CHAPTER 14: LILLIE'S ESCAPE
That night, everyone finished their research notes. They spent the next three days working on notes.
At the end of the two days, Lillie finally followed through her plans. She had sneaked out of her room that night, while Lusamine was asleep. She quickly left the mansion at the far end of the Aether Paradise. She sneaked into the main building. First, she went toward's Wicke's chamber and spoke to her.
"Wicke," said Lillie, "I am going to be taking Nebby away. I don't know how long I'll be gone. We might not see each other for a long, long time. Nebby's safety depends on me and I'll have to protect him at all times."
"I understand," said Wicke. "I'll try my best to keep things around here safe."
"I know Mother is going to be angry," said Lillie, "but Nebby's life is more important! I'm requesting the keycard to the lowest laboratory."
Wicke agreed to this. She punched in the code of her secret compartment and opened it. She took out a keycard and handed it to Lillie.
"I guess this is goodbye," said Lillie. "I will miss you terribly."
"I will miss you too," said Wicke, hugging Lillie. "We'll see each other again someday, I promise."
Lillie bade farewell to Wicke and then went inside the main building. She took the elevator to the laboratories. She saw security patrolling the place, and took care to avoid them. Her white clothes and pale coloring blended her in with the surroundings.
Lillie descended the various ramps and soon found herself at the lowest laboratory. She used the keycard to access it. She went inside the dark laboratory. This room had all sorts of Pokemon, all of whom looked scared. Lillie wanted to free them all, but she couldn't.
At last, Lillie found Nebby sleeping in a test tube. Lillie used the keycard to open the test tube. She quickly grabbed Nebby.
"No time to panic, Nebby!" said Lillie. "I'm saving you from a grisly fate."
Lillie put Nebby in her bag and zipped it shut. She then exited the lowest laboratory and made her way back to the elevator. Unfortunately, the alarm had gone off, and security was alerted to the intruder. Lillie took no notice of them at first.
When Lillie went up to the conservation area, she heard the sirens. Soon, a trio of male employees appeared. These employees were among the security.
"Hey, you!" said one of them. "Come back here with that Pokemon!"
Two of the employees began to chase Lillie. She ran across the walkway, turning several corners and ducking the two men. When she got to the end, she tried to escape, but then the third employee appeared.
"You won't get away with this!" he said.
"Uh-oh," said Lillie.
Lillie saw that she was cornered. The employees smiled cruelly and walked closer to her. Then, Lillie saw that her bag was glowing. Nebby engulfed her in a ray of blue-violet light. The employees looked in horror and disgust as the light consumed Lillie. Nebby had teleported Lillie away from the prison and to a place where she could be safe.
Soon after that, Lillie and Nebby ended up on a beach. She was conscious, so she looked around. It was the wee hours of the morning.
"Phew," she said. "I'm safe. And so are you, Nebby."
Nebby made happy sounds.
Not long after, a woman appeared. She had tan skin and white hair. This was Professor Burnet. She and Professor Kukui had returned from their honeymoon two weeks ago.
"Hello there, young lady," said Professor Burnet. "What brings you here?"
"Please, ma'am," said Lillie. "I'm fleeing for my life. I'll tell you everything I can later. Just get me and Nebby to safety."
"Nebby?" said Professor Burnet.
Lillie showed Nebby to Professor Burnet for a few seconds, and then put him back.
"I'll be glad to help you," said Professor Burnet. "I'm Professor Stephanie Burnet. I'll take you back to my office for the day."
Lillie went with Professor Burnet. She felt safe with her, since she seemed so much nicer than Lusamine. When Lillie arrived at Professor Burnet's office, she told her everything.
"Allow me to introduce myself," said Lillie. "I am Lillie Mohn-Perlmutter. My mother Lusamine runs the Aether Foundation. A while ago, I discovered Nebby. I found out that he was one of my mother's test experiments. She was using him to try and open the Ultra Wormhole. The experiments had terrible effects on his health, and soon I discovered that he was dangerously close to death. A few days from now, Mother's last experiment on him would probably have killed him. So tonight I decided to rescue him. Wicke helped me access the laboratory where Nebby was being held. I went down and took him and fled. Security chased me, but Nebby teleported me to safety. And that's how I ended up here."
"I see," said Professor Burnet.
"Please, Professor Burnet," said Lillie. "I need a place to stay for the time being. It's not safe for me to go back home."
"Well, Lillie," said Professor Burnet, "I'll contact my husband, Professor Kukui, and he'll give you a place to stay."
Professor Burnet called her husband and told him about the whole ordeal. Professor Kukui was glad to take in Lillie. After the phone call, Professor Burnet told Lillie the good news.
"Looks like you've got a new home," said Professor Burnet. "My husband will keep you safe."
"Thanks, Professor Burnet!" said Lillie, hugging Professor Burnet. "I promise I'll help him with his research and work very hard."
And from here on, Lillie would stay with Professor Kukui and serve as his assistant. And in the next chapter, we'll get back to the Aether Paradise.