off it, and handed it to her. The girl took it and began scribbling on it. She watched her for a moment before the girl straightened up and handed White the paper. She looked at it and saw the girl's sloppy handwriting, but she was still able to read the sentence.

My name is Fiona.

"Fiona?" She repeated, looking back at the girl. The girl nodded.

White frowned and gave the paper back to the girl, Fiona. She then said, "Can you talk?"

Fiona shrugged and laid back down. White didn't know whether she meant yes or no, so she took it as a maybe.

The bedroom door opened as Danny came in. Loopy was crawling out of his hood and trying to jump onto the bed. She ended up landing on the pillow that was a few inches away from Fiona, which made the small girl yelp with fright.

"Well she seems to be doing well." Danny commented as he watched Fiona.

"Appears so," replied White.

"Did she tell you anything new?"

"Just her name. Her name is Fiona, and I'm beginning to think she's mute."

"Mute?" He repeated blankly.

"Yeah," White said. "Someone who can't talk because they have problems with a body part that helps with human speech, like the vocal cords."

Danny glanced at Fiona before saying, "I highly doubt she's mute, to be honest. It's rare for someone to be born mute, and she wouldn't be able to laugh or cry that loudly if she was."

"I guess you're right. By the way, did you get a hold of your uncle?"

"Yeah, he's on his way right now." Danny replied. "Route 1 is a short route, so he shouldn't take too long."

White nodded and looked back at Fiona. She appeared to be playing peek-a-boo with Loopy. Archy had curled up at the end of the bed since Fiona had taken his spot.

The door opened again, and this time Mrs. Parker came in. White saw Danny leave the room when she came in. Her room was small enough with just her in it.

"I guess I don't need to ask how our guest is doing," said the elderly woman, her hands on her hips and a slight frown on her face.

"She seems fine, but she doesn't talk at all." White told her.

Mrs. Parker nodded and asked, "Do you know where she came from?"

"She was in the paper," she explained. "She ran away from Kalos and somehow made it all the way here."

"How could a girl this young get from one region to another?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Fiona and Loopy were now peeking out from under the covers. White then noticed that Fiona had a look of terror on her face. Mrs. Parker seemed to notice this as well, because the stony look on her face seemed to soften.

"It's ok, sweetie," she said soothingly, patting the small girl on the head gently.

Fiona grinned before disappearing under the covers again. Mrs. Parker smiled slightly and left the room once again. White watched the door for a minute before sighing weakly. She felt drowsy and weak, but she knew she couldn't go to bed for quite awhile yet. Even if she could go to sleep, she would probably have to sleep on the couch while Fiona was in her bed.

White was thinking about going downstairs as well when she noticed that Fiona was pulling the covers off herself. The small girl sat on her knees and reached out to White. She didn't know what to do. She was taken a back but pulled Fiona off the bed and set her in her lap. Fiona curled up as White wrapped one of the blankets around her. She felt Fiona rest her head against her real arm.

Loopy, who was now trying to escape from underneath the bed covers, rolled out from under one of the sheets and onto the floor. The panda pokemon squealed and tried to get back up, but only collapsed onto her face. White bent down a little and picked the Spinda up. She set her carefully next to Fiona, and Loopy settled down next to her. White smiled a little as she watched Fiona put an arm around Loopy as if hugging a teddy bear.

White stroked Fiona's red hair as she felt her begin to fall asleep. She wanted to ask the young girl questions, but Fiona wouldn't be able to answer them since she couldn't talk. She didn't even know how well Fiona's writing skills were.

After ten minutes, the bedroom door opened a third time, and Pastor Jonathan came inside. It must have been snowing really hard outside because his hair and coat was covered in snow. He was carrying a black bag where all his medical tools were.

"Hello, White," Pastor Jonathan said, nodding toward her as he came in.

"Hi," White replied quietly, not wanting to wake Fiona. She felt Fiona huddle closer to her as she spoke.

"Ah, so this is my patient?" He asked, bending down to look at the small girl.

White nodded and said, "Her name is Fiona, but she doesn't talk at all. I was wondering if she is mute."

"Well we'll just have to wait and see." Her pastor told her as he set down his bag and took off his coat.

White adjusted Fiona on her lap so Pastor Jonathon could see her. Fiona seemed to have woken up because she tried hiding herself from Pastor Jonathon by shielding her face with the side of White's blue overcoat.

"It's ok," he told her kindly as White pushed Fiona gently out from behind her coat. The small girl squeaked with fright and back away from Pastor Jonathan, but White prevented her from going back behind her coat.

"What are you going to do?" White asked nervously. She didn't want to see Fiona get hurt, even if Pastor Jonathan was trying to help her.

"I'm mainly going to check her for frost bites and hypothermia," he explained, taking Fiona's hand and observing her fingers. White couldn't see her fingers, but Pastor Jonathan made no comment about them.

Ten minutes later, Pastor Jonathon had checked Fiona for frost bites on all the possible places, mainly her hands, feet, and nose. He didn't speak much unless he wanted Fiona to do something. Loopy had started helping him by handing him his tools. She also mimicked him and made funny faces behind his back. So whenever Fiona started giggling, Pastor Jonathan would turn around to look at the Spinda, but she would stop mimicking him just he turned around.

"How is she doing?" asked Mrs. Parker as she came in to check on them.

Pastor Jonathon didn't answer right away. He was currently putting his tools back in his bag. He then turned around to look at the elderly woman, a slight frown on his face.

"You said that she was possibly living outside near your house for about a week?" He asked her.

"Around a week, yes." She replied. "Is there anything wrong?"

"No. Actually, apart from a high a fever, there's nothing wrong with her. She has no frost bites at all. It's a miracle."

"So there's nothing wrong with her?" asked White, still holding Fiona.

"As far as I can tell."

The three of them didn't say anything for a minute until they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Danny had now entered the room. He looked from his uncle to White and Fiona.

"Is she alright?" Danny asked his uncle, glancing at Fiona.

"She's fine, she just has a fever." Pastor Jonathan assured him.

"What about her voice?" interrupted White anxiously.

Pastor Jonathon tilted his head slightly but didn't answer. He seemed to be thinking about how he should put his answer.

"Fiona isn't mute from what I can tell." He finally answered. "However, there are some children who have a harder time learning to talk than most. Children usually learn to talk at a younger age than she is now, but she is possibly one of the children who take a little longer learning. She will be able to talk, but it will just take time for her to learn."

"So how long until she'll be able to talk?" said Mrs. Parker.

"She could speak anytime now. I am not an expert, so I can only guess."

Pastor Jonathan stopped abruptly as Fiona suddenly reached out for Danny. White smirked a little after noticing that Danny was blushing as he picked the young girl up. Fiona wrapped her arms around his neck, her head leaning on his shoulder. She seemed to be opening up a little to both White and Danny. Loopy seemed to be feeling left out, because she started jumping up and down, trying to get Danny's attention. White picked the spotted panda pokemon up again and set her on her shoulder.

"What do we do with her now?" White finally asked after a moment, turning toward the two adults.

"We'll have to call her parents, naturally." Mrs. Parker replied. "They're probably worried sick about her."

But Fiona's head swung around to look at the adults, a pleading look on her face. She was shaking her head violently. It seemed as if she didn't want to be reunited with her parents.

"Don't you want to see your mom and dad?" Danny asked Fiona.

She shook her head in reply.

"Why don't you want to go back?" White said to her kindly. "Why did you run away? Were your parents hurting you?"

Again, Fiona shook her head no. White tried not to show any sign of irritation. Finding out Fiona's reasons for running away was going to be a challenge.

But the small girl had already pointed at the pen and sheet of paper laying on the bed. It was the paper that she had written her name on.

"Give her that piece of paper that's over there." White ordered Danny, gesturing toward the paper.

Danny set Fiona back down on the bed, and she crawled over to the paper. The small girl crawled over to the paper, took up the pen, and began to write. She gave the paper to Pastor Jonathan after she finished writing a minute later. White could see holes in the paper from the pen as he read the sentence.

"She ran away because she and her father had different views." He finally said, folding up the piece of paper.

"Is that really what she said?" asked Mrs. Parker.

"Not word by word, but that's pretty much what she meant."

"Are we still going to take her back to her parents?" White interrupted. She wanted to know what was going to happen to Fiona. She wouldn't mind taking care of Fiona, but she knew that the adults and Danny weren't as rebellious as she was.

Pastor Jonathan didn't answer her, but turned to Fiona and asked, "Do your parents treat you well, or do they treat you unfairly?"

Fiona made a sign that was between a thumbs up and a thumbs down, which possibly meant that it was a little bit of both.

She then pointed back at the paper, signaling that she wanted to write something. He gave it back to her, and she added another sentence to the paper. She then handed it back to him before retreating under one of the blankets.

Pastor Jonathan unfolded the paper again, read the message "Now she says that her father doesn't know that she disagrees with his beliefs, but after seeing how much he's gone through to change things and how he's treated people who believe otherwise, she feels that it would be wise not to tell him."

"She seems to know how to write very well for someone her age." Danny commented.

"Her parents probably taught her how to write since she can't talk." said Mrs. Parker, who was watching the small girl.

Pastor Jonathan set the paper next to Fiona and turned to Mrs. Parker.

"Mar. Parker, can I discuss something with you in private?" He requested.

The elderly woman nodded and followed him out of the room. Danny sat down on the bed next to Fiona as the door shut. Loopy crawled off White's shoulder and leapt into his lap.

"What do you think they're talking about?" White asked quietly.

"Dunno," Danny answered. "Probably trying to decide whether we should take Fiona back or not."

"Do you think we'll have to?"

"Depends on how well Fiona is treated at home. If she is being treated unfairly because she and her father share different ideas, then they'll probably discuss the matter with her parents or just keep her hidden, which I doubt will happen."

"What's the chance of it happening?"

"Well I probably have a better chance of becoming world famous than my uncle breaking the law."

White felt the corner of her mouth twitch slightly as the adults came back in. She noticed that Mrs. Parker looked irritated and kept glaring at Pastor Jonathan.

"Fiona will be staying here until I can contact her family. I would like to meet her family." He told White and Danny, not looking at Mrs. Parker. "I don't think she should go outside mainly because I don't want her health to get any worse. She may not have any frost bites right now, but I'd prefer to keep it that way."

"And you're ok with this?" interrupted White, speaking to Mrs. Parker. The elderly woman shrugged but she was still frowning. Danny looked just as reluctant at this plan.

"Won't we get in trouble for this?" He asked his uncle.

"No, but if we don't tell anyone about this and continue to hide her, then yes, but I don't intend to do any of that."

Danny still didn't look very reassured as Pastor Jonathan started packing up his tools. Fiona however looked relieved at being able to stay a little longer. White saw her put her arms around Danny's leg as he stood up to leave the room with his uncle.

"She seems very attached to you." Mrs. Parker told him with a small smile as he tried detaching her.

"I can tell," he muttered, putting Loopy in his hood before picking Fiona up. She still had a blanket around her, so Danny pulled some of it over her head so she looked like she was wearing a hooded cloak.

"I can take her if you want," White suggested, standing up as well.

"No, it's fine. You're just gonna have to take her before I go outside." Danny said, adjusting Fiona.

They followed the adults downstairs, and White thought she saw Jeremiah sulking in a corner of the living room. Apparently Mrs. Parker and Samuel had both stopped him from raiding the kitchen. She saw the Gengar shoot a glare at Mrs. Parker and vanish from the corner as they came closer.

"If Fiona doesn't get better, I would like it if you'd call me." Pastor Jonathan was saying to Mrs. Parker. "I would prefer not to let anyone else know about this."

"What about Mom?" asked Danny.

"Well... I will try to explain things to her." He replied, but he sounded like he didn't want to tell her about this at all.

"Can't we just not tell her?"

"I don't think so."

Danny looked disappointed and a little foreboding at the idea of informing his mother about the evening's events. He probably thought that it would probably start another family argument.

He then sighed and gave Fiona back to White. Fiona let go of him reluctantly. She then put her arms around White's neck instead, giving Danny a disappointed look.

"Well we'll probably see you ladies later this week," Pastor Jonathon said to Mrs. Parker, White, and Fiona as he stepped outside with his nephew. "Make sure to keep an eye on Fiona."

White nodded and turned her head to look at Danny.

"Thanks for helping me earlier." She told him quietly.

He shrugged and replied, "You're welcome. I'm so use to those kind of kids that it's almost part of my daily life."

She smiled a little as the door closed behind him. She heard him say to his uncle, "Can't we just tell Mom that I got lost instead of telling the truth?"

"No."

"Aw, come on!"

Mrs. Parker huffed irritability next to her. A noise like an explosion suddenly came from the kitchen. White guessed that Jeremiah had tried to raid the kitchen again because she could hear Samuel shrieking at him.

"JEREMIAH, GET OUT OF THERE THIS INSTANT!" Mrs. Parker bellowed as she ran back into the kitchen.

White sighed and looked back at Fiona. The noise must have scared her because she had covered herself completely with the blanket. She could feel her clutching her arm.

"Let's get you back in bed." White muttered, taking Fiona back upstairs.

Archy had occupied her bed again during their absence. He looked frustrated as he noticed that they had come back so soon. White didn't need to tell him to move because he was already crawling off the bed.

White set Fiona down on the bed and pulled the covers back over her. She hoped this time Fiona would stay put. The small girl curled up under the covers and looked back up at White.

"Stay here and try to sleep." She told her quietly, stepping back from the bed. She was about to leave, but Fiona had sat up and pointed at the windowsill.

White glanced at the window and saw that she was pointing at her stuffed animal Clefairy, Pinky. It was one of the few possessions White had that was still intact. She had had it since before she lived in the forest. Even now she was still surprised that she still had it, but was glad she did. She still cherished the stuffed animal and would never bring herself to get rid of it.

She took Pinky off the windowsill and looked at Fiona.

"Here," she whispered, handing her stuffed animal to her. "You can borrow her for tonight."

Fiona beamed up at White and hugged the Clefairy doll, making White smile a little. She watched as Fiona laid back down in bed, holding Pinky tightly. White then turned away and left the room. She kept the lights on in her room just in case her guest was scared of the dark.

White came back down to the living to find Mrs. Parker pushing Jeremiah back out of the kitchen with a broom.

"For goodness sake, can't you be patient for just five minutes?!" She scolded Jeremiah. "I- Oh, White, where is Fiona?"

"Back in my room." White replied with a shrug. "She's probably asleep already."

"Well I'll bring her something to eat just in case. You need to eat to eat too!" Mrs. Parker added sharply.

"What?!"

"You barely eat anything and I recently received a letter explaining about all your health issues! It even said you were underweight!"

"You're stalking me?!

"Stalking you, no. Trying to take care of you, yes!"

White's retort died in her throat. She suddenly felt ashamed. She never really considered how much Mrs. Parker cared about her. She was still use to being dependent on herself and her pokemon. The only people who usually cared about what happened to her were her friends and brother.

"I'm sorry..." White muttered, looking away from the elderly woman.

Mrs. Parker sighed and shuffled over to her before hugging her.

"I've never had children before, so you're the closest thing I have to a grandchild." She told White quietly. "I don't want to lose you so quickly."

White didn't know what to say, so she just patted her on the back a bit. She had never really met any of her really grandmothers, or had anyone like one. Her mom's mother died before White was born, and she never even met or heard about her father's side of the family. However, she was glad that Mrs. Parker was put into her life since she was one of the few people who really loved and cared for her.

She didn't object when Mrs. Parker let go of her and pulled her gently into the kitchen. Samuel was still in the kitchen, standing in front of the oven, and making pots and pans levitate around the room. The Delphox usually assisted Mrs. Parker with the cooking. White noticed that he looked irritable, no doubt because of Jeremiah. She even saw little wisps of smoke flaring from his nostrils. Abel wasn't there either, so she guessed that the Charizard had gotten unstuck from the door and flown off for a bit.

White sat down at the small table near the living room door as Mrs. Parker went to help Samuel. She crossed her arms on the table and laid her head down between them. She was desperately tired, but she couldn't deny that she was starving. However, she was use to starvation since she's lived with it since N left her. Of course she and her brother were starving when they lived in the forest, but it was worse when N left.

The sound of a bowl being set in front of her a few minutes later made White look up. Mrs. Parker had set a bowl of soup in front of her.

"Eat." The old woman ordered her.

White blinked up at her. She looked from Mrs. Parker to the soup before laying her head back down while muttering, "Not right now, please..."

"Why won't you eat?"

"I hate admitting defeat."

"Well either you start eating by your free will or I'll force you to." Mrs. Parker threatened.

"Ok, ok, fine, I'll eat, but only because I don't want to put even more pressure on you." sighed White, pulling the soup over to her.

White sipped her soup and heard the elderly woman chuckle a little as she went back to helping Samuel. She was half way done eating when Mrs. Parker went upstairs to give Fiona some soup, but she came back down not too long after. She informed White that Fiona had already fallen asleep, so she had set the girl's dinner next to White's bed.

"I can try and clean out one of the other guestrooms if you'd prefer," Mrs. Parker told White, looking slightly overwhelmed. "I don't think the couch would be very comfy-"

"Don't bother yourself with the guestroom." White said flatly. "I'll sleep on the couch, I don't mind. I just don't want you to stress over this."

"It's no trouble at all."

"Please don't. It's not like I'll die sleeping on the couch.

"But I don't-"

"No, just, no. I'll sleep on the couch, I really and honestly don't mind. End of conversation."

"Oh alright," she huffed, sounding half irritated, half amused.

White smirked a little and stood up. She was too tired to talk anymore. She wanted to sleep, even if it meant sleeping on the couch.

"Good night," she said to Mrs. Parker as she left the room.

"Good night dear." Mrs. Parker replied, nodding at White as she took her bowl.

White smiled at her as she left the kitchen and back into the living room. The living room was pokemon-free, but she knew it wouldn't be so for long. It was probably just the calm before the storm.

She sat down on the couch and began taking off her overcoat, revealing her turquoise and green, dress-like shirt. She could see her mechanical arm clearly now, but the hand was still covered with the glove. White then pulled her gloves off and used her real arm to unstrap her fake one. Her stump of what was left of her arm was clearly visible now. She rubbed the stump with her real arm absent mindedly.

The first few weeks after she had lost her arm, White had found it hard to do most of the things that required the use of arms, like playing the guitar and writing. But one of her best friends, Sky Blue, had taken time off from his new job to check on her, and she had been surprised with herself at how much she had appreciated him helping her. Like White, he had also lost a body part, but in his case he had lost his right eye.

When White and Sky Blue tried to face N when he was still king of Team Plasma, they had ran into N's foster sisters, Anthea and Concordia. During the fight, Concordia's Gardevoir had lost control and almost killed White, but had not gotten the chance. Sky had taken the Magical Leaf attack for her, and one of the razor sharp leaves had broken through his glasses and taken out his eye. Since then, he has had a hard time seeing and reading, and has become an easy target.

White jumped as something small leapt onto the couch. Hamycus had come down into the living room and was now settling down next to her. The Tepig curled up and lifted his head up to see his trainer properly.

"You're sleeping down here tonight?" He asked her, yawning.

"Just for tonight," she replied. "Did anyone tell you that we have a houseguest?"

"Yeah, Raichu told me. She's not very happy. She was frustrated that you guys kept telling her to look for a pokemon and the thief ended up being a human."

"She's not really a thief," White told him, taking the quilt that was hanging over the back of the couch and pulling it over her and Hamycus. "She was just trying to survive."

"White?"

"Yes?"

"Did you do that when you were younger? Did you steal food and stuff?"

White paused in the act of picking up one of the pillows from off the floor. She bit her lip a little, trying to choose her words.

"Yes, I did," she answered quietly. "And I hope I don't have to do it again."

The baby pokemon didn't press the matter. He moved up against White's side, curling up and falling asleep. White smiled and set her mechanical arm under the couch. She usually hid her arm when she wasn't wearing it.

White laid down and turned over, pulling the quilt closer to her. She had gotten use to the numbness in the stump of her former arm, but sometimes she would find herself trying to move her nonexistent fingers or hand. She would get really depressed about it sometimes, but it was normal now.

Trying to forget about the events of that evening and of the year before, White closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.

***

Whitney was crying beneath a large oak tree in the middle of a forest. A crushed note was clutched in her fist. Angry and mournful tears were sliding down her cheeks and onto the dirty ground. Her older brother's words from the letter he had left behind were swimming around her brain.

I'm sorry, but I had to leave. It has nothing to do with you, you're the best sister ever, but I want to see more of the world. I want to make a difference, but I couldn't bring you, and I'm sorry about that.

But Whitney couldn't help but see the lies in the letter.

Why does everyone leave me? She thought, sobbing even harder, What am I doing wrong?

First her father, then her mother, and now N, Darmanitan, Zorua, and Woobat. How much more could she take? Who else would leave her behind?

She heard something rustle in the bushes, but she didn't look up. If it was an Arcanine looking for a morning meal, she didn't think she could defend herself.

"Whitney!" Ray's voice called out, his blundering paw steps coming closer.

The Riolu then pushed aside the bushes on her left. Whitney could see that he looked distraught.

"Whitney!" He repeated running over to her and hugging her. "Don't run off like that, we were so worried! Rapi almost had a heart attack!"

"S-Stop..." Whitney stammered, a fresh wave of tears coming over her. "D-Don't call me Whitney..."

"W-What?"

"I-I hate that n-name..."

"But Whitney-"

"DON'T!" She bellowed. "I HATE THAT NAME! N-NOBODY LOVES WHITNEY G-GROPIUS! NOBODY LOVES HER ANYMORE! SHE'S A MISTAKE! THAT'S ALL SHE IS! THAT'S ALL I AM!" 

Ray looked shocked and even more depressed. His ears and tail drooped sadly.

"You're not a mistake, Whit..." Ray said quietly, sitting down and pulling Whitney into a hug.

She didn't protest to the use of her nickname, so he continued on.

"Every living being in this world was created for a purpose, even you." He told her. "Let's say you're like a... a Feebas."

"Feebas?"

"Most humans think that they are like Magikarp, the weakest pokemon, but humans think that Feebas are ugly. Not that you're ugly, 'cause you're the prettiest human girl I've ever seen!" The Riolu added hurriedly, but Whitney wasn't offended.

"But anyway, Feebas and Magikarp might seem to be the weakest and the ugliest pokemon at the beginning, but they have a bright future ahead of them. When they grow up, they will become a Milotic, the most beautiful pokemon, and a Gyarados, one of the strongest pokemon."

Ray paused for a minute.

"What I'm trying to say is," he continued, looking down at Whitney. "Is that you might have a rough time now, and you might think no one will ever love you, but that won't last forever. There are better days ahead of you. Life isn't over yet."

Whitney was silent for a moment, mulling over what Ray said. She then hugged the pokemon and buried her face in his fur.

"I-I just never t-thought N would leave me..." She whispered, sniffing loudly.

"I know, Whit," said the Riolu quietly. "It was a blow to all of us."

She bit her lip to keep herself from crying more. She felt a strong hatred arise inside her. She had never felt such a strong emotion like this before.

"Whit? You alright?"

"Yes..." Whitney lied, but then she remembered that he could sense emotions.

"Of course you're not. Come here," Ray started as he helped Whitney stand up. "This is no way to spend you're fifth birthday. Let's go back and find Rapi, Di-Di, and Pichu, and see what we can do."

The Riolu beamed at her as he saw the small smile that had finally come across her face. Ray got on all fours and let Whitney crawl on his back. She put her arms around his neck as he stood up straight again. Then at top speed, Ray pelted into the forest, Whitney clinging to his back. She could still feel that burning hatred inside her, but she felt it die out as it was replaced with her sibling-like love for Ray.

***

White gasped and bolted upright. She was breathing heavily, and she could feel cold sweat on her face. She put her hand to her face, and she realized she was also crying. Crying for the Lucario who was no longer there by her side. She wiped the sweat and tears off her face. She moved her hand away from her face and jumped.

Someone was standing near her in the dark, but then she realized it was Fiona. The small girl was still hugging Pinky.

"What's wrong?" White croaked, her voice cracked and dry.

Fiona pointed at herself, then White, then at the couch. White watched her for a moment, trying to piece everything together.

"Do you want to stay with me tonight?" She asked her.

The small girl nodded. White sighed a little and let Fiona crawl onto the couch. She felt her crawl over her stomach and curl up on her left. She put the quilt over Fiona as she laid back down.

Fiona then grabbed White's arm and hugged it. White tried twisting it out of her grip, but she refused to let go. She finally wrestled her arm out of her hands. White pulled the quilt a little higher up before putting her arm back around Fiona.

She heard Fiona giggle a little, but she felt her fall asleep a minute later. White patted the little girl on the back, before turning onto her other side.

Hoping that tomorrow would be better than today, White fell back in a dreamless sleep.

~~~

YUS! I FINALLY UPDATED AFTER LIKE TWO MONTHS! AND I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THAT! I'M SORRY ABOUT THE TERRIBLE CHAPTER! I'M SO ASHAMED =_= PLEASE FORGIVE ME! PLEEEEASE!

Ok, I'm done screaming. But seriously, I'm sorry for being lazy. Whenever I tried writing, new games kept coming out. First it was Pokemon Shuffle, then Fossil Fighters Frontier, then Pokemon Rumble World. But I spent all last year writing Spite Without Shame because I had less than a year to finish it completely. I kinda want a break every once in awhile, ok? So I don't discontinue or put books on hiatus, I just take too long on my breaks. But thank you readers for being so patient with me ;3

Enough about updates. Fiona is the third new character. She's going to be hard to write about since she can't talk yet, but I'll live through it. I can't say much more about her yet.

I'm starting flashbacks again. I have like two other flashbacks I need to post before we reach Kalos. The next chapter will contain the first full flashback, so I don't know how long the next chapter will take.

Also, I wanted to thank you guys for over 1K reads! Thank you for your support, comments, and votes! Thank you so much! :3

I don't have anything else to say, so I'll wrap this up. If I have anything else to add, I'll add it later. I can't make any promises on the next update, sorry :/ I'm sorry for being late again! I hope you like the chapter because I think I failed miserably 3: thanks for being patient!

See you later, guys!