After touching down in Levincia, Juliana considered calling a Flying Taxi all the way to Cabo Poco. But instead, she decided to call one to take her just to the outskirts of Mesagoza… so she could enjoy a nice brisk walk down the hills, through Los Platos, and down the Poco Path again.
Juliana was glad she did, as it was oddly comforting replicating the first steps of her journey. Hiking down the light forest path, she was greeted by Tarountula hanging from trees, Lechonk sniffing around for food, and Scatterbug building nests. All of this was from when she was first starting out, still a complete newbie on her way to her first day of school.
That's right, I hadn't even met Miraidon yet!
She remembered Nemona leading her down this path, teaching her how to catch these Pokémon… which Juliana listened to politely. She already knew how to throw a Poké Ball at a Pokémon of course, having practiced on the Squawkabilly that would perch by her house, but Nemona was such happy company that she didn't need being retold the basics.
The only Pokémon Juliana didn't spy around the Poco Path that she remembered before was Hoppip, which made sense. The flocks of Cottonweed Pokémon had probably flown down south as winter hit the Southern Province of Paldea.
But even with the melting snow on the ground, Juliana felt like she was walking through a time capsule: back when there were no worries, no pressures and world-saving missions, just the pure bliss and optimism she'd worn on her face in a bright smile.
That jubilance grew even greater as Juliana finally crossed into Cabo Poco and could make out her house on the horizon… and a certain someone standing out in front.
"Arven!" she called out excitedly.
She started dashing towards her house, a strange wave of excitement crashing over her at the sight of her friend, who smiled and waved her way. Then Juliana gasped loudly as she got closer and saw more figures in the garden.
"Penny!? NEMONA!?" Her smile grew wider than a banana. "GUYS!"
All three of her Paldean friends were there.
Nemona called out "Oyeee! Juliana" and waved with her entire arm. She was still wearing the light black jacket and green scarf from before. Penny, who had been preoccupied on her phone, looked up and meekly waved at her with a smile.
Juliana practically broke out into a full sprint racing through the front gate and towards her friends.
"Jules!"
Arven threw out his arms, ready for a hug from the approaching linebacker. But even as he braced herself, Juliana startled him by jumping onto Arven and forcing him to grab onto her legs for support as she glomped him. Her hat flew off onto the ground.
"Whoa, hey!" he reacted, almost stumbling backwards. "Geez little buddy, I'm happy to see you too! Apparently not as much as you are!"
"Hee-hee! Hi, Arven!"
"Hey, don't let Arvie get all the love now!" Nemona teased. "How about some for your best rival?"
Juliana squeed, and she freed herself from Arven's clutches to divebomb into Nemona's welcoming embrace.
"Awww! Nemona, I missed you so, so much!"
"Well, dios mio, Juliana! I missed you too!" Nemona affectionately rubbed Juliana's head. "But… it's only been like less than a week since you left! What turned you into the big snuggle monster all of a sudden?"
"I don't know…!" Juliana said, snuggling her head below Nemona's neck. "It just… for some reason, it feels like it's been so long!"
"That's fine, but easy with the Crush Grip there!"
"Ehhh…" Penny was a little skeeved out by Juliana's overzealous shows of affection. "I don't—I don't need a hug. We can just say we both missed each other and leave it at that!"
But Juliana snickered in response. She let go of Nemona and started advancing towards Penny, flashing her hands like claws with a devious look in her eyes.
"Hee-hee-hee! The snuggle monster's coming for you, Penny!"
"Ahhhh!" Penny desperately tried backing away from her. "Juliana, you're scaring me! S-s-stay back!"
She tried to scurry away, but Juliana ran up and snatched her up in a full bear hug. She started squeezing Penny in childlike delight, rubbing her face against Penny's.
"AGH! You're almost as bad as that stupid Miraidon!" Penny complained, Juliana's nuzzles crooking her glasses. "And you've gotten—so strong! Juliana please, you're crushing my spine!"
"Oops!" Juliana let go, embarrassed and blushing hard. "Sorry, Penny! Guess I got a little carried away!"
Penny groaned as she straightened out her hips. "Ya think?"
"I'm sorry, I just… I don't know why, I'm so… freaking excited to see you guys!" Juliana bent down to pick up her hat. "It's like—it's like I haven't seen you in months. Is that crazy?"
"Not crazy at all," Nemona shook her head. "We still haven't really gotten any chances to catch up since you came back! Which is why this is such a great opportunity!"
"Yeah… yeah, you're all here!" Juliana realized, looking between her and Penny. "I thought Arven said it was just going to be the two of us."
Arven shook his head, wincing.
"Juliana, I… this is all my fault! Sorry!"
"Your fault?"
"You know when I called you and said I wanted to come hang out?" He gestured towards Nemona. "Well, this one happened to overhear and—"
"How did you expect me not to hear you, Pepper?" Nemona teased him. "Maybe you shouldn't make a call like that while you're still inside my house, dum-dum! Not like I wouldn't have found out and insisted on tagging along anyway, not to mention inviting Penny along!"
That piqued Juliana's curiosity. Arven was at Nemona's house…? Wow, they've been hanging out together a bit more lately, huh? I guess that's why he laughed when I asked if he knew where her house was.
"Well yeah, I wasn't just going to let you guys hog the chance to visit Juliana." She turned to Nemona. "Thank you for thinking of me. I guess you knew I would've never asked on my own…"
Nemona nodded sweetly. "Of course! It's way more fun for the four of us to roll together!"
"Well, as long as Juliana's okay with a bunch of uninvited guests," said Arven, still looking apologetic.
"Well of course! You guys are… you're always welcome to hang out." Genuinely touched, Juliana put both hands over her heart. "I was excited when I thought it would just be Arven, of course, but… you're right, Nemona. Everything's better when it's the four of us. So thank you all for coming."
With a particularly personal smile, she turned to Penny.
"Especially you, Penny. I feel like I've—seen you the least out of everyone. I still really want to do that anime night with you sometime!"
"Oh, y-yeah! Of course!" Penny said, surprised. "I'm so glad you remembered that for once!" Then her eyes widened. "I MEAN—not that I was mad that you forgot before! I just mean—I'm happy as long as… Ehhhhh!" She slumped her shoulders down. "Awww man, I'm already feeling all introverted again."
The three of them all laughed good-naturedly, even Penny joining in after a few seconds.
"So…" Juliana gazed between all three of them. "What have you all been up to?"
"Well," Arven started. "I've been—"
"Hang on!" Nemona hushed Arven by putting her hand over his mouth, to his surprise. "We'll have plenty of time when we're inside, the better question is what have YOU been up to Juliana, because WOWWW do you look snazzy in those new duds!" She held her fists together in excitement.
Juliana looked down at herself. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot! You really think this style looks good on me?"
"Yeah!" Nemona nodded vibrantly. "You're one cool cucumber!"
"Ohhh yeah…" Arven squinted his eyes at her. "I thought something looked different about you." Nemona nudged him. "Oww! I mean—it looks nice."
"Your hair looks really cool too," Penny complimented her.
"Thanks, guys. Gosh, you're going to make me blush," Juliana said bashfully, running her fingers through her hair.
"Where did you even get cool clothes like that!?" Nemona raved. "Does Uva suddenly have a brand-new uniform? How on Earth did you get in on something like that before I did!? I mean, I'm president of the student council for crying out loud!"
"Well… my friends in Team Star are all wearing outfits like that too," said Penny.
Juliana giggled. "Sorry, Nemona. I guess only those of us associated with Team Star could hit the ground floor on these new styles. Right, Penny?" she said, crossing her arms.
"Uhh- right!" Penny crossed her arms too. "Team Star represent!"
She and Juliana fist bumped.
"Awww, man!" Nemona slouched. "Why does Team Star get all the cool stuff?"
Arven snickered and leaned in close, whispering, "I'm pretty sure they're just joking, Nemo."
"Are we?" Juliana smirked.
"...Mostly sure."
Just then, they heard a loud growl. Surprisingly, it came from Penny's stomach.
"Eh-heh, sorry…" she said, embarrassed. "Can we head on inside now? I'm pretty starving."
"Yeah, what are we freezing our butts out here for?" Nemona declared, bunching her jacket up. "Let's go!"
"Alright! But first…" Arven took a firm stance and cleared his throat. "We're not allowed to cause any trouble for Juliana and her mom today! Got it!? We're going to be the perfect guests today!"
"You bet!" Nemona beamed.
"I don't know who you think you're educating here, but sure," Penny shrugged. "Whatever."
They all started towards Juliana's house, when Juliana turned to Arven.
"Hey, Arv? My mom does know that you and Nemona and Penny were all coming over, right?"
Arven stopped in his tracks, as did everyone else, and his eyes widened.
"…Uhhhh…" He lightly brushed the back of his head in panic.
But then they all heard a loud throat-clearing, and turned to see Juliana's mom standing in the doorway, smirking at them.
"She does now."
"I knew I forgot something," Arven seethed quietly to himself. He instantly ran up to the woman and bowed shamefully. "Ma'am, I am so, so sorry that we're all intruding on you like this!"
Hazel giggled in response. "Don't worry about it, Arven. I saw you three all standing around outside looking like you were waiting for someone and had a feeling what was up."
"Oh good," he said, relieved.
"Come on in, all of you!" she ushered loudly, beckoning them inside. "I've already making dinner for four!"
"Whew. I guess it's true what they say about moms having that hidden sense to always know what's going on," Arven mused. "…You good, Penny?"
He looked at Penny, who was staring off far-eyed in the direction of Juliana's mom.
"…Huh? Oh, uhh, yeah!" she said, her face red for some reason. "I just… want to get out of this cold already."
The two of them went inside the house, while Nemona smiled.
"Gosh, your mom is still just as sweet and generous as I remember. Guess there's no mystery where you got all that from, huh Julie? …Juliana?"
Nemona looked over at Juliana, and noticed the girl was looking at her with an extremely troubled face.
"You okay…?"
"Umm, yeah. I'm fine…"
Juliana answered her, even though her face looked very distressed. The longer she was staring at her longest Paldean friend, the more that harsh memory of their last encounter was stinging in her mind for some reason.
"It's just… I—I…"
She tenderly grabbed Nemona's hand, and to Nemona's even greater surprise, began tearing up.
"Nemona, I'm so sorry…" she squeaked.
"Huh?" Nemona was genuinely confused. "For what, bestie?"
"I—I'm sorry I called you simple…" She blubbered. "And for—and for telling you you don't think about anything besides battling…" Her lips quivered intensely, as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I didn't mean it…"
"Ohhh, hey, hey."
Nemona, pained to see Juliana having made herself upset so quickly, instantly threw her arms around her friend.
"That's why you're crying? Just because of that?"
"Nemona, I, I was so mean to you…" Juliana sniffled loudly. "I yelled at you, and—and you to go away," Her voice became lower and her words descended into semi-coherent babbling as she talked. "And I know how horrible that is to hear someone say that, which makes it so worse that I said all that to you, I didn't mean it, you're one of my best friends…"
"Hey, it's okay," Nemona assured her. She grabbed Juliana's face and forced her to look Nemona straight. "Don't beat yourself up over that. I already put all that out of my mind!"
Juliana sniffled as she wiped her tears with her sleeves. "You… you did?"
"Of course. I could tell you weren't in your right mind that day and that you didn't mean any of that. And so what if you did? I know battling's like the biggest thing I care about!" Nemona pointed at herself proudly. "Everyone's got their one big thing they're good at, right? I know what I am, and there ain't nothing wrong with that!"
Juliana laughed, Nemona's self-confidence doing a lot to cheer her up.
"Juliana… All I care about now is that you're acting a lot more like yourself again. That's the important thing. You could never, ever say anything that would make me not care about that. You're my rival for life! That literally means 'for life', y'know!"
Now Juliana grinned again, her face still red but her tears almost completely dried up.
"Thanks, Nemona. I… I really don't deserve a friend like you."
"Shush, shush, yes you do! Because you're amazing." Nemona put her hand around Juliana. "Now come on, let's go see what your mom's cooking up."
"Hee-hee-hee, okay!"
The two friends started walking inside, smiling all the while.
"Sure smells good in there!"
"Hey Nemona…" Juliana turned to her. "Can we have a battle sometime?"
"Uhh, YEAH!" Nemona laughed out loud. "If you ever catch me saying no to a battle, then you should be the one to start worrying about what's wrong with me!"
As they entered the house, Juliana was laughing in delight along with her best friend. And for once, she was letting herself think more positively.
Nemona was able to forgive and forget so easily, even after all those things I said… Because I'm her friend. Is it possible that… SHE would feel the same way?
Dinner at Juliana's Cabo Poco home was delicious. Her mom Hazel made an appetizing braised pork roast, along with her signature Galarian-style spicy apple curry, and toffee pudding for dessert. Like she had promised, there was plenty to eat for everyone, and they all sat in the living room together, eating delicious food, telling stories, and laughing a lot.
Nemona had a ton of battle stories to share, which was no huge surprise to anyone, but both Juliana and Hazel loved hearing them all the same.
Juliana's mom asked Arven a lot of questions about his life: his childhood, how he came to start studying at Uva, and the path he was on now. Arven was very polite and answered all her questions without a hint of being annoyed, in turn asking her about her own life and aspirations.
Penny started off a bit shy of course, and seemed particularly flustered around Juliana's mom. But Hazel was excited to learn that she's from Galar as well and they were able to find common ground in sharing their experiences growing up in the same region and how much things have changed in Galar since Hazel last visited. Penny was particularly astonished to learn that Juliana's parents both used to work for the company her uncle founded.
Eventually, everyone finished dinner. Nemona was the first to be eager and want to check out the rest of the house, especially Juliana's room. Arven insisted on helping Juliana's mom with all the clean-up and dishes, which she appreciated, silently acknowledging that the poor boy had to spend much of his life having to parent himself and wasn't used to being waited on.
Penny and Juliana sat on the couch talking about their plans for an anime night, with Penny showing Juliana some of her favorite series on her phone and explaining each one. They eventually settled for a cool spy-focused anime based on how exciting the plot sounded…
…and how hot and badass the female lead looked, of course.
Once they had settled on a plan, Juliana sat with Penny on the couch as she received a few pings on her phone. She would look at it every time, and either snort out loud… or just smile at it.
"What's so funny?" Juliana wondered.
"Oh, it's—it's nothing…" Penny said a bit shyly.
Juliana peered over the couch at one point to see Arven and her mom had finished washing all the dishes, and were now at the closet where Hazel was reaching over the top shelf for something.
"Let's see now… ahh! They should be in here!"
Hazel set down a dusty old box on the floor and started rifling through it. Finally, she came upon a stack of magazines.
"A-ha! Here we go! All my old issues of Women's Science Monthly! This is where I used to read Professor Sada's columns every month."
Juliana grinned, realizing what Arven must be up to: he wanted to research everything about his mother and her old life the exact same way he started reading up about Professor Turo after their first Area Zero adventure.
"Boy, I sure am lucky that you keep all your old magazines like this."
"I mean, I really should sort through boxes like this and figure out what to keep and what to toss, but that's my Achille's heel," said Hazel. "Always been a bit too much of a packrat. So whatever you want to take… feel free to keep it! You'll probably get more use of them than me."
Arven smiled sincerely. "Thanks so much, ma'am. This means a lot to me."
Penny had leaned over to watch the scene too, and she turned to Juliana and smiled.
"Your mom's super nice."
"Yeah, she is, isn't she?" Juliana grinned.
"And she's so pretty… my brain literally glitched when I saw her."
Juliana snorted, and even let out a couple of jovial laughs, to both hers and Penny's surprise.
"Penny, are you—going to date my mom?"
"Ha-ha… I'm glad you're having fun."
Juliana, feeling enthusiastic, scooched her knees closer to Penny on the couch.
"Are you like me? Do you just… find tall women really neat and pretty for some reason?"
"Huh?" Penny looked at her, a bit confused. "N-no?" Then she began to snort at Juliana. "Wait… is that your thing, Juliana? Do you… have a height kink?"
"H-HUH!? What… NO!" Juliana blushed like mad. "What's a kink? I don't—I just think they're really pretty…" She pulled up her shirt collar over her face. "Wahh! I don't know! Leave me alone!"
"Ha-ha! Relax, I'm just teasing you," Penny laughed. "You look really funny when you're all flustered like that."
Juliana groaned and pouted away from her.
"Sorry… Hey, if you really wanna know, I guess I—get really attracted to Gym Leaders."
"…Really?" She couldn't help but turn to Penny curiously.
"Yeah. I don't know what it is… I guess I just really like how confident they are?" Penny nudged her shoulder and muttered, "Even the last girl I was in love with ended up becoming a Gym Leader… Go figure."
Eventually, the friends all decided to convene in Juliana's room. Arven and Penny headed up to join Nemona who had already made herself cozy up there, but Juliana stayed behind for a bit to chat with her mom.
"Thank you so much for dinner, mom, and for letting my friends stay over. I'm… really sorry we all dropped in on you unannounced."
"Oh, don't even apologize, sweet pea," her mom answered. "Days here on my own get so lonely that I really don't mind the company. And your friends are all so polite and well-behaved too!"
"Yeah, they sure are," she smiled.
Hazel walked up to her daughter, a growing smile present on her face.
"And any day that I get to see your shining face again is a happy one, Juliana. We've barely even had a chance to talk, just the two of us! How are you feeling lately?"
"I'm… feeling really great, mom," Juliana answered earnestly.
"You look really great." She took a moment to feel the softness in Juliana's face. "You're glowing a lot, like you're, well, taking a lot better care of yourself."
"Oh. Yeah." Juliana awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. "I guess if there's anyone who noticed how the bad shape I was in before, it would be you…"
Hazel nodded. "I didn't say anything last time I saw you with your friend in front of that lighthouse, but I could tell a lot of things just by looking at you. How little sleep you were getting, the amount of stress you were putting yourself under…"
Juliana looked down shamefully for a moment. "Yeah… I know I've been neglecting all that stuff. My friends got on my case about it too. And… I'm trying really hard now, mom. These past few weeks, I've been focusing on taking better care of myself. No more pushing myself too hard. I'm taking breaks when I need to and… trying to only take on what I can and. And remembering to ask for help when I need it."
Hazel put a hand over her chest and sighed cathartically.
"Juliana… The fact that you recognized those things in yourself and you're saying all that… You don't know how much of a relief that is to me."
"Really?" Juliana looked worried. "Why's that?"
"Oh… You know how much I've told you that you remind me of your father. It's just that…" She looked forlorn. "Sometimes, I see you and I—I worry that maybe you've got a little too much of him in you."
"…What do you mean?"
Hazel gave her a sad smirk. "He was a lot like you when it came to always trying to max out on his tasks and pushing himself beyond his limits. He just hated the idea of quitting or taking breaks… Never wanted to stop…"
Her voice became a bit grave.
"He only slowed down when the doctors finally ordered him to… and even by then, well… I guess it was already too late."
Feeling tearful, Hazel embraced her daughter in a hug.
"I love you so much, Juliana… I just don't want to see you going down the same path he did."
Juliana's eyes widened in horror at the implications of what her mother was telling her.
Okay, I am… definitely never, EVER telling my mom what happened to me up in that bamboo forest.
"Although I must say…" Hazel parted Juliana's hair and got a good feel of her face again. "For as radiant as you look, you also look like you're still a little sad about something…"
"Oh. Umm…"
Gosh, Arven was right about my mom's sixth sense…
Juliana had put Carmine out of her mind since flying back to Paldea, but truthfully she was still very regretful about having chickened out on that opportunity to make amends.
"Yeah… there's someone, a friend of mine, who... It's really, really hard to explain. If it's alright with you, I don't really wanna talk about it right now."
"That's alright, dear," Hazel nodded. "Just… whatever's going on, don't bottle it up inside, okay? And please tell me more when you do feel up to it, okay?"
"Yeah. I promise."
Hazel then reached for something on the counter. "I don't know if it's anything to do with your friend from Kitakami, but…"
She pulled up a laminated envelope.
"I did just get another letter addressed to you, and this time it's from Kitakami."
"W-WHAT!?"
"Yes! It's from… 'Kieran'. Do you know a… Kieran, dear?"
"…O-oh." Juliana was bit surprised. And maybe let down? "Of course I do. That's Carmine's brother. He and I were—are also friends. I—I wonder why we wrote me…?"
"My word, you've been making plenty of friends!" She handed Juliana the letter. "Well, I held onto it for you. You can open it whenever you want, now or later."
Juliana looked down at the letter, which had Kieran's name and the return address of the siblings' home in Mossui Town, in deep thought.
…
"Juliana!" She heard Nemona call from upstairs. "Your room is so cool!"
…
Later.
Juliana joined her friends up in her room for a bit, where they marveled at how large her bedroom was compared to all the dorms at Uva, her little knick-knacks, and her penchant for putting cute stickers on everything.
"It's super cute, seriously… Almost too much for me to take!" Arven joked.
Then they all came downstairs to Hazel's siren call of promised dessert, and hung out together in the living room after consuming some delicious sweets. Nemona and Arven sat together on one blue couch, and Penny and Juliana sat across from them on the other one.
They all shared stories of their recent exploits, with Penny talking about how surprised she was when she was called into Geeta's office just to be complemented on all the work she had been doing in her internship at the Pokémon League.
"It was cute, but really weird," she recalled. "Told me how much I proving myself a valuable asset to the League, and praising my skills… I don't know what kind of mood she was in that day, but it sure made me feel good."
"La Primera telling you how talented you are is probably the highest compliment you can get in Paldea!" Nemona raved.
Juliana was excited to tell her friends all about her adventures in Kitakami with Perrin, and how she caught the fearsome Bloodmoon Beast, even doing a funny reenactment of the grouchy Pokémon and its terrifying claws.
"You can't just describe an awesome-sounding Pokémon like that and NOT expect me to demand a battle it this very instant!" Nemona shouted, actually firing up one of her Poké Balls.
"Uhhh… how about let's not let a giant bear Pokémon loose in the middle of Juliana's house?" Arven replied.
"Yeah," Juliana giggled. "If Ursaluna tore this place up, dealing with my mom would be way scarier than any ancient beast!"
Most of what Nemona had to share, surprisingly, related to Arven. The Slither Wing Arven found in the Area Zero underdepths was making great progress in its health thanks to Arven and Nemona working together to care for it, with Nemona gathering Herbs and vitamins from Raids to help in nursing it, while Arven was trying out all sorts of different recipes and seeing how the Paradox Pokémon responded to them.
dApparently, Nemona and Arven had even given it a bath together.
"Everything I've been doing for that giant hug-a-bug has been making me feel all souped up!" Arven proclaimed. "I feel like I can really become someone who can cook meals that will heal any Pokémon's injuries!"
"That's great and all but… hug-a-bug?" said a judging Penny. "Seriously?"
"That's… what Nemo has been calling it," he chuckled, pointing to her.
"IT'S A BUG, THAT YOU CAN HUG!" Nemona raved, gushing with her fists. "AND IT LOVES GIVING HUGS TOO!"
But the big news Nemona was really excited to tell everyone about was that Arven had actually started on the Gym Challenge!
"That's great, Arven!" Juliana was ecstatic. "How many Badges have you gotten?"
"Uhh, just the one…" he groaned.
"Yeah! He had one hard battle and decided he was done for the day!" Nemona complained. "What am I going to do with this guy?"
"Hey, you're the one who said Katy would be an easy start," he retorted. "But that team of hers was monstrous! And I had no idea so many of my Pokémon struggle against Bug-types… I was down to my last team member and just barely beat that extremely terrifying Scizor."
"Hmph!" Nemona puffed her chest out. "The Gym Leaders may be amping up their battles, but that just means you gotta amp yourself up even harder, Pepper!"
"Yeah, but—"
"NO BUTS! Tomorrow, you and I are meeting behind my house for the most intense training session of your life!"
Arven groaned annoyedly but acquiescingly.
"Wow! I guess there's really no escaping Nemona for you anymore, is there Arv?" Juliana laughed. "I'm sorry I left you alone with her for so long!"
"Yeah, it's crazy how much time you two are spending together lately," Penny agreed. "People are probably gonna spread rumors about you two being a couple!"
This caused both Nemona and Arven's eyes to go wide, and they sat blushing as they both started fidgeting. Nemona couldn't stop smiling for some reason, while Arven looked absolutely flustered.
"Yeah, well…" He cleared his throat. "They'd only think that, ha-ha… But of course, the actual truth is that—that… Uhh…"
Then suddenly, Nemona wrapped her arms around Arven excitedly and started… nuzzling his head?
"AWWWWW! Arvie, can't we just tell them already? I don't want to hide anything from our dearest friends!"
Penny's face went white.
"Wait… WHAT."
Juliana gasped, her hands up to her mouth.
"Are—are you two… a couple!?"
"Well—we, umm…" Arven sighed. "I guess the Meowth's out of the bag, huh?" He took Nemona's hand in his, and they both smiled at each other. "Yeah, we're—we're actually dating now."
"Awwwww!" Juliana cupped her hands over her face. "You guyssss! That's—that's so cool! I'm so happy for you!"
Nemona giggled in response. "Sorry… he wanted me to wait until we were ready to announce it, but—but how am I supposed to sit next to you when all I want to do is snuggle with my little Pepper?"
She started getting a bit… handsy with Arven, which made him chortle.
"Alright… dial it back, Nemo. Let's not scare 'em too bad."
"Okay, wait! No! Hang on!" Penny pushed her hands out to silence everyone. "I'm so confused! I mean… how!? When we were down in Area Zero together, you two couldn't be around each other for five minutes without bickering about stupid stuff!"
"Hey!" Nemona took offense. "We didn't bicker a whole lot! …Did we?"
Arven did a little wiggle with his hand to say 'Sort of?'
"How on Earth did you guys go from butting heads to kissing lips?"
"Well, here's the thing," said Nemona. "I only ever had a problem with Arven because he skipped classes and couldn't go two sentences without saying something rude!"
Arven stuck his tongue out to her in response. Instead of getting mad, she actually giggled.
"But then we went on all those adventures together. I started tutoring him, and I got a better sense of who Arvie really was underneath, all the things that he'd gone through, and how much of an awesome friend he is…"
Nemona turned to Arven and smiled at him full of awe.
"Eventually I realized I was just… finding more excuses to hang out, because I love spending time with him, getting to know him better." She gently cuddled on his arm. "Underneath that rough, rocky exterior, he's a smart, sweet, sensitive… handsome dude."
"Awwww," said Arven, leaning his head down. He grinned and said, "Can I hear that last part again?"
Smiling, she shook her head. "Nuh-uh. You only get the one."
"Fair enough. As for me…" He crossed his arms in thought. "So remember Jules, how on that video call with Ms. Briar, I was talking about how now that I've solved the mystery of both my parents' disappearances, that I felt like I had some closure and could start focusing on the rest of my life?"
Juliana nodded. Nemona, meanwhile, had taken to gently running her fingers through Arven's wavy locks while he talked. Penny was a bit amused at all the cutesy PDA suddenly happening now that the two were being so open.
"Well… once I finally stopped looking at the past and started looking at everything that's in front of me, I realized that I kept… thinking about Nemona."
Nemona looked up at him with a Skwovet-like grin, matching Juliana's mom's pet.
"How funny she is…" he laughed. "How resourceful she is. Everything she does to help people… Finally, I opened my eyes and realized that—that every time she and I weren't in the same place, I was constantly thinking about her. Like when we were down in the under-parts of Area Zero! Just… always wishing she was there. Looking forward to the next time we got to meet… I missed her."
Juliana was looking at him thoughtfully now. "…Really?"
He looked back at Nemona, now staring at her fondly.
"Yeah… Soon enough, I realized that she meant way more to me than just a best friend. When I look at Nemona…" A grin crossed Arven's rosy face. "I don't just see the present, the here and now. I see… my future."
"Awww, Arvie."
Arven leaned down to kiss Nemona on the top of her head.
"So, one day, I guess we both realized how we felt at the same time and—she treated me to a nice restaurant in Artazon and we… we decided to give this a shot," Arven explained. "And honestly, it's been—it's been really nice having a girlfriend, someone to count on. Y'know?"
"And it's been really nice for me to have a big, strong dude to look after and always look for new ways to make you smile that big, dopey grin of yours!" Nemona cooed, digging herself into Arven's neck.
"Awwww," Penny couldn't help but utter. "I guess when you put it that way, it all makes sense. So I guess I'm rooting for you guys, even though you're… rather sickeningly sweet. In a good way."
"Oh, lighten up, Penny!" said Arven.
"Yeah, trust me, you'll feel this way too when you find someone of your own."
Penny's face flushed. "You're acting like I've never had any relationships before."
"Have you?" Arven said, sounding genuinely surprised.
Penny harumphed.
"Well, I'm glad for you two," said Juliana. "Really… I am."
Nemona smiled sweetly in return, but Arven looked unsure. He observed Juliana staring at the floor for some reason, like she was thinking really deeply about something.
Then, Penny's phone pinged. Penny quickly looked at it, and then squeaked out loud. Everyone turned to look at her, much to her embarrassment.
Nemona snorted. "Geez Penny, what's on that phone of yours that's got you so giddy all day?"
"It's—it's nothing, seriously!" Penny said, getting flustered.
"It's so 'nothing' that it's got your face turning redder than a Voltorb?" Arven snickered. "Come on, spill your guts! I guess it's no secrets among friends now anyway!"
Penny sighed.
"Alright, fine. That was…" She gulped. "That was actually my girlfriend."
Everyone's eyes immediately zeroed in on her.
"Wait, no way!?" Arven exclaimed.
"Why—why am I more surprised by that than Nemona and Arven hooking up together?" Juliana wondered.
"Awww, Penny!" Nemona cheered. "So you DO have some of that rizz in you! Our little Pen-Pen's all grown up!"
"Ehhhhh! Why are you all treating me like some kid who's never been on a date? Just because I stay in my room all the time and don't talk to people, doesn't mean that I'm that socially inept!" She quietly added, "…Also, please don't say the word 'rizz' ever again."
"Well, don't leave us hanging!" Nemona raved excitedly. "What's her name!? What does she look like!? How did you two meet!? And what kind of Pokémon does she have? When do I get to battle her!?"
"Always asking the important questions first," Arven smiled. He turned to Penny and looked confused. "Did I… know you were gay, Penny?"
Nemona snickered. "What, it wasn't obvious?"
Penny growled a bit and decided to ignore it.
"Her name… her name is Noni."
"Noni? Awww! What a cute name!" Nemona gushed. "Another member of the N-team!"
"As far as what she looks like… I actually don't know. I've never gotten to see her in person before."
Juliana tilted her head at Penny. "You've never… met her in person?"
"Mm-hm. We've only really talked online. She knows what I look like, but she—hasn't ever shown her to me yet. She says she's too shy right now. And y'know, I guess if anyone knows that that's like, it's me."
Arven was furrowing his eyebrows at her.
"An entirely online relationship and she won't show you her face? With all due respect, Penny… how do you know this Noni person is even real?"
"She is real!" Penny protested. "We—we actually did sort of meet in person! I met her at a huge meet-and-greet in Levincia for Iono." Arven's face looked puzzled. "You know, Iono?" She made circles over her head to imitate those iconic Magnemite hairclips. "The Supercharged Streamer? Most famous Gym Leader in Paldea? Seriously?"
"Oh. Gym Leader, huh?" Arven. "Well, I guess I'll meet her soon enough, then."
Penny's eyes were wide as saucers. "How do you not know—" But she cleared her throat, deciding to pick her battles. "Anyway… I didn't get to see her face, but Noni and I whispered to each other between a wall for like, an hour or two. I really liked her a lot and she asked for my PokéChat number. So we started texting each other back and forth like all day long and…"
The Galarian girl twiddled her fingers a bit as she started to blush.
"I realized I was—kind of into her. I guess, kinda like what you just said? I found myself thinking about Noni all the time. And then she told me she liked me too and…" Penny actually grabbed at her own face, being all fuzzy. "We started calling each other girlfriends and texting romantically and… and I really love her a lot."
"Awwww, Penny!" Nemona beamed. "You're so adorable! I'm glad you have somebody that special in your life!"
"Yeah! And even if I don't know what she looks like, I still know a lot about Noni!" Penny gushed. "Like… she lives here in Paldea, but grew up in Unova! She loves Electric Pokémon a whole lot." She giggled. "She showed me a picture of her adorable Bellibolt, just as cute as the one Iono has! OOH! And she loves anime just like I do, and says she wants to learn to bake but is really bad at it!"
"You know what?" said Nemona. "I'm sorry we doubted you, Penny. It sounds like you know this girl pretty well. I hope you two get brave enough that you can meet each other someday."
"Yeah, I hope so too. And thanks," she said with an appreciative smile. "It's actually really nice for you to say that. Peonia thinks online relationships are dumb since we don't actually know each other, just an 'image' we want to project or whatever nonsense."
"Who's Peonia?"
Penny scoffed. "My sister, back home in Galar. She thinks I should use my hacking skills to figure out where Noni lives so I can go over and surprise her, and 'find out what she's really like'. She says a lot of dumb things like that. At least my dad's—"
"I didn't know you have a SISTER too!" Nemona's fists were shaking, she was getting really pumped up now. "That's gotta be super-awesome!"
Juliana turned to Penny, and asked, her voice sounding a bit timid, "What's… what's having a sister like?"
"Uhhh… I mean, mostly good. She's kind of annoying, though. Not as much as my dad, but… She's just so weird. She gets on my nerves, but I guess that's just what siblings are like, right?" Penny reasoned. "We still love each other, even if we're just… such total opposites."
Arven was sitting there scratching his head.
"Hmm…"
"Something on your mind, Arvie-kins?" asked Nemona.
"I'm just thinking about that girlfriend of yours," he said, looking at Penny. "You said her name was Noni? How do you spell that?"
"N-O-N-I."
"Right… So you and this 'Noni' met… at an Iono convention. You only heard her voice, didn't see her face?"
"Yeah…?" Penny answered gruffly.
"She likes Electric-type Pokémon and she has the same Pokémon that Iono does."
"…"
"And she's too shy to show you what she looks like."
Penny's head shook. "Where are you going with all this?"
"Sorry, it's just—it's all kind of funny, that's all!" Arven chuckled. "Cause to me, it's almost sounds like you're really secretly dating—"
"—IONO'S BIGGEST FAN!" Nemona cheerfully exclaimed. "She's gotta be like… Noni's all-time favorite idol! How cool that she's so passionate about a Gym Leader! I wonder if that means she's done the Gym Challenge!"
"Uhhh, right," said Arven. "Well, I guess we—"
"QUE OCCURE!?" Nemona suddenly shouted. "What happened!?"
"Huh?"
Nemona pointed. Arven looked and went "…Woah! Little buddy!?"
Penny turned to her right and gasped.
The three of them had been so absorbed in the conversation they hadn't heard the soft crying sounds that were slowly building up, and by the time they all looked over, Juliana was sobbing.
Not just small sobbing either. Tears were gushing out of her eyes. Her face was wet with them, to the point that they were dripping onto the floor. Her nose was beginning to run in all the calamity, and through it all poor Juliana was grasping at her head, not just trying desperately to stop her bursting tears, but struggling to breathe.
She finally realized in her extremely blurry vision that everyone was looking at her, and Juliana couldn't hold back anymore. She completely broke down, her face becoming ugly as she cried out loudly.
"AGGHH-HUH-HUUUUUH!"
She covered her face in her hands as the three friends all quickly rushed by her side and tried to calm her down.
"Juliana, what's the matter!?" Nemona asked frantically.
"Did one of us say something wrong!?" Penny asked just as anxiously.
"Tell us what's wrong, Jules!"
"Gnnnh! Nnnnngh! I-I-I'b sorry…" Juliana blubbered out, the words coming out of her mouth like she was underwater. "I don'd know why I'm cwying dis hard…" She made several loud gasps. "I don't want you guys to see me like this!"
"It's okay, Jules! Really!" Arven tried to assure her. "Just—just calm down and try to use your words! What happened!? G-get her some tissues, you two!"
Nemona and Penny scrambled to find tissues in the house while Arven stayed by Juliana's side and wrapped his arms around her to try to help her calm down. The two girls came back, Nemona with handfuls of tissues and Penny… carrying the rest of the box, and they each handed some to Juliana, who used the whole handful up.
She wiped down her whole face, blew her nose multiple times, and cried out the rest of her ugly tears into a big scoop of tissues in her hands.
"There, there… Everything all right or, close to normal at least?" asked Nemona.
Juliana's face rose up from her anguish-laden tissue fest. Her face was still extremely red and puffy, and her eyes red and moist. She was still breathing heavy, loud breaths as she swallowed all the saliva in her mouth, and her breathing finally began to slow.
"Phew…" said Penny.
"Julie, what made you so upset?" Nemona begged to know. "Was it something we said?"
Juliana sniffled a few more times before she finally mustered up the ability to speak words again.
"It was… it was everything you guys said," she answered.
"Huh?" They all looked at each other, confused.
"I'm s-so happy for you all…" she croaked. "My friends have all found love, a-and you seem so happy… But I, I… Ghh!"
Tear started streaming down her face again, as Penny handed her another tissue.
"I listened to everything you guys were saying, and I realize now… There was, there was somebody like that for me too… A really special girl, who meant everything to me! Not just a best friend, and not like a sister, but—but…"
She wiped her face with her sleeve and sniffled.
"Someone who I wanted to spend every moment of the day with… I would think about her every time we weren't together, I still can't stop thinking about her now…!" Her eyes squeezed shut for a second. "I know everything about her, she means the whole world to me…"
Her jaw opened and closed several times, not sure whether she wanted to burst it out or start crying in anguish again. Finally, she whispered out…
"…And now I'm realizing just how BADLY I messed everything up!"
She started crying again, as Arven stood up and the gears started turning in his head.
"Oh no…" he gravely realized. "This is all about Carmine, isn't it?"
"Wahhh…" Juliana croaked as she nodded with tear-soaked eyelids.
He sighed. "I had a feeling… I was starting to wonder why you hadn't brought her up at all."
"Oh! Carmine!" Nemona recalled. "That was… that was your special friend in Kitakami! The whole reason you went to Blueberry Academy, right?"
"What happened?" asked Penny. "Did you two… have a fight or something?"
Juliana lifted her head up. Her straight hair flopped about her face, the front ends stained by her tears.
"A lot of things happened, Penny… A lot of things…" She brushed her back from her face as the painful memories made her wince. "And every single one of them was my fault. I destroyed our entire friendship… and probably something more than that."
"Just start from the top," said Nemona, putting an arm on her shoulder. "Just tell us everything that happened."
And so, Juliana went over her entire history with Carmine. She told her friends everything that happened in Kitakami, the breakdown of her friendship with Kieran and how she regained his trust, how Carmine confessed to her in Blueberry and Juliana's disastrous response to that, the fight they had in the aftermath of Kieran's injury, and the near-accidental meeting she almost had with the girl again in Kitakami.
"She was… the best thing that ever happened to me," Juliana said, eyes bugging out like she was realizing it at the same time she was saying it. "And I—I ruined it. I broke our friendship forever, just as I was finally starting to figure out what my feelings for her were…"
Her friends all listened intently to Juliana's woes, stunned and remorseful for all the terrible things they had no idea she'd been going through with this Carmine girl.
"Gosh, Juliana…" Penny was the first to say. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry all that happened to you."
"And I'm sorry you've been suffering through it alone…" said Arven.
"But now you don't have to!" Nemona pumped her fist.
"Huh?" Juliana looked up at her. "What do you mean?"
"We're going to be your cheer squad!" she declared. "Because you're going to find Carmine, give the greatest apology in the world, and you're going to tell her exactly how you feel and live happily ever after!"
"…That's very optimistic of you," Penny noted.
Juliana shook her head.
"It's too late now for any of that, Nemona…" she fretted. "The damage has already been done, and I even tried. Really, I tried. I went back to Kitakami, I wanted to buy a gift and show up at her doorstep to make everything right by her…"
Another sniffle.
"…And I completely wussed out. I'm not ready to make amends now. Not by a longshot. Especially not… until I know for sure how I even feel!"
"You still don't know after all this time?" asked Arven.
"I—I don't want to admit that…" She gulped. "That I feel that way about her, but…"
Her lip squeezed tight. Juliana knew she was in denial. But that small part of her that told herself it couldn't be true was still vocal.
"I just… wish I knew for sure."
Arven sighed and took a seat on the couch next to her.
"Well… I can only tell you what I saw, down in Area Zero," he said. "You and Carmine, I mean… You two never left each other's side, and the one time you did, Carmine was pacing around back and forth, she was worrying so much about you."
"Yeah, I can imagine," Juliana groaned. "That was when she must've been really in love with me, especially since she risked her life to save mine."
"She was." Arven sighed again, and hesitated. "…She told me so."
Juliana turned to him, surprised. "She… told you she was in love with me?"
"Yeah. And I did promise not to tell, but—" Arven shrugged. "If you already know, I guess there's no harm in it, right?"
"Well, what did you say back?"
"…I was honest. I said that I felt you were the same way towards her."
Juliana's eyes lit up. He smirked at her.
"It was just… the way you looked at her, Jules. We were surrounded by so many crystals and yet… you stared at Carmine like—like she was the most sparkling diamond in the whole cave."
"…Really?" Juliana didn't know why, but she felt her heart rise up hearing this. In a really good way.
"That was beautiful, Arvie…" Nemona said, about as awed herself.
"Ummm, to be honest…" Penny spoke up. "I actually kind of had a feeling about it since, really, the first day you told me about Carmine, after our big battle."
"R-really? All the way back then?"
"Yeah. I could just tell," Penny nodded. "The way you talked about her, especially how much you missed her… I just knew that right away that there was something different about her. That you cared about her a lot. Maybe more than you realized."
"…"
Juliana forced herself to really sit and contemplate all this. Finally, Nemona stepped in and knelt down in front of her.
"I guess it's my turn," she smiled. "Look Juliana… I could share memories too, but—they only ever paint part of the picture. There's something else that always fills in the rest."
"What's that?"
Nemona put a hand over her heart. "Your soul."
"My… soul?"
She nodded. "Tell me about her. What is Carmine like?"
Juliana sat back and took a deep breath.
"Really smart. Extremely pretty, like… super gorgeous. Very talented. Super funny. Really great in battle. …Really pretty. I probably already said that."
"Go on, tell me more."
"She's… a great friend, with an amazing sense of loyalty. She acts all selfish and mean a lot, but… she's got a huge heart. She always put everyone before herself, especially her brother and her friends. She's everything—everything I wish I was."
"Mm-hm. What else can you tell me about her?"
"She… she's very tall. Like, probably a few inches taller than you, Nemona. She's got this really amazing hair, it's like—silk but, covered in ink. Her eyes are yellow, but they're like a really warm yellow like… the sun. And she has the sweetest smile in the whole world."
Juliana herself was beginning to smile the more she talked about her.
"She has this amazing Pokémon, it's like a Polteageist like we have here, but it's all green and ghostly and it's called Sinistcha for some reason! She also does this thing with her hands when she's really, really mad—which is all the time!" she laughed. She imitated Carmine's seething with her best teeth grit. "It goes like this. Grrr."
"Anything else you forgot to mention?"
"Oh! And she has a really adorable beauty mark." Juliana pointed on her own face. "It's right here, under her left eye. Really cute."
Nemona was smiling warmly. "And that's it?"
"Yeah…" Juliana took a solid breath. Then she muttered one last thing under her breath.
"What was that?"
"I said she's got great boobs!"
Then Juliana instantly threw her hands over her mouth, shocked at herself, as her entire face flushed red.
Penny snorted out loud. Arven's face was just frozen.
Nemona however, just leaned in, parted Juliana's hands, and rested a finger on her reddened chin.
"Juliana, my sweet, sweet friend… You're in love."
Juliana smiled back like a dope. This was the last bit of reassurance she needed. Her heart was beating a fast, healthy rhythm.
And just like that, all the happy memories came flooding back, dancing in her mind like Oricorio.
She remembered Carmine picking plums for her together with Ogerpon. The laughs they shared at the Festival of Masks. She remembered saving Carmine's life in the Chilling Waterhead… and Carmine repaying the favor down in Area Zero.
She could recount every detail of their picnic date at the Wisteria Pond word-for-word once again. All the laughs. Reuniting with her at Blueberry Academy, going on BBQ's together. Working out together, eating lunch, going to that art class with Mr. Burgh.
Juliana remembered all those incredible battles Carmine had as her understudy, and how she stood by Juliana's side… helping her become Champion of the BB League. The party Carmine helped throw for her afterwards…
…
The kiss.
Juliana was now more sure than ever, how she really felt about Carmine kissing her that day.
It was amazing.
The entire world sang inside her mind, as everything aligned. Everything made sense. Of course. Of course she had feelings for Carmine! How could she not fall for such a perfect girl?
"…Thank you, Nemona. Thank you so much for helping me see it."
"You're welcome."
"I… I think it's true." A single happy tear. "I think I'm in love with Carmine."
"Finally, she wakes up," Penny smiled proudly.
"So what are you going to do now with that?" said Arven.
Juliana grinned warmly, but just as quickly, it became a pensive frown again.
"…That's a good question," she admitted. She stood up thoughtfully. "I wish I had an easy answer. If I only had a sign that would—" Then she snapped her fingers. "Wait… that's right! Kieran's letter! I gotta know what he wanted to tell me!"
Juliana rushed over to the kitchen counter and picked up the envelope from Kieran. She ripped it open and immediately started reading the letter.
"Kieran… who's that again?" asked Nemona.
"Carmine's brother," Arven informed them. "He really wrote you a letter? What does it say, Jules?"
Juliana read the letter the whole way through… and wasn't really sure what to make of it.
"Well, actually… he's inviting me over to Kitakami," she said. "He says he really wants to catch up."
"Wow, that's great!" said Arven.
"There's your silver ticket," said Penny.
"Speaking of tickets, look at this."
Juliana pulled out four paid-for plane tickets from the envelope. "He said I can invite as many friends as I want, and—and he left these inside."
"No way!" Nemona exclaimed. "Plane tickets for ALL OF US!? Do we ALL get to go on a fun vacation to Kitakami!?"
"Hang on for a moment," Arven said sternly. "Think about Juliana's needs for a moment. For all we know, maybe she… maybe she wants to ride this one alone."
Juliana sighed.
"That's actually the weird part… He doesn't mention Carmine in this letter at all."
"Why is that weird? Maybe he just didn't want to bring up sore feelings."
"Well because… Carmine's there. She and Kieran are in Kitakami together. And now Kieran wants me to come over—but he doesn't know that I know she'll be there. What's that about?"
"…Oh," Arven realized. "You're right, I guess that is strange."
"After all those things you said happened between you two, maybe Kieran felt like you might not come if there was a chance you'd run into Carmine," Penny reasoned.
"Orrrr…" Nemona's eyes lit up. "Maybe he's setting you up for a surprise ambush!" She had an excited glint. "Well, we gotta help this Kieran dude set up for a super heartwarming reunion, don't we?"
Arven glanced towards Juliana, noticing that she still looked very uncertain.
"Juliana… it's your call. Okay, little buddy? You can bring all of us, you can go on your own…"
"Or you know… you don't have to go right now," Penny chimed in.
"Why not!?" Nemona turned to her.
Penny looked at her sternly. "Because she might not know the right things to say yet. It might still not be the right time for her."
"…"
Juliana paced around the house a bit, clearly thinking really hard on what she wanted to do.
"Kieran would be really happy to see me…" she figured. A sigh. "Maybe that would be a great first step. He'd help vouch for me if Carmine still—still hates me…"
"He'd also probably be happy to see that Ogerpon thing again," said Penny. "If he really cares about it as much as you just told us."
Then Juliana's eyebrows rose up.
"Oh my gosh… Ogerpon!"
Juliana quickly ran over to her bag, laid on the couch, and drew up Ogerpon's Poké Ball, sending her out.
"Ogieee!" Ogerpon shook herself off, and grinned at Juliana.
"Ogerpon…" Juliana knelt down to Ogerpon, filled with regret. "I'm so sorry. I promised, when I landed in Kitakami, that we'd get to play… and go visit your old den. But I got so preoccupied over there that I—I forgot to ever bring you out at all! I'm sorry, Ogerpon. I hope you'll forgive me."
Juliana bowed her head shamefully.
'Pon?"
But with a friendly smile, Ogerpon pat Juliana on the head with her arms, as if letting her know everything was square.
"Pon pon, Poni-o-no."
Juliana looked up at her with a smile. "Thank you, Ogerpon."
She stood up, and watched as Ogerpon took in her surroundings, and marveled at everything around her.
"This is my house, Ogerpon. Home sweet home."
Ogerpon gave joyous noises of approval, running about and looking around at everything. Then she noticed Nemona, Arven, and Penny, who all waved to her.
"You remember my friends too, right? Nemona. Arven. Penny."
"Pon ponio!"
The happy monster girl greeted each of them individually. She saluted Nemona with her cudgel, jumped up and gave Arven a double high-five, and hugged Penny as she knelt down.
Then she turned around excitedly.
"Ger-ponn!"
…
She looked all around.
"…Ger-ponn? Ger-ponn?"
Ogerpon suddenly looked disappointed, much to their surprise, and her head sunk down.
"Huh? What's wrong, Ogerpon?" Juliana asked her.
"…Ger-ponn…"
"Hey, that cry…" Nemona noticed. "Is it me or does it sound like she's trying to say… Carmine's name?"
Juliana looked down at Ogerpon, mouth agape. She looked very sad.
"She got really attached to Carmine too, huh?" said Arven.
"Carmine… was actually Ogerpon's partner before me," Juliana informed them. "She and Ogerpon bonded a lot, and Ogerpon chose her. But she believed she hadn't been a great Trainer to Ogerpon, so she asked me to keep her… as a goodbye present."
"…Pon…"
"But now I'm feeling like…" Juliana looked remorseful. "I haven't been the best partner to Ogerpon either. I got angry and yelled at her. I made her worry about me, I kept forgetting about her…"
Juliana knelt down to Ogerpon. Ogerpon saw what she was doing and raised her arms up, asking for uppies.
She cradled Ogerpon in her arms.
"You really miss Carmine, don't you, Ogerpon?"
Ogerpon nodded. "Ponyo…"
"That makes two of us."
Juliana walked around the house with Ogerpon for a little while, gently rocking her back and forth, as her mind sailed on a long voyage, trying to make a final decision on what she should do.
Her friends stayed silent, recognizing she needed this space to think alone.
Juliana eventually made her way to the window outside, where she could see Paldea's sun setting. From what she remembered of the time zone difference, it would be about midday in Kitakami right now.
She gazed at Ogerpon in her arms. She looked back at her friends, and whispered something to Ogerpon.
"…What do you think, Ogerpon?"
…
"Pon," Ogerpon nodded affirmatively.
She smiled. "I thought so too."
Juliana walked back to her friends, who were all watching her expectantly.
She sighed.
"I'm going."
They all nodded proudly.
"That's my girl," said Nemona.
"I'm going to go back to Kitakami… I'm going to see Kieran. And one way or another, I'm going to make everything right between me and Carmine. No matter what it takes."
She drew a deep breath… and grinned.
"I'm going to win Carmine's heart back. … And I need all your guys' help."
"Of course," Nemona said.
"What do you need us to do?" asked Arven.
"I want all you guys to come to Kitakami with me," she decided.
"Just like that?" Penny said, surprised. "I mean, I'm game, but…"
Juliana nodded.
She turned back towards the window again.
"The last time… when I left for Blueberry Academy. I almost didn't go. I almost chickened out and stayed here. And you guys were the ones who lifted me up, and helped me realize that I really wanted to go. Everything that happened afterwards… that was only possible because of you."
Juliana turned around again and smiled. The sun shone brightly behind her head.
"I get it now. Your guys' strength is what gives me strength. You saved me from making one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Now, I need your help again. This time… to undo the actual biggest mistake of my life."
With a face of determination, she and Ogerpon marched in front of the trio.
"Will you all come to Kitakami with me, and give me the strength I need… to make everything right again?"
Nemona put her hand in. "Absolutely!"
Arven put his hand in. "You bet!"
Penny put her hand in. "Count me in."
And then Ogerpon put her arm in. "Pon!"
"…Thank you guys so much."
"And… BREAK!" they all shouted, letting out a big laugh together.
After that, they all started making plans, figuring out when the flight on the tickets was and what they should pack for a trip to Kitakami. Juliana stood proudly amongst all of them, feeling luckier than ever to have such great friends by her side.
For the first time in what felt like a long while… she felt amazing.
All my worries feel like they've disappeared… There's no more doubt in my head. It's all so clear now.
Juliana gazed out at the sun again with an upbeat smile.
It's going to be okay… Everything's really going to be okay!
The cold wind blew through the open window into the dark den of her room, whistling a chilling call in the air, a haunting call almost like an omen.
And inside that bedroom where the wind blew in through the open window, an empty shell of a person sat on the bed that was once owned by a nobody named Carmine.
She had her comforter completely wrapped around herself, looking like the world's most soulless Swadloon.
Carmine was silent, still, and off this planet.
There was no need to argue with herself anymore. She already believed everything her poisoned brain told her, no more closing arguments. The prosecution rests. She knew she was a monster who nobody could love.
There was no more anger. Carmine accepted her reality for what it is now. The mistakes had all been made. The clock couldn't be turned back. The only thing left was to live with her failures and accept spending the rest of her life alone.
And there was no more crying. … She just didn't have the energy for it anymore.
There were only the clothes, the hairband, and the cold black-and-red locks that suggested the shape of something that used to be human… or used to fool itself into thinking it was.
The only other thing on Carmine's bed was a plate of her grandma's mochi. Yukito had been insistent that she try the latest batch she'd just cooked up.
Very, very insistent.
Carmine picked up one of the treats. Even the prospect of eating almost seemed fruitless. What point was there in nourishing this hollowed out husk? All there was anymore, was to eat, and commiserate.
She sighed.
"Imagine if I could start over… I wouldn't just repeat my own sad life again. I'd want to be someone completely different. I think that's what I want…"
She bit down on the purple mochi.
"…I just wish I wasn't myself anymore."
Then she swallowed, and immediately felt interesting sensations.
"Mmm… MMM!" Carmine's dead yellow eyes lit up. "Gramm, this mochi is really, really sweet! What did you put in… huh?"
Something was wrong. Carmine stared down at her hands, and saw a strange purple aura seeming to rise out of them.
"What… what is this? I—URKK!"
Carmine felt a sudden, sharp pain inside her head. She grasped at her throbbing noggin, throwing the plate of purple mochi aside.
"AGGH! My head! What's—what's going on!? I…"
She wanted to scream for help, but Carmine suddenly felt her vocal cords lock up.
"Uhh… uhh!"
Something strange was happening. She felt increasingly unable to move any of her limbs. It was like her nerves were shutting down one-by-one.
What's happening to me? Is this… is this death!? Am I dying!?
Carmine wanted to try to call for her family, to get help from her brother—but to her horror, she couldn't remember his name.
Her memories all started to get fuzzy, her entire personality and sense of self clouding over.
"Guh…!"
All the people in her life, her family, her friends… She felt herself losing them all. Their faces became a blur, and then nothingness…
Only a single face was becoming visible in Carmine's head. Something completely unfamiliar. A menacing purple face of some sort, smiling a wicked smile.
And laughing.
"…!?"
The laughing grew louder and louder, until it was drowning out any other thoughts in Carmine's head, ringing throughout her mind.
She tried to concentrate… to focus on the last thing she could see inside her fading mind.
One last face.
…
J-Juliana!
Please… help me!
But it was useless. Her face was fading too, and so was the rest of Carmine. Nothing left but that purple demon… and its laughter, commanding her to obey.
H-help…
M…
Mm… mm…
Her bright purple eyes flashed open.
"MOCHI."