Chapter no.218 The Kingdom of Rota part 2

He had known Rin for the past twenty years, and he knew she would sooner die than abandon her people. She was very much like her father in that respect. Aaron had no desire to abandon his people either, but he realized that this war would likely be the end of Rota. He thought of the countless people he had protected in the Kingdom over the years.
He thought of his people. He thought of his family. His pregnant wife, his son Riley, and his coming child. 'The only thing that can save us now is a miracle… Wait, that's it!' he thought.
Glancing back to the sky for a moment, he scanned the fog. "Hmm." Raising his staff into the air, a cry from a giant tan bird, a Pidgeot, was heard as the massive bird swooped by the balcony. And Queen Rin watched in shock as her bodyguard lept off the balcony onto the bird's back and began heading away from the palace towards the Tree of Beginning. 'He can't be abandoning us...' she thought in disbelief.
As Pidgeot raced over the forests of Rota, Aaron's mind raced. 'My love, Riley. Please forgive me. What I go to do, I do for you...' Sparing a glance down to his right, he saw the majority of the Johtean army, armored in red, marching around the base of the mountain to their right, and the forest to their left. To his left, he saw another army, the Orrenian's horde, barely making out their pale green armor in the fog.
But what alarmed him were the three Skarmory breaking off towards Pidgeot and himself. Aaron could simply hold on for dear life as the three tore by, Pidgeot expertly dodging them as he continued on towards his goal, the Tree of Beginning. Unfortunately, this meant it's attention was elsewhere, allowing one of the Ore Skarmory to fire off a powerful Flash Cannon attack at the Pokémon's back, nearly hurling Sir Aaron off it's back in the process.
Pidgeot managed to regain control briefly, returning to his original course, but the Skarmory weren't finished yet, not wishing to have any Rotans or Johteans retreat from their conquest. Coming in quickly with a strong Steel Wing attack, Pidgeot was struck hard and was sent plummeting towards the rough mountain side. It struggled to regain control as it rapidly approached the ground.
Aaron briefly wondered if his quest to save Rota would be cut short, if Rota was destined to fall in this unwanted conflict. Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, he focused on the mountainside, as Pidgeot managed to give a final burst of energy to stave off a direct crash.
Leaping off, the Aura Guardian decided he was close enough, hoping that the decreased weight would allow Pidgeot to land safely. Pidgeot, however, continued it's unsteady course directly into series of bushes nearby with a cry. Aaron stood and was about to continue on his way when he felt a familiar Aura approaching quickly.
Sprinting up the mountainside at breakneck speeds was his near constant companion and apprentice, Lucario.
"Sir Aaron!" he heard in his mind, realizing Lucario was close enough to use Telepathy. "I knew you'd come!" he said as he reached the bottom of the mesa Aaron was standing on.
What bothered the human, however, was the fact that Lucario had yet to open his eyes since arriving, appearing to only be using his Aura to navigate. "Lucario, what happened to your eyes?" he asked the blue jackal.
"Don't worry about me, Master," was his only response. The final word though, master, had struck a nerve with Aaron, causing him to turn away.
"Don't call me that. I'm no longer your master. I have abandoned the Queen and the Kingdom. I'll never return…"
Lucario froze in disbelief, shock pinning him in place. "But… That's impossible…"
Aaron took off running, towards his original goal; The Tree of Beginning. Lucario finally managed to regain his motor skills and took off after his companion and master.
"Master, wait!" he called as he ran up the slopes after him. He didn't even feel his foot graze the Time Flower on the slopes as he ran.
Hearing Lucario following him, Aaron turned and hurled his staff into the ground, landing just in front of the Pokémon causing him to stop. Suddenly the staff began to glow bright blue and white. Clenching his teeth, Lucario stared up, eyes still closed at the other Aura Guardian.
"Sir Aaron!" he cried out. The staff continued to glow brighter as a blue beam shot into the Pokémon's chest, causing him to also turn the color and begins to fade from sight. He felt as he was drawn into the fist-sized crystal at the top of the staff, his vision shifting as the fractal shape of the crystal began distorting it. He was pulled further away from the surface. "Why, master?! Why…?"
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Rin stared out from the ramparts of Cameran Palace towards the faint outline of the Tree, feeling as if her whole world were falling apart. On the wind, she heard a strange note begin to pick up, a low, mournful wail barely on the edge of hearing.
"That wail. It's coming from the Tree of Beginning… It's crying," she realized. The fog began to break, and in the massive valley between the Palace and the Tree of Beginning, she saw the two armies break upon each other.
'Why did he leave us?' she thought to herself. 'Did he truly abandon everything he's ever known due to fear?'
Hearing the cry of a Pidgeot, her heart leapt as she scanned the skies, hoping that Aaron had returned. As the massive Bird Pokémon landed upon the railing of the balcony, Rin's heart fell again as she noticed two things; The lack of Aaron upon Pidgeot's back, and his staff being held in Pidgeot's beak.
'He's had this for years...' she thought, glancing sadly at the short staff.
Roughly two-thirds her height, it consisted of a wooden shaft, a series of black steel rings, one circular that expanded from the shaft, and a large half-sphere that connected around the top of the first ring, similar to an equator. In the center of this was a large crystal from the Tree of Beginning, expertly cut into a twenty-six sided rhombicuboctahedron. Completing the design were a pair of large, teardrop shaped weights where the two rings connected, reminiscent of the appendages on Lucario's head.
She remembered when he built it, years back when he still dreamed of completing his Aura Guardian training. He was so excited when he showed her and Able the crystal that Delia had cut for him. Back when the four of them were all just friends. Back before he found Lucario, still a young Riolu.
Taking the staff from Pidgeot, he returned to the skies as quick as he came, leaving Rin with the staff and her thoughts. She saw her reflection in the light blue crystal surface, and questions with no answers appeared. "Aaron…"
Just as she was about to give up hope and resign herself and her kingdom to it's fate, she took one last look at the Tree of Beginning. And right before she accepted that all was lost, the Tree of Beginning lit up with a strange bluish-green light. As the Tree continued to glow, the crystal formations began spouting the same green light into the air in powerful shafts, burning away the fog. She looked around rapidly in wonderment as the crystals that the palace was built around began to glow and release shafts of light.
'Could this be what Aaron went to do?' she thought to herself. 'Maybe he didn't abandon us after all...'
As the light continued to grow, a massive green energy pulse worked it's way from the Tree of Beginning, covering the valley in waves of green energy.
Below, the entire battlefield froze, looking up at the shining peak. Silence spread across the land, from the peak to Cameran Palace. Humans and Pokémon alike stood in awe as the morning fog melted away from the valley and forests.
'He did it,' she thought to herself as she felt her eyes grow misty. 'He really did it. He saved us.'
As tears began to fall, she realized that Sir Aaron had gone to the Tree of Beginning to ask Mew to help her kingdom and people. She looked down on the field, and saw that the battle was over, with people and Pokémon alike laying down their arms. And she silently hoped that he had managed to survive to see the miracle he'd brought his country.
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[ 𝐎𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡 ]
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 "𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲" 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝘀, 𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻, 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀. 𝗔𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰, 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁, 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀' 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘀𝗼𝗮𝗸 𝘂𝗽 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀. 𝗜𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲; 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 "𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀" 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹. 𝗔 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀' 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗴𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 "𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀" 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀, 𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝘆𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗻, 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁, 𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀' 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸, 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱. 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 "𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲" 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲.]