Disclaimer: Pokemon is not owned by me… plain and simple…
… It's finally here… the finale… Long asked questions will finally be answered. Will Dawn make it out? Or is this the end of our blue haired girl…? Without further delay… I present to you the finale… of Targeted…
Chapter 11: Hero
The finale begins where last chapter left off. Dawn was in Cyrus' room, her wrists tied behind her back and her ankles bout as well. Her Pokemon were confiscated… She was set down on a couch in Cyrus' room while the cruel, cold-hearted man sat on a swivel chair, his hands together with his chin rested on his fingers, a cruel, cold smirk on his face.
"Welcome, aboard my ship, girl…" Cyrus says with a cruel, cold smirk on his face. "Now sit down, and get comfortable… There is much I would like to talk about." Dawn has her eyes shadowed as Cyrus says this and her lips quiver as the cold-hearted man says this. She then looks up and faces Cyrus directly, looking him straight in the eyes.
"You're a heartless monster!" Dawn yells spitefully at the light blue haired man. These words didn't affect him at all however and he simply chuckles. Her lips quiver some more and her body trembles, terrified… She was scared… She didn't know what this man wanted with her. "Wh-What do you want with me…? What could you possibly gain by kidnapping me? I-I'm just an average, ordinary high school girl! Wh-What could you possibly gain from capturing me…?" Cyrus just chuckles at this and gets up from his swivel chair and gets up slowly. He goes up to the blue haired girl and grasps her by the chin with a cruel cold smirk on his face.
"I'll tell you what I can gain from kidnapping you… Vengeance, that's what!" The cruel, cold hearted man says cruelly as he looks her in the eyes. Dawn's eyes widen at this… Revenge…? That's what this was all about? But even then, why her? The two of them had never even met before until now… so… why…? Cyrus smirks at this, seeing the confusion in Dawn's eyes. "Hm… allow me to explain, child of Johanna!" Dawn's eyes widen as the cold hearted blue haired man says this… Johanna…? How did he know her mom's name…? Before Dawn could say anything, Cyrus continued speaking while pacing back and forth leisurely.
"Back when I was your age, Johanna and I were close friends…" Cyrus explains in a cold, calculated voice. "But what she never knew was… I had feelings for her… However, they were never meant to be reciprocated… She fell for another man… Your father…" Dawn's eyes widen as he says this, and suddenly, everything made sense now… Cyrus loved her mother. He sacrificed everything for her… but in the end… He didn't get together with her… He was left with nothing for his efforts. Cyrus pauses as he continues.
"Years later, I learned that Johanna had given birth to a child… It was you!" Cyrus says to the blue haired girl… His voice filled with so much hatred, so much anger… "Why was I left to despair while you and your family found happiness…? I loved her… I sacrificed everything for her! And then it hit me… Why let them have their happiness… when I can just take it all away…?" A wide, manic grin appeared on the light blue haired man's face. Dawn's face was paled and her pupils were dilated… The man was mad… completely insane… Vengeance…? Just because her mother didn't love him…? That's what this was all about…? That was the reason why he had kidnapped her? However, Cyrus wasn't done just yet… He continued.
"So, I created this organization, in the hopes of hunting both Johanna and you down… The first thing I needed to do was to get rid of that cursed man who had taken my one true love away from me!" Cyrus says cruelly and coldly. "And that was exactly what I did… And now he's in the dungeons, starving and left to rot… Like he deserved… Then I decided to hunt down some of your friends, and cause a little fear into their hearts… Like that Kenny of yours!" Dawn pauses at this and her eyes widen at this revelation. So Cyrus WAS the one responsible for her father's disappearance. Not only that, he was the reason why Kenny was targeted. Cyrus then looks Dawn in the eyes coldly, cruelly, maniacally.
"And now there's you, child of Johanna… All she has left… is you…" Cyrus says coldly and cruelly while smirking at her cruelly and maniacally. "But simply throwing you into the dungeons and leaving you to starve and rot isn't enough for me to be satisfied… Oh no… I want you to suffer… I want you to regret the day you were ever born! You will suffer by my hands... and my hands alone... slowly… painfully… and then… finally… my revenge will be complete… That is why I wanted you alive... This is why I didn't have them kill you themselves... No, my revenge would never be complete that way... You... You will die by my hands alone!" Dawn's face pales and her pupils dilate as Cyrus comes closer to her, wrapping his hands around her neck and watching in glee as he watches her struggle feebly and gasp desperately for air.
"G-Ghhh… U-Ugh…" Dawn chokes weakly as the cold-hearted man wraps his fingers around her throat and squeezes tightly. "P-Pa…ul…" She gasps weakly and letting out pained, choked gasps as Cyrus strangles her. Her eyes were screwed shut tightly and she grits her teeth as she struggles to breathe with the cold hearted man grasping her throat tightly. He had her pinned against the couch while on top of her, the blue haired girl unable to defend herself with her wrists and ankles bound. However, just before the cold-hearted light blue haired man could continue relishing in her suffering, a loud explosion is heard and the door to his room is suddenly busted down. Some coughing is heard through the smoke, and emerging from the smoke… was none other than Lucas!
"Ah, geez… Well… that didn't go according to plan…" The brown haired teenager says while still coughing from the smoke he had caused Infernape by his side. Cyrus is taken off guard from the explosion as he releases his hold on the blue haired girl. Dawn coughs violently and gasps for air as she's released. Her eyes then widen, and her face lightens with joy from seeing him. The brown haired boy then simply dusts himself off and faces Cyrus. "Now then… on to serious business!" Lucas says as he faces Cyrus directly, facing off against him and looking him directly in the eyes boldly and seriously, filled with determination.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Paul's eyes shoot open as he regains consciousness and sits up. He finds himself in the Pokemon Center, lying on a bed. His waist was heavily bandaged. The purple haired teenager winces as his injury rings with pain as he sits up and is greeted by Ash, who smiles and waves as he greets him.
"Ah, nice of you to wake up, Paul!" Ash says with a smile on his face. "Gary and I found you and Barry knocked out on the floor and the both of us brought you to the nearest Pokemon Center. Rest up! Your injuries are quite severe." The spiky haired trainer says. Paul has his eyes shadowed and clenches his fists in frustration while gritting his teeth in anger.
"… I… I couldn't protect her…" Paul mutters under his breath with his eyes screwed shut tightly. "First my brother, and now her… Just how many more things that are precious to me will I be unable to protect…?" Ash is silent as Paul contemplates these thoughts and simply does his best to comfort him. In desperate times like these, someone had to be strong. Paul begins to recollect his past, and the reason why he was always alone…
"For as long as I could remember, I was always alone…" Paul narrates in his flashback. A young Paul is seen sitting in the streets, an older figure standing by him, guarding him protectively. "It was just me and my big brother, wandering the streets, struggling for survival. The times were hard, but we had to do anything we could to survive. Then, everything changed when Cyrus took us in…" It shows a younger Cyrus looking down at the two siblings and then smirks as he puts a hand on their shoulders.
"I have big plans for you two…" Cyrus says with a wide smirk on his face. "Come with me, and I will give you a home, a place to live… All you have to do is listen to me…" Reiji and I didn't know what to do here. Should we listen to this man we knew nothing about? We were young, naïve, and desperate at the time… We accepted the man's offer, not knowing what that had meant.
Cyrus planned to meld us into his perfect weapons, his tools for his plans. Although I was successfully melded into Cyrus' lapdog, Reiji refused to use his Pokemon for violence. He was too kind for his own good… It was that day, Cyrus deemed him unworthy, and got rid of him… I couldn't do anything… All I could do… was watch as my own brother, my only family, was taken from me…
The next stage of Cyrus' plans was to find capable, strong trainers who would be able to execute his perfect plan. He signed me up for a tournament. At this point, I thought I had rid myself of all emotions… The loss of Reiji was hard and painful enough for me… If I grew attached to anyone else, I knew I would never forgive myself. That was when I met Dawn, that troublesome girl… and suddenly, my whole world had changed… She reminded of me when I was still young, when I was still naïve and innocent… That smile… That smile made me fall for her… I knew I had to protect her… I was unable to protect Reiji, but maybe… I could protect her… I… I failed…
Paul's thoughts are interrupted as Barry suddenly comes in. He was wrapped in bandages as well with his eyes were widened in shock. "Where's Lucas?!" He asks while completely filled with concern. "He isn't here, so where is he?!" Ash raises his eyebrows at this and shakes his head as the blonde haired teenager asks this question.
"We… We didn't see Lucas around when we went to pick everyone else… We saw his Luxray there, but we couldn't find him anywhere…" Ash says quietly. "We assumed he had gone ahead to the Pokemon Center without us… but he never came…" Barry's eyes soften as Ash says this… If he wasn't here, then where was he…? Suddenly, a loud explosion is heard outside the Pokemon Center. Everyone rushes outside to see where it was coming from, and suddenly, they see Cyrus' huge Galactic ship descending and on fire, crashing right towards the Pokemon center. In the front cockpit of the ship, Lucas has wide eyes while holding Dawn protectively as he braces himself for impact.
"…This was… not what I was expecting to happen…" Lucas muses to himself comically while taking the steering wheel for the now unconscious pilot. He was trying his best to keep the ship under control as it slowly descends and makes its way to the Pokemon Center, crash landing right in front of the front entrance.
The scene then cuts to moments before, with Lucas entering Cyrus' office with Infernape breaking the front entrance to the room. Dawn's eyes are widened in surprise and shock, but at the same time, she was completely happy to see the brown haired teenager.
"Lucas?" Dawn mutters in surprise. "How… How did you get here?!" As Dawn asks this, Lucas grins widely and holds Hunter J's card in his hand and flashes it at them for a split second, before putting it away for now.
"Let's just say, Hunter J left me a nice present after I beat her~!" Lucas says while grinning widely and goofily. He then looks forward and faces the cold hearted blue haired man with a stern, determined look on his face. "Now, on to business…" Cyrus, however, didn't look surprised at all, and simply chuckles at the brown haired boy's arrival.
"Ah, yes, Lucas… I was expecting you to come here… I've been looking forward to our meeting for so long…" Cyrus muses with a chuckle. Lucas narrows his eyes at this and clenches his fists. He was looking forward to seeing him…? But why…? "You see, young Lucas, you and I aren't so much different than we think… We were both denied the girl we had feelings for… When I look at you, young Lucas, I see myself… Now, don't we both get our vengeance on this girl together… I mean, she failed to reciprocate her feelings towards you, no matter how deeply attached you were to the girl… So, if you can't have her, nobody else should, right…?" Lucas pauses with his eyes shadow as Cyrus says this. Dawn's face paled as she looks at Lucas… The similarities were there, but surely… Lucas wouldn't think about… Suddenly, the brown haired boy walks up to Cyrus, and then looks him in the eye with a small, pitying smile on his face.
"Wow, old geezer… You're one sad old man…" Lucas says tauntingly and bluntly, giving him a pitying look in the eyes. "I know Dawn will never return the feelings I have for her, but that doesn't matter to me… I want her to live… I want her to be happy! That's my own happiness!" Lucas says boldly with determination. Suddenly, he scoops up Dawn bridal style and looks at Infernape. "Infernape, Blast Burn this room!" He says as he makes a run for it to avoid the explosion. Cyrus's eyes widen as Lucas runs off with Dawn, but before he could make chase, Infernape strikes the floor with her fists and creates a huge, powerful explosion, blowing a huge hole into the ship. Lucas quickly returns the fiery monkey Pokemon as the attack causes the ship to start slowly descending. Lucas has his eyes still wide while still carrying Dawn in his arms.
'Crap crap crap crap crap…' Lucas thinks in his head as he runs as fast as he could with his eyes widened, making a break for the piloting room. He uses Hunter J's card to gain access to the piloting room. Lucas gawks as he sees that the pilots were currently knocked unconscious. They had probably banged their heads hard when the Blast Burn had shaken the ship. "Aw crud… The pilots are knocked out…" Lucas muses to himself comically. Suddenly, he looks down, realizing he was still carrying Dawn. The blue haired girl has a slight, timid blush on her cheeks. Lucas grows red in the cheeks at this and lets the blue haired girl down with his eyes widened in shock.
"Ack, sorry, Dawn! Here, let me undo those ropes!" Lucas says while they have a time to themselves, cutting her loose and letting her free. The brown haired boy then blushes a bit as he hands her Pokeballs back to her. "I, uh… found these being guarded… and I thought I would get them back for you…" Dawn smiles at Lucas thankfully and gives him a light kiss on the cheeks.
"Thanks for coming to my rescue, Lucas! And thank you for bringing me my Pokemon back!" Dawn says with a smile. She then pauses and has her eyes shadowed a bit. "I-I'm sorry… that I can't return your feelings…" She mumbles quietly and apologetically with her lips quivering. Lucas smiles at this and pets the blue haired girl's head affectionately.
"It's not your fault, Dawn… You don't need to apologize!" Lucas says softly with a kind smile on his face as he pets the blue haired girl's head. "I will never be like Cyrus and force you to love me, even when you have feelings for someone else… What matters to me is your own happiness. It's Paul, isn't it…? You have feelings for him, right?" He asks knowingly, and accepting this fact. Dawn slightly goes red in the cheeks as he asks this, and slowly nods her head. Their moment of peace is suddenly cut short as they find themselves slowly descending to the Pokemon Center. Lucas cringes with his eyes widened as he dashes for the steering wheel, trying his best to land the ship properly.
"Well…This was… not what I was expecting to happen…" Lucas muses to himself comically while taking the steering wheel for the now unconscious pilot. He was trying his best to keep the ship under control as it slowly descends and makes its way to the Pokemon Center. As they're prepared for impact, Lucas shields himself protectively holding the blue haired girl as the ship crash lands right in front of the front entrance.
As the ship crashes and lands, Lucas slowly gets up while holding Dawn in his arms. He had protected her from the brunt of the impact and was a bit shaken himself from taking the full brunt of the landing. He slowly gets up and takes Dawn's hand. As he they both get up, Lucas sends out Infernape one last time to blast a hole out of the ship as the two make their exit before returning the fiery monkey one last time. As they make their leave, they see Barry, Paul and the others running towards them and waving, smiling widely as they greet the two of them.
"Lucas, you glorious bastard! I can't believe you did all that by yourself!" Barry exclaims with a wide grin on his face. Lucas chuckles at this and looks to Dawn, smiling and nodding his head as they make their way towards the group, when suddenly, Cyrus emerges from the ship, angry and seething with rage and his Gyarados by his side.
"Hold it… RIGHT THERE!" The light blue haired man says while fuming with rage. He then looks at Lucas threateningly and menacingly. "I'm giving you one last chance, boy! Hand over the girl to me, or you'll lose your life!" Lucas pauses as Cyrus threatens him. He then pushes Dawn towards Paul and the others. He then turns to face Cyrus head on and grins widely.
"Do your worst!" He says boldly and confidently with his arms spread wide, ready to take anything he would throw at him. "I said I would do anything to protect Dawn and keep her happy! And that still stands true now!" Dawn's eyes widen as she's pushed into Paul's arms, and reaches out for him, screaming and calling out for him, tears streaking from her eyes. Cyrus narrows his eyes at this coldly and cruelly.
"… Gyarados… Giga Impact…" Cyrus says coldly and cruelly. As Cyrus says these words, Gyarados charges at Lucas with full force and a menacing aura surrounding it. As Gyarados charges right towards them, everything seems to move in slow motion. Paul, Barry and the others couldn't react in time. Lucas turns to face Dawn and smiles one last time, not moving from his spot and his words cause the blue haired girl's eyes to widen and soften completely.
"Don't cry, Dawn…" Lucas says in a small, quiet voice of acceptance. "It's like you always say… No need to worry…" As the brown haired boy says these words, Gyarados makes contact, scoring a direct hit and sending the boy flying. Dawn could only watch hopelessly with her pupils dilated with tears forming at the edges of her eyes, her hands to her mouth as she watches Lucas take the attack directly, and his body plummets to the floor like a rag doll, unmoving… Barry was completely frozen… He couldn't even accept that his best friend had just been hit by one of Gyarados' most powerful attacks… He couldn't even move…
Paul has his eyes shadowed and his fists clenched with anger and rage. He then glares at Cyrus…He had JUST ABOUT ENOUGH! Not only did he make Dawn cry, but he had hurt someone who he had grown to gain a great deal of respect for… someone, who he could possibly even consider… a friend… The purple haired trainer lets out his Electivire and he has his electric Pokemon let out a powerful, furious assault.
"ELECTIVIRE, THUNDER!" Paul yells in absolute rage. The electric Pokemon complies, firing a rigid bolt of electricity at the serpent Pokemon. Gyarados shrieks in pain, completely vulnerable after using Giga Impact, and is knocked out instantly. He then glares at Cyrus and sends out Torterra, subduing him with Frenzy Plant and suspending him into the air, wanting to crush his very body. However, as Cyrus was being crushed by Torterra, he wasn't screaming in pain, he was laughing… laughing maniacally… as if he wanted the purple haired teenager to get angry… mocking him… Paul's eyes narrow as he grits his teeth. "You… little… bastard…" Paul growls under his breath, but suddenly, Dawn hugs her from behind, tears flowing from her eyes as she shakes her head.
"Paul, no…" Dawn says while trying her best to hold back her tears. "If you kill him here, you're no better than Cyrus… Lucas would never want that…" Paul's eyes soften as Dawn says this, and has Torterra set the light blue haired man down. As soon as he does this, the police arrive to arrest Cyrus and the members of Team Galactic. It was over… but at a price…
"… Lucas…" Dawn mumbles quietly with tears streaking from her eyes, watching as the brown haired teenager is put on a stretcher and sent to a hospital. The brown haired teenager grins and gives her a small, weak thumbs up. He then looks at Paul and nods his head at him.
"T-Take care of her, alright…" Lucas says in a weak, raspy voice. "I trust you to keep her safe…" Paul pauses at this and nods his head. He then looks at Dawn, and decides that now was a better time than any… Lucas was urging him to tell her now and he would take him up on that offer… Lucas was then taken inside the ambulance.
"… Troublesome… We need to talk…" Paul says quietly, gathering the courage to tell her. "Thank you… for stopping me from killing Cyrus then and there… If it wasn't for you, I probably would've gone through with it… A-And I know now probably isn't the right time to tell you this, with what happened to Lucas and everything… But for his sake, I'm going to tell you this now… You changed not only me, but every one of us… Ash… Gary… It's because of you we banded against Cyrus and were able to defeat him in the end. And over the course of this journey… I've come to fallen in love with you…" Dawn's eyes soften as Paul says this, a deep blush forming at her cheeks as she looks him in the eyes. She then looks away while her cheeks are a deep red, not sure what to say…
"M-Me…? Y-You love me…" Dawn mumbles quietly and a bit shocked from hearing this. "I-I love you too, Paul, b-but why me…? I-I'm just an average, ordinary high school girl! Average looks, average grades… Average everything!" Paul shakes his head at this and smiles as he pulls the blue haired girl close to him.
"And that's where you're wrong, Dawn…" Paul says, calling the blue haired girl by her real name for the very first time. "There is something special about you that is above average… Something special and extraordinary about you that has the power to unite everyone, and to melt the coldest and loneliest of hearts… And that is… your smile…" As Paul says this, the purple haired boy leans in to kiss the blue haired girl on the lips. Dawn's eyes widen as Paul says this and presses his lips against hers. She then closes her eyes as she kisses him back, the two locked together as they kiss each other passionately. Ash, Barry and Gary couldn't help but smile at the new couple being born. Lucas is able to see the two kiss from the ambulance, and a small smile appears on his face. He then closes his eyes while still smiling, finally able to rest peacefully.
Moments later, Dawn and the others arrive at the hospital Lucas was in. Dawn was the first one to come up to the counter. "We're here to see Lucas… I-Is he alright…? Dawn asks worriedly with her lips quivering. The nurse gives the blue haired girl a small smile and nods her head.
"Yes, he's in his room! He made it through the operation successfully… but…" The nurse pauses, not sure how to tell the news to the news to them. Dawn didn't care… She wanted to know regardless of whether she would take it well or not. "… But, his left lung was completely damaged beyond repair… We had to have it surgically removed in order to prevent him from internally bleeding…The cost of finding a replacement organ can cost millions… It's far too expensive… I-I'm sorry, but this boy… He will never be able to go travel on a Pokemon Journey ever again… As they are now, his lungs just don't have the strength to endure such an arduous journey… and his body just wouldn't be able to handle the strain… He won't be able to train and raise his own Pokemon either… Even the strain of training would just be… too much for his body to handle… I'm sorry… we did everything we could… but this boy's career as a trainer is over…" Dawn's face pales as she hears this news, as does Barry. The blonde haired teenager was left completely speechless… He never even got to defeat Lucas in a battle, and now his career as a trainer was over just like that…? It couldn't be over for him… Not like this… Dawn looks up at the nurse with tears about to form from her eyes.
"C-Can we see him…" Dawn asks in a small, shaky voice. The nurse pauses a bit, but then she nods her head and leads the way. Lucas was sitting in an upright position, haven just woken up. The doctor had just told him the news, that he could never be a Pokemon trainer ever again… that his days as a trainer were over. The brown haired boy is just looking silently out the window, accepting all of this with his eyes closed. Dawn's lips quiver as she sees Lucas and opens the door, going up to him and embracing him, saying sorry to him over and over again quietly, tears streaking from her eyes. Lucas turns around and smiles, petting the blue haired girl's head.
"Ah, Dawn, you came to see me…" He says with a small smile on his face. "What are you sorry for? It's alright… I've accepted the fact… that my journey is over… As long as you're safe, I'm-" Suddenly, before Lucas could finish what he was saying, Barry comes in with his eyes shadowed and his fists clenched tightly.
"Don't give us that bullshit, Lucas!" He yells loudly and emotionally. He then looks him in the eyes with tears forming. He was the most affected by all of this… He and Lucas had been best friends and rivals for the longest time, and now that was all over… just like that… The sheer amount of feelings the blonde haired teenager felt were just overwhelming. "Aren't you sad? Aren't you just a little frustrated? Your dreams of becoming a Pokemon Master are gone just like that…? Dawn, the girl you love, is with Paul now! Are you really fine with this…? Aren't you just a little angry that things turned out this way…? That you got nothing in return for all your efforts?!" Lucas has his eyes shadowed and his fists clenched, tears starting to form from his eyes and his lips quivering. Dawn's eyes soften as Barry says this, and sees Lucas' reaction to the whole ordeal…
"… Of course I'm frustrated, Barry… Of course I'm upset…" Lucas says softly with his voice trembling ever so slightly, letting his true emotions out. "My dreams… everything I wanted to be, everything I've ever wanted… it's all gone just like that… But even so, just because I don't get my happy ending, doesn't mean I should rob someone else of theirs! Dawn is my friend and is the girl that I love… and as long as she's happy, then I'm happy… and that's more than enough for me… I will never become a monster like Cyrus and succumb to jealousy and vengeance… And even if I had to lose everything for Dawn, I will lose it all for her to stay happy…" Lucas says quietly and softly. Barry's eyes soften as he and Dawn hug their friend, comforting him and letting the poor brown haired boy cry in frustration as the others watch from afar.
Moments later, Lucas was released from the hospital. He was put on a wheel chair and Dawn was escorting him out of the hospital. As they make their leave, a car comes by, and out of it, comes Johanna, looking at Dawn with complete relief and running over to her. Dawn's eyes widen at this, and tears start to form from her eyes as she's reunited with her mother.
"Mom!" Dawn exclaims, overjoyed to be reunited with her, hugging her tightly and burying her face in her chest. The blue haired woman smiles and embraces the blue haired girl with tears forming from her eyes. She then looks at Barry and Lucas thankfully.
"Thank you, you two, for rescuing my daughter…" She says softly. She then turns to Lucas softly. "I-I'm terribly sorry for your loss… I still can't believe that Cyrus would do all of this just for revenge… I-If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, I-I'll do anything…" Lucas closes his eyes and simply shakes his head while smiling.
"It's alright, Mrs. Hikari… It was my choice after all… I couldn't possibly ask that of you…" Lucas says with a smile on his face. "But thank you for being considerate! By the way, there's someone Dawn wants to introduce you to! Her new boyfriend!" Lucas says with a wide grin as he nudges the blue haired girl encouragingly.
Dawn grows red in the cheeks at this while Johanna is left in shock at this. Boyfriend…? Paul then grunts as he steps forward and puts his arm over the blue haired girl. Johanna's eyes widen and she gawks a bit as she reels back, recognizing him as the one who had kidnapped Dawn in the first place. Dawn tries to calm the blue haired woman down as she tries to explain and hold her back with her eyes widened, preventing the woman from ripping Paul's eyes out.
"Mom, mom, calm down, it's alright!" Dawn says as she holds the woman back comically. "Yes, Paul was the one who kidnapped me, but he's also the one who's been protecting me this whole time as well, along with Barry and Lucas! He's not a bad person once you get to know him! Ask Barry and Lucas, they'll vouch for me!" Lucas and Barry have O-O eyes and nod their heads, vouching in Paul's defense. They had not expected her to react this way Johanna blinks and pauses at this and then smiles at Paul thankfully.
"Thank you, for helping my daughter…" She finally says kindly. "If you have no place to go, would you like to stay with us? We always have room for one more!" Paul thinks about this and nods his head and bows his head gratefully at her offer. He had nowhere else to go after all now that Cyrus was arrested and in jail. Johanna then closes her eyes and smiles as she adds one more thing while pointing with her finger. "Now, there's one more thing I would like to point out that is very important! I'm fine with you dating my daughter… As long remember not to have sex or make any children until you are old enough to get married… Also-" As Johanna rambles on like this in a motherly manner, Dawn grows heatedly red in the face at this and flails her arms at her adorably at her mother. Paul is left speechless at this very thought and grows completely red in the face, unable to say anything.
"Mooooom!" Dawn yells at the blue haired woman as Johanna simply laughs with tears of joy. She was just happy to see her daughter was safe and sound that the tears just came. Ash smiles at this scene… It was a touching reunion. Suddenly, he's comically hit on the head with a mallet. The spiky haired boy rubs the back of his head and turns around.
"Ow, hey, what was that for…?" Ash mutters under his breath. He then turns around to find Misty and his eyes brighten. "Misty! It's been so long, hasn't it?!" He says as he goes up to hug her, only to be facepalmed by the orange haired girl.
"It's been so long, my foot! I've been worried sick about you, you idiot!" The orange haired girl says with tears forming in her eyes. Poor Ash simply blinks at this obliviously and comically, not able to understand why the orange haired girl was so upset. He then smiles and kisses the orange haired girl on the cheeks, causing her to blush as he holds her close to him.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Mist…" Ash says softly and gently as he holds her close. "…I'm back…" The orange haired girl grows red in the cheeks at this and buries her head in Ash's chest, faintly saying the words 'Welcome back…' to him quietly. Gary grins at seeing the two of them finally reunited after so long, when he turns to see that next to him was a brown haired girl with nice, voluptuous breasts, and a nice, curved figure sighing and smiling as Ash and Misty were reunited.
"Ah, those two, they never change do they…" The girl muses with a sigh, introducing herself as Leaf with a smile on her face. Gary grins as he looks at the brown haired girl wolfishly and has his hand spanks her ass as he gives it a nice long grope, causing the brown haired girl to squeak and jump just a little bit.
"And hello to you too, sexy~!" Gary says with a wide, perverted smirk on his face. Leaf puffs her cheeks at Gary and rolling her eyes. She then pouts as she gives the spiky brown haired teenager a wicked loud slap across the face.
"That's Leaf to you, mister! And how long are you going to have that hand of yours touch my-" She stutters and rambles. She then pauses as the brown haired boy hugs her and holds her close to him, his eyes shadowed, and it almost looked as if tears of joy were streaming from his eyes. "… I'm so glad that you're okay… I don't know what I would do without you here…" He says softly and gently in a more serious voice, showing how much he had missed her.
Leaf's eyes soften at this, and a small smile appears on her face as she returns Gary's hug and the two hold each other… She then closes her eyes, still smiling. "There, there, my sexy brown haired pervert…" Leaf says softly and kindly as he pats him on the back reassuringly. "It's alright, I'm alright… You don't need to cry…" The two just stay like this for a while… not wanting to let each other go… never wanting to separate from each other…
Dawn and Paul smile as she sees everyone was returning to their normal lives. It was finally all over. The two of them then look each other in the eyes and smile at each other as the two kiss each other under the sunset. They're then interrupted as Johanna takes a picture of all six of them and grins to commemorate the moment. The three couples grow heatedly red in the cheeks and chase after the blue haired woman, demanding that she hands the picture to them…
Lucas smiles at this scene and looks up to the sky… Cyrus said that the two of them were similar… and maybe he was right… They did have their similarities after all. But Lucas swore to himself that he would never become a vengeance seeking monster like Cyrus was, and closes his eyes as Barry wheels him over to join the others as the sun sets.
Epilogue next chapter!
OH SNAP! That… was… EPIC! I had this all planned out right from the beginning, and now that I've done it… I'm so proud of how it turned out.
Lucas: -Speechless with how badass and epic he was-
Me: XD You kicked ass, right?
Lucas: Yeah, but it's still sad how I don't get the girl… or a happy ending…
^^;; Yeah, well, let me explain. I have a lot to say about this matter, so listen closely… I did say that this story would take a turn for the darker two chapters ago, and while no one died, there is a real big moral I was looking to push… a moral with a bit of a darker tone… Lucas was a hero, he saved the day. If it wasn't for him, all would've been lost. Dawn may very well have died right then and there if it wasn't for him. In the end, he nearly lost his own life, and lost his career as a Pokemon Trainer… for good… But in the end, despite his efforts, he got nothing in return… Dawn falls for Paul in the end and the two get together, leaving Lucas with nothing… That's because, let's face it… Not all heroes get their sweet, happy endings… If all heroes got their happy endings, this world would be perfect… Sacrifice would be meaningless… But you know what? In the end, Lucas was fine with things being this way…
That was the big point I really wanted to get across here… Lucas' character was very deep towards the end, because he risked EVERYTHING to rescue the girl he loved… even if she didn't love him back… even if she loved somebody else… but in the end… he didn't get the girl… and his injuries resulted in him losing his career as a Pokemon Trainer… permanently. And yet, he never asked for ANYTHING in return… And that's what separated him from Cyrus in the very end… He was willing to sacrifice, unlike Cyrus… Lucas was more than just a friend, or a side character… He's a hero… He's Dawn's hero…
Anyways, maybe I'm just being over-dramatic here, and I'm just rambling nonsense, but that's just how I feel about this matter, and by all means, if you don't agree, don't let my opinion and my beliefs bother you. But still, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's just the epilogue left… We're almost done here… Be sure to review, leave a nice constructive criticism, and don't leave a flame please… I worked really hard to make this finale as great as I could…
~Honou