Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Hands of Creation

Chapter 140 - The Last Remnant

"Lifeless stone..." Mispy approached the statue of Demitri, but then peered over it and stared into where the head had been.

"Mispy?" Demitri asked. "Something wrong?"

"Detailed," she commented.

Zena was looking at Owen now, expectant.

"Uh, yeah." Owen rubbed the back of his head. "It's his body turned to stone. All of it. Guess it kept everything inside the same, too."

"Could be useful," Mispy explained.

"Useful how?" Zena asked.

"Oh, you're right, it could be useful," Lucario commented. "If you're careful enough, you could chip away at the outer layer and study the—"

"I don't," Demitri interjected, "think I want to hear this. It's weird. And creepy."

He couldn't stop looking at his own statue, so Mispy picked him up and advanced through the caves.

Gahi gave Lucario a disapproving look. "I'd expect that from Nevren, not you."

"Ah." Lucario winced and bowed his head. "Sorry. Voidlands insensitivities, I suppose."

Owen gave Lucario an uneasy look, but then went ahead with Mispy. Zena followed closely behind, searching for her old home.

After a few more minutes of walking, Mispy looked distracted by something else. She glanced occasionally back at Lucario, but said nothing and nudged Demitri.

"Huh? Oh." Demitri nodded. "Hey, everyone? Mispy and I are going ahead to check something. We'll catch up with you guys later, alright?"

"Not gonna come with us to Rhys' old place?" Gahi asked. "We're pretty close to it, what's goin' on that way?"

Demitri shrugged. "Mispy senses something that she wants to check on. It's safe around here, right? The Dungeon part is further in?"

"Wait, there's a Dungeon?" Gahi asked.

Mispy looked unsurprised but still disappointed. Owen sighed; they should have figured Gahi hadn't paid attention during the briefing.

"Just meet us soon," Owen said, nodding at the pair.

Lucario nodded in approval. "Right. And I believe your old home is not far from here."

With Demitri and Mispy splitting off, the rest of Team Alloy and Lucario continued down the ruined pathways. All they needed now were the Fire Spirits, but Amia was still in the revival queue for her to be there.

Maybe, Owen thought idly, he could clean up their old place as part of the recovery process and use that as a pleasant surprise.

"Found it!" Gahi called, zipping toward them again and gesturing ahead.

Finally, their old home. To Owen, it was still foreign aside from when he had spent some time visiting. To the rest of Team Alloy, it was where they'd lived once before, and where they'd returned to during this whole Guardian business. The same format they'd always enjoyed.

There was an empty room for Demitri and Mispy; Rhys' overfilled room of hoarded trinkets and memories; Gahi's sand pit; the storage room, which was probably going to be desperate for a cleaning; and, of course, the kitchen and living area they'd just entered, miraculously untouched and unharmed.

It was all still there. For once, Gahi was moving slowly, opening a few cupboards gently to marvel at the intact cups and bowls. He ran his claws over some of them, mumbling about dust. Then, he went into his room and called Lucario over.