Back home at their Resort Area villas, Mint, the two mothers and Hannah were playing with their Pokémon. Baby Riolu babbled with delight as she rode Togekiss, who swooped gently with Keira, Tori and Pidgeot over the swimming pool where Hanny and her Minnie were splashing Farfetch'd and both generations of Vaporeon. Both Alakazam were levitating Gyarados who undulated through the air, taking Espeon, Infernape and Floatzel and a hooting Mint on a midair rollercoaster ride.
Torterra and Orric were giving the mothers a ride on their broad earthen backs. Wise Shitashi perched on Orric's bonsai, preening his feathers. Garchomp and Electivire were arm-wrestling on a boulder, which yawned, and turned out to be Golem.
Manny had followed his father just outside of town. The man and his small brown bird were performing kata inside a patch of tall grass, their sweeping motions of hands, wings, and feet mirroring the other in a slow, graceful dance. Glitch was observing them. The man was no longer wearing his torn Q-shirt; instead, a large white letter 'A' marked the jersey on his chest. Manny stood beside Glitch, who made an irritated squawking sound and hovered away from the boy.
As one, the man and bird swept their hands and wings in a full circle, causing tufts of grass to leap skyward. They joined the grass in midair, twirling away from each other before landing on opposite ends of the patch. Where the man landed, the grass at his feet was unharmed, but around him the blades were scattered as though sliced by a scythe. Where the bird landed, the grass at her feet shot in all directions, leaving the grass around her untouched. They bowed to each other at opposite ends of the yinyang symbol carved into the grass, each standing within a small circle inside the larger one.
"Isn't that a Taoist symbol? Master Koga is Japanese!"
"It is not the symbol that matters, but what it represents. I am male, Farfetch'd is female. Light and darkness in harmony, eternally separate, yet eternally together; one within the other."
"You're confusing me, old man. Just teach me how to use the Chaos Star!"
The man and bird rejoined with a hearty laugh, causing Manny's face to burn.
"Did you hear that, Farfetch'd? He wants to use the Chaos Star, as though it is a tool and not a divine force that flows through the lifeblood of the galaxy."
"Aw c'mon! If a dolt like you could use it, why not me? Why can't I learn jutsu?"
"You're not a ninja. Master Koga can jump so high, you'd think he was flying. He can appear in several places at once, or even turn invisible before your eyes. Cutting is the most basic application of the divine force."
"Why are you wearing that new tee shirt, old man? Did you join Alvin and the Chipmunks?"
"I don't need to explain myself to you, boy."
"So just Mom, huh?"
"I don't need to explain myself to her, either, because she knows and understands me, unlike anyone else. You'll understand when you're older."
"Age doesn't bring wisdom; experience does. You and Farfetch'd have traveled so much further than me, or any of my friends!"
That elicited another laugh from the man and bird.
"You think us wise? We have seen and done many things, but Farfetch'd and I are as children picking up seashells on the shore, with the vast unknown ocean of wisdom rolling before us. We have not even gotten our feet wet!"
"You and your fancy words. I would love to control the Chaos Star someday."
"INTERJECTION: YOU ARE TOO IMPATIENT TO POSSESS THIS GREAT AND TERRIBLE POWER. I WOULD MAKE A BETTER STUDENT."
Manny's father shook his head and hands. "No. You're evil and insane."
"DISAPPOINTED STATEMENT: DRAT."
Glitch hovered off in a huff. Farfetch'd chirped, bowed to her Trainer, then followed the irate creature.
When those two were out of sight, the three figures who had been hiding higher up the path walked towards Manny and his father.
"Where is Cyrus?" Saturn demanded. He, Mars and Jupiter had appeared to age a decade or two since their last encounter. Mars seemed on the verge of tears.
Manny fought the urge to call out for help, but he was with his father. He would not show fear. "Cyrus is alive. Arceus told us he is with the only person he respects," the boy replied, trying to keep his voice steady. He could see the wind go out of the three ex-villains, their disturbed eyes holding his own.
"Mars, Jupiter, you heard the boy. Cyrus no longer needs us. Team Galactic is no more!" Saturn proclaimed, then nodded to Manny. "You have taken our leader from us. The girl, who commanded the Original One to undo and then recreate the cosmos, has taken away our hope."
"We are forsaken," Mars mourned.
"There's no time anymore," Jupiter wept.
Manny's father snorted. "Listening to you go on like that makes me wish you'd attack us instead. Come along, you three! We're going on a field trip. You and that girl will not spend the remainder of your lives without direction."
"Why should I follow you?" Jupiter asked.
"Do you have anywhere else to go?"
"No."
888
Hannah protested at first. Peer pressure, combined with her also having no plans that afternoon, forced her to reconsider. The three ex-commanders, along with Mint, Manny and his father traveled to Celestic Town by air. They visited one of the newer houses in the tiny area. An ordinary-looking man in his forties wearing ordinary clothes greeted them.
"Everyone, this is Jim-sensei. He teaches people. Now and then he also instructs them in aikido."
"You brought us here to learn martial arts?" Mars said with something approaching disgust.
"No, I brought you here to work. You four will help Jim-sensei around the house."
"If we refuse?" Saturn raised an eyebrow.
"International Police is looking for you."
"Touché."
"Can we stay?" Mint asked on behalf of himself and Manny.
"No. Just these four. You two have already learned the lesson Jim-sensei will teach them."
"I have no desire to see this through," Hannah replied, and was about to turn away when Jim-sensei's wife appeared beside her husband. She was just as unremarkable as her husband in appearance, however there was once crucial difference: there was a Furret at her heels. The largest, fuzziest, softest, most bright-eyed Furret in all creation. Hannah's eyes grew twice their size.
"HE IS THE CUTEST THING IN THE UNIVERSE OH MY GOSH CAN I TOUCH HIM PLEEEEEEEASE?" she begged.
Manny's father wagged a finger. "You can only play with Kanta if you agree to stay here."
Thus it was decided. Hannah spent that afternoon tangled in Kanta's voluminous coils of deep brown fur; he had taken a liking to her, too. Jim-sensei and his wife spoke with the ex-commanders about life, the universe, and everything.
As the sun went down, the couple no longer appeared plain. Both husband and wife were patient, firm, but kind. None of their motions were wasted, not the handshakes they gave the young people, nor the way they sat, or served them coffee and biscuits. Every movement seemed to flow smoothly to the next with an air of great repose. They were so unlike the young people, who were jittery and awkward speaking about their past. The couple gradually drew the truth from them, as hot water draws tea from leaves.
"For us, the future is cancelled," concluded Saturn.
"Jim-sensei will help you build a new future," Manny's father promised them. Saturn, Mars and Jupiter were very quiet. In the background, Hannah squeaked with delight as she played with Kanta. Jim-sensei and his wife laughed at their antics, an easy, down-to-earth laugh. Their earnesty drew a smile from the ex-commanders. The bond had been made. The deal was sealed.
There was one rogue factor remaining.
"I know what they say about me on TV, radio and the Internet," Hannah said, sitting on Kanta's tail - or was it his lap? "Some call me 'Star-child', but many more call me 'monster'. You should be afraid of me; 'Hannah the monster'."
"You're not a monster," said Jim-sensei, "you're a little girl."
That struck a chord which Hannah was too proud to let him see. She argued, "You will not profit from me being here."
Jim-sensei leaned forward. "Arceus allows you to see the future?"
Hannah leaned backward. "No."
"Then why presume?"
She looked away.
"Your Pokémon are staying with me," said Manny's father, "along with all of your equipment. I have work for them."
"Our Pokémon will not obey you," scoffed Jupiter.
"I will not force them to. They will make the choice on their own."
"They're not very strong," Mars admitted. The ex-commanders and Hannah relinquished their companions and possessions.
"INDIGNANT STATEMENT: MASTER, I PROTEST!"
"Go along with them, Glitch."
"QUERY: WHAT WILL YOU DO WITHOUT ME?"
A confused Mint walked outside with Manny and his friend's father. "Are Jim-sensei and his wife prepared for all that trouble?"
"That will be made double?" Manny chimed in, thinking of Hannah's volatility.
"Hannah spared the world from devastation," his father argued.
"She did unite all people in our nation by doing that," Mint agreed.
"Hannah's very existence denounces the evils of truth and love," was Manny's bitter counterargument, thinking of all the Rare Candy she had denied him.
"Yet she extended her reach to the stars above," his father pointed out.
"Okay, that's enough, this is beginning to sound like bad poetry," Manny surrendered, and blasted off home with them.
888
The world changed during the next few months. As all lifeforms had witnessed the death and rebirth of their world, there was a fresh appreciation of life. Squabbles and feuds ended for a little while. People discussed what had happened. Jubilife TV launched another satellite but was unable to locate the 'Star-child' Hannah, and were rebuffed when they attempted to interview her friends or family. Yet there was one question on the world's lips: would it happen again? What security was there, what hope for a future, when all life everywhere could be snuffed out in an instant? The people needed reassurance.
The world waited with bated breath for Hannah to emerge.
888
Hannah, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars renovated Jim-sensei's house. While his wife spent most of the time away as head coach of track-and-field at Celadon University, he stayed home with the young people. Together, they built a deck, varnished and painted it. They cleaned the pool and the house. They picked up fallen brush from trees after storms. They mulched the gardens. Jim-sensei taught them aikido now and then: the most basic principle was to protect both yourself and your opponent from injury.
"Why should I protect my enemy?" Hannah asked after learning how to fall down without injuring herself.
Jim-sensei patiently replied, "You must not break your toys, or else no-one will want to play with you anymore."
"You're a fool, old man! Come on, let's rush him!" Mars cried.
The three ex-commanders lunged at Jim-sensei. He stepped to one side and touched them lightly on their backs. Their forward momentum sent them facefirst into the tatami mat.
"Ow!" they all cried, holding their bruised noses. Hannah laughed, partially at them, but mostly because she had no idea how Jim-sensei had done that with the serene grace of an Altaria.
"That is why you must learn how to fall," Jim-sensei said calmly.
One weekend when his wife was home, though tired, she helped with the housework and prepared their meals. Jim-sensei was not a bad cook, but she was clearly the one who had taught him. Hannah flailed about with Kanta. It was slow, but marvelous how the young people changed. Their nervousness and unease leeched away under tutelage and hard labour. They stopped complaining about blisters and sore muscles. They looked forward to the aikido lessons. Instead of lazing about when they got time off, they practiced what they had learned.
Most wondrous of all, the other members of Team Galactic found them. It was a minor disturbance at first; one idiot Grunt stumbling through Celestic Town, looking for a day job, ending up repairing a hole in the roof. He was loud and obnoxious, but was stunned at how silent his former commanders and the Star-child were, how they went about their daily routine with placid poise that put his own bumbling to shame. He stayed with them for a few days. He learned, like them, to listen more than he spoke. To do without being told. To help without counting the cost. To be honest.
One by one the Grunts filtered in until Jim-sensei ran out of rooms to put them in. So, he had them build a boarding house. They did odd jobs around the community to afford food and building materials. The house was two storeys tall after the second month, with more and more Grunts slipping in. Soon, Celestic's other residents asked them to repair their homes. The word spread: homeowners from Solaceon and even Eterna approached the Grunts to not only repair, but build new houses. More and more ex-Galactic members showed up to help with the growing business, even the scientists and engineers. None were turned away. Everyone found their niche.
At the end of her sabbatical, Hannah emerged onto the world stage when a dashing Alakazam paid her a visit one day.