Chapter 42: Arven and Penny

 Sada helped Arven sit. To steady him, she placed her left hand on his back and spoke in a low voice, "Are you okay, Ven?"

 "My chest hurts," he weakly complained.

 "I'm sorry he did that to you. Here." Sada undid her lab coat and tossed it over Arven's back. "You need to rest. Your friends are in the next cell over. These walls are thin, though, so you can speak to them. Penny has been worried about you."

 "She has?" Arven's face reddened. He pulled down a new tuft of hair and flopped it over his other eye.

 "Come on, Arven, say it." Sada softly punched his shoulder. "You like her, don't you?"

 Arven removed one tuft and bent his thumb and index finger. "Maybe a little, but I don't know how to tell her."

 "She doesn't, either."

 Arven hastily changed the topic because he started to sweat. "What happened to them? I thought they were checking on Meowscarada."

 Sada smirked. "That's a better question for Penny."

 "Mom!"

 "Come on. Don't be such a Purrloin," giggled Sada. "You're sixteen years old. You have every right to feel this way, but the best thing you can do is talk to Penny. She can tell you what happened much better than me."

 "True." Arven sighed. "All right, Mom, you better be right about this."

 Again, Sada giggled, and she hugged her sandwich to her chest.

 Arven carefully studied it. "Where'd you get that sandwich?"

 "I... made it," Sada stuttered, losing her smile. "Don't change the subject, Ven. I know you're nervous, but Penny's waiting for you. Now, go on." She waved the hand that held the sandwich.

 Arven shot her a suspicious look. "Was it Kenji? You don't have to hide things from me anymore, Mom."

 "Arven, Kenji is not as bad as you think. He made me this sandwich because I'm becoming more human."

 Arven glared. "You haven't eaten it yet, so that tells me you don't entirely trust him, either."

 Penny banging on the wall interrupted their argument (it probably was for the best). "Arven, are you in there?" Her voice shook, emphasizing her worry.

 Arven scowled at Sada a little longer. Afterward, he took off her coat and crawled to the wall.

 Miraidon followed close behind, with a protective face glued on.

 Arven pushed himself to his knees. He set his palms on the wall and placed his ear on it. "Penny, I'm here."

 "Oh, thank goodness!" Penny's tone changed from anxious to relieving. "Are you okay? Please say you are!"

 "I'm fine, Pen-Pen, but what happened? Are the others with you?"

 "They are. Oh, Arven, it was terrible! Turo tricked us! We went to the Pokémon Center, asked about Meowscarada, and Nurse Joy said we could see her. She took us in the back and... and..." Penny trailed off.

 "Penny, it's okay. You can tell me." Arven edged closer to the wall. It looked like he wanted to hug it.

 "Meowscarada..." Penny choked out. "Turo turned it into a Hologram Pokémon!"

***

 From looking at her Rotom Phone, Penny learned there were two Pokémon Centers in Levincia: East and West. West, the one she escorted her friends to, cowered away from the crowds at the city's edge. It was a high-tech, hacienda-like building. It had tall, glass windows over half of it, and its lobby was just as vast.

 Robots and only a few people roamed it. The robots did not look like Sada but trash cans, soda machines, etc.

 The people looked like her; however, they did move a bit stiff and twitchy at times. It was like most of them traveled from afar and were exhausted after finally reaching their destination.

 Nurse Joy wasn't that way. She held her hands against her pokéball-style apron and bowed to Penny and her friends. "Welcome to the Pokémon Center!" Her voice was high-pitched, like the cry of a Shaymin, and it lured everybody in.

 "Hey, Nurse Joy!" Grinning, Nemona showed off her white teeth and jogged to the check-in desk. "It's Nemona. Do you remember me?"

 Joy returned her grin. "Of course. How can I forget the best Meowscarada trainer ever?"

 "That's right!" Nemona set her hands on the table and bounced up and down. "Tell me, tell me! My Meowscarada's brand-new, right?"

 "Why don't I take you and your friends in the back, and you can see for yourself?"

 "Really? You'd do that for us?" Nemona's smile widened to the size of her face. "Yes! Yes, please!"

 "Of course. Follow me, Nemona, and—I'm sorry. What are your friends' names again?"

 Nemona gestured at Penny and Scarlet. "Penny and Scarlet. Our other friend, Arven, is a little under the weather. He can't make it today, unfortunately."

 "Arven, huh? That certainly is an unusual name. He's hanging out with three girls, so I'm assuming y'all like him?" Joy said that while she led the girls toward some double doors at the back of the lobby.

 "Oh no. It's just Penny," Nemona admitted.

 "Nemona!" Penny's face turned a bright shade of red.

 Both Joy and Scarlet chuckled.

 "Ah, I remember my first crush," Joy joked, reaching the doors. "He was this tall, slender man who had a strange-looking beard and one wacky hairstyle. He was the apple of my eye, but one day, something happened, and I ended up running the Pokémon Center." She winked at the teens. "It's a small world after all, eh, kids?"

 "Wait." Penny's blush vanished, and she stopped in her tracks. "Who are you talking about, ma'am?"

 "Geez, Penny, that was so long ago," Joy admitted. She pressed a red button next to the doors, and they slid open with a whirl. "I hardly remember him."

 Penny scratched her chin. "It's just—he sounds oddly familiar. Ah, I'm sorry." She dropped her hand. "I don't know what I'm talking about."

 "Oh no, I'm the one who should be sorry," said Joy. "I guess that was a bit of a vague description. You guys still want to see Meowscarada, right?"

 "Yes, of course!" Nemona grew slightly impatient. "I can hear her calling out to me already!"

 "Then lettsa go!" Joy waved Penny, Scarlet, and Nemona into the hallway first. Cracking a sinister smile, she followed them and pressed the button again. With another whirl, the doors slid shut. "Oh, how I've always wanted to deceive children," Joy silently whispered.

***

 "By then, I knew something was wrong." Before continuing her story, Penny inhaled.

 Arven said not a word the whole time.

 "Joy led us to a room at the back of the hallway," Penny added. "Meowscarada was not in there, but something called a Hologram Pokéball. They contain the Hologram Pokémon. Before we knew it, Joy ambushed us with Nemona's Meowscarada. That's all I remember, though."

 "Wait," Arven finally said, "was Nurse Joy really Nurse Joy, or was she... you know?"

 "An AI? She was, Arven. Turo forced her to turn Meowscarada into a hologram. When we woke up, we were here. Nemona is totally torn up. She's been moping ever since we woke up. Scarlet's tried helping her, but nothing's working. Oh, Arven, I don't know what to do."

 "We'll figure it out, Penny... together. I promise." Arven coughed a little. "We just need a plan."

 "Right," Penny responded. "But please, Arven, don't push yourself. You haven't fully recovered. I'll try to think of something. You focus on resting and spending time with Sada. We can communicate via Rotom. However, there is something I need to ask you."

 "Shoot," Arven said, unaware that Miraidon and Sada watched him in the background.

 "Do-Do you like me?" Penny banged the wall soon after she asked that. "Ah, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have asked that! Oh my gosh, I'm so embarrassed."

 "No, no," Arven chuckled. "It's okay. I do, Penny. I just never knew how to tell you. What do you say? When we get out of this and return to the present..." He gulped. "Woul—oh my gosh, I don't know how to ask this. Um..." Arven cleared his throat. The next time he spoke, his voice squeaked. "Do-Do you want to go out with me?"