Epilogue: Two Small of Pieces

As the sun slowly makes its way down past the horizon, a small band of humans stands together on a cliff overlooking an ancient crater and the derelict spaceship within. Ash's groups, the Team Rocket trios and Lance all look down onto the wreckage of the Eldridge as they silently think about the events that have just unfolded.

Lance: (talking softly so only he can here) An interesting move, combing their powers to stabilize the time rip themselves. I should have expected something like that to come from them. You did well to choose them, Wave Existence.

Celebi's Voice: (speaking inside Lance's head) "You did an excellent job as well, Wataru. I knew I could count on you to help and protect them."

Lance: I'm honored to have been of service. (snickers to himself) Not many guys can say that they worked for a God like entity with the power to control time, after all.

Celebi's Voice: (laughs as well)" That is true. Goodbye, Wataru Lance Ketchum. One day I'm sure we'll meet again, old friend."

Lance: (nods) Yes, I'm sure we will. I look forward to it. (breaks his connection and looks over at the others) I can't believe that after all this time it's finally over, the battles, the pain, everything. (looks lovingly at Ash2) I kept my promise Delia. Our son is safe. Now, we'll finally be able to have our family again.

Lance walks up and stands behind Ash2, who is with Misty2 near the cliff.

Lance: (puts his hand on his shoulder) You did well son, you and all of your friends.

Ash2: (smiles) Thanks, that means a lot to me (struggles with himself before finally saying it)…dad.

Lance: (take by surprise) You, you called me dad?

Ash2: (laughs) Well duh, that's who you are, isn't it? So, are you going to retire and come live with mom full time, or are you still keeping all your other jobs?

Lance: (laughs confidently) You bet I'll keep them. I've got to keep my reputation as the number one dragon trainer, after all, and there are still other things I can do as a Pokemon G-man. But I'm not going to neglect your mother anymore ether. I promised you after all, remember?

Ash2: (smiles and shakes Lance's hand) Yeah, I remember.

Ash: (turns around) Hey Lance, you said you were the champion of the Johto league, right?

Lance: (strikes a confidant pose) That I am.

Ash: (competitive fire burning in his eyes, glances at Ash2) Well, you and your double in the other world better watch out because we're both coming for you.

Ash2: (nods in agreement, then stares at Lance) Yeah, and we absolutely will not lose to you!

Lance: (laughs) I'll look forward to our battle.

Meowth, Meowth2, and Jigglypuff watch the setting sun cast its light through the metal of the ship. After a moment Meowth breaths a long sigh of relief and plops down next to Jigglypuff.

Meowth: I glad it's all finally over. I can't believe the twerps defeated that Zohar guy all by themselves.

Meowth2: Yeah, those powers the wave existence gave them must have been something.

Jigglypuff: (looks at Meowth) Jiggly, Jigglypuff?

Meowth: (blushes) So you still want to go on that date huh?

Jigglypuff: (glares a little) Jiggly?

Meowth: (answers franticly) No, I'm not trying to back out, a promise is a promise. I'll take you to that special water fall in Mt. Moon, if you really want to go.

Jigglypuff: (jumps up and down enthusiastically) Jiggly Jiggly!!!

Meowth: (blushes again) It might be kind of fun. The two of us…alone together…

As the Pokemon continue to watch the setting sun, Meowth and Jigglypuff subtly scoot closer to each other, and Meowth soon places his paw over Jigglypuff's. Another bond has formed. Meowth2, looks at the other two Pokemon with a little bit of jealousy and sadness.

Meowth2: (looks up at the sky) I wonder if the Jigglypuff from my world is looking at the moon too…

Jessie and James stand off to one side of the cliff, watching as the last rays of the sun turn the sky a brilliant purple.

James: (glances over at the twerps) Well…they did it, they saved the world.

Jessie: (glares at him) We helped too you know, they shouldn't get all the credit. (smiles happily) We're finally main heroes!!

pop WOOOOOOBUFFET!!! That's right!

Jessie: (laughs) Isn't it nice to be the good guys, Wobuffet?

Wobbuffet: (nods its big head) Wobu-wobuffet!! That's, that's right!!

Jessie: I'm in such a good mood that I don't even care that you came out of your pokeball!! But still…(looks at James and blushes, then glares at Wobbuffet) your ruining our moment, so go away. (calls it back)

James: (laughs and nods) Yeah, it does feels nice to be good.

Jessie: (looks into James's eyes) So what should we do now?

James: (smiles and hugs Jessie) I was thinking maybe we should settle down. Buy our own house, open up a legitimate business of some sort, and maybe even start a family.

Jessie: (glances at Ash and Misty) That sounds nice, but I think we should keep traveling with the twerps, at least for now. They may still need our help every now and again, and I don't think I'm ready to give up seeing the world just yet. (James looks slightly disappointed) Don't get me wrong, though. (puts her arms around his neck) I would love to settle down with you one day.

James: (puts his arms around Jessie) I love you, my strong, assertive, masculine wife.

Jessie: And I love you, my wimpy, submissive, feminine husband.

James: (laughs) I guess it's better than nothing. I'll take it.

The two of them lean in and kiss passionately. They are watched by Jessie2 and James2, who turn back to watch the sunset after a few moments.

Jessie2: Well the world is safe, the boss is gone, and our lives are never going to be the same again.

James2: (nods in agreement) Team Rocket was a fake. We've wasted all this time fighting on the wrong side.

pop Wobbuffet2: WOOOOOOBUFFET!!! That's right!!

Jessie2: (glares at her Pokemon) Hey, you don't have to rub it in you know. Get back in your pokeball (calls it back)

James2: (laughs) You and Wobbuffet get along so well.

Jessie2: (glares angrily) We do not! (turns and looks into James's eyes) So anyway, now that Team Rocket's out…are you ready to start over?

James2: (returns Jessie2's gaze) You bet. Now we can finally be the good guys, the heroes. No more stealing, no more crazy schemes, and (laughs) no more getting blasted off by the twerp's Pikachu.

Jessie2: It's going to be a big change.

James2: Yeah but…(puts his arms around Jessie2) You'll be there with me?

Jessie2: (smiles and hugs him back) That's right. After all..(gives him a quick kiss on the lips) You're the man I'm going to marry.

After a moment the two of them kiss passionately again. Ash2, Brock2, Misty2, and Pikachu sit down on the edge of the cliff and watch the sun disappear. As the sky darkens the stars soon become visible and the three young trainers lay back and gaze up into the heavens.

Brock2: I can't believe we did it. We saved the world. A kid from pallet town, two gym leaders, some reformed criminals, and the champion of the Johto League. Hard to believe isn't it?

Ash2: (takes Misty's hand in his) Yeah, hard to believe.

Misty2: So I guess now we get back on course with the Pokemon journey?

Ash2: (getting fired up) Yeah. Onward to Goldenrod city. I'm definitely going to win a 3rd badge.

Pikachu2: Yeah!! We'll definitely kick butt!!

Brock2: (blushes) I can't wait to see all the beautiful girls, not to mention the local Officer Jenny's and Nurse Joy's. And I heard the Goldenrod Gym leader is girl too.

Misty2: (sweat drops and sighs) Some things never change.

Ash2: Isn't that a good thing?

Msty2: (smiles warmly) Yeah, Ash. It is.

The three trainers smile at each other. After a few moments the three of them, plus Pikachu, put their hands forward and place them on top of each other.

Ash2/Misty2/Brock2/Pikachu2: Friends forever.

Ash and Misty stand together at the very edge of the cliff, in front of all the other groups. Even after the other groups begin to converse the two of them continue to watch the Eldridge in silence. After a long time Ash finally speaks.

Ash: We'll always remember this place won't we?

Misty: (smiles) How could we ever forget?

Ash: You know, for a while there I honestly thought we weren't going to make it. Zohar and Giovanni seemed so powerful, so unbeatable. I thought there was no way we could fight them and survive. But we won, we survived, and now here we are....(turns to Misty) together.

Misty: (smiles and grabs his hand) At the beginning with you…

Ash: (laughs) Yeah. You ready to head back towards Goldenrod city?

Misty: (nods) Yeah. I'm sure Brock would want us to keep going.

Ash: (looks down at Pikachu) You ready to go, buddy?

Pikachu: You bet. After all this save the world stuff, a nice relaxing gym battle would hit the spot just fine.

Ash: (looks out towards the horizon) Alright. Johto League here I come!!

Suddenly Lance clears his throat and everyone turns to look at him.

Lance: I think that's enough standing around and staring at the sky for one day. (gives them his biggest warmest smile) Let's go home everybody.

Everyone smiles and cheers softly and Lance calls out his Dragonite to transport them. In few minutes two large Pokemon can be seen jetting through the starry night sky, carrying their passengers back to the Pokemon center where they began the day. Passengers who risked and lost so much for the sake of the world, and who are finally ready to begin anew.

(music starts)

Run through the cold of the night

As passion burns in your heart

Ready to fight, a knife held close by your side

Like a proud wolf alone in the dark

With eyes that watch the world

And my name like a shadow

On the face of the moon

Broken mirror, a million shades of light

The old echo fades away

But just you and I

Can find the answer

And then, we can run to the end of the world

We can run to the end of the world

Cold fire clenched to my heart

In the blue of night

Torn by this pain, I paint your name in sound

And the girl of the dawn with eyes of blue, and angel wings

The songs of the season are her only crown

Broken mirror, a million shades of light

The old echo fades away

But just you and I

Can find the answer

And then, we can run to the end of the world

We can run to the end of the world

We met in the mist of morning

And parted deep in the night

Broken sword and shield, and tears that never fall

But run through the heart

Washed away by the darkest water

The world is peaceful and still

Broken mirror, a million shades of light

The old echo fades away

But just you and I

Can find the answer

And then, we can run to the end of the world

We can run to the end of the world

(End music)

The end

Cut, print it, that's a wrap!! It's finally over . I started this fanfic last summer vacation. Now here it is, a year's worth of hard thinking and writing, finally finished and ready for all you readers out there. Today is August 18th, 2004, and college starts tomorrow. I cut it kind of close but I kept my resolution, I finished it before college. This is the concluding episode of the fanfic series I started back at the very beginning of 9th grade. Previous episodes are Back to Your Heart, Mirror Mirror, True Purpose, and Back to Your Heart 2. I guess its kind of fitting that I wrote the first episode at the beginning of high school and finished the last after graduating. It's been a long 4 years. Originally I didn't even plan to write a series. My first two fics didn't even have anything to do with each other; I always just planned for them to be stand-alone. But then one day someone who read and liked my fanfic (In fact, I think it was Paras from UPN ) asked me if he could write a sequel to it himself since I didn't plan to. After that I got to thinking about it and decided to write more. Lots of things changed from planning to final product. I originally intended the "Jessie and James leave TR" story to just be a single chapter in my sequel fic but then it turned into its own story, and I never though my concluding episode would be as long as this. Sometimes I wish I could have written the fics faster but now I know that a lot of the content and ideas that I eventually used I only came up with because I took such a long time. So now that it's finished I better do the whole disclaimer/thank you section. I feel like I'm giving an Oscar speech, lol . I don't own the songs "Boom", "Right Kind of Wrong", "On My Own", "At the Beginning", "1000 Miles", or "Small Two of Pieces" (I hope I didn't forget any!) they are all owned by their respective artists and CD distributors. I do not own Xenogears, Chrono Cross, Ceres Celestial Legend, (can you find the reference? ) or any of the ideas I crossed over into this fic. I'd like to thank everyone out there who has been with me, and contributed, in one way or another, to this work of fiction. To my friends in El Paso Texas, Zack, Sammy, Andrew, Richie, Austin, Jack, and everyone else there, Thanks . Thanks to my parents and my friends here in Colorado Springs, and all my friends on-line. Thanks to Chaos for reading my fics even though she hates AAML, and for helping me with some of the writing. Thanks to Squenix for continuing to churn out awesome RPGs that inspire us all. Thank you to the Nanny, (yes, there is a reference to The Nanny, that old Fran Drescher show, in this fanfic. Can you find it?) That show rocked. Thanks to Stephen King (yes that Stephen King! ) for all your amazing books and stories that you've written over the years. You rock man!! (anyone who can spot the Stephen King homages I used in my fics gets a free invisible cookie .) Thanks to the Pokemon animators and all anime creators, who continue to feed our insatiable Otaku obsessions. And thanks to my readers, whoever you may be. There are still more things I wish I could have written, like that Gary fic, or that Poke/Pallet fanfic based on "Tenchi Forever" that I wanted to write with Chaos, but I think I'm probably going to retire now from the world of fanfic writing. As much as I like the fanfics I've written and am satisfied with a job well done, it still doesn't change the fact that I don't like writing. I'm just not patient enough for it. So anyway, this is Rocketshipper, signing off, maybe for the last time. Goodbye everyone, it's been interesting!!