Chapter 9

Abel landed in the familiar town of Nuvema Town at dawn. White picked Fiona up and jumped off the old Charizard's back. Draco the Dragonite landed next to Abel, and Leia and Mira climbed off him.

"It hasn't changed much since I've been here last." whispered White, walking near one of the houses and then asking, "So where are we meeting Amos?"

"We meet in front of Professor Juniper's lab." Leia answered, gesturing toward the direction of Unova's Route 1 and the Unova Lab. "Hugh was going to meet us there to, but he won't come with us to Kalos. He's 'too busy'."

White looked over at Mira when Leia said this. She saw her friend's look of disappointment on her face as she returned Draco to his pokeball. She knew full well that Mira had a crush on Hugh. White was confident that Leia would think it was romantic that her best friend fell in love with her older brother, so she was not a problem. The main problem at the moment was that Hugh had no idea about Mira's crush, and none of them knew whether he liked her or not.

"You guys go on ahead," White told her two friends as she gave Fiona to Mira. "I want to look around for a bit."

"Well there's no hurry, Amos was like halfway across the region when we called him, so it might be awhile." Mira replied, adjusting Fiona in her arms. "Leia, Fiona, and I can go look around too if you want."

"It doesn't matter, you can go do whatever, just please take care of Fiona."

"We won't let her out of our sight!" Leia assured White cheerfully.

But White watched the three girls nervously as Mira, Leia, and Fiona went down a row of houses. Fiona had grown to trust Leia and Mira, so White wasn't worried about the little girl giving the two trainers trouble. She was more worried about someone seeing Fiona and noticing that she was actually the missing girl from Kalos. The last thing White wanted was for her and the others to be accused of kidnapping.

"So was there anything you wanted to see?"

Abel had come to stand next to her. White heard his large leathery wings beat faintly.

"Just one place." She answered, glancing at the houses. "It's not even a tourist attraction, so you can go with the others if you want."

"I'll stay here if you don't mind. You're not as optimistic as them, but I do like happy people."

White chuckled a little and started walking down a row of houses on her right. It had been almost four years since she had seen the place she wanted to see. Not many people would be interested by it. If people were interested in the place, it was because of who lived there. What they did. Their accomplishments. But it wasn't exactly that for White. Yes, she remembered their accomplishments, but she remembered more of the pain they inflicted on her. The heartbreak. The tears. Her jealousy.

She then noticed the thunking noise coming from Abel. She saw something like a necklace around his neck. It was black and blue, with an appearance like a large marble. White had seen orbs like that before. One on Rapi, one on Ray, and one on Sky Blue's Areodactyl.

"Is that a Mega Stone?" She asked the Charizard, pointing to Abel's necklace.

"What, this?" He said, looking at the stone. "Yes, it is. All of us, your grandfather's pokemon, have one. Well, Samuel doesn't have one. Abram, Solomon, Jeremiah, Eve, and I all have one."

"Eve?"

White looked at the Charizard curiously. Something stirred in her memory. She remembered hearing that name when being introduced to Abel and the others.

"Oh, that's right, you barely see Eve. Eve is an Audino of your grandfather's. You met her when you first came."

"How come I never see her?"

"She's extremely shy. It took her months to get to know Mrs. Parker. She hides a lot. When you moved in with us, she started hiding more often. You see, she heard more of your errors than your good deeds."

"Well that explains it..."

"Eve became more timid after your grandfather died," Abel explained to her. "She was even more traumatized by the incident than Tiny was."

They soon reached the end of row of houses. There was one lone house near the end of the road. The house was surrounded by a flower garden. It was a pale gray building with a blue roof. A sign was placed outside the fence around the house.

White walked over to the sign. Black writing was painted across the sign.

The Rivers

The River siblings and the Gropius siblings had a long past during the first war with Team Plasma. Ironically enough, both White and N had a relationship with one of the River siblings. Rachel River, the sister of the siblings, had been the closest person N had had to a friend, even a girlfriend. White had had a crush on Blake River, the brother of Rachel and former Champion of Unova.

However, both Blake and Rachel had pretty much crushed N and White. Blake had shouted at White after she tried taking the Light Stone, from him and his sister. He had told her to do a bunch of stuff that had scarred her, and he told her she was a heartless monster.

N and Rachel's relationship ended in a similar way. Rachel had found out about White being N's real blood sibling shortly before Team Plasma's downfall. She had been very offended that he had not told her this valuable piece of information. She had screamed at him that she thought they were friends and left. White had heard a rumor that Rachel had left to who knows where with Blake just so she could find N. But since Rachel and Blake haven't been seen in three years, White found it very unlikely that N and Rachel would see each other soon.

"Who are the Rivers?" Abel asked White. "Do you know them?"

"The River children are...acquaintances of me and my brother's." White answered, placing her metal hand on the sign and gripping it.

"How do you know them?"

"I met them when I was an outlaw and after I reformed a bit..."

"What were they like?"

White bit her lip. Blake and Rachel River were a lot of things, most of them bad in White's opinion, but they weren't as bad as herself. She was just angry and spiteful toward them at the moment. Most of her hatred was aimed toward Blake, the boy who disrespected her, picked on her, and broke her heart.

"They were heartbreakers..." She whispered finally, letting go of the sign and turning away from the dark house.

She pulled her guitar case off Abel's back, which was still on the Charizard's back with her bag. She slung it over her back and walked away from the house. She heard Abel flap his wings and fly after her. White didn't look back until she was a good distance away. She found her way near the ocean dock. There were no houses nearby, so she wouldn't disturb anyone.

White sat down on the ground and set down her guitar case. She opened the case and took out her guitar. Abel landed next to her and laid down as she began to tune her guitar. After a few minutes, she adjusted it and began to play and sing.

I let it fall, my heart,
And as it fell, you rose to claim it,
It was dark and I was over,
Until you kissed my lips and you saved me,
My hands, they're strong, but my knees, they're far too weak,
To stand in your arms without falling to your feet,

But there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew,
All the things that you'd say, they were never true, never true,
And the games that you'd play, you would always win, always win,

But I set fire to the rain,
Watched it pour as I touched your face,
Well, it burned while I cried,
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name,

I lay with you, I just lay there
Closed my eyes, feel you here forever,
You and me together, nothing gets better,

Cause there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew,
All the things you'd say, they were never true, never true,
And the games you'd play, you would always win, always win,

But I set fire to the rain,
Watched it pour as I touched your face,
Well, it burned while I cried,
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name
I set fire to the rain,
And I threw us into the flames,
Well, It felt something died,
'Cause I knew that that was the last time, the last time.

Sometimes I wake up at the door,
That heart you caught must be waiting for ya,
Even now when we're already over,
I can't help myself from looking for ya.

I set fire to the rain,
Watched it pour as I touch your face,
Well, it burned while I cried,
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name
I set fire to the rain,
And I threw us into the flames,
Well, it felt something died,
'Cause I knew that that was the last time, the last time, oh,

Oh, no,
Let it burn, oh,
Let it burn,
Let it burn

"You've always had a beautiful voice, White."

White yelped and jumped up, whirling around to face the person. Hugh Jackson, older brother and cousin to Leia and Amos, was walking toward her. He had a small smile on his face.

"Hugh!" She gasped, putting down her guitar and running over to him. She heard him wince as she threw her arms around him.

"White, please remember that you have a metal hand and a very tight grip!" He wheezed.

"Oh, sorry," she said apologetically, letting go of him and stepping back.

Hugh hadn't changed much in the past year. He was now taller than White, but she had always been on the short side. His blackish blue hair, his gray eyes, it was all the same. The only other difference was that he wore a white lab coat over his usual outfit.

"I see working with Professor Juniper is suiting you well," White commented, looking him up and down.

"You've caught me on one of my better weeks," Hugh told her. "I'm usually not this...cheerful."

"Oh? Well who died then?"

Hugh glared at her at this. White smirked and put her guitar in her case. She noticed that Abel was on all fours and was growling at Hugh. That was always a danger sign.

"You're still as cheeky as ever," Hugh said irritability, taking White's guitar case and carrying it for her.

"Well you were never that cheerful in the first place, so seriously, who died?"

Her friend scowled and retorted, "Do you have any idea how annoying it is being with Sky Blue twenty-four seven?"

"Yes. You're talking to the girl who spent pretty much her entire childhood with him, so I feel your pain."

"Well no offense, but ever since he went to Kalos, its been like a vacation for me."

"I'm not surprised. Well you won't have to worry about him for now, Mira and I are gonna drag Sky along with us whether he likes it or not. By the way, the snarling Charizard is Abel." She added as Abel gave a loud snarl.

"He seems very friendly." Hugh commented sarcastically.

"He's just overprotective. I'm not exactly a welcomed guest in Kanto. At least nobody else knows I'm here."

Her suspicion rose however as Hugh twitched nervously.

"Alright, who else knows?" White demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

Hugh sighed and began to speak, but a shrill shriek cut through the morning air behind him.

"OH MY GOSH, WHITE! HIIII!" called Bianca's excited voice.

"She was in the same room as me when Leia and Mira called me," Hugh told her apologetically as Bianca came into view. "I really didn't have a choice."

White nodded, but she would've facepalmed then and there. She winced as Bianca ran over to her and hugged her tightly.

"It's so good to see you again!" Bianca chirped happily. "You never visit us! How are you doing? I heard about your arm! Having a metal one isn't that bad, is it?"

"Uh..." started White, overwhelmed by all the questions.

"Let her breathe, Bianca!" Hugh snapped at the newcomer. "What'd you do with Harriet?"

"Oops! I must've left her back there!"

"BIANCA!"

"Don't have a cow, I'll go get her!"

"Who's Harriet?" White asked Hugh as Bianca ran back in the direction she came from.

"My youngest sister," Hugh answered irritability, beckoning White to follow him toward the place Bianca had went. "She's around ten years old. In my family, you don't go on a journey until you're twelve years old. So when my parents and aunt are all busy, I have to babysit Harriet."

"And when you're busy, Bianca babysits her?" She finished as she returned Abel to his pokeball.

"Well it's either her or Sky Blue, but I prefer Bianca. They are the only two people I know well."

As they reached the houses again, Bianca came back into view. She was dragging a little girl along with her. White noticed that the girl looked thoroughly windswept.

"See, I found her!" Bianca told Hugh, pulling young Harriet over to Hugh.

"Remind me later to never have you babysit my sister again..." growled Hugh, taking Harriet from the over excitable trainer.

"Aw, but why?" Bianca whined. "I like watching her!"

"Ugh, fine! You can watch her, but please do a better job at it!"

"Hugh, would it be too much trouble introducing me to your sister?" White interrupted as Bianca stuck her tongue out at Hugh.

"Huh?" said Hugh distractedly, looking from one girl to the other. "Oh yeah. White, this is Harriet, my youngest sister. Harriet, this is White Copperstone, a good friend of mine."

Harriet Jackson gave White a nervous look before whispering a shaky, "H-Hello..."

"Hello, Harriet," White greeted, kneeling down to look at Hugh and Leia's younger sister properly. "Hugh has told me a lot about you."

"He has?" Harriet asked, glancing at her older brother.

"Yes, he has. He told me good things about you. You're lucky to have him for a brother."

"Do you have a brother or a sister?"

White's smile faltered a little. She knew that Hugh and Leia would find it unwise to go into too much detail about White's personal life when telling their family about her, so Harriet didn't know that this was one of White's sensitive spots.

"I have an older brother, but I don't see him very often." White answered her, forcing herself to smile again. "At least you get to see yours. By the way, where's your other sister, Hugh? I know she and Mira are still in town."

"You're the first person we found!" piped up Bianca. "It's possible that Cheren met them though! The three of us split up!"

"Wait, Cheren is here?" White demanded while Hugh was in the middle of a facepalm. "Please tell me you didn't bring him!"

"We didn't but we did!"

"Why did you do that?!"

"In my defense, I had no idea she had invited him until this morning." said Hugh defensively.

"Yeah, whatever!" snorted Bianca, grabbing Hugh and White's arms and pulling them down a row of houses. "Now let's not keep them waiting! We have soooooooooooo much to talk about, White!"

"I'm looking forward to it," White lied, making sure Bianca didn't see her rolling her eyes.

Hugh looked more annoyed than herself as he took his little sister's hand and kept her close to his side. Bianca, however, was oblivious to this. She continued chatting to White as they walked past house after house. White was barely registering what she was saying, but she pretended to listen to spare her friend's feelings.

The sun had fully risen as they reached a large building at the end of town. Professor Juniper's lab didn't seem to have changed much either. However, White noticed that extra security was added. There were more security cameras than before. Apparently White's break in had given them an idea on where the building's weak points were.

"Here's the lab!" announced Bianca in a sing song voice.

"It's...nice." said White, unable to think of anything to say.

"You can let go of us now, Bianca!" growled Hugh, wrenching his arm out of her grip.

"Oh, sorry!" She replied apologetically, letting go of them. "By the way, White, how long will Sky Blue be away?"

"We're going to bring him with us, so he won't be back for awhile. Why?"

"Hmm, well..."

"She doesn't like him either." finished Hugh dully.

"No, it's not that!" Bianca protested furiously. "He maybe unhelpful and annoying-"

"Like yourself..." White heard Hugh mutter under his breath. White tried to suppress a snort as Bianca continued on without hearing Hugh's insult.

"-but I just don't like his pokemon! Especially that Gallade and Galvantula!"

"You mean Shane and Jo Jo?" asked White, trying to keep a straight face.

"Yes! They purposely prank me and hide my things! That Galvantula also strings up spider webs everywhere!"

"I wouldn't take that personally, Bianca. Sky Blue is a nut and a prankster, and so are his pokemon."

Bianca looked like she was about to argue, but someone behind them yelled, "BUBBY!"

White smirked as Leia zoomed past them and flung herself at Hugh. He yelped as his second sister crushed him in a hug. She heard Harriet squeak a little as she was squished by Leia as well.

"Oh my gosh, it's so good to see you guys!" Leia said happily, hugging her siblings in turn.

"Leia, get a grip on yourself!" Hugh snapped, pushing Leia away from him.

"Aw, you're no fun any more!"

"What?!"

"Well you were more playful before you started your journey and started working!"

"Playful?!"

"This is going to be awhile, isn't it?" asked Bianca to White.

White smirked and nodded as Mira caught up to them. She was still carrying Fiona, who looked like she was still progressing how they got to this part of town so quickly.

"White, you know Cheren is here, right?" Mira whispered to White anxiously.

"Please tell me he's not with you." White hissed sharply.

"Well what was I supposed to do?!" her friend demanded furiously.

White's worst fear was confirmed as Bianca called to someone behind them.

"Oi! Hurry up, Cheren! I've seen you walk faster!" Her old friend shout at someone.

"Why should I rush coming here?!" Cheren snapped at Bianca as he made it over to them. "I can walk if I want to!"

"But White's here, and you guys haven't seen each other in a year!" Bianca protested, turning White around to look at Cheren.

This was a sticky moment for both her and Cheren as they looked at each other. They didn't get along that well. The rift between them actually started when White was arrested three years ago. Cheren and Blake had tried capturing her in the Cold Storage in Driftveil City. She had fallen over a walkway railing around fifty feet above the ground. The two boys had tried saving her, and Cheren was the last one to keep her from falling. But she had let go of him and fell to the icy ground, waking up three days later in prison. All through last year, she and Cheren had been on the same side of the hidden war against Team Plasma, but they did not get along even when helping each other.

"Hello..." White said to Cheren coldly, turning her gaze away from him.

"Hi..." replied Cheren stiffly.

"Oh, it's so good for the three of us to see each other again!" chirped Bianca cheerfully, hugging White and Cheren both at once. "It would be nice to have Blake and Rachel here, but they're traveling around the world!"

"It would be nice for you..." mumbled White to herself as Cheren snorted. Again, Bianca didn't hear them.

"Remember when we all went on a journey?" She continued on excitedly. "It was soooooooooooo much fun!"

"Who's journey was this?" White asked her, slightly annoyed. "Yours or mine? Because I distinctly remember mine not being that enjoyable."

"Then we should go on another one! All five us can go!"

"No!" Both White and Cheren snapped at her.

"But why?"

"Whenever any of us go on a journey, some organization of idiots try to achieve world domination!" argued White.

"But it's fun kicking bad guys rear ends! That's why our first journey was so exciting!"

"Are you kidding me, I still haven't even forgiven myself for letting Ghetsis get away the first time Team Plasma fell!" retorted Cheren.

"All my friends are party poopers!" pouted Bianca. "Oh, that reminds me! White, have you started dating yet?"

"What?!" White snapped, blushing heavily. "Of course not!"

"Aw, well don't worry! Someday your Westley will come and sweep you off your feet!"

"My what?!"

"Your knight in shining armor! Haven't you seen the Princess Bride?!"

"I thought the answer was obvious. Of course I haven't! I've gone to theaters without paying and have been thrown out of them, but I've never seen the end of a movie! I don't even know what the movies I watched were called!"

"Then we are gonna watch it sometime, and no excuses!" Bianca added as White groaned. "But it's about a farm girl called Buttercup-"

"I hate this story already." White said flatly.

"I'm trying to tell the story, now shush!" she scolded.

White sighed and looked around. She had heard Mira giggle silently at her as she watched Leia and Hugh argue.

"In short, some random dude tries to marry her and another guy who was old friend of hers named Westly came and took her away to a happy place and marries her, the end." Cheren finished off in an emotionless voice.

"That's all wrong! You've obviously never watched it!" Bianca retorted.

"Sure I have, my mother made me sit through it once. She actually watched it all the time. It also scarred me for life."

"Yeah?" said White. "Scarred you in what way?"

"Mainly the torture machine."

"The point of the matter is that your Westly will someday come and you two will fall in love and live happily ever after!" Bianca told White encouragingly, shooting Cheren a dirty look.

"Well I'm not looking for my Westly at the moment." White hissed irritability. "I doubt I'll ever get a true love! Unlike in your world, true loves don't just turn up on their faithful steed everyday!"

Bianca opened her mouth to speak when a large shadow flew over them. Everyone looked up to see a large black, blue, and violet, three headed dragon.

"Oh thank goodness," she heard Hugh mumble. "I thought Amos would never get here..."

The dragon pokemon landed a few feet away from them. Hydreigon collapsed on the ground, pretending to be exhausted. Amos, who had leapt off the pokemon's back, did not look amused.

"Cousin!" cried Leia, flinging herself on Amos.

White watched as Leia hugged her cousin, making Amos wince. She could see Hugh smirking as his sisters went to annoy Amos instead of himself. White took this opportunity to get away from Bianca and Cheren, who had started to argue with one another.

"Its good to see you too, Leia, but please get off!" Amos hissed, pushing his cousin away from him.

"But I missed you too!" Leia pouted, but gave him some space. "You and Hugh have been working too hard! You guys aren't fun anymore!"

"Do you expect us to still be fun after everything going on the past year or two?" demanded Hugh.

"I've noticed you're more grumpy too, bubby." piped up Harriet. "You've been unhappy and annoyed ever since you brought back my Liepard."

"Ugh, ok, you've said your share, now go play somewhere!" Hugh snapped at her, taking her arm and looking around. "Go, uh...go play with that little girl with Mira! What's her name, uh..."

"Her name is Fiona." White said coolly, raising an eyebrow. "And in case you didn't know, she hasn't learned to speak yet."

"She's still around Harriet's age so that doesn't matter!" He said distractedly as he took a protesting Harriet over to Mira and Fiona. Leia gave Amos another hug before following her two siblings.

This left Amos and White alone. White looked into the younger trainer's face. She had a closer relationship with Amos than with his cousins. White knew that he had a crush on her, and she couldn't bring herself to admit that she had a crush on him too.

"White, I-" Amos started, but White cut him by hugging him. They were both still around the same height, even though White was around three years older than him.

"It's nice to see you again," White told him quietly, pulling away from him. "I hear you're doing well."

"I guess you can say that," he said quietly. "I'm terrible at everything involving pokemon training, but I somehow survive."

"That's not true. Many trainers are very talented, but they mistreat their pokemon. You're a very good trainer."

"I'll never be as good as you."

White blushed at this and Amos smiled.

"I heard about Sky," he continued, making White's smile fade a little. "How severe was the attack?"

"I'm not sure," she sighed. "Apparently assistants from other regions have been targeted in Kalos. His attack was the worst. He had multiple burns, bruises, cuts, and other more serious injuries. Did Sky Blue tell you anything about that task when you met him?"

"Not really. He said the documents he had were top secret, and he had been given the task because other assistants reported him of being lazy. He thought they assigned him to the task because they wanted to get rid of him."

"Well after seeing the behavior of his colleagues, I can tell that he doesn't have many fans." White said with a snort, glancing at Hugh and Bianca.

Amos chuckled softly before saying, "So what's been happening with you? I heard you made some new friends."

"Only two friends," she corrected him. "But they both have some interesting backgrounds. In case Mira didn't tell you, they are coming with us, but they will be a bit late."

"Then who is Bianca strangling?" He asked, gesturing to someone behind White. She saw that Bianca had unfortunately finally discovered Fiona was there and was giving her a strangling hug. She could hear her friend chirping about how adorable Fiona was.

"That's Fiona," she explained. "She run away from home and she was staying with us in Kanto. She lives in Kalos, so I'm going to take her home while we're there. I kinda wish she could stay with us."

"Why? Doesn't she have a family?"

"I know she has a dad, but I'm not sure if she has siblings or a mom. But Fiona is like having a younger sister for once. Parents at my church don't want me to be near their children, and I haven't seen or heard from my brother in months. Have you seen my brother by any chance?" White then asked anxiously.

Amos looked at her hesitantly before saying slowly, "Well, I think I might know where he is."

"Where?!"

"I think he followed me here," her friend admitted, pointing toward the road to Unova's Route 1. "I kept seeing something like a running flame on Route 1. It might have been Rapi."

White looked toward the direction of Route 1. She wanted to go see if the flame was Rapi or not. Rapi the Rapidash was in N's possession last she had heard. She still hadn't forgotten that she needed to find Seth as well.

"Go find him." Amos said suddenly, making White turn to face him.

"What?"

"Go look for N." He repeated simply. "You haven't seen him in months. We can wait for you."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure."

White hesitated, but she was tempted to go check.

"Alright, I'll go," she finally said as she moved away from him. "Tell the others where I went, ok?"

Amos nodded reassuringly and White smiled at him. As she moved past Cheren, Bianca, and Fiona, Bianca pulled White back. Bianca looked like she was going to burst with excitement.

"White, is Amos your Westley?" She asked White excitedly.

"No!" snapped White furiously, but her face turned bright pink. "Enough with that stupid fantasy movie!"

"But you two look soooooooooooo cute together!"

"Just drop it, Bianca." Cheren told her flatly.

Bianca turned on her childhood friend and hissed at him, "You've never been in love before, have you?!"

"That's not entirely true-"

White took this opportunity to get away from her old friends. Bianca's fierce attitude had died, and was now bombarding Cheren with questions about his crushes. She was about to walk away from them when a small hand tugged on her overcoat.

Bianca had set down Fiona when talking with Cheren. The small girl was now looking up at White, lifting her arms up to her. It seemed that she wanted to come along.

White hesitated, and looked back at Hugh, Leia, and Harriet. The three siblings had engaged in another argument, and she saw that Mira had started a conversation with Amos. She didn't want to bring Fiona with her. There was the chance that Fiona would know who N was and tell someone. The auburn haired girl might not be able to speak, but she's proven to know how to write well for someone so young. But White didn't know how long she could keep N a secret.

"Ok, come on," she sighed, picking up Fiona and carrying her away from the others. Fiona put her arms around White's neck and held on.

She adjusted the little girl in her arms and pulled out a pokeball. She pressed the button and Archy appeared in white light.

"Oh no, I am not carrying you all the way to Kalos!" Archy said instantly as White put Fiona on his back.

"You're not taking us to Kalos, I want to look for Seth on Route 1." White corrected him, then leaning forward and whispering, "Try and find N as well. He might be on the route."

The Arcanine nodded and started running toward Route 1 after White got on. As they reached the dark forest route, Archy began sniffing the ground and air. White felt herself tense up. She wasn't sure what to expect. Route 1 had changed a lot in three years. The pokemon on the route were rumored to be stronger than they were before Team Plasma's first rise to power.

They did see powerful looking pokemon, but none of them bothered the three of them. A lot of them were Watchogs, Herdiers, and even a Jigglypuff that ran away after seeing them. After awhile, Archy stopped abruptly.

"What is it?" White whispered in her pokemon's ear.

"I hear and smell something." He said quietly.

White looked around and listened carefully. After a few seconds, she could hear the gentle thud of hoofsteps. Archy let out a menacing growl as a faint glow came from the trees in front of them. It became more vivid quickly, and Archy barely avoided the pale tan blur that ran out the trees.

The unicorn-like pokemon, however, collided with a large, thick tree to their left. Fiona screamed and clung to White as a loud yell came from the person riding the pokemon. The man fell off the Rapidash as it ran into the tree. The hood of the man's cloak fell back from over his face. The man had long, dirty, messy, tea green hair that had been hidden by his hood.

"Natural!" White cried, jumping off her Arcanine's back and approaching her brother.

N didn't respond, but coughed and tried standing up. Natural Harmonia Gropius' physical appearance hadn't changed much. Though N was White's only known living blood relative, the two of them didn't look alike. While he had long light green hair, White's shoulder length hair was mainly brown like her mother's, but with two light green streaks on each side. His eyes were silvery blue, and hers were hazel.

Despite their differences in physical appearance, they both had similar personalities. Both Gropius siblings were stubborn, protectors of pokemon, and respected the pokemon and humans they knew well. However, White was a slightly more talented trainer than N since he chose not to push his pokemon too hard, and used tactics that prevented both his own pokemon and the opponent's from being seriously hurt.

"W-Whitney," N stammered after a minute, looking up at his sister nervously. "I-I wasn't e-expecting to see you."

White balled her hands into fists. Frustration and anger of the past few months without a word from him was coursing through her veins. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Fiona was hiding behind Archy, peeking out from behind him to see what was happening.

"Cover Fiona's eyes, Archy!" She snarled as she turned to face her brother and pulled back her fist.

"But-"

"Cover her eyes!" She yelled at him as threw a punch at N.

N yelped and avoided the blow, scrambling to his feet and backed away a safe distance from her. But White only growled and chased after him.

"That was for not writing to me!" White yelled as she hit him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. "This is for not keeping in touch!"

"White, let's discuss this like adults, please!" N pleaded, stumbling away from her and ducking behind a tree as White threw a stick at him.

"NO!" bellowed White, following him and actually stomping on his foot. This made N yelp and fall over. She took her chance and began punching his chest. "YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TRYING TO CONTACT ME, DID YOU?!"

"WHIT-"

"DID YOU EVER THINK I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU?!"

"Whitney, don't hit your brother." interrupted a calm voice.

A familiar hoof was placed on her shoulder. White stopped hitting N and looked over her shoulder. Rapi the Rapidash was standing behind her, looking bruised up but pleased and slightly amused. White reluctantly stoped hitting him and moved away from her brother. N sat up, but had to have Rapi help him back on his feet.

"I guess I deserved all of that..." N muttered, rubbing his chest.

"Of course you deserved it!" White snarled.

Rapi sighed and said sternly, "Let's try and calm down, you two."

"Don't tell me, tell her!" snapped N furiously.

The Rapidash ignored him as she supported N back to where Archy and Fiona were. White noticed that the Arcanine had placed his large front paws over the little girl's eyes.

"She can look now," White told him, and Archy lifted his paws away from Fiona's eyes.

Fiona looked horrified, not because White had beaten up a stranger, but because of N himself. N was wanted in all regions for being king of Team Plasma. He had encouraged people to release pokemon, and lead members of Team Plasma to steal pokemon from trainers. White wasn't too surprised to see that Fiona knew who N was.

"Fiona, this is my brother N," White said to Fiona kindly. "N, this is Fiona, a friend of mine."

White saw N take one glance at Fiona before looking surprised and a little shocked. He apparently realized that Fiona was the missing child from Kalos.

"White, what is she doing here?" N demanded, staring at Fiona.

"I'm taking her with me to Kalos, in case you didn't know!" growled White. "Me and a few others decided to go travel around Kalos! We're in Unova to pick up Amos, and why in the whole wide world are you following him?!"

"It was his and Seth's idea, I had nothing to do with it." said Rapi flatly.

"Oh sure, point your hoof at me!" sneered a familiar snide voice as a green serpent-like pokemon slid down a tree. "Everybody blames poor me for everything because I'm a sneaky snake and an untrustworthy double-crosser who does things for the greater good!"

Seth the Serperior coiled up at the foot of the tree, running his narrow gaze over those people and pokemon present. His yellow eyes turned into slits as he looked from White to Archy.

"How dare you tell her the surprise before I got back!" He spat at the Arcanine.

Archy gave Seth a sceptical look before saying, "I didn't tell her, she just found out you were gone."

"Oh, well," the Serperior continued, turning to White. "Merry late Christmas, me and the team brought you your brother, also known as your personal slave."

"I did not agree to that!" snapped N angrily.

"Oh, the personal slave thing? Yeah, I added that just now." Seth added.

White smirked at her older brother, and stepped closer to him. Archy looked amused at this, unlike Rapi. This personal slave thing opened a possibility for her.

"Thanks, I could use a personal slave." White told Seth as she circled N like a Sharpedo. "Don't worry, none of my requests are chores. As a matter of fact, I just have a request."

"Like what?" N asked tentatively and slowly.

"I demand that you go to Kalos with me."

"What?! You're out of your mind! That's impossible!"

"Oh?" White said, raising an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"I'm an outlaw! A fugitive! Security in all regions are going to be very high while I'm in hiding!"

"That doesn't stop you from leaving Unova! Besides, it would be safer for you to go to Kalos! You have been sighted all over the region, and have almost been caught a few times!"

"Rapi, do something!" N snarled, turning to the Rapidash.

"Make him go!" White pleaded, also turning to Rapi.

Rapi looked from one sibling to the other before asking, "Why ask me?"

"You're pretty much our mom!" answered White.

"Oh, well in that case," Rapi said, looking thoughtfully and a bit sternly at N. "N, you're going to Kalos whether you like it or not. White is right, you'll be safer there than here. I'm sure there's a way we can get there without being detected."

White smirked as N growled furiously. He turned his back on them and leaned against a tree. She noticed that he kept glancing at a confused Fiona. She then remembered that the little girl couldn't understand pokemon like the two siblings.

"Whitney, I need to speak to you in private." N finally said, turning back to his sister and beckoning her away from the pokemon and Fiona.

White nodded and followed him out of ear shot from the others. N turned to face her and gave her an accusing look. White looked coolly back at him as he began to speak.

"Have you told her about our ability?" N asked her in a whisper.

"No, I'll tell her later," she replied. "But it's possible that she already has guessed."

Her older brother sighed and continued more seriously, "You do know that she's a missing child from Kalos with a very high price for her return, don't you?"

"I know that."

"Then tell me, what's her full name?"

White was taken aback at this. She didn't know Fiona's full name. N seemed to know something she didn't know.

"I don't know..." she admitted reluctantly.

"I'll tell exactly who she is," N told her quietly and seriously. "Her name is Fiona Fleur-De-Lis. She is the six year old daughter of a big industry owner in Kalos, and he's made it clear that if she is found in the wrong hands-"

"I-I get the point," White stammered. Of all the missing kids in the world, she got the one with an important father. She was a former criminal, and she was sure she wouldn't get out off the hook easily.

"Somebody else can take her to her father," N continued. "Mira or someone else can do it instead."

"No!" White snapped, stepping backwards. "Fiona is like my little sister now! She trusts me, and I care for her! I will be the one to return her!"

N sighed but didn't try to persuade her more. Seeing nothing else to discuss, White walked back over to Fiona and the pokemon. Fiona lifted her arms up to her, and White picked her up. She then turned to face N.

"You'll come to Kalos, right?" She asked him.

"I'm you're personal slave, do I really have a choice?" N said with a shrug. 

The corner of White's mouth twitched as she set Fiona on Archy's back.

"I'll find a way to get you off Unova when I come back, I'll keep Seth here till then." White assured him as she climbed on the Arcanine's back. She then added, "You know I've missed you, Natural, right?"

Her brother gave a small nod and said, "I've missed you too, and I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch with you like a brother should."

"It's ok, I understand." White sighed after a moment as Archy began to make his way back to Nuvema Town.

~~~

I'm sorry, this took longer than I expected ;-; I recently became a Doctor Who and Star Trek Voyager fan, so that wasn't helping. I'm also having technical difficulties, so be warned. I just got a cold, so I decided to wrap this chapter up today.

So Fiona's identity is half revealed. More will be revealed later on. I'm sorry for being unenthusiastic, but I'm tired and cranky.

-Character Profiles: Natural Gropius and Hugh Jackson-

I'm doing Hugh as well because he still shows up more often than Bianca and Cheren.

Name: Natural Harmonia Gropius (N)

Age: 21

Home Region: Unova

Family: Elymas Gropius (real father; status unknown), Hannah Copperfield Gropius (mother; dead), Ghetsis Harmonia (foster father; status unknown), Whitney and Mintha Gropius (younger sisters; White lives in Viridian City and Mintha died before birth), Anthea and Concordia Harmonia (foster sisters; living in Driftveil City), Gregory and Elizabeth Copperfield (grandparents; dead)

Pokemon: Zoroark (male), Rapi (female Rapidash), Silky (female Glaceon), Minty (female Leafeon)

Personality: Quiet, serious, stubborn, gentle

---

Name: Hugh Jackson

Age: between 13 and 14

Home Region: Unova

Family: Leia and Harriet Jackson (younger sisters; Leia travels with Mira Dragonclaw, and Harriet lives in Aspertia Town), Amos Jackson (cousin; travels around Unova), Maud Jackson (aunt; lives in Aspertia Town)

Pokemon: Emboar (male), Simisage (male), Unfezant (male), Sora (female Eevee)

-----

There are a lot of songs about a man breaking a woman's heart, but I chose "Set Fire to the Rain". It was the best song I knew that was about that theme. Actually, it's possible that the song will turn up again. I also must disappoint you by saying that Blake and Rachel River are unlikely to appear in SWS2, they will only be in flashbacks. That, however, doesn't mean they will never show up.

Also, thanks for 2.4K reads on SWS2! That means a lot to me! I'm sorry the chapters take so long to write! Thank you for being patient!

Ok, I'm tired, and my keyboard is too slow for my fast typing -_- Thanks again for being patient with me! I'm grateful for that! :3 If I miss something, I'll add it later.

Bye!

(Lyrics: Set Fire to the Rain by Adele
Audio Video: Pokemon Black and White Unwavering Emotions Remix by GlitchxCity)