NOCT3 Epilogue

The consequences hadn’t been as severe as Cecilia imagined, but it had still been horrible to see.

She thought about this as she walked through Pannep’s prison, following silently behind the guard. After the light from the moonblast had quelled, Cecilia had seen several things. She had seen Oshima crumbled, back against the rocks he had emerged out of, one of his wings trailing uselessly on the ground. She had seen Delmarva panting and making her way slowly to her. She had seen Damiana and her Gardevoir rush forward towards Emy. She had seen Pacivima and the Mega-Tyranitar look towards the Gardevoir, posed but still ready for battle. The main thing she had seen, however, was the knife on the ground, and Emy beneath the blue form of a Gastrodon as he sat on her. It would have been a comical image, had the destruction of the hall around them and the terror in the air not been prevalent. Emy’s Gastrodon had then leapt into the fray, only to be pinned psychically by the Gardevoir. Cecilia didn’t know what had happened to anyone else, her gaze after that had focused solely on Snow and Emy.

Emy and Crystal her Gastrodon had been lead away by Damiana soon after that. Snow had nuzzled against Cecilia’s chin, no longer able to rest on her shoulder, and numbly she gathered her team and ran. She had to find a healer for Oshima and quickly.

Fortunately the battling had brought a lot of attention, and it was luck that made Cecilia find a nurse. She heard word that the leaders were finally talking sensibly, but she deliberately avoided them. She needed to avoid Yan for the time being at least.

Shortly after, an agreement was reached and a statement made. The cure would not be forced, the fighting would stop and the scientists would work on finding a better cure. Cecilia did smile at that, her hopes made true. She knew deep down though that she couldn’t help the scientists anymore. She had handed a letter of resignation to Yan without a word, before travelling here to the jail where Emy was awaiting trial.

With Snow and Pacivima following close behind her, the guard pointed at a cell. There was Emy, in a tight ball of tense anger. Cecilia had been told that all of Emy’s Pokémon were stuck in their pokeballs for the time being until the results of the trial were made known. Cecilia would have to give evidence against her own sister for inciting violence, rioting, kidnapping and blackmail. If found guilty, Emy’s Pokémon would be removed from her and she would be jailed for a seriously long time.

Emy finally snuck a glance at Cecilia. “So, here to gloat?”

“You know I don’t gloat.”

Emy made a harsh chuckle. “Even though you didn’t obey me, I still got some chaos.”

“It didn’t work though, did it? The leaders have promised peace, the world hasn’t spiralled out of control. You lost Emy.”

She thumped her fist against the wall. “Why?! Why can’t anyone but me see how destructive this world is? How much better home is!”

Cecilia shook her head. “Because you are chasing an ideal, one that I don’t think will ever exist. I’m grateful to you for showing me that Emy.”

“What?!”

Cecilia closed her eyes, events since leaving home moving through her mind. “When I left, I was searching for a sister I knew and a cure that would make things better. I found neither. I found death, a stranger to me and no cure. I found distrust, heartache and fear. I lost Medanda. My ideal was torn away. You know what I did find though?”

She came as close to the bars as she dared. “I found people in pursuit of something. I found people who listened or cared, most of the time. I found how much my Pokémon trust me, care for me. I found a strength in Pacivima I didn’t know existed. I found courage, truth and now hope. If I hadn’t of left home, I would never have more confidence in myself or my abilities, and I would still be blinded by my own naivety. This world might not be perfect, but I feel that now I can face it.”

It was then that Emy rushed to the bars with a scream. Cecilia moved back and the punch aimed for her was blocked easily by her Medicham. Her sister hissed in return.

Cecilia sighed. “I’ll miss who you were Emy. I only hope that someday you can find something worth living for, not destroying.”

She turned away. “I’ll be going now. I need to tell our parents where you are, what you have done…”

She couldn’t listen to Emy anymore as a range of various swears and insults ringed in her ears. Her team followed her out.

Once in the sunshine, everyone came out of their pokeballs. Pride dazzled and smirked in the sunshine, Oshima stood proudly next to her, with a wing bandaged, Pacivima was at her back, smiling, Delmarva nodded gently at her other side and Snow rested his head on her shoulder. She patted him. Cecilia didn’t know what to do after informing her parents of all that had happened and returning to pretty much condemn her sister, but while everyone worked on peace and restoration, Cecilia found that she wanted to move around more. There were places that man and Pokémon hadn’t quite touched yet, and there was beauty present on her planet. Danger yes, but also beauty.

She looked at all of her team. “Come on, let’s go home.”

With that they all returned to their pokeballs, bar Delmarva, her rock throughout the experience. Together they left the grimness of the past behind and stepped towards their future.