Paragon

Remnants of the Great War [13]

PARAGON

Remnants of the Great War Arc [13]

Chapter 22 : Ash Ketchum vs Founder AZ

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Kalos Region - East of Geosenge Town

Zinnia whistled as she walked, Aster perched on her head, the sunlight cutting through the canopy to cast a jade glow over her. Spring in Kalos was quite pleasant, and a refreshing change of pace from the always windy Draconid Village hidden beyond Meteor Falls. Of course, her journey as a Lorekeeper and her quest for the Great Dragon had taken her all across the world, but she never stayed in one place for too long.

She and N hadn't taken their eyes off the ruins ever since they'd spotted AZ. They'd moved from their initial spot and were now looking down on the town from atop a cliff. But so far, the reconnaissance had yielded no further results, despite them taking turns sleeping to keep up the watch.

When Zinnia returned to their makeshift camp, her Altaria, left to guard the camp, fluttered over to her and sniffed at the basket of berries in her hand, and she grabbed a handful to feed the majestic bird. Two camouflage tents sat facing each other, and N sat between them facing Geosenge.

"Yes. Nothing to report. We haven't seen AZ at all since last night."

N was on the phone and Zinnia furrowed her brows upon hearing him. They locked eyes, and N thumbed the screen to turn on speakerphone.

"Hmm, interesting. Well, there's been yet another raid on an Interpol facility but no sighting of him there," Cynthia's voice came through. "So far, you two have found our biggest lead." She sighed. "He's moving far quicker than Interpol expected. Far quicker than I expected."

"Cynthia," Zinnia scowled.

There was a pause. "Is that Zinnia I hear?"

"Damn right." She stomped over to N and crouched down so her face was right next to his phone, and he grimaced. "Why the hell won't you let us get closer? There's only so much we can do just staring at the place. Obviously AZ has a base there so we should break in and see what's going on!" She'd had her reservations initially, but after hearing that AZ had personally attacked a facility in Sinnoh, Zinnia wanted nothing more than to break in as soon as possible. They were right here!

Cynthia's sigh crackled through the phone. "Negative. Keep your distance. The last thing we need is you two walking straight into a death trap."

"They don't even know we're here!"

"They will if you start snooping around the ruins again. You don't even know where or how to get in, if they do have a base there. And we still don't know what his ultimate goal is or even why he broke out of prison in the first place. Until we know at least that, I will not even consider an attack on one of Kalos' oldest historical sites."

"Historical sites?! He killed a hundred Interpol agents with his bare hands!"

"And what makes you think he can't do the same to you?" Cynthia snapped, but Zinnia turned away and crossed her arms, and did not offer another response. "Anyways, back to what we were talking about," Cynthia said after a few seconds. "The raids on Interpol's bases have been minor but persistent. As of now, we can't find anything that makes the one AZ showed up to any different from the others. If AZ truly does have a hideout beneath Geosenge Town, then it's absolutely imperative that you two stay hidden and continue observing from afar. That's the only way we may be able to catch him off guard."