Chapter 20 Goodbyes Lead to a Second Chance
A few weeks passed since the final battle and the capture of Team Aqua and the team has recovered since then and have been training for the next contest. Rusty was watching them train as usual and was in new clothing that his friends had got him because the Aqua uniform he had on was muddy andhad blood and tears in the shirt so it was tossed out, all he had left was the sword he was handed and his four Pokemon.
"Now Starla use close combat and finish it off with a wing attack!" Eliza yelled.
Starla did what she said and Rusty applauded.
"Thanks." She said.
"It seems like you are getting a hang at training your Starly." Marty said.
"Yeah, Starla has been growing ever since I caught her." Eliza said.
"Starly!"
"Any news on your Pidgeot?" Maritza asked.
"My uncle said she is doing fine and flying better than ever!" Eliza answered.
"that's good, now you can use her when you leave here." Harper said.
Eliza nodded.
"Now that Aqua is gone, what shall we do now?" Maritza asked.
"Wake told me that the rangers are waiting for me back in Solaceon, I should head back there soon." Rusty answered.
"Will they give you a second chance if even you had the sword with you?" Marty asked.
"Yeah, Wake explained to them that I would use it to protect civilians and their Pokemon." He answered as he petted it.
"That's good." Harper said.
"By the way Maritza and Harper, I need a favor from you two." He said.
"Huh?" Maritza asked.
"What is it?" Harper asked.
He pulled out a pair of scissors and pulled the hair tie out of his hair and said, "Cut my hair."
"What? Why?" Harper asked.
"Because I am starting a new leaf and I think it would be best that I would lose the hair." He answered.
"If you say so." Maritza said and took the scissors and she and Harper started on it and cut it down to a spiky look.
"Never thought that you would look better with short hair." Eliza said.
"Really?" he asked.
She nodded.
"There is one more thing I need you to have and also know." He said.
"Eh?" she asked.
He went through his pocket and pulled out the bandanna he wore the times they travled together and handed it to her and said, "I want you to have this."
"Rusty…" she said.
"Also I never told you this…" he was about to say.
"Let's leave them alone." Maritza said and took her brother and Harper somewhere else.
"What is it?" Eliza asked.
"Well.." he said and blushed a bit. "It's. oh what the hell!"
He leaned in and kissed her.
She blinked in surprise and closed her eyes.
"Awww!" both Harper and Maritza exclaimed.
"And I thought we were going to leave those two alone together." Marty said and he was hit by the both of them.
Rusty broke off and said, "That is I love you."
"I…don't know what to say! I am surprised…" she exclaimed as she blushed.
"don't say anything!" he said.
"can I at least ask you this, when will I see you again?" she asked.
"When I call you on my PokeGear, I will be near you at all times and don't forget about me and try dropping by in Solaceon from time to time, all right?" he asked.
"I will!" she exclaimed and blushed again and kissed him on the cheek.
The group said their final goodbyes to Rusty as he went on his Starraptor's back and they flew back to Solaceon where he met up with the ranger captain of the town's division.
"Welcome back Rusty." The captain said.
"Thank you." He said.
"Despite you being in Aqua again, we are willing to give you a second chance in the rangers, remember you are supposed to protect the civilians and their Pokemon." The captain told him.
"Yes sir, I will do my best to see that they are protected from danger!" Rusty exclaimed and saluted.
"Good, also nice hair cut by the way." The captain said and walked away.
Rusty got his new uniform on in the locker room and put the sword on with it and looked at the handle and placed his hand on it and said, "I will be using this to protect rather than hurt as promised and this time I won't let any danger in anyone's way, especially Eliza's."
He left to rejoin the troop.
Meanwhile on the way to Cannilave City, Eliza, Harper, and the twins were walking towards the ccity. Eliza wore Rusty's bandanna around her neck. She even remembered how Rusty traveled with them before the whole Aqua mess.
Maritza noticed the tears in her eyes and asked, "Are you okay?"
"I will be, I am kind of remembering how we all traveled together." She answered.
"Look, he will see you again, he has to show that he will work out his sentence and that he is different from his Aqua days." Marty told her.
She nodded.
"Come on, he would be rooting you on like he did from the crowd anyways and you can think of him being there." Harper told her.
"You're right, come on guys let's take this contest out!" Eliza exclaimed.
"Right!" they exclaimed and ran towards Cannilave for the next contest and the future ones to come.
"Please don't cry one tear for me
I'm not afraid of what I have to say
This is my one and only voice
So listen close it's only for today
I just saw Haley's comet she waved
Said "Why are you always running in place?"
Even the man in the moon disappeared
Somewhere in the stratosphere
Tell my mother, tell my father I done the best I can
To make them realize this is my life I hope they understand
I'm not angry, I'm just saying
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance"
-Shine Down
"Second Chance"
Author's Final Commentary
Hello everyone! Well, that is the end of the main story, I will be doing a bonus chapter with this one and that's about it! I hope you guys enjoyed this one. And the question about a sequel is that I will be doing one but I will be working on other fics before I do it, which will give me time to come up with the story for the second one! In the meantime, enjoy my other fics and my newest one "Soul Eater: Vampire Chronicles" See ya!
Oh by the way, the lyrics I put, I don't own them, I put these in here cuz it kind of fit with the end. So see ya!