Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Hands of Creation

Chapter 10 - The Hunters' Mission

"But... b-but he's my... I trusted him," Owen said. "There's no way he'd....!"

"Are you willing to risk your life to see if you are correct?" Zena said.

The ocean brushed against the sand. Owen smelled the salt in the air. Wingull squawked at one another, bickering over a carcass. He clenched the claws of his feet a few times in the sandy grass. He felt hot. His face, especially. His chest hurt. Something in the back of his eyes burned. His vision blurred. The Charmeleon trembled, clawing at his knees. "Everyone I knew..."

"Owen..." Zena said softly. She finally broke past her hesitation and slithered even closer. She used a brow to rub his head. "It's okay. It's... okay. Even if Rhys is dangerous, the others are still your friends. And your mother, Owen. What Charizard would harm their own child?"

"Um, a-actually, my Mom's a Gardevoir... I don't know my real parents."

"Oh, I'm—"

Owen shook his head. "But either way, it's... it's all the same. You're right. There's no way she'd want to hurt me. She raised me! She—" Owen's heart skipped a beat. "Mom! She's with Rhys...! And she's a Guardian!" He sprung to his feet, as if that action would somehow give him an idea on what to do next.

He felt a strange tingling on the scales on his back. The air felt... sharp, like it cut into his lungs, and a sinking feeling twisted his stomach into a knot. What was this power that he could feel? He'd never had such a sensation before. He was used to having a vague sense of what was around the corner, or even in the other room. But this? This was new.

At the same time, Zena stared toward Kilo Mountain. "He's coming," she said. "How did he know we were here? Who could have...?"

Owen realized that what he was sensing was something Zena sensed, too. He closed his eyes. He heard the rapid footsteps of something bipedal. He recognized the pattern--it was Rhys, without a doubt. He also heard another sound, a lot more rapid, with smaller legs. Hard knocking on sandy dirt. Angry chittering. That pattern was equally familiar. It was a Trapinch, going much faster than it should for its species. "Gahi, too."

Zena coiled around herself, preparing to launch everything she had at the incoming duo.

"D-don't hurt Gahi. He's a Trapinch, and he's—he's not involved in any of this!"

Zena said nothing, but she was clearly aiming for Rhys. Owen turned toward the source of the sound again. Louder. He only had a few seconds to react. Was this really Rhys attempting to kill them? Why would he chase them all the way down here? Why couldn't he hear his mother's running pattern? Because she wasn't there. It was just Rhys and Gahi.

"Owen!" Rhys shouted, jumping between two trees, into plain view.

Zena fired. The beam of water was simultaneously wide and dense, and it was a perfect shot. Rhys held his paws forward with an Aura Sphere-like shield to deflect the blast. Gahi, trailing behind, dove behind a tree to avoid the scattered beams of water, shouting something angrily. When the Hydro Pump stopped, and the mist faded, Rhys remained. Zena's attack was completely neutralized by the shield.

Gahi stared in horror at the gaping hole left in the tree that he'd been hiding behind. The deflected beams had missed him by only a head's length.

For that one instant, the world stood still for Owen. It all clicked in his mind at once. He felt Zena's coils wind in defensive terror beside him. Almost out of empathy, his muscles tensed in a similar way. His heart was pounding against his neck. Rhys had deflected one of the most powerful attacks Owen had ever seen.

He had been ready for that attack. He was expecting it. He knew. Owen's claws dug into his palms; his tail blazed with a shining, green flame.