2005- Epilogue
Epilogue:
Two Years Later...
Misty stood outside the Holy Trinity church, a small child tucked in her
arms. Brock was next to
her, talking idly to a guest. Misty rocked the baby back and forth. The
little girl looked up with two
big aquamarine eyes, taking in the scene around her quietly and serenely, as
if she knew what
was going on. Misty caught a red streak out of the corner of her eye.
Glancing up, she saw
Gary's Camarro pull into a parking spot near the front of the building.
A young woman who Misty knew had to be Erika, who she assumed must have
gone with Gary
after her visit to Celadon, stepped out of the side nearest to them. Gary
hopped out of the
driver's seat, walking around the side of the car. Misty gasped. He was
crutch-free, trotting along on two perfectly normal-looking legs.
Misty shoved her child quickly but gently into Brock's arms, running to
meet Gary and Erika.
Caught in the moment, Misty threw her arms around Gary's neck, hugging him
tightly. "I'm so happy for you!"
Gary pried her off, following her gaze. "Can you tell it's not real?"
"Oh, Gary, it's good as new!"
He grinned. "That's what everyone says. Top-of-the-line, the latest thing."
He stretched the synthetic body part experimentally. "I won't be running any
tri-athlons, of course, but it's great for moving around the lab."
Misty nodded, absolutely beaming as Brock walked up at a slower pace.
"Brock, isn't it-"
"I saw it at the bachelor party the other day," Brock cut in. He soothed
the bundle in his arms,
who had started to become aggitated due to the moving around. "Aren't you
going to introduce us to your fiancee, Gar'?"
Gary nodded. "Right. Misty, Brock, this is Erika Mooney. Erika, this is
Misty and Brock Harrison."
Misty and Erika shook, greeting each other. Brock nodded, unable to give a
handshake due to the baby.
"You probably don't remember us, but we met you before about nine years
ago," Brock told her.
She searched her memory for a moment. "Actually, I do remember the both of
you." She grinned at Brock. "After all, it's not every day I have someone swoon
over me."
He blushed. "Eh, that WAS a long time ago..."
"Are the others here yet?" Gary interrupted, meaning the old group from two
years before.
"Jessie and James haven't arrived, but they said they'd be here. I
never got a reply from
Ash, but he's so busy these days I don't blame him for not being able to make
it," Brock explained.
"I haven't talked to Jess and James since almost eight months ago, after
their wedding," Gary remarked. "Any word on how they're doing?"
"Oh, didn't you hear?" Misty asked, eager to share what she knew. "James
filed a law suit
against Jessebelle for holing up in his parent's home and using their money.
I hear it was an
open-and-shut case; apparently all the will said was that James had to be
married to get the
inheritance, but it never said to whom he had to get hitched. I called them
up when Eva was
born, a little over a month ago, and they called to say they'd be at the
wedding. That's why I've got all the news."
Gary looked over at the small baby in Brock's arms. "Heh. She looks a lot
like the both of you."
The jet-black hair, tannish skin and bright blue eyes proved him right.
"Probably break a lot of guy's hearts."
"Oh no, Gary Oak, you're not teaching any child of mine your player ways,"
Brock said with good-nature.
"Yeah. I guess she'll just inherit those from you, huh?" Gary countered,
causing the breeder once more to blush. "So, how's Trace doing?"
"Tracey's holding up as best as can be expected, considering its his
wedding day," Misty told
him. She giggled, taking the child back from her husband. "Actually, Brock's
enough of a nervous wreck for the both of them."
"It's not every day your sister gets married, you know," he justified,
looking as tense as Misty
had described him. "But, at least it's Tracey. Better than a total stranger."
Gary laughed. "Well, I'd better go in and give him some moral support. It's
my duty as best
man, you know." He gave Erika a good-bye kiss, and started to enter the
church, but turned,
eyes glittering mischievously. "Oh, I meant to ask. How are you doing on that
pyschiatrist firm? What's it called again? Harrison and Sketchit?"
"Sketchit and Harrison," Brock corrected airily. "And it's doing great,
actually."
"You should listen to my advice more often," Gary told him, trotting into
the groom's quarters.
Brock snorted, muttering something somewhat impolite under his breath.
Erika and Misty both
laughed. Erika excused herself into the church, saying she'd see them later.
Misty glanced up, spotting a forest green Farari drive into the parking
lot: Jessie and James'
car. She and Brock watched James get out, going over to Jessie's door. Being
the chivalrous
person he was, he helped her out, closing the door for her. She said
something they couldn't
hear from where they were, making James laugh. The duo made their way up the
church steps, greeting Brock and Misty heartily.
"Oh, is that Eva?" Jessie asked, immediately noticing the baby girl. Misty
nodded. "She's beautiful. Now, I know you told my why you chose that name..."
"After Brock's mother," Misty completed, cuddling the bundle closer to her
chest. Eva blinked
sleepily, closing her eyes. "She's so well-behaved and quiet. Must get it
from Brock."
The church bells clanged loudly, causing Eva to whimper unhappily. Misty
calmed her down easily; the little girl was incredibly good-natured.
"That's the cue to go in," Brock said. "The wedding's about to start." He
turned to his wife.
"You'd better get in there. Celia needs her bridesmaid." Misty gave Eva back
to Brock, hurrying
inside. "Come on with me. They only wanted a small wedding, so we'll get a
front row seat."
Jessie took James' arm and they walked in. Brock was right; the church was
fairly small, and only about ten to twelve other people were there.
"Reminds me of our wedding," Jessie commented, glancing at her thin golden
band happily.
James smiled lovingly, but didn't feel any need to reply. "Brock, do you
know if Ash will be here?"
"Might be," came the whispered answer, as he took a seat. "With all the
things he does these
days I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't make it." He was silent for a
moment. "Though, he did manage to make it to your wedding and my own."
Jessie glanced a clock in the back of the church. "There's still time. He
might surprise us." ~
Tracey straightened his tie for the twelfth time, hoping he didn't look as
nervous as he felt. He
watched his reflection in the full-length mirror, positive he looked like a
complete idiot.
"Glad to see you lost the headband."
Tracey whirled around to face Gary. He smiled wanly, glad to see his
friend. "Well, if it isn't the
pervert who hired a stripper for my bachelor party."
Gary laughed. "That's Professor Pervert to you."
Tracey remembered Gary's chosen profession. Glad to take his mind off the
task at hand, he asked, "How's that going?"
"Really great. I got a lot of things from foraging Grandpa's lab," he said
it without any hints of
sadness, showing that he had long since moved on, much to Tracey's relief.
"Right now I'm
working on... hell, Trace, quit trying to change the subject. How're you doing?"
He rubbed his sweating palms on a towel. "About as good as Brock, if not
worse. I'm doing a
good job of keeping my composure in front of the others, though. I'm just...
I guess I'm kind of
scared, is all. What if I screw up, or we find out we're totally wrong for
each other, or... God, there's so much that could go wrong."
Gary brushed a fleck of dust off the suit, clapping Tracey on the shoulder.
"Don't worry so
much. You've been dating for nearly two years, so I think you know each other
pretty well. The
way I figure, the worst that can happen is one of you is horrible in the sac,
and marriage isn't just about the sex, right?"
"That's comforting," Tracey said dryly, but couldn't help but smile. He
heard the clang of the church bells. "Okay, here we go. How do I look?"
"Fine. You sound like a teenage girl, though." Gary shoved the artist out
the door, following shortly. "Just go with it. You'll be fine."
Tracey kept his head forward, snatching glances at the people around. He
saw Brock, Jessie
and James in one of the front rows, but didn't see Ash anywhere. That was all
right; Ash was
busy, and for a good cause, so if he missed it was understandable. Tracey
sighed inwardly. For
some reason he'd thought Mariko might be there. He hadn't seen her since
she'd disappeared that night two years ago.
As Tracey reached the front of the aisle, he caught sight of a side door
opening. A tall male
figure dashed in, closing the door quietly behind him and taking a seat to
the far right of the church. Tracey bit back a smile; Ash had come through.
~
Later that evening Tracey, Celia, and all their friends held a large
reception party at Pewter's
brand new community center. Glad that the wedding was over, the newlyweds
visibly relaxed,
thoroughly enjoying the party. Excusing herself from Tracey's side, Celia
went over to talk with
Jessie and Misty for a minute. Tracey found Brock (who had given Eva over
somewhat reluctantly to a babysitter), Gary and James helping themselves to some
champagne.
"So, Tracey," Brock began. "I guess this means we're related now."
Tracey smiled. "I always wanted a family." He looked over at Frita, Gwen
and Zach, all of
whom had recovered from their war-times with incredible swiftness. "Don't
think I could have gotten a better one."
Brock shifted feet. "Take care of her, okay?" he asked, pouring himself
some champagne.
"You know I will," Tracey assured him.
Gary snickered. "It's impossible to tell that the both of you were about to
pee your pants earlier
today. See? Marriage isn't so bad after all." He handed Tracey a filled glass. "Congratulations, Trace."
"You'll be just as bad on your wedding day," James told him. "I'm willing
to bet almost anything for it."
"How much?" Brock asked, ready to take the bet.
James smirked. "Twenty-five thousand."
Brock winced at the large number. "I forgot you were a millionaire. I'm not
that risky."
Ash walked up to the male group. "Sorry I showed up late. I had to dash out
of a meeting to
make it, but I wasn't about to miss one wedding when I'd worked so hard to go
to the other two."
"Don't worry about it," Tracey told him. "How's that Kanto Ambassador job
going?"
Ash forced a smile. "Well, I get to travel a lot." He snatched an
eggroll from a tray on the snack
table. "But I've signed so many peace treaties in the last two years that I'd
be glad never to see
my own name again. I just finished up the final one: it was hard to get
Quiana to accept the
treaty, but we made them see reason. That's where I flew in from." He rubbed
a tired eye,
covering a yawn. "Unfortunately, it's three o'clock tomorrow morning over
there. I hope you don't mind if I duck out of here pretty soon."
"Not at all." Tracey looked past Ash to a big, paneled window at the far
side of the hall. A woman's figure flitted past- at first he thought it was his
imagination, but knew it was much too
real. "Uh, would you guys excuse me for a minute? I'll be right back."
Tracey set his empty glass on a table, striding across the wooden floor
purposefully, walking out
the door as if heading for the bathroom. Instead, he went outside and around
the side of the building, hoping he could catch her before she left.
~
Jessie, Celia and Misty were chatting amiably, sharing news, gossip, and
anything else they felt the need to talk about.
"Hey Jess, I kept meaning to ask, how did that thing with Jessebelle turn
out?" Misty wondered, sipping her drink.
"Really well," Jessie said. "Naturally James got all the land and money
back, though it's more
than I think we'll ever need in our life. He was very charitable to
Jessebelle, too. It turns out her
parents gave everything they owned to her older brother, so without James she
was basically
living on the streets. He went ahead and let her keep the land. She could
sell it for quite a bit of
money, and we weren't interested in living in that huge mansion anyway." She
munched on a carrot stick, recalling the past year's many events. "He's a much
better person than I am; I was
all for teaching the little witch the meaning of a hard-earned dollar."
Celia chuckled. "How lucky. You'll never have to work a day in your life."
"It's nice to have that to fall back on," Jessie admitted, "but both of us
plan on going back to
school eventually. Right now we're just trying to get settled in to our new
life, enjoying the peace
after that lawsuit." She looked over at her husband, smiling. "And you know,
for the first time ever I think both of us are really and truly happy."
Misty nodded in agreement; they certainly did look very content. "Where are
you living right now, if James got rid of the house?"
Jessie waved a hand. "This nice apartment in Viridian for the time being.
It's only until we find a
house to buy, or a plot of land to build on. We were thinking about building
one right outside of
Pewter. It seems like a wonderful place to raise a family, and we'd be near
friends." Celia and
Misty both agreed on that. "I mean, the apartment's nice and all, but it's
much to small for three
people to live comfortably," she paused. "Well, four, if you count Meowth."
"Three?" Misty queried. It took her a moment to say, "Does that mean
you're...?"
Jessie nodded, eyes alight in happiness. The two girls congratulated her
again and again.
"Does James know?" Misty asked.
Jessie shook her head. "I only found out a week ago. I've been trying to
figure out the best way to tell him."
"Best way to tell him?" Celia laughed, pushing Jessie towards the boys. "It
doesn't matter how you say it, he'll be ecstatic. Go give him the news."
"If you don't, we will," Misty threatened.
Jessie let herself be shoved over to the group James was in. "All right,
I'll tell him. But I'd hate
to show you and Tracey up, since this IS your day, Celia-"
Celia cut her off. "I don't care, and neither will Tracey." As she said
this she saw him excuse
himself and exit the room quickly. "Wonder where he's off to?"
"Probably letting out some nervous energy," Misty giggled. "I don't think
he'd try to run away with someone else quite yet, Cel."
She laughed, putting on a dramatic evil grin. "He wouldn't dare."
~
Tracey turned the corner of the community center and almost ran directly
into the dark figure he'd been after.
"Hello," came the indifferent greeting.
Tracey smiled. "I knew you'd show up. You were at the other weddings too,
weren't you, but you stayed hidden?"
The bounty hunter nodded. "I have taken it upon myself to keep an eye on
you and your companions. I've checked up on you from time to time these past two
years. It's been rather
interesting to watch how you have all grown up over time." She smiled with
her eyes, leaning
against the building. "If television were this intriguing I might consider
watching it."
Tracey laughed. "There's nothing better than real life, I guess."
"Indeed," she agreed. After a moment, she asked, "How is the business
coming? With you and Brock?"
"Really well. We've gotten recommendations from our clients to other
people, so it's raking in a
lot of money. It's sort of rewarding, helping people like that," he explained.
"Gary is doing well, I presume?"
"Yeah. He's a professor now, but you probably knew that. He and Erika are
planning to get married this summer."
"And Ash?"
"Flying around Nomékop working out peace treaties and acting as Kanto's
ambassador, along with battling trainers at the Indigo League challengers in the spring. Complains a lot,
but I don't think he's happy without a job to do."
"Jessie and James?"
"Filthy rich and loving it, from what I understand. But with all the things
that have happened in
their lives they definitely deserve to get a break." Tracey rubbed the back
of his head. "You want
me to bring James out here? I know it's probably been a while, and you guys
were pretty close."
Mariko's face flashed a mixture of feelings, and in that split second
Tracey finally figured out
why she had left their camp so early, and why she had seemed so sad on those
last few days
with them. It was gone in a moment, leaving only the blank expression, but
her eyes still held
sadness and love. She looked past Tracey into the large window. "No. I think
it may be best that he forget about me and his assassin days."
Tracey followed her gaze. James was talking to the other boys, smiling
about some unknown
joke. Jessie, followed by Celia and Misty, came up and slipped an arm around
James' waist,
whispering something in his ear. He smiled, hugging her tightly and kissing
her forehead. Brock,
Gary and Ash elbowed James appreciatively, toasting whatever was being
celebrated. Tracey smiled grimly. "Yeah. Maybe you're right."
When he turned back, he found Mariko gone, a package the only thing to show
she had ever
even been there. Tracey picked up the present, unwrapping it slowly and
opening the lid. It was a
beautifully carved case, with a set of the finest writing tools money could
buy. Inside the case,
along with the tools, was a red desert flower. He smiled. "A Mariko."
~
Tracey walked back in thoughtfully, the gift tucked away in his car back in
the parking lot. Misty
tapped her foot, asking as he walked up to them, "Where have you been?"
"Just talking to a shy, old friend," Tracey explained simply. He noticed
that Jessie and James
were practically glued at the hip, both smiling widely. "What did I miss?"
Jessie gave him the great news. "I hated to show you up at your own wedding
reception, but Celia said you wouldn't mind-"
"I don't," he cut in. "And I'm happy for both of you."
James squeezed Jessie's hand, and she leaned against him, sighing in utter
bliss. Tracey
hoped he and Celia would be as smitten with each other in a year as these two
were. He imagined there couldn't be a more joyous couple in the world right
then, and possibly for many years to come.
Ash covered another yawn, nudging Brock. "Do you think you could get the
customary toast
over with? I hate to sound rude, but I'm practically asleep on my feet and
it's not really proper etiquette to leave a reception yet."
Brock nodded. He stood up on a chair, waiting for the rest of the party
members to quiet down.
He held up his glass. "I'd like to thank all of you for coming out to
celebrate my sister Celia and
my friend and partner Tracey's wedding. I know that, since the war ended two
years ago, we've
all been scrambling to rebuild our lives and our homes, but somehow you
pulled yourself away from the daily jobs to have a good time.
"First off, I'd like to say that I don't know what it'll be like when my
daughter gets married, but I
can't imagine it being anymore nerve-racking than this. You've got one of the
best girls in the
world, Trace, and a cook whose skills surpass even mine. And Celia, Tracey's
a great guy, and a
great friend. Just don't try to keep any secrets from him, because he'll know
you're lying the
minute you open your mouth." There was scattered laughter, as most of the
guests knew Tracey
well and were sure Brock was right. "I'd also like to thank Tracey for
ditching the headband, even
though I know it'll be the first thing he puts on tomorrow morning." The
artist blushed, nodding inagreement. Celia hid a laugh behind her hand.
Brock continued: "I know this is typically the part where I would ask
everyone to take a moment
of silence to remember the ones the war took from us, but I'm going to change
this part of ceremonies around a little bit. Though it's true, we should never
forget the past so it won't repeat
itself, we can't dwell there forever as well. Change comes with looking
ahead, and the only way
we'll repair the damage done is by moving forward, not back." He cleared his
throat. "So, I'd like
to propose a toast. To the newlywed couple, may they spend many years in
happiness. To our
planet Nomékop, let it rebuild itself quickly and better than ever. And last,
but certainly not least:
to our children, and their children after that, and so on, may they never
experience war, violence,
or despair. May their vision never be clouded with prejudice and hatred, and
may they lead oursociety to the best future it could possibly hope to have."
Not a single person didn't drink to that.Chapter Index
