Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Infrared

Chapter 45: System Overload

Song: "Andromeda" -  BrunuhVille

"Sada, wake up! Please!" It was strange. Penny never considered herself emotional, but her current emotions overwhelmed her. After watching the dispute between Arven and Turo, she could not stay in that cell one minute more.

Head spinning, Penny faced Scarlet, Nemona, and their Pokémon. "We-We've got to get out of here."

Surprisingly, Nemona was the one who answered. "We can't. Face it, Penny—we're doomed."

What the—? Doomed? Since when did she become a pessimist? Seriously, she lost one little Pokémon battle. Nemona had never acted this way, and Scarlet seemed to know that.

"Oh, shut up, Nemona! You can't help your Meowscarada if you mope around. Arven's got it a lot worse than you."

"It's not just that," Nemona argued. "I can't call myself a Champion-ranked trainer anymore."

"That doesn't matter." Scarlet glared evilly. "What matters is that you stop being selfish."

Nemona shut down. She didn't say anything else for a while.

A familiar voice interrupted the silence: "Queen Sada!" Kenji appeared in the shadows. Awestruck, he hurried toward Sada.

"Queen?" Penny nearly gagged. In her opinion, that was a horrible nickname for Sada.

Kenji reached her, and she finally stirred. However, she remained on the ground a little longer.

Kenji dropped to his knees and examined her up and down. It took a minute, but he stuck two fingers into the hole in her cheek and began to fiddle around.

Penny knew he was checking Sada's wires, but the sight was still disgusting. "Hey! What are you doing to her?"

Kenji briefly looked up. "I'm giving her electricity. It'll reboot her system."

"What in the name of Paldea are you talking about?" Was Penny's hypothesis correct? Was Kenji an AI, too?

With a stern look, he stood and approached her cell. "What I'm saying is that we AIs look out for each other."

Well, that confirmed it. Penny knew it. "So you admit you're one, too!"

Kenji nodded at her comment. "I am. Always have been. Turo met me when he came to the future. Of all the AIs here, Sada is the most human, which is why he turned her into a cyborg. I merely assisted."

The revelation shocked not only Penny but also Scarlet and Nemona.

"So, you've been working with Turo all along?" Scarlet attempted to confirm.

Kenji shrugged. "Yes... and no. I left after he impregnated Sada and tried to find a new life for myself. But enough dilly-dallying. Let's get you guys out of here and save Arven. Sada should fully reboot soon."

"Initiating. Initiating," Sada's robot spoke. "Reboot in process."

"See?" Kenji inquired, smiling. "There's nothing to worry about."

Sure, things always worked out when someone said that. It didn't matter who did. "There's nothing to worry about" was a death wish.

"System overload." Sada twitched, and her voice glitched. She lifted her head, eyes infrared, and spun it 360 degrees like a Noctowl.

"Oh, gosh." Now Penny did gag. "She can do that?" It was official—she and her friends were in a horror film.

Sada convulsed like a Tarountula catching its prey and stood on all fours, twitching manically. She hungrily studied Kenji and the cell holding Penny and her friends.