"Meditation, you say…?" Desmond cocked his head to the side.

"Have you done it before?" Deepak asked.

"Once, I think…" Desmond replied. "Well, umm, how long are we going to be doing this…?"

"We'll do five minutes of meditation," Deepak said.

Desmond frowned and averted his eyes from Deepak. "And if it doesn't work…?"

"Don't worry about that. Some of the pups that come to me needed more than five minutes to relax fully. If it doesn't work, we'll increase the time to ten minutes, if that doesn't do it, we'll increase it to 15," Deepak reassured him. "Dante, for example, needed 15 minutes to relax."

Desmond jerked his head back at Deepak when he heard him say Dante's name. "Dante had to come to you…?!"

"Yes, he and I have meditated several times, actually. But last week, when he came to me, Dante was very distressed about something; he didn't tell what it was, though," Deepak said as he rubbed his ear.

"Aha, I see…" Desmond said. He then scratched his cheek as he got bothered by something. "Hey, umm, I know this might be a silly thing to ask, but how are you going to keep track of the time…?" He tilted his head to the side. "You said you'll be meditating with me, so surely, you won't be counting the seconds yourself, right…? Won't that get in your way…?" Desmond stretched his neck to look behind Deepak then turned around to look behind himself. "And I don't see an alarm clock here…"

Deepak pointed towards his door. "Look over there."

Desmond turned his head to see a clock, with an image of a sitting blue cat inside of it, hung over the door.

"I guess you didn't see it, but I do have a clock." Deepak giggled. "Though, it's not like I need a clock. I've been meditating for so long that on its own, my body knows when time's up; call it my natural alarm clock, if that makes sense, hee-hee!" He then closed his eyes. "Now, if you have no more questions, relax your body, clear your mind, and let us begin!"

Desmond did as instructed, and both he and Deepak began meditating. After a minute, Deepak perked his ears up as he couldn't hear Desmond breathing. He opened one eye to take a look and saw that Desmond had closed his mouth shut and barely took in breaths from his nostrils as his entire body shook.

"Desmond!" Deepak shouted, making Desmond jerk his head at him.

"Yeah…?" Desmond asked as he started panting.

"Why are you breathing like that?" Deepak asked, puzzled.

"Huh…?! Like how…?" Desmond wondered.

"Only from your nose, you weren't even doing it right," Deepak told him, "Listen, meditation shouldn't be putting a strain on your body. Breathing in such a way does exactly that; just do it normally."

Desmond started fondling with his paws as he gave it a thought. "Err, I might've been too focused on my thoughts to realize I wasn't breathing from my mouth…" Desmond said. "So there isn't a specific way to do this then…?"

Deepak put his paw on his forehead as he let out a sigh and hopped off the ball. "You said you've done this before, didn't you?"

"Well, I did, but it's not as if I took it seriously, and it was years ago, too…" Desmond said.

"Okay." Deepak sat down. "When meditating, silence is essential." He pointed to the window behind him. "That's why my window and door are closed right now; any external noises are only distractions. That is also why I don't use an alarm clock."

"Aha…" Desmond understood. "Well, I did it while my TV was on, hee, silly me…"

"Another thing is stillness," Deepak added, "Your whole body was shaking just now."

Desmond looked at his paws. "It's involuntary… It just happens randomly; I have no control over it…"

"I know, I don't blame you for it," Deepak said, "But, just now, you were shaking because you weren't breathing properly."

Desmond looked at the floor. "If you say so…"

"Let's give it another try," Deepak said with a gentle voice, "Relax your muscles from the paws up, stretch your neck if you have to. It's fine if you even leave your jaw hanging."

Desmond began to loosen up his muscles. It took him some time, but he finally managed to get his body to relax, at least as much as he could.

As it also seemed like that to him, Deepak continued. "Now, close your eyes and for a minute, stay like this without doing anything. It's fine if you fall asleep during this time. I've had this happen to some of my brothers and sisters. We'll just continue after you wake up."

Desmond let out a low giggle and proceeded to shut his eyes.

"You told me you were focusing on your thoughts, but I want you to focus on a single thought, and only on that one thought," Deepak told him, "That will be your mantra."

"Mantra…?" Desmond mumbled.

"Your mantra can be a word, sound, or a phrase," Deepak told him. He then jumped back on the ball. "As you lay, doing nothing, you'll notice how thoughts come and go without any effort. After that minute, start thinking your mantra as effortlessly as other thoughts come.

"For the next five minutes, repeat your mantra. As you do, thoughts will appear, and when they do, gently return to thinking your mantra again."

Deepak closed his eyes and began meditating along with Desmond. "And finally, do not try to put any effort into meditation; that will reduce any benefits, and will only put pressure on you."

After Desmond slowly nodded, both he and Deepak began to focus as they stood still in the silence of the room.

Dolly and Da Vinci were making their way to the living room. As they did, Dolly took notice of her sister's focused eyes and worried look. Sheesh! Why so tense, sis?

"Up or not? Up or not?" Dolly began repeating, trying to grab her sister's attention. "Which one? Which one? Whatcha think, sis?"

Da Vinci turned to her, as she got a little confused by what Dolly was saying. "About what?" She asked.

"Is Des up or not; off the couch or still laying on it?" Dolly replied.

"Don't know." Da Vinci answered as she pondered on the question. "I hope it's the former."

"You wanna have a bet on it?" Dolly made a small grin.

Da Vinci frowned at her sister. "Bet on it?! How can you bet on something like this, Dolly, when Desmond might still be unconscious?!"

"Might is the keyword here, Des might still be unconscious," Dolly told her, "I'm just trying to lighten up the mood with a little bet, Da Vinci. Why are you so tense, anyway? Ya know Des is in good paws with Dawkins and mom, so don't worry about it." A thought then crossed her mind. "Tee-hee-hee! Him being on your mind so much; someone might think he's your boyfriend or something!" She giggled and slapped Da Vinci on the back. "You're so cute!"

"H-Hey! As his teacher, I'm just worried about his health; it's what good teachers do, Dolly! Don't be ridicules now." Da Vinci said as she stomped on the floor hard. "Besides, it's not like you have luck with guys to be joking like that."

"Ahem!" Dolly coughed out then glared Da Vinci down. "Ya wanna repeat that, missy?!"

"You heard me." Da Vinci made a small smile and sped up her pace, moving in front of her sister.

Dolly grinned a bit to herself. Got ya to smile at least.

"Ya still sure ya don't wanna bet on this?" Dolly caught up to her. "I'll throw in ten pounds if you play~"

"Argh!" Da Vinci groaned then let out a low sigh. "Fine. I bet that he's gotten up."

"Then I bet that he's still laying on the couch," Dolly said.

The two of them reached the living room after a couple more steps. They both took a look and saw that there wasn't anyone in the room.

Da Vinci was relieved to see that Desmond wasn't laying on the couch anymore.

"Cool, Des came around then!" Dolly turned around and looked to the second floor. "They're probably up there."

Dolly tapped her sister on the back, getting her to turn to her, and gestured towards the staircase. The two climbed up to the second floor and headed for Deepak's room. Upon reaching the room, Dolly and Da Vinci refrained from knocking on the door, as they didn't want to disturb Deepak and Desmond if the two were in the middle of a session.

Dolly looked to the other side of the hallway and saw that Dawkins' room was opened. "Dawkins can get us up to speed."

"Right." Da Vinci agreed as they headed for their brother's room.

As they were nearing Dawkins' room, Da Vinci saw her blanket laying in front of her room.

My blanket? Da Vinci thought as she went for it. She picked it up and stared at it. "He even folded it for me." She grew a smile as she patted the blanket. Though, a moment later, she realizing where the blanket had been left. Oh, Desmond! Why did you have to leave it on the dirty floor?! Could have just left it on the couch, you know?

Taking a look in, Dolly spotted Dawkins laying on his bed, reading a book.

As if he'd be doing something else. Dolly thought then snickered. "Hello there! Bookworm!" She knocked on the opened door with a paw.

Dawkins pulled away from the book and turned his attention to her. "Oh, hey. What's the matter?"

"Da Vinci and I were just wondering what's going on with Des." Dolly walked into the room.

"Ah, yes! Well, Desmond woke up about forty minutes ago. He's with Deepak right now," Dawkins told her.

"Hear that, Da Vinci?!" Dolly spun her head and looked out of the room to her sister. "Your student's with Deepak."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard." Da Vinci walked into the room as well. "But, uh, is Desmond feeling any better?"

"I'm still not entirely sure," Dawkins said, "He's yet to show any symptoms like the ones that occurred three hours ago, but since the possibility is high, I left the door open, so Deepak can call me if those symptoms come back."

"Aha." Dolly turned to Da Vinci. "Guess ya win, then."

Dawkins rose his ear. "Win? What's this about?"

"Oh! Da Vinci and I were just having a bet on whether Des was still unconscious or not." Dolly replied.

Da Vinci sat down. "I'm just glad that Desmond decided to get some help."

"I was about to go ask Dante if he knows something more about this." Dawkins turned to his book again. "Right after finishing this book, of course."

"Know something? Dante?" Dolly scratched her chin. "What do ya mean by that?"

"You two remember Dante going to Deepak last week, right?" Dawkins asked, eyes still on the book.

"What about it?" Da Vinci said.

"Deepak told me that while meditating with Dante," Dawkins closed his book and looked at them. "He felt an odd, anxious sensation in his aura; the same sensation that he felt coming from Desmond's aura not thirty minutes ago, but with Desmond, it was worse." He jumped off the bed. "Since Desmond started feeling ill a week ago, the same time that Dante needed consolation from Deepak, I began thinking that both of them may have done something to result in this."

Dolly thought about it. "Dante did seem anxious, more than usual. I just thought that he got in a bad mood 'cause I made a party for his birthday."

Da Vinci nodded. "I know Dante doesn't like celebrating his birthdays but getting this stressed out over a party, quite weird."

"Right?" Dolly turned to her. "Thinking about it now, it did seem weird, very weird indeed."

"I'm going now," Dawkins told his sisters as he headed for the hallway. "Care to join?"

"Yeah, we'll come," Dolly said as she and Da Vinci joined Dawkins' side.

"Umm, the book?" Da Vinci asked.

"Finished it," Dawkins replied.

"Eh! Fast, ain'tcha?" Dolly glanced back at Dawkins' room.

"Was already at the end, Dolly." Dawkins looked to the side as the three of them reached Dante's room. Dawkins knocked twice on the door and waited for a reply.

"Come in!" Dante said from inside his room.

Dawkins opened the door and entered along with his sisters. As soon as they stepped in, the three dogs got struck by thick, hot air and quickly found it hard to breathe. Searching around the room with their eyes, they found Dante laid on his bed as he was gazing at the ceiling.

"How do you breathe in here?!" Dawkins quickly went to open a window, letting some fresh air in the room.

"What do you want?" Dante muttered as he shifted his attention to Dawkins.

Dawkins walked to the side of Dante's bed. "I'd like to ask you a question, and I'd appreciate it if you're honest; it has to do with Desmond's state." He sat on the floor. "Did you and Desmond do something a week ago?"

The hell?! Dante instantly jolted his body up when he heard his brother say this specific time, making him fret. He then replied, agitated, "Why a week exactly?!"

Dawkins noticed this sudden change of attitude in Dante, and continued, "You're aware when Desmond started feeling ill, aren't you?"

Dante hopped off the bed. "Yes, and?"

"When was the last time you went to Deepak?" Dawkins stood up and began circling Dante.

Dante didn't say a word and just glowered at Dawkins.

"It was a week ago as well, wasn't it?" Dawkins stopped in from of him and looked Dante in the eyes. "So, do you know what caused Desmond his problems?"

"Look," Dante averted his look from Dawkins. "Just because Desmond got sick the same time as I needed some time with Deepak doesn't mean I know a thing about his condition. Did the thought that this might be a coincidence not go through your head?!"

Dawkins nodded. "Indeed, it did. And I would have shrugged it off as just a coincidence, as well, until Deepak told me that both your auras felt similar; very similar. Deepak even thought that you two might've had some bad experience together."

Dante felt sweat running down his body as he listened to Dawkins.

"As we both know, Deepak's never wrong about these things," Dawkins said with a firm tone, "If you ask me, I think that you two did something that caused you both high amounts of stress; you went to Deepak and he helped you get over it, while Desmond's reluctance stopped him from seeking help.

"I've also been thinking that you two might've gone somewhere where Desmond could have contracted some sort of disease, resulting in his condition. I don't know for certain, but I believe it's one of those two possibilities."

Dante swallowed and stared at the floor.

Dawkins took in a breath and exhaled. "Dante, please. It's about Desmond's health. If you think you know something, anything, tell me so I'll know what to tell mum." He begged him.

Dante stood silent.

"Answer me, Dante!" Dawkins yelled as he made a heavy stomp on the floor. "Speak! Answer me! Come on!"

As she watched this, Dolly turned to Da Vinci and whispered to her, "Take Dawkins and go outside."

"What?!" Da Vinci said as she watched Dawkins shout at Dante.

"Ya see what's happening, don't ya?" Dolly pointed at their brothers. "We gotta break this up."

"Sure, but why must I also go outside?" Da Vinci turned to her.

"I'll get Dante to talk, but you and Dawkins must leave us alone," Dolly told her.

Da Vinci looked at her brothers, then turned back to her sister with uncertainty in her eyes.

"Just trust your big sis, alright?" Dolly smiled at her.

"Alright. If you can get him to talk," Da Vinci said then walked up to Dawkins and put her paw on his shoulder.

Dawkins turned his head at her. "What, Da Vinci?!" he shouted.

Da Vinci recoiled a little then said, "Dolly says she can get Dante to talk, but she wants some time alone with him."

"Excuse me?" Dawkins pulled his claws out and dug them in the wooden floor the second he heard this. "Why do we have to leave in order for him to talk?!" He pointed at Dante. "And only to Dolly?! Why?! Why won't you speak to me, Dante?! Come on! If you know something, speak! Are you just going to leave a person in need like that if you can help?!"

Da Vinci squeezed his shoulder. "Dawkins, please, let Dol—"

"NO!" Dawkins barked at her. "Not until he answers me!"

"Dawkins," Dolly put her paw on her brother's. "Let me handle this. Ya and Da Vinci wait outside, okay?"

Dawkins looked at Dolly with a hesitant look at first, but as he realized he was getting nowhere with this, he paused to try to collect himself. He scratched his head in irritation, then turned around and headed for the hallway.

Dolly then looked at Da Vinci and twitched her head towards Dawkins, gesturing for her to follow after him. Da Vinci went out of the room and closed the door, leaving Dolly and Dante alone.

Turning to Dawkins, Da Vinci sat beside him in the hallway and asked, "Why did you get so angry just now?"

"I just," Dawkins eyed the window at the end of the hallway as he gave it a thought. "Well... Can you believe this?" He looked back at his sister. "Someone is in a serious need of help and Dante's withholding information that could help me understand the problem!" Dawkins began tapping on the floor, furiously, as his body got hot from anger. "On top of that, he'll only talk to Dolly?! Why is he giving me such a hard time?! That damn dog is going to drive me mad!"

"Dawkins, please, calm yourself. Why are you getting so mad over this?" Da Vinci asked. "We don't even know if Dante actually knows anything for sure; you just assumed that he does." She pointed out.

Dawkins fell on the floor and let out a heavy groan as he put both his paws onto his head. "Why must they be so stubborn, both him and Desmond? I'm just trying to help here."

Da Vinci put a paw on Dawkins' back and started caressing him. I know you are, Dawkins. We all know.

"Look how much trouble he's causing us," Dante said under his nose and gritted his teeth.

Dolly jerked her head at him. "Who?"

"Desmond, who else?" Dante let out a low growl.

Dolly stepped to her brother's side and put a paw on his back. "Figured ya wouldn't want to talk with 'em around. "That place, Downhill street; there ya went a week ago, right?"

Dante started tapping on the floor with a claw. "You promised me you wouldn't tell anyone about that night, right, Dolly?"

"Of course. I keep my word," Dolly said, "But listen, Deepak's aura thingy doesn't lie. Dawkins also made a good point. If there is something ya know, ya can tell your big sis."

Dante sighed and looked Dolly in the eyes. "Dawkins' first guess was correct. I wasn't the only one to go there, along with Por—Desmond," He corrected himself. "Desmond also came along."

"He did then, did he?" Dolly said surprised. "That late at night?"

"Out of nowhere too, then he tagged along." Dante broke eye contact with Dolly and began walking to his window. "We went to the house numbered '13'. There, we had some…" He paused for a moment as he closed the window, wondering if he should tell what had happened in the house.

Dolly's eyes widened and she winced upon hearing the number of the house. Noticing Dante's sudden pause, she approached and sat beside him, then wrapped her paw around him. "Hey. Whatever it is; it stays between us. I just need to know what caused Des his problems."

Dante thought about it for a minute and decided to be honest with her. "It stays between us; not to be mentioned to anyone else," he sternly said, "While at that house, we stumbled upon a certain type of plant; a hallucinogenic one."

Dolly pondered a little on this. "I'll guess that it causes hallucinations then?"

Dante nodded. "We both pricked ourselves on it, causing us to begin having terrible illusion, for several hours, I think." He began to tremble slightly. "They were really awful."

Dolly held her brother tight when she felt him tremble. "Go on."

"We saw some things, very disturbing things." Dante took Dolly's paw and lowered it back on the floor. "That's why I needed some time with Deepak last week. That's also why when Desmond came today, he pulled me in the bathroom to talk to me; it was a secret we promised to keep with each other."

"I see?" Dolly understood. "And Des?"

"He was the same way. When he and I talked in the bathroom, Desmond told me that his stress could have something to do with the hallucinations; he wasn't sure himself about it, though. But if I were to guess, I'd say that he got traumatized by what he saw and that's what caused so much strain on him. I think—no, I know Desmond isn't actually sick of anything; he even told me this himself." Dante said with confidence. "What happened there, in that house, had an effect on Desmond's mind."

"Huh?" Dolly said, puzzled. "How can ya be so sure?"

"Because that was the exact reason I went to Deepak. At first, I began having troublesome thoughts running through my head after Desmond and I left Downhill street." Dante tappet his head with a digit finger. "But during that night, I had nightmares and couldn't fall asleep. The next day, remember? My birthday?"

"Uh-huh." Dolly nodded.

"Through the entire day, I felt very sick, but I didn't pay much attention to it, thinking I felt like that due to my birthday," Dante told her.

So that's why ya were so overly grumpy during your birthday. Dolly thought to herself.

"And then after one more night of nightmares and sleeplessness, I figured it was likely because of those hallucinations." Dante tsked, looking out of the window as the memory of Desmond, fainting and falling on the floor, emerge in his head. "Desmond probably thought the same and surged it off as no big deal, but unlike me, he didn't look for help when the problem began getting serious; it ate at him day after day, I imagine." Dante shivered again as another thought crossed his mind. Wonder if I would've ended up the same way if it weren't for Deepak?

Dolly slapped him across the head with her paw, making Dante yelp.

"What was that for?!" Dante yelled.

"'Cause of the stupid things ya do!" Dolly told him. "I expected ya to go have a look around the street, not go into that house. The hell were ya thinking?!"

Dante rubbed his head as he frowned at her. "I just wanted some fun that night. Having a stroll on the street wouldn't do it."

"So ya decided to get a kick out of entering abandoned houses?!" Dolly yelled.

"If this is about the rumors, I—"

"No, Dante, it's not about the rumors!" Dolly slammed her paw on the floor. "That house is old, and it's falling apart, and—" She stopped and sat down. "If ya got hurt while in there, what was I gonna do, huh?"

"But I didn't get hurt. As you can see, I'm fine," Dante replied while still rubbing his head. "Don't worry yourself with me, sis."

Dolly gently put her paw on top of Dante's head. "Does it still hurt? Sorry if I hit ya too hard."

"I've hit my head harder on concrete, don't worry," Dante told her.

Dolly started shaking Dante's head, side to side, a little. "At least you're fine as ya say ya are. Next time ya wanna go somewhere and want me to cover for ya, you'll tell me exactly where you're going and what you're doing. Understood?"

Dante snorted and eyed some of the pups that played in the backyard through his window.

Dolly shook his head harder. "Understood?" She repeated with a stern voice.

"Yeah, yeah, knock it off already!" Dante replied.

Dolly pulled her paw back and headed for the door. "Something that affected Desmond's mind, was it?"

Dante ran after her. "Hey, don't forget!"

"I'll leave the part where you entered that house and the hallucinations out, I know," Dolly assured him.

Dolly bit the handle, opened the door, and exited the room.

Dante shut the door after her. He then slammed his head against it as he thought about Desmond again. Damn idiot.

Dolly walked up to Dawkins and Da Vinci.

"Well?" Dawkins asked.

"Dante told me he's sure that Des isn't sick from anything," Dolly said.

"And how does he know this?" Dawkins asked, raising his ears.

"Earlier, when they were in the bathroom, Desmond told him that," Dolly said and sat down.

Dawkins gave it a thought. Sure, Desmond denied being ill, but I thought he was being stubborn and didn't want to admit to it; he wasn't lying? But then, why is his body in such a bad condition? Dawkins sat as well. "Then what?"

"Dante did admit that he and Desmond were somewhere last week," Dolly said, "He didn't tell me where though," She lied, "And there, Dante said that Desmond got traumatized by something."

"Traumatized, you say?" Dawkins rose his eyebrows. "By what? What's that something?"

"Heck if I know, Dante didn't tell me." Dolly lied again.

"Psychological trauma, is it then?" Dawkins murmured to himself.

Da Vinci picked up on this with an ear and turned to Dawkins. "You think so?"

"Yeah, it's not like any other option remains," Dawkins told her, "This could also explain Desmond's appearance; neglecting his health due to the high stress this trauma caused him."

Da Vinci dropped her ears.

"Dolly," Dawkins turned to her. "Why was Dante willing to talk only to you? Why was it a problem for Da Vinci and me to stay in his room?" He narrowed his eyes. "I find it weird. As if you wanted us out of the room because there was something only you and Dante knew and didn't want me and Da Vinci hearing it."

Dolly put a paw on her forehead. "Geez, always overthinking things, ain'tcha?" She huffed. "I wanted ya out of the room 'cause ya were yelling at Dante; ya two just can't talk without trying to bite each other's paws off, can ya?" she excused.

"Ah!" Dawkins looked to the side as he scowled. "Well, it's not my fault that he's such a—"

"Such a what?" Dolly glared at him.

"Ugh, never mind." Dawkins stood up. "Anyway," He looked towards Deepak's room. "I do believe Dylan made the right choice when he told Desmond to go to Deepak. If Desmond was traumatized mentally, relieving his mind via Deepak's meditation sessions should help start his healing; he needs to heal mentally before doing so physically." Dawkins then thought of something that made him bite his lip. "Though, I'm not sure if—"

Right then, the three dogs perked their ears up as they heard the click of a handle. They turned their attention towards Deepak's door as it opened.

Deepak came out, then closed the door behind him and leaned back on it.

"Hey, Deepak," Dawkins called out to him as he and his sisters ran up to the small pup.

Deepak turned his head towards them when he heard Dawkins call his name.

"What's the matter? Something wrong?" Dawkins asked as he approached him. "Why did you leave your room?" He looked towards the closed door. "Did you manage to help Desmond?"

Deepak blinked a couple of times before answering. "Well, umm," He looked to Da Vinci and Dolly. "As usual, I got Desmond to meditate," He looked back to Dawkins. "But then…"

Half an Hour Ago.

Meditating on his exercise ball, Deepak slowly opened his eyes as he and Desmond were reaching the five-minute mark. Without alerting him, Deepak hopped off the ball and silently landed on the floor. He made a few steps towards the still meditating Desmond but quickly backed away when he felt Desmond's dreary aura still flowing out of him. No change?!

"Desmond," Deepak said, "It's been five minutes."

Desmond opened his eyes and looked at Deepak.

"Your aura's still the same," Deepak told him, "But that's fine, after a minute, we'll try meditating for ten minutes."

"Alright…" Desmond laid his head on the floor.

A minute later, Deepak jumped back on the ball. Desmond rose his head, and along with Deepak, began meditating.

Deepak opened his eyes after ten minutes to check on Desmond again. He held his breath a little when he saw Desmond's body shivering. "That's ten minutes, Desmond!" He said with a worried voice. "How do you feel?"

Desmond fondled with his shaking paws, then snorted out and made a slight frown. "I can't do it…"

"Oh, no, no! Desmond, don't get discouraged! Listen," Deepak jumped down. "Remember what I said about Dante?"

Desmond nodded.

"I'm sure you're just the same case." Deepak smiled at him. "Come on, take a minute to rest and—"

"Actually, can I take a little more time to rest before meditating, this time…?" Desmond asked and drooped his head on the floor as he knitted his brows.

"S-Sure. Alright," Deepak said, then turned around and walked to the window. He took a look at the city outside as he thought, I don't get it. Sure, five minutes didn't do it, not that I expected them to, but usually, ten minutes works, or at least I see some kind of change with the others; with Desmond, however, there's no progress.

Deepak spun his head to take a look at Desmond. His eyes widened when he saw that Desmond had buried his face in his paws, and his body had begun to shake violently. Deepak quickly turned back to the window and leaned his head against the glass. This time, it has to work. It will work!

Letting Desmond rest for a few more minutes, Deepak took a glance at him and saw that Desmond had moved his paws to the side. Taking in a breath, Deepak walked back and hoped onto his ball. He looked down at Desmond and forced a smile. "Remember, focus on your mantra, right?"

"Yeah, I know…" Desmond replied with a raspy voice.

Both began their final meditation.

As time passed, Deepak found himself opening an eye every minute or so, to take a look at Desmond. With each look, he saw how Desmond's body trembled more and more. At one point, Deepak noticed Desmond extending and quickly retracting his claws several times; something that took him aback. As this continued, Deepak stopped meditating altogether and simply stared at Desmond as he balanced on the ball.

What's going on?! Deepak put a paw to his cheek. W-Why? Why isn't it working?! But there's still time. Desmond can do it. Even if he doesn't fully relax, a slight change is all I need to see, only that. I'll know; his aura will tell me. Come on, Desmond, show me that this works, that it helped you, please!

Just then, Deepak got startled and almost fell off his ball when Desmond sprang up, on his paws, panting and sweating.

"D-Desmond, wh—!" Deepak rushed off the ball. "Why did you stop?! It hasn't even been ten minutes yet. Why did—!"

"I can't, Deepak…!" Desmond told him through breaths. "I can't do this… I just can't…!" He dropped on his backside.

Deepak's ears pinned to the side as he watched Desmond, trembling and panting as if he'd faint at any moment. "Alright, alright! We're stopping!" He rose both his paws at him, gesturing for Desmond to calm down. "We're stopping."

Desmond hung his head and gazed at the floor.

Deepak stood, bewildered for several seconds before approaching Desmond. As he did, he could clearly feel the same somber aura coming from Desmond but couldn't stop himself from saying, "Do you feel any different, a little, at least?"

"Any different…?" Desmond rose his head up and glowered at him. "Do I look any different to you…?!" He snorted out and made a slight frown.

Deepak hung his head. "No."

"I'm sure you could feel it yourself, so why bother asking…?" Desmond said as he let out a light growl.

"I just thought that I might be wrong—" Deepak paused and thought, What am I saying? I'm never wrong about this. He then backed away from Desmond and looked towards the door. "L-Listen, you stay here, I'll be right back, okay? I need some time to rethink our session; I could be wrong about something." Deepak, hastily, walked to his door, opened it, and exited the room.

Present Time.

"... And so, I couldn't help him." Deepak told them as he felt his paws begin to tremble slightly. "I don't know what to do." He averted his eyes from them. "I'm s-sorry I couldn't do anything." Deepak started taking rapid, deep breaths.

Da Vinci went to him and wrapped her paws around him. "There, there," she said with a gentle voice, "Don't say such things, Deepak."

"Yeah, little bro." Dolly stroked Deepak's head. "Ya are good at fixing peoples' moods, so of course, ya can help him, c'mon now!"

Deepak looked Dolly in the eyes. "How, Dolly?! We've already spent almost thirty minutes meditating in total, and there was no change in him at all!"

Dawkins rose his paw at his little brother. "Now, hold on, Deepa—"

"L-Look!" Deepak broke from Da Vinci's grasp and pointed at the window at the end of the hallway. "Look outside! At the pups! Whenever they have a problem, they come to me and never leave my room without a smile." He ran up to Dawkins. "Right?!"

Dawkins nodded.

"There!" Deepak said as his bottom lip quivered. "Then, why?! Why won't my method work with him?!" He sat down. "It always does. It does."

Dawkins sat beside Deepak and put a paw on his shoulder. "I believe the fault isn't in you, Deepak."

"Of course, it is!" Deepak looked at the floor. "I said I'd help him; I assured him of it! But I couldn't do it; I think I may have made things worse even." Tears began running down Deepak's cheeks. He tried blinking them away before wiping them off with his paw. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but this has never happened to me before. I'm just a little confused."

Dolly came from behind and rubbed Deepak's back. "Come now, Deepak, how could you have made things worse?"

"Desmond didn't seem too pleased at the end," Deepak told her, "Not that I blame him."

"Deepak." Dawkins put a paw under Deepak's chin and lifted his head. "You're not the one at fault here; I believe that's Desmond."

"Wh-What are you saying?" Deepak asked, rubbing his left eye as he felt tears welling up in it. "Sorry, they just won't stop; I hate it when this happens."

Dawkins patted his brother's head. "Don't worry. I understand how you feel." He let Deepak wipe away his tears before continuing. "Now, listen to me. Did Desmond accept your help?"

"Yeah, of course, he did; Desmond decided to come to me for help himself, didn't he?" Deepak replied. "He wants to heal—"

"Is what he's telling himself," Dawkins said.

Deepak shut his mouth while Dolly and Da Vinci jerked their heads at Dawkins when they heard him say this.

"It's not uncommon," Dawkins told them, "Mum told me that this has happened with some of her patients, where medication or other treatments had little to no effect on them simply because they didn't believe it would work or didn't want to recover; I think this is Desmond's case."

"Well, what can I do if he doesn't want to get better?" Deepak asked.

Dawkins turned to the side, giving it a thought. He looked to the door and back to his brother. "Try to make him fully acknowledge it. Make Desmond want to recover. Can you do that?"

Deepak dropped his ears. "I don't know if I can." He looked down the hallway, towards Dante's room. "And Dante? Did you ask him? What did he say?"

"As I suspected, he had an idea of what was going on. Dante told me—" Dawkins glanced at Dolly for a second. "Told us that Desmond got traumatized." He walked up to the door. "And because meditation focuses on mindfulness, which is one way of treating this kind of trauma, I figured that leaving him with you was a good decision. But with you telling me that your session didn't amount to anything," Dawkins held his head. "I am, umm, surprised, honestly. I thought this would work." As he rubbed his head, Dawkins noticed his brother and sisters staring at him as they slightly frowned. "What?! Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You study medicine, so don't you know any other way of helping him, Dawkins?" Da Vinci asked.

"I've been mostly studying treatment for physical, not mental trauma," Dawkins told her, "I don't know all that much about it." He bit his lip. "Look now! Treatment varies from person to person; what works for someone won't necessarily work for another." Dawkins walked to the wall and leaned back on it. "But remember what I just said, if someone is unwilling to accept treatment, said treatment might not have an effect on them. Meditation may not work for Desmond for that same reason and not necessarily because it's the wrong treatment." Dawkins said, then started biting his claws as he began thinking things over.

Deepak sat as he eyed the floor, he rose his head to see the worried expressions on both Dawkins and Da Vinci, which made him feel somewhat sick.

Seeing how upset Deepak seemed, Dolly stepped in front of him "Hey."

Deepak looked up at her.

Dolly leaned her head down. "If ya can't do this, don't stress yourself over it, okay? We'll just wait for mom to come back; she'll fix Des up." She said and forced a tiny smile.

Deepak felt nauseous as he could sense that Dolly's aura was full of unease and uncertainty as she said this to him. Turning his attention back at Dawkins and Da Vinci to see their worried expressions again, Deepak's body twitched as a sudden wave of frustration shot through it. He stood up, rushed over to Dawkins, and tapped him on the leg. "I can do it. I'll get Desmond to accept my help," he said with a solemn tone.

This got Dawkins to raise his brows and stop biting his claws, he retracted them back then asked, "Are you sure you can do it?"

Deepak nodded, then headed for his door. Before entering, he sat, slowed down his breaths, and slapped his cheeks. Come on, come on! You've helped so many of your brothers and sisters; you can help him. Deepak entered his room and shut the door.

"It's odd to me," Da Vinci said, "Deepak has never failed at this before." She sat next to Dawkins. "Do you think he'll do it this time?"

"Have some faith in him, Da Vinci." Dawkins turned to his sister and smiled at her. "I'm sure his second attempt will give a positive result."

"Hope you're right about that," Dolly said, "'Cause his reaction just now did bother me a lot."

Dawkins looked towards his brother's room. Prove me right, Deepak.

As he was standing in front of the window, looking at the backyard, Desmond tilted his head to the side as he watched the pups.

It's cold here, Desmond…

I'm scared, we're scared…

I know, I know… Desmond thought.

I don't know if we can take any more of this…

There's barely any water…

And they don't give us enough food…

I understand… Desmond scowled. I'll get you out of there…! Don't fear, don't…

Get out of here, kid…

The guards will see you…

You don't want to end up like us, do you…?

Enough…! Desmond bumped his head against the windowsill. Enough, please… Trust me… I'll get you both out; it doesn't matter how… He looked at the pups again. It really doesn't matter how…

"Desmond?"

Desmond spun his head to see Deepak, who stood behind him.

"What are you doing?" Deepak asked, puzzled.

"What do you mean…?" Desmond replied.

"With my ball." Deepak pointed towards Desmond's right paw, which was rolling the exorcise ball, side to side.

Desmond pulled his paw back and looked at the ball with a bit of confusion. Turning to Deepak, he moved away from the window and the ball. "I, umm, I'm not sure… I don't remember moving the ball…" He shook his head and walked back to his sitting place. "Anyway, what now, Deepak…? Did you figure something out…?"

Deepak walked up to his window and looked through it. "What were you so focused on?" He looked at the buildings, the clouds, and towards the distance.

"Nothing really, I was just watching the pups play…" Desmond replied with a growl. "Now, come on…! Did you find what was wrong…? Was I mediating incorrectly…?"

I wouldn't forgive myself if I failed to help him. Deepak thought to himself then turned his attention at Desmond. "No, there was nothing wrong with your meditation," he told him as he started rolling the ball back to its place, "But I thought about it, and I figured that the problem why our session isn't working is because you aren't being fully honest with yourself, Desmond."

Desmond pulled his brows together. "I don't follow…"

I hope you're right about this, Dawkins. Deepak thought, then move a little closer to Desmond, making sure to leave a meter of distance, and sat down. "When you came to me, you did so with the intention of healing, right?"

"Yes, why would I come otherwise…?" Desmond replied.

Deepak pointed his digit finger at him. "You lie, Desmond."

"What…?!" Desmond scoffed.

"Not to me, but to yourself," Deepak told him, "I think that you don't fully wish to heal."

"Aha, got you…!" Desmond snarled at him. "It's my fault, then, is that right…?!"

Deepak recoiled a little. "I'm not saying—"

"You said that you'd help me…!" Desmond stood up and made a couple of steps towards Deepak. "And what…?! You're excusing yourself by saying that I'm the one to blame here, ah…?!"

"P-Please, not so close." Deepak backed away from Desmond.

Desmond clicked his tongue and moved back to his place.

"I'm not saying that you're to blame for this, Desmond," Deepak told him with a calm voice and sat down, "All I want is a little help from you here. Put your trust in me so that I can help you."

"I already did…" Desmond exhaled in frustration.

"Your aura just staggered, you aren't honest," Deepak said.

Desmond turned away from him. "I'm not going to repeat myself…"

Deepak sighed and hung his head; he scratched the floor a little with a claw as he pondered on a thought. After a while, Deepak rose his head and said, "Desmond."

Desmond fixed his eyes onto him.

Deepak stood himself up. "I give up," he said and began walking towards the door.

Desmond's ears jerked up, and he jumped on his paws. "Wha—YOU WHAT…?!"

"If you aren't willing to cooperate with me, I can't do anything to help you, Desmond," Deepak told him as he neared the door.

Desmond's eyes widened and his body trembled as he watched Deepak, who was a step away from exiting the room.