Dungeon 19 – The Last One Standing
by Navar“Oh? So you can fight?” The Bisharp smirked, looking at the two enemies. “Delightful! I wouldn’t have it any other way!”
I gotta get out! This is too much! Napoleon thought, if he escaped, he would be fine.
“Hey kiddo, I know you can copy moves… So watch this!” Apollo charged against Flint, his body in flames.
“Hehe, yeah! Let’s go!” Brian grinned, copying the detective’s attack, launching himself against Flint too.
“Napoleon, now! We have a chance!” Flint’s arm glowed pink as he prepared to strike both of his opponents.
Or maybe I should consider another option, smiling, the aquatic Pokémon created the watery swords in his fins, but instead of aiming at the cop, he threw them at his ally.
Taken by surprise, Flint couldn’t do much and received a direct cut that even pierced his body armor, causing him to fall. Irritated, he got up, looking for who had hit him, when he was caught by the flames, crying in pain.
“What was that?! He just shot his friend!” Brian gasped, backing away after the move hit.
“It’s every mon for themself!” Napoleon didn’t hesitate, preparing to strike again his former ally if needed.
“I have been friends with you all these years and this is how you repay me?” Flint growled , despite the burning feeling on his body. “Right, as I suspected… you’re not even worth the ground you walk on.”
Brian didn’t know how to react, his eyes widened, trying to decide if he should trust the Empoleon or not. Maybe it was a trick, and he was just being deceived. Apollo looked at the Zoroark, lowering his ears.
“Hey kiddo… I know what you’re thinking, but we should give it a shot!” The Arcanine growled.
Away from them, both Lance and Atlas were fighting inside of a corridor where one could see a lava cliff on the end of the tunnel, so deep nobody could see the bottom of it. The newly-evolved Lucario ran with a blue sphere in his hand, ready to attack the Aggron.
Atlas growled, before letting out another roar, throwing his enemy away. Lance couldn’t care less,the Lucario just laughed as the mercenary ran on all fours towards him. The explorer could sense his enemy’s aura literally exhaling from all the rage the Aggron was feeling. And Lance smiled.
“Heh! You’re such an idiot! Too slow to deal any damage to me!” Lance backed away, standing on his feet with a wide grin.
He was toying with him. That brat was toying with Atlas, like a wild Pokémon chasing their prey. The Aggron growled, his tail slapping on the ground. This was the one enemy they were chasing all this time? Perhaps it simply wasn’t worth the effort. Atlas thought, trying to decide if he should just quit.
There was no time to ponder that, however. Lance stomped the ground, a shockwave coming through the floor like an earthquake, and Atlas had no way of reacting besides screaming in pain as he fell to his knees.
“Like I said, an idiot… Seriously, how did you guys get all those jobs, being so incompetent?” Lance smiled, cracking his knuckles.
Atlas tried to stand up, but the super effective attack forced him to stay on his knees. Smiling, Lance approached slowly, carrying another sphere on his paw. Seeing that, Atlas opened his mouth, firing a red energy beam in his enemy’s direction, who dodged by ducking.
“Wow, that was close, huh? Guess I underestimated you after all, criminal scum.” Despite his words, the Lucario kept his cool. He was enjoying this, controlling where the fight would go left his blood pumping.
“You may think that… by having effective attacks, you’ll win,” Atlas stood up, panting. His body had a few cracks due to the attacks, and some drops of blood spilled out from them. “But I’m not gonna let some random brat take control over my life! Someone who has it all!”
The Lucario growled at that sentence, his body suddenly glowing with a blue aura that spread around himself like a coat of flames. Lance lost his cocky attitude, wanting nothing more than to finish that battle as quickly as he could.
“You don’t know anything about me or what I went through. Having suffered in your childhood does not give you the right to all the crimes you committed!”
“I had to do this to survive!” Atlas punched the wall with all his strength, but he was weakened enough that it barely left a mark. “You’re an explorer, I lost everything!”
Lance kept looking at him, and his mere glare sent shivers on Atlas. “I heard what happened to your hometown, it’s tragic… but it doesn’t matter! Your choices after that event led you to this path! This is your responsibility!”
“Shut up… shut up… SHUT UP!” The Aggron’s claws stretched out, shining in a blue tone and he launched himself at Lance.
The other four opponents continued to be engaged in a fierce fight. Now that there were three against one, Flint started to fight on the defensive against their attacks, muttering to himself. However, he kept calm, as any recklessness could have dire consequences.
“Alright…!” Brian took a deep breath, releasing a wave of flames against Flint.
At the same time, Napoleon ran as fast as he could, his body glowing pink as he got near the Bisharp, who prepared to dodge the flames and counterattack. Flint rolled on the floor, and created a large blade on his arm, striking the Empoleon.
However, Napoleon’s body started to shine with a red light, splitting apart in the air. The Bisharp’s eyes squinted as he realized the illusion. Staring at the Zoroark, Flint yet again prepared to strike, when his enemy disappeared into thin air.
“Well, it seems you like to fight dirty, kid,” Flint smirked.
“Says the guy who murders and robs for a living!” Flint heard a voice from behind him, just before he got hit by fire.
Now with his body burning, the Bisharp screamed in pain. It was clear that if he wanted to survive, he would have to do something soon. Throwing his backpack on the ground, he looked at the inventory. There were a few more orbs, and he grabbed the first one with force. Suddenly, the sphere turned into a Butterfree, which flew away, until it fell apart in a flash of red light.
“I really… hate this! But listen, can I at least see my friend before you lock me away in jail?!”
The field itself was enveloped by a red light, undoing the entire illusion, and forcing Flint to close his eyes to protect them from the crimson shine. When he opened them again, he saw that Napoleon was in front of him, smiling. Behind him were Apollo and Brian, still in combat positions, prepared in case they needed to intervene.
“So that’s the end? We go to prison,” Flint couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“No… I’m gonna be free! You, on the other hand…” Napoleon shrugged.
“Let’s forget this small fight and finish both of them. I can… give you my savings, don’t you want them?” Flint backed away, forcing a smile.
“Tsc, you idiot,” he looked away, trying to ignore the deal. “How did we even become friends?”
“We… didn’t have anyone else, Napoleon. We still don’t.”
“Sorry to interrupt your little reunion here, but… I’m arresting you two now!” Apollo took a step forward.
“No, we–” Napoleon stopped talking, screaming, feeling a pain coming from his chest. Looking down, he saw a blade poking out from his abdomen.
“This is Guillotine. Normally, it would just knock you out. But to be fair, I’m done with you,” Flint removed his blade.
“Y-You…” Napoleon fell to the ground, dead.
Brian screamed, the situation got out of control and it was all his fault for having believed in Flint. Because of his mistake someone had died. The Zoroark’s body glowed red as he made yet another illusion, rendering him and Apollo invisible.
“You don’t have more things in your arsenal there, do you?” Flint looked around, pretending not to care about any of that. “I’m getting tired of it… it only proves how pathetic you are. Depending on tricks all the time…”
“Shut the fuck up!” Two blue eyes shone in the middle of the pitch, staring at Bisharp.
“This is our chance… Brian!” Apollo shouted, preparing another Flame Charge to use against the Bisharp.
Brian copied the move once again and both simultaneously rammed against the Bisharp, who yelped as he took the dual attack, being knocked out instantly. Undoing the illusion, Brian was hyperventilating, tired of all that fight, and looked at the body on the floor, crying. It simply wasn’t fair for him. He had been kind enough to try and help both of them, but…
“He killed his friend!”
“I’m… sorry kid, but that’s… what happened. Are you okay?” Apollo whined as he got near Brian.
Of course he wasn’t okay. Who could be? Brian was shattered. His breath turned raspy, and he shed a tear. This shouldn’t have happened. It really shouldn’t. And Atlas? Oh no, Atlas was still fighting!
“I… have to find Lance!” Brian wiped his tears away and ran off, his sibling was more important now.
Lance tried to cover the Aggron’s attacks but still took the damage, screaming in pain and starting to bleed from the cut. Now being a Steel-type in a magma cave, he was sweating a lot.
As long as I don’t stay near the lava, I’ll be fine! Lance wiped some of the sweat from his forehead, barely dodging another attack.
“S-Stay still! You little shit! I’m gonna kill you!” Atlas roared, trying to hit him with another Dragon Claw.
“I’m sure you would love me doing that, but we’re in a battle!” Lance leapt back, laughing.
“I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!” The Aggron roared, throwing a thunderbolt at Lance, who screamed as he was unable to dodge the attack.
The Lucario panted, feeling the shock running through his entire body. Even if he felt pain, he was happy. The combat thrilled him, and he was still taking the lead of that battle. Lance smiled.
“Right… I got tired too… but I have to make sure of one thing first!” Looking at a vulnerable section of the ceiling, he shot that spot, making the rocks fall and seal the way behind.
Atlas gasped, confused at the lucario’s actions, but then grinned. Both of them were now trapped, as far as he could tell.
“I’ve never seen a Lucario as crazy as you, kid!” The Aggron charged yet another Dragon Claw.
“And I’ve never seen an Aggron be so stupid!” Lance jumped to avoid the attack, another Aura Sphere on his hand.
Atlas was hit by the move and screamed. The impact generated a cracking noise as the Aggron’s armor broke apart where the ball had hit, the cracks spreading all over his body. The attack was so strong it pushed the mercenary back, near the cliff.
“No… I don’t deserve this!” Atlas tried to move, but his body didn’t respond. He got more desperate at each attempt, seeing that the Lucario got near him.
“Quite the contrary. You are pathetic and despicable. You are causing harm and for that… you deserve to die.” Lance looked at him, his expression was stoic, but, internally, he was overjoyed that his plan had worked.
“Who do you think you are? You can’t kill me, you’re a member of an exploration team!” Atlas begged, trying to stand up.
“For the world to be a better place, sacrifices are necessary,” he closed his eyes. “And I intend to do that. I am an ally of justice, and you… you need the proper punishment.”
“E-Even so! You won’t get away with this! That cop will end up arresting you!”
“Between you and me, who is more reliable in the eyes of the law? And better yet, I can get rid of the body with that lava there,” Lance looked at the pit, a grin appearing on his face. “This is gonna be my first step towards a better world.”
“No… I refuse to die!” Using all the strength he had, Atlas stood up, roaring and advancing against Lance.
The boy just grumbled, and with another sphere in hand, hit Atlas right in the stomach. The cracks of before extended, covering his whole body as he cried out in pain, being thrown to the bottom of the abyss. As he fell, he thought about what he had done during his entire life. All the things that happened, all the Pokémon he met, it was all going away, melting in the lava. He screamed, magma pouring inside his mouth. Until finally, the noise stopped.
“Well done, Lance.” He said to himself, before walking away.
Brian was walking through the halls of the dungeon, looking for his brother in every corner while he camouflaged himself not to call the attention of any of the wild Pokémon that roamed the corridors. The screams then made their way to his ears, and he turned around, going towards the source of the sound.
What happened? I hope he’s okay… Brian stopped, seeing the rocks that covered the place where his brother was.
The rocks broke apart, clearing the path. Lance walked out and looked at his brother, ears dropping immediately.
“Lance! Thank Arceus you’re okay! When I heard the screams…” Brian stared at the end of the hallway, looking for Atlas.
“That… was Atlas. He fell into the lava and died…” The Lucario looked at the ground, pretending to be sad, even shedding a tear.
It just got worse for Brian, as he already had seen a Pokémon die that day. The Zoroark began to cry again, when he got a hug from his brother, who didn’t say anything, just trying to comfort his sibling.
“Th-That Empoleon is also dead!” Brian couldn’t take it anymore. “H-His friend… he killed his friend! Right in front of me! And… And it’s my fault! I-I trusted him!”
Lance sighed, rubbing his brother’s mane. It was for the best that the Lucario kept quiet, just letting Brian vent.
“Brian. They did this to themselves. If they didn’t trust each other, they weren’t a real team,” Lance looked back and let his brother go, walking towards the exit.
The Zoroark stood there for a few more seconds, before deciding to follow the Lucario.
On the outside, the Arcanine was waiting for the two of them and near him were some policemon, taking Flint into custody and putting Napoleon’s body on a stretcher, covered so they wouldn’t have to see it. When he spotted the boys, Apollo approached them, lowering his ears a little.
“Are… you okay?”
“My apologies. I was on adrenaline, I didn’t think straight and because of that… I ended up warping. And as for Atlas… he fell and melted in the lava,” the Lucario looked away, his body trembling.
“He died too?!” Apollo sighed. Somehow things had gotten even worse.
“We won…” Brian looked at the sky, after all that, their battle was over.
But for the Zoroark, it was a bittersweet victory. With both of the deceased Pokémon on his mind, Brian began crying again. His brother, on the other hand, looked away, satisfied with his actions against Atlas, but decided to keep Brian in the dark about that part.
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