wiggles

guess who has big news about Kickstart? That's right! Me! -squeals in ridiculous excitement-

Okay, so this is the final chapter of Kickstart. We've come so far, and I can honestly say that I'm super proud of the work we've done. I think I can speak for Rio as well when I say that although there were mistakes, disagreements, and parts that I'm still not pleased with, we've made a good thing happen and given at least a few people at least a little bit of happiness. :) I can honestly say that this was a labor of love.

Thank you to everyone who has ever reviewed Kickstart and the lovely people who have faved and followed the story. Twobagelscollide deserves a mention for his phenomenal reviews, as well as mental support when I felt like putting a fist through my laptop. ;D;

And, as always, Rio ;v; Thank you for doing this with me and bringing us both so much joy. In the end, you deserve just as much credit for making Kickstart fly as I do. Thank you for the journey- you're the Buizel to my Eevee ;)

Oh, yeah, I forgot about the big news. I'll put that in the epilogue! c;

Zorua looked conflicted after hearing Eevee say those words. "Let's go home." the Dark-type thought carefully. But… where's my home?

Part of her wanted to go back to living with Zoroark, her dearly loved Meema. Another part of her wanted to stay as a member of Team J, to stay with Eevee, Buizel, and Cyndaquil, who, she was surprised to realize, had become close friends to her… almost family. Most of her was just… confused. Zorua didn't know what to do, and for once in her life, she wasn't ready to jump out of the figurative aircraft and hope for the best.

Buizel noticed Zorua's uncertainty, and how she kept glancing between the rest of the team and Zoroark. His relieved and happy thoughts of having survived Team Plasma and being able to return home gave way to sadder thoughts of losing Zorua. Her home… might not be our home. he realized, disappointed. And that might go for Cyn too!

"Zorua?" Buizel asked hesitantly. "Where do you want to go?"

Zorua was uncharacteristically quiet for a moment. "I don't know…" she finally admitted, conflict visible in her expression.

Cyndaquil looked away as well. For once, he could completely understand Zorua's feelings. Adventuring had been fun, and he was glad that Zorua had found her Meema and everything had… really turned out okay. He felt such a connection with those three Pokémon. But...

They probably don't want me to stay, he thought. I was never really any help to them… and now I could have a chance to go back, be a starter like I always wanted to. He sighed, not realizing that he was doing it out loud. If I go back, I'll probably never see them again.

Johto was a very, very long ways away from Sinnoh.

Eevee blinked a few times before realizing why everybody was so upset.

That's it, she realized. I got so used to everybody being around… but the truth is that Cyn and Zorua have other homes to go to, now that this is over. She hadn't realized just how quickly she had gotten attached to the two kids. It seemed as if they had always been here.

She absently picked up the Base Key lying on the grass, charging up in the sunlight, and turned it over and over in her paw.

"Let's just go back to the base for now," she said quietly. "We can decide what to do… later."

Zoroark woke up to see a spotless wooden room. She sat up and realized she was lying on a bed; she could tell it was a hospital bed. It didn't have wheels, but it had light green sheets and the white plastic pillow case found on every hospital bed. That, and there was a stand with an IV drip leading into her left arm. She pulled it out, disregarding caution, and tried to remember how she'd gotten there.

The previously delusional Dark-type didn't remember much from after being released from her prison cell. Fuzzy images of a Buizel, a Cyndaquil, and a furry brown thing ran through her head, along with a loud rumbling sound and- was it a collapsing building? Along with one particular moment of clarity and lucidness that stood out among the blurred memories.

It was Zorua, her Zorua, asking desperately, pleading with her to-to do... something. She couldn't remember what, though. Had it just been a dream? How could she have seen Zorua in the Team Plasma base?

Zoroark shook her head and focused on the room she found herself in instead. Everything besides the bed and the bottles on the shelves- medicine?- seemed to be wooden. The walls, the shelves, the floor, the ceiling. This, in itself wasn't too unusual, except that the room was seamless. Where there should've been wooden planks, hundreds of rings showed the age of the wood around her. Not a single crack or line to be seen. Even the shelves seemed to be growing out of the walls.

She noticed the one seam in the room, a door. It was covered in very natural-looking tree bark and completely separate from the smooth, sanded surface everywhere else in the room.

Suddenly, while Zoroark was observing it from the bed, the door slid open with a whoosh and click. In walked four small and familiar Pokémon.

"Meema!" Zorua shouted joyfully as she jumped into Zoroark's lap, a grin on her face. "You're awake!"

Zoroark was very relieved to have Zorua back with her, but at the same time very, very confused. She looked in puzzlement, and somewhat warily, at the other three Pokémon in the room. A Cyndaquil, hovering near the doorway, Buizel, and that same furry brown thing- An Eevee! Zoroark realized.

Buizel sighed, exasperated. "Zorua, we went over this. You and Cyn have to leave while Eevee and I check over Zoroark and explain what's happened."

Zorua rolled her eyes but complied, jumping down to the floor and bounding out of the room, motioning for Cyndaquil to follow her. Zoroark watched her go and realized that she should say something to her daughter. She couldn't find words, so she just opened and closed her mouth a few times.

Cyndaquil followed Zorua out of the room as Eevee stepped over to Buizel.

"Do you remember being captured by Team Plasma?" she asked Zoroark gently, not wanting to trigger any flashbacks or blackouts.

Zoroark tilted her head, frowning with her chin supported by an arm..

"Vaguely… humans," she said in mild confusion. "I don't remember much…" Eevee nodded, prompting her to go on.

Zoroark's expression became one of worry and concentration. She raised one arm and scratched her forehead. The Dark-type shut her eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the few recent memories she could make sense, even vague sense, of.

"There was a human woman with silver hair," said Zoroark. "She was… not kind…" Zoroark's eyes became clouded.

"That was Pokemon Hunter J," supplied Eevee.

Zoroark nodded and shook her head to clear it a little. "And then the next thing I remember is waking up in that plastic room and ...not knowing what was going on." Her brow furrowed as she stared at a point somewhere between Eevee and Buizel. "Humans… kept spraying something in the air that made me…. see things…" She shuddered.

"You don't have to remember if it's too painful," said Eevee anxiously. Zoroark shook her head.

"It's all right," she said, sounding a bit more assured of herself. "I'm all right now…"

Buizel pulled out his brand new Base Key, identical to his previous one, and tapped it, bringing up the home screen floating in midair. He tapped a red, plus-shaped icon on a white background that was the universal symbol for anything medical. It spun around and grew to fill the screen, lines of diagnostics and gobbledygook that didn't make sense to anyone but Buizel appearing in a small blue box in the upper left corner. An image of Zoroark took up almost the entire right-hand side of the screen, while several charts and a heartbeat monitor claimed what space there was left. Eevee and Zoroark both fell silent, watching Buizel with confused looks.

Suddenly, a crash sounded from outside the door and Buizel dropped his Base Key, the holoscreen flickering out of existence. It rolled under Zoroark's hospital bed as the Water-type scrambled for it. "Ack! Eevee, go see what's happened this time!" he exclaimed, reaching under the hospital bed for the crystal as he spoke.

"Oh, Arceus," groaned Eevee, rolling her eyes and dashing out of the room. She closed the door behind her. Looking up and down the hallway, she turned left, the direction of the crash.

Back inside Zoroark's room, Buizel grabbed his Base Key and tapped it again, bringing up the med-scan app. They really do have an app for everything these days. Buizel thought back nostalgically to his days in Sinnoh Home. Although, the technology of today is gonna be obsolete by next month. Tech Division is really something, huh?

Zoroark stared at the glowing screen floating in midair above the strange aqua-colored crystal in Buizel's paw. She then looked at the Pokémon himself, who was almost equally hard to understand, in her opinion. He seemed like a kind Pokémon, trustworthy, but she had no idea why he liked to spend so much time doing such complicated things with technology.

Buizel accessed some program and a beam of light shot out of the screen, scanning Zoroark up and down. It quickly flashed back to its source after absorbing every bit of data. "Don't worry." Buizel soothed, although Zoroark wasn't frightened. "It's just checking for injuries."

Zoroark blinked and shook her head. "What is this place?" she asked curiously, satisfied that there wasn't any immediate danger.

Buizel closed the holoscreen again, happy to know that Zoroark was perfectly fine and wouldn't be hallucinating anymore. He looked up at the Pokémon in question, blinked, and asked. "Did you say something?"

Zoroark repeated her question. "Again, what is this place?"

"Oh!" Buizel exclaimed, embarrassed. "Of course, sorry. Forgot about that. You're in our base. We're a rescue team, Team J to be exact. We're near Sandgem Town in the Sinnoh Region."

Zoroark frowned for a moment, wondering how she and Zorua would get back to Unova. But then, thinking back to her fuzzy memory of escaping Team Plasma, she remembered a conversation between Zorua and the rescue team Pokémon. Zorua didn't want to come back… she realized sadly. But she wasn't shouting that she wanted to stay with this rescue team either…

Buizel cleared his throat and put on a formal expression. He launched into a rehearsed speech. "We, as the rescue team that helped you, will provide full treatment, compensation, and transport for any issues you have regarding your predicament and relocation."

Zoroark snapped back to reality. She looked at Buizel, and then around the room again, wondering why Zorua didn't want to immediately come back home. She made a decision. "Buizel, isn't it? Buizel, why are you here?"

The Water-type was taken aback by this question. "Er, what?" he asked in confusion.

"I'm curious about why you, yourself, are here, a member of this rescue team Zorua's gotten attached to." Zoroark clarified, her voice cool, but not unfriendly.

"You remember that?" Buizel asked.

Zoroark nodded.

"Well, there's a good sign of recovery, but don't try to strain your memory." He remembered the question he'd been asked. "Well… I guess I'm here because I want to help others, and because my friends are here with me." he said doubtfully, thinking about it for just a few seconds.

Friends, plural. Zoroark noted. He's including more than just the Eevee. He's already gotten attached to those two kids… She looked up at Buizel, who had turned away very slightly. He wants the best for them, but he'll be sad if they go.

She nodded at his answer. Simple and honest, nothing deep. He really did just want to help Pokémon. She couldn't imagine intelligent, caring Buizel ever hurting anybody without a purpose. I would trust him with Zorua… She tried to put the thought out of her mind.

"May I speak with that Eevee again?" the Dark-type asked.

"What the heck did you do?!" exclaimed Eevee, gaping at the mess on the floor.

"Uhh," said Cyndaquil, shifting his feet and trying to appear small. He glanced at Zorua, who was standing on the other side of the huge spill of water.

Zorua smiled and smoothly replied. "Me and Cyn here were just having a little target practice game, when that wall burst open for no reason! Water was gushing out everywhere! It still is!"

Eevee looked over to the wall, yelped loudly, said a few unsavory words, and dashed out of the soaked room. Fortunately, it was an empty room, but it was quickly filling with water.

"Where's the emergency fast-growing crystal?!" she yelled, bursting into the room with Buizel and Zoroark.

Buizel quickly came to the conclusion that Cyndaquil and Zorua had managed to severely damage something. "I'll go!"

He ran out the doorway, which quickly slid open again, but before Eevee could follow, Zoroark said to her, "Wait."

Eevee turned around, her ears pricking up slightly.

"Your name's Eevee, right?" Zoroark asked.

Buizel didn't need directions, he followed the sound of rushing water. The wooden hallway he ran through gradually became damper and wetter, until there were puddles all over the floor. He kept going until he skidded to a stop at a point in the hall where the water was half a foot deep and more was pouring out through an open doorway. Inside the doorway was a fortunately unused room, with Cyn perched on top of a large clump of Sirai's crystals and Zorua swimming around.

He sighed, exasperated and faintly amused. "Sirai, quit playing jokes and get this cleared up already! You're supposed to be responsible for this base!" He chuckled.

"Fine, fine." Sirai's child-like voice echoed in the room from an unseen source. "But you can't blame me for taking advantage of anyone who hasn't read the manual." The AI giggled as a beeping sound emitted from the room.

Four rectangular sections, each one about five inches tall and one foot wide, slid open at the bottom of each wall. The water was sucked into these holes and drained out of the hallway in the same manner, and a new clump of crystals grew where a jagged space was before, blocking the water flowing out.

"That's better." Buizel smiled. "Thanks, Sirai."

"You're welcome." the invisible AI replied happily.

Buizel turned back to the two Pokémon responsible for the impromptu flood. "Whatever it is that you did… just, don't do it again." he said sternly before absentmindedly adding a note aloud. "Until I proof the base for it, that is."

If Sirai had a head, she would've shaken it, amused at Buizel's attempt at a telling off. Then again, you wouldn't be you if you could berate someone. She didn't mention it to the three Pokémon, though, instead turning her attention to the medical bay.

"Uhh, yeah," replied Eevee cautiously, turning around and looking curiously at her. "Why?"

Zoroark stated. "I have a question for you." After the lack of negative response, she asked, "What are your goals as a part of this rescue team?"

"Er." Eevee paused, taken off-guard by the unexpected question. "I mean… I guess I've never really thought about having goals." She tilted her head. "I want to be a good partner to Buizel," she said, a little more pensively. "He's always so supportive of me… I guess I always felt like I wasn't good enough for him."

Zoroark nodded along and thought about Eevee's response. She holds Buizel in high regard… And she said "supportive". No one notices support unless they're looking for it…

"I used to think that it was because I wanted to help other Pokemon," continued Eevee thoughtfully. "But…" She paused again. "After a while, I started to realize that those Pokemon I helped, rescued from their fate of being sold by J- I didn't really care that much about them. Buizel was the one who would call them up after they re-settled, make sure they found their way back home, stuff like that." She chuckled humorlessly. "I guess that makes me a bad Pokemon?" She didn't seem to expect an answer from Zoroark, instead continuing to talk.

"I liked exploring," she said in a softer tone. "I liked… I like… the adventures, the adrenaline, working with Buizel and… Zorua and Cyndaquil." Zoroark raised her eyebrows slightly at hearing the two kids' names mentioned. "I just love this work, the stuff that we do. I don't care about the Pokemon that we rescue, but I still help them, don't I? I like to know that I'm helping others be happy, you know?"

Zoroark listened patiently as Eevee fell silent, surprised at how much she had revealed to this relative stranger. There was something about the Dark-type that just made it easy for her to talk, say things that she wouldn't say to anybody else.

"I want to be a good partner," said Eevee after a short pause. "I want to help others…" She looked away from Zoroark for a second. I want to… be okay again… since what happened...

Zoroark nodded.

"Is there anything else?" she asked. Maybe the Dark-type had seen something in Eevee's eyes, or maybe she was just using that to end the conversation. Eevee hesitated for the slightest moment.

"No, I guess that's it." she said. Zoroark nodded again.

"Could I talk to that Cyndaquil?" she asked.

"Sure," said Eevee, looking confused as she opened the door and peered out into the hallway. After a short pause, she started towards the flooded room.

"Cyn?" she yelled, poking her head into the doorway of the flooded room. "Oh, dear Arceus." She looked at Buizel in shock.

"Just a little, uhm, wall mishap," chirped Sirai cheerfully, her blue screen popping up in front of the Normal-type.

"I…. won't ask any more," said Eevee, looking around. "Hey, Cyn?"

Cyndaquil peered around the corner fearfully. "E-e-eevee?"

"Zorua's Meema wants to see you," said Eevee, briskly gesturing over her shoulder. "Dunno why."

Cyndaquil looked into the doorway of the room, then pattered inside. He didn't see the larger Pokemon at first. Zoroark looked like a sort of bigger version of Zorua. Cyndaquil couldn't help but feel shy- although he knew that Zoroark was a friend, she was still kind of big and scary.

"H-hello," he said uncertainly, not sure whether to approach or not.

Zoroark nodded in response. "Your name is Cyndaquil, correct?" she asked, deciding to stick to her pattern with the other two.

"Y-yeah." Cyndaquil nodded. "Although I, um, I g-guess you can call me Cyn." She's Zorua's mom, so… He looked at Zoroark cautiously, unsure of what else to expect.

Zoroark thought about the little Fire-type's stuttered response. This one's rather timid. She asked her question to the shy starter. "Why do you want to be here?"

"Why… why do I want to be here?" Cyndaquil was surprised by the question. Although it was one that he had given much thought in the past few days, it wasn't something that he had ever expected somebody else to ask him.

"I guess…" he said slowly, "it's not really about having adventures, or anything like that- I mean, discovering new things, helping other Pokémon, that's fun. But it's not really the reason I'm staying. I could have adventures with a Trainer, too…" He glanced at Zoroark, as if unsure that she'd understand. The Dark-type nodded her head.

"It's Eevee, and Buizel, and, and Zorua," he said at last. "I just like being with them, I guess. I've never felt such a connection to other Pokemon before. It i-inspires me to be better, braver, I guess. I don't know."

Interesting, thought Zoroark. Despite having never had a very close friend before, he attached to Zorua and those two very quickly. He likes having a purpose and he knows his flaws…

"I hope you stay with them," she said, offering an opinion for the first time. Cyndaquil looked a little taken aback. "Be a good friend for my Zorua."

"But…" Cyndaquil paused in confusion. "Isn't Zorua going b-back home with you?" The little Fire-type looked sad as he said it.

"Could you call her in here?" asked Zoroark, turning away. I've seen everything I need to see. Zorua… Zorua belongs here, with this Team J…

Looking puzzled, Cyndaquil paused a moment before realizing that the Dark-type wasn't going to answer his question. He slipped silently out of the room.

Downstairs, he found Sirai and Buizel chatting while Zorua watched the fast-growing crystal plugging up the leak with fascination. Eevee was nowhere to be seen.

"H-hey, Zorua?" he called. "Your, uhm, Meema wants to see you."

The Dark-type turned around and looked at Cyn in mild surprise and relief. "Really? Meema! I'm coming!" She barreled past the Fire-type like a rocket, zipping down the hallway. Although she'd never admit it, Zoroark not wanting to talk to her first actually hurt a little. I suppose we'll get plenty of time to talk back in Unova… Without seeing the others again… She slowed down as she came to this thought, just outside the door to the infirmary.

Zorua shook her head to rid herself of that negative train of thought. She stepped to the door as it slid open for her.

"Zorua!" said Zoroark, standing up as she saw the smaller Pokémon. There was a pause in which both Dark-types just stared at each other, neither one of them sure what to say. Theirs had never been a hugs-and-kisses type of relationship. But really, thought Zoroark, what does one say to one's adoptive daughter when she has rescued you from a human laboratory and might be leaving you to join a rescue team?

She settled for, "I've missed you."

Zorua settled for a very awkward, "Me too." Then she asked the question on both their minds. "Can I stay?"

Zoroark hesitated again. Part of her wanted to scream no! and never let Zorua out of her sight again. Her baby, who she'd grown unwillingly attached to, who she had raised from birth. Who seemed to have grown so much since Zoroark had last seen her. The larger Dark-type blinked away a sudden stinging in her eyes. Zorua was giving her the choice. She could take her home again. It could be just like before…

"Zorua, do you remember when you first asked me what 'home' was?" she asked in a quieter voice, wistfully, almost. "You were really little… you do remember, don't you? We were always traveling around, so you had never known what it was like to live in one place…"

Zorua quietly answered. "Yeah…"

"You remember what I told you, right?" she said. "Home is a special something that you only find once in your life. It might or might not be a place. But when you find it, you should never let it go, because you probably won't find it again."

Zoroark stood up and put her arms around Zorua, holding her daughter close to her. "If you've found home… you should stay," she murmured.

The next morning, as everyone was eating breakfast in Zoroark's room, her being still on health probation, Buizel burst in with a piece of good news. "I found a place!" He exclaimed.

Zorua snickered. "Last time I checked, here is a place too."

Buizel laughed at her comment and then quickly explained. "I found somewhere for you to stay, Zoroark! It's nearby and secluded, so no humans bothering you much."

Zoroark blinked. "A… place?"

"We thought you might want to… well…" Eevee trailed off. "I know that you had a home somewhere else," she said awkwardly, "but after all that's happened, we just thought…. you'd like to be closer to Zorua?"

Zorua bounced up and down. "Please, Meema!" she begged. "Then you could visit us every day and get to know all of us and meet Rio and Quill and…" The littler Dark-type rambled off, but Zoroark was only half-listening. Her throat felt strangely tight.

"I…. I don't know how I can thank you," she said, staring at first Buizel, then Eevee. "You've rescued me, and you've been so kind to Zorua… you don't have to do this for me."

"What are you talking about?" exclaimed Buizel. "It's our pleasure! We'd love to have you as a neighbor."

"Please stay," added Cyndaquil shyly.

"...Of course I'll stay," said Zoroark, finally smiling as she looked around the foldable table.

Zorua jumped up and down. "Great!" she chirped excitedly. "Once you're settled in, I'll visit you every day and we can take her berry picking, can't we, Cyn? And…" The small Dark-type immediately began making plans. Cyndaquil looked happy as he listened to Zorua's chatter. Buizel beamed at Zoroark. Even Eevee had a half-smile on her face.

It looks like everybody will be happy, she thought, one paw resting absently on her Rescue Scarf. A happy ending… for once. And I think we have some happy days ahead.