Chapter Twenty-Two: Cataclysm

Aaron heard the scene well before he arrived in the midst of it. He parked the car several blocks away, pulling into a parking garage for a mall that had been looted and nearly burnt to the ground before running the rest of the way, his pokémon already out of their balls and ready for action. The trainer called Sofia before approaching the city hall.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Aaron asked as soon as she answered.

"I don't know! Alpha and Delta are warring it out, and—" An explosion sounded from her end, and Aaron heard it not too far away. "…Omega's fighting them all! They've got City Hall and the police station!"

"We need to leave!" he said. "Fuck this – this is way too dangerous."

"I'm not letting them take our city, Aaron!"

"And I'm not letting these idiots take our lives!"

"We'll be fine – just focus on their trainers. Let Alpha and Delta kill each other," she countered. Cautiously making his way closer to the scene, Aaron was greeted by a warzone. Flames sprung from cars as Omega's guards did their best to control the crowds, pointing their weapons at people and unleashing tremendous bursts of heat. A Hydra had been taken down and had crashed into a restaurant, leveling it completely, and bodies littered the ground.

Pokémon of every shape and size clashed into each other. They clashed on the ground and in the air, slamming into each other with all their strength and aiming for nothing less than the death of their opponent. It was then that he realized what a fight looked like when there were no rules or restraints. Aaron and his team watched in horror as a haxorus slashed through a beartic's neck, staining its white fur. The ice-type fell over, twitched for a few seconds, then fell still. The trainers weren't idle, either; a group of Alpha members sprinted towards the scene, carrying semi-automatic rifles in their hands. They began rapidly pulling the trigger, aiming at anyone wearing the wrong colors.

One of the exosuit-wearing individuals plowed through anyone standing in his way, slamming into the aggressors as bullets harmlessly glanced off his armor. He planted a heavy foot into one's chest, snatching the rifle from another and snapping it over his knee. Others joined in and subdued those with weapons, but people just kept coming.

"Fuck this," Aaron repeated. "You can pick your car up at my place. I'm not getting my team killed." He hung the phone up. The four of them turned around to leave.

Aaron felt something collide with his midsection, hurling him to the ground and knocking the wind out of him. Nora rushed to his side. Through blurry eyes, he saw a group of people walking towards him, and his other three pokémon stood off against them. Marcus and Krista both went into their mega forms.

"Remember me, asshole?!" He managed to make out a woman in a dark hoodie. Her dyed red hair, though, immediately reminded him, as did a pair of magnezones at her side.

"You're that crazy bitch from the bridge…" he murmured. How they had already gotten out of jail was a mystery, but then again, the law in Unova never seemed to apply to Delta the same way it did to everyone else. His eyes widened as one of the two steel-types began charging, and he rolled aside, barely avoiding a thunderbolt attack. "What the fuck is your problem?!"

"You," she said simply. "You and all these other fascists out here."

"What the hell are you taking about? We aren't fascists, and we're not with them!" Aaron yelled.

"If you aren't with us, you're against us," one of the other Delta members stated, releasing his own pokémon. Aaron recognized the nidoqueen as one of the pokémon from their previous fight.

"Besides," the admin continued, "we have a score to settle." Aaron and his pokémon backed up, staring down a group of pokémon that outnumbered them at least four-to-one. And considering Nora was severely disadvantaged – and he knew none of the moves that she did have – this wasn't looking good. "And you don't seem to have your friend with you this time." She stepped forward. A permanent scowl had long engrained itself on her face. "I'm going to enjoy prying that key stone off your lifeless body."

Marcus knew that they needed every advantage they could get. For that reason, he struck first, hurling an aura sphere into the absol straight ahead. He used extreme speed, closing the distance, and formed the bone staff in his right hand, slamming it into the dark-type's head once he arrived. A toxicroak slashed towards him, causing Marcus to back up and immediately assume a defensive stance. A single scratch could take him down, and if he were to inject Krista or Aster with his poison, then it could prove fatal.

Aster formed a leaf storm around them, blocking incoming enemies with bright green constructs, and forced it outwards, attempting to pelt all of their opponents. The serpent's eyes darted back and forth, ready for any incoming threat. He didn't have to wait long as a golisopod charged him, ready to slice Krista. Aster intervened, catching the bug-type by surprise, and landed a leaf blade in the creature's abdomen. There was little time to follow the attack up as both a pidgeot and bisharp were on him.

"Aster! Use twister on the goodra! Krista – psychic on the toxicroak, then reflect!" Commands flew from his mouth, though Aaron barely could make sense of what he was saying – or what was going on for that matter. The serperior cried out as the bisharp connected its razor-like forearm into his chest, trailing a gleaming red line deep through his scales. "Marcus!"

"I'm on it!" the lucario shouted, launching an aura sphere towards the steel-type. It connected with his face, knocking him off his feet.

The sounds all blended together into an incomprehensible mess. Aaron felt helpless as more and more kept coming. At some point during the battle, a car pulled up, and several more Delta members stepped out, pokéballs in hand.

Elemental attacks of every kind danced throughout the street. Amid the chaos, Aaron's pokémon raced around, fending off against superior numbers. Nora dodged one blow after another, and though she only responded with a few counterattacks of her own, Aaron realized just how nimble she was.

Krista shrieked as a cinccino flanked her, having found the perfect opportunity while she was focused on an altaria. Her leg was swept from under her. The audino used dazzling gleam to disorient anyone close, picking the smaller creature up and slamming it onto the ground with a vicious psychic attack. Krista flung her enemy into the altaria before she was encapsulated by a pair of bright bolts. Aaron expected a scream, but there was none.

The admin's magnezones kept a heavy current flowing into the normal-type, and for a split second, everyone froze in shock. Her body went rigid, unable to escape the deadly current, and without thinking, Aaron yanked her ball out and returned her.

Marcus nailed the steel-types out of the sky, continuing as Aster charged a solar beam swiftly and downed the vaporeon. A swift command came from one of the enemy trainers, and before Aaron could react, a beheeyem lifted Marcus into the air and slammed him into the ground. Aster closed the distance between him and the psychic, slinging a vine around and wrapping it around the smaller creature and spinning him around. The serperior intended to slam his opponent into another.

Instead, he cried out in pain as half of his vine fell away.

Aster quickly withdrew what was left of it, tears blurring his vision as a mixture of blood and green fluid leaked from the severed vine. The bisharp from before had risen once again and had perfectly cleaved it.

"ASTER!" his trainer yelled. "Marcus!"

The lucario grunted, rage filling his vision. He abandoned any idea of mercy, connecting his bone construct with the steel-type's neck, savoring the sound of a pained croak. He slammed it into the bisharp's face, knocking him to the ground, and lifted it as high as he could, bringing it down into his enemy's mouth. A red beam took the fallen creature away, but not before his teeth had been shattered.

Aaron clenched his fist, anger burning within him, but there was nothing he could do. Marcus and Aster stood in front of him, ready to guard their trainer with their lives. Nora, in the meantime, had taken out a swanna with a perfectly-placed kick to the bird's smaller head, and was still evading primarily.

Marcus leaped back as a mienshao launched an aura sphere of her own. As fast as she had, the opposing fighting-type was on him, launching a series of jabs and kicks. He blocked them, countering with a force palm to her face, when the ground shook. The nidoqueen from the bridge stomped the road before charging him, capitalizing upon his loss of balance by grabbing him and throwing him against the wall. A clawed hand found its way to his neck, and immediately they sank in. His eyes went wide.

A loud smack was heard, and her head recoiled. Aaron had punched the larger pokémon with all his strength, dislocating her jaw, and it was the break Marcus needed. He ran his legs up her frontside, flipping out of her grasp and kicking her under the chin. Dazed, the nidoqueen stumbled back, and he swung the bone staff like a baseball bat and broke it over the back of her head. She fell forth as if she had been shot.

The enemies kept coming. When one fell, two more seemed to take their place, and as the world clashed around them, Aaron's team found themselves backed up further and further, out of breath and out of ideas. The trainer could do little more than watch as his team was slowly picked apart. Marcus was struck once by a sawsbuck, hurled into the air and landed on his back with a pained yelp. Aster tried to help but was then scratched by a liepard, blocked off from his ally, who was yanked up by the golisopod. The bug-like creature pounded the lucario with his larger arms and the mega evolution reverted.

Aaron returned Marcus. "Nora! Just… focus on not getting hit!" he yelled out. "Aster – leaf storm!" If he didn't manage to end this now, they would be in trouble. His typhlosion faded from view as the green twister encompassed their enemies. One managed to stampede through, though: the sawsbuck. He leapt into the air and tackled Aster, causing him to roll over, and swiftly spun around, flinging his hind legs into the serperior's cheek. He went down.

"Fuck…" Aaron murmured, backing up again as though he had anywhere to go.

"Not so tough without your friend, are you?" said a sneering guy that could just as easily have passed for a female.

"Says you cowards!" Aaron retorted. "I'd hardly call twenty against four 'tough' on your parts."

"Whatever it takes to win," the admin said. She looked at the golisopod and nodded. "Kill him."

"No!" Nora cried out. Aaron lowered his stance, ready to intercept the incoming pokémon like he had done in countless hitting drills in high school. If he was going to go out, he was going out fighting. But it was then that he learned the hard way how outmatched he really was.

The world turned over. He distinctly remembered the feeling of the asphalt under his back – his head impacting its rough surface and dazing him. Several voices were drowned out by his ringing ears; one sharp pain after another was felt across his body as the pokémon kicked him. Aaron curled up, his arms protecting his head, and somehow was able to hear Nora yelling. But he had no strength, no ability, to move as he readied himself for the worst.

The only sound that did clearly register to him was a loud crack. He cried out. Another foot found the same spot – a place where a rib had formerly been positioned – and he was sure that this was it. His father was right. He should never have gotten involved. "Leave him alone!" Nora yelled. Or at least, that's what he thought she said. He shifted over, protecting his side, and caught a foot to the back of his head. This one was from a trainer, and he felt the guy's toes break through his shoe, swearing at a poorly placed kick. Again, Nora yelled.

The world faded out as he began to lose consciousness.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" A tremor overtook the area as a tremendous blast was mixed with screams. Aaron remained curled up, his eyes barely keeping from shutting. No more attacks came. A car alarm brought him back to reality, its siren warped and lowly. He tried making sense of it all but was far too scared to look up. That is, until a familiar figure stumbled towards the wall, waiting there only for a second before hurrying to his side. The typhlosion's hands frantically clasped at his shirt. "Get up, Aaron!" she yelled. "Please! We have to go!"

"Wh-what..?"

"I don't know, but we need to leave!" she cried. Aaron found a final surge of energy: the last-ditch effort of a wounded animal desperate for survival. He rolled over onto his hands and knees. Blood dripped from his nose and mouth onto the ground. And looking to his left, that's when he saw it.

The bodies of his attackers, human and pokémon alike, spread throughout the street. Some were moving, twitching between weak moans. Others were completely still. The admin stared back at him, her eyes dilated, and blood leaked from her facial orifices. He didn't know if the pain or the sight made him feel more nauseated. The car that their reinforcements had arrived in had been flipped upside down.

Nora lowered her body, using her own strength to prop him up. He had to lean on her for support. "Come on!" Aaron trudged along with her, fading in and out every few steps. He wasn't sure how far they got, nor where they went. All he knew for certain was that they needed to get away – to go anywhere else.

Eventually the last bit of adrenaline left his blood, and he collapsed. The frantic pleading of his typhlosion was the last thing he remembered.

Sirens. That was something else. Bright lights flickered amid the smoke, and at some point, he briefly woke to find himself on a stretcher. He faded out.

Then a sharp pain in his side caused him to moan, the ambulance having shaken after hitting a pothole in the road. Aaron felt Nora at his good side, holding him for dear life, and noticed that there were other wounded people in the ambulance with them. One of them was a young male they were trying to do chest compressions on. Noises faded together as each breath hurt. Aaron faded out again.

The last thing he remembered from that day was being wheeled through a pokémon center. People lined the hallways, some with sheets over them, and the nurses ran back and forth. He found himself in a room with several curtains along with people he didn't know. Aaron's eyes flickered open. In the corner of the room, a young woman was hooked up to an IV machine and was completely unresponsive. A slim blue band at her wrist caused him to look to her face, recognizing her as one of the trainers that had jumped him.

Through blurry eyes, he noticed three doctors approaching him, placing a mask over his mouth and nose. As Nora cried in the background, being blocked from entering the room by one of the doctors, he breathed in some gas from the tubes and drifted off.

He woke up to someone coughing. Aaron's eyes slowly opened. He wore a hospital gown, and as his senses returned, he noticed that his bed had been moved back to the hallway, being only one of dozens. Bandages and IVs filled his vision, and as he moved to sit up, an audino wearing a nurse hat ran with a tray of surgical instruments.

Aaron made an effort to sit up, still disoriented. One of the doctors, walking briskly, stopped at his side. "Where am I?" he murmured.

"Nimbasa Pokémon Center, North Side," the doctor answered. "How're you feeling?" The question came out quickly, as if each second spent here was crucial. There were prominent bags under his eyes.

"I… alright, I guess. What happened?"

"Two fractured ribs, one of which almost punctured your lung, and a concussion."

"…Shit." His memory immediately went back towards the event at city hall. "Wait… where's my team?! How—"

"Your pokémon are fine. Bandaged up your serperior myself. They're with your parents."

"…Ugh, Dad's going to kill me…" Aaron murmured. He noticed one of Omega's soldiers at the end of the hall. "What are they doing here?"

"From what I've heard, they've sent one of their knights to every medical center."

"…Their what?"

"That's what they're calling them," the doctor stated.

"Huh." It was then that he looked down the opening within the gown, seeing several blue marks that had been made on his right side. Three X's had been made and a line that was several inches in length. "Arceus, what did you guys do?"

"Two titanium plates, that's what. Look, I need to get going. We need the bed, so if you can stand, you're free to go. They'll give you your pain pills up front." He nodded, wanting nothing more than to be out of here. His team must be worried sick about him. Aaron's feet touched the ground, and he groaned; though he felt no pain, he was exhausted all the same. He nodded towards the doctor before trudging out the double doors.

The main room was crowded, humans and pokémon seated against the walls and along the floor. Several eyes shot up, and at that second, he wondered how many there were waiting for people who wouldn't walk out.

"Aaron!" Nora was the first one there, dodging several others and embracing him tightly.

"Ah!"

"Sorry!" She stepped back, embarrassed, and his team joined her. Aaron's parents were right behind, one of which didn't look happy in the slightest. He immediately looked towards the serperior, who sported several bandages across his body.

"I'm sorry about your vine…"

"It's fine," Aster replied. "It'll grow back. Eventually…" Aaron held his arms out, hugging his team closely. For the first time, he realized just how fortunate he was. There were people in this room who wouldn't be so lucky. His team, despite all the odds stacked against them, was alright.

"If you weren't injured, I'd beat the shit out of you," Robert murmured.

"Love you too, Dad…"

"This is exactly what I was afraid of. Are you ready to listen now?"

"Not exactly, no." Aaron glanced at Nora, who lowered her head. "We've decided that we aren't going to sit by and let this crap happen."

"So you getting beaten half to death isn't enough to bring you back to reality? Dammit, Aaron – you are a kid. You won't win this!"

"I'm not a kid anymore."

"You're my kid!" Aaron fell silent. A scowl had set on Robert's face, but it began to lessen. The armored individual stepped out of the doors, holding his weapon with a finger resting close to the trigger.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked simply. Everyone looked at him but nobody moved an inch.

"…No," Robert stated.

"Then quiet down." He walked back into the hallway, assuming his previous position.

"I'm sorry Dad, but we aren't stopping. Someone has to put these guys in their place." For a moment neither of them said anything. Robert looked his son in the eyes, waiting for him to back down, but it never happened. He sighed.

"You've always done your own thing…"

"This time it's not just about me, though," Aaron replied.

"And you've made mistakes," Robert continued. "We all have. I just fear that this isn't one you can afford to make…"

"I know, Dad – but we have to try. And plus, I'm a lot more scared of Alpha and Delta than these guys. At least Omega has some sense of honor…"

"And if you get jumped again?" The trainer glanced towards Nora.

"We won't."

"…You four… don't make me bury my son."

"We'd rather die," Marcus answered. The reply seemed to pacify Robert for the time, and after a few more words were exchanged, Aaron and his team stepped out of the pokémon center. Smoke rose from the center of Nimbasa.

He tucked a slim plastic bag into his pocket. Two pain pills had been given to him for ribs that had been broken clean in half, pieced back together with plates and screws. Supplies were low, and that was all they could afford to part with considering the massive amount of wounded people coming in per day. The trainer dreaded what it would feel like on that third day.

"Well… what happened while I was out?" He knew that it was at least Monday now.

"The Nimbasa site was a mess," Nora stated.

"…No shit."

"They shut it down soon after we left. Alexander gave a speech about how he was trying to protect life at all costs or whatever, and how the world is full of a bunch of idiots who are more focused on fighting each other."

"So nothing terribly new."

"Not really," the typhlosion said. "But I'm glad you're okay…" He nodded, glancing back towards the dark cloud.

"Guess I'd better call Sofia and let her know what's going on." Having a car was nice while it lasted, but she would undoubtedly demand hers back after he had snapped back at her like he had. And he didn't regret that in the slightest. Unless she had already retrieved it, then it was in that parking garage – that is, if it was still in one piece after all the rioting. The phone didn't ring long before her face appeared on the screen. She sat at the porch at her house, leaning against large decorative stone bricks.

"Any luck?" he asked nonchalantly.

"I was about to call you, but I wasn't sure if you were awake or not." His brow furrowed. Did she know what had happened? She quickly confirmed his suspicions. "Nathan filled me in on the details."

"Oh…"

"I'm… sorry. I didn't know how things would turn out."

"…Yeah, they didn't turn out well for us. What about you?" he asked.

"Not much better. Omega ended up focusing on keeping the peace, and one of their so-called knights ended up taking my Z-crystal…"

"What?!" Aaron exchanged nervous glances with his team. "And your key stone?"

"No, they didn't take that. But that woman told me that my Z-crystal 'didn't belong to me' which is bullshit because I paid good money for that." She placed her hand in front of her chin, clearly agitated. "But whatever. How are you feeling?"

"Good until the pain meds wear off…" Krista snickered, earning a nudge from Marcus. "So what now?" Sofia gave a tiny shrug.

"Guess we just keep at it. See you at the next mission site?"

"…Yeah, I'll see you there." She nodded, hanging up the phone.

"Well that could've gone a lot worse," Krista stated aloud. "Looks like we get to keep the car!"

"Be quiet," Aster snapped.

The ride home was mostly in silence. Nora sat in the front seat while the other three were in the back. He laughed as Aster couldn't exactly wear a seatbelt. But it was only a minor distraction from everything else on his mind – and there was a lot. What had happened during those impossibly long seconds as he awaited death? He should have died there by all means. Nora held the answers; that much was certain.

Once he pulled into the driveway, he removed the keys and handed them to Marcus. "You guys go ahead. We'll be in shortly. I'd… like to talk with you, Nora, about a few things…" She nodded slowly, looking at her faint reflection in the mirror. The other three remained silent until Marcus eventually spoke up.

"Alright." They left him with the typhlosion. Aaron gripped the wheel, and though he had been preparing for this conversation throughout the day, he didn't know where to start.

"Nora…"

"Yeah?"

"Back at City Hall… what was that?"

"I don't know," she replied. "I… I just wanted them gone. To get off of you, and… I don't know what happened…"

"You saw more than I did," he countered. "All I know is that when I looked up, people were all over the place and a car got flipped." She shifted her position and gave him a sideways glance.

"I just wanted them to stop. I… didn't know I could do something like that." Her eyes squinted shut.

"They were trying to kill us," Aaron replied.

"Yeah… but that doesn't mean I wanted to do the same." Her fur had dampened around her eyes. She sniffed. Aaron lightened up, realizing that she had likely been beating herself up over what had happened over the past day.

"I think they'll be fine," he said. Most of them, at least. There was no need for her to know what he had seen. "Whatever the case, had it not been for you… I'd be dead. We all would be, but somehow, you protected us."

"…I guess I finally had something worth protecting," the typhlosion replied. Aaron folded his arms, reclining against his seat. She was responsible for dragging his team into this fight to begin with, having forced him to consider things on a much larger scale than what he was familiar or initially comfortable with. All this from the very same typhlosion who had been so shy when she had first joined them.

And since Pierce was happy, he was glad the trade had occurred.

"Well… I just want you to know that you make our team so much better…. and me, for that matter. For that reason… I'm willing to try this out." Her eyes went wide. As soon as they did, though, she looked away, shaking her head.

"No… I… I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything. Especially that…" Aaron smiled. This was his last chance to keep himself from crossing that line into unfamiliar territory.

"So you don't want to give things a shot?"

"I didn't say that!" she countered, earning a laugh. Aaron only increased her flustered state when he reached across the console and took her hand in his.

"All this time, I guess I was looking at what you are and not who you are. I can't say that I still don't have a few reservations about this. You aren't a human, and I've only ever been with humans. But… maybe I didn't fall for one this time around." Before he could say anything else, Nora all but collided with him, tears in her eyes. She was mindful of his side but held him as though he would leave and never return.

Aaron cupped her cheek. Despite her lack of fire, Nora felt warm to the touch, averting her gaze with uncertain timidity. Soft fur sprung between his fingers, and her breath, short and barely audible, tickled his neck. Though he was uncertain, Aaron couldn't deny the exhilaration – the curiosity – of this relationship.

But this wasn't one of the many girls he'd been with in his wilder years or the vixens who would go home with anyone who caught their eyes at the closing hour of the bar. This was Nora, and she was unlike anyone else he had ever known or been intimate with. As such, she was worth doing things differently.

"Nora?"

"Y-yeah?" Had she not been right against him, Aaron might not have heard her at all.

"Can I kiss you?" She said nothing, only managing the tiniest of nods. He lifted her face and brought his mouth to hers. Nora gasped, though she had to have expected the action, and surrendered to him. A typhlosion, he quickly realized, was much more different than a human, and as he pressed forward, relishing in the involuntary squeal that escaped Nora, there was another feeling of excitement as he felt her smoothly pointed teeth.

When she eventually withdrew, Nora looked up at him with beady eyes. His hand curled around, stroking her ear, and she placed her head under his chin, nuzzling upward. The world was a mess, tearing apart more and more by the day, but with her, he had found a haven. A haven that made him better.

And he had not deluded himself into thinking that this would be without its own complications. Aaron had no idea what his parents would think; he could only hope that they wouldn't react in the same manner as Nathan's. Then there would be societal pressure from both rival factions – and that wasn't even including the ongoing struggle against Omega.

But for now, at this very moment, Aaron was content to rest in that car, showering the typhlosion with newfound affection. She twitched as he brushed across the back of her ear, causing him to grin. "Found your weak spot, didn't I?"

"Cut that out," she murmured, playfully batting his hand away. His mischievousness fell after seeing her enamored expression. Aaron brought his other hand to her opposite cheek, closing the distance once again. As he ignored the closing of his kitchen blinds from his peripheral, he was content to let go of any other concerns. Tonight, the world could tend to itself. Had she been any of the others he'd been with, this would have been the point where clothes were on the floor. But somehow, this was better.

She was better.

A/N: Special thanks to FuryWrites for beta reading this chapter.