Chapter Eighty

Everyone sat nursing wounds. Macro huddled between DL and Anchor as Cookie rummaged through his bag for healing berries. Web tended to Time Archeops' collective injuries, despite Waveform's gripes at her own. Widget was the one playing doctor for his own team, nattering away loudly as he worked. The Ultra Beasts sported the worst injuries of everyone, but Rave wasn't sure what good System's berries would do. Regardless, he'd taken some after Cookie's insistence, which the nihilego and xurkitree puzzled over.

The air in Seed City had returned to normal, but none of them had wanted to stay in it. They'd left once everyone had gathered themselves together, spreading out over the faux grass that surrounded it. Macro gazed across at the city. Ruined. A far cry to its former glory. But yet there was hope.

His eyes fell on Yobi, sitting far away from them with Axle with his back against a tree stump. The emolga had insisted on keeping the raichu company, much to his complaints. Zero Day twirled its head back and forth, seemingly oblivious to the conversations going on around it. The vikavolt weapon lay discarded at Yobi's side and he flexed his fist while munching on a sitrus berry. Despite what had happened to System, he had certainly helped them get rid of Distortion.

Macro pushed himself to his feet.

"Where are you goin'?" Anchor asked.

"I need to speak to Yobi," Macro explained. "I'll be back, don't worry."

The granbull thrust an oran berry into Macro's paws. "Well, take that with you. Either you eat it, or give it to him. Looks like he might need it."

Macro took it and turned to head towards the raichu.

DL stood and trotted after him. "Wait. I'm coming too."

He paused to look over his shoulder. "You sure? I mean... well, he really... you know..."

"I don't care," said DL. Then she shrugged and rubbed the back of her head. "Well... I do care. But he helped us, and I need to put this grudge aside and move on."

Macro took a deep breath and stared down at the oran berry. "That's what I'm doin'. Hopefully he'll listen."

The pair approached Yobi, drawing his eye. He clutched his aching arm and narrowed his eyes.

"What do you two want?" he growled.

"Peace." Macro offered him the oran berry.

The raichu leered at it and shuffled backwards against his perch. His eyes snapped back to Macro and he flashed a canine.

"After all the pain you've put me through?" Yobi spat. "You want peace?"

Macro shrugged. "As much as it might have seemed a good idea at the time to you, I think we both know your plan was flawed."

"It wasn't flawed at all!" Yobi snapped. "You just got in the way!"

"That doesn't matter," said Macro. "BackDoor could have dragged Distortion into all this without my meddling. Who's to say he wouldn't have killed Socket regardless?"

Yobi grimaced and lowered his face in one paw. "The threats were there. She refused to have a kill switch installed." He jerked his head back up and snarled. "But that's not the point! You took Download Database-"

He pointed a claw at DL who slapped it aside.

"I am not, and was not ever a computer!" she snapped.

Macro placed a paw on her shoulder and she retreated into herself, hugging her arms about her torso.

Yobi kept one leering eye on DL as he returned to his arm. Axle caught his attention and shook his head.

"I can't say I agree with your actions, turning this poor lass into a computer," said the emolga. "I mean, what good would that serve?"

"It was a perfect undercover plan."

Yobi caught the leers of the pokemon around him. Even Zero Day managed to look unimpressed.

The raichu sighed and waved a paw. "But I agree. Socket's idea to turn Loop into a computer was nuts. I wasn't all for it at first, but she got to me. Okay? Like she manages to get to everyone!" He paused and buried his head in his paws. "'Managed'. Argh, I still can't believe she's gone."

DL wrung her paws together and glanced away from him, towards the ruins. "Neither can I."

Yobi looked back up at her and his expression softened. "I guess she did raise you."

"Yes, but she was full of lies." DL took a steadying breath and turned back to him. "But... I suppose you were her friend."

Yobi shrugged and fidgeted his claws together. "I had known her for years. There's a lot she'd tell me that she'd never breathe to anyone else." He paused and looked at each of them in turn. "S'pose there's no harm in telling you now. Might make you see her ideas differently."

Macro exchanged glances with DL. He took a deep breath and shifted his weight to one leg.

"Okay," he said. "Enlighten me. Other than trying to find a new world for her elites, what was the main motive behind her plan?"

"That was kinda it," said Yobi. "But... the world she was looking for? She wanted to find a world with humans."

"To turn them into computers?" DL asked. "Like me?"

"Not just that." Yobi scratched between his ears. "She didn't talk about it much, okay, but her family were in the circle. The one that believe they're descended from humans. I was in it too, but I kinda wanted to break away. I met Socket and we both had our own ideas. Our own wants. We wanted to meet these humans. Myself for a pure scientific reason. Hers was just curiosity. She wasn't convinced they were real, but her experiences in System were less than desirable. She lost family to the toxic air, and the ruffians really shook her. All the news about crime, space pirates causing trouble... after a while she was scared stiff of going out. She kept looking back at the times when humans came into System. The changes they made. Getting lost in stories pokemon brush off as fiction. It's all long forgotten about now, reduced to myth status. Who knows what's true and what isn't? But the fact they came to System at all is true, and I think Switch and Annie have proved that to us.

"I, however, wasn't interested in the 'fairy tales'. I wanted to find out what makes them tick. How different are they to us? All that stuff."

"So you wanted to dissect them." Macro grit his teeth together, biting back the urge to lay into the raichu.

Yobi waved him off with his stronger paw. "Water under the bridge. I ain't gonna do it. I can go into this... scientific rampage where the moral line is blurred. I don't know much about humans, but I know enough now to know we're similar. They're sentient, we're sentient. Killing one to chop them up would be immoral."

"Kind of like turning a pokemon into a computer?" said DL.

Macro caught her eye and she shook her head, turning her face away from the raichu. She pawed at her ear and Macro saw her bite her lip.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Maybe I shouldn't talk for a while."

Yobi watched her for a moment then closed his eyes. "I'm sorry I did that to you."

She jolted and slowly turned back to him.

"She made me," he went on. "Socket was pretty scary when she was mad. I had to do it. I told her destroying your memory disks would be murder. If I hadn't put my foot down, you wouldn't even have got them back."

DL shuffled her feet and diverted her gaze back to the city. "Well... thank you."

Macro rolled his eyes and tilted his head back to the sky. "So Socket thought she was human?"

"Part human," said Yobi. "All the evidence was there. She kept it under her hat."

"Whoa!" The voice hadn't come from any of them.

They all turned to spot Tweak standing with his mouth agape, staring at them.

"She was part human?" He hopped up and down jingling noisily. "That's huge!"

"Where on earth did you get off to?" DL snapped.

"Duh!" Tweak fixed his beady eyes on hers. "I ran! I wasn't sticking around after that guy went berserk! BackDoor went down and that was it. I was off!" He hopped over Yobi's knees to land between him and the vikavolt. "Is this another one? He weren't half bad, that BackDoor, I liked him."

"What?" Yobi grabbed the chingling by his hairs and held him at eye level. "He killed Socket!"

Tweak lifted his paws and laughed. "I was kidding! Can you take a joke? That guy was scare-ry!"

Yobi dropped the tiny pokemon and sighed, leaning back against the tree stump.

"Well," he said. "I guess after this... I need to find a new lab."

Macro narrowed his eyes in thought. DL shifted beside him and she slowly approached the raichu.

"You could... help rebuild System?" she said. "You have the mechanical know-how. You could build something that could really help. Make this the 'perfect world' she was looking for? Free of poison, where everyone gets along."

Yobi met her eyes and his mouth turned into a frown. "That ideal world doesn't exist."

"But you were lookin' for it," said Macro.

Yobi shrugged. "I was looking for it for her. Just taking the elites - no criminals, no dark types, no ghost types, no bugs... it was all for her." He wound his paws together and turned away from them. "I just want to be alone right now, okay?"

Macro nodded and placed the berry beside him. He took DL's paw and steered her away, back to their friends.

...

It took about a month to restore System's major cities. The Ultra Beasts, along with Switch, insisted on staying to help rebuild, the nihilego in particular aiding with the restoration of the more toxic infused areas. While they worked, gateways were opened to Deep Sea, allowing the poisonous air to be sucked away, high up enough to avoid catching any unsuspecting pokemon.

Slowly but surely, System began to recover. Pokemon rallied across the region to work together. Those in System Sky came down to help their brethren on System Ground, and vice versa.

Macro eyed the restored Meta City and leant back against the remains of a mechanical tree.

"Don't think we'll be needin' these anymore, eh?" Anchor nudged a filter leaf with his toe then stood beside him, his paws tucked behind his back.

Macro nodded stiffly and licked his lips. "I just can't believe I'm looking at this place, knowing Socket isn't living in it... yet it still scares me."

"Memories take a while to adjust." Anchor shifted and looked down at him. "Give it time."

N0ize strolled from the city and tossed a huge lump of mortar into a skip. He beat his paws together, laughing joyously.

"Think that's the last of it!" he said.

The xurkitree manning the skip chattered in its peculiar language and rushed away, its body sparking as it gained momentum. Just outside the outskirts, Onmon waited to dispose of the rubble. The guzzlord puzzled Macro. All that rubble went somewhere, but it never left any waste whatsoever. It was the cleanest cleanup crew System had ever seen. He couldn't help but wonder what its world must be like.

N0ize spotted Macro and Anchor and grinned broadly as he joined them.

"Lookin' good, eh?" he said as he admired the city. "If I were seein' it for the first time, I'd never suspect it had been hit with a disaster."

Macro followed his gaze. Switch circled the city with a pair of nihilego, checking for anything that may have been missed.

"Aye," said Macro. "They've helped a lot. But pretty soon we'll be saying goodbye to our new friends."

"Argh, don't make me cry," said N0ize.

The two space pirates looked up at him and he shrugged.

"I'm serious," said N0ize. "I get teary eyed when it comes to goodbyes."

"Tell me about it." Macro tapped N0ize on the elbow and turned from Meta City. "I'm gonna check on how they're gettin' on in Spool City. See ya later."

"Hang on, I'm comin' too." N0ize fell in step beside Macro. "Tracer said he were redecoratin' his office. I've got a question for him."

Macro cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Aye." N0ize tucked his huge paws behind his head.

That was it. No elaboration. Macro exchanged glances with Anchor and they chatted quietly amongst themselves as they strolled through the streets of the outskirts.

No one would recognise it. The entire place was immaculate. The underground plumbing had been repaired, allowing waste to flow away unseen rather than overflowing from manholes and drains. The air was clean, barely a trace left of the yellow smog. One of Zero Day's gateways hovered above it, cleaning up what remained.

The tattered, outdated adverts had been eaten away during Omnom's rampage, and any that had remained had been eagerly devoured. The walls, if not new, had been scrubbed to within an inch of their lives. It was barely distinguishable from Meta City.

Tracer's little office stood where it always had. Unlike previously, it now sported a sign above the door. 'Tracer and Widget's Detective Agency.' It was originally only going to read 'Tracer's Detective Agency' but Widget had been very vocal on the matter.

N0ize moved on ahead of Macro and rapped on the door. Then he opened it, bellowing his greeting as he slipped inside.

Macro and Anchor had to trot to catch up before it swung closed behind them. Anchor looked around the office and let out a long whistle.

"This looks posh!" he said.

The walls were a clean white. Where the air filter had previously occupied now sat an air conditioner, cooling down the room with a refreshing breeze. Despite the air conditioning, however, the thick smell of cigar smoke filled the office, trailing up from Tracer's muzzle. Defrag sat at her desk with her feet up while the other two detectives busied themselves rearranging their desks. N0ize stood and watched them, leaning against the wall beside the door.

"Here!" Tracer bundled a heap of papers into the incineroar's arms.

A bewildered expression crossed N0ize's face and he opened his mouth to question the delphox.

"I think Omnom could dispose of these," Tracer said without prompting.

"This, too!" Widget tossed a broken pen onto the pile. "Let's make use of this recycling facility while we have it, eh?"

"Don't you think we aught to start our own?" Macro asked.

"That takes time," said Tracer.

"Exactly," said Macro. "The Ultra Beasts are set to head home in two days!"

"Wave City is already on the ball," said Anchor. "I think you aught to set aside some stuff and carry it down there if you need to. While the outskirts get their act together? Be a shame to let it fall into the same state it was in a few weeks ago, eh?"

Tracer nodded and retrieved the papers from N0ize. "A good point. I'll get on that."

"No, I'll do it." Defrag leant towards her computer. "As self appointed governor of the outskirts, it's my job."

Widget snorted and wrinkled his nose. "I think the self appointed governor should slack off less."

Defrag's pen bounced off the eevee's head and he laughed, returning to his tidying.

"Anyway, I've got a question for you, fuzz," said N0ize.

"Oh?" Tracer raised an eyebrow.

"Aye. Quite a biggun, actually." N0ize scratched his head and shuffled his feet. "You see, Pulse City's gone and... well, so's my ship. Cyph3r's still in custody. But even so, like... Socket's gone and now I've got no one to hide from. So..."

"Spit it out, man," said Widget.

N0ize cleared his throat and tried to look Tracer in the eye. "Do you need an extra paw here, or...?"

Tracer's cigar fell from his mouth. "You want to join my agency?"

"Our agency," said Widget, not taking his eyes off the incineroar. "So you wanna stop bein' a space pirate?"

N0ize shrugged his large shoulders. "Worked for you, didn't it?"

A huge grin spread across the eevee's face. "Well I say welcome aboard! But it's really up to Tracer."

The delphox's mouth opened and closed, and he stooped to retrieve his cigar.

"Well..." he said, popping the cigar back between his teeth. "I think we can give it a go?"

Macro caught Anchor's eye and nodded to the door. The granbull took his message and followed him out, but not without giving N0ize a friendly, congratulatory thump to the shoulder. The incineroar grinned at them both, and Macro smiled fondly before closing the door behind them.

"Well, that were an eye opener," said Anchor. "I mean... our ship's scrap now. What are we gonna do with ourselves?"

Macro glanced down the street, spotting a xurkitree slinking along it. DL followed after it, carrying a crate of cleaning supplies. She shouted something that Macro couldn't hear to Matrix as he buzzed on ahead of them. Cookie followed after her, no longer showing any anxiety towards being outside. He clutched a first aid kit tightly in his paws, trailing DL as she vanished into another street.

"Oh, I think I know what I'm going to do," said Macro. "I'm thinkin' of headin' back to Cyan City."

Anchor raised an eyebrow at him. He'd picked up the anxiety in Macro's voice, he could tell by the concern in his eyes.

"You don't think she'll go with you, do you?" Anchor asked.

Macro took a breath through clenched teeth and pushed himself from the wall to head back to Meta City.

"She's from Botnet," he said. "It's her home. I won't be surprised if she wants to go back. But me? I can't live there. To have those memories every day? Besides, they won't want me around up there."

"You even asked her?" Anchor asked.

"Not yet," said Macro. "I dread her answer."

...

As System began to recover, its inhabitants taking up residence in their new homes, it was time to send everybody back home.

Yobi approached the two humans, his expression unreadable. He looked up at Switch, then over at Annie leaning against Zip's water bowl.

"Priorities," he said. "I'll be lookin' to send you back before the Ultra Beasts. They're still helping to iron things out, so... I'll be goin' away for a little while to find your homes."

"Really?" Switch asked. "How long a while?"

"No idea. It might take me a while to find your exact time-lines," he said. "You should brace yourselves for a long stay in System."

"Well, I can cut that in half for you then," said Annie. "'Cos I ain't goin' back."

"What?" The question came from almost every pokemon around her, even Switch.

"You heard me," she said. "I ain't goin' back to that time-line to get locked back up in a cell. I'm free here. I've made friends - no - a family. And I want to stay with my family."

Silence washed over them as they took in Annie's words.

Web rose up on her hind legs and placed her paws on the girl's shoulders. "You know you're very welcome here, dear. But Switch said you eventually go back to your human world."

"Yeah, and it's exactly the same," she said. "Another lab. More books. Forget it."

Waveform brushed Web off Annie and shook his head. "Let her stay if she wishes."

Macro's jaw went slack. "But won't it mess up the time-line?"

Switch sighed and rubbed his hand through his hair. "It's already pretty messed up. I mean, I've got to go back with a socket in my skull."

Macro grimaced and wound his paws in his scarf. How much would this impact System's future now? Would it change his own?

Yobi stared up at Switch and folded his arms. "I doubt it'd change much. If anything, it might just throw you into an alternate time-line."

Macro's jaw dropped and Switch gasped.

"Are you serious?" Macro squeaked.

"Really? Alternate?" Switch shook his head. "What about my own future? I don't get to live it?"

"Yes," said Yobi. "Given you haven't lived it yet, nothing has changed for you."

Switch let his arms fall to his sides and relaxed. "I guess you have a point. But how am I to explain this computer in my head?"

"Tell them the truth," said Yobi. "Unless you want to keep it under your hat?"

"So it won't cause any problems?" Macro asked.

"Not to us, no. Or to Switch." Yobi marched past him with Zero Day in tow. "I'll be back in a few days when I've found your time-line, Switch. Having two of you exist in one at the same time? Now that would be a problem."

Switch blanched. "You mean... like some kind of time anomaly? We'd freeze or turn to stone or something?"

Yobi looked back at him over his shoulder. His muzzle creased in bewilderment. "No. What kind of TV shows do you watch? It would just be a problem. There'd be two of you."

He shook his head and marched away.

A few days later, Yobi called Macro on his computer. The time-line had been found. They had to make their way to Seed City.

The sparksurfer raichu stood outside a deli with a small audience of curious pokemon. Macro and his friends stood amongst them, waiting for the raichu to open the way to Switch's world.

Macro looked up at the human. He stood with his arms folded, leaning back against the wall of a mini market.

"You know," he said to Macro, "the last time I watched a gateway be opened... I'd made a solid decision to stay in System."

Macro raised an eyebrow. "You're not sayin' you want to stay here, are you?"

"Because we've already got Annie," said Matrix.

Switch shook his head. "Of course not. I've got my own little family back in my own time-line. I want to watch my nephew grow up."

Macro nodded and turned back to the raichu. "I get it."

"Don't get me wrong. It's nothing personal."

Macro snapped his head back to face him, ready to tell him he didn't take it as anything personal, but Switch grinned and gave him a playful wink.

Macro laughed and shook his head. "It's good to have you back, Switch."

"So you keep saying." The human stretched and kicked himself back from the wall. "I guess I'd better brace myself for a rough ride home, huh?"

"All right, I've found it!" Yobi turned back to them as Zero Day cut open the gateway. "Switch, if you would?"

Switch smiled down at the former Wildcard. "It's been great to meet all of you. I'll be sure to tell my friends all about how their great-times-fifty grandson helped save System."

Macro blinked back a tear and returned his smile. "Have a safe journey, pal."

DL rushed forward and reached up to grab Switch's hand. A smile spread across her face and she released him quickly and brushed at her ear.

"Please... take care," she said. "And thank you... for everything."

Switch stooped to place a paw on her head then turned, waving at his friends as he approached the gateway.

Macro and his friends watched until it closed, taking Switch back to his own world.

...

The time had finally come for the Ultra Beasts.

Yobi stood ahead of the crowd with Zero Day and Axle at his side. Axle's xurkitree companion Sparky had barely left his side, and the xurkitree muttered to himself as Yobi called Zero Day to open a gateway to the Ultra Beast's world.

"Like I said," Yobi told the crowd, "there's only one gateway here. It will get you back to Ultra Metropolis. That's Poipole's home. But I'm led to believe you're all from the same world, so you'll find your way back to your homes and your trainers."

The Ultra Beasts chirruped and cheered their replies, except for Rave. He strolled from the crowd towards Yobi and placed a paw on his shoulder. The raichu flinched but didn't shrug him off. He looked up at the blacephalon and nodded, stepping aside to allow him to speak.

Rave turned to the crowd and made an elegant bow.

"I can't thank you all enough for your hospitality," he said. "I made a lot of friends in Binary City, and I lost a lot of them during Distortion's attack. But we've all banded together to form a force to be reckoned with. We've learned we're not that different. And I think I speak for us all when I apologise for the sheer havoc we have wrecked on System."

Macro glanced up at the kartana drifting beside him. Somewhere behind them, both Celesteela and Omnom spoke up. The guzzlord's growl was almost drowned by Celesteela's eerie wail, but the pokemon understood their agreement to Rave's comment clearly.

"I am glad we were able to help you rebuild your world," said Rave, turning a pale blue. "And I have personally enjoyed my stay. But there is one question I ask of you. Back in my world, Ultra Beasts often long outlive their trainers. I miss my trainer dearly and I look forward to seeing him again. But once he's gone, I fear I'll be alone. I would surely love to come back and visit System in the future. So... would it be okay if we took Zero Day with us? That way we have the option to come back. If it's okay with you?"

The pokemon fell silent, staring at the blacephalon. Macro's mouth opened and closed as he tried to take it all in.

"I think it's a fine idea," said DL.

Macro snapped his head around to look at her. She beamed from ear to ear, clasping her paws together.

A few more pokemon in the audience spoke up, adding their agreements to DL's. A few shifted awkwardly, casting nervous glances back to Celesteela, Omnom and Stakataka. But no one declined Rave's request.

"I can reassure you," Rave continued, "that events here will be documented. We'll try our utmost to put in place a screening service. Visits here will be only allowed to those who promise to show respect."

"Then I can't decline it." Jumper strolled forward from the audience and took Rave's paw in both of his. "It's been a delight to meet you all. You've done a lot to help System. You chased off Distortion. You've repaired damage. And you've helped to clean up System to allow future pokemon to grow up without that wretched toxic air."

Rave bowed again. "Thank you, dear Jumper. You are a top notch fellow."

The frogadier chuckled and retrieved his paw. "Then lets send you home! You've got trainers and family alike who miss you."

Rave raised a paw and tutted. "Trainers are family, Jumper."

"My mistake." Jumper smiled and stood back, turning to address the Ultra Beasts. "Have a safe journey. All of you."

Yobi indicated to Zero Day, and a beam shot from its nose. One of BackDoor's signature gateways cut through reality. Its swirling ultra violet light flickered beyond it. The grass bent towards the void as its gravity slowly tugged at those closest to it.

Macro instinctively took a step back and clutched DL's paw. He watched as Rave stepped into the void first, pausing to wave at his friends.

Then, one by one, the Ultra Beasts flooded towards it. The kartana turned to Macro and rubbed their blades together, creating a slow grating sound.

Macro smiled up at them. "Take care, guys."

They turned and zipped ahead of the line, twisting as they sped through the gateway.

Web unfurled her tail, letting Poipole rise into the air. A warm smile spread across her face and she blinked back tears.

"Goodbye, little one," she said. "You take care now."

"Yeah!" Zip flailed his fins as he strained to rise to the surface. "You'll tell your trainer all about us, right?"

"Of course," said Poipole. "And I hope you manage to save the water dwellers."

"I think we already have." Trojan placed a paw on the rim of Zip's bowl. "System's changed a lot in such a short time. It's kinda jarrin'."

"But it's good, right?" Poipole asked.

"It's very good, dear," said Web. "Give our best to your trainer. Tell him we think he's raised an amazing little Ultra Beast."

"Oh, I will." Poipole looked at each of them in turn, letting his eyes linger on Annie. "I might... ask him if he doesn't mind calling me Sticky every now and then."

"Stop it." Annie rubbed a hand over her eyes. "You're makin' me all misty-eyed."

Poipole chuckled and turned back to Web. "Thank you for letting me live in your tail. I'll miss it."

Then he turned and zipped for the gateway, joining the nihilego as they drifted above the xurkitree. Buzzwole paused by the gateway with Pheramosa and flexed his muscles, before ducking inside. Pheramosa flicked her shell and smiled, then leapt daintily through. The larger Ultra Beasts closed up the rear. Stakataka and Omnom insisted Celesteela go first. She stood covered from head to foot in tiny versions of herself, brought back from Pulse City by Worm. The small space pirate sobbed beside Macro, waving a stubby paw.

"I'm gonna miss them," he said. "I got pretty attached to the little guys."

As soon as Omnom was through, Yobi ushered Zero Day to close up the gateway. Then his eye went to Axle.

Sparky stood beside him, rooted to the spot by his cable-like limbs. Axle nudged him, mouthing something Macro couldn't hear.

Then the xurkitree shook its head, cowering towards the floor.

Axle turned to Yobi and sighed. "I don't think he's gonna go."

Yobi flapped his arms as he looked between the xurkitree and the gateway. The gravity pull was beginning to intensify, and it tugged at his tail. Finally, he let out a flustered sigh and placed a paw on Zero Day.

The porygon-z vanished beyond the gateway. After a few long minutes, it closed up, leaving no sign it had ever been there.

Sparky rose to his full height and chattered, sending out thin sparks of electricity. Then he wrapped his wiry limbs around Axle, pulling the emolga into a hug.

"Argh!" Axle flailed in his grip. "Oh, put me down, you goof!" The emolga laughed, playfully shocking the xurkitree.

"Well," said Jumper. "Welcome to our first official Ultra Beast inhabitant."

...

The outskirts were oddly quiet. Annie strolled along the streets with her friends, heading towards Gear Village. She clutched Zip's bowl in her hands, silently moving ahead of Waveform and the rest of the former Time Archeops. Web snuffled into her paws, but Annie chose to block it out.

All her attention was on reaching their destination. Not far now. She could see the green at the end of the road. The sign that read 'You are now leaving Spool City. Welcome to Gear Village.'

Green grass brushed against the hem of her trousers, and she followed the narrow path along to the trees. She heard the river before she saw it, gurgling away beyond the fruit trees. She came to a stop at its bank and looked up at the canopy across from it.

"Here you go, little fish," she said. "I told you I'd get you back home."

She reached into the bowl and pulled out the tiny scattering of ashes, then tossed them into the water.

"Swim free, little guy," she said. "The struggle of the water dwellers is over now."

Waveform placed a wing around her shoulders. "We did all we could."

"No," said Annie, struggling to fake a positive air. "We did more than we could."

She turned away from the river, still clutching the goldfish bowl. Web stood in Trojan's embrace, but when she caught Annie's eye, she nodded.

"We definitely did," she said. "We gave the little guy a second chance. Come on. Let's head home."

"Nah." Annie looked past her at the greenery. "I think I'm gonna sit here for a while."

She moved over to an oran tree and sat back against it, looking out at the river and the small orchard beyond it. Waveform strolled over to her with Web and Trojan, and they joined her side. Sitting silently as they let Annie escape into her thoughts.

...

Cyan City's glass dome lay partially open, letting the orchards soak up the midday sun. Macro strolled out of his apartment, checking the time on the town hall clock in the distance. It wasn't long until he had to meet Jumper, but he wanted to catch DL first. She'd been quiet about her plans, and he still hadn't breached his question to her yet. His heart hammered in his chest at the sheer thought. He'd put it off for weeks. He really wanted to catch her before she made any decisions about giving up her appartment and returning to Botnet City, now it had been repaired. Shortly after Macro had visited it, it had fallen victim to Omnom's hungry rampage and it had taken about a month to get it back up in the air let alone rebuild all the tower blocks.

As he rounded the street towards the square, DL almost crashed into him. He placed his paws on her shoulders to steady her and laughed.

"What's the rush?" he asked.

"I was coming to get you." She pawed at her ear and diverted her gaze. "You have that appointment with Jumper, and... well... I was curious, so..."

"You decided to invite yourself along?" He shrugged and placed a paw on her back, steering her along beside him. "Well... funnily enough, I was coming to get you anyway."

"Oh?" She looked up at him and met his eyes.

"Yeah." A metallic taste filled Macro's mouth and he clutched a paw to his chest, trying to hide his anxiety. "Now Botnet City's been restored... I wondered if..."

"I'm not going back there."

Her answer caught him off guard and he snapped his head around to look at her. "But I thought... it's your home?"

She shook her head and pawed at her ear. "It was Loop's home. I found my own home when we arrived at Cyan City. And you're staying here, too, right?"

Macro looked away from her, his mouth turning dry. "Well... yeah..."

"Don't you want me to stay?"

"No! I mean, of course I do!" He turned back to her, violet eyes wide and frantic. "I, erm... I was kinda worried you'd want to go back and well... You know me and Botnet."

She chuckled and shook her head. "Don't worry. Even if I did want to go back, I wouldn't want to leave you."

His jaw dropped and he froze to stare at her. "DL, erm..."

She inclined her head on one side, prompting him to continue.

"You know I've had issues with forming attachments in the past." He wound his paws together. "Well, you've kinda changed that, and..." He paused to clear his throat and looked her in the eyes. "I was kinda hoping... you might live here with me. As my wife." He paused, watching the shock spread across her face. His heart leapt into his mouth and he waved his paws. "If you want to!"

She rushed towards him and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder. "Of course I want to!"

Macro let out a sigh of relief and held her close. "Thank you. Man, I don't think I've ever been so nervous."

She laughed and pulled back from him to plant a kiss on his lips. He returned it, refusing to let her go even when she tried to pull away.

"Come on," she said when he caught her again. "You'll be late!"

"Drat." He released her and took her paw, leading her towards the square. "I'd love to know what he wants. Why he can't tell me on the phone, I'll never know."

When he reached the town hall, Anchor, Matrix and Cookie were waiting beside Heatsink. Matrix didn't look up as Macro approached, sat comfortably on Anchor's shoulder as he messed with his computer.

Macro's face lit up when he saw the empoleon. "Great to see you finally out of hospital! But back at work already?"

"Oh, I'm not at work," said HeatSink. "But I couldn't miss this."

Macro frowned and looked at each of them. "Miss what?"

Anchor shrugged, almost knocking Matrix off his shoulder.

HeatSink ushered them into the town hall. Jumper's office door was open, and they spotted him going through his desk drawers. Boxes lay on the floor, filled with various office equipment.

Macro slowed down, casting his eyes over the small room.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

Jumper looked up and beamed. "You're a little early! I was hoping to have this sorted before you got here."

"You look like you're off," said Anchor. "You givin' up your job?"

"Not quite." Jumper straightened and rubbed the back of his head. "System is in need of a new mayor. The situation of the water dwellers is somewhat shaky, and the transition to a vegetarian diet isn't settling with some of the more carnivorous pokemon. They wanted a water type to take over, and offered me the position yesterday. So I took it. How much different can it be, really? An entire city... the whole of System?" He rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Needless to say, it's a daunting task that is both terrifying and exciting at the same time. I wanted to keep it quiet until I'd sorted things out in Cyan City."

Macro glanced around the office and spread his paws. "That's great, Gov, I'm happy for you... but who's takin' over from you?"

"That's why I called you here." Jumper leant against his desk and smiled. "I was hoping you would take the job, Macro."

Macro's jaw almost hit the floor. "Me?! But I'm a former space pirate! I'm a criminal! You can't honestly-"

Jumper waved a paw to cut him off. "I know full well who you are, Macro, and I don't think of 'criminal' as an honest description. You saved Cyan City. You and your friends. You helped put an end to Socket's plan. Saved System. If anything, you're more suited to Mayor status than I am. But when I broached that decision, Meta City wouldn't take it." Jumper leant forward to place a paw on Macro's shoulder. "So I'm leaving Cyan City in your paws. If you'll take the job?"

Macro stuttered as he tried to find the right words. Him? Governor of a city? The Z-Crystal in his mechanical paw caught his eye and he glanced down at it. It wasn't sparkling, but he was certain he saw Solgaleo's eyes smiling at him.

Anchor stooped towards his ear. "Say yes!"

"No pressure, or anything," Matrix added.

Macro snorted, then laughed and shook his head. "All right, Gov... I mean, Mayor. I'll take the job. I'm actually rather humbled you thought to ask me."

Jumper straightened and beamed down at him. "I wasn't going for 'humbling', Macro. You were just the perfect fit for the job, in my eyes. And HeatSink will be your assistant, so you definitely won't be alone in this."

"HeatSink?" Macro's muzzle creased. "But what about the force? Who's takin' over there?"

"Torrent," said HeatSink. "Floppy wanted the job, but I don't think he's quite cut out for it yet. Besides, I had to step down. I don't think I'd have the stamina now." He absently rubbed at his scarred chest.

"Well..." Macro took a steadying breath. "This is the second biggest thing that's happened to me today, and it ain't even lunch time..."

Everyone fell silent, and a blush spread over DL's face.

"We're, uhm..." A silly smile spread across her muzzle. "We're getting married."

Jumper's eyes widened as he looked between them. "Really?"

Macro nodded, trying to hide his own blush. "That's right. Old Macro's settlin' down."

"You serious?" Anchor clapped his huge paws together. "Oh boy, I'm happier than a baby ducklett who found a puddle!"

"What?!" Cookie gasped. "This is amazing! Oh man, I'm gonna head back home and make a start on designing the biggest, bestest most delicious cake you've ever tasted!" He jiggled with glee and scurried from the office.

Matrix chuckled from the granbull's shoulder and pawed frantically at his computer. "I'm gonna find the most embarrassing music I can, and you're gonna have your first dance to it."

Macro grimaced and playfully swiped for the ribombee's computer. Matrix zipped into the air to rest on the air conditioner.

"So!" said Jumper, drawing order back to the room. "Big news day, huh? Well, Macro, I'll leave Cyan City in your paws. If you need to recruit anyone else..." His eyes drifted to Anchor and Matrix. "Well, I'll leave that up to you."

Macro glanced up at his friends, and HeatSink placed a flipper on his shoulder.

"The police force might appreciate an extra set of paws or two?" he said. "Just suggesting."

"That's a fantastic suggestion." Macro grinned up at Anchor.

"They'll be well received," said HeatSink. "I mean... we still have the bug pokemon to deal with. Not to mention Lossy's missing twins."

Macro bit his tongue and glanced out of the window. Cyan City spread across from it, its berry orchards ripe for the picking. Things might have looked okay after System's tragedy, but it definitely was only surface deep. Things were still bitter between the grass, fire and water types. How could he have forgotten the twins?

"Switch was looking into that case," Macro said. "So... I guess we'll be takin' over, eh?"

Anchor saluted and Matrix buzzed back down to his shoulder.

Jumper grabbed one of his boxes in one arm and smiled at each of them. "I'll be back to check in on you from time to time. This city will always be my home, and I trust I've left it with the best pokemon imaginable."

Macro nodded and took Jumper's free paw. "Definitely stay in touch, Jumper. And thank you for everything."

The frogadier nodded and shuffled from the room. "I have a ship waiting. Take care, Macro. All of you."

"I'll give you a paw with your boxes," said Anchor.

He grabbed the remaining one and followed Jumper out of the office.

"So..." DL shuffled her feet. "From space pirate to governor of a city..."

"Yup." Macro chuckled and glanced around at the office. "If my mother could see me now..."

He stared at the chair for a moment, before sinking down into it. It reclined back slightly, and he relaxed back into the seat. He tucked his paws behind his head and kicked his feet up onto the desk.

"Oh yes," he said. "I could definitely get used to this."

...

A/N - Thanks to everyone who made it this far! This was a fun story to write, and I hope you enjoyed it =D