Tom, Manny, and Samus were all lying on their backs. It had been a long day, to put it mildly. Tom and Samus had taken off their helmets. Manny had drunk some Potions to recover, although his body was still blood-stained. At the bottom of the crater were the remains of the Leviathan Seed, which was now completely inactive.

Above us, there was no longer a swirling spiral galaxy; instead, the sky was filled with scattered stars. This was because we were much closer to Pocket now. As Silver Talon had explained, Oscelon – who was conscious again, at last – had moved for our benefit. Now we could get back to Pocket easily. Silver Talon had left to talk with his tribe, so now it was just us, waiting for Samus's ship. She had sent a transmission giving it instructions to come here, but it would take a while for the ship to receive this transmission, and then it would take a while for the ship to get here – we still weren't that close to Pocket. So we were stuck on Oscelon for the next couple of hours.

Now that Oscelon was so close, Samus realized, the people of Pocket would surely be able to see it. They were probably wondering what the great shadow in the sky was. They might even find out. Samus had also transmitted a message to the government. It said that they were safe, and that they had succeeded. This message – or information about Oscelon in general – could easily leak, especially given the confusion that Oscelon's appearance would create. Not that Samus really cared.

"I can't believe it's all over," said Tom. "I can barely even remember what things were like before this past month."

"It's been strange," said Samus. "Even for me. And that's saying a lot."

"You're ones to talk," said Manny. "One month ago I was a wild Machop living in a cave!"

"And I was a piece of equipment sitting in a lab," I said.

They all stared at the stars in silence. "You know, um… there's still some stuff I'm confused about," said Tom. "About what happened in the Leviathan Seed."

"Like what?" asked Samus.

"Well, let's start with that thing that came out of the Metroid Prime after you killed it. What the heck was that?"

"That was an X Parasite. And it didn't come out of the Metroid Prime – it was the Metroid Prime. Here's what I think happened. When Mewtwo wanted to merge with the Leviathan's core, he found an X Parasite inhabiting it, and to merge with the core, he had to drive it out somehow. Once driven out, the X still had the ability to mimic a Phazon Core. From what I can tell, a Metroid Prime is basically a Metroid that's merged with a Phazon Core – which means that from there, all that the parasite needed was to absorb some Metroid DNA. Usually, Metroids absorb X Parasites, not the other way around… but I suppose Mewtwo could have provided the parasite with some dead Metroid cells. And any X that's managed to infect a Leviathan Core is stronger than the typical X. So it must have used information from both the Core and the Metroid to mimic a Metroid Prime."

"Oh," said Tom, "I think I get it now. And then you did something to the parasite… what did you do?"

"I absorbed it. I've been able to do that ever since they injected me with Metroid DNA. I can absorb X Parasites, and when I do, I also absorb their abilities. Absorbing that particular X gave me a huge burst of Phazon. That's how I got the power for that huge attack afterward."

"Okay. And then something came out of Mewtwo… what was that, exactly?"

"The core of the Leviathan Seed," said Samus. "My attack pushed it out of him. It probably gave the Core a lethal blow, too, judging by how it acted afterward. But Mewtwo still had some control over it, so he kept it from blowing up. Until we defeated him, that is."

"Oh, so he tried to restore it by making it suck out your energy?"

"That's right. I'm pretty sure it also sucked out the last traces of Phazon from my body – thank God."

"There's one more thing I'm confused about," said Tom. "Manny, that last move you used against Mewtwo… what was it called, again?"

"Falcon… Punch!" said Manny, lightly punching the air for emphasis.

"Yeah, that. What the heck was that? I've never seen you use that before. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen, or even heard of, any Pokémon using that."

"You know what? I'm not really sure. It just kinda came to me, and I felt like it was the right move to use even though I wasn't sure what it was. Weird, huh?"

"It was a glitch," I explained. This incited some odd looks; "glitch" isn't usually a word associated with the actions of biological organisms. So I explained to them what I'd felt the moment before Manny used the so-called Falcon Punch on Mewtwo.

"All machinery these days can detect internal errors and glitches," I added. "However, there's something significant about the fact that, even though I detected a glitch, Manny really did learn a new move. I'm tempted to speculate that I wasn't the one glitching – there was some sort of cosmic glitch that allowed Manny to use that move. Think about it: Oscelon itself is like an enormous, biological machine that interprets games made in an era before automatic glitch-detecting. Somewhere in that process, a mistake may have been made, and that glitch allowed Manny to use a move that wasn't his."

"I've seen that move before," said Samus. That surprised the rest of us. "I know the man who uses it. He's a bounty hunter too. We've crossed paths before."

"If he's from a video game, that would support my theory of a cosmic mismatch," I said.

"I think it was intentional," said Samus. "Oscelon was already awake by the time we left the Leviathan. It could have wakened itself up while Manny fought Mewtwo – or maybe even a little before then. The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence. Oscelon must have known what was happening, and it waited until the time was right and then created an intentional 'glitch' to help Manny out."

"That seems logical," I said. Being around teenagers all the time made me really appreciate a person who made any goddamn sense.

"Huh," said Manny. "Well, you know what? I didn't need Oscelon's help! I could've taken Mewtwo down without any Falcon-anything!"

"Yeah, I know," said Tom. He was being honest, too – I could always tell.

A little while later, Tom asked Samus another question.

"Samus, do you think it's safe to go back to the Seed yet?" he asked.

Samus was confused. "Why in the world would you want to go back there?"

"There's something I need to get. For Peter."

Samus remembered the dead Omega Metroid and understood. "It might be. It should be, but you never know. If you're going, you better let me lead you."

"I'll come too!" said Manny.

Finally, after two hours of waiting, Samus's ship arrived.

"It's funny – I've seen this ship a lot from the outside, but until now I've never actually been inside it," said Tom.

"It's nothing exciting," said Samus. "In fact, there's barely enough room for all three of us."

"Is, um, is there a bathroom?" asked Tom.

"There is," said Samus. She'd barely finished answering when Tom sprinted toward the ship.

He'd held it in. Thank God.

Samus's ship hovered above Pocket, overlooking it. The trip to Pocket hadn't taken very long – for us. For the outside world, it had been about an hour. Right now, it was sunset in Kanto and Johto; we could see them through the window, straddling the line between Pocket's light and dark halves.

"They're telling me to land at the National Park in Johto," said Samus. "I guess that's where they're waiting for us." She grabbed the controls and set the ship in motion once more.

As Samus's ship landed in the middle of the National Park, everyone inside looked out the window.

"Is the National Park… always this popular?" asked Samus.

"No," said Tom. "This, uh, this is new."

There were familiar people outside, but those were far outnumbered by the throngs of strangers. Everyone – familiar or not – was staring at the ship. "So they did find out, then," said Samus. "Interesting."

Tom and Samus had to squeeze together to fit on the platform that would take them down to the ground. It descended, and the moment it reached the ground, the whole crowd erupted in applause. Manny quickly dropped down to join us, and the applause grew even louder.

There were familiar faces all around us: the Governor, Peter, April, Jude, Opal, Tom's mother, Deoxys, Mew, and all four professors. Peter, April, Opal, and Tom's mother all ran over to embrace Tom. That didn't do much to quiet the crowd down. Said crowd was currently being kept separate from us only thanks to several bodyguards who probably came here with the Governor. Samus walked over to the Governor and leaned in close to speak softly to him in spite of the noisy crowd.

"How much do they know?" Samus asked.

"I am not certain," said the Governor. "At the very least, they know that you went to a distant location and defeated Mewtwo. Perhaps they know more; I have not been able to ascertain how much information has been leaked. To be honest, I do not consider it much of a concern at this point. It will all be leaked eventually. That is why I chose to meet you here, rather than at a more secretive location; it likely would not have remained secretive for long."

Opal and Tom's mother were practically pouring buckets of tears. Peter and April were doing slightly better, but both looked a bit shaken up. Jude simply crossed his arms and watched, stone-faced.

Finally, they gave Tom his space. Peter eagerly asked, "So, are you gonna tell us what happened now, or what?"

Tom looked around at the crowd, which was now full of chatter as people talked amongst themselves. "I don't know… I'm not sure I'm comfortable talking about it with all these strangers around."

"Your things are still at the headquarters," said the Governor, which made everyone jump – nobody had noticed him walk up to them. "You left your backpack there, as well as the clothes you changed out of. I am about to address this crowd. If you like, while these people are focused on me, you can use the opportunity to Teleport away and have a more private conversation."

"Okay," said Tom. "C'mon, guys." He and Manny walked around the ship, putting it between the crowd and them. Five others followed. Tom stopped and turned around to face them again. "Um, actually… Mom, Opal, I'm sorry, but… I'll tell you about it later, but Peter and April and Jude gave me their Pokémon, and I just…."

"It's okay, Thomas, I understand," said Ms. Tasby. "There's nothing wrong with talking alone with them first." Opal looked upset, but she didn't protest.

Samus hated, and I mean hated, crowds. Her least favorite kind of crowd – and unfortunately, the most common – was the kind where everyone knew who she was. Samus never sought attention and was rarely happy to receive it. This bunch weren't as bad as some she'd suffered through, but they were getting there. Already she'd heard her name shouted several times, including one "I LOVE YOU SAMUS!" and, finally, the inevitable "MARRY ME SAMUS!" It wasn't enough to make her blush – nothing ever was, really – but it almost made her want to put her helmet back on. Instead she merely stood there and grimaced.

The Governor began speaking. Behind the ship, Tom released Albert (having fed all of his Pokémon Revives and Potions after the fight with Mewtwo). Tom, Manny, Peter, April, and Jude all touched Albert, and then they all disappeared.

The sky over the Lake of Rage was the same set of brilliant colors as the sky over the National Park. To the west, the sun was starting to dip below the horizon, and the sky was now dark enough that a few stars had appeared. To the east, the giant full moon was already in view. Reflections of both the sun and the moon shone in the calm lake.

Tom stood with his three friends and two Pokémon near the cabin beside the lake. Everyone let go of Albert, and they stepped back until they were standing in a circle. "Peter, April, you haven't done that thing I asked yet, have you?" asked Manny.

"Actually, we have," said April. "Opal has it right now."

"Really? Already? But how?" asked Manny.

"I have Gardevoir, remember?" said April. "All we had to do was get close enough for her to Teleport us there."

"What the heck are you guys talking about?" asked Tom. "Where did you go off to? What does Opal have?"

Peter was about to answer, but Manny put a hand up. "You'll find out soon enough," said Manny. "I want to surprise you with it!"

"Fine," said Tom. "Hey, guys, do you mind waiting a moment while I go change in the cabin? My clothes are in there, and I kind of miss them right now."

"My Gengar is in your suit, right?" said Jude. "Hand him over first."

Tom hesitated for a moment. "Um, I'll give everyone their Pokémon afterward, but first I'm going to…."

"No," said Jude. "Now. I want to know that Gengar is okay."

"Yeah, what's the rush, anyway?" said Peter. "That's one hell of a badass suit! I'd be trying to keep it on me for as long as possible."

April was smarter; the concern in her eyes showed that she could guess why Tom was hesitant. But Tom gave in. He would have to do this eventually, after all.

Tom reached into a pouch on his suit and pulled out a Pokéball, which he then tossed to Jude. "Gengar is just fine," said Tom. Jude released him to be sure, though, and found that Tom was right – his Gengar was perfectly healthy.

Next, Tom tossed a Pokéball to April. "Weavile's fine, too," he said. She believed him and didn't release Weavile. Perhaps a part of her anticipated what was about to happen next.

Now came the hard part. Tom looked Peter in the eye. Peter's eyes were eager, but full of worry too. Tom breathed deeply. "I'm sorry, Peter." With a shaky arm, he reached into his pouch and pulled out something: one of Jeffrey's claws, recovered from the fallen Seed. He held it out in his open palm. "This is all I could get back of him."

Peter stared at the claw with an intense, indecipherable face. He looked like he was about to say something, but then didn't. Slowly – very slowly – he reached for the claw and grabbed it. For a few seconds he just stared at it in his hand, his face unchanging. Then his muscles relaxed and every part of him seemed to droop at once – either because he was over the initial shock, or because he had simply given up trying to deny it. He finally managed to say one word, in a soft whisper: "…How?"

"He died fighting – not Mewtwo, but Mewtwo's strongest guard. He died protecting all of us."

Peter nodded. For what may have been the first time since I met him, he was at a loss for words. He couldn't take his eyes off of the claw. Then he spoke again: "Did he… fight… well?" It wasn't quite a whisper, but it was very soft and toneless nonetheless.

"Oh yeah," said Tom. "Really well. Without him I might not have been able to beat the Metroid Prime. Oh, the Metroid Prime, that's this thing that was in the Leviathan Seed when we got there…."

Tom explained. And explained. And explained some more. Somehow, he ended up describing the entire journey through Oscelon. He was just trying to explain how Jeffrey helped defeat the Metroid Prime, but that required telling them more and more background information, which prompted more and more questions from April and Jude. Peter was silent the whole time and never took his eyes off of Jeffrey's claw. The story was simplified – otherwise we'd be there all night – but Tom made sure to focus on those parts where Jeffrey made a difference. Peter's eyes seemed to flicker for a moment whenever Jeffrey's name was mentioned. Still, he seemed to only partly be paying attention.

The Leviathan Seed exploded; Tom, Samus, and Manny got out safely; and the story ended. There was a brief pause. Then Tom turned back to Peter. "I'm really sorry, Peter."

"It's okay," said Peter. "He died as nobly as he could have, right?" He tried to smile, but it was a completely failed attempt, so he stopped. "It's weird. I want to cry, but the t-t-tears aren't coming." As he spoke, a small sob escaped him. He sniffled. "Oh, there they are," he said, wiping his face. "I was wondering." April, with concern on her face, put an arm around him.

"Hey, Tom," Peter said, "you can go change now. I need a minute to myself." He gently pushed April's arm away and then began walking towards the forest. April looked at him, then at Tom, then at Peter again. She started walking after Peter. "Peter, wait…."

Tom watched them go for a moment. Then he turned away and walked towards the cabin.

Tom was very happy to be back in his regular clothes. "Wow," he said after putting them on. "I actually feel normal. That's new."

There was only one hitch during that brief time in the cabin. Tom couldn't get me out. Even though he was now out of the suit, I was still in it, and only an expert of some type would be able to get me out. So Tom had to carry me – that is, carry the suit – in his arm. He didn't seem to mind. I, however, was eager to be small and manageable again.

Tom left the cabin. He stared into the woods, looking for Peter and April. He couldn't find them, so he walked alongside the forest and searched. Finally, he saw them behind a tree. Kissing. "Whoa," he said, softly. He turned away. "I have to admit. That developed faster than I expected."

Peter and April didn't seem to notice Tom, so he looked around for a distraction. That's when he noticed Jude standing by the lake. We could only see his silhouette, blocking the light from both the setting sun and its reflection on the lake. Gengar was gone now, but Skarmory's silhouette accompanied Jude's. He was gently petting her. Tom walked over to them. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," Jude replied. He looked at me. "What are you carrying that around for? If you left it in the cabin it'd be easier for them to retrieve it."

"I know," said Tom, "but I can't. Not yet. Dexter's still in here, and I think I need Professor Oak to get him out."

"So like I said, why didn't you just leave it in the cabin?"

I was going to get back at him with some snark, but Tom immediately came to my defense. "Jude, Dexter saved my life today."

"Huh," said Jude, who appeared to just now remember that bit from Tom's story. He looked down at his shirt pocket, towards my brother. "Would you have done that for me, if you could?"

"What, save Tom's life?" said my brother. "That depends on if you still hate him. If you do, then certainly!"

"That's not what I meant."

"Okay, I might save your life, but only if you agreed to certain conditions. Some basic hygiene would be the first one. I mean, really."

Jude rolled his eyes. "I don't know how you managed to spend a whole day inside one of these and come back sane," he said to Tom.

"Trust me," I said, "it bothered me much more than it bothered him."

"He's not just some cold, heartless machine, Jude," said Tom. "He's almost like a human. Yours is, too… maybe it doesn't seem like it, but it'd be more obvious if you treated him like one."

"Really?" said Jude, who sounded somewhat skeptical, but not entirely. "Hmm."

"I think we should head back now," said Tom. "You're coming with us to say good-bye to Samus, right?"

Jude stared out at the lake, patting his Skarmory's head. "No," he said, "I don't think so."

"What? Why not?"

Jude was silent for a moment, deep in contemplation. "I was never really that important," he said. "It doesn't matter much whether I'm there or not."

"What are you talking about, Jude?" Tom asked, incredulous. "You're one of the only five people who climbed up Mt. Coronet and defeated the Space Pirates there! Not to mention what you did at Mossdeep City, and the fact that the Gengar you trained helped us take down Mewtwo… you've been important the whole time!"

"I guess," said Jude. "I provided some help. But you're the actual hero here, Tom. That's what I misjudged from the beginning."

Tom opened his mouth to protest, but no words came. And Jude was already mounting his Skarmory. "Wait… where are you going?" Tom asked.

"To be on my own," said Jude. "To find out where to go from here. So… see you later. Let's go, Skarmory."

Skarmory took off before Tom had a chance to say good-bye.

"What's going on?" asked April. Tom turned around to find Peter and April standing behind him, holding hands. "Is Jude leaving without us?"

"I guess so," said Tom. "He… doesn't feel important enough to come with us, apparently. He said he wants to be on his own."

"Weird," said April.

Tom looked at Peter. "Peter, are you okay?"

Peter shrugged. "As good as I can be, I guess."

"Did you bury Jeffrey?" Tom asked.

"Not yet," said Peter. He showed Tom which pocket he was keeping the claw in. "We decided to bury it at the bottom of Mt. Coronet, next to Pachirisu. That way neither of them will be alone."

There was silence for a moment. "I think it's time to go back now," Tom said. "Samus probably won't stay much longer."

Peter and April agreed. Tom released Manny, then he released Albert. Soon, Albert used Teleport to take everyone away, and the lakeside was silent once more.

Samus was surprised by how much the Governor revealed to the crowd. He did withhold some crucial details, though, especially information about Oscelon and what it really was. Still, the crowd got the basic idea. Mewtwo was gone forever now – that's what was important to them.

Samus had hoped that the crowd would dissipate after the Governor finished talking; instead, the opposite happened. Even though the Governor told them they could leave now, people just kept coming. Worse yet, Samus had to shoo off several reporters and journalists hungry for more information. The upside was that everyone now seemed to mostly be chattering amongst themselves, so their attention was no longer on her.

Most people were settling down in the park now, and Samus wished they would just go home. The Governor had already told her that they'd discuss payment later. The only reason she was still here was to say goodbye to the friends she'd made on this bizarre mission. While she waited, Samus leaned back against her ship, stared at the moon, and reflected.

This mission hadn't been anything like any of her past ones. It had taken a full month, for one thing. And for once, she hadn't had to do everything on her own. But that wasn't the half of it. Samus knew what she was now. She finally knew of the grand scheme that led to her existence. She tried to think of how much this changed – and found that the answer was: surprisingly little. Her life was still hers. No Ancient Whatevers or sentient, galaxy-sized gaming console could change that.

Still, Samus doubted that the events of the past month wouldn't have repercussions. And even if they were small, she couldn't shake the feeling that this mission would become a turning point of some sort.

Samus was relieved to see Tom and the others reappear. However, when Opal and Ms. Tasby ran over to them, she realized that it would take them a short while to get around to her. She waited patiently and watched while the group reunited.

After some light conversation, Manny turned to Opal. "So, Opal," he said, "I hear that you have… you know…."

"Oh yeah!" Opal said excitedly. She quickly put her backpack on the ground, unzipped it, and pulled something out: an egg. It was light pink, with dark grey spots, and about as large as Opal's head. Opal held it and outstretched her arms. "Here! It's yours!"

"What is that?" Tom asked as Manny carefully grabbed the egg.

Manny blinked more times than necessary as he stared at the egg. For a moment, he seemed a bit dazed, but then he snapped out of it.

"My kid," he answered.

"WHAT?" Tom gasped. "When… what… how….?"

"Remember that Jynx back in the Snowpoint Temple? Turns out she liked me. A lot."

"So… so that's what you've been keeping from me!"

"Yep. I told you you'd be surprised!"

Eventually, Tom got Professor Oak to take me out of that wretched suit and back into Tom's pocket, where I felt right at home. Then the whole group walked over to Samus and her ship. The Governor joined us. So did the professors, and Mew, and even Deoxys. Samus looked at all of the people (and Pokémon… and even the little bulge in Tom's shirt) she had come to know and respect during her stay on Pocket. Something was bugging her, though.

"Where's Jude?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," said Tom. "He didn't want to come for some reason. He didn't think you'd mind."

"Well, he's wrong. That's too bad." Samus did mind. She had no small amount of respect for Jude, and her farewell seemed incomplete without him. Oh well. No moment is perfect, she thought.

"I suppose this is good-bye, then," said Samus.

"What's next for you, though?" asked Peter. "More missions and bad-guy-shooting and badass bounty hunter stuff?"

"Pretty much," said Samus, though that's not quite how she would have phrased it. "But things might change soon. I don't know what's going to happen, or when. Things are different now, though. Oscelon is known, and word about it will spread. None of this was part of its plan. I doubt that any new games will be brought to life – that phase ends now. And that means… that it might be time for a new phase to begin."

"What do you mean?" asked Tom.

"Like I said, I don't know what's going to happen," said Samus. "But remember: Oscelon still has a purpose to fulfill. Something's bound to happen sooner or later. And I think it's more likely to be sooner than later." Samus pressed a button on her Arm Cannon, and a platform descended from her ship.

"In other words," she continued, "we may cross paths again. So…"

Samus walked onto the platform. Before it ascended, she looked at everyone, waved her hand, and said one last thing. "See you next mission."

Then Samus entered her ship. Soon it blasted off, and we watched its shadow gradually disappear into the full moon.