PARAGON
Remnants of the Great War Arc [22]
Chapter 31 : Ambush
Land of Rota - Albrecht Manor
“Steady your breathing, and slow your heart rate.”
Ash took a deep breath and closed his eyes, slowly raising his hands. He felt his fingertips tingle as his power began to build.
In front of him, he could sense Pikachu’s form, small, but powerful. It gleamed like the sun in his mind’s eye, and as he sharpened his focus, his temples began to pound. But he grit his teeth and ignored the pain, forcing himself to see the details of Pikachu’s body. As the seconds passed, that amorphous blob of power before him shrunk slightly, coming into focus, and Ash could begin to make out his limbs and ears. Then he saw his cheeks and tail, and the ventricles of power within. After a few more seconds, he could make out his blood vessels and bones and brain, all tinged with the sapphire of Aura.
“Agh!” Ash cried, suddenly clutching his head. His focus snapped as a lancing pain bloomed within his skull. He opened his eyes to see Pikachu approaching him, eyes brimming with concern. “Sorry buddy, I’m fine,” he said, taking deep breaths to banish the pain. He sighed and rubbed his face.
“Don’t worry,” Albrecht said beside him. “This is to be expected. What you’re trying to do requires an extraordinary amount of precision. Precision that your body as it is now cannot hope to achieve. Just as you work out to build your muscles, so too must you exercise your mind to push the boundaries of what is possible with the Plate.”
Ash nodded and took another deep breath, then raised his arms again.
“How about we take a break?” Albrecht cut in before he could begin. “You’ve been at this for a couple hours now and you won’t do yourself any favors by overexerting yourself.”
Ash sighed and lowered his arms. “We’ve been training since this morning and this is still all I can manage,” he grumbled.
Albrecht crossed his arms. “You’ve come further than you realize. When we first began, you could not even gaze upon Pikachu’s raw Aura. ‘Twas like looking straight into the sun. That you are not only able to do that after just a few hours of practice, but distinguish the organs and power centers in his body as well, is quite an impressive feat.”
Pikachu squeaked in agreement, scampering up Ash’s body to give him a few pats of encouragement on his neck.
“I guess,” Ash said. “I just want to be ready for when AZ arrives.”
Albrecht smiled, his face etched with empathy. “AZ has possessed his Plate for millennia. Ready is all you can hope to be in the face of his overwhelming advantage in experience. And as I said before, his assault won’t come for another couple months at least.”
“Yeah,” Ash said, walking over to a nearby rock where he’d left his water bottle, and taking a swig.
Albrecht crossed his hands behind his back, and his gaze dropped. “Of course, I understand. You don’t want a repeat of the situation with your friend Anabel. I understand your impatience.”
Ash cracked a smile. “Nah, it’s not about that. Not really anyway.”
Albrecht nodded respectfully. “Very well. I must say, though, I was quite surprised when you first told me how you plan to use the Plate. Of all the Platebearers I’ve ever encountered, none have used them like this.”
Ash grinned. “Then I guess we’ll be the first.”
“I suppose,” Albrecht agreed. “Perhaps it would be judicious to speak with your friend Sabrina. As a human psychic, she may be able to offer some additional insight into channeling the depthless power that resides within you.”
Ash’s expression darkened. “Yeah…”
“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her in some time. Not since yesterday morning with Miss Anabel, I believe,” Albrecht said. He frowned. “When none of you made it to dinner last night, I assumed you’d gone into town on business. But Miss Cynthia has also been absent…”
Ash’s expression tightened. “Cynthia left.”
Albrecht frowned and turned to him. “Left? So suddenly?” He looked away, perplexed. “She only just arrived, and seemed like she planned on staying, at least as long as you were here.” He stroked his chin in confusion.
“Something came up. Sorry,” Ash said curtly.
Albrecht stared at him for a moment, as if studying him, but he soon looked away. “I see. Well, I won’t pry further, as promised. Her business is her business.”
An awkward silence hung in the air between them, but soon, Ash placed his water bottle back on the rock. “Sorry, I think I will go talk to Sabrina right now, actually. Do you mind?”
Albrecht spread his hands in resignation. “Not at all. We’ll pick up when you return.”
Ash stamped out his guilt as he walked away, both for lying to him, and for complying with Cynthia’s disappearance. Although he’d initially just been worried about getting back to Rota as soon as possible in the wake of Cynthia’s sudden turn, now that he’d calmed down and had some time to think about it, Sylvester’s concerns about her recklessness were now beginning to sink in. Ash wasn’t privy to whatever Sylvester had been seeing in her, but her order yesterday was jarring enough that he felt more comfortable with her behind bars. It was simply irrational. But that only made him more anxious about why she’d done it.
Although he hadn’t seen Sabrina since yesterday on Paragon Island, Ash had a pretty good idea of where she was now. While eating breakfast, he’d asked one of the maids if she’d eaten yet, and she’d said she had. And since Sabrina hadn’t gone to see Anabel yet, and he hadn’t passed her coming downstairs, that meant she was likely outside of the manor somewhere.
Knowing Sabrina, she wouldn’t have gone totally off somewhere. She’d returned to Rota, after all, and surely she knew Ash would follow. Which meant she knew they’d cross paths again after what she’d done to Cynthia. But she wasn’t entirely aloof. At the end of the day, she was still a member of Paragon, and she had a job to do.
Ash hiked along the path, beyond Albrecht’s property, through the chittering forest and past glassy brooks. While he walked, he practiced with the Plate, tickling the pokémon who were nosy enough to get close to him with an electric jolt.
He soon crested a hill, and as expected Sabrina was standing at the top of it, her dark hair blowing in the wind. She didn’t turn as he walked up beside her, but the sight before him distracted Ash from her momentarily, and his jaw dropped.
A chasm, long and deep, yawned before him. Tenuous roots stuck out from the loosened ground, and a patch of dirt fell over to edge and dropped into the void as he approached the cliff. The bottom was pitch black. He winced and moved his foot back, while Pikachu peeked over the edge curiously.
“This is Albrecht’s Nidoking’s Fissure, huh?” Ash murmured. “Just how powerful is he?”
“This chasm encircles all of Rota,” Sabrina said.
All of Rota?! Ash leaned forward carefully and stared back down into the chasm. The fact that a single pokémon could deform the landscape so severely with just a single attack was a sobering realization. Till now, Ash had only seen this magnitude of destruction attributed to legendary pokémon.
“He cut the entire country off from the rest of the world,” Sabrina continued. “Not that it matters.”
Ash furrowed his brows and leaned back. “Because of the psychic dyad, right? I thought you might be here to take a look at it.”
Sabrina nodded, but she looked just as stumped as Albrecht did when he’d first told Ash about it. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Psychic pokémon use dyads like this one in most of their attacks, to help with targeting. One half of the dyad rests within the pokémon’s mind, and the other, on the target. But this one…it’s like it’s submerged between multiple dimensions. I tried to destroy it, but it’s like trying to blow out a candle through a window. It looks so weak…but nothing I did worked.”
Ash nodded. It was worth a shot, but even Sabrina hadn’t had any luck with it. He wished he could help, but he couldn’t even see the thing. He’d come here to see what her mental was like, but he hadn’t expected such a detailed report of her efforts.
“The pokémon that created this must be extremely powerful,” she continued. “It’d take years…centuries, of honing its power to create a dyad this complex.”
“Are we sure it wasn’t created by a human psychic?” Ash asked.
Sabrina bristled, but shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
Ash noted her reaction, and nodded. He didn’t think it was likely either, given how rare human psychics were, but he’d been curious.
Sabrina glanced down at Pikachu and turned to walk away. About half way down the hill, she stopped. “Please forget about what you saw yesterday.”
“Yesterday… Wait, Sabrina…” Ash reached his hand out to stop her, but she was already walking again and he found he didn’t have anything to say. She’d been more composed than he expected, and it seemed now she was fully focused on the mission at hand. No point in dredging up the past if Sabrina was content to let it slumber, at least for now.
The wind whistled softly against the grass as it drafted up from the chasm, and then Ash and Pikachu were alone. “Good talk, eh?” he muttered, and Pikachu giggled beneath him. “Well, might as well get back to work. Why don’t you go train with the others now?” he said to Pikachu. “I think I basically have the hang of it now. I’ll call you all back when I’m ready.”
Pikachu snapped a salute, then scampered off back into the forest to where the others were training. Ash took one last look out at the chasm, then waved his hand through the air in front of where Sabrina had been standing. He couldn’t see anything, and he didn’t feel anything, but that was where the psychic dyad supposedly was. He took one last breath of the crisp air, which smelled of freshly overturned soil and ancient mildew, then turned and headed back toward the manor, his hands buried in his pockets.
Quiet and serene as it was now, the whole valley would soon be consumed by war, for the first time in three thousand years. And it would all start here.
Kalos Region, one month later
“Anything to report?” N asked, his feet kicked up on the desk. He’d never been the cleanest person, even as a kid, but empty food trays, bottles, and cans, littered his motel room. As a kid, he’d had servants to clean up after his every mess, and Ghetsis had obviously never impressed upon him the importance of personal responsibility.
“Yes, actually,” Zinnia responded. “So no need to keep gloating.”
“That…wasn’t my intention,” N said, quashing a more argumentative tone after deciding it’d be more prudent to keep their conversation as professional as possible. He’d found the entrance to his tunnel several days ago, and was now waiting on for Zinnia to find her entrance, before proceeding. “So?”
“I found it,” Zinnia said curtly. “I’ll send you the details. Now we just have to wait till Sylvester gives an update. See ya.”
“Wait,” N said, swinging his feet off the desk and lurching forward. “That’s it?”
“...Yeah?” There was a pause. “I get the feeling you don’t really like talking to me. I don’t think we need a daily update. Let’s just talk again when Sylvester gives an update.”
“Please, wait!” N demanded, getting up. “I…I…” He didn’t know what he wanted to say, but he didn’t want her hanging up with that impression. “That’s not what I meant to convey,” he started, trying not to stumble over his words. “I’m sorry if it came across that way, but I’m just as frustrated as you, believe it or not.”
“I don’t believe it,” Zinnia said, but N could hear her sarcastic smirk through the phone.
“The truth is, what happened to Anabel affected me more than I realized.” N glanced around his room. Even for him, this was a little pathetic. “Something about the visceral nature of it, or…the permanence, I suppose. When Ash fell unconscious for a month, at least I could see his body still intact, and feel his breath on my hand. With her, she just seems so out of reach…and the damage is visible.” A sudden curiosity overtook him. “Is that normal?”
There was a silence on the other end, and at first, N thought Zinnia hadn’t been listening. “Who knows?” she eventually said, nonchalantly. “You give her a call?”
N’s insides turned to meal. “Oh…no, I haven’t.” He’d completely forgotten that was an option available to him. He felt like a moron. “Have you?”
“‘Course. She’s been in bed for weeks so I’ve just been texting her every now and then about whatever.”
N squirmed in his chair. It was becoming painfully obvious to him how inhuman he was. Things that were obvious even to a headstrong woman like Zinnia had never even occurred to him. After the fall of Team Plasma, he’d had a vague idea about starting anew and connecting himself to humanity, not as a king, but as their equal. As a fellow. But it wasn’t as easy as he’d thought. After the hell he’d nearly unleashed on Unova, by what right could he suddenly join hands with them? And what did it even mean to be human to begin with? Ghetsis had raised N to see humans as beneath him. But in truth, it was the opposite. He was beneath them. He possessed so little of the dreams and emotions that filled each and every person he met, and had only just begun to see that after Ash pulled the metaphorical veil from his eyes. Since then, he’d been strung along by Paragon, content to simply exist alongside Reshiram and his few friends. Yet fundamentally, he still remained the same.
He did not deserve to be called human yet.
“I-I see,” N said. “Perhaps I’ll give her a call and see how she’s doing.”
“Oh, don’t bother. I was just texting her a little while ago and she’s outside. Getting some fresh air and some exercise after spending so much time cooped up in bed.”
N frowned, allowing a thin smile to grace his lips. “So she’s moving around again, then?”
“Yup.”
“That’s…That’s wonderful,” he breathed. He only wished he’d heard it from her.
“Yep. Ash is doing well, apparently, too. Seems like he’s figured out something pretty major about using the Plate. And the Guardians have slowly been trickling back in to protect the place. All and all, Rota seems pretty well-guarded.”
N nodded. “That’s excellent.” He stood and stretched, readying himself to ask a question he’d asked before. “So…how are you holding up?” This was probably safe to ask now, now that he’d poured his own heart out. Plus, he was genuinely interested, as he’d been before, especially now, since she sounded so chipper compared to the last time he’d asked.
“I’m good,” Zinnia said casually. “Uhhh, actually, to be honest, I didn’t give Anabel a call until about a week after we got the news. For some reason, I was afraid she’d blame me. Stupid, right?” she chuckled.
“She does blame you for quite a bit,” N smiled. But it quickly faded when he realized she was being serious. “Er, I suppose…well, it’s…”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know,” Zinnia snapped playfully.
“No,” N said. “Actually, I…want to understand why you feel that way. I don’t understand, but I don’t think it’s stupid at all.”
Zinnia sighed loudly into the phone, and N was afraid he’d pissed her off. “Hmmm…don’t tell the others about this, but basically…I realized some time ago…that basically…I have a massive ego.”
N stifled a laugh. You? No…
“So it’s like, when things happen, I kinda just assume it’s my fault, good or bad.” There was a pause. “But, hey! A lot of things are my fault! Or like, I cause a lot of things to happen because I’m just that kind of woman!”
N smiled. “I see. That does make sense…at a certain angle. Thank you.” He noticed he was pacing around the room, starting to enjoy the conversation more and more. “So what changed after a week that you finally decided to give her a call?”
“I was just talking it out with my pokémon,” she said. “Don’t laugh!” she snapped, before he had a chance to say anything. “That’s perfectly normal!”
N was laughing, but he was covering his mouth with the back of his hand, hoping Zinnia couldn’t hear. “Of course! I would be the last person to judge you for something like that.” The skin around his eyes crinkled as he smiled. “It’s just, you reminded me of my own stupidity.”
“Huh?! You calling me stupid?!”
Of course it was funny. In all thinking and overthinking about how best to connect with humanity, he’d forgotten the most important thing. In times of duress, he could turn to his own pokémon to lean on. Perhaps it was the nature of the mission they were on, or his anguish at Anabel’s pain, but he’d neglected to speak with Reshiram even once since arriving in Cyllage City.
“I’m sorry,” N said, wiping his eyes. “I should go now. Let’s talk again tomorrow.”
“Wait, you’re not calling me stupid, are you?! Or are you? Wait, what is going on?” she wailed.
Taking a page from Anabel, or Ash’s playbook, N hung up, leaving Zinnia to stew in her confusion.
He had no right to treat her this way, really. Especially after she’d graciously continued the conversation. And he was the most foolish of them all.
But he was learning. Slowly, but surely. From his friends.
With his head clear, and a goal on his mind, N grabbed his bag and slipped out of the motel, careful about any prying eyes. He’d remained vigilant over the past month, and had no reason to suspect he’d been made, but there was no such thing as being too cautious. AZ had already long proven his formidability, and there was no reason to believe that those who worked under him would be any less adept. The reality that a man who was three thousand years old somehow still had men loyal to him was chilling enough already.
However, N encountered no one suspicious on his walk to the beach. The vast expanse of ocean before him reminded him of Paragon Island, only, this was no private beach. Small families and young trainers dotted the supple sands, playing with their pokémon and splashing in the shallows. N smiled as he walked along the retaining wall that held the city above. People weren’t so bad. Seeing them enjoy their time together in such a mundane way, he was surprised at how easily he’d once looked down on them.
After pacing down the wall for nearly a half hour, away from the other beachgoers, toward the edge of the city, he crossed behind a wall of cragged rock, beneath a shadowy cliff where the sun didn’t reach. The waves crashed against the sand in a way that made it extremely unlikely for anyone to intrude on him here. And the cliffs leaned forward enough to hide them from above. With their own swath of sand to themselves, N reached into his bag.
“Oh, wow, it’s like you read my mind.”
N whipped around. Standing in the shadows of the cragged rock was a young man with coarse brown hair. He looked to be around Ash’s age. And with the pokéballs strapped to his belt and his black windbreaker that zipped up to his mouth, he looked like a typical trainer. Of course, the fact that he’d evaded N meant he was anything but ordinary.
He’d been followed.
For how long, N couldn’t say, and that made his skin pale and sweaty. He hadn’t detected him at all. He swallowed, and turned to fully face the boy. “I’m sorry, can I help you?”
The boy flashed a grin and sauntered toward him. “You already have. You know how long I’ve been waiting for you to go somewhere secluded? All that snooping around...I thought, ‘surely this guy’s gotta go somewhere quiet eventually.’ And sure enough, you did.”
N forced himself to keep his breathing steady. Just how long has he been watching me? “Who are you?” he asked.
“Name’s Caleb,” the boy said without hesitation. “I was planning on introducing myself when you eventually decided to take the plunge into our little tunnel, but honestly you’re taking a little too long. So I decided to come to you myself.”
N frowned. “Our tunnel?” It can’t be… He’s so young…
“Ya know? The tunnel you’ve been looking for this past week,” Caleb said, nodding like an idiot. “My master wasn’t pleased when you found it, I’ll have you know. You could’ve ruined everything. Lucky for us, you stayed put.”
“Your master?” N repeated. His hand was still in his bag, and he brushed the Light Stone gently, feeling its burning warmth in his palm. “Who are you referring to?”
Caleb seemed to consider saying, but a smirk slid onto his lips instead. “Wouldn’t you like to know? I’d ask who you are but you’re already a little famous. Or should I say infamous, N Harmonia?” He sniggered.
N bit his lip. “I am N Harmonia, that’s right.” I need to contact Zinnia…no, I need to tell Sylvester.
“I gotta say,” Caleb said, popping down onto a nearby rock, “I expected someone to start looking for us, but I didn’t expect to find a guy like you.” He raised his eyebrows mockingly. “What’re you, a fed or something now? Cut a deal to get out of jail?”
“Caleb, if there’s something you want from me, I’d be happy to provide it,” N said. “But I was in the middle of something before you spoke to me, actually.”
Caleb clutched his chest sarcastically. “Oh! I’m so sorry, sir! Please carry on, don’t mind me!” He dropped his hands, then stood up, and glowered at N. “Have you been listening to me? We know you’re here. You and your bitch girlfriend in Shalour. The guys over there aren’t as talkative as me so she’s probably already fucked.”
A bead of sweat dropped down N’s face. Zinnia… He exhaled slowly. The boy was young, but his allegiance was clear. “Extrasensory,” he said in a low voice. “Just knock him out.”
“Huh? What was that? Speak up, bro!” Caleb tilted his head.
A scalding heat erupted around N, and without moving, the flap on his bag sprung open. Orange magma geysered around him, shooting out of the bag and crashing back down onto the sand. His hair blustered around him, and the magma at his side faded into the protective white wing of Reshiram. Above him, Reshiram howled to herald his arrival, and behind him, N could feel Reshiram’s tail begin to hum and spin, generating fire with every turn.
Reshiram’s eyes gleamed, turning a harsh blue, and suddenly, the beach around Caleb ruptured, spewing sand and crushed rock into the sky. N shielded his face as a gale of wind blew back from the attack, and he squinted to see the outcome. Once he did, his eyes narrowed.
Caleb stood unscathed, with a Delphox at his side. Its wand was already drawn, and a shimmering Protect shined around them. “Hooooh,” Caleb whistled, brushing the sand off his clothes. “That’s Reshiram alright. Which means you’re definitely N Harmonia.” He met N’s eyes, and smirked. “Maybe Master won’t be having all the fun over at Rota after all.”
Land of Rota - Albrecht Manor
“Young master! Young master!”
Ash turned to find one of Albrecht’s butler’s barreling toward him across the grass. He frowned in confusion, but immediately realized something was wrong. “What is it?”
Upon reaching him, the butler stopped to catch his breath, panting with his hands on his knees. He swallowed and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, dabbing at his forehead with it.
“What is it?!” Ash demanded, grabbing his shoulders.
The butler looked up at him, fear in his eyes. “The attack is here,” he said in a feeble tone. “AZ has launched his attack against Rota!”
“What?! It wasn’t supposed to happen for at least another month!”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s going on. But you need to gather your pokémon and find Miss Sabrina, and—”
Ash ignored him and began recalling his pokémon in their places as they lounged on the field. “Anabel!” He started back toward the manor.
The butler grabbed his collar. “Wait, please, Master Ketchum!” Ash glared at him, but let him continue. “Master Albrecht is at Cameran Palace right now. He’s about to address the Guardians! Please, make your way there at once!”
Ash cursed, glancing between the manor, and the palace beyond the forest. A sudden bang in the distance snatched his attention. The battle had already begun.
AZ stepped through the portal, now expanded and enlarged and swirling around him. He planted his foot onto the grass and pulled himself through. Before him, his followers engaged the Guardians’ border defense, but they were nothing more than light skirmishes. Their defense would soon fall as more and more of their forces continued to pour from the portal.
AZ was draped in finery that befit his royal station. A deep crimson cloaked sat draped over his shoulders, clasped over a tunic laced with milky opals and shimmering pearls. His storm gray hair cascaded down his regal chest in intricate braids, and atop his head sat a golden crown crusted with treasure. As he strode past, his men knelt in reverence.
As the last Guardian fell before him, he sucked in a breath. “Time to end this war once and for all, old friend.”
At his proclamation, the white clouds above began to drift across the sun, obscuring its light ever so slightly.
Next — Chapter 32 : The Vault of Secrets
