Chapter Forty-Two: The Desert Storm
The crackling sounds and flashing lights signaled the new year as Aaron and his team watched the display from his parents' patio. Whether Nathan had deemed it a nice gesture or saw it as an opportunity to celebrate Omega's victory over the whole world, Aaron wasn't sure, but it was nice. It reminded him of normal times.
It was the following morning when their break came to an end. Like his previous uncomfortable conversations, Aaron wasn't sure when to call Sofia. Whether or not he was ready, though, was irrelevant.
She called him.
Aaron walked into the small backyard, only large enough for a few vegetable plants that had introduced a little more variety than the typical rations. He took a deep breath before answering. As the first few seconds proceeded, he wasn't sure what to say.
"...Hey," Sofia murmured. For once, she sounded meek. Uncertain. That wasn't the Sofia he knew.
"Hey Sofia." Another pause. Already, this was more awkward than he anticipated. But he remembered his conversation with Nora and closed his eyes. "Listen... I'm sorry for how I snapped at you."
"...You were completely right." He had to do a double check to make sure he'd heard that correctly. "Every single word of it."
"That's... not how I expected this conversation to go." She forced an awkward laugh.
"Me neither. Not until a few nights ago." Sofia collected herself. "I went back to my family's place for Christmas. I'm sure you did the same. Not like there's a whole lot else to do now."
"True that," he replied.
"And I watched my team. They did their own thing, same as my parents and I, but they hardly spoke a word to us. It dawned on me that I was their trainer and little more than that." Aaron sighed. "That's all I've ever been. Hell, Pierce has been here for a little over a year and he's already closer with my team than I've ever been. I thought back to those moments at the campsites where Aster would lay his head on your lap, or you would cut up with Krista over some dumb joke..." She gave another dry laugh. "It dawned on me that I didn't have those things. I think... I know why that is now."
Aaron wasn't initially sure what to say in response to that, but eventually settled on a safe reply. "Whatever the case, I shouldn't have reacted the way I did... even if you did damn near lay me out with that punch."
"Yeah... sorry about that, too." There was a pause between them, though Aaron felt relief during it. It felt nice to have gotten past the hostilities previously held. "So what happens now? We've got enough points to take that third spot."
"Honestly, we have way bigger issues at hand." Aaron frowned.
"What's wrong?" It always had to be something, especially now that he and his team were trying to take things easy.
"I don't know," Sofia replied, "but there are about two dozen airships heading towards Castelia, so whatever they're doing has to be big." Aaron headed towards the street, and sure enough, spotted the Hydreigons she was referring to.
"What the hell are they up to?" he murmured, mostly to himself. "Well, if we go there and get caught, that's probably it."
"We've risked getting killed several times. Getting locked up by Omega isn't all that bad."
"Fair enough." He watched as several aircraft seemed to disappear amid the morning sun. "Ah, what the hell. Let's go."
Aaron left his parents without word of where he was going. Truth be told, he didn't know where they were headed, finding himself taking a road adjacent to his apartment complex. Cars lined the road while multiple species of pokémon were standing by. Sofia called him, following him a few miles behind once he hopped on the freeway. It didn't take long for him to figure out what was going on.
"Fuck," he said over the phone. His team looked out the windows, watching as the aircraft opened up and several pokémon flew downwards. "Well, I found out what's going on."
"Are you at Castelia yet?" Sofia asked.
"No. They aren't going for Castelia," Aaron said, pulling to a stop at a mostly-empty highway. The few other cars that were on the road were being directed away. "They're in the Desert Resort."
"Great. So it's finally happening, huh?" she asked.
"Seems like it." Zak had warned them that demolition was soon coming. If he had to guess, the nukes had delayed the operation, but at the turn of the new year they were ready to turn over every bit of territory they saw fit to the inhabitants of the Desert Resort. "Well, what now?"
"We fight." Aaron rolled his eyes.
"Sure – but they might have a point with this one."
"If they destroy thousands of apartments and houses, they're doing nothing different than the people who originally expanded into that territory," Sofia reasoned.
"Guess so." He shut the car off and stepped out. The air was cool, but there was no snow today. A massive bridge arched over the perpendicular street, many of their potential opponents on top of it. Patches of planted grass had begun to grow inwards towards the asphalt after not having been tended to for nearly a year. On the outer side, though, was sand. Aaron's team looked around a barren road, littered with abandoned and broken vehicles. A city bus with its engine ripped out and tires slashed blocked anyone from going further. Several eyes shot towards them as they remained still while the last few vehicles were being evacuated.
Sofia joined them within minutes, parking a few yards behind him. She clutched a thin jacket to her frame and looked around before releasing her team. "They're getting everyone out of here," Aaron said. "Looks like they plan on taking down this road and every other between Nimbasa and Castelia." A krookodile larger than Pierce stared them down, saying something to a few of his friends. Pierce shrunk back.
"That's just great," Sofia said. She motioned towards a pair of golem-like creatures standing by the edge, ready to intervene at a moment's notice. A regirock and registeel would be a new challenge, maybe even more so than the dozen or so ships that sailed overhead. They began to approach along with the krookodile, stopping a respectable distance behind as the dark-type continued. He finally came to a halt a few feet ahead of the two trainers, folding his arms and grinning.
"Well now," he began, "there's always that one, ain't there? Or two in this case. Maybe you guys are a tad bit slow, but I do believe we made it pretty damn clear that y'all need to turn around and leave."
"We aren't going anywhere," Sofia said. "And given the fact that you're looking at the two strongest trainers in Unova, I wouldn't count on making us leave if I were you." The krookodile laughed at that remark.
"Sure, sure. You kids beat a couple of trainers and think you're hot shit, huh?" He realized that he wasn't the only member of his species present, and for a moment, his grin dropped. "You… tell me, how's it feel to side against your own?" Pierce looked down and didn't answer, causing the larger krookodile to shake his head dismissively. "Anyways, I know when I'm beat. But I'll tell you this much: I'm not the one you need to worry about."
"We've taken on several legendaries. A regirock and a registeel aren't any different."
"Oh, those guys?" the krookodile said. "I wasn't talking about them, either." With that, he turned around and began walking away from them. Aaron exchanged a glance with Sofia, then back towards the retreating dark-type.
"Then who?" The gator's razor-sharp teeth peeked through an agape maw as he flashed them a final look.
"I'd suggest leaving – for your own safety. You don't wanna be here when the Desert Storm sweeps through." Aaron furrowed his brow at the strange statement. There was a bit of wind today, but the skies were clear and the world was calm – minus the people about to destroy the roads.
"Guys…" Pierce meekly said, catching the others off guard. Aaron froze when he faced his former pokémon. He was terrified. "We need to go – now!"
"What? And let them completely cut all transport between the two biggest cities in the country? Hell no." Despite his trainer's refusal, he approached her, his body language almost begging to be let back into his ball.
"No – you don't understand," he pleaded. "We can't win this – and I really don't want to die now! Please!"
"Slow down – nobody's dying here." Aaron's words seemed to do little to reassure the others, judging from several wide-eyed faces. Whether that was from the approaching golems or Pierce's paranoia, he wasn't certain. "What's going on?"
"If he said what I think he did, this fight's about to be way out of our league."
"We literally beat two of Omega's strongest trainers. What the hell else can they throw at us?" Sofia asked.
"None of that means shit, okay?! If any of you wanna keep breathing, then we need to—"
A crash sounded behind the trainers, kicking up dust in every direction.
Pierce's head lowered, and he all but whimpered. "Oh Arceus…"
"I'm afraid not," a low, yet still feminine, voice said. Aaron turned around, having to look up to meet the unnaturally large opponent's lensed eyes. Nearly seven feet tall was a colossal flygon, but more intimidating was what looked like bullet scars throughout her wings. "I know you two are trying to play hero – like usual – but this is no mission site. Leave now."
"Great idea—"
"Quiet, Pierce. We aren't going anywhere, and neither are our roads." Sofia's words seemed to anger the flygon.
"YOUR roads?!" Somehow, her voice drowned out the crashing sound behind her. The two legendaries had leapt over the edge and were approaching. "That's rich! Do you know how many bodies of our own are buried beneath this concrete?! What all the humans did for the expansion of their precious cities?!" The golems released mechanical noises as they stood on either side, energy shining through their eyes as they presumably were readying their attacks.
"Look… I'm sorry about all that, but if you do this, you're no better."
"Okay, now you're starting to really piss me off," the dragon snapped. Her claws clenched shut as she took a step towards them. "Nothing that will be destroyed existed thirty years ago. Nobody is getting displaced from anything they didn't move into. Now leave before I make you. My patience is wearing thin." Aaron glanced at their pokémon, all but one of whom were assuming defensive stances.
"No," Brooke said. "We've fought far worse. We're gonna stop you – and this whole Desert Storm operation."
"The Desert Storm isn't the mission," Pierce stated. "…It's her." Both trainers shot him a skeptical look.
"What now?"
"She's the sole reason humans couldn't advance into the Resort before the last four years. When she left… the construction resumed. Every mercenary Unova sent to kill her is somewhere under this sand – many of them in pieces. We can't win this fight…" For as long as Aaron had known Pierce, the krookodile had always been confident. For him to be acting this way was worrisome. And yet now, things made sense: he had joined as a sandile when it became clear that humans would overtake the Resort.
"It's been years since I've killed a person," the dragon said. "I am not looking to break that streak." She lowered her head, a rumbling growl escaping her maw. "Breaking your legs, however, is fair game."
"In any case, we're busting this little operation up." Sofia's words elicited a response from the flygon.
"Very well." To everyone's surprise, she motioned her hand towards the golems as if shooing them away. "Go tear up some roads or something. I've got this covered."
"Ün ün ün…" the regirock replied. Nevertheless, they turned around and headed away from the scene. Aaron was growing more concerned by the moment; the flygon wouldn't have done such a thing unless she was either insane or incredibly confident. Given Pierce's remarks on her, he worried it was the latter. Aaron slipped out his PDA, and after pointing it towards her, he had to make sure he was seeing things correctly.
"…That isn't possible."
"What?" Sofia asked.
"It says she's level one hundred forty-one…" The only sound that could be heard was the heavy footsteps of the retreating legendaries.
"Bullshit – it stops at one hundred."
"If anyone could hit that level, it would be her…" Pierce said.
"Pierce might be right," Aaron concluded. "If she really knows half the moves this list says, then this isn't a fight we want."
"I'll take her," Nora volunteered. The flygon rolled her eyes.
"Sure you will. Unlike you all, I actually have somewhere I need to be in a few minutes, so I'm going to speed things up." She backed up. That was the last thing that processed to Aaron before the whole world seemed to jump.
"Nngh…" Aaron groaned as he stumbled onto his feet with his pokémon.
"I am the Desert Storm, foremost knight of Groudon and the most powerful non-legendary alive." All eleven pokémon readied themselves as she unfurled massive, heavily-muscled wings. The flygon bared her teeth as the asphalt began to crack around her legs. Her claws had cut grooves in the road, and in the background, the alarms of their cars were blaring. "And I have yet to face defeat."
Nora thrust her arm forth instinctively and formed a shield, finding herself shoved back as a wave of sand smashed against it. Teeth clenched, she yelled. "Move! I can't hold it for long!" The others rushed to their spots before she let the barrier fall. She felt her heart leap before she rolled. Sand blasted through her fur, scraping skin as Nora jumped back onto her feet.
The sand coursed like waves. Everyone acted without orders or hesitation. The flygon slammed her foot into the ground. A wave of crushed asphalt was flung towards them faster than they could think, rising dust forcing her eyes shut as Nora blocked the projectiles. When she could open her eyes, she saw the blurs. The orange fur of a floatzel zipped by as the Desert Storm swatted her away. Clouds of sand and debris swept through and blotted out the sky.
"Hit her with ice attacks! All at once!" Sofia yelled. Marina, Wynette and Krista all used ice beam while the ampharos sped towards her to land a punch. The colossal dragon shielded the blast with a mighty wing, and as Seth collided with her, she planted her foot in the electric-type's midsection. The ampharos was sent tumbling towards his trainer and didn't move.
"Bit cold for my liking," she remarked. The flygon swung her wing outward and exhaled a jet of flame towards the three pokémon. All of them yelped and broke their formation, ending an attack that did little more than annoy their opponent – an opponent who didn't seem to be taking this fight seriously.
Sand was swept through everything, overtaking the broken road and pulsing with every move on the dragon's part. Silenus swung a barbed metal claw towards their enemy. A sound like metal striking metal could be heard as she swatted it away, striking underneath him and hurling him into the air as multiple attacks hit her. The ferrothorn landed and went still.
'Nothing's working!' Nora told her trainer while leaping over another pulse through the ground. Sand rushed inward and filled the fissures as they appeared. "Everyone at once! She can't take us all!" Yelling that out loud proved to be a mistake. The Desert Storm stomped the ground, shooting massive rock formations around her before launching them in each direction. Nora thought quickly and shielded everyone she could, knocked over by the sheer force of the attack.
Marcus ducked under one projectile and sprinted towards her, jumping into the air and striking the back of her head with his bone staff. It snapped. Marcus formed another and spun around, aiming towards her neck. She caught it with a single hand. "Cute stick." She shattered the construct before her foot met his stomach, kicking him off the ground as the wind was forced from his lungs. The flygon snatched him up and smashed her head into his. He lurched over for everyone to see, and his trainer looked at the scene in horror. She held his limp body by a single arm, sneering at the eight remaining opponents. "This is Unova's best hope of stopping us?! How disappointing!"
"Let him go!" Brooke snapped, hurling an ice beam towards the flygon, who dropped Marcus' body as a tendril of sand caught the floatzel's leg.
"Gotcha now!" the dragon hissed as sand encased Brooke. She ignored the other attacks before thrusting off the ground and closing the distance as fast as lightning. Sand exploded in each direction as the flygon struck Brooke. Aaron clenched his fist when he saw his pokémon, crying as she held her abdomen as though it were about to burst. Four down and nothing to show for it.
Aster coiled around her, pinning her arms to her side. "NOW!" he yelled. Wynette went for an ice punch to the back of her knee while Nora launched a psychic wave towards the Desert Storm's head. She growled, and as the ice began to coat her wings, snapped out of the serperior's grasp. He yelped as the dragon grabbed him by the throat and slung him around, catching Krista off guard and smacking the audino into a concrete pillar. Nora broke Aster's fall telekinetically before helping the audino up. Krista stumbled to her feet, but it wasn't long before the flygon caused the earth to rumble once again.
Aaron's eyes raced around the scene. The flygon shook off every attack thrown her way, flinging earth and concrete with reckless abandon. A vine curled itself around her neck, and with that, she decided to focus on Aster. Jagged rocks shot from the ground, towering into the sky as the serperior did his best to dodge – only for the flygon to send a massive wave into the concrete pillars. He moaned before her claws closed around his throat again. Aster's eyes went wide as he stared death in the face, that snarling maw merely a foot away and hand poised to strike. He prayed for Aaron to recall before realizing that she was right between them.
The flygon punched the concrete pillar, fracturing it into pieces. The bridge began to collapse in the area before she carelessly tossed the serpent towards his trainer. They prepared for the worst, but it never came. Chunks of concrete larger than cars floated in place, suspended from falling. With a single hand, the flygon twirled several tons of stone around her as though they were nothing. Then, shattering them all into pieces, she flew amid the cloud of projectiles and climbed higher into the air. She raised an arm, turned back and hurled all of them at once. Nora did her best to protect everyone, but the barriers were smashed as fiery rocks collided with the earth.
Sand kicked up in the air as craters formed. Somewhere in the chaos, Wynette shrieked as a bone in her leg snapped. The flygon narrowed her eyes towards Nora. "If I take you out, the others won't last a few seconds!" Aaron felt his heart stop as the dragon slammed into the ground, barely missing Nora with a sweep of her wing. She dodged a punch, leapt over an earthquake and tried to put some distance between them. Nora narrowly avoided a boulder not much smaller than her body, swiftly pivoting around as another was launched. Thinking quickly, Nora telekinetically grabbed it and slung it in an arch – right back to its sender. It slammed into the side of the flygon's face.
She shook her head and blinked. A trickle of blood made its way from one nostril, which she brought her claw to and looked at. "Huh… that one actually hurt a little." The flygon looked towards Nora and grinned. "Alright then." That was the last thing that registered to Nora as the dragon swept an arm outward. The earth obeyed her every command, rising dozens of feet into the air in a colossal wave and destroying everything in its vicinity. Nora was flung away from the fight and only barely retained consciousness after landing against the hard, unforgiving asphalt. Aaron rushed to her side as the flygon focused on the others.
Marina was the next to go. The dragon shielded her face as the vaporeon kept the ice beam going. Pierce's earthquake failed to even make her flinch, and as he attempted a sucker punch, he was swatted away. The water-type squealed as the road underneath her cracked, the chunk she was on being flung into the air towards the flygon. A single punch had rolled her over.
This wasn't looking good. Aaron had never felt so worthless before as a trainer, watching as Pierce's body came to a dragging halt in front of him. Chloe had kept to the air and avoided all of the ground-based attacks, pelting the flygon with dragon pulses, but she had been largely ignored in favor of the other targets. Now, though, the Desert Storm looked up and snarled. Jagged rocks zipped through the air. The noivern took one to the chest and fell from the sky. She coughed, rolling over. Blood leaked from her mouth onto the dust and sand. A heavy thud came from behind as the flygon came to finish the job. A bright light took the aggressor's vision for but a moment.
"MOVE!" Krista said to the fallen dragon. The flygon directed her attention to her with an angered snarl. Nora sprinted back to the scene, trying to get there before their enemy could do any more damage, her head throbbing with every step. Bending forth, the flygon punched the ground rapidly. Each strike blasted sand and stone through the air and hurled their bodies upwards. Nora shielded herself from the debris and saw her opportunity. No allies in her way, she unleashed her strongest move.
The flygon roared as the psychic waves slammed into her, pivoting around and launching herself towards Nora. She tasted blood as her body lurched forward, flown into the side of the bus. Glass shattered from her head hitting a window. Nora fell, looked up through blurry eyes and tried to make sense of what was going on. Krista whimpered while dodging to the best of her ability. The flygon flung a chunk of concrete weighing several tons overhead, and fearing for her life, she leapt into the bus through the broken door, scrambling to the front of it. Her footing was lost when a pointed stone shot up and impaled the bus, cutting it clean in half and blocking her path. And then the sound of creaking metal.
Krista turned around in horror. The steel parted without her even having to touch it, the flygon splitting the bus in half with each step. Her vicious gaze looked hungry, freezing Krista in place. Her powers wouldn't work, her body couldn't move, and as the monster inched only a few feet away, she trembled as tears fell uncontrollably. The flygon lurched forward and roared. Krista screamed.
A blue pulse overtook the bus. The Desert Storm's head snapped around, her claws tearing through a smashed seat and hurling it upward. Chloe's wing was clipped, and as she cried out, the flygon intercepted her in a violent crash. Wings flailed as the dragons fell from the sky. When the dust settled, the larger of the two roared aloud, her foot on the unconscious noivern's back.
Nora stumbled back onto her feet as Sofia recalled the pokémon. The Desert Storm shifted her glance towards the typhlosion. "Still standing after all that?" she sneered. "Let's fix that."
"We… we won't let you take this world's freedom." She lethargically stood on her hind legs.
"Oh, there will be freedom alright – freedom for those who kneel!"
"That doesn't sound like freedom at all," Nora retorted, preparing her attack.
"It's the only freedom you deserve!" The flygon lurched forward. Nora shot a psychic blast towards her and rolled under a low swipe. A mighty wing slapped the asphalt beside her face and pulverized it into dust. Nora jumped as the Desert Storm's tail swept the air underneath with enough force to shatter her legs. Her claws met their mark, slicing along the dragon's torso with fire and cleaving through the uppermost layer of scales.
The flygon slashed and stomped, destroying everything in her path. Nora couldn't withstand this for long. She jumped back as a tendril of sand sliced through the air like a blade, grinding the flesh under her fur. Another cataclysm was fired. The flygon stomped the ground, digging the claws of her feet into the earth and braced herself as the psychic waves blasted everything in their direction. The typhlosion panicked as the enemy raised her hand, guarding her face, and took a step forward. The same force that blew humans apart and nearly killed Clay's garchomp was merely holding her in place. A hearty laugh came from the flygon who took another step. "Come on!" she roared. Nora cried out as she unleashed everything in her power, lethal amounts of energy shattering concrete fragments and bending metal streetsigns.
She took another step forward. Nora's vision began to cloud as exhaustion overtook her – but there was no choice. The lives of her and everyone else were at stake. The flygon came closer. Fear crawled through her veins, suffocating her as the Desert Storm stood feet away. That was the last sight she saw before the flygon spun around and slammed her tail into Nora's side. A sickening smack sounded.
The typhlosion's body folded as she sputtered for oxygen, sand filling her nostrils as she did so. Tears leaked from her face as the pain throbbed in her side, feeling as though her entire ribcage had collapsed. "NORA!" Aaron yelled as he ran towards her. The flygon struck the ground and launched pillars of stone, separating trainer and pokémon.
"You were strong," the Desert Storm said, "but not strong enough. End this futile struggle."
"N-never…" To everyone's surprise, Nora pushed herself up. Every muscle felt liquid. She brushed the blood from her mouth and glared at the enemy.
"Have it your way," the flygon growled. She thrust herself off the ground, sending sand and rock flying as she did so. A loud crash could be felt through the ground as the dragon slammed into the ruined bus, pulling the half that was still intact off of the jagged stone that impaled it. Nora felt paralyzed as the enemy lifted it above her head, her maw snarling and agape.
All the world seemed to go silent as the sun was blotted out. The vehicle tumbled through the air, shards of metal flying in every direction. With no time to dodge, Nora did the only thing she could: she raised a barrier. Time crawled to a halt as she awaited the worst, uncertain if she could even stop a projectile of that size – uncertain if that fearful glance towards her trainer would be the last she ever saw of him. Her eyes squinted shut as she held her ground.
The flygon flew through the bus, blowing it apart into countless pieces before finishing the charge. Aaron stretched his hand forward and cried out as the flygon slammed into Nora, shattering the shield. Her body tumbled to a stop, her head striking a stone. "FUCK!" he yelled, sprinting towards the typhlosion. He slipped a few feet away from her and scrambled the rest of the way, scooping her up and pressing his fingers to her neck. His own breathing resumed once he felt a pulse.
He glanced towards the flygon in terror. Despite her savagery, the Desert Storm stood still, replying with little more than a heavy exhale. She turned around and began to leave. "Wh-what the hell are you?" Sofia asked.
"…Tired," she simply stated. "Tired of you humans steering this planet straight to hell.." She turned around. "You're welcome, by the way." When neither of the trainers knew what to say, the dragon continued. "I could have killed them all. Had I unleashed all of my power, I could have crushed their skulls like grapes – and had I been the same person I was years ago, I would have." She closed her eyes. "But I have learned control. Now it is time you humans do the same."
"I-I don't…" Aaron's throat felt dry, and the words died in his throat, lest he provoke the flygon further. With a slow wave of her arms, all the wreckage from the fight began to sink into the ground. The flygon closed her eyes, pulling sand over it all until nothing remained but the rolling dunes. Aside from half of a destroyed bus, there was no evidence of what had just transpired here.
"This fight is well beyond either of your capabilities. I am merely the second strongest mortal. You do not wish to face the first on the field of battle." They fell silent. Spreading her wings, the flygon prepared to take off. Before she did, though, she turned around. "It is a shame, though. I had hoped Nora would provide a greater challenge."
Aaron flinched as she launched into the air, flying up to the remnants of the massive bridge and striking it with a heavy blow. A red energy coursed along the concrete in either direction, forming cracks as the world shook, and as she flew off, a construct that had cost tens of millions of dollars collapsed into rubble. He looked to Sofia, then back at Nora. Closing his eyes, he returned her. They found Krista right where the flygon had left her, the audino still whimpering when they approached.
The trainers deactivated the alarms of their cars. Saying little, they got in and drove off. For the next hours, all that could be heard throughout Southern Unova were the explosions throughout the Desert Resort.
A/N: Special thanks to FuryWrites for beta reading this chapter.