Concordia bounded up the grand set of marble stairs that led to the Elite Four building, located at the very pinnacle of the mountain. As high up as they were, it was difficult not to shiver against the chilly air and bouts of cold wind.
She clutched the Light Stone to her chest. After fleeing the castle, she and Anthea had had to travel through a narrow expanse of tunnels known as Victory Road. A local had told them that it was the last trial trainers had to go through, filled with other trainers and powerful Pokemon, but, when Anthea and Concordia passed through, it'd been strangely empty of both.
As much as she didn't want to admit it, Concordia knew it was because of Ghetsis and Team Plasma. After he had killed-
She blinked. Ahead of her, the spires of the Elite Four building rose into view. Anthea was already almost to the top of the stairs; she was much more athletic than Concordia, that had been so since they were little girls. Concordia was laboring to breathe normally, but the thought of taking a break didn't cross her mind. We have to get the Light Stone to them. We have to!
Unconsciously, however, she staggered to a standstill, eyes widening and chest heaving, once she could see enough of the building. It was amazing.
The peaks of the twisting, beige-colored spires along the domed roof poked at the sky veiled in a sheet of dark blue. Intricately designed columns between flowing arches of stone lined the front entrance. The castle where she'd lived all of her life was brilliant, yes, but this was new: something she'd never seen before. She loved the sight of it, but at the same time, it did make her think of home, and how she might never get to return there. Her gaze flickered away.
"What are you doing?" Anthea called from the top of the steps, hands on her hips. "Stop staring and get up here!"
Concordia started, flushing. She meant to pass the last few steps quickly, but in her haste, the Light Stone slipped from her grasp.
She cried out as it clattered down the stairs.
"Oh, no!" She said, holding her dress as she scrambled after it. "I'm so sorry, Anthea, I-"
But her sister was already sprinting down the steps faster than Concordia could have ever hoped to. Before long, she reached the Light Stone and snatched it in one hand. She glared at Concordia from below.
Concordia looked away guilty, feeling the heat gather in her cheeks. "Anthea…"
"This is why I should know better than to let you hold things," Anthea said, passing by her with the Light Stone held firm, lines of anger creasing her expression. "You clumsy oaf."
I didn't mean it. Why do things have to happen? She followed her sister the rest of the way to the building, walking across a long, paved walkway.
Before they could get very close, a man and a woman wearing uniforms that were similar to what Concordia knew police officers wore, based on the pictures she'd seen of them, approached. Anthea moved forward to address them, while Concordia stayed a little way behind so that her sister could converse without having to worry if Concordia would mess her up.
"Don't take another step further," said the woman. Concordia realized that their postures were quite hostile, with shoulders tense and hands on their belts. "We've already told your kind what will happen to any further protesters."
Anthea frowned. "Do we look like protesters?"
The two guards exchanged glances. "Well, no," the man said, "but that doesn't mean anything. Why else would you have come? That's the only reason anyone shows up here these days. To protest."
"Not us," Anthea insisted. She held up the Light Stone; sunlight catching on its pearl-like surface. "Do you have any idea what this is?"
"Never seen it," the woman shrugged, looking to her partner, whose face hadn't changed in its blandness.
Anthea inhaled a deep breath. "This is the Light Stone."
"The what?" Asked the female guard.
"The Light Stone. The dormant form of the dragon Reshiram."
Both of the guards balked, their surprise finally clear to see. Their father had told Concordia and Anthea all about the fairy tales when they were little, but it was still hard to imagine that a tiny item contained something so very powerful.
The male guard leaned forward, squinting his eyes at the Stone. "That thing? It can't be; you're pulling my leg."
"I am not," Anthea growled. "We're here to give it to the Champion for safekeeping."
"Could be some kind of bomb," the woman guard noted. "I don't trust it."
"Me neither," said the man, standing straight.
Anthea grunted. "You seem awfully calm if you think this is a weapon."
Concordia watched in silence as the three of them continued to bicker. The guards remained tense; it seemed to her that maybe recent protests made them more anxious than usual, which she understood. She wasn't positive about the full extent of the hatred toward trainers and their like, but she knew it mustn't be good, or easy, for the guards, who only wished to do their jobs and support themselves and their families, if they had them. Anthea didn't seem to see that. She was getting angrier as the seconds passed, but Concordia understood her, too. The Elite Four and the Champion could be their only hope if most of the trainers no longer used Pokemon.
She shifted, grabbing at her dress, feeling the cloth crumple between her fingers. This was taking too long. There was no doubt that their father knew about their betrayal. What if he had sent people to find them? To capture them?
She glanced over her shoulder. Jagged mountains like serrated teeth rose in the distance, clouds piling together over them. Something felt wrong. They needed to hurry.
She looked back at Anthea, opening her mouth, then closing it again. She thought she had an idea for how to convince the guards… but what would Anthea say when she interfered? She loved to take charge and do things herself, and wouldn't take kindly to Concordia stepping in.
They had no time. She didn't know how she knew, but something was very wrong. Something was coming.
She started forward, still holding the side of her dress tight. Anthea stopped talking in her raised voice and glanced at Concordia, while the two guards almost seemed to notice her for the first time.
She stepped beside her sister, avoiding her gaze and smiling in what she hoped was a friendly way. "Hello," she said. "My name is Concordia."
Anthea rolled her eyes. The male guard crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, while the female guard looked at her speculatively.
"I think I understand why you're both a little apprehensive about letting us in," she said. "Why don't you follow us inside and watch as we talk to the Champion, to, um, make sure that we don't have any other intentions? And if the Champion thinks it's too dangerous, then we can leave, but, please, we at least want to see what he says. Maybe he'll recognize the stone?"
The three of them stared at her. She shifted under their gaze. Oh no, what have I done? I've only made myself look stupid. I should have left everything to Anthea. She knows-
"Hm. I suppose that we can allow that," the male guard said, looking to his partner. "What do you think?"
The female guard nodded, sighing. "I'm finding it hard to picture this one with any sort of evil intention. Yeah, alright. We'll let you in, but we'll be keeping a close eye on you."
They turned, motioning for her and Anthea to follow them into the building.
Concordia smiled weakly at her sister, loosening the grip she held on her dress, but Anthea scowled, stomping after the guards. Concordia's smile faded. She should have known that Anthea wouldn't like to be interrupted.
She couldn't worry about that now. There wasn't any time.
The three of them were already almost to the columns that marked the entrance. Concordia flushed, lifting her dress to keep it from tripping her as she ran after them.
Past the swirling white pillars was a spacious room with a tiled, mosaiced floor, and a flat roof that blocked the sun overhead. Grey darkness seeped from the corners, bathing the room. Their footsteps echoed as they walked toward a set of double doors made of dark wood. The only light came from a lamp on either side of the door, casting a sphere of golden light in front of it that pushed away the shadows. The guards entered the light, the door creaking as they pushed it open. They ushered Concordia and Anthea through. Concordia followed close at her sister's side.
Concordia stepped gingerly on a long, red carpet like the tongue of a beast, hoping that she wouldn't track any mud or dirt on it. The carpet trailed to a white stone dais, almost like the one they had at home, where a man with fiery red hair sat. Sunlight bathed over him from a circle of stained glass windows above him. There was a door in each of the corners of the room.
"Oh!" The man called, standing. "What have we here?"
The guards closed the door behind them, then led them forward. That must be the Champion. She swallowed hard. He didn't look very intimidating - but she was in the presence of Unova's strongest trainer. How many battles had he fought? How many times had he won?
The two guards stopped at the foot of the dais, and Anthea and Concordia a small way behind them. Anthea glanced sideways at her.
"Don't pull another trick like the one you did back there," she said. "Let me do the talking."
Concordia responded with a series of quick nods. "Right. Okay."
The female guard flicked a thumb over her shoulder. "These two are claiming to have possession of a… Light Stone, they called it. They're not protesters, or so they claim. Could be a bomb, Alder. I'd be careful."
The Champion's expression darkened, his smile fading. "The Light Stone…" He came down the steps and gently pushed his way past the guards, coming to stand in front of Anthea and Concordia. She could smell the faint scent of cologne coming off of him as he moved toward Anthea, jaw set, and eyebrows raised.
"We came here to give this to you," Anthea said, holding the Stone in front of her. "Someone needs to keep it safe."
"So, it's not a bomb?" Asked the male guard.
The Champion chuckled, shaking his head. He seemed to regard the Stone with awe, and he held his hands a few inches away as if afraid to touch it. "No, this is far from anything like that. What you see, my friends is the dormant form of Reshiram: the White Dragon."
"They were telling the truth, then."
"I heard legends," the Champion said, "but never did I think that I would see it for myself." He looked up. "Where could you have possibly found it?"
Anthea shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Take it: you're one of the only ones who can keep it safe."
The Champion nodded. "I see. Many of the gym leaders have gone into hiding; many of the trainers have abandoned their Pokemon. We might be the only option, as you say."
"Yes. So take it."
"Yes… alright," he said.
He reached to take it.
The door burst open, flying from its hinges. The side that faced the outside room was charred; tongues of flame crawled along the surface. Smoke piled in through the open entrance, and four figures cloaked in robes moved inward.
The Champion's hand retracted from the Light Stone. Concordia's throat tightened as if squeezed by an invisible hand. The Sages. They've come for us.
"Who are you?" The Champion demanded. "What is the meaning of this?"
"We have come, dear Alder," said one of the Sages. She recognized the voice as Roods. "To usurp your throne. Unova is to have a new Champion."
They each simultaneously put a hand into their robes. A moment later, four Pokemon formed a line in front of them.
The Champion laid a hand on her shoulder and one on Anthea's. "You must leave. Take the Light Stone and go! Ah, Sylvia!"
A woman was running toward them. "Alder? What the hell is going on?"
"Look at this!" One of the Sages shouted. Concordia turned. Bronius. "We've found the missing sisters and the Light Stone. Aren't we lucky."
"You know these men?" The Champion questioned, then shook his head. "Bah. It doesn't matter. Sylvia; take them and go! I don't know who these people are, but the Light Stone must not fall into the wrong hands!"
Sylvia nodded and pulled an Ultraball from her waist. A salamence appeared in a flash of white light, and Sylvia hooped onto its back, waving for them to do the same. "Come! Let's get out of here!"
"But… the Cham-"
"Alder will be fine! Come on!"
"Do not let them escape!" Rood shouted, attacking with his scolipede. The Champion's conkeldurr appeared to block it.
"Go!" The Champion shouted. "Fly! Those other three and I will handle this!"
Concordia found herself too stunned to move. The Sages had come for them. Anthea hopped onto salamence and yanked her on after, grumbling. Concordia held close to her sister, hands shaking. Anthea squeezed one of them comfortingly.
They began to lift in the air as salamence flapped its wings, stirring the air around them. The Pokemon of the three other Sages were charging.
The wind blew against her face as they took to the air, bolting toward the section of glass ceiling. Salamence roared, and a pillar of fire crashed into the glass, shattering it. Sunlight played across the shards they flew past, out of the building, into the sky.
"Where are you taking us? Anthea said, shouting to be heard over the wind howling in their ears. "Who are you?"
"I'm one of the Elite Four!" Sylvia shouted, flying them in the opposite direction of the sun. "I'm taking you to Humilau: the nearest city. I'll need to go back to help Alder, but I'll come back for you! Keep that Stone safe until I've returned!"
Concordia squeezed her eyes shut, hair fluttering behind her. The Champion was risking his life for them. Where was Ghetsis? What did they mean 'a new Champion'?
What was he planning?