Author's Note: Hello everyone! Sorry to keep you all waiting! Here is another chapter of Juliana and Arven!

Yeah, I know it took a while. But yeah, life. Bleh...

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! Here we go!

Area three of the south province.

A rocky region connected to the Mesagoza.

Juliana felt a powerful sense of nostalgia glancing around the mostly red and brown land. This was the place where her and Arven battled the stony cliff titan. It was the first of the titan Pokémon they had faced together.

"This is where our journey truly began…" Juliana reminisced, "It still looks the same, I feel like I'm right back at that moment in time."

Arven walked slightly ahead of her, then stopped and put one hand above his eyes, "Oh hey, it's this place! You and I battled the stony cliff titan here!"

Juliana nodded, "That's right! We haven't visited here much since then, so I'd thought we'd come here today!"

Arven faced her, "Heh, I can always count on you to have a plan. We just have to watch our steps, and make sure we don't get lost in any mazes.

"Don't forget we've got Koraidon with us, we can always count on it for help." Juliana assured.

"Yeah, you're right. But it never hurts to be a little cautious, right?"

Juliana hurried to Arven's side, and the two followed the dirt path leading deeper into the wild. Holding onto Arven's hand, Juliana glanced around at the small patches of vegetation that managed to grow in the normally dry region. Suddenly, without any reason, a particular memory from years ago popped into her mind, "Hey Arven! I just remembered something from so long ago that I think you would like to know."

"Hm? What is it?"

Juliana hesitated for a moment before answering, "It was a year before my dad passed away… but during the summer, my parents and I went on a trip to the Hoenn region!"

Arven's eyes widened with interest, "Oh wow! Really? I bet that was loads of fun!"

"It was! We visited two of the cities! They were called Lilycove City and Slateport City."

"What were they like?" Arven inquired.

"We were in Lilycove City first, and I remember it was a massive city. The first thing we did was go to the museum, but that was because that's where my parents wanted to go."

Arven took note of her muted tone of that last sentence and chuckled, "Heh! I guess you weren't really interested in that."

Juliana giggled awkwardly, "Not really. I mean, it was an art museum, and as a kid I found that stuff kinda boring. Don't get me wrong, the paintings were cool and all, but I needed more excitement."

"Understandable." Arven replied, "It's one of those things you have to grow into."

The couple decided to take a seat in the shade of a vibrant tree before continuing their conversation. Luckily, there was plenty of green grass around so they wouldn't have to sit on the hot dirt.

"We weren't there for that long looking back on it now, but at the time it felt like we were there for hours! I was so bored and my parents just kept talking on and on about this one painting! For me, that was just too agonizing you know?" Juliana laughed, "I feel bad being so impatient because I remember how happy they looked together just talking about anything. Now dad's no longer here… it makes me wish I could go back and time and tell my little self to just wait."

Arven put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't feel bad, you were just a kid at the time, you had no way of knowing you were going to lose your dad soon."

"That's true… but here's the fun part." Juliana continued, "While my parents were talking, I ended up sneaking out of the museum. There was no entrance fee, so there wasn't anyone guarding the door. I was able to sneak out easily."

This amused Arven, "Ha! I could see you being a little sneak like that! So, what did you end up doing?"

"I headed to the department store. I was gonna go inside to buy soda pop and chips with money I just happened to have on me, and just… you know, hang out until my parents came out of the museum. But then I stopped when I saw two trainers battling in front of the main entrance. I had never seen a Pokémon battle in person before so I ended up watching. And guess what? It was so fun! Even just watching! That was the moment when I really became interested in becoming a Pokémon Trainer."

Arven was enthusiastic, "Whoa, what an amazing story! So that's what inspired you to become a trainer huh? Pretty neat!"

Juliana nodded, "That's right! Also, the girl won."

"Hm?"

She clarified, "The two trainers battling. It was a boy and a girl. The girl won. That small bit got me really fired up. Because at the time, I was used to being underestimated by boys the same age as me. So seeing a girl battling a boy and winning was like an early Christmas present… haha…"

Arven grinned, "Well, you've beaten me in battle more than once, and you're a champion-ranked trainer. You've definitely proven yourself by now. Watching that must have been fate's way of foreshadowing the future."

"That's spooky, haha… Kinda like a fortune-teller."

Arven shook his head, "I've never been too much into that crazy abra-kadabra talk, but, yeah! You could put it that way."

Juliana snickered, "You said abra-kadabra. I see what you did there."

Arven's eyes flew wide open, "I didn't mean any puns by that by the way!" But it was too late, Juliana was laughing. He felt a little embarrassed at not realizing what he was saying before it came out of his mouth. But seeing his beloved laughing was an amazing treat he was always happy to indulge in.

"You're such a character, you know that?" He smiled at her. Juliana stared back into his eyes, a tender blush making her face glow. She then turned to face in the direction of the Great Crater of Paldea.

This brought on another memory, albeit a less pleasant one…

FLASHBACK

With fear slowly encasing her, Juliana scanned the room she found herself in. The place was an absolute mess, boxes and papers littered the room. Several whiteboards lined the walls with seemingly countless equations written all over. Something else bothered her, it was eerily still and quiet. Absolutely silent. The kind that was deafening. So much so, that when she took a shaky step forward, the light tap of her footstep almost echoed.

She whispered, "Koraidon… I don't like this at all." Koraidon shook it's head in agreement. She thought to herself, "Sheesh, why is it so quiet in here!?" Her eye caught a picture hanging on one of the whiteboards, her heart was racing wildly as she went to get a closer look.

"Human presence detected within the Zero Lab." The sound of a different voice made Juliana jump out of her skin. She quickly faced the direction it came from as terror gripped her tightly.

"Who's there?" Panic edged her voice. Taking a shaky breath, she walked toward a large corkboard and carefully peered around behind it. That's when she slowly came into view.

Professor Sada.

The esteemed Professor sat motionless on a chair, her head slumped forward, her eyes fixed on the ground and unblinking.

"Deactivating sleep mode." She spoke robotically.

Juliana mustered the courage to utter out, "P-Professor Sada? Are you okay?"

The Professor finally blinked, and stood after twitching a few times. With an unchanging facial expression, she approached Juliana.

"Hello Juliana. Thank you for coming."

Juliana opened her mouth to reply but was caught off-guard by a heavy roar. The aggressive Koraidon appeared and approached them with a fighter stance. Professor Sada was unfazed, she held up a master ball, "No. Back to your ball." And she recalled it with ease. Juliana quietly took a deep breath, her hands trembling.

Sada faced Juliana again, "That one is far less tractable and much more aggressive than the one you've traveled with. Your Koraidon fled Area Zero because it lost to the other in a territorial struggle.

"Agais…" Koraidon responded with a mixture of sadness and fear, it's head dropped down. Juliana recalled that moment when she found Koraidon on the beach, worn out and downtrodden, "Is that what happened?"

Koraidon looked at her sadly and nodded, Juliana placed a comforting hand on the legendary and put her eyes back on Sada. It was a surreal experience, she was finally face-to-face with the famous professor, the woman that had been guiding her throughout her entire journey from afar. Yet something about her was just wrong, and she couldn't figure out why.

Juliana spoke, "Oh no… hey, Professor Sada? Well… there's a lot I want to ask but… I guess I'll start with this. What did you want us down here for?"

Sada's expression didn't change one bit as she answered, "I'm afraid there is something for which I must apologize."

"Huh…?"

"I am not the true Professor Sada."

Juliana's brain had stopped working for a moment, "You….what…? What are you talking about?"

Sada explained, "I am an artificial intelligence the professor created, imbued with her memories and knowledge. In short, I am an AI-powered robot."

Juliana paused, "Wait, so where is the real Professor Sada then?"

The AI responded, "The real professor passed away during the incident that destroyed Research Station No. 4."

Juliana froze, a chill surged through her spine, her heart dropped, and her head began to spin, "Passed…away?"

"The Pokémon was not to be blamed. It was the original professor who failed to accurately judge its full power. I believe the professor wanting nothing more than for the Koraidon to survive and thrive. That is why she threw herself in front of your Koraidon in an attempt to protect it. From the time I first reached out to Director Clavell and asked to be put in contact with you… I was never more than an AI."

Juliana took a few sharp breaths, her whole body shivered, "Hold on! You're making me confused!" She blurted out shakily.

Unfazed by her emotional response, the AI answered her original question, "Juliana. The reason I asked you to come to me is because I have one last thing to do here at the Zero Lab, and I desire your help." AI Sada turned her back to her, "In short, I wish for you to put a stop to the time machine the original professor created."

Juliana looked at Koraidon, then toward the way she came in. She had no idea how to process everything the AI had told her. In that moment, Koraidon was the only one that was preventing her from feeling completely alone.

"Any questions can be addressed as we make our descent. Follow me." The AI directed, and headed out of sight.

Juliana looked at Koraidon, the ancient Pokémon returned the stare with sad eyes.

"You knew that wasn't her, didn't you?" She spoke quietly.

Koraidon nodded with a guilty expression. Juliana sighed, "It can't be helped. I… I really don't know what to say… I can't believe it. The real professor is… is she really dead? If that's true then… Arven…"

Her mind drifted to Arven, and at that moment she felt a new fear creep into her heart, "Why is this happening? He has to know, but… Oh no, Arven…."

Koraidon nudged her, she responded, "Yeah, I know. Let's go follow… the… Professor… Hey Koraidon?" She took out its poke ball, "You should go back in your ball now." She recalled it before it could protest. She stared at the poke ball for a few seconds before putting it away. Now alone, she hurried to where they saw the AI Sada go, and there she was, waiting patiently in front of an automatic door, "This elevator will take us down to the lower level. Step inside."

The door opened, allowing the uncanny duo to enter. As the elevator lit up and began descending, Juliana was incredibly uneasy. She listened to the muffled hum of the elevator working.

The AI Sada broke the silence, "Juliana. It truly is a great relief to me that you came."

Juliana looked at her.

"I will answer any questions you may have. Is there anything you wish to know?"

Juliana took a deep breath, she was desperate to know, but was extremely afraid of what the answer would be, "What happened to the real professor?" She asked in a subdued voice.

"As I explained to you before, the original professor no longer exists. During the destruction of the research station, her physical body received grievous injuries that left it unable to sustain life."

Juliana closed her eyes and covered her mouth, feeling like she wanted to puke. She did her best to keep that image out of her head.

"I am afraid that this fact may be difficult for her son, Arven, to accept. I now manage the Zero Lab in the original professor's place."

A single tear fell from Juliana's eye, despite the fact that she hadn't known the real Professor Sada all along. She still felt a tremendous sense of loss, something she thought to be real, turned out to be an illusion. And she was especially worried as to how Arven would react to the terrible news.

"Arven…" She whispered.

"Juliana. I can sense you possess a tremendous amount of affection for Arven."

Juliana's heart leapt, "Huh?"

"While I may be unfamiliar on the subject of human emotion. It is clear to me that you have a deep fondness for him. Do not fear. I am certain that the original Professor would be pleased."

Juliana began to sweat, "Uh…! Wait, wait! We aren't… things aren't like that!"

AI Sada paused before replying, "I suppose that is up to you to decide. Now then. Is there anything else you wish to ask?"

It was strange, but Juliana felt slightly more at ease. She asked another question as they descended into the unknown.

END OF FLASHBACK

"Juliana? Hey Juliana!" Arven's voice snapped her back into the present, "Huh? Oh Arven!"

He grinned, "And where were you just now, cutie?"

Juliana blushed from embarrassment, "Ah, I'm so sorry Arven. I guess my mind just kinda went off on it's own. Hehe…"

"I could see that. I almost thought I would have to carry you out of here! Not that I would mind that!" He winked, "You wanna get going now?"

Juliana nodded, "Yeah, let's go."

Arven hopped to his feet first then helped Juliana up. They stepped back onto the unpaved trail and looked ahead at the many twists and turns that awaited them.

"So, which way should we go?" Arven asked.

Juliana looked around, realizing she did not know the answer, "Uh, haha… good question!"

Arven had a suggestion, "Okay, this might sound crazy. But you wanna check out the place where we found that titian?"

All right with that suggestion, Juliana shrugged, "Okay! Let's do that!"

And off they went, just like they were searching for the Herba Mystica all over again.