Chapter 50: Haiman Memory

    Exhausted and beaten up, AI Sada dropped to one knee on the sandy battlefield. It was in a half-circle-shaped cove just off Socarrat Trail, with the forest behind it.

    Turo kept pushing Infrared's button on his remote, but Sada fought it every time, thanks to her human emotions.

    "Give up!" Turo shouted. "You can't fight Infrared much longer. I don't care how many tries it takes, but I will turn you into a robot."

    "And I refuse. I'm not going down without a fight, Turo." Sada searched for her Tera Orb but remembered it was in her lab coat.

    "Your stupid bravery is pushing my buttons! Fine! I guess I have to bring in the heavy artillery." Turo released not one but six Hologram Pokéballs from his coat pocket. "I will crush you with every Future Hologram Pokémon I own, starting with Meowscarada!" He hiccupped through tears, and they splashed onto his pokéballs.

    "Turo, stop!" Celebi left Sada and flew to him. It wrapped its little hands around his wrist. "You've lost your mind."

    "I have not!" Turo flicked his wrist. He flinched and added, "I just want no memories of her!"

    "That was one bad memory," Celebi explained. "What happened to the good ones?"

    "Don't patronize me!"

    A gust of wind, the north wind, passed through the cove and paused the scuffle.

    "What the—?" Turo inquired, covering his crimson face.

    AI Sada struggled to her feet, panting, and protected her belly. "They're here." Just in time, too.

    Suicune, Arven, Penny, and wait! Was that Miraidon? All four entered the bay and hopped onto the beach.

    Arven dismounted his ride and pointed at Meowscarada. "Miraidon, no, Koraidon! Get Meowscarada away from Sada!"

    It was confirmed! That was Miraidon. Holy smokes, did Sada's plan work?

    "Agias!"

    A small, fish-like Pokémon, Tatsugiri, leaped off Koraidon's head.

    He changed into his battle form and dove for Meowscarada. Koraidon tackled her, and Meowscarada crashed into the line of trees behind the beach.

    Penny slid off Suicune and hustled for Sada. "Sada!"

    The crystals on Sada's body sparkled. Still holding her belly, she toppled over. Pain shot up her knees when she hit the ground. "I know, I know, I know you're scared." Sada clutched the underside of her bump. "But we're going to get out of this. I promise. We've almost got your daddy back." All they needed now was Suicune.

    He opened his mouth and used Bubble Beam. The large bubbles covered the battlefield and surrounded Arven and Turo. Suicune jumped and touched each bubble like it was a stepping stone.

    "I don't have time for this!" Turo yelled. He plucked a pokéball from his pile and looked toward Meowscarada. "Meowscarada, get back up and destroy them! Break some bones, hearts, whatever! Just destroy them!"

***

    Turo's insanity had reached an unhealthy level. And Arven thought his grief was complicated. Why did his father keep bullying Meowscarada when the Iron Moths had already beaten her?

    Although he didn't feel well, Arven fought. He lunged and snatched Turo's wrists. "Stop bullying Meowscarada!" With his elbow, he smacked Turo's pokéballs out of his hands. Sada's lab coat fell from his back.

    "Let go!" Turo shouted, shoving Arven off.

    He yelled and smashed into the ground on his back. The fall knocked the wind out of him. Arven took a minute to catch his breath.

    "Agiasgias!" Koraidon's eyes glowed, and he stomped to Turo. He picked him up and chucked him toward Meowscarada, who shakily stood.

    "Koraidon!" Arven shouted, but Koraidon didn't listen.

    "Gias!" Koraidon approached the dazed Turo and opened his mouth. He aimed a Hyper Beam at his chest.

    "Koraidon, no!" Arven couldn't lose his dad, too! He had never seen him scared before, but he was.

    Turo crawled back and held up his right hand. It looked like he injured his left.

    "Koraidon!" Arven jumped up and sprinted to Turo. He tossed himself in front of him and used his body as a shield.

    On instinct, Koraidon dropped the Hyper Beam and quickly returned to his low-power mode.

    It looked like that was Suicune's cue. He hopped down from the last bubble and landed on Casseroya Lake. Suicune ran in a circle on the surface, but Arven didn't know why.

    He grabbed Turo and helped him to his feet. Right when he did—

    "Cune!" Suicune announced to all of Casseroya. Soundwave-like blue lights left his mouth and passed through the floating bubbles. They flashed like a camera lens, and Arven and Turo closed their eyes. Another gust of the north wind nearly knocked them down.

    Arven heard her. His mom, his real mom. "Arven, open your eyes."

    He did, and his jaw dropped. Arven forgot about the Poison Powder and merely stared at what exploded around him and Turo.

    Memories, but not just any memories. Arven saw his mom helping him with his Magikarp floaties the day she taught him how to swim. He saw her cuddling him as a baby, singing a lullaby, and giving him Maschiff. Each of Suicune's bubbles carried a different memory, and Arven cried under them all.

    He heard a thump behind him and saw Turo had dropped his remote and remaining pokéballs.

    Where Suicune was, a watery figure rose out of Casseroya like a zombie, but she was no zombie. She looked exactly how she did in Arven's dream: luminescent and breathtaking like a Lumineon. Arven's Lumineon. "Mom," he choked out.

    Sada flew to him and Turo and embraced them. She pecked Arven's forehead and turned to Turo.

    Arven couldn't tell who sobbed the hardest: him or his dad.

    Turo's memories of Sada went to him. Arven saw the day they met, when Turo proposed to Sada (on Casseroya Lake, nonetheless), and when she announced they were expecting. They helped Arven realize that Turo's only real dirty memory of her was when she died. He loved her, and she loved him. They just weren't ready for kids.

    Was Arven supposed to feel guilty? He was the reason his parents separated. Arven guessed guilt was the last thing on his mind while stuck in a magical phenomenon with his father.

    Sada's spirit grasped Turo's hands. "I'm sorry, Turo," she said. "I'm sorry I hurt you and Arven. However, I want you to know that I always loved you. I didn't walk out because I stopped; I walked out because I wasn't ready for a kid, and I thought I could learn myself." She shook her head. "I should have never done that. I hope you can forgive me."

    "Sada..." Turo moved closer to her. "I wasn't ready, either. When I came to Area Zero that day, I was. But after you died, I couldn't face Arven."

    Sada flicked a few tears from Turo's eyes and hugged him again. "Don't worry, I'm okay. You can let me go. I'm always here for our family. After all, you're my greatest Treasure."

    "Your greatest Treasure." Yep, Turo sobbed the hardest. "I love you, Sada. I love you so much." With those words, he leaped forward and kissed her.

    Arven gagged under the passion he put into it and Sada's return kiss.

    "I love you, Turo," she said, her words muffled under hers and Turo's lips.

    The memories pulsed and spread to the rest of the battlefield.

    AI Sada's Roaring Moon ducked under a few of them.

    The bubbles broke apart and turned the memories into watery goddesses. They soared with Celebi, who announced, "Bi, bi, bi!"

    Turo put one hand on Sada's hip, his other on her shoulder, and danced with her.

    In the meantime, Arven reached up and touched each memory.

    They twirled around him and lifted him off his feet.

    One memory grabbed Penny. It dragged her to Arven and pushed her into his arms.

    Both of them toppled over.

    Penny, on top of Arven now, blushed. "Oh, hi," she said, pulling a strand of hair behind her ear.

    Smiling, Arven tilted his head back and saw Suicune nodding at him. Thank you, Suicune, he mouthed. Next, he looked at AI Sada.

    She put her Terastallized hands together and hooked her fingers, grinning.

    One by one, the memories returned to Suicune. They created an enormous, shimmering bubble over his head. "It's time, Sada," Arven heard him say to Sada's spirit.

    She nodded and, with one last kiss, let Turo go. On her way to Suicune's bubble, she waved.

    Arven and Turo did, too.

    Sada's spirit was the last memory to dive into Suicune's bubble. As soon as she did, it popped like a balloon. Water droplets dropped onto Suicune, Casseroya, and the Wild Pokémon, who came to witness the magic. Everything was perfect, peaceful even, but then—

    "Ah!" AI Sada's infrared crystals flared. She swayed back and forth and collapsed onto her broken arm.

    "AI Sada!" Arven accidentally shoved Penny off and ran to her. He reached her before Turo. "What's wrong?" Arven checked Sada's belly. "Oh, please don't tell me..."

    "No, Arven, she's not having contractions." With Sada's coat back over his shoulders, Turo met up with him. "It's Infrared. I have to get her front to the control room and put her in hypersleep."

    "Hyper—what?" Arven glanced at him. "What's that? Shouldn't we be saving her and the baby?"

    Turo tossed Sada's coat over her and picked her up. "You don't understand, do you?" he inquired, moving away from Arven.

    Suicune, Penny, and the remaining Pokémon joined them.

    "Understand what?" Arven glared and coughed into his palm. Sweat dripped down his face. "I understand totally, Dad. You abused Sada to get rid of me and didn't account for the fact that she's all we have left of Mom. I'm not going to lose my mom again. I can't."

    "Son, this hurts me just as much as you, but did you not hear what your mother told us?" Turo lowered his chin. "We need to let her go. Besides, Infrared is too dangerous to keep activated. Give me a chance to redeem myself. Please. Sada and the baby will die if I don't put her in hypersleep. I can't save her, but I can save your sibling."

    Arven held his spinning head. "No, don't talk like that. We can save them both." He knew he had to let Sada go, but every time Arven thought he was ready, something pulled him back, and he couldn't think straight anymore.

    A plop told him his knees had hit the ground. A whoosh followed and Penny's familiar touch on his wet brow.

    "Arven, your fever," she whimpered.

    "I feel fine!" Nevertheless, Arven's weakened knees gave out, and he keeled over like Sada. The last thing he heard before he drifted into unconsciousness was Turo.

    "Celebi and Koraidon, get us out of here."

"Water has memories, even dirty ones, which purify with the next rain."

- Viktoria Fyodorova