Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Hands of Creation

Chapter 43 - Holy Poison

"Oh! So that's your plan, is it?" Amia looked down, giving Jerry an encouraging smile from above. "You know, I think that just might do the trick."

"Emily? Who's she?"

"She's a really, really good healer that we know about," Owen said. "If anybody can restore your body, it'd be her, no matter how damaged it is."

"Hmph. I'll believe it when I have wings again. Hey, can she fix my back, too? I threw it out a long time ago. If I twist it funny, I can barely walk after for the whole day."

"She should," Owen said.

"Oh yeah? And how about the clicking I get on my left leg? Ever since I got in a scuffle with someone, that leg has been bugging me if I bend my knee weird."

"Probably."

Jerry squinted, incredulous. "What kind of miracle worker is this Emily?"

"Like I said, she's a healer. If Mispy's work doesn't fix you, Emily's definitely will."

Jerry used his jaw to reposition himself slightly, and then turned his eye toward Owen. "Who are you?" he asked. "All of this. None of this is normal. You saved me by some miracle, and you're saying some other miracle is going to fix all this damage. Why am I not screaming in pain? How am I talking? Is this some Fire Clan ancient art?"

"...Kinda?" Owen said.

"Um—Jerry, about that," Amia said. "I really don't... think that..."

"Save it," Jerry said, closing his eyes. "I was upset. It's... it's not entirely your fault. But I definitely could have become a Heart, if it wasn't for failing that one test..."

"...Test?" Owen asked. "What test? The exams?"

"The preliminaries," said Jerry. "Did you not take them? They were three tests in total, when I applied. The academic exam, the practical exam, and, apparently, a hidden aptitude exam."

"Yeah, I did those... and we went through test missions after that, too... but an aptitude exam? What's that?"

"The one I failed," Jerry said. "I scored the highest in the mock-mission classes and had the highest score among the incoming Heart candidates, and yet, I was rejected. James himself told me that I wouldn't be advancing to the practical exams right before I'd've been given my assignment. That is how I learned that Anam himself can veto any applicant's approval, if he wants. Like he has some sixth sense about whether someone is okay to have or not. The rumor is he can sense the darkness in your heart. What a load of—" Jerry grunted, looking down. "And according to him... I just wasn't Heart material." The Aerodactyl gritted his teeth. "Anam singlehandedly put me in this life. If I ever see him again...!"

Owen thought back to Anam's presence while he was assigned to that cold, thin-air cave in the mountains. He shivered slightly at the memory. The altitude was so bad he had some sort of hallucination of Nevren trying to kill him. It felt so real! He had no intention to go back there. If a place like that could give such vivid dreams, he'd avoid the unnecessary stress. But he also remembered Anam shaking his head at a few of the applicants. Was that the veto? He thought he was just judging their test scores...

Owen also remembered that he had failed the Heart exam countless times before, despite scoring well. It was foggy, but he had been through that song and dance countless times before being accepted. Did Anam sense... darkness in his heart? Perhaps that was his old mutant self. Maybe he sensed that he wasn't ready yet, unlike now.

"I—I'm sure he didn't do it out of malice," Owen said. "Anam's one of the nicest Pokémon I know. Right?"

Amia frowned, rubbing her chin. "He is, but... he is a little eccentric. And childish..."