Chapter 42: Chapter 39: To Be Brave Is Something You Learn Over Time

        Once he made it to the wide, circular room next to the lab’s barracks and charging stations, Turo halted. He set Infrared down next to the steel staircase that led to the control room and propped her up against the wall. “I’ll be right back.” With a pokéball in his hand, he jogged to the barracks. He needed something to guard them while he and Arven dealt with Infrared.

        She waved Miraidon over to her.

        Noticing her, he switched to his low-power mode and came within reach of her. “Gias?” he questioned, waving his tail.

        Infrared’s eyes continued to glitch, while she continued to fight her evil side, but she stayed strong and patted her Pokémon’s shoulder. “You know what I need to do, Miraidon.” She held back a few tears. “Arven and Turo will not be able to destroy me.”

        Miraidon knew this day would come—ever since Sada changed him. His face drooped, and he said, “Agias.”

        Infrared’s hand moved up to his left cheek. “You’re my good boy,” she said, smiling slightly. “I knew you could make friends with Arven. He will need somebody to look after him. Can you do that for me, please? I can’t be there for him anymore.”

        “I will, Sada. I promise,” Miraidon growled. Closing his eyes, he pushed his cheek into Infrared’s palm.

        “I’m sorry, Miraidon,” she said. “I’m sorry I did this to you.”

        “Well, we got one last adventure out of it, didn’t we?” Miraidon communicated back. He chuckled, but it wasn’t long until his face dropped again. He removed his cheek from Infrared’s palm when he heard Turo.

        “Iron Hands, keep watch!”

        The futuristic Hariyama emerged from his pokéball. Its plump, mechanical body clicked on and off like a light bulb, and it held its enormous hands in front of it. As an Electric-type Pokémon, it wouldn’t hesitate to shock any robot that tried to jump it.

        Turo returned to Infrared. He reached out to pick her up again, but she bumped him off.

        “No.”

        “But, Sada, you can’t walk.” Turo swallowed a lump in his throat, but it only returned as a larger mass.

        “Yes... I can.” Infrared pushed through the pain in her arm. She shakily stood. “To be brave is something you learn over time.”

        Turo was really worried now. “Sada, what are you talking about? Here, let me help you.”

        Infrared gave his hand a quick slap. “You’ve done enough.”

        The guilt returned. Turo felt it passing through his veins. He wondered what would have happened if he never lost himself to his grief and invented Infrared.

        Infrared speaking broke his train of thought. “Let’s go, Miraidon.” She used him to support her balance and headed down the steel staircase.

        “Motherboard damaged by fall,” Infrared’s robotic voice announced. She and Miraidon weren’t even halfway down the stairs yet.

        Turo hurried to Infrared when she toppled forward. He caught her before she could tumble down the stairs and pulled his arms out of his lab coat. He wrapped it around her like a blanket and scooped her up. To Miraidon, he said, “We need to get her to the control room… fast.”

        They were right behind Arven and Celebi, who just made it there.

        “3D printer, 3D printer,” Arven said, looking around. He noticed that the room’s holographic screen was on, and it showed the center section of Levincia, where all the moving walkways connected. The sky above it had turned infrared again and pulsed repeatedly, indicating that the space-time rift was opening. Arven had to hurry before Past Pokémon ran rampant in the future. Nobody else had to die because of his mistake.

        “Bi!” Celebi called from the experimental table.

        “Celebi?” Arven said, peering over his shoulder. He shuffled to the Pokémon and studied the table. “Is this the 3D printer?”

        “Yes,” Celebi replied telepathically. It plopped down on the table. “This is where Infrared was born, through the power of 3D printing and futuristic technology.”

        The tall and long, black table had golden edges (similar to the Scarlet and Violet books), three, small computers attached to its front, and a hook-like, mechanical feature at the back that moved from side to side like a typewriter. Arven knew that was the printer part of it.

        He saw two, rectangular-shaped pockets under the table’s computers. Arven brushed his hand across them and held the Violet book up to one of them. It was a perfect fit. “Is it really that simple?” he inquired. Dropping to his knees, he took off his knapsack and opened it, pulling out the Scarlet book.

        Arven’s eyes rolled over to Celebi, and he said, “You gave me the Scarlet and Violet books, didn’t you?”

        “Yes. You finally figured it out!” Celebi happily grasped its cheeks. “I’m Turo’s Pokémon, so I knew he was struggling. I traveled through time to find Sada and bring her and Koraidon here.” It peered back at the 3D printer. “Turo transferred some of Miraidon’s new powers to her when he invented Infrared and programmed her with it. Those powers and Sada’s link to it allowed her to open the space-time rift and call you. In a nutshell, Arven, Infrared was born from electricity. Miraidon’s, to be accurate. Turo used 3D printing to create the Violet book afterward, but keep in mind that Miraidon was once Koraidon.”

        “And that’s where the Scarlet book comes in handy,” Arven concluded.

        Celebi flapped its wings. It floated in front of Arven’s face and explained, “With both the Scarlet and Violet books, we will be able to destroy Infrared.”

        No, not Infrared but Arven’s mom. He seized up. He didn’t want to do this anymore. How could he destroy his own mother, even if she was an AI?

        “All we need is Sada,” was the last thing Celebi told him.

        “I’ve got her right here.” Turo, who appeared behind Arven, pushed past him. “Excuse me, Arven.” His legs shook under him, but he went ahead and set Sada down on the table.

        Turo turned on its computers. As soon as he did, the pockets for the two books lit up like Iron Hand’s body.

        “I can’t do this, Dad,” Arven said.

        “It’s okay, son. I understand.” Turo retrieved the Scarlet and Violet books from him. “I’ll do it.” Nevertheless, he, too, hesitated to slip the books into the pockets. He didn’t hesitate to hurt Sada before, so why was this happening now? Inhaling, Turo told himself, “On three. One, two…” He still couldn’t follow through.

        Sada expected this. She lifted her head and feebly nodded at Miraidon.

        He returned it and glowed up the brightest he ever had. Miraidon changed his form and knocked the books out of Turo’s hands. His toothless jaw caught both of them.

        “Miraidon, what are you doing?” Turo questioned.

        Miraidon backed him and Arven up to the control room’s entrance.

        Following in his footsteps, Celebi put up a Reflect between Sada and her family members. It stretched across the whole room, cutting it in two distinct halves.

        “Wait!” Turo punched the barrier. “Sada, don’t you dare!”

        Her eyes glitched to their cyan-blue color, and she said, “I’m sorry, but we need to destroy Infrared.” Sada unwrapped Turo’s lab coat and tossed it off to the side, taking off her own. “You two are ready.”

        “Stop!” Turo begged again. He jumped when Miraidon threatened him with a quick Thundershock.

        He dropped the two books into the pockets. A violet light on the Violet side of the table outlined one half of it and a scarlet one on the Scarlet side.

        Sada rolled off it. She hit the floor but rose to her feet and backed away from the table. Turning her body, she clutched her left arm and pointed it at the table’s edge. “Here goes nothing,” Sada said under her breath. “To be brave is something you learn over time.”

        “Stop!” Turo shrieked one more time. “Please! I love you, Sada!”

        She counted down from three, “Three, two, one,” and then she sprinted. Sada slammed the loose crystals on her arm into the table. At once, another layer of them dropped off, and her arm sparked.

        “No!” Arven cried. “Mom!”

        Sada stumbled on her feet, but she straightened herself and backed away again. “Again!” For the second time, she smashed her arm into the table’s edge.

        “No!” Arven couldn’t watch this. He whirled around and hid his face in Turo’s shoulder.

        Sada’s vision was clouded by pain, but she could still see the table’s outline. “One… more… time,” she breathlessly said. Sada threw herself into the table for a third time. It was the hardest hit yet. The crystals fell from her arm and revealed her re-opened wound. Sada tossed her hand into it. With one swift stroke, she ripped her motherboard and wires right out of her arm and slammed them down on the table.

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        Sada screamed when not just her whole body malfunctioned but also the table and motherboard.

        Miraidon came in for the final blow. In mid-air, he curled into a ball. Electricity sizzled from it, and he rolled into the table, breaking it into two pieces and the motherboard into many.

        The Violet book shriveled, but the Scarlet one remained intact. The force from Miraidon’s attack tossed their pockets apart from one another. The Scarlet book stabbed Celebi’s barrier and shattered it.

        From where she stood, Sada collapsed onto her tummy in front of the machine’s remains.

        In the lab’s main section, Turo’s remaining AI Pokémon shut down.

        Penny pushed an AI Iron Bundle off her.

        Iron Hands grabbed Joy when she reached it, as soon as the infrared ceiling faded.

        Nemona, Penny, Scarlet, and Kenji straightened up when the AI and Hologram Pokémon stopped attacking them.

        “Whoa!” Nemona said. “What happened?”

        Back in the control room, the last thing Infrared’s holographic screen showed was the space-time rift above Levincia closing and the sky returning to normal. Just like that… Pop! It shut off. Everything else in the control room shut down. It was now nothing more than a dark room that resembled the aftermath of the time machine’s shutdown in Area Zero.

        Shaking, Arven let go of Turo. He and his dad hurried to Sada.

        “AI Sada critically damaged,” said her dying computer. A majority of the infrared Tera crystals broke off Sada’s body and created piles around her. Burn marks replaced the areas where the crystals once were.

        Arven and Turo, still in shock, got down on Sada’s level.

        Out of breath, Arven said, “Mom, Mom.” He turned Sada over and held her in his arms. “Why would you do that? Why would you be so stupid?”

        “I… had… to,” Sada gasped. “Please… Arven.” She shakily reached for her lab coat.

        Turo got it for her. “What do you need?”

        “Poké… ball. Kor… ai… don’s. Left… pocket.” Sada’s eyes drooped, but she forced them to stay open for a little longer.

        Turo freed the pokéball from her pocket and offered it to her.

        Sada took it. “Ar… ven.” She set the ball down in his palm. “Take… care… of… him… for… me.”

        “I will, Mom,” Arven promised, taking the pokéball. “I won’t let you down.” He heard huffing behind him.

        Miraidon floated over to Sada’s other side, next to Turo.

        Pounding footsteps on the steel staircase interrupted the silent atmosphere. Penny, Kenji, Scarlet, Nemona, and Koraidon were soon in the control room.

        At the sight of Arven and his parents, Nemona smacked her hands to her mouth. “Oh no.”

        Scarlet stopped her before she could go to them.

        Arven saw Penny out of the corner of his eye and said, “Penny!” He showed her Sada. “Fix her!”

        “I can’t,” Penny admitted. Sada was broken beyond her control.

        “It’s… okay.” Sada pinched Arven’s cheek and shook his skin. “You’re… ready. I… love… you… Arven.” She kissed his cheek and let it go. Next, she took Turo’s hand. Peering into his face, a small smile broke across her burned one. “I’m… finally… human.”

        That was it. Sada closed her eyes and fell limp.

        “No, no.” Arven tried to shake her awake. “Mom! No.” Crying, he and Turo hugged her at the same time.

        “I’m sorry, Sada,” Turo said. “I did this to you.” Instead of shrinking, his guilty, cancerous mass grew larger. He closed his own eyes, but he opened them when Sada’s motionless body sparkled.

        A flash of infrared lighting escaped it and washed across the room like an incoming tsunami. It found its way up to the staircase and into the main room. Strings of light broke off it and hit the Hologram Pokémon. They reverted all of them to normal, including Nemona’s Meowscarada and Arven’s Cloyster.

        Bewildered, the two Pokémon tried to make sense of where they were. They checked the area for their trainers.

        In the control room, a large band of light wrapped itself around Miraidon’s head like a crown—very similar to what happened when he became Miraidon.

        He gasped when the infrared light covered him and lifted him toward the ceiling.

        Arven and Turo, startled, let Sada go. They stood up and backed away from her.

        Miraidon’s body pulsed and started to change. A plumage of feathers replaced the lightning bolts on his head, and his legs folded down to create two powerful hind ones. The tire in his chest metamorphosed into that of Koraidon. Once his transformation ceased, the light brought him to the ground, and his hind legs hit it.

        The light faded, and Koraidon examined his familiar body up and down. He tapped his feet and clenched his scaly fists. He was at least a head taller than Scarlet’s Koraidon.

        The Pokémon’s orange-yellow eyes rolled over to Arven and Turo. He showed them his hands and shook the feathers on his head.

        For the first time in what felt like forever, Arven grinned. “Koraidon!” He blinked away a few tears and jumped into Koraidon’s arms.

        Koraidon’s eyes widened, but he soon returned Arven’s hug. He set him down, and Arven pointed the pokéball at him.

        Tapping it, Koraidon turned into red energy and vanished inside. The ball shook one, two, three times before a ding sound was heard.

        Turo managed to crack a smile. He approached Arven and patted his shoulder. “Congratulations, Arven. You’ve got a new Pokémon.”

        Celebi soon landed on his shoulder. It hugged Turo’s neck.

        “Thank you, Celebi,” he said. “Thank you for bringing my son to me.” He was finally ready to be a dad, but he had a lot of work to do.

        “Scarada!” was soon heard from the staircase. Meowscarada, followed closely by Cloyster, skipped the last stair and ran to Nemona.

        “Meowscarada!” Nemona burst into tears herself. She squeezed her Pokémon so tightly that she almost suffocated her.

        Cloyster, who wasn’t as fast as Meowscarada, bounced down the last few stairs like a basketball.

        Scarlet’s Koraidon went to it and used his nose to help it up.

        “Cloyster,” Cloyster said, embarrassed.

        Penny and Scarlet examined the reunions, grinning. They hooked hands and snuggled close to each other.

        “Aw, don’t cry, Penny,” Scarlet said at the sight of Penny rubbing her eye. “You’ll make me cry.” Sure enough, a warm, salty tear fell from her eye.

        Penny and Scarlet embraced. After a full minute, they let go and took off their glasses to shake the water out of them.

        Scarlet slipped hers back on first. She pulled Penny close to her and said, “Let’s go home.”

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