A/N: Perfectly on time with the biweekly upload this time! Sorry about missing it by a bit last chapter. Things are starting to heat up as we turn to the perspective of this champion person everyone's been getting all excited about. We're now halfway through the first major act of the story. Hopefully you're enjoying reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! Feel free to let me know how much you like (or hate) it with a review. I appreciate any feedback!


16 hours before Juliana's disappearance

"CHAMPION JULIANA, 4TH YEAR, UVA ACADEMY! PLEASE ACCEPT MY SINCERE APOLOGIES, PALDEA REGION!"

Champion Juliana bowed deeply at the beautiful Paldea region she called home. From a distance, the sprawling mountains, forests, and even deserts with wild pokémon smattered about could all serve as her witnesses at once.

"I KNOW YOU ARE HURTING! I KNEW AND HAVE DONE NOTHING UNTIL NOW! PLEASE, JUST HOLD ON A LITTLE LONGER, OKAY?"

The girl's voice was swallowed by the endless expanse in front of her. Standing here, on this mountain ridge overlooking both Area Zero and the rest of the region, Juliana was able to appreciate just how alone she was with the Paldea region. The region had been crying out for someone, anyone, to answer its cries of pain. Originally, Juliana had waited for others to answer that call for her. Only recently had it become clear that her own voice was the only one she could count on to heed the cry for help. Don't be so pessimistic. You're not really alone, are you? Looking down on people isn't wise. To encourage her wavering spirit, Juliana placed her hands on her hips confidently, taking a bold step closer to the cliff face in a show of faux bravado.

As the seconds stretched on and Juliana started to feel marginally better, her thoughts were inexorably drawn to her first treasure hunt. She'd stood in this very spot, pretending she stood alone while wandering across rolling plains, treacherous cliff faces, shimmering rivers, snow-capped peaks. The sense of wonder it had instilled in her with was rekindled just a little as she sat on the side of the ridge overlooking Area Zero. More accurately, it overlooked the swirling clouds that now hovered lethargically above Area Zero and had begun to encroach on the rest of the region. Those clouds were an ironic comfort to Juliana, a reminder that she was doing the right thing to spite their designs against her adoptive region. Wind gusted through her hair, freed from its hat and braids to flow loosely. In times like this when she was uncertain, it was best to fish in her pockets for her badge collection.

Two years of finger rubbing had taken their toll on most of the handmade badges. Juliana had been meaning to ask Arven for replacements, but the timing hadn't really felt right before he graduated. Since then, Arven had been so caught up in running around trying to become the best chef he could that Juliana felt bad about trying to drag his memories to less pleasant times for the man. It was also possible that he didn't feel the original spark of excitement at the prospect of facing a titan pokémon anymore. Though still rare, several more had been sighted around Paldea in the years since her crusade against them with Arven. These sightings had been part of the motivation for Arven to set out on his journey alone, as proof that he'd outgrown the need to rely on her battling skills. Juliana supported the alumni's independence, but it left a bittersweet taste in her mouth that she wished she could wash away with one of his sandwiches.

The badges from Team Star had technically fared worse than Arven's. They were already in rough shape, having been almost two years old when she'd obtained them, and now the paint that had been used to identify them had chipped off almost completely. Only a trained eye would be able to tell which one was which, something Juliana counted herself fortunate to have. She hadn't gotten to know many of the Team Star members very well, especially the ones that had graduated already. Helping them to make up with Penny had been her primary contribution to their lives, and she was content with that. Anything that peeled Penny's eyes away from a screen had to be a positive influence on her. It made Juliana wish they'd had more of a chance to chat as a group the last time she came up from Area Zero. Contrary to most people's expectations, Cassiopeia could spin a good yarn about the places she'd seen that would keep even Nemona's attention.

Finally, the Paldean League's official badges entered her palms. Most of them held little meaning to Juliana now. She'd squared off against all of the gym leaders numerous times to the point of near tedium. No matter what Nemona said to Juliana, she couldn't bring herself to enjoy battling just for the sake of battling. When Juliana noticed that she no longer appeared to be getting stronger from a battle, the fun of it just sort of vanished. It was for that reason that she was grateful to Nemona, that she still held on to these badges that symbolized Nemona pushing her to desire strength in the first place. Nemona never failed to pull out a new trick to give her a run for her money. As long as Nemona had the will to fight, so did Juliana. It was for that reason that Juliana had no intention of letting Nemona get directly involved in what was coming. Leave that to the people who knew what it meant to get their hands dirty.

Pocketing her treasures, Juliana rose and turned her gaze back outward to the region. Aside from the picturesque scenery she'd grown used to, she could see a couple of tera dens and even a storm blotting out part of the landscape. The worsening of the tera phenomenon wasn't news to anyone in Paldea, but to witness it yourself and see your strongest partners beaten to a pulp in front of you by the shining demons didn't compare. When she'd spoken to that AI what felt like ages ago, it had only confirmed the burgeoning suspicions she'd been carrying within her without realizing it. If the League wasn't planning on acting on Paldea's behalf, the duty would naturally fall to a champion like her.

Glancing down the cliff, Juliana noted the lack of pokémon present on the mountain itself. She knew why the area was abandoned, but it still reinforced her feeling of being alone, as if the consequences of her actions were now impossible to realize. She knew better to presume she was actually alone, however. Ever since her journey began without a clear objective, she'd been surrounded by people trying to answer the question for her. So many of her classmates had left dreaming of specific treasures that they wanted to find on their respective treasure hunts; some of them were far too eager to encourage her to follow suit. On her first, second, even her third treasure hunt Juliana hadn't set out with any particular goal in mind and ended it in the same fashion. Her excuse was that the people she met and the journey she experienced was sufficient to qualify as her treasure, and the faculty had never questioned this presumption. If that turned out to be their goal all along, it would be a bit of a disappointment. Taking months out of the year for what amounted to independent study was a major waste for what was supposed to be one of the most prestigious academies in the world. Yet that's what it took to get you to this point. Maybe there is something to giving out that freedom so… freely.

Indeed, the best thing about her treasure hunts had been their aid in preparing her for this particular moment when she finally found something worth chasing after for herself. She was even more fortunate that the connections she'd made on her journey were willing to support her. This region wasn't her home, but it felt like it more than anywhere else she'd lived. Juliana could point in any given direction and not be too far from a familiar face. In fact, one of them was standing right next to her. "I know we're like, alone, but I still think shouting your name so loudly is a bad idea," Eri commented, taking a moment to stretch her arms as she squatted down to match Juliana's height.

Eri was a mountain of a woman even before she graduated, sporting muscles from her wrestling days and the flashy white costume and face paint to boot. Despite her appearance and the intimidating black cape that had been lengthened since her school days, Juliana considered the former student one of the less assertive Team Star leaders in most aspects of life. "So is letting children run around the region unsupervised for months on end, but that never stopped the academy," Juliana half-joked.

"Even the academy bans students from getting anywhere near Area Zero."

Juliana smirked at the former captain of Team Star's Caph Squad. "Good thing you said hasta la vistar to the academy then, huh?"

Eri grunted in displeasure. The mask makeup that gave her the visage of a professional wrestler remained, but she'd somehow put on more muscle than when she was a student. It made her lack of desire to engage in conflicts all the more amusing to Juliana. "Don't say that. You're making me feel old."

Juliana's smirk widened. "Oh? My apologies, Ma'am. Could I get you some tea for your back while we're here?"

The aspiring wrestler's discomfort was expressed by another displeased grunt and turning away from Juliana. Despite being an expert in fighting-type pokémon and one of the bluntest, most straightforward people Juliana knew, Eri was one of the last people to resort to fisticuffs unless her friends were in danger. "I'm only okay with this because I know you don't mean it," she muttered.

Sighing, Juliana looked down. She didn't consider herself a bully, but a healthy amount of ribbing was how she expressed herself. That wasn't her fault, it was her mother's. It was another reason why she liked Nemona so much, who would still go crazy if Juliana even so much as suggested that they were anything other than destined rivals. Eri and the rest of Team Star were different, and Juliana had a tough time remembering that. Well, nobody's perfect. Otherwise apologies wouldn't exist. "Sorry, sorry. More to the point, are the cliffs clear?"

Eri nodded down the mountain, where several fighting type pokémon could now be seen making their way back up. A lucario and passimian were racing to the top of the mountain while two annihilape were multitasking between climbing and trying to knock each other off of the cliff face. Their trainer was sweating, indicating that she'd somehow managed to beat the trained fighters in the climb back up despite being a human. How Eri kept her wrestler's makeup perfectly intact was a trade secret Juliana had never been able to get out of the woman. Noticing the lack of progress, Eri frowned and recalled all of them except the lucario, which just managed to reach the peak of the cliff in time. Its reward was a fist bump from Eri and a spare sandwich from Juliana. Once she received the affirmative nod from the lucario, Eri recalled it as well. "Everything's all clear. I've got the warding repel stuff out and everything. Not a soul anywhere in the general vicinity of this place."

Juliana smiled at the good news. "Good. That's good," she responded, trying to convince herself that her insane plan was the best option. Knowing that she was in the clear to do what she was about to do made her hesitate, want to turn back. "Y'know, maybe I should try talking one more time."

A cocked eyebrow was Eri's initial reaction, one of the only facial expressions that was easy to see behind her makeup. "Oh yeah? And suddenly you think that's going to go well for you? I recall you getting unceremoniously kicked out the last time you attempted diplomacy."

Knowing that Eri was right didn't make Juliana feel any better. Instead, it made her feel like they were both missing important pieces from this puzzle that couldn't be solved with the tools they had on hand. Sensing Juliana's indecision, Eri completely sat down next to her, indicating that she do the same. The gusting wind even died down, as if it sensed the importance of Eri's next words. Her cape concealed most of her body, having been lengthened since she graduated and providing both trainers a small measure of warmth. "You can talk to me if you want, but talking to her won't get you anywhere, and you know that."

In a rare moment of self-reflection, Juliana took the opportunity to open up about the fears storming within her more violently than the clouds beneath the duo in reality. "Do you think we have the potential to do or be anything we want in life?"

Eri shrugged, the cape dragging Juliana a bit closer with the motion. "I think we have the potential to try. Nobody's guaranteed anything, even with hard work."

This wasn't the answer Juliana wanted to hear, especially since she'd come to the same conclusion. "What does that mean for what we're doing tomorrow? Even if it does work, people are going to get hurt, maybe even die if we don't do this perfectly."

Another pause from Eri increased Juliana's anxiety. "You know, when Team Star first launched Operation Star, I had a lot of the same misgivings that you had. Sure, we were only trying to scare off the bullies, but if it came down to it, I figured there was a real possibility that a brawl could break out. I could easily ruin someone's life and my own with my actions. You know why I went through with it?"

"Something something friendship something something my bonds are my treasure?" Juliana guessed rudely, having already heard this story in one form or another from the rest of Team Star.

Eri laughed heartily. It was a full laugh that would have been more impressive if it wasn't immediately swallowed up by the crater behind them. "No, but close, I guess. I went ahead with it because if someone was going to have to take that fall, I wanted it to be on my hands. The others may have been victims of bullying, but that was all they knew. I had a chance to live the popular life, at least for a while. I know it was stupid to see that as all there was to care about now, but back then, I saw it as me already having had my shot. If someone had to go down for this, it just made sense that it was me. Of course, our boss had other plans, but you know the rest of that story."

Juliana stared at her hands. The fingernails she only occasionally made time for were caked in dirt from climbing and digging, testing soil for just the right place to strike. Is that the way she really felt, that she had to be the one to go down for this? That wasn't quite right. If she believed in her cause that much, she would have found a way to take the bullet for those researchers still resting in Area Zero right now. "It's for me too," Juliana announced as she stood up and dusted her jeans off. "I want to move forward with this region that was so kind to me. We can't always agree with each other, but I'm not going to stand by while the leadership in this region bullies everyone else into thinking that what's going on can be ignored."

The phrasing Juliana chose struck a chord with Eri as she also rose, letting her cap billow out behind her. "I know. That's why you have Team Star's- no, my support. It's our responsibility to be that grand future Top Champion Geeta wanted, right?" Eri supported this question with a firm pat on the back that almost sent Juliana tumbling down the mountain.

When she recovered, a wry smile formed on Juliana's face as she considered the irony of Geeta's previous statements about encouraging youth development. Hopefully the notion wouldn't be lost on her today. "Yeah. Thanks, Eri, really. Oh, right, did you pick up Giacomo and Penny's signal?"

The wrestler nodded, pulling out a phone similar to the ones that Penny kept on her. "Yup. It was late, but we knew that was a risk in entrusting a third party to handle the delivery. The boss is a devious one, alright. I definitely wouldn't see standing in the League's crosshairs as the best way to avoid getting shot at. Oh, and Arven helped, I guess."

"If we do this right, I'll be the only one they think about again after today," Juliana echoed, her thoughts turning for a moment to Arven as Eri pulled up the message that Giacomo had sent from the Segin Squad's base some time earlier to review.

When things had gone south, it had been Arven to first help pick up Juliana's slack. She'd known what she should do from her current position after fleeing the League building, but the will to act had eluded her. Jumping out of a window that left her with lacerations all over her limbs that hadn't completely closed even now certainly wasn't helping matters. For those reasons she'd made her only traceable call since her actions to Arven, and the two had met up to discuss things and help Juliana calm down. Calming down. It was such a foreign concept to her since she'd accepted the League's request to continue operations in Area Zero. Every direction she turned seemed to lead to more hidden secrets or lost lives. Paldea had been crying out to her the entire time, insisting that there was only one way out of the rabbit hole, yet Juliana had remained stubbornly deaf until now, continuing to dig without considering the consequences. Perhaps that was only fair. She was employing Geeta's own tactics and causing as many problems as she solved today, after all. The time for deliberation had passed. She threw that chance away along with her chance to talk when she jumped through a window. Though she wasn't sure if the League had tracked her call, it was her responsibility to ensure that the spotlight remained on her alone to repay Arven's kindness.

Withdrawing an ultra ball, Juliana released a pokémon in front of the two ladies. Out came a four-legged creature composed of sedimentary rock with a cracked bowl on its head resembling an inverted helmet. The layered rock made up its bulky body all the way to its head, and it cried out in celebration of being released as it dwarfed even Eri in size. Juliana bit her lip, feeling self-conscious about the volume of her screaming earlier. Ting-Lu here had no problem getting its voice to echo loud enough to probably wake her mother on the other side of the region. Witnessing the strength of Ting-Lu, one of the four legendary treasures of ruin in person was intimidating even when that pokémon belonged to her. "Whoa… it's huge," Eri gawked at the newcomer. "You actually managed to catch this thing, huh? Well, of course you did, but still…"

"It's still a pokémon, no matter what people call it," Juliana defended, stepping forward with more confidence than she actually had to rub her pokémon's neck.

Even this action sent chills down Juliana's spine, but she stowed her fear away. Showing that to anyone, especially her pokémon, could only be detrimental. Ting-Lu didn't need any of her negative emotions as encouragement to lose control. Instead, Juliana indicated the edge of the cliff that the trio was standing on. "Alright, Lulu. Just like we practiced. Aim for that little mark on the ground."

Ting-Lu bellowed its name one more time before stepping forward to the edge of the cliff as Juliana and Eri stepped back. It positioned its body to be just behind the x Juliana had made on the ground after extensive testing of the soil. With one more cry, Ting-Lu lowered its head slowly to the ground at the edge of the cliff. For a moment, nothing happened, then the ground beneath them began to rumble. A thin crack appeared in the ground where Ting-Lu had made contact, rapidly growing and spreading down the side of the mountain. Though it likely wouldn't reach the mountain's base, it would easily extend deep enough for the purposes of its trainer. The fissure in the ground continued to grow, revealing part of the mountain's innards as shifting pebbles quickly became rocks and then boulders that started tumbling down the mountain. Juliana and Eri stuck to one side, Juliana relying on Eri's bulk to keep them grounded. A terrible cacophony of rumbling rocks and breaking boulders drowned out Juliana's thoughts as she observed the true strength of one of the treasures of ruin. Were she not clinging to Eri for survival purposes, she'd be covering her ears. In spite of herself, Juliana couldn't help but glance down in trepidation at the rockslide she was causing. Knowing that Eri had previously cleared the area out was a comforting thought, but it still left worry in her mind that she'd somehow missed something. As the gap in the mountain continued to widen, Juliana's fears were proven real. A garchomp that had been tunneled somewhere in the mountain was disturbed by the sudden quake and jostled out into the open air. As it tried to steady itself, a boulder made direct contact and sent it hurtling into the rockslide. Without thinking, Juliana leapt into action.

Eri, having seen the pokémon as well, was too distracted wondering what she should do to stop Juliana from doing something. Luckily, her miraidon was thinking along the same lines as its adopted trainer. Juliana surged forward into the fissure that had widened to almost five times her height, her body being saved from falling by miraidon. The duo glided down at the same pace as the falling rocks toward the barely visible form of the garchomp. This would have to be a perfect shot, one Juliana would never try under other circumstances. There was no telling how long the pair would have until they ended up in the same position as Garchomp. She withdrew an ultra ball from her bag with a free hand and prepared to throw. Miraidon once again sensed Juliana's intent and slowed its descent slightly to give its master more time. As Juliana took aim, rocks whizzing by her face amid cries of alarm from Miraidon, she recalled Nemona's lack of talent with aiming and throwing pokéballs. This one's for you, Champion Nemona.

With careful placement, the ultra ball soared through the air and made direct contact with Garchomp. The ball wasn't given time to fully absorb its target before Juliana snatched it out of the sky again, preventing it from becoming buried in rubble. As soon as she had her grip on the ball, the miraidon's wings on the sides of its head unfurled, sending the duo into a steep glide rather than a controlled freefall. The pair began to move outward, out of the fissure and away from the falling rubble as the ultra ball shook angrily in Juliana's hand. "Stay in if you know what's good for you!" Juliana cried out as she held on for dear life herself.

Somehow, everyone except the mountain was still in one piece when the rocks stopped falling. Fortunately, miraidon was smart enough to be able to act without Juliana's directions and led them to a section of the mountain where the rocks remained stationary. Once she was certain that the land was somewhat stable again, Juliana cautiously urged her pokémon to return to Eri. Miraidon obeyed, lumbering forward slowly before taking careful leaps up the wall to return to its original position. When she made it back, she was greeted with a face of disbelief from her companion and indifference from Ting-Lu. "You're crazy, you know that?" Eri berated, relief evident in her tone.

"I'd have been crazier not to fix a mistake I caused. No rockslide deaths under my watch again," Juliana joked, though she doubted her ability to completely remove the sincerity in her tone.

Eri looked like she wanted to keep talking, but the words didn't come to her. Taking this as a sign to move on, Juliana took her new pokémon out and released it from her control onto the now much smaller ridge. Garchomp were a fiercely proud species. Even if Juliana had wanted to keep it, she doubted that any pokémon of its kind would be willing to listen to her after being caught like that. She certainly wouldn't be in its position. The newly released garchomp growled at her before turning to stalk away and stumbling. Juliana sighed, withdrawing a full restore from her bag. "Hold still. I'll take care of that injury, then you can go," she instructed in a tone that left no room for argument.

Garchomp disagreed with this description of upcoming events, snarling as it wheeled on Juliana to protect its weak side. Juliana almost threw her weapon of choice to the ground in frustration. If there was one thing she couldn't deal well with, it was people who were too proud to accept help. She knew it was true because she was one of those people. Still, the way to deal with these problems was both simple and effective. Juliana paced forward, maintaining a constant canter and giving the garchomp time to adapt to her presence. If it was stubborn enough to bite her, she'd just have to count on miraidon to interfere. The pokémon continued to growl but made no further moves as Juliana approached. "Juliana…" Eri warned, though Juliana ignored her.

Only when she was close enough for the garchomp to attack did Juliana hold out the full restore for it to inspect. "It's medicine. It'll help," Juliana reassured. "Let me help you, okay?"

Garchomp leaned forward, causing Eri to tense up, expecting an attack. Instead, the pokémon sniffed the bottle before grunting and turning away. The motion was ambiguous, but Juliana interpreted a non-hostile response as a success. She leaned forward, making sure to stay in full view of the pokémon at all times. When she was certain that she'd found a sweet spot between effective spray range and garchomp tolerance, she began to apply the full restore. The potion worked quickly, and before long the garchomp was standing up straight again. "See? All better. Sorry for the trouble," Juliana bowed to the pokémon as it tested its limbs.

Sensing that their interaction was over, Juliana backed off and allowed the garchomp to take off without so much as a thank you. Eri watched it glide away in mild disbelief. "You're even crazier than I thought, and I just watched you tear a mountain apart," she commented.

Juliana shook her head. "It's very simple. If you treat them how you'd like to be treated in their position, it becomes much easier to determine what you should do. And speaking of that, we need to do what we came here to do before people begin investigating."

Before they could act, another presence bore down on Juliana. Realizing what she'd forgotten, Juliana withdrew an apple from her back and held it out to Ting-Lu. "Yes, you did well, Lulu. You earned this." The treasure of ruin ate the apple greedily while allowing Juliana to pet her. "Eri, can you check the closest part of the fissure? Lulu is a bit of an attention hog."

Lulu snorted at the accusation but didn't rebuff Juliana's advances. While she dealt with her legendary problem child, Eri knelt down to inspect the canyon that had just formed. Having seen a garchomp inside the mountain, she doubted that they'd be able to find anything close to what they were looking for. She was dead wrong.

The cautious kneeling turned into gawking as Eri saw long black crystalline structures running between the two sides of the fissure in a random lattice pattern. They appeared to be undamaged from Ting-Lu's actions, the pattern vaguely resembling a durant colony nest when viewed from the side. Neither girl could see it from their vantage point, but the act had created a deep fissure in the mountain surrounding Area Zero, not quite large enough to reach the base, but enough that it reached some of the swirling clouds on the interior side of the crater. The fracture ironically looked like the same fracture in the bowl on Ting-Lu's head, which may or may not have been an intention of the vengeful pokémon. Before long, others around the region would see the mountain's injury and become fearful, worried that a full collapse could be imminent and the end times were upon them. They would see the lingering tendrils of black stone holding the mountain together like melted cheese from two parts of a sandwich and wonder what exactly they were, start asking questions. Juliana didn't need a mountain injury to believe that things in the region were bad, to see just how deeply the tera phenomenon had ingratiated itself into the region. Instead, she was focused on some of the small, black stones that had come unearthed in the process of creating the fissure. Most of the mountain was solid stone, but some of these black crystalline rocks perforated the area throughout the mountain. Though many boulders and other stones were left cracked and smashed on the ground, all of these black stones were perfectly intact. Cautiously, Juliana picked up one of the few that she could reach nearby. Instantly she dropped it, the energy surging out of the stone running through her body like an electric shock. "Damn!" she swore, shaking her hand.

Eri fared much better, managing to hold on to the rock for a few seconds before the consequences of her actions caught up with her. "So these are really tera shards?" Eri asked, rubbing her hands together. "Normal tera shards don't behave like this. And the crystal structure down there… you're so lucky to not be dead."

"Normal tera shards come from fragments left over from terastilization," Juliana corrected, choosing not to acknowledge the fact that she shouldn't be alive. "What we're looking at here is more like the battery, the source. Tera energy is supposed to dissipate after the pokémon faints or is recalled. The late professor had some theories about harnessing that energy but never ultimately saw any of them bear fruit. I think it's because he discovered that nature was already doing a much better job than he ever could."

Eri looked at the rocks again. "Is this why tera pokémon were able to appear in Area Zero and nowhere else until the tera orb became a thing?"

"Only one way to find out," Juliana responded, tossing one of her pokéballs into the air. A skeledirge emerged from the ball, bellowing out its song for nobody in particular. The champion nodded to her first pokémon partner affectionately. She'd run many different teams across her journey, but this one always had a spot reserved just for it. "Alright, Coco. Give it a try, will you?"

Skeledirge knew exactly what its master wanted and lumbered over to the nearest black rock. With a cry, bright light surrounded its body, followed by an explosive formation of bright crystals from the ground. All the black rocks in the area practically hummed with power as the crystals shattered, When the revealing a ghost terastilized Coco. Juliana nodded to herself. "That confirms what we already presumed, at least. These rocks serve as the batteries for terastilization. Another top secret tera orb mystery revealed."

Eri scratched her head, trying to resist the urge to pick up another rock just to prove she could. "But we already basically knew this. Pokémon centers keep rocks like this around just to recharge tera orbs, yeah?"

"What we and nobody else knew was how widespread these things were," Juliana added, indicating the numerous black tera rocks spread throughout the fissure. "These things are supposed to be among the rarest materials in our region, yet they look almost as common as granite based on this sample."

Eri couldn't disagree as she took another look at the fissure. "This is the irrefutable proof," Juliana muttered to himself. "The League, Dr. Turo, even the Academy. They all lied to us, trying to sweep this problem under the rug. Our entire region is one massive time bomb." Hearing those words spoken aloud sent chills through Eri's spine.

"But that's why we decided that we have to do something about it, right?" she asked, trying to lighten Juliana's mood a little.

Juliana sighed, recalling Coco before nodding. "Yeah… yeah. Geeta won't be able to ignore this, and that gives us insight into her blind spots." With that, she pulled out her phone, indicating that Eri should come closer.

Eri raised an eyebrow at the phone choice but complied. Juliana scrolled through her contacts until she found Penny and dialed her number. Though Eri was aware of the dangers associated with sending out a signal indicating Juliana's location, she said nothing as the phone rang. As soon as the automated beep for a voicemail sounded, Eri spoke. "Don't panic. I confirmed what I already suspected. Nobody was injured. I repeat, nobody was injured. It's not too late to help. The ball's in your court. Please, stop ignoring me." Immediately, Juliana hung up and allowed herself a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Any longer than that and she'd definitely be giving the League too much of an advantage.

"That was more stressful than I thought it was going to be," Juliana admitted.

Her companion smiled reassuringly. "You did fine. This is the right thing to do. If something bad really did happen because of this, the League will notice and take care of it better than we could."

"I just hope Penny's able to hold up her end of things."

"The boss always comes through. You can trust her," Eri reminded her friend emphatically.

Juliana took a moment to rewind her thoughts. Doubting others or herself now wasn't healthy. "Right. Either way, we should collect a few of these stones, carefully. Our friend is going to be able to use some."

The friend that Juliana was referring to made some sort of mechanical noise from Juliana's discarded bag being watched over by miraidon. It likely hadn't appreciated being tossed around while its owner decided to play hero for a pokémon that was immediately released, but complaining was illogical when nobody was listening. The collection process for the rocks was actually much simpler than expected. Though the rocks would cause tera energy to surge through any living thing that came in contact with it, non-living things that weren't specifically designed to interact with it like tera orbs had no effect. This meant that the human invention of the hand towel was stronger than the most powerful energy source in the region, at least for today. When she was satisfied with their haul, Juliana considered her options once more. There was still a bit too much time between now and the encroaching deadline to start making her move. She would have liked to get in touch with the rest of Team Star, particularly Atticus, but one call to raise the signal for her location was already pushing her comfort zone. Moreover, she'd promised Penny to do her best to keep the tech wizard's name out of this problem. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, and more importantly, Juliana didn't want to cause her friend more problems with the law than she already had. Worse, if groups like the International Police actually got involved like Geeta had promised and Penny's message had implied, their recompense for failure would be a lot more than some unpaid labor and travelling abroad. "What now?" Eri asked, echoing Juliana's own thoughts.

"What do you think?" Juliana redirected. "We have some time before we need to move out. Arven should be keeping Geeta's herdiers off of our trial for a while longer. Any further moves would probably draw attention in the wrong direction, but I don't want to end up wasting this opportunity we have to get something done."

The problems that Juliana laid out were considered carefully by her companion. Eri paced back and forth, weighing the pros and cons of each potential action silently before coming to some sort of conclusion. "Question. What would you want to do right now, if you could do anything you wanted?"

Caught off guard by the idea, Juliana scratched her head. "Anything? I don't know. Hang out with my pokémon, I suppose. Maybe have a picnic."

Eri shook her head. "No, more specific than that. I mean is there something in the region you feel like would be a good idea to do before tomorrow?"

Finally sensing the intentions of Eri, Juliana shook her head. "I see. Thank you, Eri, but I made my peace with my decision a long time ago. There's no need to reminisce on what could have been at this point."

The wrestler frowned, walking over to Juliana. The purpose of this action felt to Juliana like she was being reminded just how small she was in comparison to the giant in front of her. "What about the people you're leaving behind? Have they had a chance to make their peace with your decision?"

"Those guys in Area Zero didn't. It would be wrong of me to take something for myself that I've already robbed of others. I-" Juliana's explanation was interrupted by a long sigh from Eri.

"Really now, I knew you were getting cold feet, but this is ridiculous. I've never seen someone be so wishy-washy when it comes to the things that matter to them the most. If you leave without saying goodbye, it's going to come back to bite you in the butt. You know where they're going to be, so just pop in and say hello and head out. Don't listen to what that annoying voice in the bag says. This is your treasure we're talking about, right?"

Juliana knew that Eri's words were wrong. If she was actually committed to saving the region, she had no reason to interfere with what Arven or anyone else was doing. She should lie low and wait for the appointed time to strike. But the Juliana in her head with her bleeding heart fully agreed with Eri. Eventually, sentimentality won out. "Alright, fine. We'll stop by and say goodbye. But I'm counting on you to provide backup."

Eri stole Juliana's smirk, her imposing visage filling Juliana with confidence for once. "Of course. Team Star always comes through for our friends."


This was the dumbest, most asinine part of Juliana's plan besides not involving Penny directly from the beginning. She wasn't exactly one to talk when it came to grand schemes, but even she could have cobbled together a better stratagem than this. For one thing, you didn't order your sleeper operatives to approach the enemy's leader immediately after throwing up a big signal that implicated them as traitors. The Medali Gym Leader was another thing that was being ignored, and the International Police were another matter entirely. They'd stayed out of Paldea's affairs for nearly a decade now; having them here meant that the League had abandoned mercy as an option. There would be no cushy internship waiting for anyone caught in Geeta's web at the end of this debacle. For that reason, Penny had taken great pains to withdraw and conceal her involvement with her friend. She wouldn't go as far as to not help at all, but being confronted with jail again wasn't a position she had any desire to be in. "Should've smashed the phone, Penny. But that would have been sus too. Curse you, Juliana. I'm disbanding Team Star for real after this."

The plan was good except for the part where Penny was involved, which was terrible. Rumblings from what was probably Juliana's destructive actions had been felt all the way at the academy, which meant that any wayward transmissions that took place would probably take a while for anyone to notice. The news was likely still rushing to get footage of what would no doubt qualify as the eleventh Sight of Paldea in the time it was allowed to exist. In the time that took Penny could easily erase any records from her phone and claim that it never reached her due to the earthquake. That was of course assuming she could act on her capricious friend's desires. Concealing a signal was much easier and less conspicuous than hijacking a signal to blanket the entire damn region.

If everyone didn't make a habit of avoiding Penny already, she might have been drawing odd looks for talking to herself as she paced Uva Academy's halls. Instead, she looked exactly as she always did, albeit with a bit more vigor than usual. Juliana's dropped call had been good news, at least. It confirmed that nobody had deduced their current objective and that her friends were almost in position. That also meant her friends had all agreed to fall on the sword Juliana had placed in front of them. She knew they would, and that made her wonder if she was a bad friend for standing back this time. Surely she'd paid her debt to society already? Just having the thought brought a scowl to Penny's face. Being in the shadows for this long had made her more of a coward than she remembered herself as. It was for the purpose of dispelling those notions of her former self's control over her that she found herself standing in front of the director's office. The large oak doors had been opened and the director was nowhere to be seen. That was to be expected given that he was teaching a class at the moment. In fact, this was the one period of the day when every teacher was preoccupied with one thing or another. Students referred to this time in hushed whispers as the dead zone, dubbed as such because of the lack of teachers or faculty patrolling the halls. It was also called that because any student caught wandering about during this time was guaranteed to be guilty of something since no student could have free time during this period on a normal school day. It was a honey trap that the teachers used to catch as many students trying to ditch class as possible in one fell swoop. After all, just because the teachers were busy didn't mean their pokémon had to be. For that reason, the dead zone was the one period of time when the school was quiet outside of the classrooms. For Penny, it was the perfect time to strike.

Every variable was lined up for her to rob Director Clavell and make it look like anyone else but her was responsible. The list of students who had attempted to escape in the dead zone would be the primary suspects, but with any luck, the ones that got away would keep everyone distracted long enough to avoid raising suspicion on her until it was too late. For her part, she was currently attending one of her math classes virtually with the help of a bot that was programmed to alert her when her name was called so she could respond on her phone accordingly. The benefit of distance learning was an unexpected yet welcome side effect of working for the League, and one she would certainly miss in the coming months. It was a shame, but that luxury wasn't valuable at all when it was built on the back of the suffering of her friends.

Slipping into the office, Penny made her way behind the director's desk and started opening drawers. She was looking for Director Clavell's emergency broadcast code. In the event of an emergency, the director had been granted access to a special video code that could be broadcast to every phone in the region. It was a failsafe intended for use in the event that something unfortunate befell a student during the treasure hunt and was rarely, if ever used. Penny could hijack it, of course, but doing so would leave her digital fingerprints all over everything. It was much more effective to obtain it in a way that made it look like anyone could have committed the crime. She had faith in her coding abilities, but Juliana had insisted that she not incur unnecessary risk. "Because calling me on an open line and instructing me to root around in here isn't unnecessary risk," she scoffed.

Finally, she found the password book she was looking for. It was difficult not to make fun of the director for his earnestly decorated password book being stored where literally anybody could access it. The man's heart was in the right place, but Penny had made the mistake of trusting the academy's faculty once before, and she'd promised herself never to repeat it. Roughly 3 or 4 years ago, when she was just starting out at the academy, the school had suffered from a bullying problem that probably had something to do with how lax all the teachers were at corralling their students. When Team Star, or more accurately Cassiopeia had orchestrated the plan that brought this to light, her reward had been a year and a half of studying abroad (suspension) in her home region of Galar while the rest of her friends continued to be ostracized. The new faculty that stepped in to right the wrongs of the previous faculty had done little to change anything until Juliana appeared to give Penny the chance to take matters into her own hands again. "Working on the inside or the outside, it's all the same. People making the same stupid mistakes…" Penny considered dropping a more conspicuous indication of her passing, but she settled for leaving the drawer open as she memorized the access codes she would need.

As she finished and was just starting to compliment herself on her stealth, there was a clearing of the throat from the front of the room. Jumping two meters in the air, Penny was startled by none other than Ms. Tyme, math teacher and Penny's personal rival. She hadn't wanted any of the teachers to assume direct responsibility for running Team Star's bases following their unofficial disbandment, but it was a necessary compromise to allow them to continue to function. It wasn't Ms. Tyme's fault that the role had fallen to her, but it gave Penny a face to put to her general distrust of the education system to for this region. The more pressing issue with her presence was, of course, that she was being caught in the act of snooping where she shouldn't. "During the dead zone?" Ms. Tyme asked, a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Penny, I would expect this of our new students, not a full grown weed like you."

Ignoring the fact that she'd been called a weed, Penny slid the drawer closed and quickly ran some scenarios in her head. Even if she managed to get let go unscathed, using anything from Director Clavell's drawer for her plan was now out of the question. No matter what happened after this she was inexorably tied to the outcome. Somehow, this thought comforted her. She hated the spotlight, but seeing everyone else being so willing to risk their entire lives on this mission despite not fully understanding the consequences had awoken a sense of duty within her that she wasn't aware she had. "Ms. Tyme, you startled me. I was just looking for Director Clavell. Have you seen him?"

Ms. Tyme raised an eyebrow, trying to determine what angle Penny was getting at. Both of them knew that the only reason Penny wouldn't be in her online class right now would be if she was on fire or asleep or both. Except that wasn't quite true, not if Penny played her cards right. "I'm sorry, Penny, but I wasn't born yesterday. You're supposed to be in class right now. Honestly, between you and Nemona, it's a wonder all of our students aren't becoming delinquents. I took an extra patrol for this exact reason." Penny could tell that Ms. Tyme had been about to invoke Team Star's name and it irritated her.

"Apologies, Ms. Tyme, but this concerns some of my work for the League. I ran into a particularly nasty bug while I was coding something and I wanted to bring it to his attention sooner rather than later. It didn't even occur to me that his teaching hour was now."

The excuse would have been good enough for any other teacher, but the distrust that Penny felt for Ms. Tyme was mutual. She had never taken very kindly to people that made a mockery of the League or the academy, as a former gym leader and current teacher. It was for that reason she'd been selected to keep Team Star on the straight and narrow, and also why seeing their leader escape the stringent conditions for reform that Ms. Tyme had imposed on the rest of the team was irritating to her. "Hm. And what part of that requires you to be behind his desk?"

"The part where I show him the bug on his computer," Penny answered without missing a beat. "He never locks it so I was just going to let myself in. I've been warning him about that, but he never seems to listen."

This was abjectly false. Director Clavell used one of the more dangerous versions of password protection compared to the rest of the academy that would alert the entire League network if it so much as sniffed a hint of tampering. It was for that reason that Director Clavell usually kept it off unless he was away for an extended period. The events with Team Star and Ms. Tyme's insistence had changed matters though. Penny could still break in if she wanted to, but there was no benefit to gaining access to her director looking up what sort of phrases were cool to say with the youth. Her time was much better spent looking up those things herself so she could keep up with her Team Star comrades. Ms. Tyme heaved a sigh at Penny's explanation. "Oh, come on. I swear that man's trying to drive us all to early graves. Alright, thank you for letting me know, Penny. Would you mind if I waited for the Director with you? I need to speak with him concerning Team Star anyways."

Penny very much minded that, as she would now have to make up a bug in the program she'd been working on to improve League Point security to justify her existence. But she couldn't exactly deny the overbearing teacher, so she nodded quietly and paced over to the nearest seat. Penny wondered if she was supposed to say something in these situations as the minutes dragged onward. Ms. Tyme sat as rigid as the rock type pokémon she trained, sparing Penny no more than the occasional unreadable glance. Not like I really have anything to say to her. Lay low, Penny. Let this problem wash over you like a surf attack. You like this region too, don't you? Juliana's last question before she'd gone back into Area Zero on her last trip echoed in Penny's mind.

She did like this region, she just didn't care much for the people. The trainer didn't understand Juliana's ranting about the voice of the region or whatever, but she could understand that things were getting worse and the people in charge weren't doing anything about it. Team Star only existed to defend important things from bullies, after all. By the time Director Clavell reentered his office, Penny's resolve had hardened. She would lay everything on the line if her friends were doing it too. That's how things should have been from the beginning, and now was her chance to correct that mistake.

Ms. Tyme's expression hardened as the director wiped sweat from his brow, slow to notice he had company. When he finally recognized the teacher in front of him, the director's eyes went wide in primal fear for an instant before returning to neutral. "You think ignoring my lectures is funny, huh?" Ms. Tyme hissed, stalking forward. "How many times have I warned you, huh?"

Director Clavell raised his hands in front of him sheepishly. "Did I forget the computer lock again? I'm sorry, really, it's just-"

"Not that," Ms. Tyme interrupted. "I'm much more concerned about our students. There was another tera den incident at the Segin Squad's base this morning. They only cleared it up because we happened to send Nemona to the area. That's the third time in the last two weeks that something like this has happened when no teacher was present. For all we know that tremor earlier was one of the bases collapsing, that's how little communication I get on a regular basis even with two fewer bases. I've been telling you I'm short staffed, but will you listen? No! If this keeps up, the students will lose faith in us taking care of this problem entirely! We need to be more active!"

The director nodded emphatically with Ms. Tyme, his glasses bucking up and down on his face. "Yes, yes, of course, Ms. Tyme! But the students are there for training, are they not? If they decide to handle a tera den on their own time, then-"

"It was a six star," Ms. Tyme interrupted again. "And it was disrupting communications. Students can get hurt if this keeps up."

Instantly Director Clavell went from looking sheepish to serious. "I see. Perhaps I have been too lax in addressing this problem. I'll look into assigning two more teachers under you to ensure that this doesn't happen again. They won't be able to devote themselves full time, but I'll do my best to personally fill in the gaps. Will that be sufficient?"

Ms. Tyme mulled over the offer for a moment. "Give me direct communication lines for all the bases. I can't rely on wireless anymore. However long it'll take to set up is worth it."

"If you can give me some time to put it together, consider it done," Director Clavell responded immediately.

Now satisfied, Ms. Tyme thanked the director for his time. Penny suspected she wanted to stay to see what Penny was going to talk about, but she could tell that she'd just be kicked out immediately and said her goodbyes. For Penny, the whole exchange was strange and reeked of ignorance. Her private communications with the other squads had been just fine. A tera den wasn't nearly as dangerous as the others were making it out to be. On the contrary, some tera dens could power a base for days before it disappeared if one was savvy enough to take advantage of the energy it put out. Pushing the thought aside, Penny rose and walked to stand in front of the expectant director. Of all the authority figures in the Academy, he was disliked the least by her and the rest of Team Star. "Apologies about that. We're doing our best to accommodate your friends, I assure you. Now then, how can I help you, Penny?" the director asked.

Penny mulled over her approach. She didn't technically have to follow through with her lie. In fact, there wasn't much of a point to doing that at all. The bigger question in her mind was about how much the director was involved with the League's affairs. Penny suspected it was to a significant degree, but she had no concrete proof. It had been a point of contention between her and Juliana when deciding how much to try and involve the director. As a friend, he could be an incredible boon, but the odds of him making that full leap were next to none. It was as she considered this that Penny realized what she had to do. This is my all-or-nothing play, Juliana. After this, I can finally say we're square. "There's something only you can do for me, actually," Penny responded as sincerely as she could muster. "I need to access the emergency broadcast system tomorrow. Can you make that happen for me?"