A/N My 19th birthday was two days ago, so this final chapter of Love and Calamity is sort of a late birthday present to myself; the conclusion of my very first story! So, here it is, finally, the epilogue. The very last chapter of Love and Calamity. It's taken me over a year to finish it and it's certainly been an experience for me as a writer. I think you'll all agree that my later chapters were much better than my earlier ones. Now all that remains is a few final edits to my story. After this if any of you see messages saying this story has updated it's just me fixing various spelling mistakes and areas where I've accidentally used the wrong word and not noticed. (Spellchecker isn't as good as I thought)

I would like to thank everyone who has added me and this story to their alerts and favourites and especially everyone who reviewed and gave me the encouragement and constructive criticism I needed to write this story.

But you don't want me rambling, so here it is; the epilogue of Love and Calamity!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story except my OCs and original plot!

Chapter Twenty Five

Epilogue

It was late in the evening in the verdant woodlands of Lyra Forest. The sun was dipping below the vibrant green canopy and the sky was set aflame with gold and red, darkening to purple as black night drew its shroud over the forest. The quietening song of the day birds was the backdrop to the beauty that was entrancing two young lovers who were lying at the base of the much-famed Middle Tree.

Solana was held close to her boyfriend, his arms wrapped around her shoulders as she rested her head against the crook of his neck. The couple were oblivious to everything around them except for the beauty of the evening and each other. Solana sighed in contentment as she burrowed closer into Lunick's embrace, "It's beautiful, isn't it?" She murmured softly.

"Yes, it is." He said, not even bothering to look at the sunset, focused as he was upon the girl at his side.

"We'll have to go back soon you know, Spenser will be wondering where we've gotten to." Solana said.

Lunick shook his head, "In a little while. I'm enjoying the quiet."

"It has been busy, hasn't it?" Solana asked with a wry smile, "All that rebuilding work and mopping up the Shadow Dragons."

"It's hard to believe it's been four months already." Lunick said, "It seems like only yesterday we were attending the reopening ceremony of the Capture Arena."

Solana laughed lightly, "That was yesterday!" She smirked at him and shook her head, "But I know what you mean… things should get back to normal now that the repair work in Fall City is almost finished."

Lunick made a disbelieving sound, "I doubt it. There's still too much work to be done up in Wintown. They're practically rebuilding the entire village!"

"Aw c'mon, it's not that bad. At least we get to spend more time with Chris, Elita and Fred. Besides most of the groundwork has been completed and the Wintown Rangers have most of it handled. The closest thing to an emergency we've had is Tailow running off again!"

Lunick smiled, "I guess so…" He hesitated for a second and then with a suddenly quiet, hesitant tone he asked, "Do you ever… do you ever have nightmares?"

Solana hesitated and then nodded without saying a word.

Lunick sighed and nodded, "Yeah, me too. Sometimes I wake up and… well… Sometimes I'm still stuck in that cave in Summerland with no way out… sometimes it's during the eclipse and The Shadow Dragon is taunting me again, showing me all of my friends, the ones he's killed or broken or…" Lunick trailed off.

"It… It'll get better." She said softly, "I used to have a lot of nightmares after we got back to Ringtown, but they… faded I guess. I don't have them too often now, not when I know you're here, that you're safe…"

Lunick nodded, a sad look on his face, "You still don't talk much about what happened after I was captured. When Ector said I'd… that he'd killed me."

"It doesn't matter. He didn't. You're alive, safe. That's all that matters to me." Solana said, sitting up so that she was facing him, "The Shadow Dragon is gone, his organisation has been crushed, his men are in jail and the Staff of Aema is dust."

Lunick nodded, smiling slightly, "Yeah, I know… it's just… hard, you know?"

Solana's mouth twisted into a bittersweet smile, "Yeah, I know."

Lunick stood up and stretched before leaning down to help Solana to her feet, "It's late. It's time we got back." He said, indicating the horizon where the Evenstar had already risen as the last of the sun's light faded into darkness.

Solana nodded, "Lead the way."

They walked together in companionable silence through the darkening forest. They weren't hurrying, so night had fully fallen by the time the twinkling lights of Ringtown came into view. The moon had risen behind the town, framing it in its soft silvery glow. The pair made their way through the almost empty streets. Occasionally people greeted them on their way home, once or twice they stopped to chat with them, exchanging news and generally being friendly.

When they had finally reached the Ranger Base, Solana and Lunick were smiling broadly, laughing about something one of the townspeople had said. Spenser was stood outside the doors, arms crossed with an annoyed look on his face, "You're late."

The pair sobered up and straightened, both of them saluting, "Uh, sorry Leader!" Solana said, "Our patrol in Lyra Forest took longer than expected!"

"Yeah we, uh, we had to capture this Venusaur that was rampaging around the Middle Tree. It had this thorn stuck deep in one of its feet." Lunick explained.

"Uh huh… right." Spenser said, "And that's why Fearow here spotted you lazing about under the Middle Tree for over two hours?" The bird landed next to his Ranger Partner and cawed at them.

Lunick and Solana at least had the decency to blush and look sheepish.

Spenser rolled his eyes, "Well, I guess I can't blame you guys for having a little time to yourselves, Arceus only knows you two deserve a break after all of the running around you guys have been doing these past few months, what with all of the rebuilding and the Shadow Dragon remnant groups." Their Leader gave them a stern look, "Just don't do this again! If you want a break take a holiday, don't slack off on duty!"

"Of course Leader!" Solana said, an embarrassed look on her face, "We won't do it again!"

"Good." Spenser said, "Now go to bed. It's late enough already and I want you both well-rested in preparation for a mission tomorrow." Lunick and Solana both saluted and made their way into the Ranger Base, before they reached the elevator however, they heard Spenser shout, "And stay in your own rooms! I didn't go to all that trouble having Solana's room repaired just to have her spend every other night with you, Lunick!"

They both went red, with mortified expressions on their faces as the Operator and the few Rangers still in the lobby all stared at them with smirks on their faces. "Spenser!" Lunick cried, "We don't-"

Spenser grinned at them, "Consider that your punishment for slacking off!"

The couple fled before Spenser could think of any more ways to embarrass them.

Lancelot tugged at the collar of his new Ranger uniform. It was just his luck that they had issued him a uniform a size too small, and that they wouldn't get one in his size for more than a week. At least it's better than standing in metal armour under the sweltering sun of the Olive Jungle for days on end. He thought with a shake of his head, Or travelling through jungles, mountains and frozen caverns in armour. I bet this uniform will be an Arceus-sent blessing compared to my old attire.

"Ranger Reginald! Stop daydreaming!" Shouted the Ranger Instructor, a hulking bear of a man with the booming voice and bad temperament of a drill sergeant. Lancelot was certain the man had been in the army at some point prior to his current role. He was regarded with an odd mix of terror and respect by all of the trainees. Except him. If the instructor thought Lancelot was the least bit intimidated by him, he had never seen his late brother, Lawrence the self-styled 'Shadow Dragon', truly angry.

That said, it wasn't wise to anger his instructor too much. Just because Lancelot wasn't intimidated it didn't mean he wanted his life to be made as close to a living hell as humanely possible. "Yes sir." The former knight said tersely.

"Now, since all of you came to Almia to learn to be true Rangers here at the Union's Ranger Academy I intend to teach you! Since you find my teaching methods so boring, Reginald, you can have first go at trying to capture this Golem!" The Instructor shouted with his typical ire.

Lancelot stepped forward and activated his newly issued Styler. He'd handed in his Sword-Styler and his armour after the Battle of the Fiore Temple, intending to give up on his old career, when Spenser had suggested that he go to Almia to receive formal Ranger training. Lancelot had jumped at the chance to turn his skills to a good cause and had readily agreed. Now, as he faced the boulder-like Pokemon, he found himself missing the added protection his old armour had afforded him, and the reassuring weight of his old Sword-Styler.

It had taken him some time to get used to the smaller, more agile device but he had long since overcome the various bad habits that the use of a Sword-Styler had ingrained upon him, such as his tendency to move the Styler about in much wilder, wider swings than was necessary, and he was just as proficient with a normal Styler as he was with his old blade. He demonstrated this by easily capturing the Golem with a skilful, graceful twirl of his Styler, sending the Capture Disc spinning at lightning speeds around the Rock-Type, effortlessly dodging the single Rock Throw attack the Golem had managed to use before it finally submitted. The other trainee Rangers, standing off to the side, well-clear of the battle, cheered and clapped as Lancelot deactivated the Styler with a flourish and bowed, a smirk on his face.

Just because he didn't want to overly antagonise his instructor didn't mean he didn't want to show the man that he was even more talented at Capturing than him. Lancelot had years of experience, after all, using a Sword-Styler, which was even harder to use than a regular Styler..

The giant man snorted at the display, "Good enough." He said gruffly, though there was no mistaking the grudging respect in his tone, "For a first try anyway. Ranger Laura Davidson, you're up next. You're facing an Ariados! Watch out for the webs!"

Lancelot smiled to himself as he swapped places with a wide-eyed female Ranger. It was obvious from her shaking knees that she was one of those girls that had an irrational terror of Bug-Types, just as he passed her he muttered, "Ariados are fast, but if you can avoid hitting the webs it shoots you'll have no trouble, just keep a close eye on it."

She gave him a grateful look and she straitened her back. She seemed more confident with his advice in mind.

Lancelot stood well back and watched her as she captured the Ariados with only minor difficulty, managing to avoid the webs it shot towards her and capturing it before it could run too far from her.

I think I'll like it here. Though I can't wait to get back out into the field… He thought to himself.

The Council were again sat on their marble and gold thrones behind the long marble table that separated them from the Umbreon stood before them, his head bowed in submission. Several feet behind the Umbreon was a crowd of other beings. Many were Pokemon, a few were even Legendaries, but most were not. Here and there were humans and other creatures less familiar to the denizens of the Pokemon World. At the forefront of this large gathering of beings was an Espeon.

Floating on her throne, slightly larger than the others and at the centre of the table, was the entity that called herself Serenity. Still within her favourite form, that of a Mew, she gazed down upon Shadow with a stern gaze, "Shadow, former member of this distinguished Council and member of The Covenant. You have been found guilty of crimes against The Covenant, The Balance, Pokemon and Humanity. Your actions would have led to the ultimate destruction of at least one world and the possible destruction of many others. You also stand accused of wilfully altering a Human, known by the name of The Shadow Dragon, and through said alterations causing him to become cruel, arrogant and quite possibly insane." She paused to allow the full gravity of her words fall upon the Umbreon before her, "Each of these crimes listed, and the many others of which you stand accused, are of a grave nature. The penalty for any one of them is exile, incarceration in the Everdark, or death. Your guilt has been proven by your own confession and thus this hearing is to decide your fate. Before this Council passes sentence do you have anything to say?"

The Umbreon finally looked up at Legendaries sat in judgement of him and said, "I will say only that I will take any punishment you see fit without complaint, nor will I attempt to escape. I have seen the error of my ways and wish to pay in full for my crimes."

"Then this Council will now pass sentence." Serenity said, "Due to her personal involvement in this matter, Councillor Seer has abstained from deliberations therefore there are only six members of The Council presiding today. In the case of a deadlock I shall have the deciding vote. Now, all in favour of exile?"

No one on the Council spoke. Not that anyone expected that they would ever exile Shadow. Since the whole Shadow Dragon debacle had come from his own self-imposed exile from The Covenant there was no way they would ever allow him to roam free again.

"Very well." Serenity said levelly, "All in favour of execution?"

This time there was a cacophony of shouts.

"Aye!" Shouted Forge, the Moltres.

"Aye!" This was from Fury, the Zapdos.

"Aye." Sol, the Ho-Oh said coldly.

"We have never imposed the death-sentence upon one of our own before. I do not wish to set a precedent. Nay." Said the Lugia, Luna.

"I think Shadow has realised his wrong-doing. I will not execute someone who is truly repentant. Nay." This was from the Articuno, Siren.

All eyes turned towards the Mew at the centre of the table, "What Shadow has done is a terrible thing, and if he had not been stopped it could have been far worse. However, if he is executed then he will be unable to provide reparations for his crimes. I think it is best that he lives, so that he may pay in full for what he has done. Nay. Since this deadlocks the vote, my vote takes precedence. Shadow shall not be executed."

The three males on the Council grumbled sourly amongst each other, casting dark looks at Shadow and Serenity surreptitiously.

"Order!" Serenity snapped, glaring at them, "This trial has not yet concluded!" When they had quietened down, she said, "Good. Now then, it seems that incarceration in the Everdark is the only recourse. In accordance with the severity of his crimes I suggest that Shadow will be incarcerated for a sentence of six million years, with the possibility of parole after he has served the first million years of his sentence. All in favour?"

This time the vote was unanimous.

Serenity nodded, "Then it is decided. It is this Council's decision that Shadow is to be sent to the Everdark, to serve a sentence of six million years. However before this sentence is put into effect, I move that his sentence is suspended on the condition that he serve it under a chaperone and that if he ever interferes with the mortal realms, even in a minor capacity, that he be sent to the Everdark to serve his sentence in full with no chance of parole and that upon the conclusion of said sentence a hearing will be held to determine whether he is sentenced to a further term of incarceration."

This suggestion brought about an uproar both with the crowd and the Council itself. It took some time for Serenity to re-establish calm, and when she did she glared at everyone with cold anger, "Order!" The various creatures attending shied away from her gaze. Once they had all settled she resumed the trial, "Better. Now, I put the motion to a vote. Bear in mind, Councillors, that Shadow has already surrendered all of his powers of his own free will and that we have already bound him to the form of an Umbreon. All in favour of suspending the sentence?"

"Before we decide, I want to know which sap you're going to dump that wretch on!" Forge snapped, gesturing one flaming wing towards the Umbreon standing below them.

"Seer." Serenity said calmly.

"Seer!?" He asked, startled.

"Seer." She said firmly.

"She can't be trusted!" He spluttered, "As soon as our backs are turned she'll loose him back on the mortals!"

"Seer is the one that brought him to trial, knowing that he could end up dead or imprisoned." Serenity reminded him, "She could have absconded with him, and yet both are here. We have no reason to doubt her integrity. If we command that she prevent Shadow from interfering with Humans then she will ensure that command is carried out in full."

"So you say!" He retorted, "I am against this! Lock him up!"

"It is too great a risk!" Fury said, gesturing a spiky yellow wing at the Umbreon, "He is too dangerous."

"You always were a sentimental fool Serenity!" Sol snapped, "I won't allow him to walk free!"

Siren, the Articuno shook her icy-blue head, "I, at least, trust her judgement. She hasn't led us astray yet. I'll give Shadow the chance to fix his mistakes."

"You all know my position." Serenity said, "What say you, Luna?"

All eyes turned upon the Lugia at the far left. She seemed deep in thought, "It is… a risk." She said finally, "His callous disregard for the lives of Humans and Pokemon, his blind lust for the power of the Staff of Aema, all these say that he should not go free… However, his original intentions were good. He sought the power not for himself but in order to use it to protect their world. He sought to take the destiny of the Pokemon World out of the hands of Humans who were prone to weakness, violence and self-interest… That he was mistaken we all agree on. Even Shadow realises that he was wrong, and I doubt he would make the same mistake twice, not whilst Seer keeps an eye on him."

"Your vote, then?" Serenity asked.

"I vote that sentence will be suspended, with the caveat that Shadow is also exiled from the Pokemon World, never to return so long as it exists." She said.

Serenity nodded, "I assume that you accept those terms, Shadow?"

"I do." He said, "If it is the Council's will." He added.

"It is." Serenity said firmly, "This Council hereby sentences Shadow to six million years of incarceration in the Everdark, suspended upon the conditions hence forth set; that he no longer interferes with mortals, that he is bound to a single form, that he is stripped of his powers and that he is exiled forever from the Pokemon World." She paused to allow everyone to absorb her proclamation, "This session of the Council is concluded. Councillors, you may adjourn."

Deep beneath the steaming jungles of Summerland, beneath the ruins of the first of many Shadow Dragon hideouts destroyed by the accursed Rangers, the last group of Shadow Dragons were hard at work trying to rebuild their depleted stockpile of Stylers. But with most of their resources seized or destroyed and their Foundry long since turned to ash and slag there was precious little they could do.

Their leader, a former Captain, was making his rounds of the bunker's south entrance, making certain that his sentries weren't sleeping on the job, or playing poker, like they were when he'd last made his rounds. He rounded the corner, "Right you lot, I expect that you've cleaned up your act by now! You're just lucky we weren't found by the Ran-" He stopped and stared at the green-and-brown uniformed people crowding into the tiny room that led to the south entrance, "-gers."

"Stop him before he raises the alarm!" Cameron hissed to the group of Summerland Rangers around him.

The Captain gulped and turned to run, taking a deep breath in preparation for shouting his mouth off. If he could just warn the others- too late! Something smacked into the back of his head and he pitched forward, slamming into the dirt of the tunnel floor.

"Nice shot Leilani!" Percy said with a grin.

The blond-haired girl smirked, throwing another rock into the air and then catching it, "Thanks, I've been practising."

The Rangers quickly tied up the Captain and gagged him, like they had done to his sentries. He struggled, glaring at them, shouting vile oaths that were thankfully muffled into inaudibility by the cloth stuffed into his mouth. "Okay, time to clean out this nest of snakes too." Cameron said as he and his Rangers headed towards the tunnel that led deeper into the hidden bunker.

An hour later and it was all over. Thirty Shadow Dragon Grunts, in addition to the five sentries and the Shadow Dragon Captain they'd captured earlier, were all being hauled into various all-terrain vehicles for transport back to Summerland where they'd be taken by ship to Fall City for trial. All of the Grunts had seen better days. Many were thin, dirty and in threadbare uniforms that were in sore need of repair. The Sword-Stylers they had once possessed were piled next to the bunker's southern entrance. All of them were scuffed, rusted, scratched and pitted. In other words everything about these Grunts and their equipment screamed of neglect and hard times. Cameron was standing guard over the Grunts as they were loaded onto the buggies, jeeps and other conveyances, a satisfied look on his face, "Not bad for a day's work, eh Leilani?"

"You said it Leader." She replied with a smile, "I reckon this is the last we've seen of this sorry lot in Summerland."

Percy walked up to them and saluted to Cameron, "That's the last of them, Cameron. I think we're all done here!"

"Good work Percy." He said approvingly, "I think it's time we headed back home. Anyone want to stop by the Safra Sea Challenge on the way back?"

Leilani giggled, "Still trying to beat Lunick's record?"

Cameron chuckled good-naturedly, "Guess so." Then he made an irritated noise, "Actually I heard that Solana recently beat the record. I doubt I'm ever going to get the chance to catch up with those two!"

As the three began walking back into the jungle Percy smiled, "Don't give up Cameron! You're still Summerland's Challenge Champion where I'm concerned!"

"Yeah, same here! You'll get your record back, just you watch!"

Cameron grinned broadly, "Thanks you guys! Let's hurry back! The waves are calling to me! Today is the day I finally knock the Ringtown Titans off their Capture Challenge pedestals!" He punctuated the statement with an exuberant punch into the air.

His fellow Rangers chuckled at his enthusiasm and cheered him on all the way back to Summerland.

A/N It was actually harder to write this than I thought, since this was the very end and it was difficult to write a fitting ending to the story. I spent a fair bit of time deliberating on what punishment Shadow was going to get, so I finally settled on the six million years suspended sentence. Some of you might think that he got off lightly, but I don't think so; he's going to live the rest of his existence with the threat of getting locked up hanging over him, plus he's been stripped of all of his powers so he's basically just a semi-normal Umbreon now.

Anyway… This story is done so I'll finally start updating Light and Shadow, Day and Night, plus I've got a Kung Fu Panda fic that I've been working on when I got writers block with this story, I've already written six chapters to it and depending on my whims I might stretch it over two stories, possibly a trilogy.

Oh, and to answer Col's question, since the Rangers destroyed the Staff Seer won their argument over the Covenant's methods, which is why Shadow surrendered at the end, so they've settled it… though that doesn't mean she's entirely forgiven him just yet…

And to 'Guest' - I'll be working on editing the chapters to remove all the spelling mistakes and things and, if you could tell me what parts were hard to understand that'd be great; I'll edit them to be clearer. By the way the capitalisation of 'God' was completely intentional; i wanted to emphasise how far The Shadow Dragon had fallen into his own power-hungry insanity, since by the end he thought he'd become a true god, even more powerful than Arceus.

That's it from me, though if anyone would like to post reviews on my other story too… it'd be appreciated.