None of what was happening felt real. All of Juliana's limbs felt completely out of her control, flying helplessly like noodles in the air.
She felt like she was falling for an eternity, made all the scarier by the notion that her life might be about to end in just a split second. Splat, and then gone.
Juliana continued to scream, as if anyone could hear her. Then, frantically, she shouted out, "My phone! MY PHONE!"
In a sudden spurt, remembering all the times she had fallen off a ledge before and the Rotom Phone had activated itself as a safety grab to pull her up from breaking her legs, Juliana dove into her pocket mid-fall and took out her Rotom Phone…
…only for it to instantly slip from her hands and fly up from her.
"No! No… NOOOOOOOOO!"
Juliana could do nothing else now but brace. She'd fallen for long enough now that she knew her lights were about to go out.
She scrunched her eyes shut. And in what might be her last thought before dying, she breathed out…
"Mom… I'm so sorry."
Juliana scrunched her eyes shut… and braced for the end.
…
Then it all stopped.
"…E-ehh?"
Juliana was sure that she was dead and in heaven.
When she opened her eyes though… she did see an angel.
"Juliana…! It's okay! I've got you!"
A light was casting down from the crystals on the ceiling above that illuminated Carmine's whole face as she smiled down in breathy relief at Juliana.
"I've… I've got you! I've really got you!" she said to her own surprise.
One arm was grabbing Juliana's, while the other held on for dear life to her Toucannon's talons.
The Cannon Pokémon flapped its wings with all its might to carry both girls' weight as they began to glide gently towards the oncoming ground.
Juliana broke out laughing in a heavy catharsis. Against all odds, she watched the ground slowly approach her feet, and then felt herself touchdown softly onto it.
"I'm alive…" she breathed out. "I'm alive."
Carmine had the most pleased smile on her face as she stood herself up next to Juliana—but was totally unprepared for Juliana to glomp her really hard.
"Whoa-ho-ho!"
"Carmine… thank you! You saved me!" She looked up at her tall friend with glimmering eyes. "You saved my life."
"That's right," she said, fighting back tears. "This time… this time, I saved you!"
"You really are my tall guardian…"
Juliana was looking at Carmine with stars in her eyes. Carmine was looking back. Both of their eyes were very wet.
And both of their lips were… very close to each other's. And getting even closer.
They started to lean in…
…only to both flinch and rear back.
"Whoa!" Juliana giggled.
"Heh-heh-heh!" Carmine laughed back. "Umm…"
Juliana let go of her with a sheepish smile. Carmine rubbed her arm awkwardly. The two of them avoided eyesight with each other.
But then, Carmine broke the awkward silence by shouting "HELL YEAH!" and lightly punching Juliana's arm several times, making her break out laughing again.
"I mean COME ON! Wow!" Carmine started pacing back and forth, still high on adrenaline. "You know what? I am SO sorry for giving you shit that day I slipped and fell in the Waterhead! It was just like you said! I… I, didn't even think about it! I just—felt like I had to dive on in and save you! I probably would've died too if not for my trusty Toucannon, but—" She covered her mouth with both her arms. "WOW!"
"Yeah…" Juliana giggled. "It's—it's a weird feeling, isn't it?"
"Thanks a million, Toucannon!" Carmine complimented her bird as she let her arm out for it to perch on.
"CAW-CAWWWW!"
Then, Toucannon began to gag a little bit. "Urk! …Urk!"
"Whatsa matter? Got a Fletchling stuck in your gulle—"
"CUUUHHHH!"
Juliana was almost knocked down as Toucannon suddenly shot something out of its beak like a bullet, and nailed her square in the cheek. Rubbing it, she looked at what was shot out and exclaimed, "Hey, it's my phone! Awww, thanks Toucannon!"
"HEEEEEEEEEY!"
Arven ran down the end of the spiral to meet the two of them on ground.
"You girls both okay!?"
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Juliana giggled. "…Thanks to Carmine here!"
She proudly puffed her chest out. "It was nothing! Just call me Carmine the superhero! I—HEY! Watch the hair!"
Arven ran over and gave both girls a big hug. "I'm so glad you guys are okay…"
"Me toooooo~!" came Briar's singing voice as she also joined them at the bottom. "I don't think I could've lived with myself having a student's death on my conscience!"
Once they all had taken a moment to catch their breath, Juliana noticed Arven looking off into the distance.
"…Everything okay, Arv?"
"Hmmm. Yeah, yeah. It's just…" He started rubbing his head. "That Pokémon… the one that fell. Do you think it's okay?"
"Falling from the same height we did? … I don't know."
"I don't know why, but—I can't stop thinking about it. I kind of—I kind of want to go look for it, see if I can help it."
"Then go," Juliana nodded.
"…Really?"
"Really?" said Carmine.
"Yeah. I hope it isn't too hurt too, and… I know you've been doing a lot of studying on how to help Pokémon feel better. So if there's anyone who could help it right now… it's you, Arven."
Arven smiled at her, and gave a silent thank you before deciding to run off to go find that Slither Wing.
"Hey…!"
As the trio found themselves going through a long, crystallized tunnel at the bottom of the spiral Professor Sada had referred to as the "Sanctum", Juliana pulled out her Tera Orb.
"My Tera Orb! I think it's… reacting to something?"
Juliana's Tera Orb was glowing blue all of a sudden, and pulsing with light as well.
Carmine dug hers out. "Huh, you're right! Mine is too."
Briar checked her Rotom Phone and her eyebrows jumped up.
"I'm picking up a truly astounding level of Terastal energy! It's so much denser here than it was up there! We must be getting very close…"
She looked ahead and gasped. Ahead of them was an enormous, crystallized wall… with another giant crystal in front that looked like a flower, similar to the one they had encountered sealing the very entrance into the Area Zero underdepths.
"It seems to be coming from behind there…"
"But there's another crystal blocking it, just like before," Juliana noticed.
"I bet we'll have to find another one of those Super Tera Pokémon or whatever to make it disappear," said Carmine. "But I don't see one anywhere…"
"Grooooooooh!"
Just then, they heard a loud roar… echoing from far off in a tunnel.
A tunnel where the rocks split off into a river.
"That sounded like a Salamence's roar!" Briar gasped.
"Well, if any Pokémon's powerful enough to be a key, it's gotta be that one!" said Carmine.
"Great!" said Juliana, approaching the water. "I'll go fight it."
"Whaaaaat!" Carmine reacted, hastily pulling her back. "Are you MAD!?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're in no shape to go off on your own and fight a dangerous Pokémon! You just FELL! I'm worried about your body still recovering from that, especially your leg!"
"Carmine, I'm fine! Seriously… this is getting old."
"No way! Uh-uh! I'll beat you to a pulp if that's what it takes to make you listen."
"Alright, fine, you win," she sighed. "You go and do it then."
"You bet I will! Umm…"
Then Carmine took a good look at the water in front of her… and it was reality hit her in that moment. She backed away, and hummed nervously.
"What's wrong…?"
"Oh, uhh, nothing! I just—don't want to get my clothes wet!"
Juliana rolled her eyes. "Seriously, again? That's the same thing you said at the Crystal Pool. Along with saying you couldn't—Ohhh," she realized.
"What!?"
She started snickering. "That wasn't an excuse, was it? You really can't swim."
"SHUT UP!" Carmine started running her fingers through her ends as her face flushed red. "I just—never had a chance to learn, okay? Don't make a big deal over it!"
"Guess that means I do gotta go after all…"
Carmine still snarled her lip. Juliana sighed.
"Look… I'll hop on Miraidon's back, so that you know my leg will be fine. Okay?" Carmine meekly nodded. "Okay!"
Juliana called out her Miraidon.
"Agia—GRR?"
Miraidon at first let out a happy roar, but then the iron serpent suddenly seemed to go on alert.
"What's wrong with it?" asked Carmine.
"I don't know… Everything okay, buddy?"
Miraidon peered all around it, and let out an uneasy growl.
"Maybe it senses something," Carmine guessed.
Juliana gasped. "You're not… sensing that other Miraidon somewhere around here, are you?" Miraidon shook its head at her. "No? Is it—something else?"
"Maybe it's just that giant bug! Or the Salamence in there."
"Graaoo…"
Juliana wasn't so sure...
Arven moved aside some boulders in his path, which felt like a good sign since they were probably part of the crumbling ledge.
"Alright… It's gotta be around here somewhe—Huh?"
"Ulgaaaaa…"
Amid a bunch of fallen rocks at the end of a tunnel, Arven found the shiny Slither Wing from earlier. It appeared mostly unharmed… except for one of its back legs, squashed under a rock.
It whined in immense pain.
Arven slowly but cautiously inched his way forward.
"Hey…"
"MOTH-MOTH!" it reared up at him, making a defensive cry.
"Easy, buddy, easy…" He said softly to it. "I'm not trying to hurt you…"
The Slither Wing's angry face dissipated… and became a sad, hurt, almost pleading one, as it gazed sadly at its crushed leg.
Arven's heart began to jump a little bit. He was starting to feel a real sense of déjà vu… remembering that one fateful day…
Instead of Slither Wing, he saw his own Mabosstiff at the bottom of Area Zero. Hurt. Scratched. Injured. In horrible pain.
"Ruuufffff…" he remembered his bud crying out.
Arven swallowed the anxiety he felt boiling up from returning memories, and bent over, resolved to help this creature.
"Try to stay as still as possible, okay?" he instructed him. "Don't move your leg, even as I pull out this rock. You understand me?"
Slither Wing nodded sadly.
Arven slowly, and with much effort, picked up the heavy rock and tossed it just next to the hurt bug. He then examined the crushed leg that was underneath, and gently touched it, which made Slither Wing squirm and wince.
"Ulgoooo!"
"It's okay… it's okay…" he assured it. "I promise I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help."
He couldn't but wince himself as he examined the sorry state of this bug's left leg.
Once again, he felt like he was looking at his own Mabosstiff's injuries all over again. Slither Wing, with its X-shaped pupils and big yellow horns, seemed to be giving him the exact same sad look that his buddy did.
Arven nodded with a new sense of resolve. "I don't care if you're a monster from another time… Every Pokémon deserves the help."
"Woaaahhh…"
When Miraidon swam all the way to the end of the tunnel, Juliana found herself on a little island in a cave, with an enormous, crystallized tree in the center of it.
"That's… amazing!" she said. "It's so beautiful…"
Juliana wanted to step up to admire it even further, but then she saw a huge shape slowly emerge from the twinkling branches.
"BOHHHHHH…"
"Woah…" Juliana gulped, stepping back. "That—that looks like a Salamence all right. But it's so different…"
"Mrrowww…" Miraidon agreed.
"BOHHHMAAAAAANDERRRR!"
Roaring Moon spread out its huge, circular red wings which seemed to amass the entire circumference of its body along with big black tail feathers. Then… it Terastallized!
TERA-PA-GOO!
And came out… a Stellar Tera Type!
"BOHHHHHHH!"
Juliana gulped. "Well, so much for having the advantage of knowing what types will hurt on you, since I don't know what you even are… Well, go Tinkaton, I guess."
Tinkaton was sent out… and immediately looked up at its opponent in shock.
"TINK!?"
Roaring Moon bellowed loudly at the pink hammer girl. For once, the Hammer Pokémon shuddered a bit.
"We got this, Tink! You and me."
"TINK!"
Carmine paced back and forth on the wet rocks fraught with worry.
She didn't want to admit it, but she was starting to feel—strangely claustrophobic down here. The whole time Carmine had been in Area Zero, it all felt so strange and alien to her. And all the freaky shit they had encountered down here had not helped ease her anxieties at all.
She did not understand how Kieran could find any of this stuff cool.
Kieran…
That was the other issue. They hadn't heard from Kieran in such a long time, and had fallen quite a great ways down from when they last saw him. Carmine was trying not to think about the possibility that he might be lost and alone somewhere high up above…
Carmine was so caught up in everything needling in her head that she screamed loud when she turned around and met Arven's face.
"AHHH!"
"AHHH!" he screamed back.
She shoved him. "Don't—sneak up on me, you bozo! I'm a nervous wreck right now!"
"Okay, geez, sorry!" Arven threw his hands up. "Umm, where did Juliana and Ms. Briar go?"
She pointed down the tunnel. "Ugh. Juliana went off to fight a Salamence in there to see if it'll unlock this big crystal in front of us." And then pointed up. "And Ms. Briar decided to go up and try to find more Paradox Pokémon to take pictures of while we're waiting."
"Ohhh, okay."
"How's that giant bug anyway?"
"It's… in a lot of pain…" Arven bit his lip. "I—I decided to catch it in a Ball… and see if I can get it help when we get back to the surface."
"Seriously?" Carmine responded with raised eyebrows. "All this effort for a scary bug monster that shouldn't even exist?"
"You're one to talk, Ms. 'I'm-Gonna-Catch-This-Ghost-Just-Because-It's-Pretty." He frowned. "I don't know… I had to watch my own Pokémon get hurt real bad down here once before… I feel like I can't let it happen again to another Pokémon."
"Oh, that's right!" Carmine remembered. "Juliana talked about that in her letter. You're the one who had the really sick dog Pokémon, right?"
"That's me…" He nodded. "Poor old Mabosstiff. He's all better now, but—sometimes, I still can't but think about how much pain he was in… And how many other Pokémon might be all injured like that with nobody around to help them… That's why I want to find a way to make a difference there."
"Well… you're alright for a city bumpkin then, I guess," Carmine said with a lighthearted smirk. "Caring about Pokémon ain't a bad quality." She snickered a bit. "You're just like Kiki… How he used to be, anyway."
The two stood alone for a while. Arven really hadn't had any one-on-one time with this girl from Blueberry Academy, so he really didn't know how to break the ice with this Carmine.
At least until he noticed that she was constantly looking back at the tunnel she said Juliana went down, making nervous noises.
"You worried about Juliana…?"
"What were you, born yesterday?" She turned back to him with an angry face. "Of course I am! As her friend, shouldn't YOU be too!? Hmmph!"
This Carmine was a very hard one to get on the good side of. But Arven was just as persistent as her.
"She's probably fine. Jules has faced plenty of more dangerous things than a Salamence."
"I know, shut up…"
"Those big Titans we fought. And man… All those powerful Paradox Pokémon my AI dad used… Did Jules ever tell you about any of that stuff? She really had—"
"Quit. Calling. Her. JULES!" an uncharacteristically angry Carmine seethed. "I don't like that you have a quirky pet name for her!"
"Wow. Uhh…" Arven chuckled. "You really care about Juliana, huh?"
"Duh! What's your point, dirtbag?"
"No, I mean… you really, really care about her."
Her eyes widened a bit. "What—what do you mean by that?"
"She doesn't know at all, does she? I'm kind of surprised, because, well…! If you ask me, you've been kind of obvious about it the whole time we've—HURK!"
Arven suddenly found himself being dragged as Carmine grabbed him by his collar and forced him up against a wall.
"You're making a lot of wild claims for someone in easy punching distance, cowboy!" she said very challengingly to him. "What do you MEAN obvious!?"
"Well, uhh! Uhh! Let's see… The fact that you keep holding hands with her."
"Tch!"
"Whenever you're not worried about your brother, you're constantly hovering over her like a mom."
"So what!?"
"And I mean… come on! Angry at me because I have a nickname for her? You're so jealous it's nuts!"
"AM NOT!"
"When she went to hug me up there, I looked over at you and you looked like you were BOILING with anger! I thought you were about to lunge at us!"
Carmine had let go of his shirt by this point to bear her seething fists. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
"And… and…"
"Yeah! And what else!?"
Arven slowly regathered his footing, no matter feeling pressed against the wall.
"And, well… come on. Carmine… you dove after her. Without even thinking about it. You were totally going to save her—or die with her. Call me crazy all you want, but that's… not something you do as a friend who's only known her a few months."
"I… I…!"
Carmine wanted to find any excuse. Any justification. Anything that should shut his yap up.
"Ohhh… FINE! Yes! So what? I'm a stupid idiot who let myself get a stupid crush on your dumb friend! OKAY! Happy!?" She groaned loudly. "Geez, you're so annoying! Where does Juliana even find stupid friends like you anyway!?"
"Heh. I don't know why, I just had a feeling right away…"
"If you ever tell her about this, I swear to everything dear to me, they will not even be able to FIND your body."
"Why is your response to everything to be so hostile?" Arven remarked. "And no, I won't tell her anything. I'm a loyal friend, I know which secrets are precious to keep!"
Carmine sighed. She closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure, when—
"You know she likes you too, right?"
"WHAT!?"
Carmine whipped her head around with her eyes bugging out.
"She—she told you that!?"
"Well, no, but…"
Carmine groaned loudly. "Then why would you even get my hopes up!?"
"Because, well, she's being pretty obvious about it too."
"What do you—" Carmine was about to snap at him again, but instead she softened her tone and asked in more vulnerable one, "What do you mean?"
"Well, uhh, besides the whole holding hands thing…" Arven began to snicker a little. "She keeps doing this thing… I kept noticing it the whole time we've been on this quest."
"What's that?"
"I don't know, she just keeps… staring at you. And smiling, like this big goofy smile."
"…"
"I don't—think she even knows that she's doing it. But yeah. She just keeps looking at you with this… big grin on her face. I've never really seen Juliana look at any of us like that. Not me, or Penny… or even Nemona, who's like her best friend."
Carmine's eyebrows furrowed as she took all this in.
"You're like—something really special to her, Carmine. I don't want to make promises or anything, but… If you told her how you feel, I bet… she would probably feel the same way."
Carmine did not have a retort at all.
No snarks. No witty comeback. Nothing…
She felt like she was wearing her heart on the outside of her clothes.
For the first time ever, she was thinking real hard about the feelings she'd been harboring, locking deep inside.
And allowing herself to entertain the possibility…
Could Juliana… really love her back?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the giant crystal that was blocking their way suddenly shattering.
"BOOOOHHHHH…"
Roaring Moon tumbled with a great mighty roar, having taken a great deal of damage from Juliana's Tinkaton.
The Stellar crystals around it shattered, and it weakly flew off and dove into the sea to recover its strength.
Juliana and Tinkaton were both out of breath. Tinkaton in particular looked like it was close to fainting, Roaring Moon's powerful Jaw Lock and Flamethrower having done a great number on it.
"You can rest now, Tinkaton… good job."
As she recalled her partner, Juliana heard Carmine's voice echoing through the tunnel.
"Heeeey! The path opened up! We can go through now!"
Juliana and Miraidon made their way back through the tunnel to meet up with the group, Briar having also reunited with them. Carmine was there to help her down from Miraidon's back.
"Great job, Juliana!"
"Thanks!"
"I uhh, I really mean it," Carmine said softly. "You've been doing a real great job. I know I said I'd lead the way for us, but you're—you're actually a pretty good leader yourself. I would throw my sword down for you."
"Gee, thanks!" Juliana replied, not sure why Carmine was being so nice all of a sudden. "Oh, by the way…!"
"…!"
Carmine gasped as Juliana did it again.
She did a soft leap from the ground, and kissed Carmine on the cheek.
"I never did thank you properly, for saving me from falling."
"Y-yeah… don't mention it…" Carmine said quietly, placing a hand on her cheek once Juliana wasn't looking.
She gave Arven a brief glance, who winked at her with a thumbs-up. He quickly retracted it before Juliana met his eyeline.
Briar was looking gleefully at the small crystal hole that now lay in front of all of them.
"The crystals have vanished, and the final tunnel has been opened!" Briar said with unrestrained enthusiasm.
"Are we FINALLY at the finish line?" asked Carmine.
"I think so…" said Arven. "Whatever's inside there… we're gonna have to face it head-on."
"Oooh, I can't wait another second! The truth behind the Violet Book is so close now!"
Briar excitedly started running up to the grotto, ready to dive on in. But as soon as she got close…
"Huh!?"
All of the crystals in the room lit up red as scarlet!
"Woah!" Arven reacted.
"Uhh, what's going on here?" Carmine looked around.
"Travelers…" came a booming voice. "You've done very well to make it this far."
Everyone gasped as something large began to materialize above their heads.
It was the wicked gleam of one Professor Sada…
Like a giant hologram, her upper body materialized over the hole, towering over them so much that she almost covered the whole room.
"Professor Sada!?" Briar exclaimed in alarm.
"At the end of the tunnel in front of you all… is Terapagos. The great Disk Pokémon that Heath talked about in legends! The source of all Terastallization! I have put several years of my life, millions of Poké Dollars, and innumerable resources—my whole life, it seems, led me here to this place. To bond together with the mighty Terapagos, and use its energy to fulfill my true destiny! Which is why…"
Her eyes glared down upon them all.
"…I cannot let you proceed any further."
"Huh!?" they all shouted.
"Your burning curiosity was one thing… but I cannot let you harm, catch, or otherwise interfere with… my dear friend Terapagos."
Sada's face now took on a much more menacing look… as the ground started to rumble gradually.
"I would move the heavens and the earth to protect my friend… AND my dreams. My perfect paradise WILL come to fruition!"
"WHAAAAAT!" Arven shouted in disbelief. "Are you serious right now!? Both my mom AND my dad had the exact same idea to safeguard their treasures with a PARADISE PROTECTION PROTOCOL!?"
"Paradise Protection Protocol…" Sada's looming hologram repeated. "An apt name. I like it! Thank you! Yes! Professor Sada's grandest goals… All my life's work. You cannot hope to halt progress NOW!"
The look in her eyes became vicious as huge quakes began to rock the room they were in.
"And be ready, travelers. Because my greatest weapon… The true king that all the ancient Pokémon in this sanctum bow to… IS HERE!"
"GRAAAO!" Miraidon suddenly cried, sharply looking up.
Somehow, the purple beast was able to instantly change into its Battle Mode and push everyone away from the impending impact, shielding them all as…
-BOOOOOOOOOM-
Something huge suddenly crashed through the ground, sending rocks and dust blowing all through the room.
Everyone coughed as they tried to get sight of what had just come down.
Juliana was the first to see it… and she gasped.
The intruder's shape was extremely similar to that of her Miraidon… but the differences quickly became obvious. Its huge claws. The sprawl of feathers covering most of its head and neck. A pair of gigantic red legs, and an even more impressive brashing tail.
As the dust cleared and settled… and its yellow eyes came into focus…
It was clear that this huge red Pokémon shared a lot of similarities with Miraidon… but it was also a much, much different beast entirely.
"Wha… What IS THAT THING!?" Carmine cried out. "Is THAT the other Miraidon you were talking about!?"
"No… no it's NOT!" said Arven. "This is something all new!"
"It looks just like Miraidon… and Cyclizar! But like… the PAST version of it!" said Juliana.
"Agias?" Miraidon cried, intrigued.
The large scarlet lizard stepped forward on its booming legs. It gazed upon Miraidon, curious itself to see such a creature.
The two serpents tilted their heads and bent their necks, examining each other. Miraidon growled lowly, as if trying to say hello to this strange beast of a similar genetic makeup to it.
But then, the scarlet one puffed out its huge tire-shaped chest, and bellowed dramatically.
"GRRRRRRRAAAAAAOOOOOOOHHHHHH!"
Miraidon was so startled it almost changed right back into Ride Form out of fear.
"KORAIDON!" Professor Sada's hologram cried out. "My winged king! Guardian of my perfect paradise!"
Her orange nails grasped into a tight fist.
"CRUSH THEM ALL!"
Koraidon bellowed out again, daring all these Trainers to challenge its might.
"That thing's like… like a proper king of the dinosaurs!" Carmine trembled. "How are we supposed to fight something like THIS!?"
"Wait…" Arven looked curiously, and pointed up. "Look! There's—there's something on top of that thing's head!"
"You're right!" said Briar. "It looks—why it almost looks like a person's riding that curious Pokémon!"
Carmine gasped. "Is that…!?"
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Kieran's maniacal laughing face soon became visible from behind Koraidon's plumage. "A-HA-HA-HA-HAAAA!"
"KIERAN!?" Juliana and Arven cried in shock.
"KIKI!" Carmine screeched. "What the HELL are you doing!? GET DOWN OFF THAT THING RIGHT NOW!"
"No way!" he screamed back. "This thing… this Koraidon… he's my new partner!"
"WHAT!?"
"That's right! I battled this Pokémon myself! And I TAMED IT! How do you like me NOW, Juliana!?" Kieran craned over, gripping Koraidon by its curved horns, and yelled. "Guess you're not the only one with a magical time-traveling lizard anymore! You and I… we're finally EQUALS!"
"We were already equals…" Juliana lamented.
"Kiki…" Carmine shook her head in disbelief. "You're being ridiculous now! This whole obsession of yours is completely out of control. Please! Just quit this nonsense and let's wrap all this up and go home!"
"NO!" He shouted indignantly. "Even now, I'm sitting here on my big monster throne and you're STILL treating me like a little kid! This is my only chance to prove myself!"
"And just what are you hoping to achieve with all this anyway!?"
Kieran's face twisted—or rather, it tried as hard as it could to twist itself in anger. But his spirit kept breaking.
And finally, his face became exasperated.
"I… I… I DON'T KNOW, OKAY!? I'm not sure of anything about myself anymore! I thought I had gotten all strong and confident, and didn't need anybody else… But when we came down here, I just got all scared and weak and was relying on you again!"
Carmine's head drooped down.
"Kieran… relying on others sometimes isn't a weakness!" Arven insisted.
"Yeah!" Juliana agreed. "We're stronger together!"
"Juliana…" Kieran closed his eyes. "Juliana… Juliana!" He gripped Koraidon's horns even tighter. "See, I'm—I'm trying to stay mad at you, and even that's not working anymore! I used to have such a clear idea in my head of what I wanted, like a voice telling me what I needed, but—but it's all GONE now!"
"Then let's figure it out together!" said Juliana. "Please! Paldea might be in danger!"
Kieran sat silently on his new monster friend's back and contemplated. Carmine gazed up at him hopefully, praying this was the moment it all finally stopped.
He shook his head.
"There's only one thing I know for sure I want right now… and it's a battle."
"A battle?"
"That's right… a battle with you, Juliana! Your Miraidon… versus my Koraidon! No more gimmicks, no unfair matchups! No help from Carmine! And NO OGRE! Just the two of us with our two most special partners!"
Carmine was clutching her head with all her pressed fingers.
"I swear, I'm going to lose it, Kiki! After all this, you're still obsessed with that battle you never had!? We're talking about a world-ending catastrophe on the other side of that hole! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR—"
"CARMINE!" Juliana cut her off.
"Wha…?"
Juliana placed her hand on Carmine's to placate her.
"It's okay. I'm going to do it."
"You can't be serious—"
"Denying Kieran that battle he wanted, on the hill, that day. It's been my biggest regret this whole time… this is my chance to finally fix that."
Miraidon hovered forward, just as ready as Juliana for this challenge. Juliana nodded to it, and it nodded back.
"Alright, Kieran…" She took her battle stance. "If it's a battle you want… I accept."
Kieran beamed.
"Then you'd better not hold back even a little! LET'S FINALLY DO THIS!"