Chapter 49

"I think you have a better chance of sinking the ship than Sky Blue." Zoroark snorted as White smashed a crowbar against a pipe. "Well he'll purposely sink the ship, I'll do it by accident." She retorted, moving back down the hall.

Zoroark rolled his eyes and followed her. Tiny was about ten feet behind White. She clearly didn't want to go too close to her in case she strangled the Espeon.

White had escaped from the bottom of ship only a few hours ago and she was already lost. She was pretty sure she went from the bottom floor to only the fourth floor. She probably needed a map to get around the ship.

She didn't hear from Sky Blue in the past two hours, but no news was good news. Zoroark did swear that he heard the ship creak a few times, but White told him to be quiet every time he said that. The last thing she wanted to have was a nervous breakdown.

Her face was still sore from the burn on her cheek. She covered her face with her cloak hood, hoping no one would ever notice.

White was now using a crowbar as a walking stick since her actual stick was gone. Both her arms were still stiff for being tied for who knows how long.

"White, quick!" Zoroark suddenly hissed, grabbing her good arm and pulling her into a nearby room. Tiny yelped as Zoroark pulled her in by the tail.

He shut the door as voices came from down the hall. The room was completely empty except for a few beds. There were no windows at all. If this was where the grunts slept, White felt slightly sorry from them.

"Hey, come here for a sec!" Tiny said excitedly, who was listening at the door. White bent down next to the door and tried to hear the voices.

It sounded like there were no more than two people. Two men seemed to be talking in front of the room. She knew instantly who was outside as she heard the hissing and snarling of Raichu.

"Ghetsis, I still don't understand why you kept that girl alive!" White heard Zinzolin say, "She is dying anyway! You saw the condition her right arm was in! It's infected, and will eventually kill her unless removed!"

"Miss Gropius is alive for two reasons." growled Ghetsis's voice, "For one, Mister Azul might put a little more effort into his work."

"But the girl might make him continue with his tricks!" Zinzolin interrupted, "If she has been able to go through all those injuries without caring about the cause, I bet she'll be able to go through torture like it was nothing!"

"She'll realize her mistake if it comes to torture!" sneered Ghetsis, "Miss Gropius hasn't been to a hospital in almost ten years! She has no idea what is really wrong with herself! If we have to torture her, I'll make sure both of them get the message!"

"What do you know that we don't know about? What are you talking about?"

"Her breathing attacks," Ghetsis started as White began to listen more carefully, "Miss Gropius has a disease that is unknown to the world. It is not the disease the doctors have believed it to be. It is very rare, and only happens to the sickest of children. It's much more serious than the disease Miss Gropius thinks she has. The attacks will get worse as the unfortunate child gets older. She is now at the age where the slightest little cloud of dust could kill her. Only a miracle could keep her alive."

Silence fell both inside and outside the room. White realized she was sweating. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and tried to hear more.

"How do you know all this?" Zinzolin asked quietly. She could hear the surprise and shock in his voice. 

"When we first apprehended Whitney Gropius, we did a few tests on her." His leader growled, "I already knew about her breathing attacks since I was present when she had one. Our technology isn't like the ones in hospitals. Colress was able to create a device that shows the exact condition of the girl, what she has, and how long she has to live." 

"What did it say?"

"Miss Gropius has a few problems. She either broke or sprained her ankle but she didn't go to a hospital, so her leg ended up healing the wrong way. The result was that her leg will lock in a certain position for a few days. Her arm, as you know, is severely frostbitten and is infected. It will kill her if not removed. As I already said, she has a disease that is rare and unknown to the world, and I believe that's where we're at an advantage." Ghetsis added in a sneer.

"How is that an advantage?" Zinzolin asked, sounding bewildered. White heard Raichu's hissing stop. The pokemon was apparently interested in this conversation.

"You do not Natural and Whitney like I do!" answered Ghetsis, "They might have been willing to work together, but I doubt that young Whitney told him everything about her problems. One of her weaknesses is that she tries to act strong, like there's nothing wrong with her. She doesn't want people to think she's weak. Miss Gropius wouldn't have told her brother that she can't breathe in dust, smoke, or sand. But we do know about her secret, and that will help things along."

"I am sorry, but I still don't understand." said the old sage. White was also confused and wanted to hear more. She felt Zoroark stiffen next to her.

"If my son doesn't find out about her attacks, then will have it easy! If she has an attack, her brother will think she just got a small cough or whatever."

"Is this why we're keeping her?" Zinzolin interrupted, and White was shocked to hear anger in his voice, "Are we keeping Copperstone just to use her as bait for N?"

"Mostly!" Ghetsis hissed, "I want both of them to suffer. The thing that would hurt my son the most is the death of his only living sibling. There were actually three siblings all together. Natural and Whitney were the two who survived. They had a younger sister, but young Mintha died along with Hannah Gropius. If one of the two remaining siblings dies, so will the other!" 

Another awkward silence fell outside the room. So Mintha had been the name of her dead sister. White could only guess why her mother or grandfather would have called her that. They probably thought Mintha would have had green and brown hair like her older sister.

"I'm sorry," Zinzolin suddenly said, "I don't think I can do this. The girl is going to die, why don't you just put her out of her misery? You have been trying to kill her for four years! Copperstone has evaded you every time! You would try to kill her while she still had hope! Now she gives herself up and you keep her alive?"

"Are you by any chance feeling affection for the girl?" Ghetsis asked coldly. White could hear the fury in his voice. She could also hear Raichu's hissing start up again.

"N-No!" Zinzolin said hurriedly, sounding terrified, "I mean, I have been impressed by her skills, but I am not fond of her! Not in the slightest!"

"Then keep it that way!" growled Ghetsis, "I don't need another Rood! After we're done using Mister Azul, you will dispose of him. I will have no need for him."

She heard one of the two men walk away. Raichu's snarling was becoming more distant.

White peeked under the door to see that someone was still standing outside. She could tell it was Zinzolin by the purple robes. He walked away from the door after a minute.

"Ok then, let's hear it." Zoroark suddenly growled, making White jump. She turned to see that he looked outraged.

"What?"

"Was that true? You have some kind of disease that you never told your brother about?"

White didn't speak. She didn't want to be honest with him. If she told Zoroark, he would tell N.

Thankfully, Tiny came to the rescue. The Espeon had a disgusted look on her face as she turned away from the door.

"What if she didn't?" she snapped, "What are you gonna do? Tattle on her?" 

"You're darn right I will."

White was ignoring their arguing. She started to think about what they had said about her arm.

White did not want to lose her arm, but she also didn't feel like dying just yet. It somehow seemed obvious that something had been wrong with it. She knew that neither herself nor N could have ever saw how much damage had been done to it. They had never seen an actual frostbite before, so they thought her arm looked like it was supposed to.

"Come on," she growled, standing up as the arguing silenced, "I don't want to be around when more freaks come here."

White opened the door and let her pokemon leave first. She saw Tiny sneer at Zoroark before leaving. Zoroark hissed at the Espeon and ran after her.

The hallway seemed deserted as White shut the door. Zoroark and Tiny were already halfway down the hall, and she could hear them arguing again.

White's crowbar made muffled thumping noises as it made contact with the floor. She was worried that someone would hear the thumping and come to investigate.

Every room they checked in for the next hour seemed to be empty. They saw no sign of anyone, unless you count a glance of Raichu running into a bedroom. Thankfully, the Raichu seemed too distracted to notice them.

"I'm bored!" Tiny whined after looking into what felt like the hundredth room. "Well I'm sorry!" White hissed after closing the door, "You came here at the wrong-"

But she stopped as Zoroark gave a howl of fury. She turned around just in time to see a large Stoutland running down the hall. Like Zoroark, it looked outraged to see someone other than itself.

"Hyper Beam and Focus Blast!" She screamed as the Stoutland tried to pounce on Tiny.

Zoroark let out a howl and orange light surrounded the Stoutland. It yowled as the light burst around it. A white beam shot from the jewel on Tiny's forehead, and rammed the Stoutland in the chest.

Someone yelled as the Stoutland fell to the floor. White ran over to the pokemon to see who her attacker was.

"CHEREN!" She shrieked at him, "YOU GOT A LOT OF NERVE ATTACKING ME!"

"I'm sorry!" Cheren hissed, his face burning with embarrassment, "Your coat made it look like you were a grunt!"

"Doses it look like I have a Plasma badge on my coat?" she snapped viciously, "Or am I wearing that stupid outfit they wear?"

Cheren blushed as he stood up. His Stoutland was snarling at Tiny and Zoroark.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, looking up at her. "I should be asking you that!" She retorted.

They glared at each other for a moment. White wasn't about to tell Cheren that she had let herself get caught. But there seemed to be no way avoiding it.

"I was caught!" She snarled grudgingly, "I just escaped from my little prison."

"I see that." said Cheren. White turned away from him. She was aware that he was trying to see her face, which was still covered by her hood.

"What are you doing here, then?" she sneered, "Taking a walk?"

He blushed again. He looked furious, but said nothing.

"I met that girl who has been traveling with you." Cheren finally responded, "I think her name was Leia. Anyway, she, her cousin, and her brother were looking for you and she asked if I had seen you. I knew where this ship was, so I came here to see if you had come here. Those kids are worried about you and I was to."

"Touching." White snarled, flexing her bruised hand. Her hand felt like it was burning from the inside out.

"Who are you?" she heard Tiny growl at Stoutland. Zoroark's lip was curled to show his pointy teeth. Tiny's appearance wasn't helping, since she looked like she came out of a Raticate's nest.

"What happened to you two?" The Stoutland sneered, "You both look like you came out of a sewer!"

"Hardy-har-har!" growled Zoroark, scratching the floor with his claws.

White could feel the heat rising in her face. She had no idea what to do, and she didn't want to be stuck with one of the kings of nerds.

"Well," she said curtly, starting to walk away from Cheren, "I'll just go and-"

"Hey, wait!" Cheren protested, but White broke into a run. Tiny leapt onto Zoroark's back as he ran after her. Stoutland yowled and pelted after them.

White hissed and ran out of the hall, leading to a larger area. She knew instantly that she had just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

It was a large room with electric blue tubes and pipes on the walls. The room seemed to be part of two different floors. There were two sides of the second floor, and a long walkway connected them. White was on what seemed to be the second floor of the chamber like room. Thankfully, all the Team Plasma grunts were down below.

With a yelp, Cheren ran into her and almost pushed her off the platform. She squeaked as she fell backwards onto the floor, making her leg and arm throb more painfully. White was able to muffle the crowbar's thud with her cloak.

"You idiot!" She hissed furiously, restraining the urge to hit him. This is not Sky Blue, she told herself, this is a kid that's still younger than yourself!

"I'm sorry! Please don't go!" He added as White tried to get away. He grabbed her frostbitten arm and gripped it tightly. She bit her lip to keep herself from yelping.

Zoroark ran up next to her, closely followed by the Stoutland. The dark fox seemed to have stubbed his toe because he was rubbing his foot and cursing silently.

"Look," snarled White, looking up at Cheren, "I need to go on by myself! Go do something else! Just stay away from me!"

"White, please let me speak!" He butted in, "I need to talk to you! Bianca and I have been trying to find you for three weeks now!"

She hissed and glanced at the floor below her. No one had noticed that two teenagers were on the second floor.

"Fine!" She snapped, now grabbing Cheren's arm and dragging him back down the hall. White heard him wince, and she tried not to smirk. Serves him right.

She pulled him into the first room she saw. It looked like the rest of the "bedrooms" White had searched earlier. Thankfully, no one was in there.

Cheren snarled as he wrenched his arm out of White's grip. She hissed and stepped away from him.

She pressed one of the two rings on her right hand and Zoroark disappeared. Tiny was still a wild pokemon, and White had no pokeballs to catch her with. Ghetsis had made sure of that.

"Now what do you want to tell me so badly?!" She growled after Cheren returned Stoutland. He glared at her as he pulled out a folded piece of paper.

"Here!" He snarled, shoving it into her hands, "It's from a certain someone you know very well!"

White stared at him before opening it. She had no idea who this certain someone was.

Tears began to stream down her face as she read it.

Dear White,

I have recently heard from Bianca that you are still staying in Unvoa. I have left Unvoa to see the other regions. I will not say my location to be on the safe side.

I'm writing to you specifically because I have discovered your secret. I know about your family, and the connection between you and Team Plasma.

Let's say that I have seen most of your family's graves. I saw them while visiting Kanto. I have also done a bit of research and have uncovered most of your past.

White, I wish you would've told me about this stuff. I'm sorry you had to go through so much. I now realize that I shouldn't have treated you the way I did.

I'm also sorry for what I said two years ago. The words I said must have hurt you more than it would've hurt anyone else. I'm really sorry.

Cheren has told me what has happened, except I've already heard. I'm sorry you're back in the same mess as two years ago. I want to let you know that I believe that you're innocent. You said you wouldn't steal anymore after your arrest, and I believe you.

I can't go on anymore. I hope to see you again, and that you will please forgive me. I wish you good luck.

Blake River

"THAT DOES IT!" White shrieked, tearing the letter into pieces. Cheren jumped so hard that he landed on Tiny's tail. The Espeon screeched and scratched at his ankle.

"White, what-"

"I DON'T NEED HIS SYMPATHY!" She screamed, her face wet with tears, "I DON'T NEED ANYTHING FROM HIM! I WON'T ACCEPT HIS APOLOGY! HE RUINED MY LIFE! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR FROM HIM EVER AGAIN!"

Before Cheren could speak, White suppressed a sob and ran out of the room. She ran away from the large chamber and the room. Nothing mattered to her anymore, and she didn't care if she was caught again.

Hatred and fury was burning through her body. Blake was the last person she wanted to hear from at the moment. He was on the top of her most hated list, and was right next to Ghetsis.

Blake had left the region, leaving her with a broken life, and she was supposed to forgive him?

White snorted at the thought. She was never going to forgive him. Blake had hurt her to much. He had dented her life and had made her feel like trash. He had left her to deal with Team Plasma by herself, and she was going to die trying.

"Whitney!" Tiny's voice called from behind her. White shook her head and ran faster. She wanted to be alone.

"No, Whitney, STOP!" The Espeon suddenly screeched, "ITS HER!"

She looked up just in time to see a orange and yellow blur ram into her chest. White screamed and fell backwards. She knew instantly what had attacked her, because of the familiar hissing.

Raichu snarled and pinned her arms down. White heard Tiny spit furiously and tried to attack Raichu. The pokemon ducked low as a Hyper Beam shot past them.

"Leaving so soon?" Raichu sneered in White's ear. She realized that she had never heard her former pokemon speak in the last two years. Raichu's voice was lower and hiss like.

"Oh no," White snarled sarcastically, "I was just taking a walk around your stupid, broken down, piece of JUNK!"

White barely had a seconds warning as Raichu's tail slashed across her face. It grazed the burn on her cheek, making her yelp with pain.

"Rock Smash!" yelled Cheren from behind her. The Stoutland had reappeared and smashed into Raichu's side. She yowled and let go of White's arms.

"PSYCHIC!" She screamed at Tiny, who was only a few feet away. The Espeon howled and pink light pulsed around her. It then shot toward Raichu and went straight through her.

"White, are you ok?!" Cheren asked hurriedly as he helped her to her feet. White snarled in response and yanked away from him.

Raichu was now fighting Tiny and Stoutland. Stoutland was twice as big as Raichu, but it wasn't as strong as her.

Tiny did a back flip as Raichu aimed for the Espeon's throat. The Stoutland bit down on the enemy's tail as it swung past. Raichu shrieked and struggled to free her tail from the larger pokemon.

"What is that?" said Cheren, who was watching the three pokemon fighting. "That would be my Raichu." White snarled a little too casually, rubbing the burn on her cheek.

"Your Raichu?"

"Ok, she was my Raichu. I was ambushed two years ago, and Team Plasma took her. So now she belongs to Ghetsis."

"I don't care, actually!" He growled, shaking his head, "I just- HEY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING NOW?!"

White had took her chance and ran past him again. She dodged the battle and ran down the hall.

She could hear Cheren shouting at her, but she didn't listen. Hopefully the battle would slow him down. She didn't want to be with him.

The sound of the fight was becoming more distant as White ran blindly through the halls. Her face was still soaked. 

"White! Wait up!" Tiny's voice called again. White stopped very reluctantly. She could hear small footsteps coming from behind her.

Tiny ran next to her and began to rub against her leg. White shivered and hugged herself.

"White, please don't run off again." Tiny rasped, "Especially if that means leaving me with Miss Snappy-Pants!"

White made a small noise between a sob and a giggle. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her coat.

"I wish I could die!" She sobbed, "I don't want to be here! I wish I was never N's sister! I wish I was never born! I wish I wasn't me!"

"Whitney," sighed Tiny, "I'll tell you a little something about your granddad: he had these kinds of moments all the time. I think your mother and grandmother had these moments to. I think it's a family trait. "

"Yeah, whatever." White sniffed. She pulled her cloak closer to her. "You're not exactly comforting me."

"Actually that's what I think to myself to." Tiny added, ignoring White.

A loud ringing noise suddenly burst around them. White yelped and jumped backwards. Tiny made a loud hissing noise.

"NOW they realize you guys are gone!" The pokemon growled, rolling her eyes. White shuddered and looked down at Tiny.

"I can't stay here!" She said quietly, "I need to hide! They can't find me, or-"

"White, I might know a place!" interrupted Tiny, "Do you trust me?"

"No!"

"I don't trust myself either. But you gotta trust me on this! It may be uncomfortable, but it will work!"

White stared at her. She was not about to put her trust in the Espeon, but there was no other choice. She needed to hide, and she had to do it fast. If Ghetsis or someone else found her, she would surely die.

"Fine," White finally whispered, "I'll trust you just this once."

~~~

I'M SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE!

Please don't kill me >< My mom hurt her back, so I've been doing a lot of work. I've also been lazy, and I've been suffering from a sickness called Writer's Block -_- It took me awhile to write this, so, yeah.

SO, XxXPrayForPlaguesXxX found out who Sky's unknown relative was. But that was because I pretty much gave the answer away -_- But those comments were funny, so thanks for giving me something to do :P  If you want to see who it was, go check out Chapter 48.

I WANTED TO ASK YOU GUYS SOMETHING: I have been having a boring summer so far, since my mom is sick and all I have to entertain myself with is writing this story ;-; So I was wondering this: What would you guys think if I made White Copperstone a Wattpad account?

I have seen a few people make accounts for their Pokemon OCs, and I have been thinking about making one for White for awhile now. I just wanted to ask you guys before trying to make one.

I better go now. I'm sorry if this chapter wasn't exciting ;3 I'm suffering from Writer's Block. Good bye! :)