Juliana hurried into her house, rushed up the stairs and put her pjs on her bed. Once that was done, she immediately went back down the stairs and was just about to pop out the door when she overheard her mother humming in the kitchen. It made her stop and think about what she was about to do. She looked at her mother cleaning the sink, singing a cheerful tune. Juliana found herself with her hand resting on the front door, unsure of what to do.

"Mom?" Juliana called out.

Adeline stopped and quickly turned around, "Oh, Juliana! I didn't hear you come in! How was the sleepover?"

Juliana approached her mother, "It was great! We had a lot of fun. Um… mom?"

"Hm? What is it dear?"

Juliana froze for a moment, not sure what to say. She knew there was no way she could tell her mom what was about to happen, but she had to say something. She couldn't just leave it at that. Juliana approached her mother and gave her a hug.

"Nothing, just wanted to let you know I love you." Juliana answered quietly.

Adeline seemed a bit confused, but she returned the hug, "I love you too dear. Always remember to return home if you feel the need."

The two shared a smile, this made Juliana feel a bit more confident.

"Thanks mom, I'll remember."

After waving bye, Juliana rushed out the door and called a taxi to the Academy. Her heart pounding with nervous energy the entire ride there. Once they arrived and she stepped inside of the school, it was a long walk to Penny's dorm room.

"We're about to go into Area Zero again…" She whispered to herself.

When she got to Penny's room, Juliana hesitated in front of the door and took a deep breath. She raised an arm and knocked lightly. Penny opened the door within five seconds, "There you are, come on in, everyone's here already."

After being rushed in, Penny shut and locked the door behind them. Walking in she was greeted by the serious stare of Arven.

"Hey Arven." Juliana greeted.

"Juliana, thank you for telling me about this." Arven spoke in a soft voice, "Nemona gave me more details."

Juliana sighed, "I know you wouldn't want to go back there again. I most definitely don't."

Arven's face relaxed, "I'm still glad you called. I wouldn't want you to face this kind of thing alone. Or any of you for that matter."

Nemona added, "We are all a team here! That's the only acceptable way to move forward with something like this!"

"All right, we need to think of a plan." Penny announced, "Any ideas?"

There was a quiet moment before Nemona spoke up, "How 'bout we just rush in like we did last time? We have to find the Director fast!"

Penny pondered it, "Hmm… we might need a more careful approach this time. Since we know now what's down there."

Juliana shrugged, "We do have strong teams. I mean, I don't know how else we go about this. We should be okay if we just… go for it."

Arven shook his head, "Let's just hurry up and get this over with. Here's the plan: get in, find the Director, get out. Sounds good to me."

Penny hesitated before answering, "Let's do it then."

Nemona pumped a fist in the air, "All right team! Onward we go!" Without waiting, she rushed out the door.

"Hey Nemona, slow down!" Juliana called and ran after her.

"Juliana!" Arven called before rushing out too.

Penny stood there for a moment, shook her head, and sighed, "I guess we're doing it like this then…" before following.

The Area Zero gate dominated over the group of teens, lurking over them like a nightmare about to unfold. As the group stared up at the structure leading into the forbidden zone, Juliana reached over for Arven's hand and took it. He looked at her with a comforting expression and nodded, squeezing her hand.

"Well, here we are again." Penny stated.

"Are we ready to go?" Nemona asked, trying to sound enthusiastic. Although not even she was able to hide that she was a bit nervous. Arven noticed this and remarked, "Sheesh, even Nemona's afraid. That's when you know it's bad."

Nemona put her hands up defensively, "Hey, don't blame me! That stuff was intense the last time!"

"Don't remind me." Arven immediately responded.

"Okay, so what do we do now?" Juliana interrupted, making everyone think.

"Didn't we just decide to… run in?" Penny reminded.

Juliana replied, "We did. But should we?"

"Well, we won't get anything done just standing here." Penny commented, "Let's just go."

After a few hesitant steps, the group entered the gates of Area Zero. The silent, steel room they entered was only the calm before the storm they were about to find themselves in. The group noticed the dimly lit panel on the ground first.

Juliana let go of Arven's hand and approached, she noticed a small touch-screen monitor mounted on a pole right next to the panel that listed the different research stations by text. Along with instructions on the usage, "Oh, this is a warp panel! It will take us to any of the research stations."

"Oh, that's convenient!" Nemona replied, "Where should we go first?"

"Hey guys, look over here!" Penny hollered, standing in front of a monitor. Juliana, Arven, and Nemona rushed over.

"What's this?" Arven asked.

"It looks like surveillance footage, let me see here…"

Penny re-winded the video. For a few minutes, the video was still and uneventful. That was until a few human figures flashed over the screen.

"Look, there's someone there." Juliana pointed out quickly.

"Let's see who it is." Penny stated and pressed play. When they did, the teens were horrified to see Professor Raifort gleefully stepping onto the warp panel and pressing the button that would take her to Area Three.

"Ugh, it's her again!" Arven fumed.

Penny sighed, "That lady just doesn't know when to quit, does she?"

"She's crazy! But where's Director Clavell?" Nemona questioned. Penny pushed fast-forward in response, until they saw him pop up on the screen. There was a brief cut in the footage before they witnessed him step onto the warp panel and press Area Three.

"What do we do now?" Juliana asked.

Penny pondered, "Okay, so we have a direction now. We know where Director Clavell went, and we also know that Raifort is here too. And through the re-winding we can determine that they haven't left yet. So let's go into Area Three."

"I'll go first!" Nemona stuck her hand up before rushing onto the warp panel, and selecting Area Three. Within seconds, she disappeared in a gleam of light.

"I'll go next." Arven volunteered, he kissed Juliana on the head before stepping onto the panel and doing the same.

Juliana and Penny shared a anxious glance before Juliana spoke, "I'll go." With trembling steps, she put herself onto the panel and pushed Area Three, vanishing into the light.

Before she could register it, she was in the third research station. Nemona and Arven were standing by, facing her when she appeared.

"Juliana!" Nemona enthused, "That was pretty fun, wasn't it?"

Juliana stepped forward, a bit dazed, "Hey guys, whoa, warping is a weird thing."

Arven agreed, "It is. It's like, one second I was somewhere else, then the next second I'm here."

Nemona kept smiling, "I thought it was cool."
This made Juliana smile and Arven roll his eyes. That's when Penny appeared in the warp panel and stepped forward to join them.

"What'd you think of warping, Penny?" Juliana asked.

Penny answered blandly, "If this were a lighthearted situation, I would say it's the coolest thing. Never mind that, is everyone ready?"

Everyone nodded, to which Penny responded, "Let's go."

While Nemona and Penny went on ahead, Juliana and Arven remained behind. She looked at her boyfriend with a worried face. He looked back at her with assurance. This helped her feel more at ease, "Arven…" She spoke.

"Yes Juliana?"

She didn't know what to say except, "I love you…"

Arven replied, "I love you too."

"Hey guys! Don't just stand there, we gotta go!" Nemona yelled from the open door.

"We're coming!" Juliana called back. The couple joined hands before catching up with Nemona and Penny outside. Once more, the teens treaded upon the unholy grounds known as Area Zero. The lands within the borders of The Great Crater of Paldea truly seemed to be cursed. Venturing into Area Zero was like entering an eternal dark cloud of ruin and despair.

"I can't believe I'm here again…" Arven grumbled.

Juliana squeezed his hand, "We can do this."

Nemona stuck an arm up, "Onward!"

"Always the energetic one." Penny noted.

The teens began walking cautiously down the path, just like they did the first time they were here. The sense of danger was looming over them like a ghost-type Pokémon. The teens kept their eyes peeled at their surroundings.

Nemona wondered, "Director Clavell's got to be around here somewhere. Surely he wouldn't go too far into Area Zero, right?"

"I would hope so." Juliana replied, "He's a smart man. He probably saw Raifort going in here and decided to chase after her."

Penny agreed, "That's probably it."

As they ventured forward, Arven suddenly had a terrible feeling in his gut and turned around just in time to see a Corviknight diving for them.

"Look out guys!" He shouted frantically before grabbing Juliana and taking them both down to the ground. Nemona and Penny jumped out of the way to see the flying type Pokémon swoop past them.

Juliana and Arven hopped back on their feet to see the Corviknight whirling around and coming at them again.

"Oy! Looks like it's coming back for more!" Nemona enthused.

Juliana smirked, she didn't need to call out Tinkaton, the little firecracker popped out on her own. The hammer wielding Pokémon smiled big, and her eyes sparkled seeing her natural enemy before her. Corviknight halted mid-air and flapped toward the opposite direction with Tinkaton hot on its trail as it flew away. The group watched Tinkaton chase it a good distance, hopping in the air and swinging her hammer toward it as she did.

Juliana laughed, "Don't go to far sweetie!" She began pursuing her Pokemon, prompting Nemona, Penny and Arven to follow. Juliana eventually caught up with Tinkaton, the little firecracker was glancing about having lost sight of her target.

Arven smiled a little and decided to tease her a bit, "Uh oh, where'd it go Tinkaton? I think you lost it."

"Good job Tinkaton, you scared it off!" Juliana praised.

Penny playfully elbowed Arven, "Yeah, don't listen to this big lunk here. You did great!"

"Hey!" Arven retorted, "Don't call me that!"

"I'll be happy if you let me battle the next one!" Nemona cheered with an eager stance.

Tinkaton, while a bit peeved that the Corviknight escaped, was happy to hear the praise. Just as Juliana raised her Pokeball to return her, Tinkaton's ears caught something that none of the humans heard and she took off in the direction of the noise.

"Eh!? Tinkaton where are you going?" Juliana called and ran after. Penny raised an eyebrow, "What is with that Tinkaton?"

Arven couldn't help but chuckle, "Ah, that little Tinkaton is quite the go-getter! I wonder what caught her eye?"

"I say we follow them and find out!" Nemona responded and started running, "If it's another Corviknight please let me battle it!"

Juliana was able to easily keep up with Tinkaton, being used to her antics by now. Although she was confused as to what Tinkaton was searching for. When they stopped, Juliana turned to see that she had lost sight of the others, "Tinkaton, let's wait for them to catch up."

But Tinkaton wasn't having that, because she had heard the sound again. It sounded like groaning, like someone was in pain. Instead of stopping, she bolted toward the sound.

"Tinkaton!" Juliana called out in exasperation.

Tinkaton hurried, passing past trees and rounding corners. When she stopped near a large boulder, that's when she heard it again. The sound was close enough for anyone to know the source was right on the other side of that rock.

That's when she saw him, it was Director Clavell. He was sitting on the ground, clutching his ankle. His Pokémon Oranguru, was right beside him, showing concern.

"Oh, blast it all." He spoke, "I don't think I can walk."

Tinkaton's face brightened seeing another familiar person and ran toward him. Oranguru spotted Tinkaton and hopped in front of his trainer protectively, ready to battle.

Clavell noticed her, "What? Is that a Tinkaton? Oh my! You find all sorts of Pokémon down here don't you?" But then he realized something, he squinted his eyes, "Wait a minute…"

As Oranguru faced Tinkaton ready to launch an attack, Clavell commanded, "Oranguru, stop!" This made the intelligent Pokémon cease. Clavell reached his hand out to Tinkaton, "Come here little one."

Tinkaton skipped past the wary Oranguru and took Clavell's hand once they got within arm's length. After studying her for a minute, his eyes widened with realization, "Aren't you…? You're Juliana's Tinkaton, aren't you!?"

Tinkaton hopped three times. Clavell was astounded, "What are you doing down here? More importantly, where is your trainer!?"

"Tinkaton! Tinkaton!" Juliana's voice was heard, "Tinkaton, where are you?" That's when she came around the corner and saw the group. Her eyes widened in shock, "Tinkaton! And oh my gosh, Director Clavell!"

Tinkaton hopped, happy to have been the one to find the Director. Juliana rushed up to him and kneeled next to him, "Director, are you okay!?"

"Juliana, what in the world…?" He shook his head, "Unfortunately, no. My ankle hurts quite a lot and I don't think I can walk. Pardon me for changing the subject but what are you doing down here?"

"It's a long story sir, but we knew you were down here. We couldn't just do nothing, we had to come down to see if you were okay!"

Clavell smiled a bit, "Oh, you're such a good student Juliana. It's great you care so much about others. But this is a dangerous place to be. I wouldn't want you to get hurt because of me."

"Speaking of hurt, you said you are. What happened?"

Clavell sighed, "I suppose I shouldn't hide the truth. So I'll tell you, I'm here because I had received a tip that Professor Raifort was venturing down here without permission. I saw her on the surveillance at the Zero Gate. So I came down here to search for her. I saw her entering a large cave, but when I yelled out and tried to pursue her, the ground crumbled out from beneath me and I went tumbling down an incline."

Juliana gasped, "Oh no!"

"I tried to stand up, but my ankle hurts. My Oranguru here was about to carry me out. The taxi service isn't permitted to fly in here."

Juliana had a horrible thought, "Raifort's gone into that cave? That's bad news… that other Koraidon is in there! That thing's gonna tear her apart, we have to stop her!"

"Juliana… you should leave too. Raifort is still here, but I can't let you risk yourself. You've already seen more than enough of this place."

She explained frantically, "Clavell, you don't understand. We have to stop her; she doesn't know what she's getting into!"

"It's too much Juliana." Clavell replied in a calm tone, "You may be champion-ranked but I cannot allow it. Not by yourself!"

Juliana fixed her gaze, "I'm not alone." She stood up and bolted around the corner, "Nemona! Penny! Arven! Over here!"

"There you are!" Arven exclaimed, "Don't ever disappear like that!"

"Seriously, you had us worried!" Penny scolded.

"I'm sorry about that!" Juliana retorted, "Look, the Director is here! We found him!"

Clavell's eyes flew wide when he saw the rest of the gang appear. All of them were just as stunned to see the Director.

"Director Clavell!" Arven reacted.

A shocked Penny gasped, "Director Clavell, what happened!?"
Nemona and Arven rushed to kneel beside him. Clavell cleared his throat, "Well now, I am not entirely surprised that you all came down here together."

"We're a team sir!" Nemona enthused, "When something goes wrong, we always stick together!" This made Director Clavell smile somewhat.

"So, what's going on here?" Penny inquired.

"He's hurt." Juliana explained, "He fell down an incline right after he saw Raifort entering that cave."

Nemona looked at Juliana, "That cave!? Oh no, that other Koraidon is in there! That rampaging, vicious one!"

"That's why I'm freaking out right now!" Juliana stated.

"This is bad, this is really bad!" Penny cautioned.

Arven asked, "So, what's the plan?"

Juliana thought about it, before she decided, "Nemona, come with me to find Raifort! Penny and Arven can help the Director get out of here."

Nemona readily agreed, "Right!"

"Wait!" Arven stood, making everyone stop and stare at him.

"What is it, Arven?" Penny inquired.

"I want to go with Juliana, Nemona can help with the Director!"

Juliana became concerned, "Arven, are you sure?"

"I won't be okay if I let you do this without me!" Arven insisted, "Please, let me be the one to go with you!"

Nemona shrugged, "Well, as long as Penny lets me fend off all the strong Pokémon, I'll go with her!"

Penny shook her head, "Of course you'd be thinking about that…"

Clavell chuckled, "Good to know some things hadn't changed."

Juliana looked in Arven's eyes, and he looked back with a fierce gaze. She knew he was positive about what he was asking for. There was no hint of second guessing within him. So she nodded, "Okay Arven, you come with me. Nemona and Penny can help out the Director."

Clavell stated, "You are all amazing students. But Juliana and Arven, please exercise extreme caution, I don't know what Raifort is up to."

Arven shook his head, "Whatever it is, she's way in over her head and she probably doesn't even realize it. We'll stop her, Director. You can count on us!"

Nemona and Penny helped Clavell up to a standing position with them on either side of him.

"We've got this you two!" Nemona assured, "Go on and find Raifort!"

Penny nodded and spoke with conviction, "Good luck to both of you. Whatever you do, come back safely."

Juliana assured, "We will."

Clavell looked at the couple proudly, "It pains me to see you both taking on this task. But there is no one else I can entrust more. Good luck."

"Thanks." Juliana looked at Arven, "Let's go."

Arven took her hand and nodded. Once Juliana recalled Tinkaton, the pair parted ways with the others and headed for the cave.

"What do you think she's capable of?" Juliana asked.

Arven took a deep breath, "I don't know. Let's just hope for the best."

When they reached the mouth of the large cave, the cries of the strong Pokémon echoed from inside. The two held onto one another's hand tightly. Juliana wasn't sure if it was her own hand that was sweating or Arven's, very likely both. Fully acknowledging the potential danger, they headed in.

The search for Professor Raifort began.

Author's Note: We're getting there! We are truly getting there! The suspense is killing me too! Look forward to the next chapter!

See you all next time!