Lopunny then rocketed toward Carracosta and clocked him in the head with her ears. The turtle was slammed into the floor, leaving a crater that cleared out the space around them. Galvantula tried to shoot a web to restrain her, but Lopunny grabbed it. It quickly began to freeze, forcing Galvantula to let go. Lopunny then grabbed the frozen web, jumped after Galvantula, and smacked it into him. Despite the flames surrounding them, the ice wasn't melting. It wasn't ordinary ice. This was permafrost. Ice that would take months or years to melt. Once he landed, Galvantula looked up to see Lopunny about to stab him with the frozen web. He sidestepped the attack and tried to send a thunderbolt toward her. Alas, all she had to do was raise a single ear to block that attack. She then jumped up after him and summoned a block of ice and shattered it with her ears. All of the ice chunks were launched at the spider, crushing him underneath.
Meanwhile, Gardevoir and Gourgeist were still in combat. Gardevoir was trying to land a powerful fairy-type blow to free Garchomp. Gourgeist wasn't willing to give up so easily. Every time the former tried to make a move, Gourgeist had some sort of counter. Garchomp was just too mobile to catch her. That was when Gardevoir had an idea. So far, Gourgeist hadn't used a single ground or dragon-type attack. She had her plan locked in. Freezing in place, Gardevoir shut her eyes and focused on the ground around her. Gourgeist saw her opportunity and charged toward the psychic type. She roared furiously as her arms were wrapped up in ghostly flames.
Just then, the rocks surrounding her reached out and grabbed her. Gourgeist scoffed at this and tried to break free and at first, she succeeded. More and more stones began to surround and envelop her. The raw strength within Garchomp's body was no longer going to be enough. With no way to actually use the power within Garchomp's body, Gourgeist was trapped. With the advantage back on her side, Gardevoir soared towards Gourgeist with two fairy-type blasts and barreled into her.
The attack landed squarely on its target. Gourgeist was sent through the rocks and out of Garchomp's body. Gasping for air, Garchomp looked around frantically to make sense of what had just happened. Gardevoir got rid of the stone bondage and tightly hugged the dragon type. Wordlessly, Garchomp returned the embrace, before both looked back at a greatly injured Gourgeist. Sternly approaching the defeated ghost type, Gardevoir gave her orders,
"Stay down! The police will be here soon to take you in." Garchomp then slammed a foot next to Gourgeist's head and growled,
"You ought to be grateful I don't crush you right now!"
Gourgeist knew she was cornered. She knew that last attack had left her unable to do much of anything. In hindsight, she wouldn't have taken Garchomp's body if she knew a fairy type was nearby. There were very few options left. However, that was when she looked back over at Lopunny and the others. Lopunny had mega evolved into a new form and was currently dominating the others. New transformation. That was her ticket out of this mess.
"What do you mean?" asked Aggron to the injured Lucario on his back. Kakureta was silent for a few moments, sensing the situation. It was then that she told him,
"Mega Evolution is inherited from your species. From when our ancestors first unlocked the form, our bodies adapt over the centuries to overcome the weaknesses of the form. However, with split evolution, the body has to readjust to a brand-new form." Aggron's eyes went wide with horror,
"So…that means…"
"Any second now, your friend is gonna lose that form and she's gonna crash hard," said Gourgeist. Gardevoir's heart froze. If that was true, then it was only a matter of time until they both perished. Immediately, Gardevoir and Garhcomp looked towards each other and prepared to interfere when Gourgeist had an ace up her sleeve. You see, possession is a powerful tool. After all, it allows you to take over the body. Why wouldn't it be? However, there's one minor quirk that gave Gourgeist the perfect chance to stall for time.
You can also read minds, and there is a lot you can learn about a lot of people just from one person.
"I wouldn't be too hasty, princess," said Gourgeist to Gardevoir. Something about the ghost-type confidence shook hers. She asked,
"What are you talking about?" Gourgeist then revealed a little button and pressed it. In the distance, a faint, but distinctive boom erupted through the air. Gardevoir's heart froze once she realized what that was. Immediately, Garchomp turned to the psychic type and told her,
"That can wait, the authorities can handle it!"
That protest fell on deaf ears. She couldn't see what had just exploded but it couldn't be good. She looked back over at Lopunny, still bleeding from her prior wounds. If the transformation didn't defeat Lopunny, the blood loss would. She was on a time limit. However, the same could be said to all of those who were probably injured by that blast, not to mention there would be more of them. Lopunny could hold her own if push came to shove. But then again, what if she couldn't? What if she suddenly lost? What if that form faded out and she was left to die. But what if there were children caught in that explosion? Gardevoir looked back towards the fire and smoke, trying to track where that sound came from, but couldn't see past all the smog.
Gourgeist grinned and began to bluster,
"There might be people trapped under the rubble, princess! You don't wanna leave behind those poor, defenseless, innocent people, do you?" Garchomp snapped at Gourgeist,
"Can it!" before turning to Gardevoir and pleading with her, "Please, if Lopunny goes down, Infernape dies too!" Gardevoir grabbed her own arms and stared down into the dirt, trying to figure what to do. Does she hope Lopunny lasts long enough in the fight and go save the civilians, or does she save Infernape and Lopunny and spend the rest of her life knowing that she had the chance to save innocent lives, and did nothing? Friends or victims. The few or the many.
That was when her mind began to take a turn. It was most likely that those people were buried under rubble. That meant all she would need to do was lift the rubble and move it out of the way. If she was fast, she could probably save both before any harm was done. Still, that was a hugely dangerous plan. What if she couldn't find where the explosion was. Add on to the prior what-ifs, that plan was no more or less dangerous than her other options, but she didn't worry about that. Instead, she wondered about the fame. What would they say about her? The heroic Chrona Jigamasa, saving not only her friends, but the people of Fortren as well. Her mind then tried to snap back into reality, but Gourgeist was there to sway her.
"I can see the article now! 'Local woman let's children-'" Garchomp immediately kicked Gourgeist across the face, knocking her out. She looked back and reached out to Gardevoir but was too late. The psychic type rocketed off into the air, flying off to find those who were trapped. As she flew, tears were lost in the air as she told herself over and over again,
"You can make it."
That explosion didn't just hurt civilians. Aggron and the Lucario twins were running underneath a branch underpass when that blast erupted mere feet from them. Immediately, Aggron threw himself in front of the twins and all three were thrown into a nearby wall. Before Aggron's body crushed the two of them, Kakureta managed to raise her hands and, for the briefest of moments, raised up a dark blue barrier that saved them. The steel type wasn't so lucky. The blast had hurt him badly. His entire body felt like it was on fire, both inside and out. He could feel his legs ready to give out at any moment.
The wood and brick around them began to fall apart. The building above them began to collapse. It tumbled over and threatened to crush them all. Despite his most likely broken legs, Aggron knew he had to help somehow. He stood up and caught the collapsing home and he was forced into the ground. He mega evolved as quickly as he could to give him extra strength. The twins looked towards the steel type as he struggled to keep them safe. Kakuerta then told Yawarakai,
"Go! Run!"
"I'm not leaving you behind!" yelled Yawarakai and he tried to pull his sister to her feet. She pushed him away from her,
"Just go! You need to live, brother."
"So do you!" he cried out with tears in his eyes.
"No I don't!" screamed Kakuerta, "I was the reason Dad's in a coma!"
Aggron looked back to see the stunned Yawarakai staring back at his sister. That declaration shook him to his core. What happened? Was she shouldering the blame like he was? With just a few words, he was back at Infenishore. Surrounded by death and destruction by a cataclysm unlike any seen before. Clawing desperately at the rubble, hoping that he could free his parents from their fate. But he didn't get that chance. Now someone was not only going through the same thing but had beaten herself up to the point of desiring death. The two locked eyes for a precious few moments and in that, there was a moment of understanding. He spent nearly a decade blaming himself for it. He would never allow anyone else to go through that.
Gritting his teeth, Aggron roared as he poured more and more power into his arms. Unfortunately, the flames wouldn't let them go so easily. They burned away at one of the massive trees around the city and chopped it down, pulling it down towards Aggron and the twins. The very earth cracked underneath pain in his legs felt like he was sinking into a vat of red hot acid. The twins stared at him in awe. Blood burst from his legs, nearly forcing him to his knees, but he remained on one foot and defiantly held it up. His body felt like it was going to give out, but not for a second did doubt cross his mind. There must've been hundreds of tonnes weighing down on him, but his unwavering resolve was stronger.
Yawarakai just barely managed to free his sister. He lifted her up to his shoulder and began to run,
"We've got to go!" he exclaimed. However, Kakuereta hesitated against her brother's grip. Stunned, he looked back. Kakuereta looked back at Aggron and nodded her head.
"Take me to him. I can help!"
"We need to leave! Now!" yelled Yawarakai in fear, looking around at the falling debris and slowly collapsing tree.
"Please!" said Kakuereta. Initially, Yawarakai was desperate to leave. Who wouldn't? But Kakuereta couldn't leave. Not now. Not with this man willing to put down his life for her. She looked at Yawarakai, silently communicating that very message. He relented. He guided her towards Aggron while constantly looking up at the tree above them. Kakuerata then reached out her hand and placed it on Aggron's shoulder.
Suddenly, a surge of new strength came to Aggron. A strange blue energy wrapped around his arms and legs. With a ferocious roar, Aggron pushed the tree off of his shoulders and held it high. Yelling out,
"MOVE! MOVE!" Aggron began to walk away. The twins, as well as any nearby civilians, didn't hesitate. They sprinted away from the steel type as he slowly moved. Yawarakai asked his sister,
"What did you do?" Aggron slowly made his way as far as he could but that wouldn't last forever. Arriving at the venue for Hauntasia, he decided that this would be this tree's final resting place. With the last of his new granted strength, he threw the tree off of his shoulders and rolled out of the way. Landing on his back, he lay, completely sapped of his energy as the tree landed harmlessly in the venue. It tore apart the stadium, but no one was dead, As Aggron fought his urge to fall unconscious, Kakuereta finally answered her brothers' questions,
"I awakened his aura."
(A/N) Finals are coming up fast and I've got work to do over the thanksgiving break. As much as I love this story, I do need to select my priorities. So for the first time since I started publishing this story, I'll be taking a weeklong break. There will not be a chapter released until December 2nd. To make it up to you, I'll be making that a double chapter release that day. I apologize for the inconvenience.