Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Hands of Creation

Chapter 116 - Call of the Void

Owen had a few reasons for going to the bathhouse that Zena worked. For one, he wanted to see what kind of lives Pokémon had in Null Village properly, now that he was out of the evaluation room. Along with that, he wasn't sure if Zena was tolerating possible mistreatment at work; something about the place gave him a bad feeling, just from how she'd talked about it at home. If he could help her see that, or at least ease the burden if he worked with her, perhaps that would be enough. And lastly, he needed to clear his head someplace that wasn't right by his reduced shell of a mother.

The bathhouse was further down the road, along a street that still had small signs of that battle in the skies between Migami and Aster. That felt like such a short time ago, and Owen reminded himself that he had been dormant for longer than he remembered.

Plumes of steam constantly blew out from the bathhouse, which was blocked off by a thin curtain. Owen wondered, if the facility they were in had baths and wash areas, did some homes not? Or was this more of a communal thing? As Owen's mind wandered, they headed inside, where a Carnivine with a kind smile and seething eyes greeted them.

"Ah, Zena!" Carnivine greeted with a saccharine bite. "You're here earlier than expected!"

"Yes, I'm sorry for calling late," she said. "I was able to finish what I had to do early. I can take up my shift now."

"Wonderful, wonderful!" Carnivine brought his leafy arms together.

Something about this Pokémon made Owen's feathers rise defensively.

"Well, and who is this? The one you need to guard?"

"Yes. I'm sorry if it's a bother."

"He is... a bit odd looking. I've never seen a Pokémon like him before."

"I'm a southern Charmander."

"Oh! My apologies." Carnivine bowed his massive head, his whole body floating up and down with the momentum. "Well, it's a bit unorthodox, but if he'd like to help sort towels and assist with cleaning, I'd be happy to pay him for the day."

"I can do that," Owen agreed, wanting to give Zena as little trouble as possible.

"Good, good! Then, Zena, why don't you get ready? I'd like to talk with you before you start working."

For a fraction of a second, Owen felt a pang of fear from Zena. He wasn't sure how he knew that. The way she tensed, perhaps? But then it was gone, and she steeled herself.

"Yes," Zena said, "of course. Owen?"

"Right that way," Carnivine said, gesturing to the left, in an area that had a misty sign that said 'Employees Only.'

Zena followed Carnivine across the hall to the other side, into her office. As she passed, a few patrons stared at her, and one asked a receptionist at the front when she was going to be available. Available, for what? Just to tend to the baths?

Zena slithered around one of the early customers, giving him a stiff smile. The customer returned it with a hungry grin, passing by much slower, taking up part of the hall. Zena had to squeeze by, and he apologized for taking up all the space, but the Nidoking was smirking. The back of Owen's head felt hot, feathers puffing out, but Zena glanced at Owen—like she knew—and shook her head placatingly.

He held his breath. One, two, three. An old mutant instinct told him ways to attack. Four, five, six. But he knew he shouldn't do that.

Clearing his mind, Owen hesitantly made his way through the halls on the opposite end, careful not to get stepped on. Navigating the way through the employee only area was easy enough, and soon he found his way to the laundry room, where towels upon towels waited to be loaded up for washing. He'd never seen so many in one place, and some of them looked filthy, purple and red with void dust. Maybe that was why Pokémon went here—so they didn't have to spend the time cleaning it themselves.