Epilogue

One year later:

The sun shone high in the sky above the rebuilt Miracle Town. The denizens of the now flourishing town casually strolled through the streets, stopping to converse with friends. Children shrieked with joy, racing in between the large crowds. Shop owners cheerfully greeted those that passed their stalls, shouting out sales and goods they were selling. Lush trees and vibrant flowers dotted the area, their stray leaves and petals being taken by the wind and blown through the town, adding to its majesty. A little ways left of the stalls were a series of buildings that served as the homes of Miracle Town's citizens.

On the right hand side of town, stood Gallade's Guild, restored to its full glory and then some. Circling the Gallade shaped building were a series of totem poles, each head designed to look like a different Pokémon, that represented the teams that were part of the guild. Each totem pole was even spaced around the guild building, giving the guild the appearance that it had its own forest. Members of the guild came in and out of the building, occasionally stopping to speak with one another. At the mouth of the building stood Tobias with Alistair by his side, both looking at the young Pokémon with looks of pride.

In between the shopping district and the guild, in the center of the plaza, was a new feature of the town. A twelve foot gold statue situated on pedestal, depicting a Lucario with an easy-going grin, a guild badge on his chest of all to see. On the pedestal was a plaque that read: In honor of the brave soul that gave his life for our world. May his explorations be plentiful in the next life.

The statue was finely polished, making it clear that it was well kept. Pokémon who walked past that statue bowed their heads in respect. Even the children would slow down when they passed, not willing to cause any disturbances around the plaza.

North of the plaza, along the nearby hills, were a series of large houses that were specifically for the members of Gallade's Guild. Unlike the the homes of the citizens, not only were these buildings larger, but also appeared older and more run down yet at the same time, there was a certain elegance to these houses. With he majority of the guild members having already gone out for the day, the hill was relatively silent, save for one house in particular that was decorated with blue stars.

"DAMMIT BLITZ!" Bertha screeched, stomping through the guild house, waving her bone menacingly.

"Can't catch me!" Blitz shouted back, dashing around the corner and into their lounge. As he burst into the room, no more was their a small yellow mouse, but instead a larger orange Raichu.

The now Raichu skidded to a halt before he could smash into a chair and quickly ducked behind it. A second, Bertha stormed into the room, her skull helmet covered in graffiti.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" she roared, throwing her bone at Blitz's head.

The electric mouse squeaked and ducked, causing the bone to smash into the wall, cracking it, and bouncing back to Bertha, Realizing he was in danger, Blitz ran from around the chair just as Bertha jumped onto it, knocking it over.

"STAY STILL SO I CAN KILL YOU!"

"No way!"

Jackson, who was already in the room, having been sitting in the room along with Jet and Leaf, who, like Blitz, had reached his final stage, in order to relax, growled in annoyance. As the two continued to shout and carry on, the Umbreon reached his breaking point. His eyes flashed blue with psychic energy and, half a second later, a blue outline surrounded both Bertha and Blitz.

"Hey! What's going on?!" Blitz shouted, finding himself unable to move, Bertha having a similar problem.

With a little effort, Jackson lifted both Pokémon into the air before tossing them towards the window. Both Pokémon yelped as they found themselves lifted off the ground and thrown towards the closed window. With a crash, both Pokémon were sprawled outside.

Not even a second later, the sound of fervent buzzing reached their ears, steadily getting closer. Blade flew into the room, his eyes wide and panicked. He frantically looked around the room before his eyes landed on the ruined window.

"Oh come on!" the Scizor groaned. "That the third one this week!"

"Then those two shouldn't be so annoying," Jackson said with a nonchalant shrug, sinking back into his seat.

Drake took that moment to walk in, he too had underwent his final evolution as was significantly taller and far more intimidating than before. Even so, his yellow eyes held a stoic calm that, while not exactly comforting, were not aggressive unlike many other dragon types. The dragon-ground type cocked his to the side, silently asking what happened.

"Blitz and Bertha," Leaf said, eyes never leaving the television.

Drake nodded in understanding and moved to sit in one of the chairs. At the same time, Blitz and Bertha once more burst into the room, their eyes on Jackson.

"The hell, Jackson?!" Blitz shouted indigently.

"What's the big idea, throwing us through the window?!" Bertha demanded at the same time.

Jackson gave the duo an unimpressed look. "You were interrupting a very important program."

"It's a documentary about the effects of the moon," Jet pointed out with a sweat-drop.

"And it is important!" Jackson huffed, returning his attention back to his program.

Both Blitz and Bertha growled in unison and advanced towards the Umbreon when a cough cut through the room. Everyone turned in unison towards the door to see Asura and Grace standing side by side. Grace looked like she was struggling to contain her laughter while Asura had an annoyed look on his face, though there was a smidgen of fondness in it.

"Dare I ask?" Asura deadpanned, receiving sheepish looks in return. The Medicham sighed in resignation. "Whatever, we've got a new set of missions for today."

Asura pulled out several sheets of paper and began reading them allowed. "There's a rescue mission to Stormy Meadow. Blitz, Jet, you two will be going on that one."

"Alright!" Blitz cheered. "I can finally get away from Bertha!"

Bertha responded by smacking Blitz across the back of his head with her bone, sending the Raichu face first into the floor.

"Moving on!" Asura grunted, glaring at Blitz and Bertha. "The next mission is to Ancient Canyon. There's a Kadabra hiding out from authorities their so I want Jackson and Drake to hunt him down."

"Got it," Jackson said.

"Understood," Drake responded.

Nodding, Asura continued. "Next, a client lost an item while exploring Precipice Mountain. I want Leaf, Katara, and-"

"Katara's not here," Leaf interrupted.

Asura looked up and blinked owlishly at the Sceptile. "What?"

"Katara's not here," Leaf repeated.

"And where is she?" Asura asked, his tone edging towards anger.

"She's...at his grave," Jackson mumbled, just loud enough to be heard.

Immediately, the atmosphere darkened. Smiles were wiped off faces and a depressive aura overtook the group. After several seconds, Grace broke the silence. "How about I go in her stead," she suggested.

"S-Sure." Asura shook his head, quickly regained his composure. "I mean, yes. That will be acceptable."

The Medicham then coughed in a poor attempt at breaking the nervous air. "Anyway, the next mission..."

-Legend-

Meanwhile, while Asura was distributing missions, several miles south of the shopping district, a certain Greninja was kneeling in the midst of several tombstones. The grave in front of her was marked with a small image of a smiling Lucario on it, the words Rest in Peace underneath.

"Hey, DJ," Katara said, a small, sad smile on her face. "Sorry I haven't been able to visit recently. You know how things are, missions every waking hour. Things get rather hectic."

Katara chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. "Anyway, things have been good with Team Stardust. Blitz actually evolved last week. He made such a big deal about it. He actually challenged his brother to a fight to 'show off his insanely powerful skills'." Katara chuckled, thinking back to the hyper Pokémon challenging his brother seconds after evolving. "He lost within two minutes."

Her happy expression soon fell into one of melancholy. "It's been...it's been hard without you here," she admitted a bit mournfully. "I haven't...things haven't been the same since you...left. Without you, these missions just haven't been as fun." She shook her head. "I know that it's about doing what is right, not about fun, but, when I joined the guild, I wanted to go on adventures, to see knew places and discover treasure. Sure, helping others is nice, but it was the thrill of exploration that made me love being part of Team Stardust."

Katara bowed her head. "And when you joined, things got even better. We went on so many adventures, met so many new Pokémon, we even saved the world. Twice! Looking back on it, every moment with you, even when we were scared and close to death, were the best moments of my life."

By that point, Katara was smiling once more, though there was an overwhelming sense of sadness in her expression. "You were my best friends and I thought we'd always be together." Katara felt her eyes beginning to get misty and was quick to wipe her eyes. "Sorry," she apologized, giving a watery laugh. "I promised myself that I wouldn't cry anymore, but it's just so hard, you know."

Katara choked down a sob. "You were always a source of strength to me. With you, I learned how to be strong on my own, but even so, I can't help but feel incomplete." Tears began to flow unbidden down her cheeks. "It honestly feels like a piece of me died when you did, as cliché as that sounds. I just...I just wish that we could have been friends longer!"

At that moment, Katara completely broke down. Weeks and weeks of sadness and anguish spilled forth as she openly sobbed in front of the grave. Memories of her time with the former human played in her mind. When she found him, their first mission, when she was kidnapped by Shiftry, when they fought against Luke, fighting the legendaries, all of it, leading up to DJ's sacrifice. All of her memories, instead of making her happy, just served to add to the grief over the fact that she would never see her friend again.

"Why?!" she shouted to no one. "Why did you have to go?!"

After an hour, Katara's heart-wrenching sobs slowly began ebb away to low sniffles. She pulled her knees to her chest, her arms wrapped around herself. Her eyes were bloodshot and incredibly puffy. She felt tired, exhaustively so. She looked up at the gravestone, at DJ's smiling face, and asked a single question before she drifted off into the realm of unconscious.

"Why'd you leave me?"

-Legend-

Arceus stood in the rebuilt Hall of Origins, a large mirror floating in front of him. Within the mirror, instead of the reflection of the alpha Pokémon, it showed Katara, crying before her friend's grave. A sad expression found its way upon the god's face.

"YOUNG KATARA," the alpha Pokémon spoke, his voice solemn. "YOUNG DJ'S SACRIFICE HAS PLAGUED YOUR HEART FOR SO LONG. YOUR PAIN, I CAN FEEL IT EVEN FROM HERE."

Arceus stepped to the center of the room, gazing impassively at the sealed well. "BECAUSE YOUNG DJ SACRIFICED HIMSELF FOR MY SAKE, AND FOR THE SAKE OF THE WORLD, YOU HAVE KNOWN NOTHING BUT PAIN AND HEARTACHE AND FOR THAT, I AM SORRY. HAD I NOT BEEN SO WEAK WILLED, HE MAY STILL BE ALIVE, AND YET..."

The legendary lowered his head, appraising the thin veil of aura surrounding the well. After several minutes, his green eyes seemed to smile. "AND YET, IT WOULD APPEAR, THAT HE IS NOT ALL GONE. THE AURA HE USED TO SEAL AWAY THE NEGATIVE ENERGY STILL HOLDS A PIECE OF YOUNG DJ. HIS GENETIC MAKE-UP, HIS PERSONALIY, HIS MEMORIES, HIS SOUL, IT IS ALL STILL THERE, WAITING TO BE AWAKENED ONCE MORE."

Arceus turned back towards the floating mirror. Seeing the broken Greninja fueled his decision "FOR EVERYTHING BOTH YOU AND HE HAVE DONE FOR ME AND THIS WORLD, I WILL GRANT YOU THIS ONE WISH. I WILL RETURN YOUR FRIEND TO YOU, KATARA."

Arceus inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. His cross wheel glowed a bright gold, the gems on his wheel shining brightly. "I HOPE THIS CAN BEGIN TO MAKE AMENDS FOR ALL I HAVE DONE."

With those last words, the legendary's eyes snapped open, his emerald green irises burning with power. The golden glow of Arceus' cross wheel grew more intense with every passing second. The entire mountain began to shake as Arceus continued to exert more and more power. As if resonating with his power, the aura veil began to glow with an intense blue light. Arceus bowed his head before throwing it back, a cacophonous bellow tearing from his throat. The golden light of Arceus' cross wheel and azure glow of the veil both reached blinding proportions until the entire hall was blanketed by their combined light.

-Legend-

Back in Miracle Town, the sun was just beginning to set over the graveyard. Katara stirred before opening her eyes. Blearily, she looked around, taking note of the setting sun and encroaching darkness. She sniffed, wiping her eyes in a poor attempt at removing the blurriness from her vision.

"I guess I fell asleep," she slurred, still shaking off her fatigue.

A small glimmer of light floated in front of her face, moving with the breeze. Katara absentmindedly swatted at the light and yawned. She stretched her arms, earning a satisfying crack, when another small orb fluttered in front of her. Once more she batted away the orb without even thinking. She made to get up, already thinking of some excuse to give Asura over where she was, when yet another orb floated in front of her.

Katara was about to bat the orb away like the others when her eyes suddenly snapped open. All tiredness left her body. Looking around, she noticed several more orbs of light floating past her. Following the direction the orbs were going in, Katara gasped when she saw hundreds, maybe even thousands, of the same orbs of light swarming towards DJ's grave.

Katara watched in awe as the orbs converged on one another, forming into one solid orb of light. After several seconds, the orb began dim and shrink in on itself. As it did so, Katara could begin to make out a bipedal thing in the middle of the orb. She tensed, no knowing what the light was or what was in the middle of it.

The orb of light continued to shrink until the form inside began to poke out. The being's legs, whose feet had the appearance that they were on their tiptoes, were thin and covered in black fur from the knees down while its thighs were thicker and blue, almost resembling shorts. Next to break through the lights were the beings thin blue arms and black paws, each with rounded spikes on the back of their paws. A thin blue tail followed by long pointed, canine ears of the same color were next followed by their head, which was verified that the being was indeed canine, with black fur stretching across their closed eyes and in between their ears, ending to four teardrop shaped protrusions that came from the back of the being's head. The light then disappeared completely, leaving a cream colored fur torso with a sing spike in the middle of their chest.

Katara gaped at the newcomer. It was a Lucario. A very familiar Lucario.

"D...DJ?" Katara asked tentatively in a small voice.

The Lucario's face scrunched up before their eyes opened, revealing bright blue eyes. The Lucario appeared dazed, their expression reading drowsy and tired. The aura Pokémon's gaze then found Katara, whose breath hitched at the familiar eyes of her friend, and suddenly all fatigue left their body.

"...Katara?" the Lucario asked.

Katara choked at the familiar voice. Unable to contain herself any longer, the Greninja lunged forward and tackled her friend to the ground, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Not missing a beat, DJ wound his arms around his friend and hugged her back just as fiercely, mindful of his chest spike.

A new round of sobs broke free of Katara as she clutched the Lucario tightly, afraid that he would disappear if she let go. DJ chuckled lightly, his own eyes suspiciously wet. "Hey, now. You'll stain my fur at this rate."

Katara gave a watery chuckle, but did wipe her eyes in an attempt to stem the flow of tears. "Is it...is it really you?" she asked once she had regained some control over herself.

"Yeah, it's me," DJ confirmed with a smirk. "Can't get rid of me that easily."

Katara snorted and tightened her grip. "Don't ever do something that stupid ever again!"

"No promises. You know how I am when it comes stupid ideas," DJ said teasingly, receiving another chuckle in response. DJ then, in a much more serious tone, said, "I promise you, I won't leave you again."

Katara looked up at DJ, her tear filled eyes meeting DJ's blue. She did not need to feel their connection to know that DJ was sincere. "I'll hold you to that."

DJ grinned widely before standing up, causing Katara to yelp as she was pulled up with him. "What do you say we head back to the guild house? I want to see everyone's face when they see I'm not dead!"

Katara laughed loudly at that. "That I'd love to see!"

Both Pokémon smiled at each other and made their way towards their guild house. On the other side of the world, a certain legendary smiled at the image of the duo returning home. All was right in the world.

The End

Hey everyone, AuraFighter here. I would like to thank all of you for reading and supporting my story. Stardust was my first fic I ever wrote and seeing it come to an end, while sad, is satisfying and it is because of all of your support. I would also like to apologize for how Legend's Unleashed turned out. I had more legendary encounters planned for this story, even more flushed out backstories for the rest of Team Stardust, but everything just got away from me. Because of that, I want to thank you all again for sticking with my story despite its short comings. I promise that I will be more careful with Resistance and any other fic that I may write. See you all next time.