nandosagi

EPILOGUE: A Fairytale Come True

-:-

"Matt's okay! I knew it, he's okay!"

"He's so cool! Only he could save the day like that!"

"Now it's time for me to find those people who tried to hurt him! Liam Everton first!"

"And then those whores he's hanging out with! I'll curse them all!"

Dr. Zager had to chuckle as he looked over the latest chain of posts by The Second Diary Holder on RChannel, as the last post made by that username ended in red text reading 'USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST.' Below it, there was a post by a user whose name identified them as the Admin of the site.

"Okay, listen up," it read. "Whoever it was that decided spamming my site was cool can burn for all the fucks I give, but you guys should not have fed the damn troll. I'll let you all off the hook this time because I'm very busy, but consider this a warning. I won't tolerate this again."

"Now I know everything is back to normal," Zager said to himself. "Not only are the storms that started forming around the world beginning to fade, seeing this just lets me know for sure that things have calmed." Shadows fell onto his face when he lowered his head before ominously adding, "At least for now, that is. Peace can't last with Polaris on the loose…"

"You're right, Doctor Zager," intoned a deep male voice from behind the scientist.

Startled into hurriedly turning around, Zager discovered he was no longer alone with Galvantula. Now in the room with him was a tall man wearing a dark trench coat, along with matching sunglasses and a hat. The difference between the two men could not have been wider; while Zager visibly became agitated upon discovering this mysterious person's presence in his lab, the unknown individual remained completely calm, walking slowly but deliberately to the table, where he removed his hat. His wavy, dark blue hair freed itself to dangle down to his shoulders as a result.

"What are you doing here, Pierce?" Zager angrily demanded. "You know you are not to come here unless there is an expressly important reason for doing so!"

"And I have brought just the explanation you are demanding. Giovanni has invoked emergency protocol and assigned myself and Ariana to work with you on coordinating our missions from this point forward. She will be arriving here shortly. The reason for all of this is that Giovanni fears a crackdown from the International Police after the Whitegold City incident and the appearance of Polaris."

"Yes, Polaris… we must treat their appearance at Matt Chiaki's speech, which was being broadcast worldwide, as a declaration that they are ready to move forward with their own plans. Giovanni has obviously entrusted us with conducting Team Rocket's operations to destroy Polaris and stop what they are going to do."

"Indeed. Upon Ariana's arrival, we must begin work immediately on developing what our first move will be."

-:-

The sun began peaking over the horizon in the clear skies above Whitegold City, bringing a beautiful morning light to the area. It was complemented by a light, warm breeze that blew through and rustled the autumn foliage still attached to the city's countless trees.

At the center of this now-serene landscape was Balise Park, nestled right in the heart of the fusion of modern urban technology and nature. Woods and Aurelie were already there, standing on a footbridge overlooking a pond of clear water, when Matt's group arrived. In addition to his usual three companions, he also had Rowena and Katorena following him.

"Ah, so you came," Woods, who was now without his own Victory Star, calmly greeted the five. "Isn't the city beautiful this time of year?"

"Fuck yeah, it is," Nekou responded without skipping a beat. "If Everton would have sunken this city, none of this would exist anymore."

"And that would be a shame," Olivia piped up to add.

Both Nekou and Aurelie smiled in amusement at Olivia's enthusiasm, but it was the latter that spoke. "That's why I want to thank you, for saving this city. All of you did your parts, so I would like to give each individual group its reward."

Reaching into her robes, Aurelie produced three of her brightly-colored Sigilyph-based dream catchers. She handed one to Nekou, who immediately held it close to her own chest, then the others to Katorena and Rowena.

"Many thanks are in order."

"I have to thank you as well, Aurelie."

"Where's Victini?" Matt inquired.

"Ah, Victini has already left the city," Woods explained. "I can't blame it after everything that went on here yesterday. I have to say, though, as broken as this city has been by Liam Everton's actions, it's a tough place that will recover. We're even still going to hold the Pokémon Bowl, but starting tomorrow, if you want to stick around for it."

"Ooh, can we?" begged Olivia. "Everything else can wait! I still want to see it!"

Before Matt could answer, Bunny applied more pressure to him by agreeing with Olivia. "It really won't take away from anything else we already planned to do."

"Fine, I guess we will do it," Matt acquiesced. "It won't hurt."

"Woods," Rowena spoke up, "I agree with you about the city recovering. Not everybody fully believes that Liam Everton was the villain yet, but my report about the events yesterday has already gone online and is growing in popularity. More people are waking up to the truth every hour."

"That's good to know. And, Rowena… I'm sorry I lied to you and tried to manipulate you. I don't think I can be more remorseful."

"Don't worry about it, you made an honest mistake. I can't blame you for initially trusting him."

"You know, Matt," Katorena interjected, "I must say, for a common ruffian you were rather impressive. Your skill and courage in facing the danger presented before you by Liam Everton helped lead us all through that hour of crisis. Even if your style is a bit too brutish for my tastes, I must give you your due credit."

"Thanks, I guess…" he acknowledged awkwardly.

"Yeah, she isn't kidding." Suddenly, Nekou was on top of Matt, having pushed past Katorena to reach that place. "I have to say, you really were brave yesterday. I liked it."

"You're saying that?" Matt responded with great skepticism. "I'm not sure if I should believe it."

"But I'm… I mean, I was honest… why would you… fuck it."

Much to the surprise of everyone, not least of all Matt, Nekou suddenly simply grabbed his face and planted a brief kiss squarely on his lips. His mind simply blanked, and when she backed away, all he could do was stand there frozen in shock.

"How horridly vulgar!" Katorena shrilled. "Find some lodging, you profane mongrels!"

"I… I…"

Turning away in a huff, Nekou growled, "Fine, if you didn't like or appreciate that, you can go get some mouthwash and wash it out."

Woods laughed heartily, put his hand in his pocket and looked up toward the sky. "They always said that this city had something magical about it, and since one folktale came true within the past twenty-four hours, why not entertain the notion of a second one?"

THE END

-Operation GEAR:

The Victory Star of Fate-

[In the now-packed Whitegold Dome, countless spectators, including Matt, Nekou, Olivia and Bunny, watch a Triple Battle unfolding on the field.]

-Executive Producers-

The Great Butler

Nekusagi

[The Pokémon Bowl game is also on the TV in Katorena's yacht's cabin; she walks in and removes her glasses and hat, revealing her blue eyes and extremely long, flowing hair.]

-Head Writer-

The Great Butler

-Original Character Concept & Design-

The Great Butler

Nekusagi

Bay_Alexison

[On a grassy riverbank just outside the city, Liam Everton's body has washed up.]

-Starring-

Troy Baker … Matt Chiaki

Trina Nishimura … Nekou Langley

Bridget Hoffman … Olivia Mistbloom, Stacia

Caitlin Glass … Bunny Spruce

and Michael Ironside as Captain Liam Everton

[Baker and Foster sit in a prison cell, dressed in striped jumpsuits. Inspector Looker stands outside for a moment with his arms crossed, then walks off.]

-Featuring-

J. Michael Tatum … Foster, Tobias

Crispin Freeman … Baker

Vic Mignogna … Woods

Colleen Clinkenbeard … Rowena Byrne

Therese Plummer … Fennel

Lisa Ortiz … Katorena

Wayne Grayson … Butler

Megan Hollingshead … Diane

[Woods and Fennel direct the renovation of the Everton building alongside her Munna and Musharna, as well as Everton's Klinklang. Cryogonal now lives in the underground tunnels, and Hydreigon lives in the swamp.]

Travis Willingham … Becket Everton

Brina Palencia … Midori Makise

Laura Bailey … Kyoko

Ted Lewis … Giovanni

Marc Thompson … Dr. Gabriel Zager

Dan Green … Pierce

Kari Wahlgren … Aurelie

Rachael Lillis … Victini

Saori Hayami … Cresselia

Mike Pollock … Klinklang

Stephanie Young … Cryogonal

Katsuyuki Konishi … Hydreigon

Shinichiro Miki … Darkrai

[Anabel sits at a small table under a gazebo in a vast field of flowers, reading Rowena's report on a laptop computer. In his office, Giovanni is doing the same, with Stacia looking over his shoulder.]

-Japanese Cast-

Daisuke Ono … Matt

Ami Koshimizu … Nekou

Miyuki Sawashiro … Olivia

Misato Fukuen … Bunny

Tohru Ookawa … Liam Everton

Koichi Yamadera … Foster, Butler

Hiroki Takahashi … Baker, Tobias

Kensuke Sato … Woods

Kato Natsuki … Rowena

Maria Kawamura … Fennel

Takako Honda … Katorena

Asami Imai … Diane, Cryogonal

Masayuki Omoro … Becket Everton, Dr. Zager

Jin Yamanoi … Pierce

Chiaki Takahashi … Midori Makise

Megumi Toyoguchi … Kyoko

Kenta Miyake … Giovanni, Klinklang

Kiyomi Asai … Stacia

Kana Hanazawa … Aurelie

Nana Mizuki … Victini

[On a street corner, Butler throws open his cape during a magic trick while Diane and a crowd of onlookers watch.]

-Opening Theme-

"Aria of Autumn Color"

Written by: Saori Kodama

Composed by: Satoru Kousaki

Arranged by: Shou Ishihama and Keigo Hoashi

Vocals: Ami Koshimizu

[In her home, Aurelie and Gothitelle are reading the fortune of Matt's friend Trista.]

-Ending Theme-

"Follow Your Star [Truth Mix]"

Written by: Alex Nackman, John Loeffler and David Wolfert

Produced by: John Loeffler and David Wolfert

Vocals: Kathryn Raio

[Matt, Nekou, Olivia and Bunny sit on a bench in Balise Park, looking up at the star-filled sky. In another big city somewhere, Victini appears on top of the awning of a bakery and peers upward as well, seeing the crescent moon overhead.]

-:-

"So you've recovered Darkrai? What of its health?"

"Governor Tobias, sir, it appears Darkrai has taken terrible injury but will survive."

"Good. Make sure of it."

Turning away from the screen, Tobias now faced Gabriella, who was reading a newspaper.

"Now this is awfully exciting, isn't it?" she commented, not raising her face from the paper. "The incident in Whitegold City has even pushed Kiss of Death to the inside pages. How frightfully exciting!"

"Maybe for you, but I've got other problems. That annoying detective with the speech quirks is sniffing around this case. If he finds out that I took a bribe from Everton to loan him the use of Darkrai, it could throw a major wrench into things."

"Then get rid of him. Wouldn't that just be so simple?"

"The Kiss of Death case might provide just my chance to do that. If I can get him distracted from following my trail, we'll be fine…

[center][-][/center]

-:-

[Two women chained up and dressed in rags dance before a mysterious panel. One has flowing blue hair, the other a green, braided ponytail.]

Anthea: "When the vast white flame of truth burns out, and the deep black thunder of ideals dissipates into nothing…"

Concordia: "That gray void of nothing… that is the Day of Reckoning."

Five years ago, a forbidden prophecy was nearly brought forth into reality, but at the last minute it was averted. Now… the watchful eyes and manipulative hands of the cult called Polaris seek to complete their plan…

"Finansielle": "It has only been through considerable investment that we have managed to keep the Dark Stone for as long as we have. I've already approved repeated funding requests... so you're going to have to produce results eventually."

[A shadowy figure completely obscured except for the glowing circles on his face speaks with a voice modifier to disguise himself on a screen.]

"Father": "Gabriel, it's about time you learned the truth. The true meaning about the purpose of Polaris… and the meaning of your mission, the Azrael Project."

It has always been said that the universe began when the egg of Arceus tumbled out of a single point of chaos, but when it hatched and gave rise to life and existence, what was left behind?

[A large shape stirs within a dark, desolate and isolated location somewhere deep in space. Some parts of its body begin glowing blue as electricity sparks through the area, Finally, a pair of yellow eyes illuminates in the darkness, followed by a diamond-shaped object between them.]

Now... a conflict on many fronts erupts on the Tohjo Continent, extending all the way into the barren wasteland once inhabited by an ancient people.

As Polaris and Team Rocket clash for control and the fate of the world...

[A man in flowing multicolored robes stands at a podium, addressing a crowd.]

Ghetsis: "People of Johto, ask yourselves. Ask yourselves, are you worthy of possessing Pokémon of your own? Look into your own hearts and try to decide - are you the one who will bring that Pokémon's true potential to life, or are you merely holding it back? People of Johto, I implore you, join us! We of Polaris will guide you into a new era where you can be closer than ever to your Pokémon! It will be a fundamental change... but once we reach the light of the promised future together, a world where people and Pokémon are truly in tune will not be impossible!"

[Dr. Zager is sitting at his computer addressing someone.]

Dr. Zager: "I need you to infiltrate Mr. Pokémon's hard drives and obtain his data on the Meteonite shard. Understanding what that element is fully capable of will give us a great strategic advantage if they try to use it."

...the fate of the fallen race of the Tenganists comes to the forefront.

[A woman wearing a heavy cloak with a hood obscuring her face is addressing a small meeting of people in a run-down building. She is holding a small child within a blanket in her arms, and Stacia is standing silently next to her.]

Mysterious woman: "It has been nearly three decades since the first of the villages in our sacred land was obliterated by that man, Ghetsis Harmonia. Now... now everything's gone, and he has completely destroyed my life and the lives of many others. We must no longer stand by as our people are exterminated by the forces of Polaris... it is time that we remember the legacy of the great Tenganist warriors in history and once again fight for our right to exist! We must do it through any means necessary!"

Both people and Pokémon can evolve. But what plan does Polaris have for this process? And what is the role in their scheme for the Triad of Revenge?

A girl seeking a reunion…

Olivia: "If I become Champion or Top Coordinator, Dad will have to come back! He won't ignore me anymore!"

…a woman seeking a revelation…

Nekou: "Consider yourself lucky. You at least know where you really came from and who your parents are."

…and a man seeking revenge.

Matt: "What do you know about the events of five years ago?"

Forces converge on the Tohjo Continent for the greatest and last quest the world will ever see.

[Pierce and a man and woman sit in a car, along with a Meowth and a Wobbuffet. Outside, a nearby house explodes in flames.]

Pierce: "Code Black Seven has been initiated by Giovanni. The lives you knew are now at an end."

As old friends return...

[Nando throws a Poké Ball, sending out an Exploud to fight his opponent's Zapdos.]

[In a park, Trista throws two Poké Balls, sending out Eelektross and Druddigon.]

Trista: "Elektross, Druddigon, showtime!"

...and new enemies appear...

[A young man hidden under a wide black hat, ragged black poncho and tattered scarf yells at Olivia in the middle of a small town.]

Renzo: "Rich Mistbloom's legacy is not something you have the right to lay claim to. I will prove that I am the only one with the right to bring the truth about him to light!"

At the end of the gray void, when the thunder of your ideals has driven you as far as it can, will you embrace or flee the flames of truth?

Matt: "You must not forget who you are!"

[Ghetsis stands over a pedestal with projects of over a dozen pillar-like objects on it.]

Ghetsis: "The Day of Reckoning begins now with the destruction of Arceus!"

Matt: "Ghetsis, you must stop this! Destroying Arceus will destroy the universe, I've seen it with my own eyes!"

Ghetsis: "Foolish boy. Don't you know that if I destroy the world after the Ice Dragon Gate is opened, Kyurem will become the new ruler of the universe?"

[A mysterious individual obscured by shadows stands in front of the Lock Capsule inside Pewter City's museum.]

Mysterious man: "So we meet at last, Zoroark. I promise, I'll come back to free you, and the advent of your reign shall come!"

[A man dressed in a trenchcoat-styled costume complete with a Golurk mask with four feathers coming out of the sides is giving a speech of his own to a large crowd somewhere.]

"Geminus": "Swear loyalty to Polaris! Be loyal to us, and I will never betray you!"

Coming soon, the final phase of the epic tale of Operation GEAR – "The Angel of Reckoning."