Aria thought the legendary beasts were loud when battling.

But she couldn't even hear them now.

It wasn't just her ears ringing with every explosion, it was her heart.

Each burst of the tower stopped her heart, a pause as rocks fly through the sky. Her breaths get heavier and her mouth unable to scream.

Skyscrapers are supposed to be these huge unbreakable blocks of concrete and stone, able to handle anything thrown at them. But explosives don't care.

Her eyes start to water. Half from the unsettled dust and bits of concrete and the other half from who was on the top of the building.

Was being the key word.

The explosions continue to rattle near the top of the tower. Hiding its fate with thick swirling clouds of smoke. 

Granted the falling hunks of rock give Aria a pretty good idea of its status.

Not that she sees them.

Her focus is completely on the smoke, waiting for Ash to fly out of trouble like he always does.

Thankfully Delphox is keeping any rocks from getting too close to her distracted trainer.

The dirty smell from the explosions reach the ground but Aria doesn't flinch. Her eyes are the only thing working right now.

Then a sigh of relief comes.

The orange flying dragon figure of Charizard zips out of the smoke. The cloud follows him out but wisps off his tail.

Chrizard's blaze on the end of his tail illuminates him.

Even though everybody's eyes are pretty adjusted to the dark by now, it's still nice to completely see something.

Except Aria didn't see what she wanted to.

In the Pokemon's arms are three figures.

Two blondes and her best friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now this isn't Ash's first time flying off of a tower.

Or his first time in an almost certain death situation.

But this is the first time he's had no hope.

He can feel that Greninja is weakened, Charizard can't get to the ground then catch him too, and there's no time to reach into his backpack for Talonflame's ball.

All he can do is hold Pikachu tight, hoping the Pokémon can tough out the fall.

He doesn't even know how far he's fallen yet.

The explosion that sent him off the tower rocked his head pretty hard.

So combine dizziness, smoke, and the night, and you got no sense of awareness.

Maybe that's better though.

No lead up to the end result.

Just the end.

He's truly given his all to this world.

And he'd have it no other way.

But.

He also never had an Aria.

Ash opens his eyes since the air suddenly got cooler. He was out of the smoke and falling along the smooth fully windowed tower. He watches his reflection, his jacket flapping in the wind, Pikachu in his arms, hat gone.

Then he squints through the rushing air to see the incoming pavement.

And a bright pink blob he can barely make out.

If his eyesight still worked he'd see a fighter.

Her hair all messed up and tinted grey from the dust. Tear streaks carved through the dust on her face. Clothes with tears and rips from the battling.

But most importantly her eyes are still sharp.

Filled with worry but still keen.

And that's going to save his life.

"Delphox Psychic!"

The command was louder than the sounds of concrete hitting pavement...

Xerneas using Moonblast...

Yveltal using Oblivion Wing...

Zygarde using Hyper Beam...

All of it was drown out by a Queen.

The Queen of Kalos herself.

Ash comes down fast but then a soft blue glow entraps him, slowing his fall until he's hovering just centimetres above the pavement.

And time stops.

It could've been shock, relief, fatigue.

But no one moved as rocks continued to rain around them.

Ash was saved.

Aria snaps into reality and collapses beside him, her arms tightly around his waist. And she doesn't want to let go ever again.

Delphox, Greninja, and other Pokémon gather around the couple. 

The couple that saved Kalos.

Lummiose City is in destruction but it still feels like a win.

Until an earthquake shakes the ground beneath them.

Ash's brain knocks back into place only to end up flailing along the dancing pavement. After a few seconds the rumbling stops and he notices Aria clinging onto him.

He returns the warm feeling but it doesn't last long.

Down the street the massive legendary Pokémon scrapes between buildings. Zygarde fills the air with a screech, accompanied by the sound of its scales along glass and concrete. 

Its winged back spreads out behind it, sparkling in the morning sunlight just making it over Lumiose's walls.

The new rays of sun show the flying dust and smoke getting pushed by Zygrade's movement.

The green and black Pokémon slithers forward slowly with a red glint in its eyes. Xerneas and Yveltal are nowhere to be seen.

Bonnie and Valerie sink into Charizard's grip as Clemont stands there frozen.

Pikachu tries to spark its cheeks in warning but it does nothing to faze the beast.

Ash and Aria lay helplessly while Greninja and Delphox barely manage to stand.

Zygrade, just metres away from the group, stops. 

Towering over them like the rest of the buildings.

But then the red glint disappears.

There's a brief moment of confusion.

For everyone involved, even Zygarde.

Ash shakily gets up with Aria by his side, both leaning into each other.

Their bodies, scraped, dirty, and trying not to fall apart, stand in front of the Pokémon.

Zygrade looks into the pair's eyes.

Then it nods and turns around.

No one moves an inch as the Pokémon disappears out of view, most likely back to its cave.

Then they watch Yveltal fly off into the sunrise and Xerneas briefly stopped to look at the pair before running off as well.

Their jobs are done.

And now they can rest as their region is back into faithful hands.

As if on cue, Mewtwo emerges with crowds of people. Diantha and other familiar faces lead the group.

Despite the whole population of Kalos finally escaping the clutches of Team Flare, no one dares to say a word.

Crumbled buildings, fires, the result of evil, surrounds them yet no one is voicing their acknowledgement. Maybe it's because they don't know what has been lost yet.

Mewtwo, in his always monotone voice, breaks the silence.

"The Chosen One isn't chosen by fate, it's who will fight against fate."

"Ash Ketchum and Aria Allaire, the world is in great debt to you."

Mewtwo lifts them high into the air with its psychic abilities, above all the buildings.

"We really did it," Aria manages to croak out, her throat hurting with every word.

Ash nods, his throat also hurting from the dust and smoke.

The two look into each others eyes as they float high into the sky. Their foreheads rest against each other, eyes closed as they enjoy the peace. Eventually they stop rising and look down hand in hand.

From above they can see every street filled with crowds of people, all previously having lost everything important to them back at their homes. And yet there's looks of hope and relief on their faces.

Why?

Because their region, their families were protected and saved.

"Aria," Ash coughs as they float there hand in hand.

The pinkette glances over.

"You're my Kalos Queen."

___________________________

La fin

THANK YOU everybody for making it through, and hopefully you enjoyed every bit of it.

Those who have read my books for awhile, get ready because 210 is next.

And for those wanting a new book to read, go check it out! Especially if you like slightly darker themes.

For now you all have a great day and thanks again.