Authors Notes:
Oh shit, I forgot today was Friday. Here you all go, a complete rewrite of chapter 86. Enjoy.

The Battle of Torrent raged as Ash and his pokemon battled against Arceus, desperately fighting to hang on as long as they could, as William and the others fought through what felt like an endless wave of Team Rocket soldiers.

William's Dragonite fired a powerful hyper beam while in the air towards a group of soldiers and their pokemon. The beam hit the ground as she moved her head up, leaving a red hot trail in the road. As if on que, upon completion of the attack the ground exploded, knocking out people and pokemon alike. Obviously this wasn't how the attack would normally work, but this was the result of special training over years battling against large groups of enemies.

"Good work Dragonite," William said as she landed. He whipped the sweat from his brow as he was working to control his breathing, while walking over the numerous soldiers and pokemon sprawled across the street and sidewalk unconscious. "Looks like this area's clear, let's keep moving. Hopefully we'll be able to regroup with the others."

It was decided that though moving in a group allowed them to watch each others backs, it also allowed team rocket to focus on only one point to attack. Because of this Delia suggested they split up with the hopes that one of them would make it to the mind control weapon sooner. This way the other legendary Pokémon could arrive and Ash could fall back.

Dragonite's head perked as her finely tuned senses picked up on something, another group of Team Rocket soldiers.

"Guess break time is over," William commented as he brought his staff to the ready.

He was about to call out a command to Dragonite, when a bright blue and neon pink Braixen landed between them and Team Rocket and fired a stream of fire from its stick. As Team rocket was distracted by the Braixen, a man jumped in with a katana and began slashing up the soldiers. In only a matter of seconds the soldiers were dead, and the pokemon knocked out.

"What the hell? Limaro? What are you doing here?" William asked as he and Dragonite walked over.

Limaro was the former member of the Torrent Elite Four the Wiliam was replacing, as well as an aura guardian. However he wasn't a normal aura guardian. He could use it the strengthen his body just like the others, but unlike the others he had trouble using aura outside his body. He was incapable of creating an aura sphere or even an aura weapon. So to resolve this combat weakness he almost always walks around with a katana on him that when sheathed looked like a cane.

"Saving the day," Lamaro replied arrogantly.

William gave a deadpan look. "You know what I mean. You and your wife are supposed to be in the Tundra region now."

"Am I not allowed to return to Torrent now?!" He asked in an overly exaggerated hurt tone.

"I feel like I'm the only normal one around these days," William groaned.

"Normal is just an opinion based on social norms," Lamaro replied casually. "And to answer your question, Verity and I just came back to finish packing up and shipping the last of our stuff we're keeping. However we saw you guys were in trouble and decided to come help."

"Wait, Verity is here? Like in the city?" William questioned sounding shocked.

"What? No. Give me some credit, you think I would let my pregnant wife here? No, she working with Goodshow to arrange relief supplies and shelter for all the evacuees."

"Good. I remember how stubborn she can be and I just thought..."

"Oh no, I am the man in that relationship. When I put my foot down it's settled."

"In other words you pretty much begged her to stay away didn't you?"

"Yeah pretty much. Anyways, who's the one fighting Arceus?" Lamaro said changing the subject.

"Ash Ketchum."

"I've heard the name, but no clue who he is."

"Red Ketchum's son."

"Fuck. So he's got talent running through his veins then, but is he up for that?"

"He has to be, he's the chosen one."

"Wait, Red wasn't an aura guardian. So whose the mom?"

"Come on, you've missed a lot. I'll fill you in in the way."

And with that the two aura guardians and their pokemon continued on into the heart of team rocket.

——————————————————————-

Meanwhile, Delia and Lucario had stopped to get some water. Of course Delia didn't want to, but Lucie pretty much made her since he could see how hard she was pushing herself so hard for Ash. Of course there weren't any convenience stores, but there was a fire hydrant, so Lucie used metal claw to make a reasonably sized leak so they could at least get a drink quickly.

"Alright that's enough, we need to keep moving," Delia said after gulping down some water. "Ash and his pokemon may be strong, but I doubt they'll last very long against Arceus."

"Have faith. Your son is resourceful and his Pokémon are determined, they'll hold out as long as they have to," Lucie replied.

"Well well well," a deep threat voice said. "What do we have here?"

Delia and Lucie spun around to see Steal walking towards them with a large Machamp beside him.

"Damn, my senses have gotten way too dull," Delia mentally scolded herself.

"I was hoping to find that guy with the hat and Lucario, but instead I find the stay at home mom." He shook his head. "Bad luck for both of us I guess."

"No, just you," Delia said as she popped her neck.

"Me? What are you going to do? Ground me? Send me to bed without dinner?" He taunted.

Delia popped her right hand knuckles. "You're a surprisingly funny guy. You think just because I'm a mother I don't know how to handle you?" She popped her left hand knuckles. "Being a single mother, I know how to do quite a few things." She took a fighting stance. "Like how to take out the trash." With that she and Lucie shot forward towards their respective opponents.

Delia shot forward, her aura gauntlets glowing brightly. Steal may not have had any weapons, but he was confident enough in his own abilities to handle anyone.

Delia rushed in as she watched him carefully. Even though she was using aura to strengthen her body she was still weaker than she once was. Despite her aura not weakening her body had significantly. After years of neglecting body training she now relied heavily on her aura, much more than she used to. The result was now that her body didn't respond as well as it used to, sometimes making her a little awkward while fighting. Now after fighting dozens of enemies in this battle she had made some adjustments to her fighting to minimize her movements, and also watched her opponents carefully as to read their every move.

As she entered his range she read a left jab, so as he threw his punch she ducked down and dodged his attack on his left, the wind from his fast punch causing her hair to flutter slightly. She was going to attack his side, but saw he was already moving to defend there. Instead she grabbed him by the shoulder and simultaneously jumped as she pulled up, and swung herself so that she kneed him in the back of his head. Using her attack, she also pushed off, spinning in the air before landing on her feet ready to continue.

Steele stumbled forward from her attack, before looking back with a wicked grin. He knew she was an aura guardian, but he underestimated her because before he couldn't see her as any more than a mother. However now he saw her in a new light, being a mother was just a mask, in his eyes this was her true self.

"Looks like you are more fun than I thought," he said, then resumed his attack.

His movements were faster and sharper than before, showing he now took her seriously. Delia was on the defensive, but only by her own choosing. She allowed to continue the assault so he would wear himself out. He put so much force into every strike, it was obvious to her that he wasn't used to drawn out battles.

She on the other hand knew her body was significantly more limited than his, and if she were to maintain an offensive, she would wear out even sooner. To conserve her strength her movements were minimal, dodging every attack by just a hair. She had been remembering all of her mothers teachings. She didn't just teach her how to fight, she taught her how to fight smart. I'm all honesty Delia could have ended this battle quickly, if she wanted to kill him. She saw multiple small openings she could have taken advantage of to deal a quick kill, but she had sworn not to dirty her hands with more blood from her enemies. She wanted to be an example to Ash that there was always a better way than killing.

After a little bit his attacks had become slow and sloppy, he was done. Seeing this Delia took to the offensive. As he tried to hit her with a right hook she moved back, and as his arm passed her face she grabbed it, spun around so that her back was facing him, and bent forward as she pulled on his arm. He flew over her shoulder and landed hard on his back. No sooner that his was on the ground, Delia was in the air, and landed on his chest with his head between her knees. She could see the rage in his eyes, he had gotten his second wind, but it was too late. She then unleashed a series of punches with her aura gauntlets upon his face.

He attempted to try and retaliate, to grab or hit her, but she could read his aura and merly swatted his hands away as if they were flys. He tried to roll, but somehow she was so firmly planted that he couldn't even get his shoulders off the ground. In the end he was unconscious, his face bloody and broken, but he was still breathing.

Delia climbed off of him and saw the blood on her clothes. She dissipated her gauntlets and moved her clean hands over her face. When she looked down on them she saw streaks of blood, and started hyperventilating.

"Master!" Lucey cried as he ran to her. Once there he placed his palms on her cheeks and forced her to look him in the eyes as he used her aura to try and calm her. "Breath master, slow deep breaths. You're ok."

"The...blood," she got out between breaths.

"I see it, but he is alive. You didn't kill him. He was a threat and you used the amount of force necessary to subdue him."

She nodded sand looked away. Behind him she saw Steele's Machamp unconscious and smashed into a car windshield.

"Master," Lucey said, bringing her attention back to him. "Let's go clean off this blood. I'm sure it'll make you feel better."

"But Ash..."

"Will be fine. He are not the only ones fighting, and you are currently in no shape to continue. Now please, let's clean you up."

Delia nodded, and Lucey ran to the fire hydrant from before. Using his bare paws he turned the cap off and turned the water on. He then used aura to redirect the water and lower the pressure to the point of a garden hose, and sprayed Delia. After a few seconds he cut the water back off, and Delia was dripping wet.

"Well," she said as she rang out her dress. "At least I'm clean."

"Woah."

Delia turned to see Red just a few feet away, his Charizard right beside him looking down at him chuckling. Reds eyes were wide and his mouth hung slightly agape as he gazed upon the only woman he's ever loved.

"Umm, are you ok?" Delia asked nervous, thinking he saw her with the blood on her.

"I'm fine, better than fine now," he said as he walked closer. Delia was curious but he closed the distance fast and smashed his lips against hers.

"What?"

"Sorry, it's just," he stepped back and looked her up and down, her wet clothes clinging to her body. "Clearly the passage of time has only done you favors."

Delia looked down at herself to see what he meant. She at times felt self conscious about her body since she wasn't as fit as she used to be, but hearing those words come out of his mouth made her feel happier than she ever expected. She then slapped back into the moment, and gently slapped his stomach.

"This is neither the time nor place!" She scolded.

"That didn't stop us in the past. Remember going on missions, you and me fighting in life or death battles. That never stopped either of us from stealing a kiss when we had a chance."

"We were horny teenagers back then," she replied with a blush as she remembered the times.

"And I was a horny teenager when we were separated. I guess part of me never grew up," he said with a smile as he caressed her cheek.

Delia cleared her throat. Hearing him talk like that was making her heart flutter like she was a teenage girl all over again.

"Well, now we have a son, and he needs us to do our part." she looked him in the eyes and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "If you really do want to pick up where we left off, then I'll be happy to welcome you back into my life. But we need to help Ash first."

"Right," he said stealing himself, the idea of being a father still not fully set in yet.

"Charizard," Delia said as she looked at him, her arms out spread. "Some hot air to dry me off a bit?" She asked, not wanting to be weighed down by her heavy wet clothes.

Charizard looked to Red, who nodded back in approval. He then flapped his wings, sending a strong blast of hot air as if he were a hair drier. In seconds he stopped. She was still damp, but not dripping wet like before.

"Ready?" She asked looking to Red. He nodded in response with a confident smile. With that they took off running together with their pokemon.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at city hall, where a missive battle was already underway. Attacks on various types shot out into the air, stone pillars suddenly shot out from the ground, and everywhere explosions erupted. Antennas that once transmitted the signal that disrupted psychic and aura powers had already been taken down by the pokemon. This entire time had not been the battle for Torrent, it was merely a warm up. This was where the battle for the Torrent region, no, the world began.

There was a relatively clear battle line between Team Rocket and the others. They saw William taking point with Riley about ten feet to his left, and another aura guardian they hadn't met before to his right. Their pokemon fought along the outer edges to keep them from being flanked, with the non aura guardians mixed in.

Red and Delia were about to join in when two cars flew over their heads, and continued on to crash into the Team Rocket line. They both spun around to see Serena with Delphox and Gardevoir beside her. After catching her breath Serena sent Trevor and Shauna back, knowing it was too dangerous for them to stay with her. It wasn't easy, but she managed to convince them. However they did give her some berries the could restore her Pokémon's strength, which was all Delphox and Gardevoir needed to fight beside her again.

"Looks like we're the last ones," Serena commented as she walked up to them.

Delia could see how tired she was from using her psychic powers so much. Fueled by a combination of adrenaline and raw determination to keep going to the end she kept pushing herself.

"Serena are you alright?" Delia asked in worry.

Serena nodded. "I've never used my powers like this before, but I can keep going."

"Give those powers a rest for now. If you push yourself too hard you'll end up hurting yourself," Red told her.

She shook her head. "We need to stop them. I know what it's like when I've done too much, I'm not there yet."

"No you don't. You know what it's like to do it all at once, not over time like this. You could suddenly pass out in the middle of a fight, lapse into a coma, or even die." Delia explained sternly. "Think about your mother right now. How would she feel if something happened to you."

"I know, but if we lose..."

"We won't lose!" Red chimed in with determination. "Remember, we never give up until the end, and I've never faced the end. Not even after I was Giovanni's prisoner did I give up, because it wasn't the end. It's only the end when you let it be. As long as you have the will, even if you fall, as long as you draw breath it's never the end until you let it be."