Chapter 50

"Tiny, what are you doing?!" White hissed as Tiny squirmed into a large air vent. Tiny's voice was muffled, so she couldn't understand her. The Espeon's tail twitched as she scooted back out.

"Perfect!" She hissed, looking up at White, "Now, you stay in here, and-"

"In there?!" White interrupted, glaring at Tiny. Tiny smirked and looked from White to the vent. She could tell that the pokemon was enjoying herself.

"Yes, in there." Tiny sneered. After seeing the look on White's face, Tiny began to speak again. "It won't kill you. You're so small, that two of you can fit in there!"

"Thanks." snarled White, looking at the floor. She wasn't small, but she was very thin. After a few weeks of hiding from the authorities and Team Plasma, her appearance had changed quite a bit.

The sound of voices brought her back to her senses. She looked back over her shoulder to look down the hall. At least four people were making there way toward the hall.

White turned back to Tiny to see her ear twitch. "Get in there now." Tiny snarled harshly. White hissed and got down on her knees. She hated taking orders from Tiny.

The vent might have been large, but it was still too cramped and small for her liking. White felt like she was about to have a nervous breakdown. Ever since she was arrested and was kept in a cell, White had a fear of small spaces.

"I'll be back in a bit." Tiny whispered once White was in the vent and the cover was secured back on. She grunted as the Espeon ran out of her line of sight.

White shifted her position and tried to remove her cloak. She could barely move her arm from her side. She pulled her cloak off and shoved it in to her inner coat pocket.

The voices became louder, and White began to hear footsteps. Hopefully no one would notice a teenage criminal inside the vent. The opening was to low for anyone to see from standing up straight. You'd have to be laying on the ground to see inside it.

"How could those two kids get out of that place?" a male's voice said, "I thought the room was escape proof!"

"We thought it was!" responded a female voice, "We're sure it was that girl who got them out! The boy would've escaped days ago if it was him! He's supposed to be an escapologist, but that's only with handcuffs and stuff like that!"

"Maybe she's one as well." said another male's voice. White heard someone smack another person. Someone gave a yelp and the person who was hit had apparently stumbled backward. "If she is able to out smart us, than of course she's an escape artist, you idiot!" a fourth voice snapped.

White tried to scoot away from the vent entrance as the group of Team Plasma members came back into view. She could only tell that three of the four people were grunts. The fourth person she didn't recognize.

"I don't care how she got out!" The unfamiliar man snapped at them, "Find the two kids, bring them back to Ghetsis or myself, and make sure no other kid got onto this ship! I don't care if the boy gets away, but we can't risk losing the girl!"

There was a thud and a squeak of terror. White heard the three grunts run back down the hall, apparently to search for Sky Blue and herself.

The unknown man was still standing in front of the vent. She held her breath as he walked away. She was still trying to keep herself from moving.

White knew that the man was not Zinzolin, but she didn't know anyone else who had a high rank. The only thing she did know was that this man had probably taken up the rank as the new "Team Plasma puppet".

She let out a hiss, and pressed the back of her frostbitten hand against the metal wall. One of the rings on her hand glowed and red light shot out of it.

Zoroark appeared outside of the vent once the red light vanished. He looked confused as White saw him glance around at the empty hall. Pokemon don't usually escape from their pokeballs without someone's help.

"White?" she heard him whisper uncertainty, "Are you there?"

"Zoroark!" hissed back White, making Zoroark jump. He whirled around and finally saw her. Her face burned with embarrassment as Zoroark's lip curled sneeringly.

"What in the name of Arceus-"

"Don't talk, just listen!" She interrupted him, "I want you to find Tiny or anyone else that's on our side! But please don't bring back Cheren! Also, if you happen to find Amos, nick back my brooch!"

"Your what?"

"My brooch! My rainbow colored brooch! It has a gray marking in the middle! He should have it with him! I know this list of things to do is growing, but please try and nick back Archy, Di-Di, Seth, and possibly Rapi! Except I doubt that Rapi is with them!"

Zoroark looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but said nothing. He then nodded and ran away. She could hear his paw steps grow fainter.

White winced as pain spread throughout her bad arm. If Ghetsis had been telling Zinzolin the truth and that her arm would kill her, she probably only had a month to live. The other option was cutting off her arm.

But even if she wanted to take it off, she couldn't. The only building she could go into with a welcome was the police station.

White tried pulling her hood over her head and folded her arms in front of her. She was exhausted and her body was sore. Her cheek was still bleeding from the cut Raichu had given her.

She laid her head in her arms and tried to relax. Being stuck in a small space for even a short time was torture.

After ten minutes, White closed her eyes and knew no more.

*~*~*

"Whitney?"

"ELLO IN THERE!"

White yelped and hit her head on the low ceiling. She hissed and glanced at the vent entrance. Shock flooded White's body for a minute.

Seth and Di-Di were peering at her through the bars on the vent opening. She saw a black, red, and yellow blur a few feet behind them, which probably meant that Archy was there as well.

"How long have you been there?" she snapped furiously. Seth and Di-Di smirked at each other. White heard Archy snicker.

"Only for about five minutes." The Serperior hissed. White glared at him as he twisted his tail around the bars.

"Where's Zoroark?"

"Zoroark?" Archy's voice asked, "Tiny told us where you were. The three of us got separated from Amos and Hugh while poking around."

"Oh, well next question, can you get me out of here? I'm gonna die soon!"

"OH, WELL ARCHY, DO YOUR THING!" Di-Di squealed in her loud sing song voice. Archy grunted and bit into Seth's tail. Hard.

Seth shrieked as the Arcanine yanked him hard, and the bars he was holding onto broke. White wheezed as she crawled out into the hallway.

"BETTER?" The Gorebyss asked her. She didn't reply but collapsed onto the floor. Her body seemed to scream in protest when White forced herself to stand up.

"What?!" She snapped at the three pokemon, who were all watching her. Archy glanced at Seth and Di-Di before replying.

"What happened to your face?" He asked, a smirk on his face. White bit her lip to keep herself from swearing at him. This was probably the third time she was asked this.

"I don't know!" She snarled, "The actual burn appeared out of the blue, and the scratch came from Raichu!"

"So you saw Raichu as well?" said Seth, coiling around White's infected arm. She nodded and sat back down. The pain was to much to handle.

"We ran into her on our way here." Archy explained, sitting next to her, "She's changed so much. She almost killed Di-Di."

"What?" White snapped, looking at Di-Di. She looked completely fine to her. The only thing different about the Gorebyss was that she was slouching slightly.

"SHE CUT MY CHEST WITH HER TAIL. SEE?" asked Di-Di, straightening up a bit. White then noticed a gash underneath the two purple sea shells on her chest.

"I would give you some medicine, but I don't have my bag. Sorry." She said in a flat voice. "IT'S FINE." the pink pokemon reassured her, "IT JUST STINGS A BIT."

"White," Archy started suddenly, turning to look at his trainer, "I want to ask you something before you change the subject."

"Fine, just don't talk about my face. I may be a tomboy, but I still care about my appearance."

"No, I wasn't gonna ask that!" He snorted, rolling his eyes, "I wanted to ask about the letter from Blake."

White didn't reply for a minute. She avoided looking at the Arcanine, Gorebyss, and Serperior. She was still trying to see how they knew about this.

"How did you find out?" She asked, looking back up them. "Well," Seth said slowly, "Cheren had what was left of the letter in his pocket. I nicked it from him. Are you proud of me?"

"At the moment, no!" White snarled, "Now what are you trying to say?"

"WHAT DIDN'T YOU LIKE ABOUT HIS APOLOGY?" piped up Di-Di. White tired to ignore her, but they were all watching her.

Finally, she let all her anger out.

"I don't need his apology!" She spat furiously, "I don't want his sympathy! I don't want to hear that he's digging up my past while I'm dying over here, trying to take down Team Plasma by myself! I feel hated, yet the region's fate is on my shoulders! The region is depending on me, and me alone! I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle!"

"White!" Seth hissed in a quiet voice. White pretended not to hear him. She then realized that tears were sliding down her face.

"I just found out that I only have a limited time to live!" She choked, "My arm is infected and will kill me if I don't remove it! My breathing attacks come from a rare disease that no one knows about! I'm now at the age where the attacks can kill me! I'm like a ticking time bomb! I could die any moment! And... and..."

"Whitney!" Archy said loudly, sounding shocked. But she had broken down completely. Her breathing was ragged and painful. White's throat felt scratchy and rough.

"Where did you hear this?" Di-Di asked, and for the first time, her voice was quiet. "I heard Ghetsis talking to Zinzolin!" She explained.

"He could've been lying!" pointed out Seth. She shook her head and cried harder. "They didn't know I was there! He was telling the truth! Plus it explained a great deal!"

Archy didn't speak. He was watching White with a solemn expression on his face. She saw his paw twitch.

"Whitney, I'm sorry." He finally said, "I feel responsible for all this."

"What?"

"I persuaded you to do this." Archy said slowly, "I thought you would be safe with other trainers. Now I realize that you would've been better off by yourself. You're in worse shape than you were before. I'm sorry."

White sniffed and wiped her eyes. She wasn't going to blame Archy for her choice. She blamed herself.

"White, you're too far to back out now." said Di-Di, "But if you don't stop Team Plasma, who will?"

"N!" White snarled furiously. "Yeah, except I don't think he has as much guts as you do." chuckled Archy, giving her a small smile.

"Speaking of guts," Seth added, looking up at her, "Sky Blue and Mira have finally split the barnyard."

"What?"

"Well," Archy started, glaring at Seth, "Mira is now wanted by Team Plasma as well. She had to leave the hospital and go into hiding. She came with Hugh and Amos here, and, well..."

The Arcanine then looked at the Gorebyss. Apparently none of them wanted to tell her the rest.

"Um, you know that incident six years ago? In Kalos? With Sky's problem?" Seth asked. White tilted her head and she felt her face grow warm.

Sky Blue had problems also, and White was the only one who knew about them. Even Mira didn't know about it. While in Kalos, Sky had a kind of "rage" and the result scarred both Sky and herself. White even believed that N had figured out about the incident.

"What about it?" She asked shrewdly.

Archy took a deep breath before replying. "Zinzolin knows. We thought we covered everything up, but he found out."

"Wait, WHAT?"

"I was there." whispered Di-Di, "I watched the entire thing. Apparently Leia was with him when it all happened. Thankfully, Zinzolin didn't say anything very important. But he... taunted him."

"What did he say?" She finally said, facepalming at the same time.

"A lot of things that wouldn't hurt anyone except Sky." The Gorebyss said, "Like no man in his right mind would let his only sister go out with a mad man like him. He also said that no one would miss him if he died."

"That's half true, actually!" Archy said abruptly, "His cousin always hated him! She only liked his sister!"

"That's cruel, Archway!" White snapped, using the Arcanine's full name. Archy's ear twitched as Seth smirked at him. Di-Di looked suspicious as Archy flexed his paw, his long claws showing.

"Ok, never mind!" She said hurriedly, noticing that Seth was beginning to loosen his grip on her arm, "Tell me the really bad news."

"You don't want to know the bad news." Archy said flatly.

"Why?"

"Because Mira was there, and no one noticed she was there until she took a bullet to the shoulder." Di-Di breathed, her eyes tightly shut.

"WHAT?!" White shrieked, standing up right and staring at the three pokemon, "WHO SHOT HER?!"

"Zinzolin shot her on accident!" Archy moaned, also closing his eyes, "He tried shooting Sky Blue, but she ran out in front of him! Apparently Alan was there and was able to teleport them out of the ship! Leia went with them, so that just leaves you, Amos, Hugh, and Cheren!"

"YOU'RE NOT MAKING ME FEEL ANY BETTER!" She screamed, "MIRIAM HAS TWO BROKEN LEGS AND A RIB, AND NOW YOU TELL ME THAT SHE GOT SHOT?! SHE'S ONLY TWELVE YEARS OLD! I SWEAR TO ARCEUS I'M GONNA MURDER ZINZOLIN!"

"I get next dibs." hissed Seth. Di-Di gave a small giggle but stopped quickly. "Well, look on the bright side." Archy growled.

"THEN TELL ME WHAT THE BRIGHT SIDE IS!"

"If Sky takes Mira and Leia to your brother, N won't break Sky's neck. Not in front of the girls, anyway."

"You're a real comfort!" She snarled sarcastically, her eyes tearing up again.

"White, if Sky keeps his head on straight, I'm pretty sure he can save Mira." Seth said reassuringly. White spat on the floor out of fury. She then collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Aw, White, please!" Di-Di squeaked, rubbing against her leg. But White shook her head and cried harder.

"I was trying to prevent this from happening!" She sobbed, "I don't want anyone to suffer because of me! Their all dying, AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT!"

Something seemed to burst inside White's chest. She jumped to her feet, and pushed Di-Di and Archy aside. Seth fell off her arm with a screech as she ran down the hall.

Her vision was blurred from tears. White wanted to end her life. She didn't want to live. She wanted to leave.

She suddenly bumped into someone as she turned a corner. She heard a yelp and a squeak as she fell backwards. White snarled and pulled her coat closer to her.

"White!" Amos's voice yelped as someone ran next to her. She cowered as Amos put his hand on her forehead.

"White?" He repeated uncertainty. "Go away!" She snarled weakly, not looking at him.

"Come on, look at me!" Amos growled, turning her onto her back.

White didn't stop him. She didn't care anymore. She heard Amos wince as he saw the burn and cut on her cheek.

"What happened to you?" He asked quietly. "Got a bit beat up." She growled dully.

"Who's she?" a smaller voice asked. White forced herself to look up at Amos.

A small Eevee was perched on his shoulder. It was watching her curiously with its large eyes. She knew instantly where it had come from.

"Who's that?" She muttered, watching the Eevee. It tilted its head curiously and seemed to be looking at her green hair.

"What? Oh! This is Pepper!" He explained, gesturing to the Eevee, "He's one of Tiny's kids!"

"So I've heard." growled White, pulling her hood over her head, "Now go away and leave this place!"

"But-" Amos started, but was cut off by a loud roar. White cringed as something large moved close to her.

"White, no offense but that was a bit pathetic." Archy's voice chuckled. White snarled and hid her face.

"What happened to her?" She heard Amos ask the Arcanine. She could tell that Archy was smirking.

"I think," Archy started, "White here has finally kicked the bucket."

"What?"

"In other words, Whitney Gropius has finally lost her mind."

"OH SURE I HAVE!" She shouted sarcastically. Fury was burning through her body, and she didn't know why. She wasn't going insane, but she wasn't herself either.

"We need to get her out of here!" said Amos, and he helped her to her feet. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" White screamed, pulling away from him.

Amos looked startled as she collapsed and began to cry. Archy moved next to her and put his muzzle on top of her head.

"White, please calm down." Amos said soothingly. White shook her head and cried harder.

"S-She's dying because of me!" White choked out.

"Who is?"

"Mira." Archy told Amos, "Zinzolin tried shooting Sky, but Mira ran out in front of him and took the shot instead. Alan got them off the ship, but we haven't heard from them. Di-Di watched the entire thing."

"Well, so did I." Amos admitted, patting White on the shoulder, "I was hiding behind a crate when it happened. I got separated from Hugh, and I've been looking for him ever since."

"Then we're gonna go look for him!" White sniffed, standing up and grabbing Amos's arm. Amos yelped as she started dragging him down the hall. Archy sighed and ran after her.

"White, what are you-"

"When we find Hugh, I'm going to make sure you guys leave this place!"

"What about you?"

"I'm staying."

"WHAT?!" Amos yelped, wrenching his arm out of her grip. White ignored him and turned a corner.

"Whitney Gropius, you are NOT going to stay here!" He yelled after her. "WATCH ME!" She bellowed back.

"Well, here's a easier way to find Hugh!" Archy growled, a smirk on his face. "How?" She asked.

"Just yell his name. And his last name." He said with a shrug. White glared at him but took his advice.

"HUGH JACKSON!" She bellowed, making Amos jump and fall backwards. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" He shouted at her.

But his question was answered as panting noises came from behind them. Hugh and Sky Blue's Gallade were running toward them. A Eevee was trotting behind them, breathing heavily.

"Sora!" squeaked Pepper, jumping down from Amos's shoulder. Sora squealed and pounced on top of him. Pepper and Sora were probably sibblings.

"WHITE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, AND WHY DID YOU YELL SO LOUD?!" He yelled at her.

"I WAS DESPERATE!" She shouted back, "Now Shane, you're taking these two idiots to the Giant Chasm! Archy, you're going to!"

"Why are we leaving?!" Hugh snapped. "Why do I have to go?!" snapped Archy.

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU FOR A MOMENT!" White shrieked over the protests. Shane, Amos, Hugh, and Archy stopped. Sora and Pepper looked disappointed at the sudden end of the argument.

"Now you two are going whether you like it or not!" She spat at the two boys, "Shane and Archy, you have to leave no matter what! You're gonna stay with these two and DON'T COME LOOKING FOR ME!"

"But what about You-Know-Who?" snarled Amos. White knew he meant N, and she had her retort ready.

"Tell him to not come looking for me unless he hides You-Know-What!" White snapped.

White could hear voices coming toward them. She shuddered and turned back towards the others.

"GO!" She yelled at them. Shane hissed and tried grabbing onto Amos, Archy, and Hugh.

"White, wait!" Amos suddenly said, stepping toward her, "I'm gonna regret this but..."

And Amos kissed her on the cheek. White stared at him as he stepped away from her. She didn't know what to think.

Hugh looked outraged, and Archy was smirking. Shane had a blank expression on his face. Sora and Pepper clearly had no idea what just happened.

There was a sudden yell from behind them. A group of Team Plasma grunts were running toward them.

"GO NOW!" White bellowed. "WHITNEY, NO!" Archy howled, but it was too late.

Shane had grabbed the two boys and the Arcanine, and teleported out of the ship. Archy was able to grab the two Eevee pups as Shane teleported.

White hissed and collapsed back onto the floor. All her strength left her. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see what would happen.

Di-Di and Seth would have to hide somewhere in the ship. They knew what to do in this kind of situation. Zoroark would have enough sense to do the same. Tiny would be fine, since she knew the ways of a organization like Team Plasma.

Then something slammed into her back. White tried not to wince as someone wrestled her hands behind her back.

"Tried to get away, did we?" the person snarled, putting handcuffs on her wrists. "You didn't expect me to stay in one place for hours at a time, did you?!" She snapped back.

Her cheek stung as someone slapped her across the face. "Don't give us any of your little smart talk!" a female's voice shouted. White bit her tongue to hold back a sob.

"Get Colress or Ghetsis!" The female told someone, "You can try and find Zinzolin, but I doubt he's here! Tell them we caught the girl but the others have escaped!"

Someone grunted and ran back down the hall. The man holding White kicked the back of her leg and pushed her against a wall. She wheezed as someone put their hand close to her throat.

"Try and escape one more time and I'll strangle you!" The man hissed. "Don't strangle her just yet!" The woman cackled, and White heard a few others grunts laugh as well.

"What's going on here?" said a familiar voice. White tried to suppress a shudder as someone moved close to her.

"She's the only kid we could find!" The female explained, "She helped two of the kids escape, but she didn't go with them! She must be the only one left."

"Good, good." Ghetsis said quietly. White tried to move away from him, but someone grabbed her by her injured arm. She gave a small yelp as her arm started to burn.

"Did your brother abandon you again?" Ghetsis sneered, making the grunts snicker. "He didn't abandon me, you did!" White spat before she could stop herself.

The man spat on her and stomped on her bad leg. "No more cheek from you!" the man growled. She bit back a wince but gave herself away by flinching.

"I want you two to take her to one of the cells." Ghetsis ordered the grunts, "Make sure she doesn't escape again, or it will be more than your jobs."

"Of course, sir." The woman replied. The man grabbed White by the shoulders and forced her to her feet. She snarled, but didn't try and struggle.

"Don't try and escape this time," Ghetsis hissed in her ear, "or your brother will only get your bones to bury!"

~~~

I'M SORRY *Hides in a corner*

SHE'S GONNA DIE, I KNOW (Actually I don't know :l) LEIA IS GONNA FIND OUT THE SECRETS OF WHITE COPPERSTONE, GHETSIS HAS WHITE, MIRA IS DYING AGAIN (For crying out loud, Mira, REALLY), WHIMOS (WhiteXAmos :P) IS PUT INTO MOTION, AND I'M EATING A POTATO (Wait, WHAT? ARCHY GET BACK HERE!)

IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT.

OK, I wanted to update on Wednesday, but I wanted to add a flashback, but I wasn't able to finish it. So you'll have to wait for what I call "Random Flashback :/" (That's what its called in my notebook app. No joke)

AGAIN, I have Writer's Block. I'm still trying to figure out the next chapter. So please be patient, and thanks for being patient with me already.

SO ANOTHER THING: White Copperstone got her own account (She secretly loves it but shhhhhhhhhh. She already blocked me, the little stinker -_-) Her name is White_Copperstone, and there is a link or whatever on my profile page if you're interested. She hasn't posted anything yet, but she might post some kind of Ask book/Truth or Dare book in a few weeks.

SO, PEACE OUT, I BETTER GO BEFORE THE HATERS COME ALONG