_____

(30)_*_*_( ) (Epilogue) (Postlude) (Afterword)

(Take your pick.)

Well, life finally wound down a little bit. I had a nice, LOOOONG rest at home, skipping a day of Band Camp in favor of staying home for once. This didn't turn out to be the GREATEST of decisions, seeing as Mom yelled at me for all that I did whilst possessed and for leaving in the first place. But I got to stay in a nice, air-conditioned house. We had to haul ass to catch up with the rest of the band, but that was after the Heroes' Welcome me and Jordan (Meyers) got. We were able to catch on, though. While we marched, I couldn't help but think about the Marching Rhydons, and the worm in my head was most often "Move Along". I was asked if I was thinking about that song by someone, actually, and I laughed and replied, "And you wouldn't be?" I also thought about Charlie, and breifly wondered what he'd be doing once marching season ended.

Otherwise, me, Jordan, and Barry (Hunter) all settled back into ordinary life at home with pleasure...well, for the first week and a half. Then we got bored again and decided to call HQ and tell them we were ready. But during that time, we always thought back to our journey.

Oh, the show! Yeah, there were some SERIOUS issues with the CN, the Pokémon anime's current dubbing company, 4Kids Entertainment (because their VA's were the ones heard), and, of course, Nintendo, GAME FREAK, and The Pokémon Company. It took a while before the last three corporations mentioned were able to convince everyone that it was completely accidental, since it was obviously some weird thing that was beyond anyone's control. So, Cartoon Network made the best of it and asked to sell the episodes we and the Ouendan were in on a DVD set. It was already selling pretty fast when we got back to HQ.

Meanwhile, the show itself appeared to go back to normal. They showed the episodes made by Japan, no more of the "live" episodes. There was some force that always made the "live" episodes show instead of the planned ones, and we suspected it had something to do with us and the Ouendan being there, and the power of the Hatemongers. However, the world we went to was still alive, still operating on its own. It was slowing down, though--when we checked in on my old badge one day and then two others, Ash asked why we were calling every hour. "It must still be connected to our world somehow," theorized Diva Foxx. "Maybe it's waiting for the episodes to catch up with it? See, incedentially, there haven't been any new episodes out of Japan since you came back. They've been taking a rest to think about things."

"I recently heard on that they were going to make new episodes again soon," Missy said at the meeting where Foxx gave her theory. "What'll happen? Are we going to see some fake story while the real one goes on, then?"

Foxx shrugged. "I don't know," she replied. "We'll see."

"But...it'd feel like we're getting gyped if we have to go back to a world that's no longer in its own control," said Zante, who, after much pleading from the Divas to Kahn, was allowed to sit in on the meetings as a representative of his world. "And if we're not supposed to be back home when we want to--heck, I doubt we'll EVER be allowed back home if the writers have their way--we'll be stuck here no matter what."

"We'll see," Kahn said.

So we did. Three days later, Japan released a new episode. It was quite interesting--it turns out that the creators still had complete control over the events of the world, but they chose only to use it when needed. It appears that Ash is, quite frankly, an adventure magnet by nature. And, since the episodes we were in always were, in some way, shown like normal episodes, most people couldn't tell the difference. The way the creators pulled this off was by the fact they had known what was going on at all times. They said in an interview released in the next month's issue of many Japanese and anime/manga/video game magazines, "It was strange, yet cool. It felt like people were walking through our heads and that we were imagining, but without being able to stop or control anything. It was like a partially real dream in our brains. Now, we don't feel the people walking, and we now have control again, but we don't think we'd like to abuse this control. It's actually an honor to think the world we shaped together to the time when the Elite Beat Agents accidentially invaded it is actually able to be its own world in its own right."

Also, we found that, once the new episodes were airing, it appeared as if Ash and company were ahead by a couple days of the last episode. "Probably to 'film' things and do post-production," half-joked J. Ash got our calls more or less at the same rate we gave them, as well.

The characters were the same, too, but a little different. Team Rocket, despite the Ouendan's best efforts, still tried to steal Pikachu, but instead of being whiney about it sometimes, they appeared to be a little more mature, doing things with more effort. Ash was the same, seeing as he's able to set aside major happenings into the past and not let them affect him too much in his quest (as evidenced by the lack of in-anime references to all but the second movie). He still traveled, and he went along the guidelines the creators of the show set for him--in other words, the path of the Diamond and Pearl games. They met a new character each episode, which focused on a different pokémon, and they were able to solve their problems and stop Team Rocket. Things were normal.

But things weren't quite normal at HQ. Seeing as everyone was sticking around from the show to try out, there were interesting situations to be had, as well as new friendships to be made between Agents, Divas, and the Evening Ouendan (the Morning squad reasoned that, since they were basically only faintly involved, they could leave home, and did so). Travis spent equal amounts of time in human and werewolf forms, and he was a little unnerved when Missy obviously had her eye on the former of the two. Frank and Dorian, when they weren't sitting around, practicing for their tryout, or interacting with the new world around them, were busy training, which provided for many of those interesting situations since they could never find a suitible place to train.

More situations included things like wolf fur floating around the building and being discovered in food no matter where it was kept (there was also pokémon fur, but wolf fur was the major issue); poor Zante and Vesp being unable to sit somewhere and avoid PUBLIC displays of affection thanks to the security cameras; the pokémon finding a place to use the bathroom (Dragonite, to everyone's surprise, decided to toilet train herself and did so in a jiffy, proving her mind's like a steel trap for more than just language); and Rudy, as the skater kid's name was, being chased around by Cheiftan, J, Spin, and the other senior Agents while he skated off on his blades, spraying (mercifully washable) paint on the walls and managing to somehow create astounding graffiti in very short amounts of time.

But what was most intesting was when we got back to HQ. We had a couple days to say hi to all of the other-worlders again, which we actually liked despite having to meet MORE pokémon folks (we admitted that we were still a little tired of pokémon), as well as see what they were doing. Travis, Frank, and Dorian were hard at work, perfecting and practicing their moves, styled to be a bit more graceful than ours, and a new routine. Whenever they practiced in uniform, Travis transformed into a wolf, justifying it with the fact his tail had made a hole in his pants the first time. Dragonite was leading her two pokémon friends, Ursaring and Feraligatr, ferociously with moves she'd copied from her Ouendan friend and a routine. However, it appeared as if they were working on creating new move styles. Their corner arrow stomp was a blend of Evening and Morning, coming out smooth like Evening style but going to the angle that the Morning style goes, and the most-used Ouendan move was different, as well. Instead of going from the chest or behind the head, they stopped their paws at their shoulders before doing any of the double arm throws. In general, they created their style as a blend of the freedom of Evening and the militarism of Morning.

Working together with the Pokédan, as everyone around the building had come to lovingly call them, were their friends, Kioshi, Suzu, and Hibiki. When we came back the first day, they were in normal clothing instead of their gakurans. I was also able to talk with Kioshi, which I'll get to later. Dragonite, despite having deep affections for Kioshi, was actually very mature and able to act professional in front of her crush. We decided to take that day to work together with Travis, Frank, and Dorian. We went over basic tips and ran a routine with them. That same day, I recieved my new badge. I was slightly surprised that I hadn't gotten a promotion, but, remembering what I had learned, I shoved that aside and was happy to get a new badge. During a break in the session with the ametures, Travis came over to me.

"How're you feeling?" he asked, in human form because practice was sweaty enough without fur. His hair must have been killing him, though. He looked a bit concerned.

I smiled. "I'm feeling great," I answered. "It's tiring to be doing Show Band each day before work, but it's worth it."

He smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah, I guess," he said. He looked serious. "I was talking about your spirit, though," he told me.

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh?"

He held a hand out. "I can have Jet connect with you to search for any traces," he explained. "You know what I mean, right?"

I caught my breath a smidge as I got it. "Yeah..." I grimaced and turned my head. "That demon."

"Would you like him to check on you?" he inquired, tilting his head like a dog.

I nodded. "Yes, that would be great," I accepted.

So, later that day, we went through the process--the easiest way being me going to sleep and him using his powers. When Jet entered my dreams, they ended and I was granted lucidity. I was floating around in black space when he suddenly landed down on the ground, distant and invisible below, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. 'HOLY MOTHER OF--!!' I squawked, flailing my arms and legs.

He let out a deep laugh. "I apologize, it was irresistable," he told me. He then lowered his head to look at me with those enormous eyes. I felt like I'd be lost in them. 'Now, then, I will proceed with the search, if you don't mind,' he said before giving me a big, soaking kiss.

'Yeeeeuuugh,' I groaned, looking at my suit and soaked body. 'That's part of the search?' I asked.

He wagged his tail. 'Yes and no,' he answered, smiling. 'I could have just sniffed your consciousness, but I wanted to express my own thanks. If it weren't for you, Travis couldn't have ever overcome my eviler self and allowed me to be true. See, the Hatemongers have always hated werewolves' chance to escape their evil. So, they always set one or two on each wolf to power up their beast and make sure they lose.' He looked away, looking ashamed. 'Though it in turn makes a powerful enemy for the demons should the purification process be completed, as represented by my size, most of the time...us beasts are successful in capturing the body's controls, killing the rightful owner.' He shuddered, sending a ripple down his fur from face to tail before looking back up at me, smiling again. 'But the energy you gave Travis with your performance prevented such a kind young man from falling victim to lycanthropy, and for this, I thank you--not just for me being alive as I am today.'

I smirked and nodded. 'Just doing my job,' I told him.

He bowed his head, smiling amazingly adorably. 'I swear to assist Travis in his efforts as much as I can,' he promised. 'And, as a service to you in thanks, as well as a wise choice regardless, my slurp gave you an ability, as well.'

I raised my eyebrows and looked at my (now-dry) body. 'Really? What, can I turn into a wolf, too?' I asked.

He chuckled. 'No, but you can call one,' he answered. 'Me. If ever you want to communicate with me or Travis through me across the boundaries of space and time, you need only concentrate on the thought of talking to me before you fall asleep. It might take a bit of dream time, but you'll eventually remember and call me, instilling lucidity instantly. Just...' He sweatdropped and grinned sheepishly. 'Try to remember when you're presentable, since I'll be coming directly into the dream. And a climate place would be helpful, as well.'

I chuckled nervously at this. 'I...can't guarantee it,' I said, putting a hand behind my head. 'But thanks,' I nodded. 'I'll be sure to use it. Sounds like it'd come in handy.'

'Oh, I assure you, it will,' Jet said, giving a wolfish grin. 'Now, I shall REALLY proceed with searching your being for any traces of the demon. Try to amuse yourself, since this'll take a while.' He then stood and started to sniff, as if finding a trail, around the dark chamber of my inner self.

It took a while, but he found not a trace of the demon. He tilted his head in confusion. 'That's odd,' he muttered. 'Powerful as that final cheer was, there likely wasn't enough force to allow you to destroy it entirely. I thought we would have to exorcise you...'

'But I saw some bits of the demon enhancing my hatred fade back into my mind,' I protested. 'How can you not find it?'

He shook his head. 'It must have been your native hatred that you saw fade back. Did it appear duller than the demon?'

'Um...yeah, actually,' I answered, a bit surprised he knew that much, spirit or not.

'Then it was your own hatred,' he deducted. 'It's harmless. Well...you know what I mean,' he chuckled. He shrugged. 'But it would be nice to see why you got to defeat that thing entirely on your own.'

I nodded. 'That it would,' I agreed.

He smirked and lifted his snout a bit. 'I DID find something RELATED to the demons, though, left,' he said a bit sneakily.

I raised my eyebrows and started. 'Wh-WHA? What? I don't want it!!' I said, feeling a bit scared. 'I don't wanna get possessed again!'

Jet laughed, shaking his head. 'No, it's not that sort of related,' he assured me. 'It's related only in that it was used by the demons. It's actually a neutral power, one that is attributed to spirits, like me, and not heaven or hell. It is interesting that it remained within you.'

'What is it?' I asked.

He smiled and told me. I dropped my jaw. 'It is up to you whether you choose to explore its use or not,' he told me. 'I will leave it to you to learn how to use it.' He then leaned over and pressed my body very gently with his nose, rubbing as minisculy as he could. He NUZZLED me, making me, a happy dog owner, blush a little bit. 'And now, we part,' he said. 'You've been asleep for fourty-five minutes.'

'Yipe! I thought it'd only take an hour in the worst-case scenario!' I exclaimed. 'I gotta wake up and get going or I'll be even LATER!'

He smiled and chuckled. 'Well, for now, farewell,' he said.

'Toodles!' I waved. 'And thanks!'

'It was my pleasure.' He bowed as best as any dog could, then faded away. Seconds later, I woke up.

Later on, I eventually caught Kioshi and spoke with him about the journey. We sat and sipped sodas in the cafeteria. He told me about his experience and his reason for going, which was much like mine--duty. "I knew that I was able to help," he said, "and I was able to make good on that ability thanks to the portal. But..." He looked away, a bit embarrassed. "I...I couldn't do it on my own..." He sighed. "I was useless."

"You know why?" I asked, tilting my head and putting a hand on my chin. I let a finger brush against my peachfuzz mustache.

"Why?" he asked, looking back at me.

I smirked.

He gave a small "heh" as he smiled a little distantly. "You meant me when you mentioned confidence in yourself during the cheer, didn't you?" he asked. I nodded. He nodded. "I see now. After that, I thought about it and talked it over with my leader. He and the other Ouendan were of the same mind: I need to have more confidence in myself. I'm just a bit too modest; I have to be confident that I can deliver when others place their trust in me." He looked at his hands, which had so long been in white gloves. "My talent to cheer...I have to have more faith that I can succeed."

"And that's how your cheers become even better," I told him, smiling and nodding. I chuckled before my smile turned wry. "I actually think I'm the opposite of you. I, frankly, had more faith in myself than my teammates, and I felt a bit hypocritical that day when I said to have confidence in others."

He nodded vigorously. "Yes! You must ALWAYS trust your teammates while you're cheering someone on," he said. "That is, when you're alone, of course. See, when you're in a proper squad, you are able to reach out and pluck anyone out of trouble and set them on the right path, no matter how much trouble they are in. If you can't trust your partners to be able to do their jobs, then you can't do it right. As the lead, we have to have more faith than normal."

"And we also have to have more self-confidence," I added, waggling my finger and eyeing him, letting him glimpse my eye. "If we have to trust them to do their jobs, they have to trust us to ours, and if we don't trust ourselves, then it all might fall apart. Only the best of backups can carry on the cheer when their leader is gone, as Meyers and Hunter did when I was on the--" There I stopped, memory catching me. "...Fritz..."

We shared a moment of silence. (We had both watched the episodes of the other, so he knew of my encounter with the spiritual kind.)

"I am glad that you are truly humble," he told me. "Your overconfidence was brought out and enhanced, but your inner humility won out when you had to be serious."

I smiled faintly and nodded. "Yeah," I said. "...I guess I was just remembering how I noticed Fritz was not with Kelly during the cheer."

"He passed on. You helped him do that."

I nodded and felt compelled to pray for him briefly. After I did, I felt better again. "Haaahh, here I am, talking with a guy from the coolest country on Earth, and I'm getting all sentimental," I said, sounding humorous.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Heh, don't worry, that happens," he said.

We talked more about our journeys.

"What was the hardest part about your journey?"

"Walking around without knowing when we'll have to cheer someone on, if you're ever going to find the people you're after, or how many battles you'll have to face that day, all while keeping an eye out for places to rest and wearing a sweaty black outfit. You?"

"Ummm...either being possessed or having to dash at top speed all around the place to get to spots when our missions came up--even if they were miles away."

"What was the best part about your journey?"

"I guess maybe the fact I got to come face-to-face with pokémon, which I'm kinda tired of after so much work there and some minor aftereffects of when I was possessed, I'll admit."

"Mine was probably the relationships I formed with my backups and our pokémon friends, as well as with some of the targets."

"What was your favorite mission--er, cheer?"

"m-flo Loves Toku and DOUBLE, 'Life Is Beautiful', definitely, because Jazz music kicks absolute ass."

"Too right!"

*hand slap-grab*

"I also liked it because of the unique and powerful situation. It would've been bad if they'd gotten arrested, and she would've been condemned by their mother if she failed. I was glad they succeeded, though, and the mother was fine with it. What about you?"

"I think it was Bill Chase's 'Get It On', since, as well, it's Jazz, and because it was just so crazy. A lone man handling an oversized kangaskhan who actually was his girlfriend? You don't see THAT every day."

"And your least favorite?"

"Hmmm...I think Gwen Stefani's 'The Sweet Escape', though it was pretty hard to pick just one. I don't like that one because it was so late at night and I wanted to sleep. Sure, it was to help someone clear their name, but...yikes."

"Heh...Well, I think my least favorite was HYDE's 'SEASON'S CALL', because we were hot, cranky, HUNGRY, and it was not the best choice for the situation, not to mention it was the most boring of the songs I've cheered."

"Who do you want to meet again at least once?"

"I think I'm most concerned about Kagome and her charges, but I think that the kids are on the way to becoming Slashers...So...I think I'm worried most about the one target I didn't get to see be better."

"...Kotetsu."

We were silent for a moment. I sipped my drink before saying, "He turned out alright, actually. Didn't you watch that episode?"

Kioshi scoffed. "Have you seen any of yours?" he asked. "Watching yourself in a show, knowing you did things unscripted but with everything being shown as if it sort of was. Weird beyond belief."

I nodded. "I guess so." He looked inquiring, so I went on, "He ended up somewhere in a city, changed into a human. He found a girl and became friends with her. He doesn't remember anything about what happened."

He sighed in relief. "I'm glad," he said. "I still want to meet him again, though. Just to see."

"Well, for me, I think it's probably Sooteye."

"Sooteye?"

"Sooteye, the snorlax skater. TELL me that doesn't scream, 'What's he doing now?'. Besides, I want to see how safe him and the pack are, and how he and the Street Blazers got to be friends."

"Fair enough. Would you want to go back?"

"...Someday, that'd be cool, yeah. It was an adventure--you don't get to go on those every day."

"We kinda do, with cheers and missions. But I understand, and I agree. I want to explore that world and experience it fully."

"What about the final songs? Your thoughts?"

"It was the scariest cheer of my entire life. But, dammit, I wouldn't have run even if someone would have taken my place, no matter how unconfident I was. I wasn't about to let even ONE world fall victim to the Hatemongers. It was amazing, too--all of those people working together, using the fire we gave them to create a counter to the kind used by the demons. Truly phenomenal."

"The thing that sticks out in my mind is how I was suddenly aware of everything only after you pushed me aside."

He raised his eyebrows, and I raised one. "Nani?" he went.

I smirked. "I found myself inside my head and in front of my own hatred almost right after you got hit," I told him. "'I' being the real me, my consciousness that you're talking to right now. I was also able to defeat my possessor entirely and break free, something that was very unlikely given I was only empowered by the cheering of the crowd, according to Jet."

"Jet...Travis's beast, right?"

"Right."

"Well, I have a confession," Kioshi said, smirking. He grabbed the salt, poured a little into his pants pocket, then stood up. Then, he slowly went through what he did, and as he did, I imagined flashes of the actions he did on that day.

He first did the turning arrow stomp, and I visualized it: He turned towards me, one side facing away from Master JUST as his hand went by his gakuran pocket. As it did, in slow motion, I saw him reach in and grab a handful of salt. Then, he did the running hand clap. As he did, I saw him do it very carefully, using physics to hold the salt against his palm before switching which hand held it by tilting them just enough so that, as he ran forwards with hands out, the one holding the salt, now, went right for the eyes floating behind me.

"A-HAH!" I cried triumphantly, holding a finger up as he finished the reenactment and came back. I grinned. "You WEAKENED him and distracted him long enough for me to break free by hitting his eyes with the salt!"

He nodded, arms crossed. "Yes. I planned it with the others while the awards ceremony went on," he explained. "Travis had said that his parents' beasts had been enhanced by the demons. So, your own inner beast, so to speak, must have been enhanced. Since we couldn't cheer you on without looking like we were betraying the people, we instead thought to try hitting you with salt to at least weaken it and to give you a chance. I knew that Master would stop me if I wasn't surreptitious, so I came up with that little plan should the need arrive. I was glad you were right beside me, since it was the easiest one to do secretly. I'm also glad that Ash started to cheer you on, which apparently affected you in a fairly deep way...?"

I smiled. "Yeah, seeing someone still believe in you no matter what...it was moving, goody-two-shoes or not," I confirmed.

He nodded. "I'm just relieved that it worked," he said. "As Travis's episode coined, 'Behold the power of condiments.'" He smirked at this.

"Behold, indeed," I agreed.

We then talked about different things, then, and became good friends. We exchanged IM addresses before leaving off again.

The next day, we saw the hopefuls in uniform as they practiced once more. It appeared that they had found old gakurans for the pokémon, and had cut holes to allow them to wear them. They couldn't find any suitable shoes, but they were assured that they would receive custom-made ones should they succeed. Their gloves were fingerless and, for Dragonite and Ursaring, little more than glove-material socks with holes. The wannabe Agents were in Agent suits, full ones. Travis was told to wear his own pants, though, since he insisted on working in wolf form and we didn't want to waste money on a hole-backed pair of pants he might use only once.

And then the day came. We waited outside the doors of the briefing room before we were allowed in. When we came, I saw a broadly-grinning Travis, showing every one of his bright, white teeth.

"And now, Agents Lock, Meyers, Hunter," Kahn said as we came in and addressed him, "come forth and take these." We came up and took each a badge. "Present them to them."

"""YESSIR!""" We spun on our heel and walked over to the three. We stopped in front of our same-position prospective Agents and held out the badge. They each took it.

"And now I welcome you to the status of Elite Beat Agents..." Kahn said, pausing for effect. "...Agents Garret--" Dorian looked up. "--Turner--" Frank looked up. "--and..."

Travis grinned as his codename was announced, to nobody's surprise, "...Wolf!"

"""THANK YOU, SIR!""" they all said in unison.

"Now, then, about this new branch," Kahn said. "I have thought for a while and have decided on it. You will be allowed to consult with Starr, our resident designer, on uniforms, but your sect has been decided by me. So now, I am proud to declare you the first members of the EBA-P..." He narrowed his eyebrows as he clarified it.

"The Elite Beat Agents - Pocket Division!!"

And the rest, as they say, is history.

-

Kioshi waited patiently before he heard his leader call him and his friends in. They stepped in and found no spoiling expression on their pokémon friends' faces. "Kioshi! Suzu! Hibiki!" Doumeki Kai shouted.

They snapped to attention. """Hai, Doumeki-sama!"""

"Be ready!" Then, "Dragonite!"

"Hai, Doumeki-sama!"

"Feraligatr!"

"Hai, Doumeki-sama!"

"Ursaring!"

"Hai, Doumeki-sama!"

"You are not worthy of becoming Ouendan!"

At this, Kioshi froze. He knew Dragonite must have done the same behind him. 'But...But...!'

"How could you ever expect to be accepted as one who cheers with those moves? Begone, you disgraces to the Evening Ouendan!"

"!" Dragonite widened her eyes. "Doumeki-sama! We do not desire to be apart of either the Evening or Morning Ouendan!"

"You DON'T?!" Doumeki roared, fire flaring. Kioshi let a gulp go down quietly.

Seconds passed. Then,

"Why didn't you just say so?! Baka! Then why are you standing like teams you wish not to be?!"

"""HAI, DOUMEKI-SAMA!!""" the three pokémon shouted. Then, as one, they changed their ready positions. Now, they stood at a variation of the To the Ready position from marching band. They cupped their right fist in their left paw, spread their legs the distance apart that Ouendan rest positions dictate, and looked up, ready.

Doumeki nodded curtly. "Now, you are MORE than qualified to become Ouendan of your own! Congratulations, Dragonite, Feraligatr, and Ursaring!" He looked at the humans. "IKUZE!"

"""HAI! IKUZE!!""" they shouted, skidding into position in front of them (all from one side since they couldn't do their normal thing from their former location). """SAN! NI! ICHI! SURE!""" And the Ouendan anthem played as they did their practiced congratulatory routine. As they were trained, they repeated the anthem after the singing and watched the ones in front join in.

"IKOYA!"--""IKUZE!!""

"""SAN! NI! ICHI! SURE!!"""

The Pokédan copied their movements perfectly in their own style. At the end of the singing, they paused while Doumeki shouted, "WHO ARE YOU?"

""OSU!!""

""TATAKAE!!""

""OUENDAN!!""

"HUH!" They thrust their fists out before standing at rest. Kioshi and the former Bluendan, still in Morning Town uniform, got out of the way.

"Speak with Lindhurst-san about your uniforms, as you cannot be Evening or Morning Ouendan if you are your own Ouendan, and decide upon your team's name!" commanded Doumeki. "You are also responsible for any new recruits! If you need to, then contact me or another trustworthy Ouendan and bring them. Good luck!" He thrust out his arm. "DISMISSED! OSU!"

"""HAI, DOUMEKI-SAMA! OSU!!""" They punched, too. Then, without another word, they filed out of the room they were allowed to use.

"You are dismissed, as well!" Doumeki told the humans.

"""HAI, DOUMEKI-SAMA!""" And they left, as well.

Kioshi ducked as soon as he exited the room, feeling the fwoosh of air above him as the orange, cap-wearing Dragon-type soared in a glomp. He laughed as she landed on the floor in a slamming grunt, sliding on her front a bit. She jumped up and turned, glaring, before laughing, too. "Good job, Dragonite!" Kioshi complimented, coming over and hugging, this time. "You'll make a great Ouendan!"

"Thanks, Kioshi," she said gently. While speaking normally, her voice was deep, as dragonites' voices usually are, but still obviously feminine. "I'll do my best!"

"You'd better, otherwise you'll have a heck of a hit on your conscience," Kioshi warned, smirking.

Dragonite smiled at him, blushing a bit. "I'll never forget you, Kioshi," she told him. "Thank you for everything."

"Not a problem," Kioshi welcomed. "Now, then, why don't we all get some lunch?" he suggested.

"I SO second that!" Ursaring said, raising his arm in approval.

- - -

Full Story Playlist:

0. (Prologue, Extra) School Gym: -:-School Haze! Worst Presentation EVER!!-:- Yellowcard – Lights and Sounds

1. Brett: -:-Surf's Up! Find the Lost Love through the Storm!!-:- Yellowcard – Ocean Avenue

2. (Bonus) Julian: -:-End of the Sweet Dreams? Save the Shop!!-:- Christina Aguilera – Candyman

3. Ash: -:-Team Rocket Strikes Again!! Mission in Another World?!-:- OK Go – Here it Goes Again

4. Kojiro: -:-Break Tradition!! Will Both Parties Be Happy?-:- FLOW – GO!!

5. Charizard (OT: Ash): -:-Use the Anger! Rescue Those Who Scorned You!!-:- Bivattchee – Taiyou no Mannaka he

6. Travis: -:-Supernatural Frightfest! No Winchesters Here!!-:- The Faders – No Sleep Tonight

7. Marin: -:-Breakout!! Make Like Shawshank and Then Some!!-:- Gwen Stefani ft. Akon – The Sweet Escape

8. (Bonus) Erin, Paul, and Eliza: -:-Forward March!! One Time at Band Camp!!-:- The All-American Rejects – Move Along

9. Benishirina: -:-Defend the Spring!! Can Both Relationships Be Saved?-:- HYDE – SEASON'S CALL

10. Sooteye: -:-A Truly Extreme Challenge!! Skate For Your Home-:- Smash Mouth – All Star

11. Rosa: -:-Go For the Sky-borne Heart! A Battle to Earn Friendship?-:- Izawa Asami – FLY AWAY

12. Nozomi: -:-Housewife Woes! Crash Course in Parenting!!-:- Kimura Kaela – happiness!!!

13. (Extra) Rebecca: -:-Party Poopers!! Stop the Chaos!!-:- Vengaboys – We Like to Party!

14. (Bonus) Cecil: -:-Supermarket Situation! Be Brave and Prove It!!-:- Scapegoat Wax – Aisle 10 (Hello Allison)

15. (Unofficial) (Zante): -:-So, You Want to Be an Agent? Free Your Inhibitions and ROCK!!-:- FerreTrip – Let Loose

16. Kagome: -:-There's More to Life!! Will They Listen for Once?-:- m-flo Loves Toku and DOUBLE – Life Is Beautiful

17. Fritz (and Kelly): -:-An Unwritten Letter-:- Seal – Kiss From a Rose

18. (Bonus) Antonio, Lenore, and Johnny: -:-Lycantastrophy! Fight for Your Lives!!-:- Hoobastank – Without a Fight (Full Version)

19. (Secret) Kotetsu: -:-Break Free! Can a One-Day-Old Escape Fate?-:- BEAT CRUSADERS – GHOST

20. Abe: -:-Oh, Snap, It's the 5-O! Playing Cops and Monsters!!-:- Bill Chase – Get It On

21. Jessie, James, and Meowth (and Wobbuffet): -:-Get to Work! A Steel Ball between Two Magnets!!-:- Hikaru Utada– KEEP TRYIN'

22. Both Worlds: -:-The Grand Finale?! Two Worlds' Last Shot!! Part 1-:- Yoko Kanno – RISE

23. Both Worlds: -:-The Grand Finale?! Two Worlds' Last Shot!! Part 2-:- Aqua (Barbie Young remix) – Cartoon Heroes (Speedy Mix)

FINAL COUNT:

Agents: 15 + 1

Ouendan: 10

Our Hard-Working Agent and Ouendan Teams and Their Mission(s)/Cheer(s)

Agents J, Morris, and Derek: 0

Gregory, Jordan, and Barry: 0

Agents Lock, Meyers, and Hunter: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 17, 20, 23

Agents Meyers and Hunter (duet): 22

Agents Chieftain, Morris, and Derek: 13

Travis, Frank, and Dorian: 15, 18(, 23)

Kioshi, Saito, and Suzuki: 4

Kioshi (solo): 5, 22

Kioshi, Suzu, and Hibiki: 5, 9, 11, 12, 16, 19, 21, 22, 23

Dragonite, Feraligatr, and Ursaring: (23)

Probable Official Game Playlist (Songs Only):

1. happiness!!! - Ouendan

2. Ocean Avenue - Agents

3. SEASON'S CALL - Ouendan

4. Taiyou no Mannaka he - Ouendan

5. The Sweet Escape - Agents

6. Here It Goes Again - Agents

7. KEEP TRYIN' - Ouendan

8. All Star - Agents

9. Life Is Beautiful - Ouendan

10. No Sleep Tonight - Agents

11. FLY AWAY - Ouendan

12. Kiss From a Rose - Agents

13. GO!! - Ouendan

14. Get It On - Agents

15. RISE – 3 Ouendan-2 Agents-1 Ouendan

16. Cartoon Heroes (Speedy Mix) - Agents and Ouendan

B1. Move Along - Agents

B2. Candyman - Agents

B3. Without a Fight (Full Version) - Agents

AAAAAAAND that's a WRAP! WHOO!! It's OVER!! THANK you for reading this story, all those who have. It's been a long, weird journey, starting with fantasy missions, and ended up becoming a labor of love, especially in these last chapters. I hope to God that this has all helped me with my short story skills--I mean, Get It On was actually a short story for class. Too long, though, still. I need to learn to shut the heck up. But, anyway, I wanna thank you and tell you that, yes, there is more. But it's a different fic, not this one, for my sanity. Please keep an eye out for it! I'll update my profile with news of it, don't worry.

What I mean with that second playlist is I think that that's the way it'd go (at least the songs, not necessarily the missions/cheers) in the actual game this would be in if it were to be a real game. That would mean only 19 songs—fourteen normal, two final, and three bonus—easiest-to-hardest order, and, during the game, shortened or lengthened parts and possible tempo changes. I had to eliminate the extra (and secret) song(s), the (as yet) fake song, and the most questionable song. I am actually very surprised at how well-balanced it came out (save for the bonus songs). This is, of course, for pretending purposes. The REAL game would have every song, every situation, every team used, everything.

I will consider writing a little, say, "HoloJam Room Chronicles," a pseudo-fic that follows what happens when things go wrong—any 50-/X-induced progress scenes I skipped in the main fic for sake of story flow or (mostly) laziness, the ---(X)--- scenes, the mediocre and all-X endings, and the failure sequences. It is purely for the sake of humor and entertainment and to see if I can actually fulfill my desire to design my own EBA/Ouendan game. If you're interested, please check it out if I do it!

Wow…to think I've come all this way after being inspired from seeing and posting on a make-your-own-stage thread on GameFAQs. I'd like to thank that thread, Nintendo Power for telling me about EBA, Wal*Mart for letting me try the download that I played over and over, regardless of how short it was, YouTube for supplying many of the songs, the many sites I got the lyrics from when available, for giving me a place to show people my writing efforts, ALL OF MY WONDERFUL REVIEWERS WHO DESERVE BOXES AND BOXES OF COOKIES *heart*, and, of course, iNiS and Nintendo/GAME FREAK for making such awesome game worlds. Now, then, if anyone from iNiS is reading, GET GOING ON A NEW GAME, ALREADY!! Your fans are feebly writing their own games (not literally, I think)!! I also, if I ever get to be able to play it *glares at computer's inferior graphics card*, osu! for giving me the chance to make my dream a reality, as well as others to play more songs using this awesome game. I WILL make the episodes as faithfully as I can, and will even try to write a program for a squad if need be to provide the full experience, if I get the chance. Customization is my blood. :D I also want to thank Mr. Matsuda Junichi, the guy who's running Pokémon these days, and the words in his interview with NP that gave me my theme to use in the final songs. It fits so well, actually, since the Agents/Ouendan are from the "real world" where, as we know, Pokémon is socially banned among teens. X.X

Thank you again! Now go and read a better fanfic, already!! ;P

See ya!

--FerreTrip

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"...Interesting report."

"What shall we do?"

"Need you ask?" A clipboard, tossed away, lands on the dark, black-tiled floor with a clatter. Attached is what appears to be, for all the world, a DS game card with the words "Insert Game Title Here" in brackets as title, and "Gotta Cheer 'em All!" as subtitle. A few papers are attached, as well. One of the top papers read, "View attached memory card."

"Then when?"

"No later than normal."

"My thoughts exactly."

"Very funny."

"More wrenches may be tossed into our plans..."

"...but it will be worth it."

The clipboard is picked up by a black glove. "I will tell the Bravest Soldier that his are the only ones left."

"Which is what I would do."

"To your work."

"And yours."

...

"...At least we now know that we need not worry about that boy, after all."