1. Ash's Story (Part 7: Kalos)

Chapter 94: Malva Battle

One day after the Essentia incident, Emma came back to Normal Manor like nothing had happened, and that almost hurt more than if she had looked guilty. She slipped through the front door with Mimi beside her, carrying the tired smile of someone who had been working too hard and sleeping too little. For a moment, I wanted to grab her shoulders and ask whether she remembered the suit, the battles, the stolen Poké Balls, and Mom falling in that South Boulevard alley.

Instead, I remembered Dad's warning.

Emma looked around the hall. "Hey, Brother Ash. I was hoping to find Mom. I have been so busy lately that I am hardly ever here anymore. Do you have any idea where she is?"

Serena and Alice both went still behind me. Mimi stayed close to Emma's ankle, but her eyes searched the room as if she knew something was missing. Mimi's ears lowered when she looked toward the stairs, and I wondered whether she remembered more than Emma did.

I forced myself to keep my voice calm. "Mom was injured, so she is being treated in a protected hospital room. Dad says she will recover, but she needs rest."

Emma's face went pale. "What? She is in the hospital? What is wrong with her? Now I am even more worried than before. But I would need more money to get to the hospital."

Serena stepped forward gently. "Do not worry about the money. We can take care of Mom and help you visit her when it is safe."

Emma looked down, and for one second I saw the child from the alley again, the girl who thought every kind thing came with a bill she could never pay. Before I could say anything more, her eyes flicked toward the clock, and panic replaced the fear.

"Ah, is that the time?" Emma gasped. "I am going to be late. I have to go, Mimi. We will talk later."

Mimi hesitated, then followed as Emma rushed out again. The door closed behind them, and the quiet that followed felt too heavy for a house that had always been full of voices.

Alice folded her arms. "She really does not know."

"Or the suit does not let her remember," Serena said.

Before I could answer, Clemont's voice came from the entrance hall. "Ash, Serena, Alice, we came as soon as we heard."

Clemont hurried in with Bonnie beside him, while Elline and David followed carrying bags from the cleanup effort. Bonnie looked frightened, and Dedenne clung to her shoulder as if she had already heard too much. Clemont's clothes still had dust from Prism Tower, and David had a case of tools strapped across his back. Elline's Flaaffy walked beside her, blinking sleepily but ready to move the moment Elline did.

"Is your mom okay?" Bonnie asked.

"She will recover," I said. "But Emma is in danger, and we need everyone back with us."

Clemont's expression tightened. "If this involves the Expansion Suit, then it is not only a criminal case. It is a technology case too."

David set his bag down. "Then the cleanup can wait. If Xerosic or another Team Flare remnant is involved, we should not split up anymore."

Elline nodded, and Flaaffy stood beside her with a serious spark building in the wool around her neck. "We are with you."

Bonnie hugged Dedenne closer. "And we are helping too. Emma helped Mimi, so we have to help Emma."

Seeing them return changed the weight in the room. During the last few days, everyone had been scattered across Lumiose, patching wires, clearing rubble, and calming people who had lost homes or businesses. That work mattered, but Emma's case had become too tangled for only three of us. Clemont understood machines better than anyone here. David understood Team Flare's hidden systems and how people like Xerosic might hide commands inside them. Elline had watched enough stages and crowds to notice fear before it turned into panic. Bonnie understood Squishy's pain in a way most adults never could.