Well, this is it. The last LoT chapter ever to be written. Enjoy it, for it is the last of its kind. Oh, and I lied. It doesn't include a monologue of any kind. Sorry, but hey, it's my story. Unless you want to buy it...

I owe thanks to darkhaseo90 and Galalithial for 'beta-testing' this chapter, although they don't usually beta-read. I think. Actually... Well, here's to them!

Anyway, enjoy it.

Epilogue

"Tal, you need to sleep. Staying awake five days straight isn't going to help anyone." Across from me, Rose was trying unsuccessfully to get a restless Tal to sleep. We had been on the train for almost four days, and due to some malfunction in the track we weren't due to hit Kanto until late two days from now.

Tal hadn't said a single word since we had boarded the train, nor had he eaten. I have to admit, whatever had happened must have been horrible. I was almost afraid to ask what was on his mind. But we had to know what was wrong.

Silver had told me that he could 'sense' the problem, a conversation about his sensitivity to 'overflowed emotions' had followed that particular comment. Unfortunately, he refused to tell me about the problem.

Rose had tried to get a fix on Tal's thoughts, but according to her he had a brick wall in front of his mind. No cracks, no chinks in the armour. He had been trained against mind readers, after all.

Despite his lack of food and sleep, he looked no worse for wear. He was just… anxious. Worried about the future, perhaps? If something could worry him, I didn't want to know about it. Tal is the most straightforward, present seeing person I know.

Whatever was coming, it couldn't be good for any of us.

Tal

I was right. The train would take too long. Why did this have to happen now? Why couldn't it have waited, or come sooner. Why did this have to happen at all? Why me? And what if I was too late?

I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself after a failure that momentous. This entire escapade had been my fault, and any fatalities would be my fault as well.

Even with the landscape whipping past at nearly ninety kilometres an hour, I was able to pick out herds of Tauros, and some grazing Miltank. How many of them knew about the rest of the world? Even the large groups of human adventurers had no idea what was happening on the other end of the world. Hell, it wasn't even that far away.

To lead such a sheltered existence… How could you do that? Going so long without knowing what was really happening in the world? That's the only reason that the Imperialists had any power, through ignorance. The public can't rebel against something they know nothing about.

If all else failed me, I was going to find a way to reveal the war to the public eye. They had to know about the things their country was doing.

The moment the doors opened, I was out. We had arrived in Kanto behind schedule, due to 'unforeseen circumstances'. But due to a stroke of luck, we had been diverted to a northern way station rather than any of the cities. Much closer to the mainland than any other station.

I was out and running, past a surprisingly large crowd of people. Just how many actually went to and from the East? Certainly not this many people. And from the looks of it few were military.

I dodged past the crowds, well ahead of Ethan and Silver. I slammed into the nearest exit I could find, knocking it open. It was dark out, evidence of just how late the train was. I shot out into the forest, Rose just behind me. Silver and Ethan must have been interrupted by some station minder. They'd catch up.

A light rain had started, quickly soaking me and Rose. Not to mention the underbrush, making it hard to run. I kept going, not really caring if I tripped. I would deserve that later. And I was already too late. So what was the point?

Ethan

"How many people live out there?" I asked Silver, who was likewise flustered at the amount of people. They formed a living wall between us and the exit, unintentionally blocking the escape route of almost everyone who wanted to leave. Idiots.

A man in a blue station authority shirt walked up. "How may I assist you today, weary traveller?" I pointed to the mass of people blocking the exit. "Move them before I have to." Silver muffled a laugh. "That wouldn't be pretty," he said, still laughing.

The man's features contorted in anger. "You sir, have just threatened the safety of those under my protection! I challenge you to a-" Before he could finish, I had punched him in the chest. "Pokémon battle?" I finished, Silver still laughing.

The man crumpled, holding his chest. I pulled my only remaining Pokéball from my belt, waving it around. "If we did that, Ronin here would destroy this entire station." I tossed the ball up, catching it as it fell.

The crowd was now watching us, hoping for some entertainment while they waited. I was glad I had gotten those gloves; else there would be a lot of screaming right about now. Hands aren't supposed to glow green, when you think about it.

I offered the man a hand in getting up, but when he grabbed it he tried to pull me down next to him. Grabbing his wrist, ignoring his feeble attempts at revenge, I hauled him up. He tried to punch my face, but since he was overly disoriented and in pain the shot was easy to dodge.

He growled, still trying to hit me. Silver, still laughing, grabbed the man's arm. "That's enough. You do not want to see what happens when he gets angry." He started laughing even harder for some reason. That's was unlike him. Interesting.

The man ripped his arm out of Silver's grasp, resulting in the red haired man's laughter increasing. I shook my head, more than a little startled. "Damn, Silver, are you high?" I asked, his laughter increasing even more.

The man launched himself at me, obviously a novice at hand to hand combat. Then again, with Pokémon around you don't have to learn melee combat. I sidestepped, hitting him in the back with a well timed push. He was sent sprawling onto the floor.

The crowd, zombies they were, just stood there watching us. Silver continued to laugh crazily, almost obsessively. I was going to have to ask him about that later. The man was still trying to get to his feet, but I must have pushed him harder than I thought, because he was gasping for breath and his face was bleeding.

He managed to get to his feet, face still contorted in anger. I rolled my eyes at his persistence, grabbing the bottom of my glove. I knew one way to end this. Even if it lead to screams. I could deal with that. Silver, seeing what I was going to do, doubled over laughing. He must have iron lungs or something.

Undoing the tie that held the glove in place, I looked up at the man who was still focused on attacking. "Last chance…" I said mysteriously. He just lunged again. Sighing, I punched him in the gut. Before he could try anything more, I ripped the glove off. And the screaming started.

While the sleeve of my shirt did little to hide the glowing green mark on my arm, I had learned how to dim that portion to make it unnecessary. The mark on my hand was always glowing, however, no matter how hard I tried to dim it. That's why I got the glove.

With my glowing hand revealed, the general atmosphere of the room shifted. Most people were now screaming, running back and forth for no reason, or peering interestedly at me. Others just smiled, almost knowingly. Silver, still laughing, Managed to sputter out something about Lyra.

The man, who was now scared out of his mind, looked at me fearfully. "Wh-what t-the?" he stuttered. I waved my hand around. "You see this mark?" I said aggressively. "This mark gives me permission to do whatever the hell I want to you. So let it go."

Unfortunately, he took that as a challenge. "Some tribal marking does not give you more authority here, so I am going to have to ask you to leave." Famous last words. Even Silver snapped out of his laughing fit when he saw me get angry. "Oh shiiii-"

Tal

Running had never tired me out before. Why was it doing that now? Even before I had regained most of my abilities, I had been a great runner. I had certainly run more than five kilometres before. What was going on?

Rose, still following me, picked up on that thought. "I told you to sleep. You're tired and hungry; you obviously need rest to run. Even you." I shook the comment off. No use being distracted now. Hazle needed me.

But she had needed me long before now. And my incompetence had been her undoing. I was too late to save her now, and would have been no matter how fast the train had gotten me home. I had failed the moment I started this whole thing.

My legs kicked up dirt as I ran, through the wet underbrush and moist ground. My fur was slick with water, sticking irritatingly to my skin. My rings were alight, pulsing like a flame. My vision was starting to dim from exhaustion.

Narrowing my eyes in determination, I pushed on. I was too close to give up now. Besides, I didn't deserve a rest. Not after my monumental failure. I would run until my legs stopped working. I would run myself into the ground.

"How did I miss it, Rose? It was so obvious, how could not have noticed? Was I that hung up on revenge?" Rose, still not understanding what I was talking about, just nodded. "Revenge is what got you in this mess, whatever it is."

Hearing that confirmation brought tears to my eyes. How had I been so blind, so transparent? I had everything I could ever have needed, and I threw it all away in some bid for closure. How could I have been so stupid?

No, I would not stop. I deserved the pain and internal damage. Might as well make the body match the mind.

I ran for five hours straight, driven by pure determination. I was unwilling to give up, not when I had already failed her. No matter how late I was, I would get there as soon as possible.

As I ran, I began to piece this whole puzzle together, dredging memories better left untouched back into existence. The first Infinus base, the Four, the explosion. It all added up so obviously. How had I missed it?

Psychic types have a natural weakness to radiation, resulting in the symptoms of radiation sickness advancing faster than normal. Cell mutation, deficiencies within the body itself… Eventually, it would lead to death. And I had dosed Hazle with a massive amount of radiation.

I should have realized what I had done much sooner, should have tried to cure her. But blinded by a lust for revenge, I had completely overlooked her safety. And I had sworn to protect her. Well, I had done a great job of that!

Another thought crossed my mind. How the hell am I going to explain this to Raziel? There was no way he was going to accept me as his only parent after I had been gone for nearly two weeks. How would he take this?

How about Null? I had inadvertently killed off her best friend. What of Hazle's other friends? How was I going to explain this to any of them? They would attempt to tear me apart when I told them my part in this. Maybe I would let them. This was my fault anyway.

I was notoriously bad at explaining things to people. I had had much the same problem five years ago with Spine. He had wanted an explanation for Ritch's disappearance, and he logically turned to me. We had been roommates at the time, before the war. Before I was legally too old to stay at the academy.

The conversation that followed had been far more than awkward, and afterwards he had attempted to strangle me. I had 'persuaded' him to go away with a minor display of my psychic power, slamming him into a wall. We hadn't talked since.

I jumped a fallen log, but misjudged my landing and sprawled into the mud. It instantly fixed itself onto my fur, hardening as I got to my feet. I growled in frustration at the setback, setting off again at a dead sprint.

If I didn't make it soon, fatigue would win. I couldn't let that happen. Pushing myself even harder, I ran faster. My vision was now red tinted. My breath came in quick, shallow gasps. My leg muscles were straining to keep going, pulling and burning with every step.

I would make it, no matter the cost. No matter what. I would not stop.

As I crested another rise, a few hours later, I could see the academy in the distance. Closer to me was my home, my only oasis in the desert that was my life. Yes, I use metaphors. The cave was dark, empty, forgotten.

I ran down the hill, tripped, and fell flat on my face at the bottom. My stop had stiffened my leg muscles, making movement hard. I got to my feet, now struggling to get the last few feet. I would not give up now! Not after hours of running. I don't waste my time like that.

I managed to stumble to the lip of the cave, which was covered in cobwebs. A group of Spinarak scuttled out as I approached. I had expected no less, but the emptiness brought more tears to my eyes.

Walking in, I looked around at the place I had lived in for so long, which now seemed so empty. And I noticed a small piece of white paper on one wall, tacked into the stone.

Tal,

I'm sure by now you've figured out what happened. And I'm sorry that you had to figure it out that way. But I didn't want you to worry, by the time I figured it out it was too late for you to do anything. And, if I told you, you would go crazy with worry. I'm sorry, I really am.

Take care of Raziel while I'm gone, and try not to blame yourself. Everyone makes mistakes, Tal. Even you. Goodbye.

Hazle

By the end of the note, I was crying uncontrollably. Confirmation of my failure, once again. Repeated, over and over. It was maddening, but I deserved it.

I could feel several pairs of eyes trained on me from the mouth of the cave, but I ignored them. Let them watch, it made no difference. That was until I felt an unfamiliar feeling well up inside me. No, not a feeling, not an emotion. It was power.

Around me, lightning bolts formed. They shot off, impacting the edges of the cave and shearing off chunks. Flames began to boil at my feet, and my fur froze solid. My eyes began to glow a very vibrant purple, completely shifting from the natural red.

I heard a stampede as the assembled crowd began to flee. Either something very good or very bad was about to happen, I could feel it. A portion of my power I had never realised I had. Something far more dangerous than brute force.

A single tear dropped off my muzzle, and stopped in mid air. Shining like a monument, a gold statue, a realization. I could see thousands of colours through it, every colour known to man, and more. The colours were so bright, so inviting.

This would do nicely.

They held a funeral, although it was an awkward affair. I attended, along with almost everyone who had gone to the academy at the same time as her and I. I could see Spine and Instructor Leafeon in the crowd, along with a host of others.

I stayed away from most of the other people present, conscious of the fact that my power was still out of my control. One wrong comment and everyone would be having a funeral. Not exactly the best way to come back home.

Spine, as it turned out, had had a very close relationship with Hazle before I came along. Even when she and I lived together the two remained close. They were childhood friends, similar to me and Ritch.

That thought caused an epiphany. How did I get a childlike physique after my escape from Infinus? From what I could remember, I had been at least as old as I was officially now. What other abilities did I have?

I pushed that thought from my mind. No use dwelling on it now. I would ponder after the funeral.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Instructor Leafeon approaching me. I had to stop calling him that, he wasn't my instructor anymore. He had a grim expression.

"Tal, I'm sorry for your loss." I shrugged the comment off, turning away. Unfortunately, he was persistent. "But we need your help. And you know it." I growled, warningly. He was going into bad territory.

"You know," I said, turning to him. "I don't even know your name. Why should I take orders from you?" He flinched at the comment, looking away. "My name is Cassial," he said, somewhat mollified by my words.

I sighed, shaking my head. "Besides, why should I help you here? What do I owe you?" His eyes narrowed, and I could feel him getting angry. "What do you owe me? We took you in when you had nowhere else to go! We trained you, fed you, and housed you for years!"

The moment he finished speaking, I started to laugh. An almost maniacal laugh. "No-nowhere else to go?" I ripped a chunk of rock out of the rock pile beside me. I dropped it, and it floated in midair at head level.

"I can build houses with a thought," Several rocks floated over to join the first. "And I can crush them with a thought." The rocks crumbled into sand. I picked it up with telekinesis, making an intricate pattern in the air.

Glancing around, I located a sharp rock. Using it, I cut myself in several places. The wounds healed over in less than a second, leaving no scars. "And I cannot die!" He looked absolutely horrified, backing away slowly. "A-and," I was stuttering with just how much I was laughing. "And t-that doesn't e-e-even s-scratch t-the s-surface of w-what I can d-do!"

He backed off, walking away. My laughter faded, thankfully unnoticed by the crowd assembled not to far from me. One person seemed to notice, however.

"Tal, do you think laughter is appropriate at a time like this?" Null managed to spit out, almost laughing herself. I had let her in on my plan just after she arrived. Teleporters can work wonders, apparently.

She was the only one I had deemed close enough to reveal my full plan to, while Ethan and Silver got an inkling of what was to come. The plan was a long shot, but it was the only way to get Hazle back.

She cocked her head, thinking for a moment. "So, have you thought about how you're going to explain this to Raziel?" My son was smarter than most his age, already speaking with near fluency and already capable of understanding almost every concept you could throw at him. It would be difficult.

A smile lit my face, I had all the time in the world.

Well, that's it. No more LoT, ever. I'm getting all teary eyed! But, while LoT is finished, the general story goes on. Maybe one day I'll write a continuation, maybe some one-shots. I will definately be going in depth on Tal's mysterious 'plan', so count on that project in the future. But first, I'm going to list the achievements of this story in its entirety.

During its three month lifespan, LoT entertained almost 680 people, acheived more than 1,000 views, and gathered people from a variety of different countries to read its exellence. I never met that 10 review goal, but I decided to be nice and post this early. Thank me for it!

LoT managed to achieve an average of 3512 words per chapter (not counting the Prologue or Epilogue), something even some much longer stories lack. Something that will be continued in it's spiritual predecessor, Lynx Academy. If not improved upon.

Remember everybody, you can always read Lynx academy to pass the time, so I want to see all my viewers over there pronto! See you, Yes, you specifically, there.

For the last time, this is Infinity WEAPON, signing off.