Chapter Twenty-Four

Getting out of the window proved an interesting task for Shiloh, considerably easier than getting into the building in the first place. She couldn't get herself through the opening with any amount of physical force, at least until her repeated straining made her human illusion puff away.

She stumbled onto the grass, then levitated up into the air, taking Briar with her. She flew straight up along the building, until they were above the roof and hopefully out of range of anyone who might be watching with a gun.

Would they have snipers? But why would they even care about two Pokémon out in the dark?

"You sounded really loyal to that girl," Shiloh said, once they were up above the tile, and beyond what she thought would be easy attack. "How long were you here, a few days?"

Briar squirmed in the air, his legs occasionally twitching like he was trying to walk. "They didn't get you with a poké ball, I guess."

She nodded. "Tried. Aspen and I busted out. Tried to get you too, but—there were too many. Had to find Lane before we stood a chance. I'm sure we can track down the rest of our stuff with enough time. Should be able to find your ditto, my team… if they haven't been resold by now.”

"Meta would be nice to see again. Maybe we could practice together," Briar said. He looked down at the structure, and soon his attention fixed on a single, specific part of the building. That balcony looked familiar—June's bedroom.

Before her friend could try to force them back, Shiloh accelerated them over the property, remaining well above ground level. All she had to do was find the road, then follow it to a particular clearing.

"The inside of a poké ball. That's one of those things I admit I… never wanted to see. Do you still feel okay?"

"I don't know," Briar muttered. "Things are—easier now. Illusions. I was already working with Mirage, but she'd be so proud of me. I can even do humans—but that isn't what June needed. She needed company right at the end. Tried to help her."

They passed over a fence far below, then out over the road. Not much further now.

Shiloh patted her friend's shoulder with one paw. Hopefully Briar knew what she meant. "Aspen felt strongly about helping her, strong enough to stay behind. She's a powerful legendary, I'm sure she knows what she's doing. There are probably Pokémon ways of healing that humans don't have. I've heard of Pokémon who can grant eternal life—Shaymin might do something similar."

Briar didn't answer for another minute of flight. Shiloh angled their flight back down again. "Thanks for coming back," he said. "I'm sure I'll get better now that it's over."

"You will," Shiloh promised. "If not on your own, then I have friends who can help you. Mewtwo cared enough to let me come get you, I assume he can un-brainwash you."

"Mewtwo," Briar repeated. He tilted his head to the side. Despite that canine face and the uncomfortably-sharp teeth, Shiloh felt the first sign of genuine familiarity from his friend. Skepticism for one of Shiloh's many stupid plans. "Come on. He's not real."

She giggled in spite of herself. "Tell him that. He's helping Lane with the whole evil Pokémon thing. I think he might have a cure? Or maybe Lane had the cure, and he has a way to distribute it. Something like that."

They landed in an apparently-empty field of grass. Briar's paws were barely under him before a shape emerged from the darkness, black and red against the gloom.

Mirage scooped him right off the ground, pulling Briar into something very close to a hug. Shiloh felt genuine love between them, real fear for Briar's safety, and she didn't even need her powers.

She hovered nearby, watching the little reunion with only a hint of envy. None of her Pokémon would be so happy to see her after being gone. But Mirage hadn't just missed Briar—she had understood a plan, and was even willing to wait while Shiloh tried it.

She released Briar after a few moments, turning on her. "You brought kit back. Did not know if… cared about him. Now I see. I am glad to be wrong."

Shiloh's mouth hung open. She finally managed a nod, and a halting explanation. "Briar is my friend too. I've known him since before you evolved. I would never leave him behind."

Mirage nodded her appreciation, then turned her attention to the sky overhead. "Where is growing one?"

This was the exact moment she feared, or at least the dry-run. When she got back to Lane, she would have to answer that exact question, in a way that didn't infuriate the powerful legendary. Maybe Mewtwo would have her back, but maybe not. That creature remained inscrutable.

"She wanted to stay and help someone," she said. "Aspen said she would fly back when she's ready. We aren't going to wait for her."

Mirage was silent for a moment. That was an advanced explanation, probably beyond what a Pokémon was capable of understanding. After a few moments, she nodded again, backing away. "What do we do now? Where do we go?"

"Back into town," she said. "That Pokémon park where we arrived. Is Rotom here?"

A set of quadcopter rotors answered her, and Rotom appeared from the ground. It had apparently been resting there, if ghosts could rest. But without an electrical outlet to sap power from, maybe it did need to recover between flights.

"Is Shiloh the Pokémon Champion ready to capture Mew? This camera is considerably weaker, but I believe the documentary will still be incredible."

Shiloh rolled her eyes. "Rotom, I've changed my mind about Mew. I don't think anyone could capture her, ever. There's a whole continent to save first."

She turned her attention back to Mirage, fighting back a yawn. Whatever exhaustion she felt, she couldn't rest now. Not while they were still in the wrong city, on the wrong end of the world.

"I ran away from the house. There's going to be a search for me tomorrow, and one very sad child. I want us to be far away from here when that happens. Can you make me look human again? We'll go back to the park, and rejoin the others."

She could, without much effort. Shiloh felt that same wave of vertigo as her body expanded, though this time she was already up in the air, floating at close to the correct height. The body of Holly reappeared, right down to the elegant dress and heels.

Shiloh winced, opening her mouth to order a change—then hesitated. People will see me walking away from the property. They'll have more evidence that I'm just a scared employee running away, and nothing supernatural is happening.

Briar looked up at her from the ground, eyes wide. "I wondered what this moment would be like—the Pokémon champion Shiloh, restored to humanity at last. Love the new look. I think Lolita is in this year."

Shiloh grunted under her breath. "Worked to get you out, that's all I needed. Why don't you show off how good a job you can do? One of us has the power to do this on their own."

Briar walked a short distance away on the grass, stretching to either side. "Sure, yeah! Only… did this once, but I'm sure I can. Just need to visualize, and—"

Briar the Zuora vanished in a flash of light, replaced with—Briar.

He looked exactly as Shiloh remembered him, right down to the backpack of camera equipment and the rugged boots. This was her best friend, ready to go out and show the world just what Champion Shiloh could be!

He was also considerably taller than Shiloh's present form, and considerably stronger-looking too. She would've thought it was completely perfect, if she didn't notice a single, critical claw.

"You, uh…" She gestured behind Briar, at the black tail poking out of his jeans. "Forgot something."

Briar winced, spinning so the imperfection faced away from her. "Yeah, well. Haven't… quite figured out how to make that go away. The sound is tricky too, but I'm pretty sure I could talk if I could go slow and really concentrate. This right now is just—Pokémon stuff, same as usual."

"I wish I could pull that off," she put one arm briefly on Briar’s, the same way she'd always reassured him whenever he was close to giving up. Then she nearly tripped on her heels, stumbling forward uncomfortably. Only she couldn't trip, because she was actually flying underneath.

"One more thing—Mirage, can I be dressed like a Pokémon trainer instead? This outfit is impractical and silly."

The illusion flashed, replaced with something much closer to what Briar was wearing. She was still a girl underneath it all, the governess running from her first day on the job. "Perfect, thanks. Now we get back to the park."

The trip didn't take much time, not compared to the whole search until that point. They didn't have to ask for directions, just caught the main road back into town, then cut straight across it for the Pokémon park.

During the trip, there were certainly moments where Shiloh felt an uncomfortable amount of attention on her—times she was glad that Briar's illusion could discourage attention from the shady types who were still out well into the night.

They couldn’t speak much during the trip, at least not when they got into town. The city was too active, and there were too many people awake on the streets. That meant too many people who might overhear two humans talking like Pokémon.

Not until they were finally back in the Pokémon park. They had to fly over a fence, then the last pair of watching human eyes finally vanished.

"I think Mewtwo dropped us this way…" Shiloh said, floating gingerly in that direction. Not human anymore, for the same reason they couldn't talk during the walk. Humans weren't supposed to be in here. "Shouldn't be much further."

"You're in a hurry to get back," Briar said, bounding along behind her. "No, don't stop on my account, Shiloh. I'm just—confused by this change of heart."

She stopped in place, somersaulting back around to look at him. "What do you mean? I've always been the champion, Briar. Nobody kidnaps my friends and sells them off, even if the buyer is a sweet little girl who just wants a friend."

"Not June." Briar waved one dismissive paw in her direction. "You. Look what's going on for a minute. We're free. We could hop back over the fence, look human again—find a professor. There's nothing forcing you to help."

"Oh." Shiloh's ears folded backward on her head. "Guess there's not. You think I'm wrong? I shouldn't be helping?"

"Didn't say that." He bounded towards her in short, high hops. "We interfered when the mew was trying to fix things. As far as I see it, that means we owe our help. But that wasn't what you thought. You were going to run away, get a professor to help you—one day get your revenge and come back with a master ball. Right?"

She landed on a little patch of moss. Her tail stopped twitching to keep her up. "I was wrong," she whispered, eyes fixed on the ground at her silly bird feet.

"Sorry, what?" Briar leaned down, ears pointed directly at her. He grinned toothily, but there was nothing threatening in that gesture. Only her pride would be wounded here. "I don't think I heard that right. Was that Pokémon Champion Shiloh admitting she was wrong about something?"

"Yes." She shoved against his face with both silly paws. "Careful, I'm still having trouble with my powers. I'll burn you if you get too close."

He grinned at her. "I guess we can come back to all this once we help them save the world," he said. "Which I assume is… why you rescued me?"

"I thought it was her deep sense of loyalty," sent a powerful voice. "That was swifter than I expected. But where is the shaymin?"

There was no physical sound, but Shiloh could feel a direction anyway. She turned, and found an opening in the air nearby. Beyond it was a brightly-lit space, with metal walls and a dark sky through thick windows.

"She's fine!" Shiloh said. "But she had something she wanted to finish up first. She'll catch up."

Mewtwo appeared in the gloomy space beyond the opening, cast in harsh, artificial light. "I'm quite certain her mother will not be happy to hear that. Join us, quickly. There is little time."