"Arceus, Kairi. There you are!" Nixon cried. "You were out for so long! The Finals are about to start!"
"S-sorry...!" Kairi stammered, still in shock.
The image of the fallen Admin had burned into her mind the entire time she ran back to the Grand Stage.
D-did all of that just happen?
Even then she could still faintly hear the sounds of him screaming along with the mechanical brutality that he had suffered. Kairi winced as a couple of sHARPs walked past.
"The other Admins just finished the last battle. Get Zoroark out, he'll be walking with you." Nixon informed, turning on the headset she was wearing. "Garrison, she's here. We're ready."
Kairi released Zoroark as the large holoscreen in the room showcased the opening video package again.
"Zor... ?"
"Y-Yeah. Just...got distracted." Kairi responded, quietly.
They were all standing in the backstage area behind the stage. Around them, multiple people worked quickly, last minute checking on everything.
The building cheered as their video package ended, the entire arena going dark. On screen, one single spotlight lit up, displaying Cassidy and Lux standing in the center of the battle field.
"Ladies, gentlemen, and Pokémon of Arim! For our main event, please rise and bow for the Association's President, and our Lady Dearest,......Hera!"
Everyone stood.
She's here...!
Suddenly, the center roof of the Grand Stage began to split entirely in half, retracting outward to reveal an open night sky. The deep, thunderous, orchestrated score of Arim's national anthem played as a sleek, black helicopter hovered into view.
Thousands of eyes stared as it descended slowly all the way down to where Cassidy and Lux waited.
Once landed, multiple sHARPs ran to it, opening the doors to reveal Arim's Lady.
Hera stepped out, smiling at her people. She was wearing a new variation of her signature black dress, and her silver hair had been done flawlessly as usual. A large dark red box rested in her arms.
Kairi glanced at her neck. There was nothing around it.
Those sitting all around showered their Lady in praise.
Cassidy politely led her to a raised platform next to the side of the battle field. Erected on it was a throne-like chair which the Lady reclined in comfortably.
"For the first time ever, Arim's ruler will witness a battle in this League live in person. What can be better than your first live attendance being the battle to crown the League Champion?" One of the commentators spoke.
"Absolutely nothing, my friend!" The other replied. "We've been waiting for months to be sitting in this exact spot tonight! This is it! The League's Final! Here we go!"
The broadcast faded to an angled shot of the arena, then panned to one of the entrance tunnels.
Loud, chaotic, electronic music with lasers began to bang rapidly. The runway, stage, and holo-screen all lit up.
On stage, three women with glow in the dark, neon makeup were playing an assortment of instruments. According to a graphic displayed on the broadcast, they were called the Luxen Hyper Squad and were playing their song, "Kimura".
After about 30 seconds, the music broke for a moment, then transitioned into a more stable electronic melody.
"001" displayed on the large holo-screen above.
YOU ARE READING
Pokémon Swirl & Spiral
AdventureThe citizens of Arim don't know what it's like to have more than one Pokémon or even what a full party of six looks like. The right of owning any Pokémon is a privilege, and every individual of the seven Sectors knows it. For them, their only priori...
