Dungeon 23 – This is a test

Walking through the streets alongside the Marowak, Lance began to ponder what Scar meant by “test”. Was it another mission? Was it a battle? An investigation? That made him curious, especially because the Marowak refused to answer when Lance asked before.

“Hm. I think we’re getting close to where we need to go.”

Lance twitched his ears when he heard that, recognizing the street they were in. “The hospital? Wai—”

“Precisely. You’re a Lucario, a species that has a natural affinity to aura. With that being said, I’m curious to the extent of your abilities…”

The Lucario backed away for a few meters, that story had just gotten weirder for him.

“Please, don’t be scared. We are merely questioning Miss Amy, the Mawile we rescued.”

“Of course,” Lance rolled his eyes. “Yes, why not use the empath to get answers?!”

“I understand your frustration. But consider this: she has been in the same situation as you once were, don’t you think she needs closure as well?”

Lance clenched his fist. As much as he didn’t want to admit, Scar was right; what happened to him and all the other test subjects was awful, and he was lucky to have escaped that hellish place.

“I-I…” He took a deep breath, looking up.

“Time is a luxury we don’t possess, Mister Williams. Are you sure you want to brood right now?” Scar sighed, looking at him. “We’re doing the right thing, but we’re also on the clock. If we take too long here, that Gallade will continue his plans, whatever they may be.”

That last sentence hit Lance like a Steelix, and that was all he needed to hear. Scar was right, he understood how that Mawile felt, and because of that, he needed to help; with a newfound resolve, Lance nodded.

“Let’s go. I’ll pass your little test. And… Thank you, for reminding me of my motivation.”

“Very well.”

---

After entering the hospital, the duo went to the reception, and right there was a male Indeedee, who looked at them with a smile.

“Good morning,” Lance said. “My companion and I are explorers, well, I am, he’s a member of a rescue team. Anyway, we need to talk to Miss Amy, she’s a Mawile.”

“Oh, explorers? She’s recovering, so I suppose you can talk to her, but… Please don’t take too long. Her room is at the end of the corridor.”

“Don’t worry. We won’t,” Scar nodded, entering the large corridor alongside Lance.

Lance gulped a bit as he stared at the large hall filled with rooms for the patients; he couldn’t help but remember when he was trapped inside that awful prison, causing the Lucario to tremble for a bit. Regardless, he was there for a reason, and needed to move forward.

“I can tell you’re anxious, Mister Williams.”

“Oh, really? Well, this isn’t easy for me…”

Scar looked at Lance straight in the eye, keeping his smirk.

“Understandable. But well, if you want to quit, the time is now. So tell me, mister Williams, will you face your shadows or will you give up?”

“This again. What made you so fixated on me?!”

Scar chuckled. “Well, I think this place needs more Pokémon like you, who are willing to make it better. As I said before, be the change you want in the world.”

Lance flinched, all of his actions flashing inside his head. He began to wonder what he could have been if his life was different; perhaps if the kidnapping never happened, Lance wouldn’t be the killer he was today.

“I…”

None of his teammates knew the truth, which only made him feel worse. What would his brother think? And what about Meggie? She wasn’t a close friend for him to reveal all of that. At least not yet.

“It seems you are having troubles deciding this. If I may ask, what’s happening?”

“Nothing.”

“Well, Mister Williams, for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing a good job. I’m not sure what’s bothering you,” Scar nodded, then continued to walk. “But I’m here to support you, considering you’re also the victim here. Do you understand?”

Lance sighed, so that Marowak was supportive of him? Yet, that didn’t remove the uneasiness inside Lance’s heart, especially when he pondered how his teammates would react.

I did it for the greater good… He thought.

Finally, he sucked it all in. All the anxiety, all the panic, Lance ignored all of that and continued to walk along the hall.

---

Amy stared at the large window her room had. The last day was little more than a haze for her, but at least she wasn’t in that awful place again. Yet, the Mawile flinched; there were still others that needed help, and she was lucky to have escaped.

“Hello, Miss Amy?” Someone knocked on the door.

She cringed, thinking if she should ignore that; despite her consciousness screaming for her to run away, Amy smiled. “Please, come in!”

Lance was the first to enter; hospitals were never a place he liked to visit, but for the moment, that was pointless. He approached Amy and sat down on one of the chairs.

Scar, on the other hand, stood up, waiting for the interrogation to be over.

“Good morning,” Lance said, forcing a smile, trying to make her feel welcomed.

It had the opposite effect; Amy flinched and looked away.

“H-Hello, you are…?” She asked.

“Lance. Lance Williams, leader of Team Liberators,” Lance said, looking at her before continuing. “And I’m here to ask you a few questions. Please, I mean you no harm.”

“O-Oh, really? I’m sorry, I don’t remember anything from when I was kidnapped!”

Lance sighed, he didn’t even need to use his aura to know that was a lie. “I’m sorry, miss, but… I never even said you were kidnapped, and you already jumped to that.”

“I-I, look, please, I don’t want to talk to anyone about that, I just want to—”

“Forget it ever happened? As if it was nothing more than a nightmare…” He sighed, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

“Wha… What? How do you… Know that?” Amy blinked, suddenly wanting to ask that Lucario so many questions.

“I was there too, only… Nine years ago. A Gallade, correct?”

Amy grabbed the sheet, clenching it tight; so that boy went through it as well? Like her, he was a survivor.

“And… How did you escape?”

“They threw me in a dungeon, you?”

“Apparently that Gallade wanted a more practical test, and sent me with some grunts,” she sighed, looking down.

“I understand. Look, it’s hard, but trust me, it gets better.”

“How?!” Amy screamed, tears were streaming down her face. “How does it get better? There’s so many others… Oh, Arceus, I shouldn’t have survived, they deserved more than I do…”

Lance closed his eyes, that sentence also stung him. Survivor’s guilt wasn’t something he had, but regardless, anyone would come out of that place with some form of trauma.

“I’m going after him,” Lance stood up, looking straight at her face. “I’ll find him and I’ll make sure he won’t do anything like this ever again!”

“Yo-You will?! Please! Save them, save all the others!”

“Of course, you have my word, miss. But also, I need your help… What do you remember about that place?”

“There was… Some rubble? I’m sorry, I remember being dragged to a place filled with debris.”

“Debris, huh? Well, thank you anyway, Miss Amy,” Lance nodded, walking towards the door with Scar. Before he left that place, however, he looked back, smiling. “I promise you, we’ll end this…”

Both went outside, Lance was back to his usual stoic self. After they were far away enough from the hospital, Scar patted Lance on his shoulder.

“What? What is the meaning of this?” Lance blinked, backing away.

“I didn’t know you had it in you, Mister Williams. Congratulations, you passed my test,” Scar smiled, continuing to walk. “I look forward to working alongside you in the future, and hopefully we can stop this mad mon.”

---

Meggie and Lilith entered the police station. Since the boys headed to the hospital, it was up to them to gather intel with the police; and so, after talking to the secretary, they went to detective Apollo’s room, soon finding the Arcanine sitting on his desk, focused on the papers he was reading.

“Hello, detective! It’s me, Meggie!” The Snorunt said, waving to him.

Apollo twitched his ears, looking at them. “W-Whoa, I didn’t expect to see both of you here! How are you doing?”

Lilith grinned, approaching him. “Hello, detective. My friend and I are looking for the case files on the missing Pokémon, we’re going to take this mission.”

Apollo barked. “Mission?! But there was no mission report, what are you talking about?!”

Lilith kept her grin, walking around the place, head raised.

“Oh, really? What a shame, I was sure I got the request from one of the survivors, what was his name again? Oh… Lance Williams.”

Apollo’s chin almost fell when he heard that, and the detective took some time to process all that. Lance never told him about that, but he must’ve had his reasons, right?

“H-Hm, understandable,” Apollo cleared his throat. “He asked for you to investigate his captor?”

“Yeah, he did!” Meggie spoke up. “Well, I’m his friend, I need to help… And I’ll do that, mister!”

“What about you, Lopunny? What’s your goal in this?!” Apollo growled at her.

“I’m a member of a rescue team, it’s my job, don’t you think? Anyway, since we’re investigating, we need the files, please.”

Apollo, defeated, opened a drawer, taking some sheets of paper and carefully placing them on the table. “Is that enough?”

Lilith picked the papers, chuckling for a bit. “Yes, that’ll do nicely, thank you very much, detective!”

“Oh, thank you!” Meggie sighed, relieved that they got those files so easily. “We’ll keep in touch!”

“Meggie, please. Be careful…” Apollo sighed, lowering his ears.

“Will do!”

---

One hour had passed since then, and now the group was once again sitting on a table at the guild. Now that they gathered the info they needed, both teams could discuss what to do with that information.

“I propose we wait again,” Lance said, crossing his arms. “You said you have Gengar acting as spies, correct? Well, if we can get their info, and add that to our own, we can come up with a plan.”

Scar chuckled, the green flame of his bone club flaring brightly. “That sounds like a good idea, Mister Williams. Lilith, how much longer until one of the Gengar comes back with info?”

Lilith scratched her chin, pondering. “I think one week, at the very least.”

“Well, that seems reasonable! Although I was hoping they would come sooner, there isn’t much we can do about it,” Scar nodded. “Now, we need to decide one more thing, who is going to guard the Emera? Such a powerful weapon needs protection, don’t you think?”

“Oh yeah, it causes… Mega Evolution, right?” Meggie tilted her head. For some reason, she felt that was familiar, despite having no memories. Because of that, she just assumed it was a human thing.

“That thing is weird,” Lance said. “The aura it gives makes me nauseous…”

“I can say the same, and I’m not even proficient with aura!” Lilith laughed, opening her purse to take out the stone.

“Hmph, perhaps you both are weak-minded, I feel nothing,” Scar added.

Meggie kept staring at that stone, trying her best to remember what it meant. Why did Lance and Lilith feel uneasy next to that Emera when no one else did? It was almost as if there was something common to them.

“Say… Lance, can I ask you something?” Meggie looked at the Lucario.

“Sure, go ahead,” Lance raised an nonexistent brow.

“When you were kidnapped, do you remember what other Pokémon you saw?”

“I-I beg your pardon?!” Lance gasped, growling for a moment, before calming down. “The Pokémon who took me was a Heracross.”

“Heracross, Lucario, Lopunny, Mawile, Gallade,” Meggie tapped the chair, working out something inside her head.

“What… Does that have to do with the Emera?” Lilith tilted her head. “Please, if you’re gonna add something, only do it if it’s important!”

“No, let her do that,” Scar said. “This is interesting…”

Finally, Meggie gasped, raising her head. “I know the answer! It’s because of your species!”

“…What?! Meggie, explain yourself,” Lance huffed.

“All of you have… Wait a minute…” Meggie stuttered, trying to think of the words. “Yeah, Mega Evolution! I know why that mon kidnapped you!”

“Like I said before, explain.”

“Lucario, Lopunny, Mawile and Heracross. They all have access to Mega Evolution! I can’t explain it fully, but… I just know it! If you use that Emera, you’re gonna evolve like that Mawile!”

“Interesting, little one, but how can you be so sure of that?” Scar questioned.

“I’m a—”

“She doesn’t need to explain that,” Lance said, interrupting his friend. “I… Understand Meggie, I’ll trust you on this. We’re teammates, after all.”

“Teammates, huh? Fair enough, Mister Williams, I’ll give you both the benefit of the doubt. So, let’s meet again next week, at this same spot?” Scar extended his arm to Lance, who shook it.

“Yes. We will.”

“Understood. As for the Emera, I’ll keep it to myself,” Scar added. “If what Miss Meggie is saying happens to be true, then I should be fine.”

---

A red Lycanroc ran around the town. He continued his stroll, until he found a building, checking the sign to confirm it was a bar, and after talking things out with a Roserade guard, entered the place.

Inside, the wolf took a few moments to check his surroundings: lots of mercenaries, some stared at him while he walked. The Lycanroc stopped, sitting on a table alongside an orange Lycanroc.

“Lunick, I see you’re here,” the dusk Lycanroc said, munching on a piece of what appeared to be steak. “Did you find out something about those teams?”

“Y’know, it’s super weird that we gotta eat that… I mean, that Tauros may not be sapient, but still… Well, whatever! I’m hungry!”

Lunick proceeded to also eat, with ferocity comparable to a wild animal. His brother, Sirius, wasn’t amused.

“Well, who’s to say it wasn’t sapient? For all you know, that feral Tauros was once a Pokémon like us, with hopes and dreams…”

“Hm?!” Lunick nearly choked on his meat, and immediately drank a glass of water to calm down.

“It was a joke, you idiot. Focus on the matter at hand!”

“For fuck’s sake, you scared the crap outta me, Sirius!” The wolf growled. “And the only thing I found out was that they were at the hospital, and then they went to that Hero guild!”

“Oh? I presume you didn’t spy on them, did you?”

Lunick’s ears dropped, and that was enough of an answer to Sirius.

“Look, I didn’t, I mean, I had a few short steps here and there… And I stopped to eat! A mon’s gotta eat!”

“Well, unlike you, I actually spent my time doing meaningful things, for example, this bar we’re in…”

“Yeah?” Lunick continued to munch on the steak.

“There used to be a lot more mercs here, but that Lucario… A lot were arrested by that Lucario’s team.”

“H-Huh, really? Damn, those guys do their job well.”

Sirius continued. “Having information on your enemy is a good thing. Did you get any useful one, apart from that?”

The red Lycanroc gulped. “Eh, not really. What’s our plan?”

“…Typical.”

“I just hope that Gallade won’t kill us…”

“Of course, we’re gonna succeed,” Sirius shrugged. “Now finish this meal so we can get out of here.”

“Yeah, yeah… And what are we gonna do?”

“Obviously, continue to spy.”

---

The night fell as Lance and Meggie returned to their apartment, but as they walked up the stairs, Lance decided to talk with her for a bit

“Meggie, I hope you’re right about this whole thing,” he sighed. “You being a human is weird enough, but… Are you sure you’re right?”

“Well, yeah! I mean, not 100%, maybe… 80%? Okay, I’m pretty sure it’s 60%!”

Lance lowered his ears. “That… Doesn’t help much.”

Meggie looked up, holding his hand.

“I want to help you, okay? You’re my friend, and what happened to you… If I can prevent the same thing from happening with others, then I’ll do it!”

Lance blushed, pouting. “O-Okay, but please, no hand holding! We’re just friends!”

She backed away. “Friends… Well, I like that. I’m not sure I’ll ever remember how I used to be, but… I think I’m happy living here, and learning new things.”

“Sometimes I wish I never remembered what happened, but yet, those nightmares…” Lance flinched, fur standing up.

“Hey, it’s okay! Brian and I are here for you!” Meggie smiled to him.

That act of kindness was enough for Lance to reciprocate and smile as well. “Well, Brian… Oh, I hope he accepts this mission, I got carried away and just took it without asking him.”

“I’m sure he will! He’s your twin, well, fraternal twin! But still!”

Lance walked up again, smiling more. “Well, I’ll handle him, like I always do. So… Good night?”

“Night!” Meggie opened her purse, taking the key to her apartment.

The Lucario smiled, opening the door to his home, and locking after getting inside. Like he thought, his brother was still on the sofa, even drooling on it.

You annoy me to no end, always cracking jokes, pranks and all that, but… I wouldn’t want anyone else to be my partner, even if I’m like this… Lance wondered, before getting inside his room.

That night, for what seemed to be the first time in forever, Lance slept like a baby, excited about what would come next.