Journey - Part 9 -End-

Journey
Part 9 (End)


"Herr Doktor...? Herr Doktor??"

Doc was the first to open his eyes after the big blast, groaning as he stated to regain his movements. He saw Seymour's face looking right at him.

"Seymour...?" said Doc. "Wh-when did you get here...?"

"Not long ago..." he said. "I sent the robots to capture the Emeralds again--"

"Never mind the gems... How is the rest...?"

He got up to a sitting position, noticing Anaya helping the others get up as well. The Legendary Pokémon also quickly got back to their feet.

"That... was something else...!" said Flavio as he got up, Jasper there to help him.

"I saw that blast all the way from Pallet, it was that big!!" he said. "How was it like!! Did it have eight arms?? A solid form?? Did it have a cool face??"

"One at a time, Jasper, first lemme check if I didn't lose anything..." replied the teen.

Sonic also woke up on ground level, dizzy, but still pretty much okay, Pikachu a few feet away. He quickly got back up, Sonic right after him.

"Pika...!?" he said.

"Looks like we did it!" said the hedgehog. "Come on, let's get ya back to your friend up there!"

Sonic held Pikachu on his arms and quickly ran back up, the others following suite on their own ways. The other normal Pokémon who were previously trapped also ran up, two in particular taking the lead. These two rushed up the stairs just as Riolu got his thoughts together again. He saw the couple of Lucarios and immediately couldn't believe it.

"Ri lu..." the young one said, beginning to cry. "Ri lu!!! RIOLU!"

He ran towards the couple and jumped, falling on their embrace, hugging them desperately as his parents nuzzled him, his tears falling freely. Flavio couldn't help it but shed a tear himself. Chris approached him.

"They seem happy..." he said.

"Yeah..." said Flavio. "They do..."

Seymour also saw the scene and, unlike Flavio, his tear brought a hint of sadness and a few memories. He quickly wiped it off so the rest wouldn't see it.

"I just don't get it, though..." Seymour said, trying to cover it. "They used the Pokémon, they had the energy... If Number was supposed to be invincible, how was it possible to destroy it?"

"If I were to guess..." said Lucario. "I would say that perhaps, Number was not complete..."

"You guessed right..." said Doc. "That was Ryan's plan when he contacted Giovanni... He knew that if he just told the consequences, the jerk would do it anyway and TRY to control it, so it wouldn't rebel. But I know Weever better than that. It wasn't a matter of control. He did that to purposely weaken Missing Number so we would defeat it quicker..."

"But he hates you guys, doesn't he?" asked Jasper. "Why not just let it kill you?"

"Keyword being 'US'." said Flavio. "I remember when he held me hostage, he had all time possible to just finish me and be done with it, but he chose to use me as decoy instead... And besides, this world doesn't have anything to do with Ryan, OR Eggman, and it was going to blow up because of the former, so really, why kill us if that would cost innocent lives?"

A rustling sound was heard.

"Speaking of costing..." said Doc as everyone turned to look at Eggman.

The doctor was taking his leave already, scuttling towards his Egg Mobile. Doc quickly used his weapon's grappling hook and launched it at Eggman, grappling his nose. It then painfully pulled the Doctor towards Johnathan, holding him right in front of his face.

"If you ever set foot into this world again..." said Doc. "I'll reduce your consciousness to that of a monkey, you get me?"

"Y-yes, I get you!!" said Eggman, fearfully.

Giovanni also got up on his own and seized the moment to scuttle away from the rest, his Persian following along. The trio of Rocket Members stood before him.

"You idiots, let me through!" said the Rocket Leader.

"Give us one good reason!" said Jesse.

"We're mad at you for nearly destroying everything!" said James.

"There's a line shomeone can crossh, ya know!" finished Meowth.

Giovanni snapped at them.

"Have you idiots forgotten WHO PAYS YOUR SORRY SALARIES!!" he yelled. "PERSIAN, FURY SWIPES!"

The large cat immediately jumped at the trio with his claws ready, but Meowth stood right in front of him and used his own version of Fury Swipes at the Persian, which adding his sudden boost of rage to the damage, successfully sent the Persian flying against his leader, sending both down. Giovanni quickly scurried up and tried to run the other way, but then stopped to hold his head as a splitting pain hit him.

"And where do you think YOU're going?" said Dr. von Neuron.

Shadow looked at both as, with a hand raised, Doc was actively making Giovanni's headache worsen and worsen, until finally, with one word...

"Sleep."

The man fell back on the ground, snoring loudly and heavily. Arceus was impressed with the human's skill, and so was the rest.

"How..." pleaded the Pokémon God.

"Later..." said Doc. "Mewtwo, I think you should do the reasonable thing and erase his memory, and as for those three others... Leave them."

"What!?" asked Brock. "But those three are also Team Rocket members!"

"Well, but they're not REALLY evil..." said Dawn.

"I agree with him." said Ash. "I never thought of them as the type to do something too evil."

Mewtwo examined the trio thoroughly and made his decision.

"I will allow them to remember. On one condition." he demanded. "That they alone send all these Pokémon back to their homes."

"We will!" the three said.

"Waaaaahbuffet!" finished Jesse's Wobbuffet.

And with that, a new flash of light engulfed the area, created by Mewtwo alone.


===The next day==========================================================================

The time between that day and the following one was heavily occupied. The Legendary Pokémon, as repayment for all the humans did to save them, took each of Ash's friends back home, a few of them (most notably Jirachi, Manaphy and Mew) stayed behind for a longer time to catch up with their friends, before going back to sleep on more hopeful promises of return. Mewtwo and Arceus also took their moment to stay longer to talk with the visitors, saying that their visit was welcome anytime they wanted to come over their world again, as long as no villains followed them again, to which the Mobians and Earthlings agreed.

Dr. von Neuron, however, had the hardest part to do. Since he was responsible for the shockwave that damaged several electrical devices around the Pokémon world, he had to gather a crowd at Viridian City for a public speech, stating how sorry he was for the accident, and that he never intended to harm anyone. During his speech, several different Pokémon gathered around him, inspecting the Earthling curiously. In seconds he was surrounded, but not in a vengeful way. Instead, they greeted the doctor with open arms and cheerfully accepted his speech, making the good man smile at their kind words, which he could understand perfectly with his telepathy.

Lucario and Sir Aaron had to decline Delia and Professor Oak's invitation of staying at Pallet Town, saying they had a lot to see around the Pokémon World, especially Rota City, to catch up on how much had changed so far. They promised Ash they might stumble across him again during their own journeys, and assured him they would visit Pallet Town often to greet their friends. Sonic would also not stop talking about how much Sir Aaron seemed to be a cool guy, and how much his voice sounded familiar to him.

As for Ash himself, Dr. von Neuron gave him a communicator in case something else happened, or just if he felt like calling someone over for a chat. The trainer did mention the possibility of a battle, to which the teenagers and Sonic all said was most likely possible, if they got the hang of battling outside of a video game.

And lastly, the young Riolu and his family was returned to his home in Sinnoh, but Flavio pleaded with Arceus and Dr. von Neuron for a portal specifically for that area, so he could meet his friend again whenever they wanted. The two were pleased to give him his wish.

All in all, everything was back to the way it should be.

...Or was it?


Ryan Weever's Office - Britannia Tower
Unknown Location

The geneticist looked down from his ample window to the streets below, reveling in the glory of his accomplishment. His butler approached him from behind.

"The transmitters are ready, sire." he said. "Shall we begin broadcasting?"

Ryan looked back at him.

"In a minute." he said. "I need time alone for a monologue."

Timothy nodded and left. Ryan looked back at the city miles below.

"Now you see we are different, Eggman..." he said to himself. "Again you fail to accomplish your goal, and thanks to me, another world was spared of your stupidity. But who indeed should take the blame? You for your sheer idiocy, or Johnathan for his recklessness? No matter, really... It would end as I thought it would. Your failure, and my accomplishment..."

He turned around.

"Timothy." he said. "Start those cameras!"

Behind him stood decades of hard work and accomplishment, a metropolis erected on his word, but not his image. A kingdom of law and order, built to seek the perfection he desired for mankind. A Chaos-ridden town, meant solely for his wish.

His answer to Eggmanland. His rebuttal towards Sonic and the others.

His utopia. His dream.

His kingdom of Britannia.



===Coming Up Next!==================================================================

Ryan sends a worldwide transmission of his new kingdom to all nations, startling the Mobians and stirring up tension among their allies. Flavio proposes sneaking into the town, but the Englishman already expects them and is preparing a treat for when they arrive. Furthermore, Johnathan stirs up more tension over himself when Maria wants to be a bigger part of the action while he won't allow it, fearing for her safety. Can Maria convince him otherwise? Will Shadow escape the town along with his allies? Will Ryan find the perfection he seeks?