Chapter 41: I exist

Aeon and Arven were out in the grass fields. The android was watching Arven use his only Pokémon, Skwovet, and training against any wild Pokémon they saw. As Aeon watched with crossed arms, he leaned his back against Arven's ride: Koraidon, who was lying on the ground and sleeping. In front of the Pokémon and robot was a picnic cloth and basket, and a bunch of empty plastic plates. All of the food, of course, prepared by Arven, were all packed securely in the basket.

As Aeon watched Arven fight other wild Pokémon, he closed his eyes. Not because he had to sleep, but because he had to think. Something was worrying him.

Kai.

Thinking about that boy was all he could do, even as he watched his brother fight. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on. He had a theory, one that would sadden him if true.

What if, when professor Turo went to fix him, he not only amplified the effects of the Paradox Drive, but he installed something to make him have an attraction toward Kai? Specifically so that it'd become nearly impossible for him to resist the urge to distance himself from Kai? It's already possible for them to apply code to affect his feelings for others. He…was programmed to love Arven, afterall. How hard could it be to affect his feelings for Kai? Then that would mean… the feelings he may have toward Kai could be…artificial. Fake.

Now that he thought of it… wouldn't that make his feelings toward Arven fake as well?

Aeon lowered his head in sadness to the thought. What if…all of his thoughts… all of his emotions…were fake? The thought was so overwhelming that he fell to his knees then and there. Koraidon, still fast asleep, hadn't noticed, and Arven was still training. To be honest, he was always fake. Artificial- a robot. He could never be a real person. So of course, all of his thoughts, every thought he'd ever had- weren't his own.

Gritting his teeth and digging his fingers onto the grassy ground below him, Aeon sighed.

This was a fact that he needed to accept.

In the end, Aeon was a tool. Something to be used. But even so- if he was going to be used against Kai…He balled his hands into fists, grabbing pieces of dirt. He would sooner die than let that happen. No matter what happened, he'd save Arven and Kai- even if he'd have to destroy himself.

As he lifted his body up- he remained seated on top of the picnic table. After a while, Arven and his Pokémon returned.

Arven was completely silent...uncharacteristically so, as he pulled more food from the picnic basket and onto plates. He pulled out a medium-rare stake for Skwovet and put it on his plate. The normal type jumped with delight. Arven then pulled out a grilled-cheese sandwich for himself and placed it on his plate and pulled another cold ham and cheese sandwich onto Aeon's.

Aeon looked down at his plate and narrowed his eyes in sadness. He watched as Arven and Skwovet dug in.

"Hey, Aeon?" Arven asked.

"Yes..?" Aeon asked.

"How do you feel about Kai?"

Aeon furrowed his brow.

"H-How do I feel about Kai? Well- he's... I really like talking to him."

"What do you Really think about him? Be honest. Completely honest."

"...I..." Aeon lowered his head. Maybe it was okay to talk about how he felt. "I... I really like it when we flirt with each other. I like our banter. A lot. Being around him makes me feel...like... I'm...appreciated. Every time he flirts with me, I think to myself how I'd feel if I actually..flirted with him back. Or even...Ki-..." Aeon stopped short. "...Never mind."

"Why you you say 'Never mind'?"

"It's because...I'm...I'm...our parents can use me against him. I know it. I have to push myself away from him... but it hurts. It hurts me so much to do that. I feel a severe...aching feeling in my chest thinking about it. I-..." Aeon's eyes became glistened as tears were somewhat beginning to well up. "I...lo-.."

"You love him?" Arven said.

Aeon lowered his head and said nothing.

"Arven…" Aeon's hands thoughtlessly glided over the blades of grass around him. He grabbed a few of the grass blades them so tightly that he yanked them out of their stems. "I'm a robot. I'm not a real person, just code. I wear the face of a real person, act like a real person, but in the end, I'm programmed. I have no real feelings of my own. They were pre-programmed. Planned. Even if I do have feelings for Kai, how do I know if they're my own?"

Arven listened while biting into his sandwich. "Well-" Arven chimed while having a mouth full of food. He swallowed and cleared his throat. "Humans are the same way."

Aeon looked genuinely confused. "What?" He said.

"Humans….and us robots…have more things in common."

Aeon tilted his head upon realizing that Arven said, 'us robots'. Had Arven misspoken? Perhaps. But what an odd mistake.

"Think of it this way," Arven continued. "You have a creator. So do Humans. They say that the being that created all living creatures, Arceus, did this. So of course, Humans, as his free-thinking, intelligent creations, had one thought: Did Arceus give humans free will?"

Aeon was incredibly confused as to why Arven had a sudden stroke of genius. It was like something had hit the human boy's head and transformed him somehow. But at the same time…he wanted to know where he was going with this.

"Well," Arven continued, "we can think about both sides of the same coin. Let's think about the first option. What if Arceus did controlled everything we did? If that were the case, then why would he allow us to doubt our free will? Having this thought would be like being shaken awake from a dream, or some sort of cheat code to a system. It shouldn't be allowed, yet it is. Wouldn't it be easier for Arceus to just… let us never think that way? And yet we do."

Arven took another bite of his sandwich, chewed, and then swallowed.

"Now for the other side. What if Arceus didn't control everything we did? That wouldn't make sense either. Because he created us, he knows everything about us. Our likes, dislikes- everything. If he wanted us to be truly free, then why give us personalities? Likes, dislikes? There had to be something that controlled us to be how we are now. The very idea in itself is a paradox."

Arven wiped away bits and pieces of bread from his mouth with his arm.

"I...don't understand." Aeon said.

"All right then, let us think of it in this sense: I will ask you a question, and you will answer. Let's say you decided to pick up an apple. Was it your free will? Or was it your creator's will?"

"Well…" Aeon bent one finger and raised it under his lip as he thought. Then, after a while, he lowered his hand. "Free will, I guess. If I had free will, then I would just decide that I'd pick up the apple."

"Why did you pick up the apple?"

"...Because I wanted to, I guess?"

"But why did you want to? What exactly put that 'want' in your head? What could have led to that thought into its creation?"

"...My creator did. He created my personality."

"Correct. He created your personality. So, when you picked up the apple, was it truly your free will?"

"...I guess not."

"But you picked up the apple because you wanted to, right?"

"Yes- but that was because my creator put that in my head."

"But you made the decision to do it. Was it not your choice?"

"It was...But-... I-..." Aeon just stared blankly ahead, clearly thinking himself into circles.

"You see? This is an unsolvable question. You and I could debate for days, months, years, and by the time we finish, the lives of humans will pass by. An eternity will pass us by. That is the very nature of a Paradox. Paradoxes are things worthy of thought, intriguing in nature, but at the same time, ultimately unsolvable. You mustn't think too hard into it, lest you drive yourself mad. Now, Allow me to ask you one question."

"...What..?"

Aeon blinked. This was… uncharacteristically logical of Arven. In fact, he was saying things that he'd never say. 'Mustn't'? 'Lest'? 'Drive yourself mad'?

That's when it hit him. This wasn't Arven.

"Wait…" Aeon said. "Who are you..?"

Arven smiled as he tossed his sandwich over his shoulder. The whites of his eyes began to shine black before his entire body shone with a bright scarlet light. Like an evolving Pokémon, Arven's body slowly transformed into Professor Sada's.

Aeon gasped loudly once the bright light faded away.

"You are looking into the eyes of your creator. Your God." Professor Sada said. "Asking if we gave you free will… is like asking us to solve the paradox. As we am not omnipotent, we cannot answer your question. we cannot tell you if your feelings are real. All that should matter to you…is that you have thoughts. You can think. You can feel. You can touch. You can smell. All of those senses and experiences are yours. Regardless of if there is a hand above your head controlling you. You exist. And that in itself is a miracle. Celebrate it."

Aeon grit his teeth in anger. "Why are you saying this..?! How am I supposed to believe a single word you just said to me..!? What if you're manipulating me!?"

"What if I am not?"

"Gch..!" Aeon clenched his fists.

"Now for that question that we mentioned asking," Sada said. "If we had said that every emotion that you've had, baring the ones we gave to you in regard to Arven...were your own all along... what would you do in regard to Kai?"

"What..?" Aeon stared with a confused look.

"In other words," Sada said, "If there was absolutely nothing stopping you, what would you say to Kai?"

"...You- you're manipulating-"

"There's no way to know if I am or not. You will never know." Sada said.

"No!" Aeon shouted. "You're just messing with my head..!"

"To have a normal life… or not to have a normal life… That is your decision. Every being in this world has it's fated end. So, use the time you have left wisely. Do whatever it is you want to do, before the end. Make sure you have no regrets. That is all that matters in the end, regardless of what happens."

"You're going to take everything away from me, just like how you took away Kai..!" Aeon shouted. "I swear to you- I'm going to crush you..! Even if it means I have to sacrifice my life!"

"What happens after that?"

The one who spoke wasn't Sada. It was Turo.

Suddenly, like a shadow, Professor Turo appeared, walking away from Sada like he was behind her the whole time. The both of them mirrored each other's actions, placing their hands into their lab coat's pockets. Terror washed over Aeon's body, like a cold, wet hand sliding itself across his spine.

"We know the answer to what happens next, after you destroy yourself." Professor Turo said. "We win. That's what happens."

"What..!?" Aeon cried.

"No one will be able to hear your friends' screams…in the endless abyss of the great crater." Sada and Turo spoke at the same time, raised their arms at Aeon as though they were offering a hand to grab onto. "The disappearance of your friends…will be instrumental to our progress. Once everyone learns that they vanished after going into the crater of Paldea…" Both professors clenched their outstretched hands at the same time. "No one will dare to go inside and interrupt us."

"What…what's your plan..!?" Aeon cried.

"To achieve the perfect timeline," They said at the same time. "We will do whatever it takes."

"What do you mean..!?"

"If you self-destruct…it will be part of our plan. But if you don't…it'll also be a part of our plan. There is nothing you can do but accept your fate."

Aeon clenched his fists again.

"...No…" Aeon said. "No. No. NO!" Aeon pointed at him. "I'm not going to let that happen..! I'm going to stop you..! And keep everyone safe..! And to do that.. I can't self-destruct..! I have to keep living..!"

Turo and Sada smiled.

"Yet another part of our plan…going smoothly." They spoke at the same time. Aeon glared, running forward and raising a fist against his creators. As he swung, his fist flew right through them like it was a hologram. Aeon stumbled and nearly fell to the ground. He spun around, and the moment he did this, his vision began to…become like TV static and glitched.

"You will now wake from your sleep.." Turo said. "And remember.."

"We will succeed." Sada said.

Aeon gasped awake, realizing that he was leaning against Koraidon. In front of him was Arven, training.

It was surreal, what had just happened.

"It's always the best to eat up after a hard training session!" He heard Arven's voice.

Arven hummed to himself as he pulled more food from the picnic basket and onto plates. He pulled out a medium-rare steak for Skwovet and put it on his plate. The normal type jumped with delight. Arven then pulled out a grilled-cheese sandwich for himself and placed it on his plate and pulled another cold sandwich onto Aeon's.

Aeon looked down at his plate, still He watched as Arven and Skwovet dug in.

After a while, Arven looked at Aeon, noticing he hadn't eaten his food.

"You alright, bud?" Arven asked.

Aeon didn't respond, he blinked.

"Y-Yeah." He said. "Yeah."

"Thinking about Kai, huh?"

"...Not this time," Aeon said.

"Ahh- What's on your mind, squirt?"

Aeon smiled. He was away from this version of Arven, the real Arven- for too long.

The words of Turo came to his mind.

'All that should matter to you…is that you have thoughts. You can think. You can feel. You can touch. You can smell. All of those senses and experiences are yours. Regardless of if there is a hand above your head controlling you. You exist. And that in itself is a miracle. Celebrate it.'

Aeon's smile faded, then after a sigh, he smiled again. "Nothing much," He said.

Regardless of if…there was someone controlling him… He existed.

That was it- and that was all that mattered. Since he was given this life, Aeon wanted to do more things. Restricting himself…wasn't something that he wanted to do anymore.

When the time came to deal with the Professors, Aeon will crush them. But he won't let them stop him from having a good life.

That being said... that last question that was asked of Aeon... the one regarding Kai...

"What would I say to Kai...if...absolutely nothing was stopping me..?" Aeon muttered to himself.

"You say something?" Arven asked.

"Oh- uh..." Aeon blushed a bit. "It's nothing."

"Okay," Arven said. "Anyway, Wanna go to the grocery store after we're done eating?"

"Sure."

"Have some food, it's not gonna eat itself."

Aeon grabbed his food and took a bite.

It was so good. The flavors were melting in his mouth…the cheese, the ham... The untoasted bread… and he loved it. After swallowing, he smiled at Arven.

"I wanna buy something for...dealing with Kai, anyway."

"Like..?"

"A toy hammer. So when he's acting dumb, I'll whack him with it."

"Heh. Hilarious. I love it."

"And I love you."

"Huh-?" Arven nearly recoiled from the random comment. "What the- where'd that come from?" Arven asked.

"I just… don't want to hold back feelings anymore. I…I really do love you, Arven. You're... the best big brother anyone could have asked for. I... I really mean it."

Arven began to blush a bit. He scratched the back of his head.

"Oookaaaay…? I love you too, kid. Now keep eating. I wanna buy some Pokeballs to catch more Pokémon."

"Okay!" Aeon grinned.

"But uh- speaking of feelings, are you going to talk about your feelings for Kai?"

Aeon widened his eyes.

"L-Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Aeon replied, blushing a bit.

"Heh, no need to deny it, we both know you like him."

Aeon glared. "And you like getting on my nerves about it!" Aeon shouted. "I should get a second toy hammer for you."

"PFFT- No way! It's my money we're using, there's no way I'm gonna buy a hammer for you to use on me!"

"Okay then," Aeon said. "I understand."

"You'd better understand," Arven said, shooting a suspicious glare at Aeon.

"I'll just use the single toy hammer you'll get me and whack you both," Aeon muttered under his breath.

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing!"

Aeon shot a suspicious look at Aeon, and Aeon continued to eat his sandwitch.

Life was good. Aeon just had forgotten that.

The glasses-wearing, Eevee backpack having girl sat and stared at the computer she was using to monitor Kai's movements while sitting on a computer chair. She was in a dark room. The light reflecting off her glasses made it look like her eyes were shining. As he saw a map on her monitor, she typed away as the map zoomed in to where he was going.

He was nearing a Team Star base. Penny nodded to herself as she stood up from her chair. "It's time for me to make my move..." Penny said.

"PEN-PEN! IT'S DINNER TIME!" She heard the voice of her father through her room door.

"DAAD! I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT! Ugh...!"