Blackjack Gabbiani
Merely a collector
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Penny had a special routine when it came to work. She would get her music going, usually something from Giacomo's special playlist. She'd settle into her chair, getting specially comfortable. And finally, before bringing her hands to the keyboard, she would snap on her custom Paldea Pokémon League gloves for that special hacker touch.
It was an entirely unnecessary step, purely for the aesthetic, but what's life without a little excess?
To her side, AI Turo watched this unnecessary step with his customary intense expression, but instead spoke on something else. "I would like to simply get a baseline scan and understand what we are dealing with. I have, regrettably, never seen my own programming for more than an excerpt or so at a time."
"Gotcha. Well, with the backdoor you gave me, this should be a snap." She tried to accompany that with a snap of her fingers, but it came out uselessly muffled. "Well, you get the idea."
"When you initially access my programming, I will enter sleep mode for a few seconds as a safety precaution."
"Yeah, gotcha." She kept typing, maneuvering through the passwords the AI had given her. "It must be really frustrating to know how to do all this and not be able to. With any luck, I'll be able to grant you direct access. Though you should still have someone present whenever you work on yourself, just in case."
"Under--" But the word hung in the air as the AI's head fell slack, eyes flickering and dulling but remaining open.
Penny had to admit the sight was a little disturbing, but outwardly showed nothing, only a glance towards the door and a hope that Arven wouldn't show up until this was over.
Arven, however, was occupied at school at the moment, finishing up an assignment in Home Ec. As the last other remaining student left, his teacher Mr Saguaro approached.
The young man smiled up at the massive teacher. "I know my technique could be a little better. But I think I pulled it off."
"Haha, yes, well, that wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about." The man's usually bright expression turned downward, prompting Arven to sit up a little straighter. "The other day, I was told that you had a meeting in the director's office with your friends, and you left looking quite upset."
"Oh..." Arven stilled his cleaning. "Yeah. It uh. I can't really talk about it. But things are ok. Just a little heavy right now."
"You know that if you ever need help, you can always come to me." As if to demonstrate that, Saguaro picked up a stray rag and started scrubbing at the countertop between them.
Arven nodded with a soft sigh. Three years ago, he would have rejected the offer outright. Two and a half years ago, after his journey to Area Zero, he would have acknowledged it with nothing else. As he had grown into his own self, as he had developed his own sense of things and come to terms with the events of his upbringing, he had taken Saguaro up on that sympathetic offer more than once. "It's not that. It's that it involves someone who...used to work with my dad. And I don't know what he's comfortable with me sharing."
"Mmm, I see, I see..." Saguaro set the rag closer to Arven and wiped a hand on his tailored apron. "That would explain the adult with you. Is there anything that you can speak of?"
"Well..." Arven thought as he idly picked up the cutting board he had been working from and moved it to the sink. "He's...he wants to stick around, I guess. And..." He continued working without finishing the sentence.
Saguaro would leave him to it, moving his attention to the rest of the classroom. If Arven was going to talk, it would be on his own.
They worked wordlessly, only the sound of the cleanup resonating through the room, until finally Arven sighed, shoulders slumping at the sink. "I'm going to go see him after this. I've told him before that I still haven't decided if I want him in my life or not."
"How is that line of thought going?"
"...I think I do. No, I know I do. He's not the one who hurt me." Arven would leave out the specifics, that he had been very much hurt by many things the AI had done, but it would fall under not wanting to share that specific angle to things. "But I want to set guidelines."
"Is he the sort to listen to such guidelines?" Saguaro asked as he set up a sewing machine to fill a bobbin for later. It wouldn't be loud enough to interfere with the conversation, but he waited for a reply anyway.
Arven set the cutting board from earlier back where it had come from and stared at it for a moment. "I think so. He's a smart guy, even if he's weird. But I'll need to be specific."
"Mm, an exacting nature is good for a scientist, but that can fail in social graces. I've worked with many a sort like that," Saguaro chuckled through the hum of the machine.
Arven exhaled sharply through pursed lips. "Yeah. Yeah. I've noticed." He stared at the shelf for a moment, not really taking in any details. "I'm going through the pantry staples you've taught us about and thinking what he needs." It wasn't as though the AI could eat, but they had discussed that it would be handy to have a short stock in the case of company. "I was thinking...maybe taking over some of those hot chocolate mixes that you add to water. I know it probably makes any serious chef's skin crawl, but they're cheap and tasty to a student palate."
Saguaro laughed, a deep rumbling sound through his broad chest. "Even the most discerning chef will have their simple favorites. Sometimes you just need a little something!"
"Juli, babe, are you ok?"
Just down the road from the lighthouse, Juliana's mother was calling upstairs. Juliana pulled into a little tighter ball on their bed, around a brightly colored pillow with all four Squawkabilly forms on it. "Not...really. But I don't want to talk about it."
"Want me to come upstairs?"
After a pause came "Sure..."
The woman, Lydia, peeked around the corner of the open bedroom. "Aww, honey. I know something happened to upset you lately..."
Juliana sniffled a bit. "It's actually ok. I just...don't know if I can say anything."
"Is it something at school?"
"No, it's something else."
Lydia softly padded across the room to sit on the foot of the bed. Juliana didn't offer any resistance to it. "Sweetie. I'd love to know what's going on. Is it something with Arven? He canceled our class for the foreseeable future. I thought he was just busy working towards graduation, but..." She trailed off and patted Juliana's leg. "And Nemona always seems tired."
"Nemona is always tired. That's not related."
"Ah..." After a moment, Lydia continued. "So does that mean it *is* related to what's going on with Arven?"
Juliana covered their face with the pillow but nodded, the back of their head visible enough to confirm the gesture.
Lydia sighed. "Honey, I'm sorry. I know you're doing everything you can for him, but it's not your responsibility to help everyone."
"It's...not him I want to help out." The pillow shifted and Juliana sat up a little. "Or, it is, but not just him. But I also can't really talk about it. He'll be back in your garden when he's ready..."
"He seemed like he was really looking forward to the next lesson. I was going to teach him how to make a perfect cream sauce with the herbs we'd been growing." Part of Arven's goal was to study nutrition, and Lydia, being a master gardener, was more than eager to take on a student. "Though I did get to work more on my next book in that time, but still."
Juliana smiled, just a little, and shifted towards her. "Mom...I think I can tell you a little. But not much. So I can't answer any questions. But there's someone back in his life that he thought he would never see again."
Lydia's expression fell, concern deep on her face. "Oh. His mother...?"
"That's a question, mom."
"Oh, right." The woman leaned back, lying on the bed and balling her hand in the covers. "We'll have to change your sheets today. And I think it's time to maybe get the heavier blankets out soon. You're getting too big to get into the crawlspace!"
The trainer laughed softly. "So long as you don't evolve Chipper, I think he can do it."
Lydia paused, her hand stilling. "I don't think that'll ever happen. I think he wants to be a Skwovet forever."
"Time passes for everyone but squirrels, doesn't it?" Juliana sat further up, sliding their legs closer. "I saw you heard from dad earlier. How's he doing?"
"Oh, he's fine." Lydia sat up as well. "It's always nice to hear from him. But he was just checking in."
"That's good. I'm...glad to HAVE a dad, even if he's not around, you know?"
Lydia nodded as she stood. "Yeah. Is that what's been bothering Arven?" Having to keep the secret of the famous Professor Turo's fate had fallen on Lydia for the sake of Juliana's mental health, the young trainer desperately needing to open up to their mother about what had happened in Area Zero. And it came in handy when dealing with Arven himself later on, to be able to lend a sympathetic ear.
"Kinda. It's adjacent to that." Juliana pushed off the bed and headed for the window. "I can't believe it's so late in the year. It stays hot so long here, even with the rain. Nothing like home. It's almost next year and I've still got the window open."
"Yes well, we could discuss that too..." Lydia's mouth was tight in a sarcastic smile. "Or I could just let you find out when you pay energy bills yourself."
Juliana made to close the window but paused, resting their hand on the sill. "I mean. I could. But what's the magic word?"
"Oh you little brat!" Lydia laughed brightly. "Please close the window!"
"Maaaaybe." After a pause, they followed through, and latched it as well.
Lydia headed for the stairs and stopped, bending over to pet Juliana's Skeledirge, who was lounging on the rug. "Aww, Ancho is so warm. That's why you think it's hotter than it is."
"See, I know how to save money." Juliana tried to twirl a pencil off their desk but the pencil only clattered to the floor. "Crud."
"I'm glad you're feeling better." Lydia's smile had flattened into a sympathetic look, complete with head tilt. "You'll get through this. So will your friends." She started to turn away, but noticed that Juliana's expression had flattened.
"...I just really can't talk about much. That's all. I'll see when I can." They sat back on the bed without picking up the pencil.
Lydia nodded, unconsciously biting her lower lip. "Do you think finishing off the last of the ice cream would help?"
Juliana immediately stood up. "Probably not, but I'm up for experimentation."
"I'm counting on you to pull this off, of course," Geeta smiled from across the conference table in that way of hers that sent the message that she was going to get exactly what she was after, regardless of what anybody else had to say about it.
Nemona smiled back, her own expression not nearly as intense. "Oh, absolutely. I'm good with dealing with people, so this should be a breeze."
Geeta shook her head. "This isn't a normal League meeting, Nemona. You'll have to be as charming as possible to maintain our position with the regional government."
The League had always worked closely with the Paldean government to the point of being intertwined, but it was, technically, a separate entity. And as the Top Champion-To-Be, Nemona was going to be expected to carry a great deal of responsibility. "Rika is so good at that, though! Everyone loves her."
"Champion Nemona." When Geeta used her title, it always snapped the young woman back to full attention. "This will fall on *you* to perform. After all, when I leave, Rika's administrative duties end."
The wildly popular ground trainer was to continue on as an Elite Four member, but her work behind the scenes of the League was, somehow, contracted to Geeta herself. "I'm also going to have to get a personal assistant, huh."
"If you feel you need one. Most champions don't make use of one. Although in your case I would advise it."
Nemona sat up a little straighter. "I know the perfect person! She's even going into business management!"
Geeta's smile relaxed a little into a more amused expression. "You've got some time to plan things. Our more pressing matter is the upcoming meeting. You'll need to get fitted for a proper outfit."
That was something Nemona could never get used to. Even as a child she didn't like the fancy clothes she was expected to wear at her family's parties. And while it made for an amusing story to recall how she challenged a foreign gym leader while wearing her best dress, the story was all it really meant to her.
"And I know you'll have some difficulty holding still for a tailor, but it's something you're going to have to deal with."
Nemona slumped, but smiled a little. "...I'll have to get something really durable so I don't have to keep doing this. Your suit is so iconic and it's lasted you for years!"
"Yes, I rather like it. I had a dozen of them made." Geeta tilted her head to one side. "Also, during the tailoring, we'll be talking further. We have to be going over some specific matters regarding upkeep of the gyms."
"Oh!" That was something easier, something she had put prior thought into. "I had some thoughts about that! Tailoring them to the predominant colors of each city instead of having them all look the same, and bringing out the unique personality of the area around them."
Geeta wrote something down. "Go on."
The young woman's eyes widened for a moment. "Well. I know that customizing them to the gym itself wouldn't work. I know that's a popular idea, but gyms change hands, leaders retire, and so on. But cities and towns change at a much slower rate, so making it represent the local flair would give them a lot of staying power and wouldn't be as unpopular as the current stark, out of place structures."
Another line, and Geeta set the pen down. "'Structures'?" she asked with a bit of a smile, one not nearly as loaded as her prior expression.
In truth, Nemona had started writing an official proposal for it, so to be met with the opportunity so suddenly was a bit of a shock. "Haha, yeah. We both know that people really don't like how the gyms look. But they're practical, and replacing them would be far too expensive. So customization would be the best possible option, and them needing repainting is the perfect opportunity for this!"
"I think the rest of the board will be fascinated to hear this." Geeta leaned back in her chair. "I trust you'll be the one to deliver the proposal to them."
This time, Nemona didn't feel nervous at all, though having a few paragraphs drafted for that exact thing certainly helped. "Absolutely!"
"In fact, I can get you in tomorrow with them. Do you think you can have your proposal ready by then?"
"Um..." That deflated the young woman like a balloon, but only for a moment. "W-what time tomorrow?"
Geeta watched Nemona's expression carefully, observing every tiny change. The angle of her lips, the crinkle of her forehead, the focus in her eyes. "I'm meeting with them around one pm. But I'll want to go through it with you in advance, so I'll want to meet with you around ten. Bring the document file so we can make changes if need be, and print them out right away."
Nemona nodded, and Geeta was pleased to note that her expression was firm and resolute. "It should be basically what I told you. We'll find local artists and it'll be a big deal. Maybe we could hold a contest, but that's up to the board."
"Woah, remember to write these ideas down!"
"Oh!" Nemona stopped before she could continue endlessly. "How long is the meeting? I need to plan some lunch."
That strange smile crossed Geeta's face again, and she gestured for Nemona to approach. She opened her file cabinet and pulled out a folder bursting with takeout menus. "Champion's little secret," she said with a twinkle in her eyes. "I'll let you call the shots tomorrow."
"You're the best, La Primera!"
"Haha, I know."
"Back with me now?"
The AI nodded, his pupils expanding and contracting as he refocused on the world around him. "Thank you. I will not be able to run at full capacity while my programming is open, but it will be enough to have a conversation. It was usually enough to perform my basic tasks in the lab."
Penny returned her attention to the task at hand. The computer was nearly as old as she was, but had been so far ahead of its time that it still seemed cutting edge. Nothing she had ever been able to get her hands on was nearly that advanced. Even the setup she had used to hack the League felt dated in just the span of a few years. To say nothing of the woeful state of the League's computers. They, also, were nearly as old as she was, but unlike Turo's advanced machine, they felt their age.
The AI, on the other hand, was so advanced that he technically couldn't exist. The idea of futuristic technology relying entirely on what was basically magic crystals sounded like something she would have absolutely eaten up as a storyline in an anime. To have her own hands on it was incredible, and gave her more than a little power rush.
AI developing into a living being was nothing new. Porygon had been around for over thirty years, and by the time Penny was born it had become old hat. The strange looking ducks had an odd charm and had been adopted by the public, beyond their original role of being developed for space research.
She wondered if that was still on the docket, or if it was going in secret, or if she just didn't pay attention to space affairs. That, too, was something she tended to keep in the realm of anime if she was going to be interested in it.
"So," the AI asked, "how are you? If you would care to make conversation at this time."
Penny hummed slightly. "I can talk a little bit. But I don't usually talk when I'm working."
"I see. Turo was the same way. But he never listened to music while he worked. He considered it a distraction."
She stopped, hands over the keyboard. "Do you want me to turn it off?"
"On the contrary. I greatly enjoy hearing this. I have never really heard music before, due to his preference. And it is unlike anything in his memory."
The idea of someone his age, either presumed outward age or actual age of centuries, even his far younger age when they met him, never having heard music, was utterly depressing to Penny. "I'm glad you like it. A friend of mine did these tracks. He's a DJ, goes by DJ Vice."
The AI nodded. "I have not heard that name. But of course I would not have."
Penny smirked as she resumed typing. "Unless you were hacking Juliana's phone when they were going around to the Star bases."
"I was, to track their location. My primary interest was verifying Miraidon's status." He leaned back a bit, a little farther than most would on a stool. "I...watched the world from there. All the places the two of them traveled...I grew envious of that freedom. Of the beauty of Paldea and the ability to move freely within it."
"I remember you saying that. Or something like that." She paused again. "Um...I didn't think much of it at first. But when Juliana explained everything, I felt more..." She fumbled for a word. "I would have tried to do something if I'd known more about you."
"There is nothing you could have done at the time," he reassured. "Even if your hacking skills at the time could have reprogrammed me, the machine would have resumed function before you could have done anything. I could not risk that, no matter what."
Her gaze fell to the keyboard for a moment. "That's too bad...um...here, maybe you'll appreciate this next piece. It's one he wrote for me." She adjusted the track to play the theme that she had blasted from her phone the day she had revealed her identity to Juliana and Clavell, and finally met her beloved friends face to face for the first time. There was a special sort of humor to how intense it was for a girl who was so meek that she couldn't bring herself to speak to anyone for so long, but when she had confided that to Giacomo, he had admitted that if he had known what she was like, he would have made it go even harder since he would have known how difficult it was for her to do everything she had.
"Ah, that is impressive!" Could a robot's eyes sparkle? They certainly seemed to. It brought a bit of a smile back to Penny's lips as she continued her work with an agreeing nod.
Nemona entered and flopped down on the couch before greeting Penny and the AI with a "Hey."
"Hey," Penny returned in kind, not looking away from the monitor.
The AI waved a welcoming gesture but only glanced at Nemona.
"Is no one going to ask about my day?" Nemona asked with a grin.
Penny finished typing a line. "I assume you've got big news. And I assume likewise that you're going to wait to share it until everyone else is here."
"Aww...Well, you'd be right!" the older girl chuckled as if keeping a valued secret. "How are things coming along?"
"I'm not really sure. How do you think we're doing?" Penny turned to the AI.
He thought about it, running through the alterations for a moment. "I am happy with it. However, you are correct that it is not finished. I believe at your pace, this will be completed by twenty o'clock."
A quick look in the corner of the computer monitor revealed that it was 5:14 pm, and Penny had to calculate on her fingers that his estimate was eight pm. "Oh, that's not long at all. How long if I take a break to stretch?"
"It was an estimation, plus or minus seven minutes. So it remains the same."
"Gotcha. Actually after this next part, I'm going to need you to restart again."
"Understood." He tilted his head in Nemona's direction. "I believe I must caution you that when I initiate the restart process, I will be unresponsive for a few seconds. Earlier I entered sleep mode, which is similar, and I believe Penny found it unsettling."
Penny scoffed. "Your eyes were wide open. That was the really unsettling part."
"Oh. I can close them before the procedure, if you so desire." After a beat, he faced her instead. "Do not worry, however. It is not a sign of distress. It is if my eyes flicker for more than a second that you ought to be concerned."
Nemona took a notebook out of her satchel. "Oh yeah, I forget that you don't have real eyes. Robots sure are neat!"
Her bluntness bypassed the AI's notice entirely, and he continued as if nothing had been said. "However, if my eyes lose all image and go entirely white..." That was where he trailed off, seemingly for emphasis. "If that is to happen, then there is nothing that can be done. That indicates that I am deceased."
Penny had been typing, but stopped with her hands in place. "But that's...not going to happen any time soon, will it?"
"Uncertain." There was no telling anything from his voice, but there usually wasn't. "My lifespan is estimated at approximately four hundred years. So I ought to have another century before me. But the average lifespan for an adult human man in Paldea was, the last I consulted the statistics, between eighty three to eighty four years. And Turo was less than half that." Finally some emotion faded into his expression, and he let his head droop. "...He had so much ahead of him."
Nemona started to get up, but wondered if she could touch him while he was being repaired. She reached out hesitantly towards his shoulder and waited for Penny to weigh in. Penny took a moment longer, typing something else before shifting her chair towards the AI.
But he smiled. "I am fine. I will always miss him. I will always regret his early loss. But time does, after all, move forward."
"That's probably a good way to deal with things," Penny mused before resuming typing. "I'm almost ready for you to restart, if that's ok."
"It is." He closed his eyes. "Will that suffice?"
"Yeah."
Off to the side, Nemona was writing. She was using a much fancier pen than she ever used for schoolwork, one with an engraved Pawmot on the side and an orange strip down the side that matched its fur. It was so unlike Nemona's usual tools and yet Penny figured it had to be personally commissioned. "Don't mind me," she murmured. "I've got to write up a proposal for Geeta."
Penny mock-shuttered. "Oh man, don't even mention her right now. I've got to remain focused. Now, AI, are you ready?"
"Yes. I will see you in a few minutes."
The programmer hit enter, and the AI slumped over. It wasn't nearly as disturbing as it had been the first time. "Wow, having him close his eyes really does make a major difference."
"I hope Arven doesn't come back when he's like this though," Nemona said.
"Geez, I know right!"
A few minutes passed, and the AI blinked, eyes flashing blue. He straightened back up and looked around. Penny had moved to the couch and was checking her phone, while Nemona continued to write. "Hello."
Penny smiled. "So, how do you feel now?"
He thought for a moment as he ran an internal scan. "I can tell that there is more to be done. However, I believe that we have made substantial progress already."
"That's great!" Nemona clicked her pen before setting it aside. "Can you call Arven now?"
"Wait--" Penny interjected. "I just texted him. He's on his way. We should wait until he gets here to check that."
"Ooh, that's a good idea. Another great idea from our resident genius!"
The AI nodded. "I will wait, then. You know, my creator also had a great flair for the dramatic."
A snort from Penny. "I think the fact that he set his time machine up to double as a stage with fans that would blow his lab coat around dramatically kinda gave that away."
He seemed a bit confused, but he stood and walked to the window. "I do not remember much of that. I was aware during the battle, and the machine certainly rose into a pillar, but it would be difficult for me to think of it as a stage."
Penny leaned back, looking backwards over the couch at him. "Not literally. Just like one. Actually that's another thing. Do you want your language updated to include an understanding of indirect language like that? Sarcasm and metaphor and stuff?"
"No..." His tone was distracted, soft. "I believe I will learn that through proper interaction with others. I must rebuild my databases, after dumping data that I deemed unimportant, so it will be a part of the learning process."
"Learn by doing. Gotcha." She returned to the computer and typed something before closing the program she had been using. "I learned a lot about your capabilities today, too. And I'm going to have to learn a lot more advanced computing than I'm used to if I'm going to make a lot more adjustments." As she turned around, she stretched her back and sighed. "Computing is my field anyway, but robotics is something I never expected to delve into."
"I believe I will be able to aid you in that," the AI offered. "I do have memories of my own creation."
Penny briefly remembered a video game she had played where the heroine remembered how her parents met, the utter ridiculousness of the scene not occurring to her until later. "That must be really weird, to remember things that happened before you existed."
The AI sat in the chair before the computer and turned it towards the other two. "For an organic being, it would be. I have never considered it strange. But then," he mused as he leaned back, head tilted slightly upwards, "I suppose that I, too, am strange." When he looked back at them, he was smiling a bit too broadly, in a way that pulled his lips back just farther than would look natural, exposing just a bit too much of his teeth. "This expression, for instance. It is my inclination to smile in such a way to express joy. And yet my creator told me that such a thing looks unnatural. I would smile as he did, would I not?"
Nemona furrowed her brow slightly, thinking. "After all of that happened, I watched some videos of Pr--of your creator--"
"You can speak his name," the AI reassured, expression neutral yet again. "I am not harmed by it. I know that there is the inclination to avoid the names of the deceased to avoid inflicting grief, but it is all right."
She slightly glanced away. That hadn't been why she wanted to avoid it. "Uh, ok...I watched some interviews and stuff that Turo did, and it stood out to me that he never smiled. Maybe that was why. Maybe he smiled like that and didn't like it."
"Didn't he?" Penny asked. "I remember watching some interviews too and it seemed like he did."
The AI's expression softened, the same way he had those years ago when he first contacted the outside world, and he gestured to his face. "Akin to this? It was what he preferred to do."
"Huh..." She leaned in to take a closer look. "I guess that passes for a smile, if you don't look too closely. You've been smiling though, so even if you didn't back then, you learned somewhere. But no, he smiled more like that and not the really big one."
His expression shifted again, this time into a gentle smile. "Yes. I have always been capable of this action. However, it is still my inclination to smile in the inital way demonstrated." He paused for a moment. "Ah, Juliana is nearby."
Nemona paused her writing mid-word. "Vital signs, right?"
He nodded. "My range seems to have changed slightly over time, but I am still glad that this lighthouse is fairly isolated. Mesagoza was very overwhelming." After a pause, he added "I still wish to return, however. I will need to be able to dump unnecessary data more often than usual, but I wish to see more of the city, as well as the school. In particular the library."
By that point, Juliana had reached the door. "Hey everyone. Was hoping you'd be here."
The AI tilted his head slightly, examining their facial expression. "Are you well?"
Penny had waved slightly without looking away from the screen, but at that comment, turned towards the newcomer. "What do you mean?" she asked after a moment.
Juliana flopped down onto the couch next to Nemona, who high-fived them before going back to her report. "Not really. Better now though. I'm still..." They sighed heavily and stretched out. "Everything that's happened is coming back to me, and it's..." A shake of the head. "Look, long story short, it's just more of the same thing we talked about last time. I missed you and I'm really glad you're back." They smiled with fake enthusiasm. "I got some ice cream though. Mom found some caramelo in the freezer and wanted to clear it out so she can finish her summer freeze."
"Well, I am glad that you are feeling better," the AI said. A moment later he smiled the more practiced, metered smile.
Nemona laughed. "Come on! Show them your big, honest smile! I'm sure they'd love to see it!"
"Yeah," Penny encouraged as she got up from her chair and headed to the washroom in the living space past the bookcases.
"Big, honest smile?" Juliana leaned in, interested.
"Oh, um..." They all knew that any ums and ers in the AI's speech were part of his human influence, that all the scenarios he could predict would flow into more coherent speech, but it was charming to all present to hear such things. "I suppose this comes with an explanation. We were discussing the smile that I am naturally inclined to take, and how my creator found it to be unnerving and, paradoxically, unnatural."
"Lemme see it."
After a nod, his smile widened into the broad expression he had shown the others. He examined Juliana's expression closely, but there was nothing he could tell at first.
Until the trainer settled back, mouth a wavering line, eyes ever so slightly watering. "I've seen you smile like that before," they said in a voice much softer than usual. "Back in the time machine room, when you told me that you were confident I could succeed. You..." Juliana's hand shook on the arm of the couch. "...smiled like that back then. And I remember that because I remember thinking that it was like you'd only heard about smiling in theory and were eager to put it into practice. Like you never had a reason to smile before."
Nemona shifted on the couch to lean against her friend, draping an arm over their shoulder. "Hey. Hey, he's safe now. It's ok. He's safe and he's going to be happy."
"I am quite happy now," the AI mused with a hand on his chin as he thought. "And my existence in the lab was not entirely unhappy either. I greatly enjoyed my time with my creator, and our mutual research. We differed, and I opposed his ultimate goal, but we both got to indulge our curiosity about the secrets of the Great Crater. Additionally, he was not unpleasant company. It was...I suppose 'nice'." He let his eyes close, thinking deeply. "...While I have dumped a lot of memory I deemed unnecessary, I retained the majority of our time together."
Juliana sat up a little, an action that led to Nemona only pulling in closer. "Oh, is that why you didn't remember what Clavell's title was? Because you knew he was the school director when you called me in his office, but the other day you called him 'doctor'."
"Oh wow you remember stuff like that?" Nemona asked, voice slightly higher than normal. "That call would have been something like three years ago!"
"It took me a while. I remembered it the other day after thinking about our conversation. Actually, I didn't remember it until after seeing Clavell again."
The AI stood suddenly. "...Arven is nearby. But yes, that was the cause of that discrepancy. I do remember our call, however." Immediately after speaking, he headed towards the door and set his hand on the knob.
"How far away is he?" asked Juliana.
"My range extends to approximately the pond near the Los Platos pokémon center. He will be near the bridge now."
"Mm..." Nemona seemed to be thinking about something. "Yeah, that is shorter. You could sense us when we first entered Area Zero before and that's..." She counted something on her fingers but didn't finish her sentence.
"--A lot farther," Juliana ultimately concluded with a pat on Nemona's still-draped hand.
Penny re-entered the central room and started towards the computer before stopping. "Oh, uh, we're over here now? If you're performing an ambulation test, I'd like to be able to monitor it."
"Arven's on his way! Here, 'scuse me." Juliana dislodged Nemona's arm and stood, wiping at their eyes for a beat before turning back towards Penny. "AI's going to greet him."
"Oh. Are we all greeting him?" Penny retrieved her gloves from where she had stuffed them in her jacket pocket and set them next to the computer.
Nemona stretched out long before re-capping her pen and folding up her notebook. "I'll join you!"
Usually, Arven would walk with Mabosstiff at his side, but he needed to think without distraction. He had let the dog out when he left the Mesagoza gate, but the walk to the lighthouse that day was a time for pensive thought. The lighthouse was always in view, always, even from the school, and it sometimes felt like his father was watching him.
He could lose track of where he was if he wasn't careful, so he was sure to limit how much he zoned out. And a quick stop in Los Platos gave him something to muse on a little further.
As he got closer to the ever-looming lighthouse, he wondered if this was going to be a good day or not. But he didn't have much time to think of it, as the door slowly slid open and the AI cautiously peeked out.
Arven stopped in place and glanced the AI up and down before greeting "Hey..." with a hesitant wave. But the moment was interrupted by a sudden ringing. "Oh, hold up, I'm getting a call."
The AI held in place. Behind him, it dawned on everyone else what was happening, and they fell silent as well, sticking exactly where they were to watch the test in action.
"Hello?"
"Arven. It is good to be able to speak with you."
The words hung in the air as the young man looked down at his phone, and over at the AI, and back at his phone. "...you did it? You finally did it?"
The AI's anticipatory expression faded to something somewhat shocked, as if he couldn't believe it at long last, only to give way to a far more joyful smile than he had ever displayed. Not in three hundred years, he was absolutely certain, had he ever expressed that degree of uncontrolled happiness. Even his reunion with Arven had been tempered by uncertainty, but now there was no cause for reluctance any more. Behind him, the others were enthusiastically congratulating Penny on her triumphant work, patting her on the back and high-fiving her, voices full of energy.
"Hey, hold on, hold on..." Before the AI could react, Arven fumbled with his phone for a moment and stuffed it back in his pocket. "Do it again!"
Wordlessly, the AI's eyes flashed and the phone rang once more, this time with different music. It was a pre-set tune, but it was something brand new, something Arven had never used before.
"There, I figured I should set you up with something special." Arven grinned broadly, meeting the faces of all his friends in the background before settling on the AI. "Like this!" he added, holding up the bag he had filled during his stop in Los Platos. "If we're all going to be coming by, you need to have a few amenities for us fleshbags." He clicked his tongue as he entered the building, passing the AI with a nod. "Because I don't know about you guys, but if I'm going to be hanging out over here, I'd wanna be able to get a snack now and then."
"Wait, hold on," Juliana interjected.
"So, you will be..." The AI's tone was calm, even, somewhat startlingly removed from the unbridled joy his expression had displayed a moment ago, though Arven could still see a cautious excitement on his face. "You...will remain?"
"Sure would be a waste of money if I wasn't," the young man admitted as he set his bag on the table, face struggling to remain impassive for a moment before he burst out laughing.
And the AI laughed as well, the sound of their shared happiness echoing in the small room.
"I do want to set down some ground rules, but we can talk about that later."
Nemona and Juliana had grabbed some boxes to assist in putting everything away. "Ooh, apple cider powder. I'd have thought your chef sensibilities wouldn't let you get away with this." Juliana's voice was wavering a little, and they tried to hide a sniffle behind the playful statement.
While Arven addressed his friend, he looked back at the AI with a gleam in his eyes. "Hey, what's life without a little something extra?"