Junior couldn't help but let his mind wonder on this peaceful island he's at.
He didn't know fully why Leo had insisted on coming here rather than the island they called home. It was far safer there from the black dragon Desghidorah with the ocean between them rather than an island that's within within the dragon's reach.
But he did as he was asked and brought the larva here. Now, the young dinosaur can only look upon the cocoon which houses his friend against an ancient tree that – to him – is merely an old tree. Perhaps there's something that Leo sees in it, but whatever it is escapes the dinosaur.
As he looks at the cocoon and sees how vulnerable his friend is, Junior turns his head and glances back at his own body. Many of his wounds have stopped bleeding with them and his burns have begun healing even if it's still slow. His regenerative powers are nowhere as strong as his deceased father, but they're working to get him back to fighting shape.
Just thinking about his father also reminds him of...Mothra...
A soft roar comes from his mouth as a tear slips down his face, grief coming back after having to push it back for so long. And how can he avoid his grief coming out?
Mothra, the kaiju who took him in after his father died fighting Destoroyah. She...who saved his life from that event and gave him a home to live. The divine moth who cared for him and treated him just like her own son.
That amazing kaiju...is now gone.
When she first sensed Desghidorah, Mothra had asked him to assist her while Leo remained behind to prepare himself for his metamorphosis. He arrived later due to his inability to fly, but he was able to surprise Desghidorah while he was distracted by Mothra and G-Force. However, that mattered little when the black dragon's attacks easily tore through his natural durability. Desghidorah had every advantage on his side, using his attacks to keep him and Mothra from getting the upper hand.
However, Junior wasn't expecting Leo to suddenly appear and begin helping out in whatever ways he could. But even with all three of them working together, it wasn't enough. When Mothra tricked the dragon into attacking a dam and causing a flash flood, the trio made their escape with the humans falling back as well.
Junior lagged behind while Mothra flew out to the open ocean carrying Leo with the trio making it away to hopefully recover. But the dinosaur wasn't prepared to see the divine moth suddenly release her son sending him falling into the ocean.
Nor her stopping her wings and falling as well.
The dinosaur shivers from the memory, having never seen the older moth falter before in his life. But he keeps letting his grief come up, allowing it out as he remembers the events that happened after that.
His desperate swim towards the two to hopefully get them back home. Him getting within about a hundred meters of the two as he hears Mothra begging her son to go without her. He felt the scream of horror he released upon seeing the divine moth slip under the waves and Leo diving in after her.
Junior himself dived after the two, a feat easier for him due to his amphibious nature compared to the two moths he was after. He saw Leo struggling to move, appearing to be drowning just trying to reach his mother. And he saw Mothra, whose eyes dimmed as she sank without any movement. And for a brief moment, she tapped into his weak telepathic powers and asked him to carry out one last wish.
Save Leo.
And Junior did as she asked. He swam forward, wrapped his arms around Leo, and hauled him to the surface. He kept swimming, even as Leo thrashed in his arms screaming for his mother. The only parent he ever had...and who couldn't be saved.
Turning his head back, the young dinosaur looks back at the cocoon even as his head fills with faint voices. When Mothra tapped into his telepathy before her death, she had unknowingly awaken the power he thought was lost so long ago. But in doing so, it opened a flood of telepathic messages which he couldn't stop from coming.
He heard Miki and other telepaths trying to get in contact with him. He hear the victims of Desghidorah cry out moments before all he could hear was silence. Some of them were of ordinary humans trying to escape from what was happening. Others giving their lives trying to stop the black dragon.
Junior feels so powerless just from hearing it all. He couldn't fight Desghidorah even with the help of Mothra and Leo. He'd need to get enough power to speed up his growth and increase his attacks. But that'd take time...time he doesn't have!
As he looks at the cocoon, the young dinosaur shifts his focus to the ancient tree as a thought occurs to him. Is...is the tree connected to a power source that Leo's tapping into? If that's the case...then Leo's the only hope that the world has. But how long would it take for him to emerge?
Junior doesn't know how far away the dragon is, but they're still too close for Leo to stay there for long. All that the beast would need is to get a bead on either of them and start making his way over to endanger Leo. And what if he gets wings?
These thoughts invade his mind...as Junior feels his own heart beat faster.
Suddenly, past events involving Leo quickly spring to mind as he feels his grief morph into something else. His heart races as his hands flex and he gives off a deep growl which grows in volume. His mind spews out more thoughts regarding Leo, finally making him realize something that had been bothering him ever since they met.
The two were close, there was no doubt about that. They were far closer than friends could possibly be and Junior never thought of him as such. But he could never see Leo as his brother or a younger sibling. The feeling he has never felt familial to him...and he finally understands why.
He fell in love with Leo.
The mere thought that the black dragon coming here to harm Leo in his cocoon angers Junior greatly. No, enrages him! He will not let that damn dragon take Leo – his Leo – away from him!
In an instant, he turns around and looks out in the opposite direction of the ancient tree and Leo's cocoon. The transforming moth within it is the only hope this world has against the dragon, but he'll never make it if the dragon arrives before he finishes his metamorphosis.
So Junior will be his protector.
The young dinosaur keeps an eye on his surroundings, preparing himself mentally for the possible battle that may come. He can't afford to sleep – short naps whenever he can get them will have to do for him. He'll need to eat, but he'll do everything he can to not leave the island or go far from it. He will wait for how ever long Leo takes – weeks, months...even years, decades if he has to!
He will stay and watch over his love. He will wait for how ever long his moth needs.
As long as Junior lives, he will watch over Leo...no matter what.