Notes: Well, here it is. The end. I feel it's a bit of a letdown. Not that I exactly don't like it, but it's rather lacking in the action and drama I've so enjoyed. I hope the ending's not too abrupt. It was either that, or drag it out forever. I tried to ease into it at least a bit! And I feel like this whole thing is awkward. That's only partially intentional. It doesn't flow well, and the ending is cheesy at best. Blah. I realize how disappointing this is.

If you have the patience, I still have a Jupiter fic running through my head that I may get to some day. We shall see!

I only own the grunts here. Sorry! Nothing else.

…

For the Good of the Team - Epilogue

…

"Hey Mimas," Saturn called. The scientist came over, looking irritated as usual.

"What?" he asked.

"Do you think you could maybe… send your friend there inside or something?" the blue-haired man asked, gesturing at the grunt with faded green hair who was turning a panel over in his hands. "He's almost dropped that twice, and I'm sure we could go twice as fast if we weren't all trying to make sure nothing gets broken."

Mimas smiled grimly. "You told him he could help. I warned you, didn't I?"

"You did," Saturn sighed. "And anyone can see that he means well, but it's like asking Dione to carry a tune."

"…Or asking Tethys to cook?" Mimas snorted.

"He's not… quite this bad," Saturn said, flinching as the grunt tried to hand the panel to Volkner and dropped it. The gym leader just barely caught it.

"Don't be so polite next time. He can take more than he lets on," the scientist said. He raised his voice. "Kore! Go give the lab Pokemon some exercise and quit picking up breakable things!"

Kore turned. "Sorry!" he called. He said something to Volkner, who laughed and waved him away. Saturn strolled over as the grunt ran off.

"This place is almost as good as Sunnyshore for building elevated roads," the blond man said cheerfully. "Sun's not as strong, but it should make enough power to help out a lot with electricity bills around here."

"I really appreciate your help here," Saturn said. "I needed something to do, and I would've had no idea where to begin."

"Hey, I totally get it," said the taller man. "I'm always looking for new projects. Flint likes to try to keep me in the gym, but I just get bored."

"Speaking of your gym, have you heard from Cyrus lately?" Saturn asked.

"Oh yeah, I call or stop by every day. I have to, even with that Alakazam following him around. He asks about you all the time. You should go see him some time!" Volkner grinned. "But he's good. Maybe a little better than me, even. Last I heard, nobody's managed to beat him. In a month. That's pretty incredible, I'd say."

"Does he seem… happy?" the shorter man asked. Cyrus happy was a stretch of the imagination that Saturn wasn't sure he could managed.

"I don't know about happy." Volkner shrugged. "But he looks better than he did at the League. Most of the time, anyway."

"That's good," Saturn said. "I've only talked to him on the phone a few times. And I get the feeling he hates phones. I'd definitely like to visit some day soon."

Volkner carefully set the panel he was holding into a steel frame. "Why don't you, then?"

Saturn blinked, then smiled apologetically. "…I guess I'm still getting used to this freedom of movement thing."

"Didn't stop you when you went to find him before, did it? Besides, now's the perfect time to practice. Go on over, I know he'd love to see you."

"You're sure it's all right? I know there's a lot to do."

"No offense, but you know I can do it better than you can." Volkner grinned good-naturedly. "Don't worry about it, just go."

"Okay," Saturn said cautiously. "Let me just go tell the others." He made his way over to the old Team Galactic warehouse, which had become a decent place to live and work with a few walls knocked out and some major renovations. All the warp panels had been shut down.

"Hey," he said as he walked in. Dione looked up from the computer. "Getting much done in here?"

"I'm almost finished," she said. "The website's looking good. I'll take some pictures for it later."

"Great. I'm going over to Sunnyshore to see Cyrus, in case anyone comes looking for me."

"Okay," said Dione. "Oh, you should visit the beach while you're there. Volkner said this pretty gym leader from Johto's been hanging out there."

The two looked at each other. "Dione," Saturn said carefully. "Is this along the same lines as your attempts to set me up with Gardenia?" It had been one of the most awkward days of his life. He'd gone to talk to the Grass gym leader about selling the Eterna headquarters. Dione had asked to come, and had kept up a constant stream of advice for picking up women. The entire time they were in town. Saturn finally had to send her off to the Global Trade Station.

"I'm just saying, it's something to think about. You might like her, I hear she's nice," said Dione hopefully. "You'll never get any younger, you know? So now's the time to start looking."

Saturn frowned. "I'll never get any younger? I'm only two years older than you!"

"Two and a half," she corrected with a smile.

The blue-haired man shook his head. "I appreciate your… concern… for my romantic endeavors -"

"- Or lack thereof," she added helpfully.

"…Right. But I'm just fine, thanks. And I'll be in Sunnyshore." He started to leave, but called over his shoulder from the door, "Why don't you find yourself a boyfriend? Would that get you to leave me alone?"

"Maybe!" she said cheerfully. "But probably not!"

Saturn sighed as he released the Staraptor they kept for Flying journeys. The flight to Sunnyshore was quick, and he was soon walking along the raised paths towards the gym. As he glanced down at the beach, he did indeed see a girl there, looking out towards the ocean. He stepped into the gym and looked around.

"I'm just here to visit, not to battle," he said to the man leaning against one of the two statues in the front room. "Is there a quick way? Or a back door?"

"Sorry," the man said shortly. "Volkner didn't build this place for cheaters. But he's in Veilstone, and his replacement's out at the lighthouse, last I heard."

Saturn thanked the man and left, frowning as he wondered whether the man ever came out of the gym. It didn't seem likely. He made his way across town, glancing at the huge Munchlax-shaped rock as he went. The elevator ride to the top was quick, and silence hung in the air as Saturn stepped out.

Cyrus stood facing the wall of glass at the back of the lighthouse. A large Alakazam looked up at his approach. The tall man turned in surprise, and his former commander offered a lopsided smile.

"Quite a city you live in these days," he said.

Cyrus's eyes lit up at the sight of Saturn, though the rest of his face didn't change. "I take it you are not here to earn a gym badge?"

"No. I just wanted to visit, and Volkner told me to come. How are you liking being a gym leader?"

"I was warned that it would be boring," said Cyrus. "It is. I hope he finishes his work in Veilstone soon so that I can begin mine."

"It… should be about five more months," Saturn said apologetically.

Cyrus stared out to sea morosely.

"Is Sunnyshore anything like you remember?" Saturn asked quietly.

Cyrus's face changed, though the odd grimace couldn't quite be called a smile or a frown. "Yes. Very much so," he replied.

"Do you hear from Jupiter or Mars much?" the shorter man asked.

"Now and then," Cyrus said shortly. "If I know they will be on television, I watch."

"Me too," said Saturn. "Jupiter's really good in the contests. I figured she would be. But I think Mars expected more interesting assignments than that report on the slight increase in Wingull population south of Sandgem she gave the other day."

"I'm sure she will grow more accustomed to it," Cyrus said distantly, watching a Finneon leap out of the water.

"…Are you doing okay here?" Saturn asked softly after a moment.

"Yes," Cyrus said, almost mechanically, then he turned to Saturn hesitantly. It looked like he might be attempting to smile, but not many others would have recognized the expression. It may have been something else entirely. "But no one else cooks potatoes quite like you."

Saturn raised an eyebrow, then started to laugh. "That's probably a good thing! I'd hate to think you had to live on that all this time!"

Cyrus's face melted into a frown. "That is not what I meant. You -"

"No, no, I was joking," Saturn assured him. "I thought that's what you were trying to do."

"I… was." Cyrus shifted uncomfortably.

Saturn looked at him uncertainly, then smiled. The older man didn't seem to have lost any visible weight, so he must have been eating for the past month. "Good. How's that working out?" He gestured towards the Alakazam.

"It is less of a nuisance than I expected," Cyrus admitted.

"That's good to hear. Rowan's got one too, I hear he thinks it gets in the way."

"I suspect he has more to do than I," said Cyrus a bit resentfully.

"Probably," agreed Saturn. "But you could find things. Every town's got legends. I'm sure if you ask around, people will tell you. You could start your project here."

Cyrus brightened up a little.

"And that girl at the beach is a gym leader from Johto, or so Dione tells me. And she seems to know everything that goes on anywhere in Sinnoh. I'll get she's got some interesting stories from there."

Cyrus's face fell. "She seemed frightened of me when I saw her yesterday. So do… a number of people."

"You're not…" Saturn looked the tall man up and down. "Well, you're not THAT scary. But I know that's what people will think."

"I believe they would rather see a rampaging Machamp in a dark alley than see me walking across town," Cyrus said glumly.

"Then convince them you're not that bad. You're not doing anything wrong. Try talking to them," Saturn advised. "Once you get past the initial reaction, things will get easier. Probably the worst thing you can do is hide out in the gym or in here, and never let people see you. I did that at first. Talking to people's a lot harder, especially when they have a good reason to blame you for the wrongs of the world, but it's much better in the long run, trust me."

Cyrus watched him for a moment before nodding doubtfully.

Saturn grinned. "…And I hear you're amazing at the gym. That should earn you some popularity points."

"Perhaps," Cyrus said, though he didn't really seem convinced. "How are things in Veilstone?"

"They're going well. We made the warehouse into a smaller headquarters, and we've been working on the solar roads. They really seem to work well here."

Cyrus nodded. He seemed to want to say something.

"Do you miss it?" Saturn guessed quietly.

Cyrus nodded again slowly, and looked out towards the Munchlax rock. "Certain parts. Yes." His eyes flicked to Saturn for a moment.

"You know, we've still got plenty of extra room," the ex-commander said. "When you're done filling in for Volkner, you could stay with us for a while."

"I would… like that," the tall man said, with visible effort. "For a while."

The two men stood in silence for a while. A flock of Wingull flew by. The elevator dinged behind them.

"Hey!" a girl's voice called. "Is the gym leader up here?"

Cyrus turned slowly. The young girl took a step back, then glared and took two steps forward.

"Are you the gym leader?" she asked.

"I am," Cyrus replied flatly. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, you can! I challenge you to an official gym battle!" She pointed up at his face, then glared at Saturn, who was stifling a laugh. "And your friend there can shut up, unless he wants to face my Pokemon too!"

Cyrus appeared shocked to his core. Saturn managed to stop laughing long enough to nudge Cyrus. The taller man jumped away, his eyes darting from the girl to Saturn. Finally, he turned back to her.

"…Very well. Please allow me a moment to… prepare."

The trainer rolled her eyes and stomped back to the elevator. It took her down quickly.

"I guess not everybody's afraid of you," Saturn said, smiling in amusement. "Mind if I go with you as far as the gym door?"

The older man shook his head silently, and they stepped into the elevator. Neither spoke as they rode down, or as they walked through town. Saturn smiled politely at the citizens of Sunnyshore. Cyrus regarded them with mutual trepidation.

"Next time I'd love to see a gym battle," said Saturn as they stopped at the gym door.

"When will you be back?" Cyrus asked with hesitant eagerness.

"I don't know… Probably whenever you want." Saturn grinned, savoring his freedom. "…But not too often, I do have work to do."

"Of course. Perhaps… once a week?" Cyrus asked hopefully. "Is that… too much?"

"Probably not. I'll try, anyway. I'll give you a call if I can't. And I'll see if Jupiter or Mars can come sometimes, too."

"All right." Cyrus looked like he was really trying to smile this time, with even more success. Or possibly he could have been about to cry. But when no tears followed, Saturn decided it had to be some attempt at a smile. "I'll look forward to it."

"So will I!" said the shorter man. "So… if everything works out, I'll see you in a week?"

Cyrus nodded, almost enthusiastically. Then he hesitated. "And… Saturn… Thank you."

"You're welcome," Saturn replied with a smile. "I'm really glad it worked out for everyone. Good luck in your battle," he added, when Cyrus made no move to go inside.

The tall man blinked. "Oh. Thank you. Until next week, then." He reluctantly backed through the door.

Saturn turned to leave as well, and waved over his shoulder. Cyrus awkwardly returned the gesture.

At the edge of town, Saturn released his Staraptor. "Let's stop by the Valor Lakefront Hotel first," he said, patting the large bird. "This is a good day for real food, and they have some good stuff. Can you carry enough for all of us?"

"Raptorrrr."

"Great! Let's go, then!" Saturn grabbed on as the Pokemon took off. There really wasn't any need to fly at all, but he liked to give the bird a chance to stretch his wings.

There was a small TV on the counter where Saturn placed his order. The sound was muted, but Saturn was pleased to see a triumphant Mars reporting on a coordinator fund raiser. Jupiter sat just a few chairs away from Fantina, in a stunning pale red gown. Saturn realized that he'd never recognized how beautiful his friend could be before. He also realized that if he ever shared that thought, he was likely to be hit. Jupiter was blushing slightly, and smiling. As Saturn took his bags of food, the camera panned the audience, and he was surprised to see Lucian clapping in the front row.

"Interesting," he commented as he released Staraptor again. "I'll have to go see her next contest. Very interesting. Hm." He looked at the big bags of takeout boxes. "Do you think you can carry these in your claws?

"Starrr," the big Pokemon confirmed.

"Good." Saturn set them down and held on again as the bird launched into the air and back winged to grab the bags. The plastic whipped wildly in the wind as they flew off towards their city. Their home.