Chapter Thirty-Six: Burnout

Aaron shoved the door open with an unnecessary amount of force, tossing his keys on the table as his team followed closely behind. Nobody had said so much as a word during the drive back home. He motioned for everyone to take a seat, which they did, before walking into the kitchen. Aaron scanned the cabinet and grabbed one of the honey-colored bottles. Opening it and picking up a shot glass, he looked at it for a moment before setting it down and simply taking the bottle with him. He all but fell into the seat on the end, pressing the glass bottle to his lips as his pokémon looked at him with a mixture of concern and sadness. Though it burned, that was somehow the last thing that registered to him. After a decent swig, Aaron set it on the table with a loud thwack, looking at it before releasing a delirious laugh.

"Anyone else have any life-altering secrets that they'd like to fill me in on?" he said, his head clouded long before the liquor had reached his system. Nobody offered any words, though from his peripheral, Aaron noticed Marcus' hand slowly raise over the table edge. He cut a glare towards the lucario. "If this is about what you and Brooke have going on, put your damn hand down." Marcus looked down, his hand disappearing under the table once more.

Nora took his hand, though for the first time, it felt like it had no effect. Aaron just stared at the bottle before raising it to his lips again. "Aaron… please. That won't help."

"You're right," he admitted. "Nothing will."

"I'm… sorry," Brooke said. "I don't know them nearly as well as you guys, but… I'm sorry this happened to you. I know you thought pretty high of him…"

"I don't know what the fuck to think anymore," Aaron said.

"Billions of people in the world, and our friend just so happens to be the evil mastermind behind all this…" Krista, it seemed, had barely managed to hold onto some semblance of humor.

"He's not evil," Marcus said quietly, catching everyone's attention. "I've felt Nathan's aura – dozens of times."

"And?"

"…He's probably the most moral person I know. Whatever he's doing, he's doing it for good reason. I don't think both of our legendaries would've joined him if he was anything but pure in heart…"

"So what? That makes us the bad guys now?" Krista pouted. "Why did we have to turn on that damn radio?" Everything would have been fine had they not – had they continued in blissful ignorance. Right now, a sweet lie would have been preferable to the bitter truth.

"Where did he take you, Aaron?" Nora asked. Ever since he'd gone through those first few portals, the life had drained from Aaron's eyes.

"To the darkest, most Arceus-forsaken places on the planet. Omega's helping them – saving them. Half the world didn't need any convincing, dammit! He walked in there as a fucking hero and fixed all the shit that our regions caused!" He took his hand from Nora's placing it to his cheek as the other tried to strangle the glass bottle.

"So our only chance is to win those battles," Krista said. Aaron looked at her in disbelief.

"Did you just listen to a single word that came out of your mouth?" he asked. She shrunk back against her chair. "There is no winning this – there wasn't from the very start. I don't know how I let myself get roped into this, but… there is no beating Nathan. It took our whole damn team to barely take down a trainer that he swept with two pokémon! AND THAT WAS ALMOST TEN YEARS AGO!" The audino flinched at his tone, her optimism falling on deaf ears. Aaron would've felt bad at snapping at her any other time, but right now, he wasn't sure what all he could feel. Aaron glanced at Nora. "What did you say the other day? Trina was what, level ninety? And that was a year ago."

"…Eighty-nine."

"Oh, I'm sorry – that makes a world of difference." Another swig of whiskey followed. "You guys do realize she's the weakest member of his team, right?"

"I'd hate to see what that damn latias is…" Brooke mumbled.

"Sofia's fucked," Aaron stated. "She thinks she's ten feet tall and bulletproof, but I don't know of anyone ready to contest someone who has the firepower Nathan's team has. How much do you think they've trained these past years, under legendaries, no less? And that's not taking into account the fact that we don't even know what the hell two of his pokémon are!" His head was starting to pound. Right now, Aaron wanted to crawl into a hole and sleep for the rest of the invasion. Maybe that's what he would do…

"Look, I know things are scary, but… we can't lose hope," Nora said lowly, as if not really believing her own words.

"Hope?! What hope? The person who taught you a few of her tricks could probably burn this hemisphere down if she wanted! There is no hope!"

"Aaron…" His eyes were glossed over with tears as he looked at her.

"I wish… I wish he'd been insane. I wish he was just some petty guy looking for power – it'd make all this so much easier. We… we would be staring death in the face, but at least we could know that we were right. I don't know anything anymore…" For a while, there was silence in the room as Aaron stared at the table, tears welling up in his eyes. He was about to take another drink when Nora grabbed the bottle. A questioning glare was shot towards her, and only then did he realize that she wasn't taking it from him, but rather taking a drink herself. Nora's face scrunched up from the hard liquor.

"So… what now?" asked Brooke.

"Good fucking question." Aaron already had his reservations about this fight. Maybe Nora had wanted to get involved from the very start, but he had more or less followed her lead. And now, learning that Nathan was the one leading them? He wasn't so certain that he wanted to leave the house for the rest of the month. "Guess I'll let you know when I figure out."

That night, Aaron stared up at a ceiling blankly. Marcus had curled over, almost hugging himself as he dozed. At least, the trainer assumed he was asleep; he didn't bother asking. That question from earlier rang in his head – what were they going to do now? He could continue their missions alongside Sofia's team as though nothing had happened, of course, but now it wouldn't feel the same. Not when the very fight he had been waging all along had been against his best friend. Aaron shut his eyes. Did he still consider Nathan a friend after all that? Keeping secrets was a natural part of life – but not a secret of that magnitude. The very invasion that the so-called Alexander lead had caused trillions of dollars of damage to the world, much of it well beyond repair. Rich and poor had been leveled, all dependent on his good will. What would happen if that ran out? If Nathan decided to cut the power or the food lines? True, the legendaries were keeping him in check, and ultimately the power would be theirs anyway, but Aaron still felt like there were too many loose ends in this whole system for comfort.

What had brought Nathan down this path? To the point where he thought the state of the world was so bad that it needed to be burned to the ground and rebuilt? Maybe things weren't exactly ideal for everyone – or even perfect for anyone, for that matter – but he liked Unova. At least, when Alpha and Delta hadn't been so prominent. But was he right? Aaron asked himself. Were his priorities only on himself and what he liked? Or who, for that matter? He recalled that speech from the campfire where Nathan had accused every single mortal of being part of the problem. Aaron had always known that there were issues in the world. That much was blatantly obvious. But was he part of that? Was he one of those who only served himself?

Aaron's thoughts came to a halt as a humming sound came from the front of the house. He paused, listening closely, until several distinct popping noises followed. What the hell? It took him a moment to process; by that time, the beep signaled that the heating was done. He sat up. Knowing that he wasn't getting much sleep tonight anyways, Aaron slowly worked his way out of the bed and headed into the living room.

Nora was sitting at the table, eating probably-stale popcorn by the handfuls. He cocked an eyebrow, propping himself against the wall as she shoveled it into her mouth without any care towards the heat. "Enjoying yourself?" The typhlosion sat up with a start, hurriedly looking over her shoulder.

"Mmph?!" The two stared at one another for a moment before she swallowed.

"Are you… stress eating?"

"No!" she retorted, not quite loud enough to wake the others. A dry laugh followed, and she averted her gaze. "…Yes…"

"Huh. Well for what it's worth, I'm like… twenty percent more in love with you right now." She rolled her eyes, but the tiniest of grins appeared on her face. Aaron took a seat next to her.

"You… want some popcorn?" Nora pushed the steaming bag closer to him, but he shook his head.

"Nah, I'm good. You have at it. But maybe don't tell Krista." Aaron placed his hand to the side of her face and kissed her cheek. The typhlosion grinned, but before long, it fell. The unspoken tension wasted no time in settling in – a tension that he had thought her immune to. Nora had always been a go-getter from the very start of this invasion. But it seemed as though finding out the truth about Nathan – and Adira, for that matter – had affected the typhlosion just as much as him. "You're scared too, aren't you?"

"Can you blame me?" she asked.

"Not really, no. I knew Nathan a year and a half longer than you. We were close from the very moment he saved my ass from failing out. Or at least… I was close to the Nathan that lived in Undella. The one that jumps across dimensions and raids our planet with an army of legendaries… I didn't ever know he existed."

"And Adira?"

"I didn't really know her that much. Not before you stepped into the picture, that is." He paused. "I imagine that part hits harder for you, huh? The fact that your teacher is involved in this?"

"Involved?" Nora asked. "They're leading it. Yeah I'm upset! Adira was the first person to believe in me – to see something in me that I didn't see in myself. Not that you didn't, I just…" She looked down. "I don't know how to process all of this, either. But we can't let them win."

"We can't exactly stop them, either," Aaron replied. Both of them knew that was true. Aaron, much like everyone, learned what it was like to feel powerless on a global scale, unable to intervene as the invaders took over entire regions and assumed control. But that was nothing compared to what he felt now. Nobody else could understand the helplessness of learning that his best friend had secretly been the most notorious man alive. There were countless questions that could be asked, but one stood out among the others.

Nathan was bound to truth – that much was evident by his partnership with Reshiram. So if he had not been lying about being Aaron's friend, then what did he have to gain from the past two and a half years? He could just as easily not have had anything to do with Aaron and his team, but instead treated them as family. That was why the sudden discovery stung so much – and why he desperately hoped that Nathan had been lying about the whole thing. But the fact that he had Solgaleo in his pocket begged to differ.

As it stood, Nathan Alexander Hayes was the strongest trainer to ever walk the planet – and the greatest threat humanity as a whole had ever faced. And that same person still considered Aaron a friend. Maybe that's why this hurt as much as it did.

"Aaron?" He didn't bother to look at her, holding the typhlosion's hand in his. "I'm sorry I got you caught up in all this…"

"…No," he replied, "don't be. It's not your fault that Nathan is who he is. I just… wish that it had been anyone else. But that's not your fault – never was. All you're guilty of is making Dad almost have a heart attack when he learned that I wasn't dating a human." Nora laughed, giving him a momentary smile. He didn't feel the need to tell her a particular comment that was made during the call; that would come in due time. Right now, they were all dealing with enough as is. Instead, he just sat there by her side, casually munching on stale popcorn as the night drew on.

The air within Aaron's house felt thick enough to suffocate. He assumed the tension couldn't have gotten any higher following what happened yesterday. He was wrong, though – a knock on the door that afternoon proved that much. Nora hesitantly looked out the window and froze in her tracks. "Tell Sofia I'm not interested in whatever bullshit mission is going on right now," Aaron said. He had managed to ignore her stream of texts this morning as Omega began to set its sights on Mistralton.

"It's… not Sofia…" Her voice was quiet, almost coming out as strained gasps.

"Who is it?"

"…Adira." That got everyone's attention, making the pokémon hop on their feet and look fearfully towards their trainer. Aaron's head dropped.

"Open it," he replied.

"Are you crazy?!" Krista said.

"Do you really think that fucking door would be able to stop her of all people?" Aaron retorted. "If she wanted us dead or locked up, it would have already happened by now." Nora sighed, unlocking the door and opening it. The typhlosion averted her gaze awkwardly as the legendary held a wicker basket between her hands.

"Hello, dear," Adira stated.

"H-hey…"

"…I brought a care package." Nora's eyes lowered to the basket, then went back towards the latias. "Do you mind if I come in?" Not a word was said, but she stepped aside, making room for one of the last people they likely wanted in their house at the moment. But Aaron was right; if she had ill-intention, there wasn't anything they could do about it. The fact that Adira didn't come with any animosity made all of this feel that much worse – as well as the fact that she had apparently cooked dinner for them. Adira set the basket on the table before approaching everyone in the living room. "I… had hoped things would have gone better yesterday…"

"Yeah, well… whose fault was that, exactly?" Krista asked. "What did you expect, hiding something like that?"

"I am not certain." Adira looked at the audino, devoid of any malice. That didn't stop the normal-type from freezing under her stare, though. "What I did not expect, though, was for your trainer to lash out and start a fight with someone who has practiced mixed-martial arts for over twelve years…"

"Yeah, I felt all twelve years' worth," Aaron mumbled.

"Still," she continued, "I feel bad about how things went down yesterday. Nathan does, too, but I figured he would not be the person you wanted to see right now…" Adira had made a good call on that account.

"Just… why did it have to be him? Why, of all the people in the entire planet, did my friend have to be the person to start Omega?"

"We began the organization jointly. Nathan wanted to reform Alpha, but it became abundantly clear to us that such a thing was impossible. Not with how radicalized they had become."

"Radicalized? And taking over the planet isn't radical?" Brooke asked.

"You and every other person in this world is already used to answering to authority. Granted, the systems differ from region to region, but everyone must obey something – or someone. We are just making it so that the only people you obey happen to be the only people worth your complete obedience."

"That sounds wrong on so many levels…" the floatzel said.

"And yet two of your very allies know that I am right." Aaron closed his eyes, having a feeling that he knew exactly which two felt that way. They had made it known from the very beginning, after all. "I believe you are very familiar with one of them."

"M-Marcus?!" The lucario's mouth opened, but no sound came out. "She's lying, right?"

"I do not lie, dear. Reshiram does not align with liars."

"I… I think they're right about humans. Probably about most things. But I feel like… Nora had a point, too. The legends had to have a reason in allowing for us to fight back…" He seemed embarrassed in explaining his position – as though the floatzel might jump him for it.

"I am certain of that," Adira said. "After all, had we simply taken over and given you no opportunity to resist, you would resent us for centuries. This way, should we win by fair combat, that resentment will have been lessened." Aaron shook his head; she said that as if there were any possibility that Omega wouldn't win. Well, there was a possibility, but the world was certainly in bad condition if it required both Clay and Elesa to save it.

"Well, who else do I need to be worried about?" Brooke asked. She didn't seem to be taking this well. Aster shrunk back from the snappy statement, catching her attention. "Oh, you've gotta be kiddin' me – you're just saying that because Naomi is on their side!"

"No," Aaron said, silencing the floatzel. "Aster thought they were onto something from the beginning. Before you joined us, we all discussed whether or not we would get involved in this." Upon attention shifting towards the serperior, Adira closed her eyes.

"You have my sympathy with how things are between the two of you. I know you both care for one another – surely this must be hard on you." He looked away, clenching his jaw shut and trying not to appear as though the memories weren't still fresh and painful. Only now, it all made sense.

"You don't need to be 'worried about' anyone, Brooke," Aaron said, addressing the floatzel's prior concern. "Everyone here is on the same side. Well, except for…" He glanced at Adira. "…No offense."

"None taken."

"I just… want to know why," Nora stated. "I get it – humanity is bad and all. But why is this what came to mind? There had to be a million different ways to try and make the world a better place. Why was taking over it the only way?"

"The mortal condition cannot be fixed by the systems they created," Adira answered. "Any efforts to work within the frameworks built by mortals would have rendered our goals ineffective."

"And what exactly are those goals?"

"As Nathan has said before: to spread justice and mercy. To serve Arceus and one another." The latias folded her arms across her chest. "Do you have any idea how many tens of millions of people are alive because of what Omega has done in their regions? Because of the technology and the resources we have brought to them?"

"Why couldn't you have stuck with that? Why couldn't you have just brought those weird people to our world and improved the developing regions?" Nora asked. She seemed to be fishing for some sort of hole in the argument, unable to accept that her teacher and friend had been behind this all along.

"That would not have worked." Adira's eyes fell to the coffee table, where a picture of Aaron and his team was positioned facing the rest of the room. It was a copy of the one that Pierce had asked for. She noticed that it was ever-so-slightly crooked and straightened it. "Tell me: did you know that one of the creators of insulin sold his patent for a single dollar?"

"…No?" Nora was trying to see where the legendary was going with this. Adira held her hand outward, a flashing image floating over it – almost like a hologram. A series of similar molecular shapes appeared, then the image zoomed out into a slim vial held by a vague figure.

"He said that his invention belonged to no man, but rather to the world. He gave his life's work away to help people. Yet the people who obtained the patent, upon building production facilities, had other goals in mind. They profited tens of billions of dollars off of it while those who needed this medicine had to pay hundreds per month, and the price has only gone up with time. Many poor people without health insurance died because of that. Had we brought the Megalopolans to this world, the same would have happened. Your governments and corporations would have grasped their technology and milked it for every penny. Over a few decades, some of it might work its way down to the world's poorest – but the good that could have initially been done would never have happened. The mortal condition is plagued by greed. We had to do things this way."

"But… th-there had to be another way," Nora countered. She desperately sought validation of her own siding. From the sound of it, that wasn't what she got.

"You know in your heart that what I say is true. You all do." Adira was only met with silence at that remark. "Our war is not merely for the elevation of the poor, but for the humbling of everyone. The first-world has become intoxicated with their vices – with their untamed lusts, their envy, laziness and greed. And if someone dares to challenge their lifestyles, wrath and pride fill their hearts. That is not unique only to your time and place, but it has been magnified these past few decades far greater than any point in history. And do you wish to know the worst part of all?" Nobody did, but Aaron knew that she wasn't about to let them off without hearing it. Adira waved her hand outward as if spanning the entirety of North America. "There are churches everywhere you look. The society you live in profanes the very Creator they claim to serve. They claim his name while living without any responsibility or moral code. Unless Unova learns those things, your people will find themselves very disappointed in the life after this."

"So that's just it, huh?" Aaron asked. "We're all hellbound if we don't kneel to Omega?"

"Not to us. But if you value your autonomy over what is right, then you cannot viably claim to serve Arceus. Perhaps that is not what most Unovans want to hear, but it is what they need to hear."

"So you came here to give us a sermon?" Brooke asked.

"No. I came here to hopefully make amends. I know that I likely cannot win you over to our side. Not with how much you have fought us, and not after learning that we lead Omega. But know this: we are not your enemies. The true enemy is out there, being subdued as we speak. It is moral bankruptcy, and it must be destroyed – even if individualism must perish along with it." There was a silence in the air – one more uncomfortable than any of the previous. The trainer knew that she was wholeheartedly devoted to this. Most of the legendaries seemed to be. It was nice to know that they felt people like Aaron and his pokémon were not innately evil by fighting against Omega. But at the end of the day, while they may not be enemies, the idea of being allies with Nathan and his team no longer held.

"I guess… our training sessions are done with, huh?" Adira hardly blinked at the typhlosion's comment.

"If all of you are able to stand up to Clay's team, then you are in fine condition. The fact that you defeated three on your own suggests that you have learned all that you need to. In fact, one could argue that you have gone beyond that scope…"

"What do you mean?" Nora glanced at Aaron as though he had the answer.

"You stopped a hyper beam and absorbed its energy. Though you were in a position in which you had no choice, that was an incredibly dangerous move. Siphoning such tremendous energy into one of your own attacks could very well have killed you and everyone around."

"W-what?!"

"One of the most fundamental properties of the universe is that a system will always move to a position of greater stability. Everything follows the path of least resistance, so to speak, and in the most energy-efficient way possible."

"Your point being?" Aaron asked. Adira rolled her eyes.

"If the path of least resistance happens to be in such a way that pulls thermal energy from your body… you and Nora would have been dead before she could have stopped the attack." That got everyone's attention. "You see why I have shown great care to teach you, dear. What you pulled off against Clay's garchomp was just as dangerous as what you did in Nimbasa. I would advise you against pushing your luck."

"Then help me control it – please!" Nora begged. Adira looked down. For a moment, it seemed as though she would agree. But the latias shook her head.

"I will not give you a tool that could be used against us. There are far too many eternal souls at stake to even entertain the idea."

"But—"

"I would advise against attempting that again. Is that understood, Nora?" The typhlosion said nothing but managed a meek nod. Adira sighed. "I will, however, teach you how to heal. Mending wounds is something that all should learn, if possible. You, like every other powerful psychic, are very capable of doing that. But this will be the end of our lessons."

"…Alright…"

Adira glanced toward the television console, seeing the time on the sleek box unit. "It is getting late, and I have other things to attend to. I will stop by periodically throughout the week so that we can train. Aside from the upcoming Mistralton missions, there will be no more until mid-September."

Having said what she came to, Adira left on as awkward a note as she had arrived. The silence from before had somehow become more potent as everyone kept to themselves, likely trying to deal with this in their own way. Brooke sadly approached the lucario, who hugged her silently. Nora was too numb to do the same, and Aaron wasn't even sure that would help right now. They both were in that same boat. He needed time, though he wasn't sure how much – or if there even was enough, for that matter. Aaron retreated to the bedroom, fell onto the bed and stared at the ceiling until he fell asleep.

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