Dungeon 28 – Keep Holding On

The way back home wasn’t as pleasant as Lance hoped. Where once he was ecstatic to visit that large city, he now stood with his head lowered after the events that happened days ago. He needed some time to think, and so did his team; Meggie was also silent, while Scar held a book in his hands.

Even the weather was somber, rain clouds were forming high in the air and they could hear thunder every so often. Still, they entered the city, that familiar smell of steam making Meggie cough. Suddenly, Lance stopped, getting the attention of his teammates.

“I’m… going back home. You can meet up with the others,” he mumbled. “L-Look, I need some time for myself.”

“It’s alright, mister Williams. We’ll explain everything at the meeting. You deserve rest after… all that happened.”

Meggie nodded in agreement, and Lance walked away towards his apartment. As for the other two, they were now heading to the guild.

---

Away from everyone else, Lance was finally free to stop holding his emotions in. The more he approached the building where he lived, the more everything seemed to weigh on him. He was barely able to move at all, it was like a Steelix was sitting on his back.

I’m okay… this is just my brain saying things…! I’m gonna be okay!

He laughed to try and distract himself, but it was pointless. His mouth felt dry, and Lance bit his lips. Just a few more minutes of walking and he would get there! To somewhere safe, where could cry his heart out!

Just have to… keep holding… on!

Lance nodded, taking deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. If he kept doing that, his panic would settle down… right? At least it was what he hoped. He could still feel sweat running through his fur and dripping on the ground.

Eventually, he used one of the light poles to balance himself, nausea kicking in. No! Lance needed to move! The entrance was right in front of him, he just needed a little push.

Y-You… got this!

After what felt like hours, Lance finally got inside the building, going straight to his apartment.

---

Finding the rest of the group wasn’t hard for Scar. As soon as he went inside the guild, he could see Max and Brian playing a card game. He sighed and sat on the chair next to them. Meggie soon joined him.

“Whoa, heya, boss!” Max waved, giving his usual smile.

“Good morning!” Brian continued, shuffling the cards back into his bag. They didn’t need to know what he was playing, anyway.

Meggie looked down again. How would Brian react if he knew she was an acquaintance of Morgan? She didn’t want to know, at least for now.

“Where’s Lilith?” Scar asked.

“Oh, yeah,” the Electivire answered. “She, uh, she went to the hotel we’re in. Said she was tired.”

Brian chuckled. “I mean, we’re all tired, but sure! Anyway, what’s the news?!”

Max nodded, taking out the rainbow stone and the sphere. “We arrested two of the lackeys Morgan has, and we got one green orb, alongside one Emera!”

Meggie frowned. “That’s… great.”

“Oh yeah, I have something for you, Meg! We bought it on the way back!”

Brian smirked, taking out a cyan-colored stone from his mane and handing it to Meggie. She stared at it and put it on her purse.

“That’s a Dawn Stone! Perfect for your evolution!” He said.

“O-Oh, really? Thanks…”

“Anyway!” Brian shifted his look to Scar. “What did you guys find?”

Scar muttered something, and raised his head. Might as well tell the whole story.

“We found… Morgan. We had a fight, unfortunately, mister Williams… went berserk. He used the Emera and lost control of his… mega evolution,” he said. “Not only that, we also discovered two important things. First: he’s a human. And seco—”

Brian punched the table, his fur standing on end. “W-Wait. Lance went berserk?! Where is he?! Don’t tell me he got kidnapped again!”

Meggie shivered. “W-Well, he said he wanted to be alone… he’s home!”

“Just great! Did you get that Gallade?!”

Scar continued the explanation. “He got away. Lance, during his berserk state, began to absorb aura from one of his enemies. He—”

“Lance did what?!” Brian snarled. “What the fuck were you thinking?! He could’ve died!”

Scar looked directly into Brian’s eyes. His club’s flame burned brighter. “We are aware of that. It’s why we sent him to the hospital right away. Right now, he recovered.”

That made Brian calm down. He took a deep breath, when a thought came to his head. He had the means to break into Morgan’s HQ. He could end that right now!

“Got it, got it. Lance is… fine, right? His life is not in danger? Did I get that right?!”

“Well, yeah!” Meggie agreed. She didn’t speak much during the reunion, mostly because she didn’t know what to say.

“Alright, then!” Brian took the orb from Max and dashed away without saying anything. Screw that! Defeating the Gallade was more important right now!

“H-He’s getting away!” Max cried out.

That was the last straw. Meggie got out of the chair and followed him, running as fast as she could. Who cares if she knew the Gallade?! That was her friend!

---

The panic attack didn’t stop, even when Lance went to his bedroom. His heart almost felt like it would explode, he heard the beats, the sound was so loud he couldn’t hear anything else. With a slow pace, he jumped into his bed and turned around, staring at the ceiling.

Calm down, calm down, calm down! Please, nothing will hurt me!

His brain ignored that. Lance’s aura sensors were twitching like crazy, and his eyes darted around the room. He tried screaming for help, but no words came out of his mouth. Everything was so stimulating it only made things worse!

“D-Dad, mom! Please, anybody, help… m… e…”

A new problem arised: Lance was breathing manually, and he couldn’t stop it. All other thoughts shut down, and right now the only thing he could think of is to not stop breathing. Usually, that would mean a good thing, but the thought of death terrified Lance to the point he couldn’t move.

It was like he was alone in a void, slowly losing his mind to that panic. There had to be something he could do to stop it. Something. Someone.

Dad… mom, Brian, Meg… Uncles…

The ones who always supported him, even with all the problems Lance has. His breathing calmed down a bit, he remembered a time where he was just a little kid, playing with his sibling and reading books.

Y-Yeah, books are good…

That was working. Slowly, Lance was overcoming the crisis. He felt his heart normalize its beating, and the entire ordeal made him even more tired. Maybe he needed some rest after all.

---

Scar tapped the table, thinking. Letting Brian charge into the unknown was dangerous and frankly, stupid. But he had the right idea, going there would be worth it in the grand scheme of things. If only the Zoroark had agreed on letting someone go with him…

“Hey, boss?” Max tilted his head.

Now back to reality, the Marowak looked at his teammate, sighing. Well, they had to at least try to put some sense in Brian’s head.

“Maxwell. I need you to follow those two. I have a suspicion they want to raid whatever place that orb leads to.”

“Alright! Sure, I can do it!” He said, body crackling with electricity.

With that, the Electivire also left the building. Scar stood up, looking at the book he was carrying. He opened one of the pages, but the words… they didn’t make sense. Of course, it was an ancient book, written in a language he didn’t know. To help with that, he went in the direction of the hotel they were in, to find Lilith.

---

Despite walking on literal lava, Lance didn’t feel anything burning his feet. The worst part was that as far as he could see, there was only that burning magma. He kept walking, head lowered.

“What even is this place…?”

It came to him, that place was eerily similar to that one dungeon he was in months ago. The place where he killed one of the mercenaries he was chasing. If this was fate’s idea of karma, it had nothing better to do; Lance didn’t feel any remorse. He did the right thing.

“Or… did I?”

The lava moved, and before Lance could react, he felt something grabbing him. Looking down, he saw a rocky hand, much like an Aggron’s. He gasped, trying to pull himself away, only for another hand to show up, this one was scaly and green: a Servine.

“G-Get off me! L-Leave me alone, please!”

More and more hands grabbed him, dragging Lance down the lava. He looked up, seeing the faces of his family and friends, they all looked down on him, disappointed in his actions.

Lance shivered while the lava drenched more of his body, and a small tear appeared on his face.

Something pulled him out of there and ragged Lance to solid ground. He coughed and saw his savior: a Tyrunt. The small Pokémon had a happy smile and was holding a paper with the mission request.

“Y-You’re that one… that asked me to solve your dad’s case…!”

“Thank you, mister! Daddy can rest in peace!”

Lance tilted his head. “I… did good?”

---

He woke up in cold sweat, screaming to himself. Lance groggily stood up, before dizziness hit him and he fell down to the bed again.

Was his dream trying to tell him something? To ease his pain, perhaps. Nonetheless, the murders he committed still stung to him, but right now, he felt a bit better.

I… maybe I’m not in the wrong. Maybe, just maybe… I am really doing the right thing. Am I?

His thoughts shifted to the hospital he was in a few days before, where he confessed everything. Scar seemed to be the only one who would support him.

Lance covered his face with his paw and closed his eyes, trying to sleep again.

---

Brian kept running as fast as he could, even with the heavy rain that began to fall on the city. His mane was damp, even covering most of his forehead. Brian shook the fur off his face and continued, stopping in the middle of a bridge.

“This should do it!”

He held the orb on his hand. This was it, wasn’t it? He could just smash that thing and teleport to Morgan’s HQ. Where he would find and beat the crap out of him! That was his goal, that Gallade had gone unpunished for too long!

If Lance was here, he would say that I’m being reckless… but I’m doing this for him!

Brian was smart, and would think of a plan eventually. He had to. Going in there blind wouldn’t work, he knew it. Thunder struck again, and he flinched.

“W-Whoa! Geez, is Kyogre that mad?!”

Just him in that mission. It was crazy, but he’d done crazier things. Like pranking one of the teachers at the guild, leaving him with a suspension. Sure, his dad wasn’t happy, but that was a fun prank.

“Oh well… enough with the memories!” Brian shook his head, and heard the sound of footsteps.

Behind him was Meggie. She looked down on the ground and was waiting for Brian to speak with her.

“H-Hey! You followed me, huh? Sorry Meg, but I have to do this by myself!”

“…No.”

“What do you mean no?! That guy has kidnapped children again! I have to stop it!”

Meggie raised her head, showing the tears that she had. She approached Brian even more, rubbing the tears off her face.

“I-I… I know him. I know the Gallade. He’s human… like me.”

His response was a mix of shock and anger. Brian stared at her, eyes widening.

“You w-what? How?!”

She continued. “I don’t… remember exactly, but I’m pretty sure I used to work for him.”

He snarled, forming a ball of ghostly energy on his hand. He aimed at Meggie, the snarl got louder.

“You work for the mon that ruined my family?! Meggie! I thought I could trust you!”

She shivered. Of course that would be his reaction. Who would accept that? Who would accept… her? She didn’t even flinch. Instead, Meggie stayed where she was, only looking at Brian.

“Sorry… I don’t remember it, but for what is worth… I want that Gallade gone too!”

“S-Shut up!” Brian fired the Shadow Ball, but it hit the floor instead. He panted.

Meg backed away. “Brian, I saw what he does! I may have known him before, but… I’m nothing like him! Please! We’ve been friends for six months!”

She took the team’s badge and showed him it. Her hands were shaky, and Meggie was barely able to hold the badge.

“Do you have any idea how much this hurt my brother?! He was never the same after that day!” Brian shouted, raising his claws in the air.

“I promise… I’ll do everything I can to stop him! Lance knows about this, and… well, he’s fine? I-I mean, not emotionally fine, but still…!”

Brian stopped. Even if she did work for him, she had no memories, and surely Lance would let him know if he sensed something weird about that girl, right? He was acting on impulse, she was his friend… Brian lowered his arm.

Meggie’s purse glowed in a bright, blue light for a few seconds, before stopping. “I-I’ll go with you! I don’t want… anyone to die anymore. I don’t want that scientist to harm anybody else ever again!”

But if she was a criminal, Brian could make the same mistake he did with the steel ones: trusting them. “I… let’s make a deal, Meggie. I’ll let you come with me, but if I see any signs of you betraying me… I’ll take you out!”

Meggie sighed, defeated. “That’s not exactly what I had in mind, but… thank you. I accept those conditions. Brian, We got this!”

“Congrats, y’all!”

Max was there with them as well. He clapped his long, yellow hands and approached the two.

“Oh, hey…” Brian said.

“I can see you’re going to break in! I love that, can I come too?!”

Meggie frowned. “Oh, yeah. We are allies. Brian… what do you think?”

The Zoroark was already grinning. He planned to do that mission alone, but the more, the merrier! So Brian nodded, raising his arm that was holding the orb.

“Are we all ready to kick some ass?!”

They all agreed, and Brian smashed the orb into the ground, transporting them all away.