Chapter 33: Broken Heart Syndrome

  "Move! Move!" Sada shouted at the people and Pokémon on the moving walkway. It was wide enough to fit them on it, and red arrows pointed at a tall, multi-story glass building in a circular area. A red H stuck out on its front.

  "Hey!" people yelled at Sada. A few almost fell off the walkway, but their partners caught them.

  She ignored them and steered Miraidon to the walkway's end, hopping off it. "Just hang in there, Arven."

  He was only semi-conscious, so he didn't answer her.

  Sada checked the holographic signs near her and repeated, "Children, children," to herself. Eventually, she found the sign for the Children's Hospital. It was next to a fountain. "Bingo."

  Miraidon busted through the doors of the Children's ER and slid to its center, which had a large circle on the floor.

  People and Pokémon jumped up from where they sat and protected the children waiting for their turns.

  "Help!" Sada yelled.

  Instantly, three doctors rushed to her and Miraidon: two men and a lady who looked no older than Sada. She wore her slick, brown hair in a ponytail and had a few freckles on her tanned but sweet face.

  "What do we got?" she calmly asked.

  "His heart. He just collapsed." Sada did not realize how much she was shaking until she handed Arven to the doctor.

  Two more rolled a gurney to them and helped her put him on it.

  The female doctor placed her stethoscope on his chest. "Oh, yeah, I hear some abnormalities with the heart. Name, and how old?"

  "Arven," Sada answered. "He's sixteen. He started complaining of chest pain, and then he went down."

  "Are you his mother?" was the doctor's next question.

  "I am." Sada hated lying, but at the same time, she technically was Arven's mom.

  The doctor removed her stethoscope and looked over her shoulder. "Has he had chest pain before?"

  Sada quickly searched Professor Sada's memories. There were none of Arven having chest pain. "No. Please, help him!"

  "We're going to do everything we can," the doctor said, clapping her hands. "Let's move!"

  The rest of the doctors took hold of the gurney and rolled it toward a glass door at the back of the ER.

  Sada started to follow them, but the female doctor smacked her hands to her chest. "You can't go in there, ma'am. We'll get you when we're ready."

  "But he's my son!"

  "I understand, but right now, you need to let us do our jobs." The doctor checked the crystals on Sada's body. "Are you injured? Let us take a look at you, too."

  "I'm fine," Sada said. "It's him I'm worried about."

  "Ma'am, we need to check you out."

  "Not until you tell me what's wrong with my son!" Sada ripped herself away from the doctor and went to Miraidon. She squeezed his neck and buried her face in it.

  A few children in the waiting room said, "Wow," at the sight of him. "What kind of Pokémon is that? It's so cool!"

  Even the female doctor was intrigued.

***

  "Ms. Sada?" The male doctor searched the children's waiting room.

  Hearing her name, Sada shut the Violet Book and slipped it into her coat pocket. She stood from the seat she had been resting on and lifted her hand. "Here."

  Likewise, Miraidon got up from where he lay.

  "Ah." The doctor placed his hands in his pockets and went to Sada. A long silence ensured.

  "Well?" Sada inquired, suddenly fearful. "Oh, please don't tell me—" She couldn't lose her son when she needed him most!

  "No, he's fine." The doctor removed his hands from his pockets and held them up to her. "There was no heart attack, but his symptoms are consistent with something called Broken Heart Syndrome."

  "I know," Sada whispered, resting her hand on her belly.

  "Ma'am," the doctor added, "stress causes Broken Heart Syndrome, but it's also consistent with—"

  "Grief," Sada interrupted. "I know, doctor."

  "I'm sorry if this is difficult to talk about," the doctor said, "but did his father die?"

  "No." Sada patted Miraidon's head. "His mom."

  "Mom? Wait, I'm confused. Aren't you—?"

  "I'm not his real mom," Sada explained. "I'm an AI version of her, built to resemble her in every way. She died three years ago, and Arven just recently found out."

  "Really?" The doctor hid behind his hand for about a minute, seemingly lost in thought.

  Sada attempted to break him out of it. "If you don't mind, sir, I'd like to see my son now."

  "Of course." The doctor dropped his hand and turned on his heel. "If you would follow me."

  "Can I bring my Pokémon with me? He doesn't like staying in a pokéball that much."

  "Certainly. Children like it when Pokémon visit them in their rooms."

  Sada tightened her lab coat around her and followed the doctor out of the room. Miraidon was quiet, but she still heard him shuffling. Every once in a while, he tripped over his own feet.

***

  Arven's room was on one of the higher stories of the hospital. Sada, Miraidon, and the doctor rode a glass elevator that ran on voice recognition up to it.

  Sada hoped she didn't sound as robotic as the elevator. She placed her hands in her pockets and peered outside at Future Levincia. The skyscrapers, moving walkways, and monorail were a sight to behold up high, especially with the sunshine.

  Sada felt Miraidon bump her leg. While she didn't look at him, she did scratch the top of his head.

  He made a sound that was reminiscent of a purring Purrloin.

  "We're going to be okay, Miraidon," Sada gently said. "We're going to be okay." She had to remain confident and keep the baby and cyborg thing unnoticeable. That was unless Arven spilled the beans. But he wouldn't betray her like that, right?

  If people ever knew a pregnant AI/cyborg was on the loose, Sada would become nothing but a science experiment. More people would want cyborgs of their own, and she didn't want that. Sada wanted people to remain, well, people. Nevertheless, with the Mastermind of Deception active, she didn't know if that was possible. The thought haunted her the rest of the way to Arven's room, but she let it go when she and the doctor entered it.

  Sada enjoyed that it looked like future technology hadn't yet taken over the room. No robots were present—just a few machines here and there—and there was also a magnificent view of the city from the window.

  Arven slept soundly next to the view. Relaxed, even, and that was good for Sada. Arven needed his rest.

  Miraidon sauntered to the bed and set his chin down next to his head.

  "Thank you, doctor," Sada said, turning to him.

  "No problem," he replied. "We're going to keep him overnight for observation and see how he is in the morning."

  "Thank you again." Sada waited until the doctor left the room and shut the door. She then went straight to work.

  Sada wandered around the room and checked it out. Curious, she opened drawers and rummaged through them, unaware that her hands shook a little. Eventually, Sada found her way to the closet next to the bathroom and pushed a button on the wall. The doors opened automatically, and she reached for the closet's top shelf. She grabbed an extra blanket and hugged it to her chest.

  Sada started for Arven. However, reality settled in when she saw him ill and hooked up to a machine. Whatever happened next smacked her right in the heart. Were they motherly instincts?

  The blanket dropped from Sada's hands, and she fell to her knees in the middle of the room. She buried her face in her palms and sniffed. "I'm sorry, Arven. I did this to you."

  At once, Miraidon left his bed and went to her. "Gias," he gloomily said.

  Sada lowered her hands and hugged him. She rested her chin on his neck and said only three words: "Thank you, Miraidon."