PARAGON

  Unknown Enemy Arc [6]

  Chapter 92 : Final Assignment

  When Sabrina opened her eyes, she felt neither well-rested nor tired. It was as if she was merely returning to consciousness, as opposed to waking up. Nonetheless, she found herself laid down on a cold, hard floor with naught but dark rock above her.

  She sat up immediately.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She turned to find Ash sitting against the cave wall, exactly as she remembered before she passed out.

  “Did I…?” she started.

  “No. That was me.”

  Sabrina’s eyes twitched and she exhaled. Glancing around, she saw her friends’ belongings strewn about, again, exactly as she remembered.

  “I shouldn’t have done that.” Ash scratched the back of his head and did not meet her gaze. “It was cruel and stupid, but I just…didn’t know what else… This thing with Cynthia… I don’t know how to—“

  “Thank you,” Sabrina cut in.

  Ash’s eyes were sorrowful and he did not look at her until she spoke.

  “I almost hurt everyone… Without my limiter, I just…can’t handle as much…” Her head jerked up. “But I’m fine now. Or…I mean, it’s just…it was so sudden before…”

  “I understand.”

  And Sabrina knew he did. Despite her own emotions, she could feel the others’ after Zinnia made her statement. Ash’s shined like pitch-black darkness, barely contained. If not for her own volatility, Sabrina would have worried about his.

  And yet, both of them sat quietly within the still unmarred cave. For now.

  “Where are the others?” Sabrina asked.

  “Zinnia’s still gone. Anabel’s back there.” He thumbed the tunnel behind him. “N and Riley are picking up a few more supplies in Ecruteak.” He scratched the back of his head. “Everyone needs a bit of space right now, I think.”

  Sabrina was afraid he was about to get up, but he stayed rooted to the ground across from her.

  Instead, she rose and crossed the cave, before seating herself beside him. That actually seemed to break Ash’s spell of stoicism, as he watched her settle in next to him.

  Pikachu squeaked and crawled into Sabrina’s lap, stretching and getting himself comfortable.

  “If you don’t mind…” she said.

  “Of course not,” he said, a decibel too loud.

  He was fidgeting with something, and before Sabrina could ask what it was, he held it out to her.

  “I don’t know what Cynthia is trying to tell us with this.”

  It was the shard of Spiritomb.

  “Gengar doesn’t have a clue,” Sabrina said, after hearing her ghost’s spectral hiss within her mind.

  “Mine neither.” He rolled it between his fingers. “Every second it stays a mystery, Cynthia’s…becomes more meaningless.”

  Sabrina hardened her heart at that and tried sharpening her mind, but nothing came to its fore. She wished she’d paid more attention to Cynthia and her pokémon, but as always, she was realizing too late that she’d been negligent about valuing those she cared about.

  “Do you think what Riley said could be true?” she asked. “That she’s still alive somewhere?”

  “Anything’s possible. But if someone wanted to replace her, there’d be no reason to keep her alive. That’d only be a liability. And it’s not like Ditto need their models alive to keep up the act.”

  Sabrina hated to hear Ash sound so pessimistic, so cold and logical. She wasn’t optimistic about Cynthia either, but she at least wanted to hear hope, especially from Ash. But that was just a selfish wish. Cynthia’s fate pierced him the same as it had for all of them.

  She opened her mouth to ask another question, but closed it before she did. She wanted to know what they’d do next, but it would’ve been cruel to ask Ash to shoulder the burden of leadership right now, when they were all still so raw. He always seemed to know what to do, even in the worst of times. He was the one who’d made the executive decision to flee Paragon Island. He was the one who’d dropped his defenses against Volo to protect everyone else. And he was the one who’d abandoned Cameran Palace in order to confront AZ.

  But Ash’s mind was quiet now. Much like this cave, all she could hear was the hollow whisper of grief. Of regret and failure.

  “I feel like a fool,” he said. “I can’t believe we celebrated when we got back. Meanwhile…”

  Shame simmered in Sabrina too. The memories of that night now disgusted her. She wanted to tell him that it wasn’t their fault, that they had no way of knowing something so terrible had happened. But she didn’t believe it herself. So she kept quiet.

  Say something!

  What could she possibly say?

  Do something!

  Inaction. Inertia. Indecisiveness. Guaranteed every time Sabrina was faced with a dilemma, doubly so for matters of the heart like this.

  Give him something!

  Sabrina’s mouth turned dry and she swallowed. Her limiter suddenly sped up as a cold sweat beaded her forehead.

  Slowly, she lifted her hand and placed it on his.

  Ash flinched, but only for a moment. Sabrina felt a surge of surprise, then…something else she dared not name. But, he opened his hand and let her fingers fall between his. Then, he grasped her.

  Sabrina’s heart thundered in her chest and she knew Ash’s was no different. That meant this was the right move, right?

  She couldn’t say. Because Ash didn’t speak another word. And neither did she.

  They simply remained. Neither attempted to advance this moment beyond the present. It was so tenuous that even breaking the silence would probably shatter it, and yet it was the strongest Sabrina had felt since leaving Paragon Island behind.

  Was it even possible that Ash felt the same way, even a bit?

  Sabrina dared to hope.

  Johto Region - Ecruteak City

  Riley and N emerged from the convenience store with plastic bags in both hands. The sliding door that shut behind them represented a spot of modernity in an otherwise antiquated city.

  At this hour of the morning, a scarlet sky stretched out above them, a beautiful complement to the autumn hues that colored Ecruteak’s cobbled roads. The air was heavy with the scent of age, of sweet smoke and old wood, outdated perfume and crisp leaves that still held the dew of morning. Black jade lined the tiled cottages that comprised the residential district they were currently passing through, suggesting an old nobility about the town beneath its quiet veneer.

  Even the Tin Tower, in all its grandiose majesty, managed to perfectly fit Ecruteak’s humble atmosphere.

  “It’s as if the entire town is in a constant state of mourning,” N commented. “There is an everpresent respect in the voices of everyone we’ve passed.”

  Riley had noticed the same, and he’d also noticed that most of the people they’d encountered were well into their senior years. That alone probably accounted for most of the quiet and slow-moving air about Ecruteak.

  “When I was here earlier with Sabrina, I learned that the local gym leader is a ghost specialist called Morty, who tends to the many cemeteries throughout the city. The twilight of life appears to be a large part of the culture here.”

  N nodded somberly. “A fitting place for us to contend with our loss.”

  Riley let them walk some more before speaking again. “I get the impression that your relationship with Cynthia was different from the others. Is that right?”

  N glanced over at him and nodded. “Yes, that’s right.” He hesitated. “Have you traveled very much, Riley?”

  “Not at all. Before our stint in Hisui, I’d only ever been to Kanto and Sinnoh. You?”

  “My work for the Paragon Organization has taken me to all nine regions at this point, but I come from Unova. I…used to run a crime syndicate there called Team Plasma.”

  Riley raised a brow. “I see…”

  “Of course, I was brought to justice, but it was Cynthia who pulled me from said justice. In exchange for my freedom, I was to work for the Paragon Organization.” N readjusted his bags. “Initially, I did not attempt to get close to her. In my eyes, I was her prisoner, so I treated her as a prisoner should treat an authority. But she was always kind to me and never treated me as such, so without me realizing, she’d become an exceptionally important person to me. The time I could not serve in the World Prison was supposed to be spent bettering the world on her behalf. She never did tell me what the end of my penance would be, but now, it doesn’t seem possible that I will ever know.”

  Riley snuck a glance at N. He wore a neutral expression, but with such soft features, Riley couldn’t picture him as a crime boss as he’d claimed. “You spent years in her service. Were your sins so great that even now they have yet to be absolved?”

  “I couldn’t possibly say for myself. Team Plasma engaged in poaching, theft, intimidation, terrorism. My original sentence would’ve had me released as an old man. I say the following descriptively, not to make excuses, but in truth, it was my father who was the true mastermind behind Team Plasma’s operations. I was merely the figurehead. But more than the crimes themselves, I believe my greatest sin was turning a blind eye to my father’s schemes and not attempting to stop him in order to pursue my own ends.”

  “Those ends being…?”

  N turned to Riley. “Pokémon liberation.”

  Liberation? The term was self-explanatory but Riley had never known there was a related movement for it. As a Guardian, he could sympathize with the sentiment, but at the end of the day, he believed people and pokémon should retain relationships.

  “Do you still believe in pokémon liberation?”

  “Oh, no. That na?ve notion was dashed by Ash and his friends, actually. And I do have a pokémon partner of my own, so that’d be a bit hypocritical at this point.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  He nodded down at the necklace around his neck, and Riley squinted at the small white stone that hung from it. He let a bit of Aura bleed into his eyes, and nearly gasped at the volume of Aura he saw contained within it. “That’s a pokémon?!”

  “Indeed. I’m grateful to Ash, truly. Without him, Reshiram and I would never have gotten this close.”

  “He does have a habit of skewing one’s worldview.”

  N smiled. “Some days, I feel guilty for enjoying my freedom a bit too much. It was something I brought up to Cynthia on multiple occasions. I even offered to return to the World Prison. But she never released me from her service. From my freedom. If she is truly gone, I will confess I feel a bit aimless without her.”

  From what he’d said about his father, it sounded like N had been groomed within Team Plasma, sent to prison for it, and then released, all without ever developing his own identity or learning what he wanted to do with his own life. Riley couldn’t simply tell him he should just live for himself.

  Though unluckily, they were in a bit of a predicament now, and there were short-term objectives to meet, so Riley pivoted there.

  “You said before that Cynthia had a cousin, the missing member of Paragon. If Cynthia knew she was about to be killed like we suspect, then it sounds like his disappearance is because of her, not Cynthia’s enemy. I believe one of our priorities should be finding him, no?”

  N nodded. “Those two cared deeply for each other. He once imprisoned her on the island after she got too reckless. I wouldn’t put it past her to do the same to him.”

  “The only question is where. Our only lead right now is that shard of Spiritomb.”

  “Yes. And it’s even stumped Ash. Even if Cynthia was responsible, I’m worried for Sylvester.”

  They passed beyond Ecruteak into the forest north of the city. The leaves here were golden and amber, but as they got closer to the beach, they began to lose their color to the fog of the coast. Vibrant grass gave way to windswept stone, then sand the color of bone.

  There was a flutter of wings overhead and a flurry of cotton spores shuddered down in front of them. Before either of them had time to turn toward its source, Zinnia had already leaped off her Altaria’s back and landed between the two men.

  “Welcome back,” N said.

  “Sky’s still there,” Zinnia muttered.

  Riley glanced over. Her eyes were red but she stood tall and kept pace with them. He elected to say nothing.

  “Any good news?” Zinnia asked hopefully.

  “Cynthia left us a piece of Spiritomb, though we’re not sure why,” N said. “I’m not sure if that’s good or bad news.”

  Zinnia brushed one of her pokéballs, but after a few moments of pondering, only said, “hm.”

  “Maybe the others found something out while we were away, though I imagine Sabrina would have told us telepathically if that were so.” N ducked under a tree branch as they stepped out onto the beach. “Things got a bit abrasive after you left. I think we’ll be fine, but do take note of that. It’s important we keep our heads on straight, especially during a crisis like this.”

  Riley began to zone out as N continued to prattle on. He was talking far more than he’d been when it was just the two of them. Between the two of them, Riley pegged Zinnia as the talker, but since she was so quiet now, perhaps he was trying to fill the silence in her stead. For as self-deprecating as N could be, he understood his friends more than he gave himself credit for.

  They found Anabel, Ash, and Sabrina together when they returned, with Sabrina already up and lucid again. The moment they set their stuff down, Anabel scooched away from the other two, muttering something about a third wheel. Riley could only smirk.

  Once they were settled in, N released Spearow again, and she buzzed through the chamber checking in on everyone, seemingly oblivious to the somber mood.

  “So, where’s this piece of Spiritomb?” Zinnia asked, lounging back on the mound of shopping bags.

  Ash flicked it across the cave, and Zinnia caught it even in the dark. She turned it over a few times like they all had, but like them, it didn’t seem like she noticed anything.

  “I’ll have Aster take a look.”

  “Aster?” Riley questioned.

  Zinnia unclipped a pokéball from her belt and released its contents, the gleaming energy coalescing into a tiny Whismur. Zinnia passed the shard of stone to it, but instead of taking it in its stubby hand, Whismur opened its mouth instead.

  “Wait a second!” Riley began, but Zinnia’s hand shot out.

  “Relax, she won’t swallow it. She’s studying it.”

  Riley’s eye twitched. “A Whismur?” he asked weakly.

  Zinnia scowled at him. “Yeah. A Whismur.”

  Riley acquiesced. Clearly Zinnia wasn’t planning on elaborating. It seemed he still had much to learn about pokémon and their intricacies.

  “Aster is a special Whismur,” Anabel offered. “Having spent so much time around dragons, the most ancient of the pokémon, she can tap into some of the most primordial chords of the universe, including the realms of consciousness and memory.”

  “Spoil all my secrets, why don’t you?” Zinnia muttered.

  Riley gave Anabel a thankful nod. “Don’t worry. I still don’t really understand.”

  Despite what Zinnia had said, Aster certainly seemed to be going to town on the stone, her cheeks bulging as she chewed away. Eventually, she grunted, and stopped chewing.

  Zinnia leaned forward. “Got something?”

  Aster mumbled something, then opened her mouth, the stone resting on her tongue.

  “She says there is a message transcribed within the stone…” N murmured.

  “What does it say?” Anabel asked.

  Aster closed her mouth and squeaked. N leaned forward to listen, but he didn’t seem to be picking up on anything.

  Suddenly, a dark fog began to leak out from between Aster’s lips. Zinnia frowned, but the fog rose and thickened, coalescing into a humanoid shape.

  “Where to start with this…”

  The rippling visage of Cynthia stood before them, but gone was her signature sable coat. She wore a tank top and sweats, and her hair was unkempt and disheveled, like she’d just rolled out of bed. Or it’d been too long since she’d been in one, since dark bags hung under her storm gray eyes.

  Riley didn’t think he’d ever see the world famous Champion like this. But compared to his surprise, the others around him had their eyes glued to the image, hanging onto her every word.

  Cynthia sighed. “If you’re seeing this, then Darkrai’s illusion around Spearow has faded and you’ve found the piece of Spiritomb’s body he so graciously gave me.”

  Cynthia spoke, but her voice came from Aster’s mouth.

  “It also means I’m no longer alive.”

  Her eyes twitched as she said it, and Riley saw Ash’s jaw clench. N and Zinnia were both scowling, while Anabel looked like she was still trying to process what they were seeing. Behind Cynthia’s visage, Riley could see Sabrina’s knuckles were white with how hard she was holding her sleeves, and her singular gauntlet raced around her wrist, sending violet light flashing across the walls of the cavern.

  “It feels weird for me to say that out loud, but I don’t know if I can talk my way out of this one.” She glanced back up at the “camera,” or whatever it was that had recorded this message and offered a weak smile. “Let’s consider this message a part two to our discussion after the battle in Rota.”

  Riley frowned.

  “Maybe a better way to put it is this is the flip side of that conversation. The things I couldn’t say then.” She sat down, joining them on the floor, and her hair pooled around her. “First, I want to apologize. Things wouldn’t have turned out this way if only I were stronger. As strong as you all. My ambition surpassed my strength, and now I’m reaping the consequences.”

  “As you know, I’ve been seeking the truth about this world. As we recently learned together, it is the Plates of Arceus, those who seek them, and those who command their legendary power, that have shaped the era we live in, the history that came before us, and will surely continue to dominate the future. I realized far too late that someone I met when I was just starting out as a trainer is the exact sort of enemy that we have come to be wary of.”

  “I didn’t say her name earlier because I wasn’t sure how far under her control I was. In short…I couldn’t trust myself. The difference now…is that I’ve accepted my fate.”

  Even as she said it, her voice trembled, and Riley felt like he was witnessing a vulnerability he should absolutely not have been privy to.

  Cynthia released a hollow laugh. “It’s going to be pathetic if I come out of this perfectly fine and all my concern was for nothing. If that’s the case, then I’m just talking to myself here, because I certainly won’t be showing you all this.” Her eyes flicked forward again and she smiled. “Right, right, you’re here too, Spiritomb.”

  So Spiritomb recorded this message…? Makes sense, I suppose.

  “Anyway, I don’t have much time, so all I could do was cobble together something like this at the last minute and hope you all find it. I feel bad for what I did to Spearow, but…” She shook her head. “Anyway. I’m stalling. Business.” She exhaled slowly and swallowed. “The person who helped me start the Paragon Organization is a woman called Zelda Leora.”

  Immediately, Riley felt everyone’s Aura flare, and he winced. Did they know this name, or were they simply searing the name of the person who killed Cynthia into their memory?

  “She’s a Platebearer. I don’t know how many she has, but it’s at least three. Lucario, Cresselia, and Darkrai only had enough time to narrow the errant energies within her to the Bug, Ice, and Fighting Plates, but there are definitely more. And given…given what has happened if you’re hearing this, I hope you can appreciate her utter ruthlessness as well. This is to say that she is absolutely someone you all should stay away from.” Cynthia laced her fingers together. “On one hand, I want to believe that I’m not important enough to you all that you’d foolishly pursue this woman out of some reckless sense of vengeance. But on the other hand, I know you’re all far too kind to leave her alone, so I’m skipping ahead to the part where I give you information that could help you.”

  Evaluating the room again, Riley seized on Ash and Sabrina’s Auras, which nearly blinded him with how bright they burned, barely contained within their bodies and inflamed by their emotions. Yet you’d never know it by looking at the neutral, if stern, expressions on their faces.

  For Paragon’s sake, Riley prayed Cynthia wouldn’t say anything that would incense them further.

  “You can research the details on your own, but suffice to say, she’s an elite in Alola. We met after I earned my first gym badge and Sinnoh and struck up something like a friendship, or mentorship after that. Unlike you, Ash, I didn’t make any other friends during my circuit to travel with, but she kept in contact, so she ended up becoming someone important to me. After I became Champion, our friendship continued. It was as if she was forcibly keeping herself in my life, always ready to lend a helping hand whenever I needed it. Paragon Island, funds to build our facility there, and my conenctions in the International Police were all gifts from her. It was then that I realized she intended for me to use those gifts for a specific purpose.”

  “We’d meet once or twice every few months at the Hano Grand Resort on Akala Island. But outside of that, I have no idea where else she spends her time. I tried to map out her movements, but Hano was the only concrete location I could pin down. When she’s not there, it’s like she vanishes into thin air. But, there’s been a certain peculiarity about that routine these past few months. Nowadays, she seems to be practically living at the resort, and she’s requested meetings far more often than usual. This began a bit before AZ even broke out of prison so I don’t think it has anything to do with that…” She looked up, her eyes pleading. “The only reason I’m telling you all of this is because I know eventually you’ll learn this information anyway, and I’d rather you have it before she gets to you first.”

  Gets to us…?

  “I gave Sylvester the digest version of everything I’ve told you, but because of a lie I told Zelda about me not having any family, I had to…squirrel him away for the time being. Spiritomb will lead you back to him…but I doubt he’ll be pleased to see you. Actually, I’m sure he’ll be livid…especially when you give him the news. Please don’t take it personally, he is a good man as you know. His wrath will be towards me, so I’m sorry you have to take it in my stead.”

  Cynthia’s gaze faltered and she sighed, burying her head in her hands. “My selfishness…my lust for understanding… It’s put you all in terrible, terrible danger. I wanted the Paragon Organization to be a place where we could help each other achieve impossible dreams… Instead, I’ve done nothing but pull you into a web that is about to end with my death.”

  Ash twitched.

  Zinnia snorted.

  A spark popped off of Sabrina’s gauntlet.

  Cynthia looked up. She wasn’t crying, but tears hung in her eyes. She smiled.

  “Zinnia. Without you, I could not even transmit this message, so thank you. Please treat Aster to something nice after this. And yourself. You’ve always been Paragon’s vanguard. I’m certain even the Great Dragon isn’t prepared for your tenacity.”

  “Wait…” Zinnia mumbled, stepping forward.

  “Please continue to watch over her, Anabel.” Cynthia chuckled. “I didn’t expect oil and water to get along so well. But then again, you’ve been good at reading your friends’ hearts for as long as I’ve known you. Lend them a bit of your boundless courage, ‘kay?”

  Anabel pulled her shirt up over her face.

  Cynthia exhaled. “N. I know it’s a bit awkward for me of all people to say this, but I really am appreciative for all your help over the years.” She grinned. “I bet it was you who noticed the oddities about Spearow first, with how much time you’ve spent with Sylvester. I hope you continue to exercise your freedom as you see fit. Your past is merely a shadow, not a shackle.”

  N’s mouth hung open like he wanted to say something, but no words came out.

  “When I’m gone, I’m guessing it’ll be you, Sabrina, to notice first.”

  Cynthia tapped the side of her head, and Sabrina covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head. A tear dribbled down her cheek.

  “If nothing else, I hope Paragon was a place you could feel comfortable.” She smirked. “You may be the least eccentric of all of us. Or…maybe not. You never told me your dream, but I think I got to know you well enough to get an inkling.”

  She smiled and pointed up.

  Sabrina’s lower lip trembled and she suppressed a sob.

  “And…Ash. Our rookie.”

  Ash’s eyes were stone as she stared unflinchingly at Cynthia's message.

  “The day you returned to Paragon Island to battle me, Sylvester accused me of something absolutely absurd… He thought I wanted you to lead the Paragon Organization one day.”

  Riley saw Ash’s brows crease ever so slightly.

  “Really, he couldn’t be more off the mark. I would never presume to ask you such a thing. Your life is yours to live. That goes for all of you. Paragon was my creation, and if it dies with me so be it.”

  Cynthia closed her eyes and laced her fingers together before taking a deep breath. “But… But… If this really is the end…then I hope, at the very least, as you all continue down your various paths…you think of Paragon every so often, and the memories we made together. The world is harsh and unjust, as we’ve learned. Please…lean on each other… Keep yourselves safe… And Ash… I know that one day, no matter what happens, you’ll stand at the pinnacle of your journey as a true Pokémon Master.”

  Cynthia beamed, the tears in her eyes sparkling.

  Then, she vanished.

  Next — Chapter 93 : Counterattack