-Legends Never Die by League of Legends and Against the Current-
Chapter 8. Hidden Power
As it turned out, tutoring Arven was a lot more difficult to accomplish when the alternative was kissing.
A tiny voice in Juliana's head told her that maybe she shouldn't have suggested they study in her dorm room, but as they sat on the edge of the bed and Arven planted kisses down her neck toward her collarbone, the voice of reason was lost in a haze of wanting.
It had been almost a full week since their date in Porto Marinada, and they hadn't had a private moment since. Now that they were alone, Juliana wanted… no, she needed to make up for lost time.
Tearing off Arven's vest, she straddled his lap and pushed him against the wall. He sucked gently on the nape of her neck, and a shuddered moan left her lips. She raked her fingers through his sandy locks of hair and leaned against him dizzily.
He pulled back slowly, the ocean blue of his eyes slightly darker than usual, like a storm brewing behind them.
Arven took her face in his calloused hands and kissed her lips gently.
"I don't want to rush this, Juliana."
She pouted before leaning into his shoulder. "I've been waiting three years for you, Arven." With a wistful sigh she pulled back and pressed her lips to his cheek. "But if you need to, I can wait a little longer."
He held her in his arms, his eyes closed, and she realized that there was moisture in them.
"I don't ever want to lose you again," his voice broke, and she returned the hug as tightly as she could.
"Arven, you'll never lose me." Juliana realized she was also crying. She never wanted to be separated from him again. "I promise."
She thought about the pokemon she'd used during her time becoming a champion, and she thought of Miraidon and Pan. She hadn't battled with Pan at all yet, apart from letting him scare away Mareanies and Buizels while she sat on the beach, and she'd only battled with Miraidon once when she tried to destroy the Professor's time machine.
But Juliana's life had caught up to the present, and she knew it was time to pick up where she left off.
It was time to become stronger.
–
Nemona stretched her hands toward the sky, sighing with satisfaction.
"Finally!" Her eyes gleamed maniacally as she pulled out a pokeball. "I have been waiting SO LONG to battle you again!"
Just as Penny predicted, Juliana did eventually get back into battling again. Something had sparked inside of the girl, and she'd been training relentlessly, trying to get stronger than ever, almost as if someone or something had lit a fire beneath her. And her Pawniard had finally evolved into Bisharp, shining a gorgeous midnight sapphire and gold wherever they went.
Juliana chuckled at her friend's exuberance, but Nemona didn't care. She'd be the one laughing by the end.
"Are you ready?" An untamed grin spread from cheek to cheek.
A playful glare settled on her rival's face, and Nemona knew something had clicked. Juliana pulled a pokemon ball from her bag and a familiar flame flickered in her eyes.
Juliana's Bisharp watched from the sidelines as they began their battle, and Nemona could tell he had a thirst for it. Her rival and friend made only a few missteps during the match, near the beginning. It was understandable, as this was her first real pokemon battle in three years, and she recovered quickly. Then to Nemona's delight, Juliana called Bisharp out against her Goodra.
He was remarkably good in battle, especially for a Bisharp who had evolved so recently, and Nemona wondered if he'd just been waiting for Juliana to begin training again to prove himself.
When Goodra had fainted, Juliana reached and pulled out her tera orb and Pan transformed into a Fighting type, and Nemona squealed with excitement.
"I knew you were a fighter, Pan. Show me what you've got."
He and Juliana made quick work of the rest of the team, but it wasn't until they took out Quaquaval with a critical Psycho Cut attack that Nemona noticed that there was more than the gleam of victory in Juliana's eyes.
It was like her eyes were reflecting the tera orb's power, and they blazed a deep scarlet.
"Wow," she trailed off with wonder.
Bisharp threw his blades out proudly, and Juliana's eyes returned to their normal hue.
"Juliana…" she said with astonishment. "What happened to you?"
"Did I do something wrong?" she replied unsurely, and Nemona realized that Juliana had no idea.
Deciding to leave well enough alone, she faked a wide grin. "I mean… YOU WERE AMAZING! I knew once you started battling again, you'd be unstoppable!"
Juliana beamed proudly, and Nemona turned away, troubled. She'd have to ask Penny and Arven if they had any idea what was happening.
–
Arven leaned against the windmill, watching his girlfriend battle the Grass gym as part of the Chairwoman Geeta's plan to evaluate each of the gym leaders.
Nemona and Penny had talked with him about Juliana's eyes reacting to the tera orb, but he didn't want to believe it.
There had to be an explanation. A trick of the light. Something.
Juliana had the same determined, almost aggressive stance that she held during all of their previous team battles, and he smiled. Arven genuinely missed their travels together, searching for and defeating each of the titan pokemon.
She was using her Ceruledge for this battle, and Arven knew the pokemon had a tera type she never used. It filled him with relief, knowing that Juliana wouldn't need to use the tera orb… just in case Nemona was right.
Ceruledge easily knocked out Brassius' Breloom, but the Breloom's Effect Spore ability paralyzed him on impact. Instead of giving him a berry or potion, Juliana switched to a Luxray she'd brought along, and Arven was filled with a sense of foreboding.
As if in slow motion she brought out her tera orb, and the Luxray terastallized into an ice type.
Arven didn't pay attention to the rest of the battle. He only saw Juliana's eyes, a lurid, icy blue. No trick of light could make them so blindingly bright, and he only hoped that no one else was paying such close attention. Pulling out his phone, he zoomed in, recording her face until she won the battle and the light slowly faded from her eyes.
Juliana ran over and threw her arms around him, and he held her as securely as he could, but his mind was in chaos. How much had the tera crystal changed her?
He knew he had to tell her the truth, but today he'd let it rest. Today they'd celebrate her victory.
–
Juliana felt a shift in her interactions with each of her friends over the next few days. She didn't know what was going on, but Arven kept looking at her like she was going to break, and Nemona was actually avoiding battles.
They sat at the lunch table, and Juliana slammed down her sandwich.
"What is it?" she said without smiling.
"What is what?" Nemona forced a grin in her direction.
"What is it that has each of you acting like I'm made of glass?"
Nemona looked away, but Penny shrugged, "Funny you should mention glass."
Arven smacked her in the arm and turned to Juliana sheepishly. "We didn't know how to tell you…"
"Tell me what?!" Worst case scenarios began popping into her thoughts. What could her friends know that they didn't want to share with her?
Air puffed in Arven's cheeks as he slowly exhaled. "We think that the tera crystal that took you to the past may have done more than just make you time travel."
That… hadn't been what Juliana was expecting. "What do you mean?"
Penny huffed impatiently when Arven didn't answer outright. "It means your eyes glow every time you use the tera orb to terastallize your pokemon."
"What?" She felt the pit of her stomach drop. "My eyes… glow?"
Arven slid his phone across the table. "This is what happened during your last gym battle."
Juliana watched, and slowly her lips parted with horror. "It looks like my eyes are two, bright blue glow sticks," she paled. "What does– how long has it–" the words got lost on her lips, and she no longer knew what she was trying to say.
The cafeteria suddenly felt far too small. It seemed every eye was on her, and the air felt too thin to take a full breath.
Arven grabbed her hand, and the warmth tugged her back to reality. "Juliana, we are your best friends… and more," he said, referring to their blossoming relationship. "We'll do everything we can to figure out what's going on. We'll get through this."
"Definitely," Nemona added, and Penny nodded in solidarity.
The walls stopped closing in, and Juliana was able to breathe a little easier, offering a weak smile toward each of her friends. Everything about this was terrifying, but at least she wasn't alone. She had friends willing to stand by her side, and she loved them.