What was she fighting for?

In that instant, when the question surfaced, one person came to mind. Not the region she was pretty much trying to save, not all of her friends, not her family, just one person. The selfishness at first didn't register, what with the leader of Team Flare giving his all to defeat her.

They were both down to their last Pokémon, hers an ever-faithful Greninja, and him with a Mega-Gyarados, ready to pounce on them both. Now that both were Sinister-type, it was an almost evenly matched brawl. Calem could only watch as his neighbor did her best, evident worry in his eyes. Shauna, however, was a worried mess at his side.

Gyarados was having an obvious advantage, how could she stay calm? Dragon rage did a number on Serena's Greninja every time it landed, while the poor frog Pokémon could only try with Acrobatics. At least Gyarados was confused, which made everyone in the room sigh in shared relief whenever it would pound a wall instead. Everyone sans Lysandre, of course.

Serena, now sweating nervously, went back into thinking about who she fought for. "Greninja, keep up the pressure! Acrobatics!" she yelled to her companion. Calem… couldn't be. As much as she considers him a precious friend, that's where it ended. It wasn't a member of her family, that much she knew.

"Greninja, be careful!" What-?

Another Dragon Rage managed to land, another blow would mean the end for them all. Quickly digging through her bag, she pulled out a Max Potion, which she applied as fast as possible to Greninja. "Thanks for the warning," she told Shauna, who smiled in a visibly forced manner. Serena couldn't blame her for that.

As much as it could mean their doom, she went back to her philosophical musings. Trevor, Tierno, Prof. Sycamore, heck, any Gym leader… Just who did she want to keep safe?

Tired of the situation, Lysandre commanded to his Gyarados something that put Serena on edge. "Gyarados, use Water Tail on the ones behind her!" and right then and there, she swore the damn thing's eyes cleared. She either acted or she'd have nothing to protect. "Greninja, get Calem now!"

While the frog Pokémon got him, Serena sprinted towards Shauna, fear plastered in the tanned girl's features. She pushed her out of the way before any harm could fall on her, or she hoped so at least. "Are you okay?" she asked Shauna gently, as Greninja leaped back on the battlefield, leaving a flabbergasted Calem behind. "I… Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Shauna answered, and Serena almost caught a faint blush on her cheeks. No time for that, though.

They both got back on their feet and the stronger of the duo tried to recall everything in this battle. There was a risky card she could play, but the fear of failure at this moment made it her only solution.

Out of four times, it only landed twice, and the time it took for Greninja to recover from using it could be fatal here. However, everything was fatal at this point. "Hey… Giga Impact would be very good now," commented Shauna by her side, to which she answered, "Yeah. It could be our triumph card, for as long as it's not a Joker."

With that, she gave what she prayed would be her last command in this fight. "Greninja, Giga Impact!" And so, the shinobi charged.

It landed. Gyarados' Mega form was reverting. Everyone stared in shock at such happening. Shauna could feel tears of joy running down her cheeks after such tense moments.

Lysandre, on the contrary, felt the exact opposite of joy. "It's over... Fools with no vision will continue to befoul this beautiful world. They will go on until the only thing left to do is squabble over the remaining scraps of hope..." He took his visor off, his hand shaking in rage.

Finally, it was over.

What do you mean it's not over?! Serena wanted to scream.

Apparently, some energy still remained in the ultimate weapon. She cursed Lyssandre and his ideologies as she ran for her life, Shauna and Calem in tow. Serena held onto the former's hand with a tight grip that was returned for the sake of not staying behind.

When they resurfaced, though, a strong earthquake made them stop dead in their tracks. Shortly after, another one came, and Calem pressed himself against a wall, while Shauna and Serena held each other as if their lives depended on not letting go.

But after a minute of nothing else, they felt a strange surge of calm run through them. Still, this was intriguing. Once again, Serena led them out of the Team Flare HQ.

As they got out, there was a giant hole in the middle of Geosenge Town. The Ultimate Weapon… destroyed itself. Serena chuckled, while Shauna broke into a fit of giggles, hugging her and taking her by surprise. "Say… At the Parfum Palace… I told you I wanted to be closer friends with you."

How would she forget the fireworks they watched together that night? "Yeah, I remember. What about it?" Shauna blushed at this, and so she kept going, "Well, I k-kind of started regretting saying that." What? "W-Wait, why?" Serena asked nervously.

"Don't worry, I still want that! ...Sort of." Calem could only be witness of such attempts at asking a girl out. "Shauna, what do you-" "Please, let me finish!" The prompt made Serena shut her mouth immediately.

"You see… I made a promise to myself. If you could save the world, I could confess myself, s-so… Serena, I want to be more than friends." Serena finally connected the dots.

Shauna was asking her out.

She wanted to keep Shauna safe.

Well, that made sense in the final picture.

"I… w-would actually like that." Shauna, at this point, was beaming. "Yeah?! I-Is that a yes?!" Serena found her reaction one of the most adorable things she had seen and, most likely, would ever see, "Yes. Would you like to go to a Café in Lumiose City," she asked her with a smile, "for our first date?" She didn't care at the moment if she was being too forward.

Well, maybe she did.

Shauna didn't, it seemed. "Of course I'd like that! Oh Arceus, this was easier than I thought it would be…" She giggled once again, Serena joining her shortly after.

At this point Calem was handling everyone else asking for the girls. He knew they needed privacy right now.

A ring in her finger, a Greninja by her side, a happy wife and daughter playing together in the backyard as she watched over them with a smile, warm tea…

She kept her safe, alright. Now she got to keep them both safe; she just considered it a bonus.