Jay probably would've kept hunting all night, if he could. But leading the neighborhood watch meant he did most of his work during the day, and so he'd adjusted his sleep schedule to match. Besides, Jenny was nodding off—between using her electricity and staying up so late, the squirrel could only manage so much.
They returned to Apricorn Heights in shame. Jenny hurried up the nearest tube, promising to join him tomorrow morning to resume the search. Jay watched her go, grateful that there were so few chus up so late. The few he did see watched him suspiciously, never getting too close. Are we back to this already? One act of violence, and our trust collapses?
He dragged himself up the stairs to the hotel's second real floor, where all the other foxes lived. Instead of being packed in close like the chus, they'd each taken an actual hotel room all to themselves, with the hallway between them serving as a communal space.
They were also much more likely to be up at odd hours. Except for Glaceon and Vaporeon, they were all up. Jon was there, hunched over a workbench tucked near the wall. He seemed to be working on a new leg design, if the textbooks piled up next to him were any guide.
Why weren't you born like any other wild Pokémon, Jon? How can the chus do it?
"You're back!" Jon said, spinning in his cushion to grin back at him. "Did you find the killer?"
He stopped beside the little fountain they used for drinking, surrounded by little plants in the center of the room. Instead of lapping from it the way he usually did, Jay stuck his head completely under, letting the cool wash away his nerves. It helped, maybe more than it had any right to.
He lifted his head up again, shaking away the biting chill. "Jenny and I found another fox out there, but she didn't do it. We're still searching."
Under other circumstances, he probably would've been eager to tell them about what Jacqueline had revealed. Assuming any of it was true, it was their first real lead in reclaiming their humanity. He didn't volunteer any of it, though.
"You sound so confident in your conclusion." Delores looked as worn-out as he felt, hopping down from the human recliner near the elevator. They probably would've dragged it out by now, except that it was so comfortable to nap up on the seat. It was a highly contested space. "I wouldn't be. I think we all know Camille must be innocent. A stranger is infinitely more suspect by virtue of our ignorance alone."
He glanced briefly down the hall towards their kitchen, and the coffee machine he knew would still have a pot warm for him. But if he drank that now, he probably wouldn't get any sleep at all."
"If you say so," he muttered. "Camille said more to me tonight arguing her innocence than she has in the last month. I assume she must be innocent because the facts don't line up—but I don't know it for sure. If we can't find anyone else… maybe it was her."
Sylveon appeared from out a nearby door, smelling like citrus soap and a slight twinge of incense. On paper she worked down in the granary, using her ribbons the same way Espeon used her powers. In practice, Jay had almost never seen her down there. "That's adorable," she said, tracing one ribbon down his side as she circled him.
"You're right, it wasn't her. But you just need to know Camille to know that. Do you know why she killed herself?"
Jay stiffened, shaking his head sharply. "I still don't accept your hell theory, Penny. I don't think Camille did kill herself. Or that any of us are dead for other reasons either."
Sylveon didn't even seem to hear him. But ignoring people when they said inconvenient things was also her way. "She couldn't bear to see her Pokémon in pain. When she lost that last battle… I think it might've been your battle too, actually. She couldn't see her Pokémon hurt. It drove her crazy. She's the same way now. When we were in the arena, she never hunted, just scavenged—that was why she got so close to Leafeon. It can't be her."
"I believe you," he said. "You don't have to convince me. But if we…" He glanced in both directions, scanning for any chu that might be listening. "There's no way Apricorn Heights will accept that it wasn't her, that we can't find the culprit. Camille needs us to find the guilty Pokémon."
"And you eliminated one possible lead," Delores said. "For… good reasons I'm sure. Do you have anywhere else left to search, or should we just tell Camille her fate."
"I'll talk to her myself, tomorrow," he said. "It's possible she saw something that could help."
Jay slipped away, into his own private bedroom at the end of the hall. There was a time, briefly, where he shared a space with Espeon. But even if she never pressured him the way Sylveon did, her scent was always there, boring into his head and distracting him from the things that really mattered. Like finding a cure.
Maybe he shouldn't have bothered. He slept restlessly, curled up on a Pokémon cushion tucked under a desk. What would've been entirely comfortable on most nights only managed to make him feel confined. Just through his walls were dozens of chus. Every one of them would sleep with the terrible story of what had happened to the mayor fresh in their minds.
Maybe we should all leave.
Delores would go wherever he went, he knew that. But the others—Jon would never leave his mom behind. Glaceon had built a whole life here, and Sylveon had as much male attention as she wanted. Even spending every day with the hope he would get a cure one day and change back, he'd be sad to leave Apricorn Heights behind. He had friends in the watch, the old mayor, and all the foxes too.
How could he possibly be the one to fix all that?
He found Espeon waiting for him at the door when he finally gave up on sleep, a human-sized cup of steaming coffee levitating beside her. She set it down on the little dining table, looking sympathetic. There was already toast waiting as well, instead of the dried Pokémon food they used as cereal.
"How long have you been standing out here?"
He dragged himself over to the table, practically dropping his head into the glass. It was more than he usually drank at once, but if any day called for it…
"No longer than necessary." She tapped her gem with one paw, grinning weakly. "You should ask me to put you to sleep next time you're having trouble. I've been practicing." She flicked her tail at him, but Jay was too tired to care about the innuendo.
Besides, toast and butter might've seemed simple, but they both represented significant achievements for the town bakery, fairly hard to come by. He ate slowly, even if the taste was mostly just confusing to his new body.
"I was wondering if you might want some company," she said. Delores sat beside him, back straight as she watched the empty hallway like a scout. "You might need a partner stronger than a squirrel if you actually find the killer."
He snapped into a sitting position, glaring. "Don't say that about my partner. Jenny can fight fine. But…" He pawed at his empty plate, struggling for words. But she would probably just be reading his mind anyway, there wasn't any point. "I planned on starting with an interview, and it would be great to have you along for that. Can you still tell if a Pokémon is lying?"
She chuckled, covering her mouth for a moment with a dignified paw. "No effort at all. But I don't think it will save Camille. I had a conversation with Vince last night about that very subject. He says my judgement is impaired, and anything I learn about a friend can't be trusted. Since there aren't any telepaths who don't have a stake…"
"I know, it isn't about trying to prove her innocence. Just knowing she didn't do it will help. And if we find any other Pokémon out in the city, then we'll be able to actually know if they're innocent, instead of just following my gut."
She leaned forward, resting her head against his shoulder. "That seems like a perfectly valid reason to involve me. When do we begin?"
"Now." He rose, pushing her gently away. "Camille can't wait, so neither will we."