Chapter 54

One shower and change later, and Hayden was somewhere else. Not a palace, though compared to where she’d spent most of her life, it might as well be.

The Johto Mew had a place waiting for them in the heights—a wooden building nestled into the tallest trees, with only insect mesh for walls. The air hung heavy with the moisture of dense jungle, and clouds of mist surrounded the platforms like a sea.

With each breath of the rarified air, Hayden felt a little stronger, restoring the energy she lost in her training.

Many minds existed below and around them, but not one was human. Many jungle creatures lived here, where no human dared step and life was simple. They radiated the joy of living, so potent she could feel it on her skin.

Julian didn’t hurt, either. He’d changed from the ceremonial robes to something light and sturdy, along with thick boots and an explorer’s hat. He didn’t have anything a real explorer might actually need to survive.

He ran over the wooden platform, swerving awkwardly at every turn and stairwell. More than once Aerie had to catch him, or else he would’ve torn right through the net and down to vanish in the mist.

She floated after him, keeping in the air to follow him more easily.

Liz soon left her perch in Hayden’s pocket, chasing after Aerie instead. She wasn’t going to get away, not with such confined movement. But it wasn’t about catching Aerie so much as just keeping up with her.

They scrambled up a set of steps, where the path narrowed until it was a walkway grafted into the trunk. It thinned so much that the trees beneath them swayed with only Julian’s weight on the platform.

Then they were up, where no more path extended and only the trees remained.

There wasn’t even a net up here, just a ladder ending on a flat walkway. Perfect to land on, or else fly down to the jungle below.

Finally Julian settled down, dropping to the edge and dangling his legs over the side. "See? It’s much better up here. Somewhere you don’t have to feel so—awful. We can go down tomorrow, after we get a nice big camping breakfast. Aerie and I have wanted to meet wild pokémon for a long time. You’ve already done it lots of times, so it should be no problem."

She floated out over the edge, facing him as though there was another seat there. No matter how tired they got, Liz would never drop them. Hayden didn’t even think she could.

"I have, yeah. Only a few times in your territory. Mostly in mine. But everywhere I went, they were always kind."

Julian nudged her leg with one of his boots, sticking his tongue out. "Just so long as you leave all that… negativity… behind."

"Negativity," she repeated, tilting sideways and stretching in the air. "It doesn’t work that way, Julian. I can’t just make myself feel whatever I want."

He stiffened. Aerie circled around him, darting close to Liz, then away from her again. "Maybe not… exactly. But we can do a lot. You can’t tell me it doesn’t work that way, I know! Transform into something, and you think like they do. An eevee, or a ralts, or whatever. If you’re still feeling bad after… everything… maybe you should be something else."

She drifted towards him again, rolling onto her back. She didn’t sit on the platform so much as over the edge, where she could look out at the distant sunset. "I’d have to be really little not to understand now. Not up here—I’d fall and die for sure. Besides, I’ll still feel the same way when I change back. Believe me, I’ve been trying. Spent the last two weeks as just about anything but mew. Woke up as other things, changed into different things. It helps more sometimes and less other times."

She lowered herself to the platform beside him, then rolled onto her belly. The wood had some signs of warping, though that was all. It remained firm, though not exactly comfortable.

"Wanna tell me about it?" He imitated her, stretching out awkwardly along the floor.

"I…" She looked away from him. "A friend of mine died. Not like that other thing I showed you, that you hated. This was just my fault. If I had stayed away from her, she would’ve been fine. But because I tried to help, she died."

"Oh." Aerie landed beside Liz, inviting her close. After a few seconds, the kitten obliged, curling up around her smaller cousin. "That sounds bad."

There was nothing quite like the feeling of mew fur nestled against itself. Nothing in the world was quite as soft, or as soothing. Hayden almost started purring at the feeling alone.

Liz actually did, resting her head protectively on Aerie’s. Compared to all the other horrors in Hayden’s world, a little disagreement with Julian barely even rated.

Though she was nowhere near brave enough to take both daemons and hold them close, she could take his hand again, brushing up against him with her tail. "Yeah. It was. But seeing you again… helps. I’m glad you don’t hate me forever."

He sprang forward, squeezing her arm with both of his. For a few seconds that was all he did, holding her with an intensity she rarely saw in others. Yet it never made her feel afraid, only… wanted.

"There’s no one else like you in the world," he whispered, right up into one of her ears. "No one understands like you do. No one can change with me. My father… he’s very smart, the smartest one in the whole world. He talked about it, and said that some things are special enough to be worth working hard for. Some things can be worth… sacrifices. Because mythical pokémon are meant to be examples to the rest of the world. And mew—we’re supposed to be examples to the other legendaries. First daughter of Arceus was one of my ancestors. And I guess… yours too, through me."

"And our kids," she agreed. "Assuming someone doesn’t murder me before the marriage thing."

He finally let go of her arm. "That part still feels a little weird. If there’s something we’re supposed to do to make that happen…"

She stuck her tongue out. "Something, yeah. But you don’t have to rush to figure it out."

"Children, your evening meal is waiting downstairs. You should join me while it’s still warm."

Hayden sat up, releasing contact with Julian. "I guess I… I didn’t even realize. But I haven’t eaten anything in a while."

Night came as a gentle, enveloping blanket, leaving the high fortress concealed in protective shadow. Hayden stretched into the comfortable expanse of her hammock, which encircled her completely while still swaying with the trees beneath.

"If you think this is how your ancestors lived, you’re not wrong. When the world was simpler, they were up here."

Hayden poked her head out through a crack in the hammock. Her eyes narrowed, then all traces of sleepiness vanished from her. Not Ilene, as she expected at first. A little green fairy slipped past her, brushing up against her face. "Sierra? You shouldn’t be here! The heir of Mew House is…"

She touched Hayden’s lips with one small hand, silencing her. "The heir isn’t here. He had trouble sleeping in this strange new place and asked Ilene to bring him home. He will return tomorrow morning and never mention it. We’re completely alone."

Hayden sat up, and the hammock stretched out around her. Without a word, Sierra settled comfortably into her lap. Hayden held her with the same care she used for her own daemon, moving two fingers gently down her shoulders, then up her neck to her head.

Seconds later, huge hands brushed against her. Liz, technically, as she found the celebi. The mew didn’t need the same restraint to avoid damaging her, and Cody knew it. Through Liz, huge fingers pressed into her, moving firmly down her back all the way to her tail.

She kept herself from purring at first, through incredible willpower. If she couldn’t, Cody would…

"Three, two, one…"

Why should she fight it? The celebi would laugh, but Hayden would still be comfortable. Who was really better off?

"That’s my girl. Wondered if Manaphy had swapped you with someone boring. Glad that didn’t happen."

Hayden didn’t say anything at first. When another weight joined her on the hammock, she twisted to the side, then rested up against her.

This Cody was older than most, or at least most of those she had seen so far. That meant she could easily take Hayden into her lap. Finally, someone who would hold her without making Hayden question whether she should worry. Here was someone who accepted Hayden as she was, without needing to perform.

"Waited a little long this time. You’re wound up so tight I could snap you if I’m not careful."

She looked up, and her voice returned to something human. "You were there two weeks ago, weren’t you?"

"You have no idea how little that means to me, Haydie. Sometimes you’re a kid for me, then you’ve got kittens, then we’re somewhere else. I don’t see things the same way you do."

Hayden released her grip on Sierra, ensuring the daemon was free of her before rolling over in Cody’s lap, squeezing up close to her.

This Cody was old enough to make her feel self-conscious, a developed and mature mythical pokémon, right down to the antennae in her hair and the wings on her back. She wore a strange lacy top, attached by thin black straps around her back. The style resembled nothing she had ever seen—there weren’t even sleeves! She might’ve taken it for underclothes, except it was thick enough to remain opaque.

"My parents," she said again. "You took them with you. When are they?"

"Oh!" Cody slipped Liz onto her own shoulder, before wrapping both arms around Hayden. "That’s… a complicated question. The more I tell you, worse they’re protected. Because you are too smart for your own good, and can wiggle into places you don’t belong. The older you are, the harder it is to keep you from burning yourself."

She stretched upward, hovering them both into the air. Her wings buzzed as she moved, though Hayden hardly felt any wind. The process was perfunctory, much as Fae’s tail. "Look at me, Haydie."

She radiated her defiance, skepticism, and frustration. If she pouted any harder, she might sink them into the jungle.

"They’re safe. You will see them again. But you should not copy me to do it. If you do, they’ll be in danger all over again. I know what I’m doing, but Haydie-sprout would tear holes across the tapestry like she was a hungry moth. Wait on a few more centuries of practice for that one, okay?"

She said nothing, at least not at first. Nothing forced her honesty of course—but Hayden wouldn’t lie to Cody. Even if the bigger mythical wouldn’t instantly sense anything less than forthright from her, which she obviously would.

"I want to know when they are. Then I’ll decide."

Cody squeezed her once, without her usual affection. "See? This is exactly what I mean. The more you know, the less safe they are. How about… how about I just take you there? Will you promise me then?"

She glanced nervously up at the treehouse, out at the jungle. "Can you bring me back without anyone noticing?"

"Without the mew noticing, yes. But I want a promise. You will never bend time to visit them. You let me help you, until you catch up with them the slow way. After that, you won’t need it anymore."

Finally, she nodded. "There’s one more thing. My brother—Holland. He’s one of my bodyguards. Wherever you sent my family, they need his protection more than I do. His Unity…"

"Makes him stand out," Cody interrupted. "Think about it for one second, kitten. One of the Unified guards of the most important young mew in the world goes mysteriously missing.”

“Unified?” Hayden asked. “What’s that mean?”

Cody waved a dismissive hand. “You can guess. Pokemon parts, human parts. Connection. It’s not common in your era, or theirs. The Great Families hoard their knowledge. Anyway… if he makes it into books, it’s online. Next thing you know, people are sharing photos of him, digging up old stills, and they decide to run a face match on him. Bang, boom, he’s caught, then we are."

Hayden whimpered, floating free of her companion. Her daemon remained with Cody, but Sierra followed her, circling her with a protective, almost parental closeness. "I guess… Holland would want them to be safe too. If I explained—"

"Can’t do that either," Sierra interrupted, touching one little hand to her lips to silence her, just as before. "He can’t keep a secret like you can. If you tell him, you tell everyone."

She folded her arms, defiant. This whole thing still didn’t seem fair—but it wasn’t like she had to solve it in a few minutes. Her brother wasn’t going to waste away and die tomorrow. Maybe she could find another way.

"I promise not to visit without you. If you take me and bring me back…"

"Good." She took Hayden’s hand, pulling her protectively up against her chest. "And if this is the first time… when did you say we went again?"

Hayden tilted her head to one side. "When did… I?"

Cody ignored the question. "I hope you’re sure about this, Haydie. Going now means your other self will have to keep away from them when they arrive. If you meet…" She shuddered, expression turning greener than it already was. "I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. Probably."

"Wait, you can meet yourself? What would that even—" But she didn’t get a chance to ask. Strange light radiated from Cody’s antennae, then pulsed through the forest all around them. They vanished into the strange void beyond, along the axis of a dimension Hayden could not see.

To her family.