Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Hands of Creation

Chapter 54 - Lend a Hand

Demitri screamed, frantically waving his arms. "AAAAAAAAHHH, I'M SO SORRY!" He rushed toward Trina with heavy steps, tripping over the lumpy terrain. Ani was much faster, gliding over the web with ease, and inspected the ax lodged inside Trina.

"Is—is she okay?!" Demitri asked with shaky breaths.

"Of course I'm okay," Trina growled, blood dribbling out of her mouth. "How did you"—She coughed blood, staining some of the web crimson—"do that?!"

Ani tugged the ax away with one vine, blasting Trina with healing energy at the same time. One of her vines melted away, and Trina's chest was back to normal. The Serperior wiped away the remaining blood on her mouth with her one good vine. The other slowly regrew.

"I—I don't know!" Demitri winced at the blood, making useless motions toward the ground as if he could will the red away. "I th-thought I just, uhh... I just threw! Like normal! I mean, I guess I was a little fired up—m-maybe I did what Jerry did, and got so fired up that I did a Backlash on accident? Owen's really motivational, s-so..."

"Willpower alone isn't enough for that sort of Backlash. I don't know who this Jerry is, but he sounds like he got lucky against Owen's hubris. I doubt that sort of battle will be replicated now that the young Guardian learned his lesson." The Serperior slithered closer to Demitri, handing him his ax, but then circled around him, inspecting his body.

Mispy glared.

"What is this?" Trina muttered, closing her eyes. "Your aura... for just a second, I saw..."

"Y-yeah?" Demitri said. "I know it looks a little weird. The others told me that it was because I don't have any ancestry and stuff, since I was created artificially. Rhys has the same sort of thing! Except just Star as a direct ancestor since, uh, she created their auras or something?"

"It was more or less a symbolic gesture," Rhys muttered.

Demitri uneasily put his tusk back in his face, clicking it inside. Then, he looked at Trina, who was still inspecting his body. "Hey, so, uh—"

"Hush."

Trina placed a vine at the center of Demitri's spine. "Can you do me a favor, Demitri?"

Mispy growled, vines curling and uncurling. "Vines off..."

"It will only be for a moment, Mispy," Trina said to the territorial Meganium. "I won't hurt him. I merely want to examine something about his aura."

Mispy snorted, sinking lower with her vines writhing irritably. She watched Trina carefully for any sign of her trying to hurt the Haxorus.

"Now, Demitri. Do you know how to draw into your own aura, by any chance? Has Mispy taught you anything about this, or perhaps Rhys?"

"You mean meditate?"

"Yes. May you do that for a moment?" Trina asked.

"Sure." Demitri closed his eyes. The Haxorus eased his breathing, wobbling where he stood until he planted his rump firmly on the ground, shaking the web. Trina readjusted her vines to be at the center of his spine again.

"...Hn!" Trina tapped Demitri's back and he straightened completely upright. Two tendrils of white light burst harmlessly from his chest, right near the center, just below the ribs.

Demitri gasped raggedly. "Wh-what—"

Mispy lunged at Trina; it required both Trina's and Rhys' barriers to keep her from ripping the Serperior apart.

"Hold!" Trina said firmly. "Demitri is just fine! Speak."

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Demitri wheezed. "What's—?"