Epilogue: Together… forever!

Music: Memory (Orchestrated Remake) – Super Paper Mario (by AJ DiSpirito)

Thunder's POV:

All the pain disappeared. All my hurt was gone. As I opened my eyes again, I saw darkness. Every now and then, rainbow-colored light would appear like a flash. In front of me, there was a big gate. I could hear a voice talking. It seemed powerful, but relaxing at the same time. "So, you really came here young one… I already apprehended your arriving." I was confused by where I was. The last thing I could remember was me falling. The very next second… I was here. "Where… exactly am I?" "You, young Pokemon, are in a place outside of every world. There's no time nor space in here. It is the place, Pokemon reach as they die." "So I succeeded", I thought to myself. "For once in my life, I succeeded. It's pretty ironic. The only thing I managed to do, was to end my life…" "As for me: My name is Arceus. I am the creator. I am the guardian of the world." I'll be honest: I never believed in Arceus. After all I saw in life, there could be no god, I believed. "If you really are a god and guardian, why didn't you do anything? If you're the creator, why do things like that even happen? Don't lie to me! If there was a god, my life would've been another!" Some may think that I am insane. To shame GOD, once you have the chance to talk to him! But he did not seem furious. "I am sorry about what happened, young one. But sadly, I am not the strongest force in the world. I can't do as I please. And too, imagine a world without the evil… would there be good? If there's no evil to compare to, nobody would appreciate the good things in life. But I can assure you: Some have luck, some don't. But even the ones who have no luck in life, will have something. Nobody only gets hurt."

"I had the luck to meet someone very special to me, that's true. But what you say is still false! Life only gave me hope to take away everyone I care about again. Life only helped me to hurt me once more. Somehow… SD was right. It was wrong of me to trust! Not other Pokemon, but destiny!" "I am truly sorry for you, young one. But still, you also made mistakes. You know why everyone comes here after they die?" "How should I? I did not die before!" I became really annoyed by Arceus. He stayed calm, despite of my rage. "Everyone is judged after they die. Everything they did, every decision they made… I will judge them. Depending on my choice, they either go to heaven and get peace for eternity, or they get cursed. Their souls will be trapped in the world. They won't be seen. They won't be heard. They will have to life on, but without really being alive. Only if they somehow manage to do good, even without any chance to interrupt world's ongoing anymore, their souls will be freed." Another thing I did not believe in: Being judged in your afterlife. I already knew what was going to happen. I wanted to leave the world once and for all, but as a punishment for what I did, I would be trapped there… forever. Arceus too seemed to realise me shivering. "Do not fear young one. I see no need to punish you." This time, I had been surprised. "Really? Even after everything I did?" "You already heard this before… Everybody makes mistakes, but as long as we learn to regret, we can be forgiven." Of course, I recognized this… it was what Fate told me after I explained the truth about me… "You were hurt by life. You did mistakes. But it is like the wise girl said. It's not always about the mistakes you make. And you did better than you tell yourself. Without you… the world would be gone by now. I do not want to punish you, but either something else… You're not the first one meeting me here like that. Being here because of… special conditions. And the ones who were too frustrated… I can give them another chance. If I judge them to be good people, I tend to give them a choice. You will get this choice too. Step thorough the door, leave mortality behind and enter the eternity or go back to live."

"Why should I return now? Why would I be here if I'd want to return!" "Young one… let me tell you something. You were blinded by your anger. By your sadness. By your pain. Think about your life once more. Is there really no one who cares?" In front of myself I started to see pictures. Pictures of my life. I saw me and Inferno, finally fining peace. I saw Günter, the day I returned. He was sitting there, smiling and telling me that I'd be free. I saw many people I only met very rarely. Metro Villages shopkeeper. My neighbours. I did never talk to them much, but still… they somehow cared too, didn't they? "And think about your lost one's too. What do you think? Would they want to die?" I turned around to see something very important. Behind me, there were two transparent figures. They looked like ghosts. They did not seem to see me. One of them was talking to the other. Both of them looked sad. The two were a female Vulpix. It looked horrible, like it could not stand what happened to her. The other one was an Umbreon. It looked more hurt on the outside. Its body were full of scratches and injury's. "What…*sob* what if it's too late?" The Vulpix was Fate. "We just have to hope. Maybe… just maybe… there's still a chance." Evan. I went to their spot, not believing to see them. As I came very near, I could've sworn that Evan saw me. He turned around, looked me in the eyes and blinked, shaking his head. "No… I must've imagined…"

There were still Pokemon who cared. And Fate and Evan too… even if they were gone… they still cared about me. But if I'd give up on life now… I could see them again. I could see them again. "Please make your choice, young one…" I had to decide how to go on. And after one last thought… it was decided.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Weird noises came to my ears. They were the first thing I recognized after gaining back consciousness. The pain had returned. But this time, it was rather physically than mentally. I heard Arceus voice one last time. "You made a great choice young one… and life will reward you. If you'd have decided another way… you may have regret it for a long time."

It took me quite the energy to open my eyes. I found myself lying on some kind of hospital bed. A weird machine was standing beside me, obviously being the noises source. There was nobody else here. I just laid down, not even being able to do anything else. Some time later, I heard a door open. I heard a voice talking. I had heard it once before, as Fate had to go to the hospital. It was Chansey, a nurse. The moment she came in, she saw the machines outputs and seemed very surprised. "What? There's no way it really…" She went to my bed and tried to talk to me. "Thunder, have you really woken up?" I tried to answer, but only a dry cough came out of my mouth. It was enough of an answer for her. "I can't believe it. I was sure that we'd have lost you. It has to be a miracle!" She seemed very happy about it. "You may have guessed it already, but you're in the Metro Hospital right now. You were here for the last three weeks or something like that. I don't really know what happened thou… Well, for now you should just rest. In a few days you should be a little better."

The next days really were boring. I did nothing but lying down. I never saw anybody but Chansey every few hours. But I really got a little better. I was injured pretty badly, but I could collect enough energy to be able to talk again. I was completely back to life mentally, even if not physically. Around six or seven days later, Chansey asked me a question. "I see you've gotten a lot better in the past days. Do you think you'll be able to see some others? I know some people who would like to see you, especially the one who saved you." "I was saved?" "Yes, you were brought here. If this wouldn't have been the case, you would've been dead before anyone would've known where you are. And some of your other friends want to visit you too." Other friends… The thought of some Pokemon really caring was new to me. There were actually multiple ones who were worried about me? And more importantly… who saved my life? There was only one way to answer this question. "Yeah, I believe I can see them." Chansey smiled at me. "That's good news. I will tell you saviour to come tomorrow." My saviour… it's kind of ironic. I've only heard this word a few times. Mostly… Fate called me her saviour. And now, after the adventure ended… Someone became my saviour. It's one of lives wonders.

The next day arrived pretty soon. I was excited to see, who saved me. I actually had no idea. If I should've guessed, I would've gone for Günter. Maybe he found me at the beach or something like that. But if I had known the truth… as THEY arrived, I understood what Arceus wanted to tell me in the end. About life rewarding me and me regretting a wrong choice. It was around 11 am as they arrived. First I just heard the door open. Before I even had the chance to see who it was, I felt somebody tackling me. I know it wasn't supposed to be a tackle, but a hug, but in my condition, it hurt pretty badly. Only as I saw who it was, this changed. I saw a Vulpix clinging on to me. A Vulpix I'd recognize everywhere. "F…Fate? Is that really you?"

"Please. Don't ever do that again!" I couldn't understand anything at all. "What… what has happened? Did I still die?" Another voice from the door answered my question. "Nope, your just as alive as me and Fate." The voice's source was an Umbreon. It was Evan. "Evan? You too? This… it can't be! What's going on here! Both of you died!" "And I feared you'd have too! I was so scared!" "Just… how. How are you here?" They started explaining what had happened.

"Well, for me, I never died." "Stop it right there! I even saw your dead body! How can you not have died?" "What you saw was my substitute!" A substitute… I didn't even know he had learned this attack. "After all I am not stupid. As I fought Tyrunt, I tried to stall some time, especially successful after I could evolve. As some light flashed just everywhere, I decided to flee. I had guessed that you'd have had enough time. The next possible moment, I used Substitute. I hid in the bushes and fled. Since I was pretty hurt, I went to the next city, believing that the two of you would be fine on your own. It was just around a week or two later as I heard what had happened. I instantly hurried here, but as I arrived… you were already here." "If I was already here as you arrived… who brought me here?" "I did." Fate explained. "As I returned, I found myself at the beach. I was confused at first, but realised that I'd come back. And as I walked up the beach… I found you. You were hurt very badly. I thought you… *sob* don't do that again!" She clamped on me even harder. I ignored my pain and returned the hug. "I won't. I promise. Now that I finally understand the truth, I won't leave again. Now that Arceus showed me the truth…" "Arceus? You mean THE Arceus? Like, god?" Fate's grip loosened a little too, as she seemed very surprised. "Have you not met him Fate?" "No? Why should I have met god?" "But… if you didn't… how…? Well, but yes, I mean the Arceus. He told me that every Pokemon who dies has to be judged by him. He knew about me. He showed me what I was blind to see. I also saw both of you." "Wait, did I maybe not imagine it?" "Imagine what?" "Just… what did we say Thunder?" "Well… Fate was very sad and you tried to comfort her…" "It actually happened. We waited to be told if you'd live. And for one second… I had believed I saw you. Maybe I really did…" He seemed very thoughtful. I continued my explanation. "He gave me the possibility to live again. Like he does for everyone who…" "Who tries to kill themselves?" "… yeah. But Fate… what happened to you? If Arceus didn't bring you back… who did?"

"I… I… I don't actually know. I remember something like just existing in some kind of void. Nothing was there. Nothing happened. Somewhen I heard a voice talking. It told me that I did not deserve an existence like this. And that there are people who need me. After that, I awakened at the beach." Nobody really understood, but to be honest: There were more important things. After all our story still had a happy end. We were all united again. I finally found my true self. This journey was an adventurous one. I came over my depression, found friends, trust and love. The world was safe again.

A long time later:

Music: PMD Suite Part 3/3 "Life goes on" (Parting/Memories Returned)

The following days were very relaxed. Evan and Fate spent most of their time with me. Some others also visited us. Many people I did not think would care at all and some who I knew they did now, for example Günter and Inferno. One day there even was a visitor I did not know in person. Actually, I did not even know that he existed… I always thought, every city in our region would be for their selves, but it seems like there's actually a government that rules the whole country. And there even was a president for it. He wanted to visit the base of the battle. He came to see me, Fate and Evan at first. There's not much to say about the meeting. Well, actually… maybe there is. He did not just talk about us having done great or some shit like that. He just… talked about something. He was pretty like you'd imagine his species… being a Mew. Actually, how did he become president?

Since his visit, the Police of Metro Village seems to be very stressed. They are having trouble, because Günter is no longer there. He got promoted for good work in fighting the Slaves. He now is member of the national police. Still, he often visits all of us, here where he says he truly belongs. Metro Village.

That was around one and a half year ago now. Many other things happened since then. My life became the exact opposite from what it was before. Everything was pretty relaxing and I became way happier at all. Of course, I spent most of my time with Fate. I also saw my sister way more often in the last time. Well, there's actually another reason than me, but… "You can' be that bad…" That was the last thing she said to Evan in our journey. Well, they saw more often and I think Inferno changed her mind. Obviously, she thinks he's way better than just "not that bad" now. If you want to be completely detailed, the two of them actually became engaged. Life is really weird sometimes. But I won't complain. It makes me see my sister more often and of course it became more easier to see both her and Evan at the same time, since they stopped just mocking and insulting each other. I want to be completely honest here… I think I sometimes rag them a little much for how they changed their mind. But all of us get along very well.

I am writing all of this down, since today was a special day for me too. All throughout the day I spent my time with Fate. We did a little trip and went to a good restaurant in the evening. As the sundown arrived, we went to our cliff. "Did you have a good day, love?" "It was beautiful! Just… is there any reason we did all of this today?" I chuckled a little. "I expected you not to understand. Well, exactly two years ago was the day I found you. Since you don't have any real birthday, I just guessed it would be logical to celebrate your birthday on this day!" Fate seemed very surprised. "Really? I had no idea! And you really remembered!" She snuggled against my side. "Of course, I did. Actually… I still have something for you." Again, she seemed surprised. "Really? You shouldn't have." "Of course, I had to!" I became a little nervous knowing what was about to happen. I looked at the sun again. "We know for quite some time now, don't we? Two years. The day I found you back then did change my life completely… for the better." I turned around and smiled at her. "If it hadn't been for you, I would've never known happiness. I would've never known love. I would never have been abled to fix my mistakes, if it weren't for you. I never thought any of this would be possible. And I never thought I could care about anyone like that." Once again, I took a deep breath as I reached for my present. "And because of that, I want to ask you… Fate, will you be my wife?"

Time seemed to be frozen for one moment. We were just looking into each other's eyes. The next moment, Fate pulled me into a kiss. "There's nothing I'd want more!"

What future will bring for the two of us? Who knows? But I am sure… no matter what happens, we will stay through it. Together! Like we are meant to be. Together… forever.