PARAGON
Remnants of the Great War Arc [23]
Chapter 32 : The Vault of Secrets
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Kalos Region - Shalour City
Zinnia grit her teeth as she slid back, clutching her arm. She pulled her hand away, revealing her palm to be sticky and red with blood. Blood oozed from the gash on her arm, and she glared at her assailants, who stood before her in an intimidating crescent, encircling her. There were five of them, slowly advancing toward her in their hooded cloaks.
She felt her hand brush against the cold metal of the warehouse wall behind her and cursed internally. She was outside, but the warehouses on Shalour’s coastline were packed together, and the rusted roofs above blotted out the sunlight.
The enemy’s Weavile licked her blood off its claws as it prowled around her. To her left stood a Thievul and a Magcargo, and to her right, an Audino and a Manectric.
Zinnia slowed her breathing and carefully assessed the situation. This outcome wasn’t entirely unexpected. After N had told her where the Cyllage entrance was located, Zinnia had narrowed her search down to Shalour’s own warehouse district. Sure enough, Aster had sensed a peculiar concentration of anxiety coming from an administrative building at the district’s edge. After a night of reconnaissance, she’d spotted a pair of hooded figures slinking around and tailed them there. It only took a couple more nights of poking around to find the secret entrance to the tunnel, hidden in the lobby of the building beneath a supply closet. Aster hadn’t sensed any shadows, yet shortly after getting off the phone with N, they had appeared. She’d thought camping out near the entrance right under their noses would’ve provided a certain level of protection, but it seemed even playing the part of some homeless vagrant hadn’t shielded her from their notice.
Somehow, they’d identified her as a threat.
“Not even gonna give me time to think, huh?” she grinned, wiping her mouth, and the Weavile grinned back, frost crackling across its forearm threateningly. Zinnia’s hand drifted down to her belt and she pulled a pokéball off. Cocky bastards, she thought, realizing they’d made no move to stop her. Think you can kill the Almighty Zinnia with a mere five man advantage? She thumbed the release on her pokéball. “Dragon Darts!” she roared.
Dragapult poured out of his pokéball with a sinister smirk, jade Dreepy peeking out of the holes on its horns. Faster than the eye could see, the Dreepy shot out in volleys of four, jade dragon energy streaking through the air with a harsh screech. The concrete floor splintered and blew apart as volley after volley fired indiscriminately at all five opponents before them. A dusty haze rose up from the carnage, obscuring Zinnia’s view, but when it faded, she saw the Audino on her right with its arms raised, eyes glowing to power a wide Protect.
Dragapult didn’t seem at all bothered by the fact that his attack hadn’t done anything, and similarly, the grin hadn’t left Zinnia’s face either. “Drakloak Cannon,” she commanded.
A pair of Dreepy slithered out of Dragapult’s horn and mashed themselves together in a haze of ghostly mist. More Dreepy emptied out, adding themselves to the pulsating cloud above Dragapult’s head, and as they cast themselves into the infernal mix, the cloud began to stretch into a larger form, darkening into a black-horned Drakloak. Its body was still unformed and incorporeal, but like its master, it smirked, then split apart and squirreled away into all four of the holes on Dragapult’s horns. Within each hole, a yellow eye opened, glittering with malice.
Beneath their hoods, Zinnia could see her assailants frown, and Weavile and Manectric narrowed their eyes behind the shield, their instincts aroused.
Dragapult let out a high-pitched chortle, then released the attack. Four golden beams of hellish energy blasted forward in an instant like a laser with a tremendous crack. The cannon barrage splashed against the Protect and tore through it instantly, piercing straight through, and carving across Audino’s body in a savage blitz. Audino cried out in pain, but its voice was quickly cut off as the beam slashed across its face, silencing it, and it warbled back in defeat. Yellow flames erupted across the ground around the hooded figures and they stumbled back, unnerved. One of them recalled the defeated Audino and glared at Zinnia, squeezing the pokéball of his defeated partner so hard its hinges creaked.
“Hah hah!” Zinnia laughed. “Serves you right! What kind of assassination is this?!” Dragapult’s eternal smirk mimicked his master’s mockings, the holes on its horns smoking fumes the color of golden oil and black death.
“Be careful,” one of them said. The one with the Weavile, it looked like. “The boy said she’d be strong.”
“She would have to be, to be targeting his Grace,” the one with the Magcargo growled.
“Reggie, Claire, keep us protected. We’ll kill her,” said the one with the Manectric.
You know I can hear you, right?! Zinnia screamed in her head, yet the casual way they talked about murdering her still unnerved her, and a nervous bead of sweat fell down her temple. That Weavile was supposed to end it instantly, but I dodged in time… I should create some distance while I still have them awestruck!
She ripped another pokéball from her belt and released a second pokémon. Cyclizar reared onto concrete, and Zinnia leapt onto his back immediately. “Get us out of here!” she commanded.
Cyclizar tore through the hooded figures, leaping through the golden flames of Dragapult’s assault, and bounding through the narrow alleys between the warehouses, Dragapult floating behind.
Right before they could round the corner, the ground in front of them ruptured, fierce flames gurgling beneath the cracked stone, threatening to erupt. Zinnia grit her teeth as Cyclizar jumped, but her eyes widened in horror, realizing the attack was spreading faster and further than he had jumped. They would come down right on top of it as it erupted.
“Shed Tail!” she hollered.
Cyclizar shuddered beneath her, and a glittering substitute made of energy peeled away from him. As it dropped toward the boiling ground, Cyclizar bunched his legs up, and pushed himself off of his clone, sailing higher into the air. Not a moment later, founts of lava belched up from the ground, consuming the air they’d been just a second ago. Cyclizar whined in pain as the lava grazed his underbelly on their descent, and Zinnia pulled her feet higher to avoid getting hit. However, this destabilized her balance, and as Cyclizar landed on the other side of the attack, she rolled off of his back across the concrete, groaning in pain as her injured arm slammed against it.
Without an order, Dragapult fired a barrage of Dragon Darts back the way they came, and jade energy streamed across the alley with an infernal wail. However, a Protect opened before they could find their target, and they exploded harmlessly against it in multi-colored bursts of smoke.
As Zinnia rolled back over and stood up, she saw two hooded figures approaching slowly behind the Protect, flanked by Magcargo and Thievul. A thin fissure of cooling flame trailed out from Magcargo’s body to the decimated ground where it’d used Earth Power, and Thievul’s eyes gleamed as it powered the Protect. The warehouses around them had charred walls, and they groaned, threatening to collapse.
Before Zinnia could mount Cyclizar again, she saw the others walking toward her down the alleys in the other four cardinal directions. They’d circled around her and now had her completely boxed in. Weavile and Manectric approached from the sides, and a newly deployed Sawk walked beside his trainer at the front.
Zinnia’s eyes narrowed. Who are these people anyway? I know they work for AZ, but their pokémon are way stronger than your average grunt. If their other pokémon are just as strong, I might not last…
They closed in slowly, clearly confident in their trap, and to be honest, Zinnia couldn’t blame them. She closed her eyes, pondering for a way out.
I’ve been in Shalour for about a month… They seem pretty well off… I mean, that giant tower looks pretty expensive… Yeah…they’ll be fine. She opened her eyes and pulled Salamence’s pokéball from her belt, her decision made. She turned around to face the Sawk, but her attention locked on behind her to the Magcargo and Thievul. Because that Earth Power messed up the ground, those two will have a bit more trouble getting close to me. We’ll start with the others.
Zinnia slammed the pokéball against the ground and it snapped open. Salamence materialized beside her, his eyes already absorbing the entire situation.
“Hyper Beam!” she roared, jumping onto his back. Once on, she recalled Cyclizar and Dragapult.
A screaming column of death poured from Salamence’s maw, and he sweeped it across his enemies, tearing through the warehouses like butter. Manectric launched a Thunderbolt to counter, and Sawk bore the attack in front of its trainer protectively, while Weavile snatched its trainer up and deftly leapt back as the horrific beam carved through the ground in front of it.
“Into the air!” Zinnia said, before the last two could attack them from behind. Sorry, Shalour! I’m sure you’ll recover from this! But it had to happen!
Salamence jerked to the side to avoid a searing Flamethrower and tangled Dark Pulse from Magcargo and Thievul, and as they ascended, Zinnia could already see her assailants rummaging on their belts so they could pursue. She faced forward as Salamence soared ahead. The administrative building towered in the distance, and Zinnia nudged him toward it.
We’ve made enough noise already as it is… Might as well go through the front door, guns blazing!
Salamence angled down toward the building, and he started to speed up, bulleting toward the front doors.
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Land of Rota - Cameran Palace
Ash and Sabrina appeared in a flash in front of the massive entrance to Cameran Palace. Having run into her on the way, Sabrina had teleported them straight here. The doors were open wide, and throngs of Guardians hurried through them, with some descending the marble steps down to the maple grove below, and the viaduct further on, and some ascending the steps to rush inside, not paying the newcomers any mind.
“We need to find where Albrecht is, fast,” Ash said, brushing to the side as some Guardians pushed past him. “Let’s follow some of these Guardians heading inside!”
Sabrina nodded and followed Ash inside. The interior was even more packed, and Ash recognized Sarah the receptionist from when he’d been here before, barking instructions to her fellows. He started moving toward her, and when she saw him, he noticed her mouth open in shock, losing interest in whoever she'd been talking to.
“Ash? What in the world are you doing here?!” Her eyes found Sabrina. “Miss Sabrina, you too!”
“We’re here to help,” Ash stated. “Can you tell us where Albrecht is?”
Sarah frowned in utter confusion. “Albrecht? Who do you mean?”
Ash facepalmed mentally. They still don’t know he’s here! That’s probably what this meeting is for! “Where is Queen Ilene? She’s about to address the Guardians, isn’t she?”
Sarah nodded slowly, still confused, and a bit rattled at all the commotion around them. “Yeah, that’s right. She should be at the great hall. All the Guardians who just arrived are heading there now.” She peered behind them, then refocused back on them. “Does Riley know you’re here?”
“Not yet,” Ash said.
“He should be there as well. Last I heard, he was with Captain Magnus when everything began.”
Ash nodded and clutched her hand. “Thank you for your help, Sarah.”
She nodded, still entranced by the whirlwind, and Sabrina bowed as they turned away. Ash hoped she’d be fine. She was a strong woman, but a surprise attack like this was unprecedented.
Ash and Sabrina raced through the halls of the palace together. Pikachu scurried beside them, weaving through the forest of legs before him with finesse. As they got closer to the great hall, the crowd seemed to get denser, and by the time they reached the doors leading inside, they’d slowed to a crawl.
Once inside, Ash tried to push himself through the crowd to the front. He felt Pikachu scurry back up onto his shoulder before he could get lost in the crowd.
The great hall was lined with hearths and statues and paintings, but none could be seen through the massive crowd. Up ahead, a large balcony overlooked the entire hall, and Ash suspected that was where Ilene would come out from.
Once Ash could go no further, he stopped, and a few moments later, he felt Sabrina brush up beside him. “Sorry for leaving you behind back there,” he apologized. “You okay?”
Sabrina nodded, and Ash believed her. Her eyes reflected a stalwart determination.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Several minutes later, Ilene emerged out onto the balcony, flanked by a pair of cloaked royal guards. However, gone was her usual flowing lavender dress and many hair ornaments. Now, she was dressed in a simple azure Guardian’s tunic and black leggings, and her curly platinum blonde hair was drawn into a long ponytail. One of her guards whispered something to her, and she nodded subtly.
At the Queen’s arrival, the Guardians swiftly fell silent and knelt, their full attention captured by their liege. Seeing her of all people dressed for war seemed to be just as shocking to them as the sudden chaos that had engulfed their lands, and a wave of unease passed over the crowd. Ash and Sabrina lowered themselves with the other Guardians, ready to listen to what she had to say.
“My Guardians,” she addressed. “Please rise. We haven’t any time for formalities.”
As they did, Ash saw the burly Captain Magnus join the Queen on the balcony, and he crossed his arms, a look of fierce concern etched on his face. Riley joined him right after, dressed in his usual Guardian’s attire, and then came Albrecht, in his silver suit, and Ash and Sabrina looked at each other, before facing the Queen again.
“As we speak, our home is under attack,” Ilene continued. “A fearsome enemy has returned from beyond the grave to haunt us once more. Most of you will not be familiar with his name, but I suspect some will. He is called AZ. He is the monarch who once headed the great Kalos Empire, and clashed with us, the Guardians, during the Great War, centuries ago.”
The Guardians turned to each other, speaking in tones laced with confusion, with the older and wiser ones unable to keep the stunned horror off their faces. But Queen Ilene did not give them time to process it, and she continued.
“Right now, AZ and his army march on the palace to destroy us once and for all. I summoned you back here to defend your home, but in truth, AZ launched his attack before we were ready, and only half the Guardians have returned.”
Unsettling whispers flit throughout the gathered, and Ash saw Captain Magnus furrow his brows uneasily. Riley was gripping the balcony banister so tightly his knuckles were white. It was clear they’d been agonizing over this.
Ash steeled his own nerves. If only half the Guardians they expected have returned, that means we’ll need to pull double the weight. He glanced over at Sabrina, but she still looked resolute, her attention trained on the Queen, ready to hear what she had to say next, and he smiled grimly. Her bravery was a welcome comfort.
“As such, the town has not fully evacuated. I have dispatched the Guardians who were already here to facilitate the completion of the evacuation, and to fortify our border defense, who have already engaged the enemy. Due to the nature of this surprise attack, I did not have time to tell them what I must tell you all now.” She stepped aside and allowed Albrecht to step forward.
“Greetings, Guardians,” he said. “Some of you may recognize me, but for those who do not, allow me a moment to introduce myself. You will know me as the current World Champion of the Pokémon League, Albrecht.” He raised a hand to his chest and bowed. “However, there is no longer any need to hide my true identity, and as perceptive as you are, perhaps some of you have already figured out who I am.”
A Guardian near the front of the pack suddenly fell to his knees, and everyone’s attention shifted to the sound of his knees hitting the wooden floor. He had graying hair, clearly one of the oldest of the gathered Guardians, and he clutched his wrinkled face, sobbing.
“Sir Amos,” a younger Guardian beside him said in a concerned tone, and she knelt to check on him.
“I-Impossible…,” Sir Amos breathed, the tears running between his fingers. “I never imagined I would live to see the day…”
Albrecht eyebrows crinkled empathetically. “I have been with you always, young one,” he said softly. “Your sight does not fail you.”
At the word sight, several other Guardians seemed to catch on, and across the chamber, their eyes flared blue with the power of Aura. Some of them recoiled instinctively, some dropped just like the wizened Sir Amos, and some simply froze in pure shock, their jaws dropping. The younger and more inexperienced Guardians left looked around in confusion, wondering what everyone else was seeing that they had missed.
“Perhaps a more familiar visage will instill recognition,” Albrecht said, and suddenly, his entire body began to glow blue with Aura, and the shape of his form shifted. Several seconds passed, and then, the glow faded, and the man standing above them looked completely different.
A shot of adrenaline instantly pierced throughout Ash’s body, and he couldn’t stop the smile from opening on his face. “I knew it! I’d felt his Aura once before…” Sabrina frowned next to him, but she quickly looked back toward the balcony.
Spiky black hair and a pointed Guardian’s cap shadowed his enigmatic face, and instead of a silver suit, he now wore the gray and blue garb of the old Guardians. A dark cape tumbled down his back, raw power emanating from his body like heat, easily evident even to non-Guardians. He tapped the balcony floor with a regal staff he now held in his right hand, and it echoed throughout the chamber.
“I am Sir Aaron Albrecht, the last king of the Guardians.”
Ash had expected a dramatic reaction to the sudden reveal, but everyone in the run suddenly knelt, and despite their attempts at keeping a reverent silence, he could hear thankful crying all around him. He and Sabrina were the only ones in the room still standing, and they glanced at each other awkwardly. Although they caught a few dirty looks from strict looking Guardians, Ash used the suppressed crowd to take the opportunity and move closer to the front, skirting around the side, Sabrina following.
“Doubtless many of you have questions about my survival, and my prolonged absence, but due to the unfortunate situation we now find ourselves in, we no longer have the time for such an explanation. We must deploy immediately. I beg of you to forgive my selfishness.”
“Please, don’t beg, my King!” a bearded Guardian shouted through his tears.
“We are blessed that you have finally returned!” another shouted, her eyes clamped shut.
Sir Aaron smiled, the corners of his eyes twinkling. “Truly, I do not deserve your loyalty. Yet, I will wield it all the same.” He turned to Captain Magnus, who was not crying, but seemed to be fighting hard to maintain his soldierly demeanor. “Captain Magnus, I entrust you with the safety of the Queen. Maintain the forces you believe you need to protect her, and release the rest to fight in the south.”
Magnus slammed his fist on his chest and nodded, grunting.
“To the rest of you, we will bisect your numbers. Half of you shall join the royal guards in the field. The rest will establish a perimeter around the palace once the town has finished evacuating. These will be our two lines of defense.”
As the Guardians rose again, they whispered to each other, clearly worried that it wouldn’t be enough.
“I know you are scared,” Sir Aaron said softly. “I know these lands have only known peace since the Great War. And I know that when you first joined this order, you did so without ever intending on becoming a warrior.” He closed his eyes and raised his fist to his chest. “However, the bonds you have cultivated with your pokémon will not fail you. I sense strength in every single one of you. Strength borne from the love you bear for your fellows, and for this place you call home. He opened his eyes, and seemed to meet the gaze of every single person in the room in an instant. He raised his staff. “Guardians, let us protect our home!”
The gathered Guardians trembled, then let out a cacophonous roar, and Ash felt like his bones were shaking. Cries and cheers of encouragement were shouted out, and even the younger Guardians, some younger than Ash, blazed with a newfound vigor. Several royal guards among the crowd began barking orders, the veterans among them beginning to gather teams together, and gradually, the crowd started to thin as the teams made their way outside.
Once the last of the Guardians left, Sir Aaron leapt over the banister and floated down to the floor below, landing gently in front of Ash. Queen Ilene and Riley both followed suit, their bodies tinged with Aura. Now that he was this close, Ash almost felt like he’d get burned up from how much power he seemed to radiate, though strangely, it was invigorating.
“I apologize for the deception,” Sir Aaron said, spreading his arms, “but I suspect you’ve had an inkling for a little while now, Ash.”
Ash nodded slowly. “Yeah…I started to think your Aura felt familiar once I got deeper into my training and started being able to sense that kind of thing. It’s the same Aura I felt several years ago when I met you in the Tree of Beginnings.”
Sir Aaron nodded. “My true body slumbers within the Tree, but my spirit has since detached. This vessel is of my own creation, and it allows me to change my visage at will.” He turned to Sabrina and smiled. “If you tried to read my mind at all, you’d have seen nothing more than a roiling mass of Aura.” He tapped his temple.
“I-I didn’t,” Sabrina sputtered, clutching the hem of her shirt. “I would never try that against a man as powerful as you.”
“Oh, I appreciate the compliment!” Sir Aaron grinned.
“I had no idea either of you were in Rota this whole time,” Riley said, stepping forward. “Or that you were an acquaintance of the World Champion.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Ash said. “But it’s good to see you again, ignoring the circumstances!” Sabrina waved shyly as well, and Riley smiled at them both.
“That was my decision, not there's,” Sir Aaron cut in. “I didn’t want to cause a panic. But to think AZ would mount an attack so soon after coming here… I underestimated him too much. That miscalculation was my fault. I can only hope it won’t cost us the whole of Rota.” He frowned in dismay.
“Er, Albrecht…or Sir Aaron, you said you’ll be fighting AZ, right?” Ash asked.
“Yes,” Sir Aaron stated. “But there is something I must do first.” He turned to Queen Ilene. “My lady, if you please. Take me to the Vault of Secrets.”
Ilene nodded and started moving toward the door, Sir Aaron following. Riley tailed them, and just outside the door, Magnus was waiting for them.
“Wait!” Ash cried, running after them. “What’s the Vault of Secrets?”
Ilene and Aaron were clearly in a hurry, and Ash had to jog to keep up with them as they swept through the palace. “The Vault of Secrets is something I created during my tenure as king,” Sir Aaron explained. “It contains all of the most precious and powerful Guardian artifacts, tomes, and, as its namesake suggests, secrets. It is constructed into the palace itself, and to keep itself hidden, its location changes constantly. Even I no longer know where it lies today.”
“The existence of the Vault is known only to the highest echelon of Guardian,” Ilene said, and Ash saw Riley listening with rapt attention, so clearly he hadn’t been privy. “Its exact location, however, is known only to the royalty.”
They crossed beneath a stone arch into a room with a staircase leading to some higher floor. However, Ilene ignored the stairs and instead headed over to a bookcase along the wall, no doubt for decorative purposes only.
“Here it is,” Ilene said, stepping back.
Sir Aaron walked in front of it and placed his gloved hand on the shelf, closing his eyes. Then he opened them. “Excellent.”
His hand glowed blue, and suddenly, the bookcase shattered forward. However, instead of splintering against the stone wall behind it, a blinding hallway of pure white light stretched out before them, and the fragments of wood disappeared within, as if sucked into a vortex.
Sir Aaron turned back to face them. “Sir Riley, I’ll defer your assignment to Captain Magnus. He knows your skills best and will place you better than I could.”
Riley bowed.
“Captain Magnus, as I said, you are not leave the Queen’s side. I’m afraid that’s non-negotiable. The Guardians do not need a king, as has been evident, but we will perish if the Queen dies.”
Captain Magnus nodded, taking a step closer to the Queen.
“Lady Sabrina,” Sir Aaron said, turning to her. “I understand you have no cause to obey me, but if I could make a request. You’re more fit than any else to destroy that portal allowing the enemy entrance into our lands. Cut that off, and we will only need to defeat those who remain. Now that it is open, I imagine you’ll find it easier to destroy.”
Sabrina nodded, and her gauntlets jerked, and Ash could tell she was preparing for battle.
“And Ash,” Sir Aaron finally said. “I have no right to ask this of you, but I will all the same. AZ has come to kill me for good and annihilate everything I’ve ever loved.” His eyes met his. “Please, stop him until I arrive.”
Ash’s eyes gleamed with determination. “That’s what we’ve been training for all this time! You can count on us, I promise!” Pikachu cooed in agreement, his cheeks sparking.
Sir Aaron took one step into the hallway of light, and his leg vanished from view. “I will return as quickly as I can. I wish you all good fortune in battle.” Without another word, he vanished completely into the hallway with an effulgent flash, and after a few seconds, the shards of the bookcase returned, repairing itself around the hallway until the light faded, and it once again looked like nothing more than an innocuous bookcase.
“Um!” Sabrina chirped, raising her hand.
Magnus raised his hand to cut her off. “No need to worry your pretty little head, young Sabrina, I know exactly what you’re going to say.” He smacked Riley on the shoulder. “Their friend is incapacitated at the manor overlooking the town. Lost her arm about a month ago to AZ, the bastard. Get over there as fast as you can and keep her safe.”
Riley nodded quickly. “Yes, Captain. Leave it to me, Ash, Sabrina.”
“Thank you, Riley,” Ash said. “Now, let’s get going!”
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Land of Rota - Tree of Beginnings
The ground trembled, and Anabel spun around. Pidgey and Spearow burst out from the forest in alarm. Something was clearly wrong. Her hand drifted to her belt of pokémon and she unclipped one. As if to confirm her suspicions, a cloud of dust rose in the distance, followed by the faint cry of some pokémon.
Either Ash’s training has gotten way out of hand, or Rota is under attack.
The Tree of Beginnings loomed behind her, ancient and powerful, glittering beneath the sun. She’d come here out of curiosity, having grown tired of walking around Albrecht’s estate. Of course, she’d obeyed the Guardians’ rule of not entering, and simply standing outside of it told her why. The Tree of Beginnings was alive, and she could tell it would not take kindly to trespassers.
A shadow seemed to pass over the Tree, because it dimmed ever so slightly all of a sudden for just a moment, before returning to its usual crystalline hue. Anabel frowned in confusion. What was that?
“The Tree is weakening,” a voice behind her said. “It does not enjoy war.”
Anabel spun around to find a man with smooth black hair in front of her. He didn’t look especially like a trainer in his tailored suit, but he held a pokéball in his hand.
“Who are you?” Anabel demanded. “What’s going on?” Her finger brushed the release on her pokéball.”
“I didn’t expect to run into anyone this far from the palace. This may complicate things.” The man glanced at Anabel’s missing arm, at her empty sleeve, swaying in the wind. “I know who you are, at the very least. You assailed my master when he was here last.”
“Your Master?” Anabel frowned. She released her pokémon. An indigo Ceruledge materialized on the grass, grinding its swords together menacingly. “You’re with AZ. So he’s begun his attack already…”
“For what’s worth, I’m sorry for what happened to you. I doubt my master intended to maim you as he did. Likely, he meant to kill you.” He tossed his pokéball forward, and it snapped open to reveal a gigantic, silent Golurk.
“Stand by for battle, Arcane,” Anabel whispered. She clutched the stump of her right arm, gently feeling it to see how sensitive it was right now. There wasn’t pain now, but the painkillers she’d taken this morning would only last a little longer. Already, she felt her arm throb beneath her fingertips. I need to end this quickly.
“Lucky for you, you face King AZ’s most loyal servant, the honorable Lord Brian Vandrick,” the man said, bowing. “On my master’s behalf, allow me to finish what he started.”
Next — Chapter 33 : The Second Battle of Cameran Palace
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N’s Pokémon
* Reshiram
Zinnia’s Pokémon
* Salamence
* Altaria
* Tyrantrum
* Cyclizar
* Dragapult
* Whismur (Aster)
Anabel’s Pokémon
* Espeon (Magic)
* Snorlax (Juggernaut)
* Latias (Sakura)
* Suicune (Royal)
* Decidueye (Sophia)
* Ceruledge (Arcane)
I’ll start adding the lineups for everyone in Paragon to my profile on FFN/AO3 for easy reference. Happy Easter!