Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Hands of Creation

Chapter 99 - Together Again

Owen didn't know what to do with himself for a while within Hakk and Xypher's home. He didn't even know they'd lived together. So much had happened in the past few minutes that he didn't know where to begin with processing it, so he instead explored his temporary hideout.

The furniture was similar to what he'd had in his room during evaluations, though a few tools and decorations seemed specialized for Hakk or Xypher specifically. Certainly, the gigantic bowls were meant for Xypher, and there seemed to be an abundance of towels. Somehow, Owen figured he would be a messy eater. There was a sharpening post nearby that was probably for Hakk, and Owen wondered if he could use his claws on those if he asked...

"It was this one."

Owen blinked, glancing at the entrance. Was that Gahi? He sounded far away.

"Guys?" Owen called, but he didn't speak up enough. He scampered to the doorway, but he was too short to get to the button to unlock the door. This house was discriminating against his stature!

Even when he jumped as high as he could, he couldn't quite reach the button.

"Hey! You in there?" Gahi called, and Owen heard knocking... on their neighbor's door.

"I don't think he's in there," Demitri said.

"Shh," Mispy said.

"Can't yeh just look fer his aura? C'mon," Gahi growled.

"Can't."

"Why not?"

"The walls..."

"Insulated," Demitri finished.

Owen slammed his fist against the door. "Guys! Wrong house!"

"Eh?"

"Idiot," Mispy grumbled.

"Oops... wrong house." Demitri's voice got louder.

"Oi, Owen!" Gahi knocked what might have been his fist, or his head, or maybe his tail, against the door. "Open up!"

"I can't."

"What? Are they keepin' you imprisoned in there?!"

"No! I, uh, I just... can't reach the button to open it."

Silence.

"Okay, well..." Gahi stumbled over his words, "Demitri, how about you force it open?"

"I—I'm not gonna do that!"

"Well how else're we gonna get in?"

"...Wait for Hakk," Mispy deadpanned.

"That's the smart answer," Gahi growled. "I ain't gonna wait that long."

"But shouldn't we do the smart answer?" Demitri asked. "The door might be expensive to make, and, um..."

"Maybe there's a window we can get in through..."

"Too big," Mispy said. "And you have to break in."

"Well, mister muscle here ain't gonna do it!"

"Sorry..."

Owen was, at this point, repeatedly bumping his forehead against the door.

"Alright, I got an idea," Gahi said. "Hang on, Owen!"

"What? Gahi, if you're going to break anything, don't. Hakk and Xypher are just normal Pokémon here!" He frantically scanned the room for something to reach the button with. "Some of this stuff looks really expensive!"