Desolate [Pokémon Arven x Protagonist]

The Final Battle Was Unforeseen (Part 2)

Koraidon stood up in the massive basin he created, muscles rising and falling with every breath, staring blankly at what he had committed. "YOU DID IT!" Nemona shouted, crushing me in the tightest hug I had ever experienced.

Penny still didn't want to be anywhere near the creature. "It's...it's not going berserk anymore?" Nemona finished her death hug on me before turning to her friend and taking the breath out of her, too. Penny choked as Koraidon's scales faded away, the blue light retreating to Nemona's tera orb. Arven picked it up from the ground, handing it to Nemona. She dropped Penny to the uneven floor, gladly accepted it, then squeezed the life out of him.

"How... How very astounding!" AI Sada's voice had settled to a more human tone, no longer sounding like a cheap telephone. "To think that you would manage to defy even the original professor's final protections!" She was still at the top of the pillars by the dead time machine, talking to us from above. Everything was quiet for a moment, but the time machine was still alive, likely still recovering from its failed security.

"Are you back to normal?" Arven swallowed, unsure of who he was really talking to.

Sada blinked, completely in awe. "Yes... a completely unforeseen outcome, even for an AI processing the most sophisticated technology ever conceived."

"AI?" Arven breathed, looking to me.

I held him by the waist and sighed. "It's... gonna take a bit of time to catch up."

"Even on the brink of despair, you children did not give in and instead proved your worthiness: showing the wisdom to think for yourselves, the courage to hold faith in your hands, and the fortitude to do what had to be done. Not matter how difficult your own pasts may have been...." Nemona and Penny stood beside us to face the professor, holding each other and grinning in celebration. Koraidon still had his chest bloated. He was proud of himself. His entire attitude was radiating it, and he was soaking in every word the professor said. "I believe you will be capable of walking whatever paths you choose for yourselves now. With pride. I thank you, Lugosi. I thank all of you children." We smiled at each other. We didn't understand what had all gone on—it would definitely take a few days for the event to settle in—but we knew we had accomplished something great. It was something worth celebrating. "But I am afraid that the time machine cannot be put to a complete stop so long as I am here," Sada warned.

She was right; the time machine was still slowly swiveling above her, awaiting its next security command. She was stood atop the pillars that had aided her in receiving her pokémon team, still erect from the platform they had grown from. "What do you mean, Professor?" Nemona asked.

AI Sada studied the machine, whispering noises to her. "It appears I myself am part of the system that ensures the machine reboots when stopped."

"Huh?" Arven wheezed. "W-what does that mean?"

AI Sada blinked, eying us, once again. "I am sorry," she apologized, starting over. "You know, when I was watching you all on your adventures from down here, I felt a sense of... jealousy." Jealousy? Throughout the time we had known her, although she was only a machine, AI Sada had exhibited several moments of human emotion. It was warming, though... scary. It had begun to prove difficult to tell if her clarity of humanity was coded horribly well or if the original Professor Sada, herself, embodied a piece of the robot. "I envied your freedom," AI Sada continued. "The way that you came together, working in league with your fellows and caring for them..." Penny blushed, thinking about her leadership with Team Star, finally coming out to them in her physical form. "The way that you sought strength and to better yourself, throwing all you are into your battles..." Nemona beamed, striking a victorious pose, knowing her idol was speaking about her. "The way that you would face down even the greatest enemies to save that which you loved..." I felt Arven's hand wrap around mine. He was staring at her, empty but mournful. I squeezed him back. "The way that you never ceased to seek—nor to fight for—a treasure all your own...." I brought my attention from my mind to my hand. It was an eventful journey, for sure. My three friends were all by my side, deep inside Area Zero, meeting the island's professor—or rather the essence of her—in person as she congratulated us on our efforts.