x
The space-time rift reappeared over a large, green field that had rolling hills and clusters of colorful flowers and berries. Arven and his friends dropped out of it, and the rift closed behind them.
Each person waved their limbs and yelled as they fell.
Roaring Moon landed hard in a patch of pollinated flowers—so hard that Sada rolled off his back and banged her left arm.
She yelled slightly.
Arven squeezed Roaring Moon’s sides, which allowed him to stay on. He looked down at Sada and asked, “Are you okay, Mom?”
Sada clutched her arm and rose to her knees in the flowers. Pollen covered a few of the crystals on her legs, so they didn’t glow as brightly now. She turned on a brave face, with the hope Arven wouldn’t see she was in pain, but he was too good.
“Your arm’s hurting, isn’t it?” he guessed.
“I’ve grown used to it,” Sada grumbled.
Penny, Nemona, and Scarlet hopped off Koraidon and Miraidon and brushed themselves down. They double-checked to make sure they were all in one piece.
Once they did, Scarlet rubbed Staraptor’s—who was no longer Terastallized—shoulder. That was her way of saying “thank you”.
Staraptor nodded at her.
Scarlet pointed her Pokémon’s ball at it and returned it.
Arven dismounted Roaring Moon. He started to reach for Sada, but a sudden voice picked up by a warm blast of wind startled him.
“Oye! Is that an AI?” A black-haired man who had brown eyes had appeared at the top of one of the area’s hills. He wore a slick and shiny, fancy suit with a tie and lab coat.
Next to him was a Pokémon that resembled Delibird. It looked like a robotic bird and sported a bag/tail-like figure behind it that was reminiscent of a cannonball. Despite its unique appearance, it only stood about two feet tall.
The man and his Pokémon jogged down the hill and hurried to Arven and his friends.
He and Miraidon stepped in front of Sada. They had to protect her from whoever the man was.
Arven folded his arms and told him, “No, sir, she’s not an AI. What gave you an idea like that?”
Laughing, the man brought his hand to his lips. “You have quite the sense of humor. Don’t you, shortstack? Only an AI can Terastallize like that.” He studied Arven’s party. “It’s also not every day that I see people and Pokémon dropping out of the sky. Let me guess, y’all are time travelers?”
“We are,” Arven answered, still a little suspicious.
“I thought so.” The man’s attention moved over to Celebi and then returned to Sada. “It looks like Celebi’s up to its old tricks. But enough of that. Let’s talk about this AI.” Scratching his stubble beard, he examined Sada’s twitching arm. “Oh wow! Does she feel pain? Hardly any AI does. Please, may I take a closer look at her?”
Down at his feet, his Delibird-like partner hopped up and down and tossed one of its little wings into the sky.
The man took a step closer to Sada, but Arven held his arms out to his sides. “Hey! Back off, slick!”
To show he agreed with him, Miraidon snarled.
Sada patted her Pokémon’s shoulder, and then she tugged on Arven’s pant leg. “It’s fine, Arven and Miraidon. He’s just curious.”
“Yes!” Clenching his fist, the man knocked Arven and Miraidon aside and kneeled to her. “Please forgive me,” he said, picking up her chin. “Wow, you’re definitely the prettiest AI I’ve ever seen.”
“Grr!” Arven growled. He tightened his jaw and stiffened up. No random stranger was going to hit on his mom!
“I’m just going to move this for a second,” the man said, removing Sada’s hand from her arm. He jabbed his fingers into it and felt the crystals on the other side of her sleeve.
Sada flinched, but she took a deep breath.
“So this is where the Terastal energy is coming from,” the man concluded. He let Sada’s arm go and re-took her chin. From there, he rocked her head from side to side so he could study the crystals on her cheeks. “No doubt about it, kid,” he said to Arven, “she’s broken.”
“We know she’s broken, Captain Obvious,” Arven snapped. “Now get your hands off her!” He snatched the man’s shoulder and pulled him away from Sada. He gave his Pokémon a little boot in the process.
Arven shoved the man’s chest and sank to his knees next to Sada, who grabbed her arm again. “Are you okay, Mom?”
“‘Mom’?” the man questioned while he straightened his tie and lab coat. “She’s your mom, kid?” With a confused look on his face, he scratched the top of his head and tried to put one-and-one together. “How did that happen? I mean—!” He cleared his throat. “—Of course, she’s your mom. You look just like her. Same hair, eyes, and nose. Heck, if you were a girl, I’d even say you could be twins.” He picked up his Pokémon and set it down on his shoulder.
“I run a laboratory where I study AI robots,” the man continued. “And not just human ones. It’s called Kenji’s Lab. I could take your mom there, fix her, and see how she interacts with other AIs.”
A volcano erupted from Arven’s head. He did not ask for a mad scientist to run a bunch of tests on a woman who just wanted to be human! Getting up, he faced Kenji and shouted, “She’s not a science experiment! She’s a living, breathing human, and you’re not going to take her away from me!”
“Okay, okay, I understand.” Kenji forgot how protective sons got of their moms. He quickly held up his hands and surrendered. “But in case you change your mind, here’s my card. I’ll transfer the lab’s coordinates to the AI, too.”
Kenji handed Arven a small card and then touched a button on the touch-screen watch he wore on his left wrist. “Aaannnd… done!” Kenji laughed. “Transfer complete. It was nice to meet you guys—especially you, Arven. I hope you get your mom fixed.”
“Believe me, sir, we will,” Arven bitterly explained.
Without warning, Nemona’s hand shot up. “Oh, Kenji! Before you go, I’m curious. What’s that Pokémon on your shoulder?” She found it strangely adorable.
“Oh, this little guy?” Kenji scratched his partner under its beak. “This is Iron Bundle. You’ll see a bunch of them if you come to my lab.”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Arven spat before Nemona could speak again. He flicked his wrist. “Just leave us alone.”
“Very well.” Kenji turned on his heel. “But please, consider stopping by. I will make your mom brand-new.” He rubbed Iron Bundle’s chin one last time and left Arven and his friends.
Still upset, he tapped his boot and flipped up the strand of hair he wore over his eye. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”
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