PARAGON
Hisui Incursion Arc [7]
Chapter 59 : The Volo Company
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This time, she awoke to the sound of clattering wood. When Sabrina’s eyes opened this time, she noticed her surroundings were slightly different. She was clearly still in Kamado’s house—the walls still smelled like fresh-cut wood—but instead of waking up in Akari’s room, she realized quickly that she was in the main room where Laventon and Rei had slept. It didn’t take long for her eyes to sweep across the darkened room, and upon landing in the corner, she saw Yura, frozen in place, her arm elbow-deep in one of Laventon’s dressers. They locked eyes.
One foot in the air, Yura slowly pulled her arm out, her eyes never leaving Sabrina, and gently pushed the drawer closed. Then, she buried her fist in her pocket and scurried over to Sabrina.
“Good morning!” she whisper-yelled.
Sabrina sat up, letting the futon fall off her. She glanced around, noticing the doors to the other rooms were open and empty. It seemed the two of them were alone. She rubbed her eyes and tousled her hair.
“Good morning,” she croaked.
“Let’s go get breakfast, miss, I’m hungry.” Yura began pulling more of the futon away, urging her out of bed.
Sabrina decided to ignore her thievery. “Were you…waiting for me?”
“Yeah!” Yura tugged on her arm. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!”
As the girl stuck her head in Sabrina’s face, she saw thin scratches across her forehead. They weren’t deep at all and had already begun to scab over, but they were definitely from last night.
Last night.
A plume of anxiety welled in Sabrina and she stiffened. Then, she noticed something behind Yura, tucked in the corner of the room.
Her gauntlet.
She ripped the rest of the futon off and her worst fears were confirmed. A glowing gauntlet spun around her right wrist, but her left was completely bare.
Her breath caught in her throat and she stumbled back. Yura whipped around in surprise, and as Sabrina fell, she brought Yura with her, and the little girl ended up on her stomach.
“Ha ha! What’re you doing, miss?” she giggled.
“G-Get…” Sabrina panted, her breath coming out in short bursts. Her eyes flicked around wildly, settling back on her gauntlet across the room.
“Hm?” Yura frowned. “What’s wrong?” She turned around and noticed what Sabrina was staring at. “Oh, that! That man with the mouse pokémon brought it back for you.” She bounced off Sabrina and went over and picked it up, then brought it back in both hands. “Here you go! This is pretty fancy, miss!”
Sabrina stared in horror down at the gauntlet, devoid of power. She reached her hand out to try to reactivate it, but quickly yanked it back. No, she could not use her power now. She would not. If she used her power now, it could go wild again. And without her gauntlet…
She glanced over at Yura. “Y-Yura,” she stammered. “P-Please go to breakfast without me. A-As soon as poss—“
“No way!” Yura grabbed her arm and hugged it tight. “I don’t like those other guys,” she said quietly. “Please come with me, miss.”
Yura stared up at her innocently, her dark eyes full of pleading. Despite her size, her grip around Sabrina’s arm felt surprisingly strong, though maybe that was just because Sabrina herself was on the weaker side, physically.
Sabrina stared back, no doubt in her mind that she must have looked like a wreck right now. Surely her eyes were bloodshot and full of fear. Her heart was thundering so loud in her chest she wouldn’t have been surprised if Yura could hear it. And she could feel herself sweating beneath her hair and clothes.
And yet this girl clung to her.
Why?
The question, and this stillness that allowed her to ask it, made her realize something, and she frowned, looking back at the gauntlet.
The gauntlet is off…but my power isn’t out of control…?
The hue of her power always shifted from emerald to purple when she removed a gauntlet, but since she didn’t want to use it, there was no way to tell what state her power was currently in. But, at the very least, the telltale cracks in her body and explosion of psychic energy were both entirely absent.
She picked up her gauntlet and turned it over in her hand. As her fingers traced over its arcane grooves, she found what she was looking for. A small part of the device had chipped off. These gauntlets were supposed to be nigh indestructible. They were water, fire, and bulletproof. The only thing that could have damaged them was…
The Time Flower…
Somehow, it’d gotten damaged as they careened through time and space. Not that that was surprising. The engineers involved in its construction surely hadn’t considered that they’d have to withstand abuse like that.
“Those must be pretty important to you, huh, miss?” Yura said. “Don’t worry, I won’t take it.”
The sound of her voice pulled Sabrina from her thoughts and she glanced up. Yura looked almost apologetic about it, looking around the room awkwardly as she shifted her weight between her two legs.
She had no proof but there was no doubt in Sabrina’s mind that this girl’s presence was soothing her errant powers. An overriding duty beat out like a drum from the depths of her subconscious.
I cannot lose myself now or I will hurt this girl.
Sabrina smiled softly. “T-Thanks.”
Yura beamed. “Yeah! Now, c’mon! After we eat, we can check on Shieldon too!”
“Shieldon?” Sabrina asked as Yura grabbed her left hand. “Is that the name of your pokémon?”
“Yeah! He’s super powerful! Hey, do you have any pokémon, miss?”
Sabrina leaned forward as Yura dragged her across the room. “Yeah, I have a few back home.”
“Say, you’re kind of like a pokémon too, miss! Like when your eyes turned purple and you were like wham!” Yura put a hand in front of her eyes and mimed throwing a pokéball, then grinned.
Sabrina stiffened. “Aha…you think so?”
A pokémon… That was new.
“How did you do it, miss?”
“Ah…erm…well, I’m…a psychic.”
“Hm? A sidekick? Whose sidekick?”
Sabrina smiled. “A psychic. It means I…I can do certain things that other people can’t. I…”
A jolt of realization hit Sabrina a second later. Did she just smile while saying that?
As they departed Laventon’s house and walked hand in hand through the Sanctuary, Yura chattering all the while, Sabrina couldn’t help but linger on thoughts of herself. There was the curious absence of consequences from losing a gauntlet, but even more curious was the way she seemed to now view herself. It was like in thinking of her current self, she was thinking about some stranger. Who was this woman who now walked in her skin, smiling as she delivered a description of her powers she had once found abhorrent and unnatural? What had changed her? Was it one big thing or an innumerable number of small things?
There were two catalysts that came to mind. One was this girl Yura, who looked at her and touched her as if there was nothing different or strange about her at all. She actually wanted to be with her. And even if Sabrina was projecting onto her, she felt a kinship with the child nonetheless.
And the other was certainly…yes, the Paragon Organization. Without her realizing it, each one of them had changed her too. Every day, they’d confronted her with eccentricity, until now, she could not truly view herself as such an anomaly either. If she was, then they all were.
Her cheek warmed as a tear dropped down it.
Yura stopped and looked up at her. “Miss?”
Sabrina wiped her face with her sleeve. “Sorry… Sorry.”
Yura wrapped her tiny arms around Sabrina’s waist. “What’s wrong, miss?”
Sabrina sniffed, her nose bright red now. “I… I…” Despite herself, she couldn’t help but smile. “I just miss home right now.”
If, no, when they returned, Sabrina wanted to apologize to Cynthia again. She wanted to hug Anabel. She wanted to hear Zinnia’s boasts again, and see N and Sylvester convey their feelings awkwardly to those they cared about.
Standing here now in this wintery village filled with warmth, she could not even express her gratitude for the astronomical fortune she believed had befallen her. She’d come to this unfamiliar time and place not alone but with Ash and Riley, and despite losing her gauntlet, by some miracle, she was okay. And even this girl who rejected everyone around her had embraced her, literally.
This was her chance. Here in Hisui, Sabrina decided she would bury her haunted past for good, so when they returned, she could move forward alongside everyone else.
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“Plans for the expedition to Mount Coronet have been finalized, but with Leader Kamado injured, I will not be going with.”
“Argh, damned beast.”
Cyllene, Kamado, Laventon, Ash, Riley, and the other leaders of the Sanctuary sat around a round table in one of the Church’s meeting rooms on the upper levels. Cyllene stood as she addressed the table, and she glanced over at Kamado.
The man’s chest and head were wrapped in bandages and he’d shed his regal cloak. Despite his age, his body brimmed with strength beneath his bloody wraps and his muscles rippled with each painful breath.
“If you’re not coming then who will lead the expedition?” Riley asked. “Surely not one of us two.”
“Of course not,” Cyllene snorted. “Professor Laventon will lead the expedition. I will remain here as interim leader of the Sanctuary while Leader Kamado recovers. In my stead, Laventon’s word is absolute beyond the walls. I don’t care how experienced you Guardians are at facing pokémon. The safety of our members takes the highest priority, and in the field, if everyone acts on their own, death is assured.”
“That’s fine by me,” Ash said.
“Will it be fine by Sabrina as well?” Cyllene’s gaze bore into Ash.
The members of the Security Corps seemed to have reported that Sabrina had gotten hit by some sort of attack during Decidueye’s raid which had caused the furious storm around her that they’d witnessed. Ash had assured them that she was fine, so her absence from this meeting had been permitted.
“It will,” Ash said. “We’re just as interested in that rift as you.”
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Ash and Riley had no intentions of talking about the Paragon. The Sanctuary’s leadership was rattled enough by Decidueye. They would find the truth of it all themselves.
Cyllene held his gaze for several more moments before finally glancing away to address the table as a whole. “In preparing this expedition, we devised three separate routes to the summit. One of them we do not recommend, but for the other two, I’d like to hear opinions.”
Cyllene stepped forward and motioned to a map of Hisui laid out on the table before them.
“The route we do not recommend is the straight shot. Down Aspiration Hill, across Horseshoe Plains, and through Grueling Grove until you arrive at the mountain. There is no known entrance to the mountain in the Fieldlands, but even if there were, I’d prefer you spend as little time in the mountain as possible. Entering at its base is not conducive to that goal.”
She moved her finger across the map. “I believe it’d be far safer to enter the mountain in the Highlands. Which means taking a slight detour, either north to the Alabaster Icelands or east to the Crimson Mirelands. Each route has its own challenges, but both, I believe, would be safer than the alternative.”
“Hmmm.” A wizened old man named Tao Hua, the leader of the Supply Corps, pored over the map. “If you take the Crimson Mireland route, it will be far easier to maintain a supply line.”
“But if they go north, that’ll put them at a higher altitude,” Zisu, the fiery-haired woman who led the Security Corps countered. “Then they’ll have to spend even less time in the mountain.”
“Those aren’t the only variables to consider,” Kamado rumbled. “The Diamond Clan makes their home in the Mirelands, and the Pearl Clan, in the Icelands. Should things go awry, they could fall back to those settlements.”
The leaders murmured amongst each other. As Ash listened, it seemed some leaders favored one or the other, but there didn’t seem to be a consensus.”
“Regardless, this expedition will require a surplus of food,” Colza, the stoic head of the Agriculture Corps said. “With winter upon us, we can only spare so much, and the route taken will affect the amount. My vote is for the easier Mirelands route.”
Pesselle, the head of the Medical Corps, frowned. “The Mirelands are wrought with poisonous pokémon, many of which we have not developed antidotes for. With the safety of the Survey Corps in mind, I prefer the Icelands route.”
A silence settled over the table as its various occupants considered the wisest course of action.
“You’ve been awfully quiet, Professor,” Cyllene said. “What is your opinion?”
Laventon’s brows were knit as he studied the map, and the colored routes Cyllene had outlined, each leading to the peak. “I’d like to hear what the Guardians think,” he finally said.
Cyllene once again trained her eyes on the two young men across the table. She and Kamado were the only ones who knew they were from the future, and her hawkish glare was evidence enough that she wanted to know if they had anything useful.
“Forgive me for my presumption, but would it not be wiser to decide on a route once we’ve set out?” Riley asked. “There’s no telling what we’ll encounter once we’re beyond the walls. The appearance of one Alpha Pokémon or another would greatly influence the safety or danger of one path over another.”
Cyllene nodded. “A fair point. But as Colza and Pesselle noted, provisions will have to be arranged depending on the route. You can only carry so much.”
Ash squinted as he read the names of the subareas in each region. “Thanks for asking our opinion. But I’ll need to know more about each subregion before I could say.” This wasn’t the first time Ash had planned an expedition like this. But before, it’d been easy enough to rely on his own experiences and fill in the gaps with the internet. Here in Hisui, he could rely on neither.
“That can be arranged,” Cyllene said. “We have records of everything we know about Hisui stored here in the Church. Pokémon migration patterns, burrows, territories, sources of freshwater, safe berry groves. We drew up these plans with all that in mind but you may indulge in our resources as you see fit.”
Kamado shifted his weight in his chair. “Due to the nature of this expedition and…” he eyed Ash and Riley, “…unforeseen help, this expedition party will be far smaller than usual. This expedition will be carried out by Professor Laventon and the Guardians alone.”
Concerned chatter flit across the table but Kamado quieted them with a hand. “The Survey Corps has been cut down to size enough as is and since we now have Guardians in our ranks, I’d like to use them fully. This smaller team should quicken their pace, and if, heavens forbid, they should fall… Well, it’s only four of them.”
The Sanctuary’s leaders looked perturbed at Kamado’s callousness, yet none raised their voice in defiance of him.
“They’ve gladly accepted this risk,” Kamado smirked. “Isn’t that right, gentlemen?”
Ash grinned. “That’s right.”
Laventon’s expression hardened. “Absolutely. I am determined to end the scourge of Alpha Pokémon plaguing our lands.”
“As a Guardian, it is my duty to seal anomalies exactly like the one hanging over Hisui,” Riley said. “We will do what we can.”
“Good. Then this meeting is adjourned.” Kamado leaned back in his chair and exhaled, easing off his injured body.
“Ash, Riley. A quick word with the two of you,” Cyllene said as the other leaders of the Sanctuary departed. Laventon looked back at them, but followed the others out.
Ash and Riley stood across the table from her and she waited for the door to close behind them before she started speaking.
“Two things. First, anything you can tell us about the future that would aid this expedition?”
Ash and Riley glanced at each other, but it was Ash who spoke up. “I don’t think so. This place is completely different in our time. Hisui is like a whole different animal.”
As Cyllene pursed her lips in disappointment, Kamado raised his hand. “Come to think of it, you never did tell us how far into the future you’re from. If Hisui is as different as you say, you must be from quite far into the future.”
“That’s right,” Ash said. “Hisui isn’t even called Hisui anymore.”
“And I don’t suppose you’ll tell us what it is?” Kamado said.
“I don’t think that’d be wise,” Riley said flatly.
Kamado nodded dismissively and motioned back to Cyllene for her to continue.
“The other point of note is on the pokémon that attacked the Sanctuary last night.”
“Decidueye is safe with Sabrina,” Ash said immediately.
“Oh, I have no intention of wresting that beast back from you. In fact, I’d like you to take it with you on your journey. The farther you take it from this place, the better.”
Riley shrugged. “How else is Sabrina to get to know her new pokémon?”
Cyllene’s eyes narrowed. “You people…are insane.”
“Hah!” Kamado grunted. “She’s taken a liking to you all. There’s nothing Cyllene despises more than weakness, and none more so than our own. Perhaps it is wrong to place so much faith in you three, but your strength clearly far outstrips us. Though it wounds my pride to say so, we will be praying for your good fortune.”
Cyllene’s stalwart façade betrayed nothing and she merely gave a curt nod in agreement.
“Thank you,” Ash said. “I promise we won’t let you down.”
“We have personal reasons for wanting to see this journey through,” Riley said. “I hope you can at least trust our desire to return to our own time.”
“Return to the Church tonight, Ash Ketchum, and I will have everything you need gathered,” Cyllene said as they headed toward the door.
“Oh, one last thing,” Kamado said.
Ash and Riley turned, the door already open.
“If Laventon dies, I’ll kill you both.”
On that happy note, Ash and Riley departed the meeting room and walked through the Church’s oaken halls, eventually finding their way back to the main staircase.
“That guy loves to threaten us, doesn’t he?” Ash said as they descended.
“His intensity is warranted, in my opinion,” Riley replied. “The Professor is an invaluable figure in this community. I believe Leader Kamado only wanted to communicate the importance of his safety.”
“Strange way to do it,” Ash muttered.
As they reached the bottom of the stairs, he withdrew Pikachu’s pokéball and released him. The mouse immediately materialized onto his shoulder and let out a yawn.
Given how dark it was inside the Church, the sun blinded them as they stepped outside, and they heard the gathering outside before they saw them.
“That’s them!”
“Look, there’s that pokémon!”
“Are they really Guardians?”
“And so easily too!”
A small crowd of people had amassed around the Church’s entrance wearing excited smiles. One woman, older and shorter than them, crept forward and bowed.
“Thank you so much, you saved my family,” she wept.
Ash and Riley exchanged a look.
“Of course, ma’am. It’s the least we could do to repay your hospitality,” Riley said.
“You saved my little sister too!” A man shouted in back.
“And my dad’s shop!”
Despite Pikachu, the citizens surrounded the two men and showered them with gratitude. Perhaps because of his size and appearance, and his valorous reputation, they didn’t seem to mind Pikachu at all, and several children reached out to touch them before getting their arms yanked back by their parents. Ash and Riley shook hands and exchanged bows outside the Church for over ten minutes, but gradually the crowd began to thin as the others headed back to work for the day.
It was only then that they noticed Sabrina and Yura standing in the back, hand in hand as they waited to address the two men.
“Morning, Sabrina,” Ash said, walking up to them. As he did, Yura shrunk behind her. “Er…how are you feeling?”
Sabrina lowered her head. “I think I’m fine. I’m sorry about last night. Thank you for taking care of me.”
“Riley came back in the nick of time to do his thing,” Ash said. “He’s the one who deserves the thanks.”
“Not so. My contribution was minimal.” Riley smiled. “But I am glad to see you well.” He peeked around Sabrina’s leg at Yura. “I’m not sure we’ve properly met. My name is Riley. It’s nice to meet you, young lady.”
Yura shrunk even further back. “Mm. Thank you for helping Shieldon yesterday…”
“And I’m Ash! This is Pikachu!”
The mouse jumped onto the ground and Yura instantly recoiled.
Ash’s grin faltered. “Wait, Pikachu.”
Pikachu’s ears drooped and he stopped his advance. However, Sabrina nudged Yura out from behind her leg.
“He’s really nice,” she said gently. “I promise.”
Slowly, Yura tread toward Pikachu, who tried to hold still while flashing a friendly smile. When she was only a step away, she stopped and looked up at Ash.
“How was he able to fight that pokémon?” she asked, her curiosity seemingly blowing away her trepidation in the wind. “He’s so tiny and cute.”
Ash chuckled as Pikachu sweatdropped. “He may be small but he has a lot of experience under his belt. Sounds like your Shieldon is similar.”
Yura balled her fist and looked down. “He is strong. But not strong enough for that.”
“That pokémon was special, I hear,” Riley said gravely. “I think your Shieldon put up as good a fight as any of the Church’s other pokémon could. We were lucky we had Pikachu with us.”
“And Miss!” Yura pouted, hugging Sabrina’s leg, and the psychic turned a deep shade of red.
“Yes, her too of course,” Riley said.
Giving up on Yura for now, Pikachu scampered back up onto Ash’s shoulder, and Ash adjusted his body to accommodate him.
“I gotta say though, the others made it sound like the people didn’t like outsiders,” he said. “But we got a pretty warm reception just now.”
“It’s because you guys are heroes!” Yura said, pointing at his chest.
“Heroes, huh?” Ash grinned. He glanced at Sabrina. “You hear that, Sabrina.”
Sabrina buried her face in her scarf and nodded.
They found Akari and Rei at the practice fields later that day. Laventon met up with them a bit later though neither he nor Ash and Riley could share the details of their meeting. They did, however, catch Sabrina up to speed. While they talked, Yura’s attention had been ensnared by Rei and Akari’s battles, and she went from cheering for one side or the other, to peppering them with questions about their pokémon. Laventon had returned Shieldon to Yura, now fully healed, but curiously, Yura never once released it. At nightfall, they went for dinner at Beni’s, now a bloated party of seven. Once they were done, Ash took off back to the Church before Cyllene had a chance to summon him. The rest decided to help the Security and Constructions Corps over at the breach, and surprisingly, the wall appeared to be nearly fixed.
That night, Yura moved in with Sabrina and Akari, and the others were back in their proper rooms.
For a week after that, nothing of note happened. But after seven days, the gates of the Sanctuary opened on a bright, blustery morning to allow the entry of a line of wooden wagons that creaked as they moved, each one stacked heavy with crates.
“What’s this?” Riley asked as the group overlooked the train of wagons from atop a hill.
“The Volo Company,” Laventon said. “They come through every several months with supplies and information. It’s no exaggeration to say the Sanctuary couldn’t continue as it does without the resources they provide.”
“The leader Volo has a fleet of ships and wagons and he sails all across the world,” Rei said.
“I wonder what he’ll think of the pokémon attack,” Akari said.
Ash glanced over at Yura, whose eyes seemed to hold a dark glitter in them. When the Volo Company came through, she probably had a field day taking this and that from such a grand procession. It’d probably be smart to keep an eye on her now that she was with them.
“Does Volo know anything about the rift?” Riley asked.
“Good question, but I believe it appeared after he was here last so I’m not sure. I’ve no doubt Cyllene will inquire.” Laventon turned to them. “Would you like to meet him?”
“Why not?” Ash said.
By the time they reached the bottom of the hill, a crowd had already formed around the wagons with raucous chatter filling the air of the Sanctuary. Volo’s workers already seemed to be engaged in business with several villagers, as a few crates had already been cracked open.
It was tough pushing their way through but eventually they emerged on the other side after making their way around the busiest wagons. In the center of the circle of wagons, Cyllene was speaking with a tall man in blue and yellow.
Ash’s eyes widened and he surged forward ahead of the others. He put his hand on the man’s shoulder.
“Sylvester?!”
The man turned and Ash’s stomach flipped as he got a clear look at the man’s face. Platinum blonde hair, storm gray eyes, and an air of mischief.
“I’m sorry, I believe you’ve mistaken me for someone else.” His brows furrowed. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I remember the faces of everyone I meet.”
Ash simply stared in shock at the man. He looked nearly identical to Sylvester. But that was impossible. Sylvester was back in the present. This man was…
“The name’s Volo.” He extended a hand and a courteous smile. “You are?”
Ash looked at his hand, then back at his face. He shook Volo’s hand gingerly. “I’m Ash… Ash Ketchum.”
Volo smiled. “Well, Ash Ketchum, it’s a pleasure to meet you. As it happens, I became familiar with your name just a moment ago. Cyllene here was telling me all about your heroics against that fearsome pokémon.”
“Yeah…” It was like Ash was hearing Volo’s voice underwater. He could barely process what the man was saying, still in shock at his appearance.
“Guardians this far north… I must say, it sounds like you and your friends are on quite the adventure. I’d very much like to hear all about it, if you would?”
Next — Chapter 60 : Galaxy Expedition
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