The Violet Book drew Miraidon to it. Eyes still glowing, he swung his tail back and forth and tapped Arven’s legs. He sniffed the pedestal a few times, and then he called for some electrical deep in his body. Miraidon ran it through the computer.

Arven backed up when a robotic voice came from the room’s ceiling. “Time machine booting up. Please remain calm.” Great advice because Arven was definitely calm right now. His shaking legs said it all.

“Time machine failing to connect,” continued the robotic voice. “Need permission from Miraidon.”

Celebi whirled around and faced him. “Miraidon, what are you doing?” it asked.

Miraidon responded with a low growl.

“Need permission. Need permission.” The robot’s voice started to glitch. “Miraidon. Mir-ai-don.”

Miraidon lowered his head. His eyes blinked from cyan to red and back to cyan. He snapped his neck to the side. His now red eyes bore into Arven’s soul, and he took a few steps toward him.

Sweat ran down Arven’s temples. His heart rate spiked, and he gasped for air. “Miraidon, what are you doing?”

“Miraidon transforming,” said the voice in the ceiling. Violet lightning shot down from the opening time machine and crashed into Miraidon. He pulsed, just like the sky earlier, and his and the time machine’s energy slammed into Arven. They threw him back, halfway to the elevator, and he rolled a few times. By the third roll, his world went black, and Miraidon’s transformation ceased.

The Pokémon floated a few feet off the ground, thanks to the violet rockets that replaced his legs, and he held his front legs in a V-formation in front of him, on either side of his wheel-like neck that jutted from his deformed spine. He waved his strong, mechanical tail and roared, “Gias!”

The elevator for the room opened and revealed Koraidon, Penny, Nemona, and Scarlet squashed inside.

“I swear,” Penny gasped, “Koraidon’s too fat for this thing. Whoa!” At the same time, she, Nemona, and Scarlet fell out of the elevator. Penny removed herself from the pretzel and brushed herself down.

Koraidon’s attention switched from the friends over to Miraidon, who hovered over the motionless Arven. At once, he dashed in front of Nemona, Scarlet, and Penny and glowed up scarlet. The light faded quickly and revealed his own battle form: the familiar, powerful hind legs and equally as powerful arms. Koraidon’s plumage of feathers on top of his head and his feathery antennae whipped behind him like a cape. He smacked Miraidon with his tail and knocked him into the room’s wall.

“You hurt him!” he roared in his language. Nobody hurts his friends!

“What’s gotten into it?” Penny wondered. That was when she saw Arven. “Ah! Arven!” Penny reached for her head. “I knew it! I knew this would happen!” Arven definitely wasn’t in the right mindset if he was getting injured by a Pokémon. Penny just hoped he didn’t do it intentionally.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

She sprinted forward but tripped and fell. Nevertheless, she quickly got up and slid to Arven, falling to her knees next to him.

Scarlet and Nemona joined her. Fear overtook their faces, and Nemona shakily asked, “Is he…?”

“No,” Penny replied, after checking Arven’s pulse. It was still strong. “Thank gosh.” Director Clavell would not be happy if he learned they returned to Area Zero and one of them was killed.

Miraidon got up from where he landed and threatened Koraidon with his toothless jaw. A ball of energy appeared in his mouth, and he launched it at his counterpart. The attack’s blast knocked Koraidon onto his side.

Barely scathed, he got up and leaped in front of Scarlet and her friends. He gestured for them to head for the elevator while he dealt with Miraidon.

Scarlet nodded. She feared for her friend, but at the same time, she knew Koraidon was strong in his battle form. She, Nemona, and Penny picked up Arven and carried him toward the elevator. They only had twenty steps to go when another one of Miraidon’s attacks smashed into it, and the elevator sparked.

“Aw, dang it!” Nemona shouted. “Abort! Abort!” They now had no choice but to head for the time machine, but not with Miraidon in its current state.

Celebi threw itself between Miraidon and Koraidon. “Bi!” it snapped at Miraidon. “Bi, bi! I know you don’t want to help him, but please, Miraidon. Let Arven see his mom one more time. It will help not only you but also my trainer. You’re not the only one who lost everything here.”

Miraidon’s glowing eyes met Celebi’s big blue ones. He snarled, but then he started to calm down.

“Please,” Celebi begged.

Miraidon’s growls were now nothing more than mere gurgles. His eyes returned to their cyan-blue color, and he changed back into his low-power mode. Miraidon brought his four legs together and studied the unconscious Arven in his friends’ arms. He tried to go to them, but Penny jumped in front of the crowd.

“No! Stay away from us!”

“Agia,” Miraidon said. The guilty memory was back in his head. What had he done? Miraidon almost looked like he was about to cry, but he followed Celebi’s orders. He returned to the time machine and touched the computer, which booted back up.

“Miraidon identified,” said the voice in the ceiling. “Time machine is ready to use.”

Koraidon remained in his battle form, just in case Miraidon went berserk again. He picked Scarlet, Nemona, Arven, and Penny up and tossed them on his shoulders like they were his children. He was the alpha now.

Koraidon carried the kids up to the time machine’s platform. He made room for Miraidon, but he didn’t look at him.

Koraidon tried to shake Arven awake, but he didn’t stir, and he growled out of the corner of his mouth. “You nearly killed him,” he said to Miraidon. “How do you feel about that? Huh?”

“I’m sorry,” he communicated back, but that didn’t cut it.

Celebi hopped into the confrontation, carrying the Violet Book. It handed it to Scarlet and said, “Bi.”

Scarlet assumed it was telling her to take care of the book. She tossed it into her bag and nodded at Celebi.

“Time machine ready. Please wait,” said the ceiling voice.

Koraidon and Miraidon’s feet shook under them when the black platform they stood on shot up like a rocket until it reached the machine’s open legs. They twirled a few times and then stretched out to reveal its glowing hole.

Lights from the hole caught the Pokémon and kids and lifted them off their feet.

“Hang tight!” Nemona said. She grabbed Scarlet’s hand, who extended her arm across Koraidon and took Penny’s.

Penny clutched Arven’s arm. She, Nemona, and Scarlet looked up at the bright light above them and closed their eyes.

“Please,” Penny said, “let us live.” And just like that, she and the rest of her party disappeared.