Dungeon 29 – The Vengeful One

The sound of something breaking made Brian wake up. He got out of his bunk bed, cursing his quadruped stance and took a look around. Right in front of him, Lance was on his knees, and Brian saw him crying, smoke coming out of the Riolu’s paw, and the carpet had scorch marks.

“L-Lance… are you okay?”

He raised his head, blue energy coming out of his paw. Lance backed away, but could hardly move before trembling in fear. Whatever happened with him, Brian could tell he was panicking.

Brian gave one step ahead, causing his sibling to back away again. “H-Hey! You’re gonna be okay! We’re safe in our house, Lance! Nobody’s gonna attack you!”

“Leave me ALONE!” Lance cried out, his Force Palm dissipated and he fell on his knees again, crying.

“Did… you have a nightmare again?” his ears drooped.

No words came out of Lance’s mouth, only serving to confirm Brian’s suspicions. He bit his lip, pulling his brother in a tight embrace. That was exactly what Lance needed right now, Brian knew it.

The fox hugged him tighter. “Don’t worry… I’ll… protect you! Nothing like that will ever happen again!”

Lance nodded, but Brian knew he didn’t believe him. At that moment, he could hear his brother’s heartbeat. It was frantic, almost like Lance was running a marathon. Just… what happened in that place? Brian whined. He was still too weak. But maybe, just maybe… he could get stronger.

---

Brian’s eyes snapped open, and he now found himself in a strange place. In the middle of a long corridor that had a divide from left to right. He could also hear faint, sobbing voices. His ears drooped. So the orb did work, and they were now in Morgan’s HQ.

“Hey.”

His mane got pushed by something, and Brian looked down to see that it was Meggie.

“What do you want?”

Meggie pouted. “Well… what’s the idea? Where are we even going? It’s not like we have a map of this place or anything…”

Brian rolled his eyes. “The fuck are you talking about? We just find the guy and beat him!”

Max tapped his foot on the floor. “She has a point, y’know? We can’t just waltz in and expect to take him down. We need a proper plan and you know it!”

He hissed, fur standing on end. Maybe bringing those two with him wasn’t a good idea. They would just get in the way of his revenge. No, it wasn’t revenge. It was for someone he cared about, so it was justified.

“If you’re not going to help me, then just… don’t get in my way!”

With that, Brian stood on all fours, and began to run across the corridor, ignoring everything he could hear his companions saying. That didn’t matter anymore, he had a job to do.

---

It was easier said than done. None of those corridors made any sense. Sure, he could read some of the signs on the walls, but mostly, Brian was just walking around. Eventually, his pace slowed because of a detail he saw on his left.

Claw marks. The wall had claw marks on it that seemed to continue all the way to the end of the hall. Brian gulped; he could only imagine the suffering everyone that got kidnapped had to deal with.

Flashes of his childhood came to mind, after his brother went back home. Lance had changed, he became a bitter version of himself. Oh, how awful that must have been. None of them deserved it!

This must be where he kept… his victims, Brian clenched his fists, walking again. Weird, though. I have no clue how long he’s been doing this, but nobody seems to bat an eye…

He continued his strolling, trying to shake off feelings of guilt and sorrow, because he knew those wouldn’t help. Instead, he focused on all the rage and bitterness he could muster, so he would have the strength to take that Gallade down.

I can do this. I can—

Brian stopped abruptly. One of the rooms drew his attention because of the number written on it: ten. Oh no. His reaction was to try and force the door open, but it was locked. Even so, Brian didn’t stop his attempts to enter the room.

Lance, I’ll get you back! You can count on me! I’ll protect you! I’ll… pro…tect you.

Snapping back to reality, Brian looked down, ears drooping. His mind thought about something else. What about all the other victims? Lance got lucky, but everyone else… every single one of them needed closure. And Brian was here to do just that.

“Yeah… this isn’t just for Lance. All those victims. Everyone. They’re… counting on me!”

Brian stood up, flexing his claws. With a newfound resolve, he put his goggles on. No more crying, no more regret. This day would end in his victory.

Or so he thought. Brian’s ears twitched and he narrowly dodged a punch. His opponent came crashing down right in front of him. A red Lycanroc.

“Heya…” the wolf smirked. “I heard your little speech there. That Lucario a friend of yours?”

Brian sprung back, a black energy ball forming on his hand. “H-How do you know my brother?!”

His opponent smirked even more, rubbing his claws on the wall. Brian prepared to fire the Shadow Ball, but waited to see if he would get an answer.

“Oh? He’s your brother? Damn! If my sibling was as much of a prick as yours I’d—”

Lunick got interrupted by a Shadow Ball crashing directly into his chest. The move made him trip and grunt in pain. He couldn’t relax, however, as Brian was soon jumping towards him with his claws glowing crimson. The wolf’s arm also glowed red, and he punched Brian’s hand.

The clash didn’t go on Brian’s favor, as he was thrown across the floor, grazing his back. His opponent didn’t waste any opportunities, however, and he dashed forward, arms glowing with draconic energy.

“Fuck off…!” Brian opened his mouth, releasing a stream of flames on the wolf. He dodged it by ducking, but was then hit by another Shadow Ball.

The wolf fell on his knees, screaming in pain. He began to claw on the floor. “You piece of shit! First your brother tries to kill me… and then you too!”

Brian panted. “I have… no clue what you’re talking about! Lance would never do that! I-I mean… not without being forced to!”

“You’re… an idiot!” Lunick got up, but an idea came to mind. He licked his lips.

“Maybe, but I’m not the one working for some random psycopath who likes to kidnap and torture others!” He snarled, preparing another Night Slash.

Lunick pointed to his chest, where the wound he received days before was, still fresh and now bleeding. Brian’s eyes widened at the sight of the cut.

“…Who did that to you?!”

Lunick kept his smirk. “Gee, I don’t know… maybe some crazy, bloodthirsty Lucario? Did I mention that he belittled me? Oh, what a wonderful sibling you have!”

Brian whined, not believing that to be the case. Sure, maybe Lance did hurt him, but he wouldn’t go as far as to kill… right? That Lycanroc had to be lying about something. Brain couldn’t believe it.

“Y-You’re… lying!” Brian finally snapped. He charged at Lunick, using another clawed attack.

The wolf chuckled, dodging every attempt Brian made to hit him, while laughing all the way. How amusing that whole scenario was! He had complete control of the fight, and so wanted to toy with Brian a little longer.

“The boss told me everything… about the whole experiment! Would you like to know your brother’s kill count?!”

“…Shut up! He was forced to do that!” Brian screamed, punching Lunick right on his face, who didn’t even react, not even when he received another punch.

“Oh, sure!” Lunick laughed. “That might’ve been the past, but check this out… I’m sufficient proof, aren’t I? Why is it so hard to believe in me? That Lucario wouldn’t just change!”

Brian backed away. He began to ponder everything that happened during his journey. From the day they began to travel, to the point where they took down the mercenaries. That fateful day. Brian knew what happened with the Empoleon, but… he couldn’t see the whole fight Lance had with Atlas. And in the end, the Aggron died too.

No… Lance… wouldn’t! He shook it off, accidents could happen, after all. That Lycanroc was just trying to trick him!

“Are you done with the memory thing? Let’s fight, asshole!”

Brian received a scratch on his cheek, seeing the blood droplets fall. Lunick was too close, so he used the chance to kick him in the stomach.

As expected, that made the wolf fall down, trying his best to breathe. The action terrified Brian, he used too much brute force!

Lunick, despite the pain he felt, still wanted to have the last laugh. “…Heh. Are you gonna leave me to die here, like your brother did?”

Brian snarled, clenching his fist. “He… didn’t do that! I know him!”

More laughter. Somehow, what Lunick was saying… made a bit of sense, even with Brian’s efforts to dismiss it. Doubt was already settled inside his brain.

“I have a sibling too, I know… how it works!” Lunick stood up. “They don’t tell us everything, right? Y’know, secrets can be toxic! You might want to cut ties!”

“Shut up… Shut UP!” Brian then snapped his fingers, turning invisible.

Lunick felt a shiver running down his spine as everything went dark. Not a single thing could be seen by him, it was complete darkness. He knew the reason, that was an illusion! But even so… there was nothing he could do. His world went black.

---

“That idiot! Running off like this!” Max punched the wall. He was walking with Meggie through another one of the hallways that the building had.

Meggie whined and rolled her eyes. “…I kinda wanted to know where this place is. It just feels… weird. How did nobody come here after all these years? Especially with all the victims…”

Max just shrugged. “The Mawile said she saw rubble near the entrance. Maybe we’re in some kinda ruins? I dunno.”

“Well, that isn’t very helpful…”

“Whatever,” he sighed. “I also have a question. Are… you okay? As an ally, I need to make sure we’re on the same page here.”

Meggie stopped, looking down. Why didn’t they stop with all the questions? Still, it was rude not to answer them, even if she wasn’t exactly comfortable with the whole situation. Her memories were going on and off, and that monster… she used to know. She didn’t want to deal with him, yet there she was, right at the eye of the storm.

“As okay as ‘Hey, it turns out your former boss is the same Pokémon that hurt your friends and is kidnapping a lot of innocents!’ can make me be.”

Max raised an eyebrow. “Do… you need to vent?”

“Look, let’s just move on,” she bit her lips. “This won’t do us any good, and I… I need to face this issue head-on, I think. Right?”

“Probably for the best… yeah.”

As they finished the conversation, both heard a cry for help. Curious about the whereabouts of that, the duo began to run.

---

Brian could barely keep himself together. The Lycanroc was knocked out, so that problem was solved for the moment, but using all that energy made him exhausted. To make matters worse, his mind was still clouded with thoughts about his brother. He wanted to believe that Lance wasn’t keeping secrets from him, he really did, but…

Lance didn’t even say about what he experienced while captive until six months ago!

He punched the wall. It hurt, and he began to wave his hand, muttering about the pain to himself. Now distracted from his thoughts, Brian heard a faint voice, somewhere around those doors.

“I-Is anyone here?!” Brian asked, beginning to sniff the air.

“H…e…l…p…”

Brian ran to where the voice was coming from, or at least he assumed that’s where he was going. “Where are you?!”

“…P…le…ase! Help!”

“I-I’m coming!” Brian stopped right in front of a door. Unlike the others, this one had no number in it.

Weird…

“A…re you… the…re?”

“Oh, right!” Brian fiddled on his belt, searching for his tools to help with lock picking.

“Not… now!” the voice said again, Brian noticed it was a soft, feminine one.

Brian tilted his head. “Wha…? What do you mean not now?”

“…At the… office… there’s… the plans, you must get them, young one!”

“…I don’t get it, miss. What do you want me to do?!”

She continued. “Papers… you must get them, they… are… more important!”

Brian pondered a bit more, and gasped. “O-Oh! I think I got it, you want me to get some papers from the Gallade’s office? Is that it?”

“…Yes. They… are related to my Master… Xerneas. Please! You must… get those plans!”

Brian blinked. Did that lady just speak about a Legend? Oh no. Things got a lot heavier than he thought! But… there wasn’t time for this, if she was telling the truth.

“Okay, fine! But I’ll come back to you as soon as I can, alright?!”

“That… is not important.”

Right now was his chance of proving how much stronger he was! Someone to rescue! He mumbled something and dashed forward, looking at the signs. He could only hope that everything would go as smoothly as possible.

---

As they got near the source of the sound, Meggie and Max heard something else. Flames crackling, alongside grass burning. The corridor they were in was also getting larger by the second.

“What do you think is on the other side?!” Meggie asked between breaths. She tripped, landing on the ground.

“…Uh. Are you okay?” Max blinked, offering to help her get up.

“Damn it! Why is this body so… weak?! If I was a Froslass already, I could just float!” She pouted, standing up.

Max sighed. “I mean, there’s some rumors that you need to die for that stone to activate, I don’t think you would want that…”

She shivered. “Yikes. Yeah, probably not!”

He chuckled. “I said rumors, but alright. Now let’s go!”

Another shiver. But this one was something Meggie felt before, on that trip to the black market. Regardless of her fear and panic, she couldn’t run away anymore.

On the other side, both of them saw a large room with its door opened. They couldn’t quite tell what was inside without getting there, but, for now, Meggie saw two figures: a Grovyle and a Blaziken.

The first was running for his life, dodging every move his opponent was trying to land on him, but even so, he could hardly do it, his body was bruised and burning, making the air smell like burnt grass.

“I think I know who that is,” Max gulped, biting his lip. “H-He… is from Treasure Town, and got kidnapped… well, he was a Treecko, but it looks like things… changed.”

Meggie took a deep breath. “We need a plan. I have one move that can help against the Blaziken, what about you?”

“I’m not sure I can waltz in there without drawing attention to me. I’m… admittedly, not the sharpest tool in the shed. What do you have in mind?

She laughed, grabbing hold of her tiara. “I’ll distract him, you will use that to fight him off, and then I’ll get the Grovyle!”

Max’s fists crackled with electricity. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s do it!”

---

She began by running right to the entrance of the arena. Blaziken didn’t react right away, and only really noticed Meggie when she put herself in front of the Grovyle. She took a deep breath and released frosty air around the area.

Blaziken, enraged by that, tried to hit Meggie, but was stopped by a fist enveloped in a yellow aura; it was Max, using his Thunder Punch to hold him off.

“Now, Meggie! Use the badge if you have to, but get away! I’ll deal with this guy!”

“I have.. no idea who you are, but you’re not getting away!” Flames surrounded Blaziken’s body and he kicked Max on the leg, dropping his balance enough for him to stumble.

Blaziken then gave a headbutt, followed by a series of punches. The result of that was scorch marks all over Max’s fur. Still the Electivire didn’t give up, holding Blaziken’s hands.

She nodded, looking at Grovyle.

“H-Hello! I’m here to help you escape this awful place, I’m Meggie. My friend is fighting for both of us right now, so can we run?”

Grovyle began to sob, but soon nodded, and the two left the arena. Their escape was interrupted, though, by the sound of a capsule opening, and a beam of red energy that passed right through them.

“W-What the hell?!” Max said, backing away from his opponent, or rather, at the sight of him turning into energy.

The beam enveloped Blaziken, transporting him outside, right where Meggie saw them: Morgan and Derek, the former holding a pokeball on his hand.

Morgan was holding six pokeballs with psychic energy, leaving them floating in the air. “Interesting. I didn’t know you would come here willingly, Meggie. What… brings you here?”

“Y-You!” she said, a ball of water forming on her hand.

“I asked something, my dear. But… I suppose I can ask something else, instead. Tell me, Meggie, did you decide anything? Will you join me in my crusade to escape this… primitive land?”

As calm as ever, Morgan put his arms behind his back and forced a smile. Meggie looked at him with pure disgust at his actions and the fact he still wanted her to join him.

She shook her head and raised it. “I’m… no! I’m not joining you! You’re a monster, and that little pet of yours too!”

Grovyle, meanwhile, was crying. Meggie turned around to comfort him as best as she could. Which wasn’t much, since she was only hugging him.

Derek snarled. “Hey, I’m no pet! I’m with him because, frankly, all the battles make me strong! You wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh, shut up!” Max left the arena as well, panting and with his vision blurred.

“Looks like everyone’s here. All the pathetic attempts of copying mankind… except my wonderful assistant, of course!”

Morgan dodged a Water Pulse coming from Meggie, and then frowned. Derek hunched, positioning himself to strike at any moment.

“As you can see, Derek is one of my closest allies, and the only one of the subjects that didn’t go mad with power… not even my Blaziken can control his mega form,” Morgan smirked. “Really, it’s amazing how you all didn’t go feral, considering how awful this world is.”

Max gulped. There was no way they could defeat all of them right now, not without sacrifices. “Meggie… we need to leave!”

“B-But Brian’s still here!”

“Yeah, I know! But right now… we don’t have many choices here!”

Meggie’s mind went on overdrive, jumping from one idea to another, however, none of them seemed to be doable.

Damn it. Think, think! If he lifts us with telekinesis, we’re screwed. But there has to be a limit to his powers… come on brain, THINK!

“I’m giving you another chance, because I can’t believe… you would choose this place over our home!”

Morgan’s body flashed, disappearing and reappearing right in front of Meggie. She gasped, backing away, but still in front of the Grovyle, who continued to sob. She launched another Water Pulse, to which Morgan teleported again to dodge.

Wait… i-is that it?!

For the faintest of moments, she saw Morgan looking to his left, before teleporting away and reappearing right where his eyes were looking at. Her eyes widened again, a sense of pride filling her body. The only thing left was to test her theory.

Let’s hope he’s not reading my thoughts… but how to confirm that? Wait… I’ll use Water Pulse again!

Instead, Meggie released a frosty breath again. Morgan’s reaction wasn’t like he expected the water move, he simply shrugged the cold off.

So he can’t read my thoughts! I-Is it because of being half fighting…? Oh, that’s not the point. I know his weakness!

Max was busy punching Derek, but the dragon didn’t even feel all that much, at most, he sensed a tickle after getting hit by the electric attacks. For now, they were locked in combat.

“I’m never joining you…! Also, you might want to get some warmth!”

Meggie put her tiara in front of her, and released another Frost Breath. The tiara glowed, amplifying the move to the point a cloud of frosty air covered most of the area, blocking everyone’s views except for her.

“Oh… this is our chance!” Max blinked.

“Follow my voice! And take the kid, I can’t carry him!”

Max did as instructed, and they all left, leaving Morgan and Derek alone in that area. After he noticed how he was tricked, the Gallade roared in anger.

---

Whoa, this guy’s ridiculously organized. It’s kinda like Lance, but… evil.

Brian, now in Morgan’s office, was shuffling through his papers. He was reading the contents of a folder with the title of “Tree of Life”. That name brought back some memories to when Brian was a kid, hearing that this location was sacred, and nobody, not even the greatest explorers, dared to trespass, fearful of Xerneas’ wrath.

How much a nut is this guy? Nobody would be crazy enough to go there…! But still, he’s planning on doing just that.

Maybe humans were just that odd. Brian only knew two of them well enough, but those two were a bit weird for his standards. And there was the biggest revelation: that Meggie worked for the enemy.

Brian wanted to ignore that, but… he couldn’t shake the feeling that she was a spy or something similar.

But if that’s the case… why help us so much? Or why join us in the first place? I… I trust Lance with my life, maybe… I should do that with Meggie too, I don’t think she means any harm to us…

He shrugged it off for the moment, focusing more on the plans he was reading. Texts explaining that Morgan wanted to defeat Xerneas, schematics about something called “Master Ball”, and a bunch of references to a place Brian didn’t even know existed.

I… need to bring this with me, it’s the only way! M-Maybe Meggie knows what this is all about! And then… I can trust her again! He shoved the papers into his mane and left the room.

Now back at the corridor, he picked the tools again, fiddling with the door. The lock was weird, but he had some training to mess with that kind of thing.

“A…re you ba…ck?” the voice asked again.

“Yeah, miss! Well, I have no idea what’s your name, but yeah, I’m getting you out!”

“…Me…ganium.”

Brian whined. “You’re really hurt, aren’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll get you out! Lock picking is a bit hard, but nothing impossible!”

“Y-Yes… I am hurt.”

He nodded, sighing and finally unlocking the door. It was then that he noticed he could see his breath, and that it was getting colder; looking to his right, Brian saw his teammates running for their lives, and with them, a Grovyle.

When Meggie was close enough, she slapped him on his leg.

He didn’t even flinch. “…Heya.”

“Brian, you idiot! You just left us alone! We barely escaped!”

“Well, I barely escaped some crazy Lycanroc! Oh, and also… there’s a Meganium trapped here.”

Meggie rolled her eyes. “Can’t we use the badges to teleport out of here? I’m… really tired from everything. I need some sleep.”

“Those things are brand new, we need to use them together for them to work, anyway,” Brian answered, sighing.

Max looked at the door, opening it. Inside, like Brian said, there was a Meganium. Her body had cuts all over, her once beautiful flowers were now weak and fragile. It was like she didn’t eat anything in days.

“What’s… going on?” Grovyle said, raising his head.

Brian crossed his arms. “We need to leave. I’m not sure the badges will have power to get us home, depending on where we are. Where the fuck are we anyway?”

“No idea. Apart from the rubble thing,” Max shrugged.

While the boys were arguing, Meggie got inside the room, giving an Oran Berry for Meganium to eat. Her energy was restored, and her bruises were beginning to heal, allowing her to get up.

Meganium left with Meggie and looked at the others. “We are… in Oreshard. Or rather, the remnants of it.”

“Whoa, wait, that place? It… explains a lot, actually. Nobody would want to go to a ghost city,” Brian turned to Meggie. “No offense, uh, even if you’re not a Froslass yet.”

“None taken.”

“Guys, we really need to get out. Again, does anyone know the exit?”

“I’m aware of it,” Meganium answered. “Please, follow me…”

The group followed her directions, and everyone hoped the way back would be smooth.

---

On the floor, Lycanroc woke up with a gasp. He was drenched in sweat, but didn’t have enough time to rest, being lifted by psychic energy; Morgan had arrived as well.

“I told you… that if you failed, you would be killed. Tell me again, you pest… are you still useful to me?”

Lunick gagged, trying to say anything. The hold on him was broken and he fell to the ground. However, Derek pointed his claws at him. If he moved even an inch, he would be dead.

“O-Okay, okay! I-I think I put some doubt in that Zoroark, alright? I promise, I’ll beat him next time!”

Morgan smirked. “Why say next time… when you can do it now? I have… one way that you can be useful. Don’t worry, your life is safe.”

“Boss,” Derek sniffed the air. “They’re getting away…”

“They won’t get far. Let’s go.”

---

“Whoa,” Brian heard of the stories about the town, but he didn’t expect to actually visit it someday.

And there it was, devastated, houses destroyed, buildings turned to dust, and skeletons spread all across what once was a prosperous town. And the worst part was: Brian was partially responsible for one of the survivor’s deaths.

“Is… that a cliff?” Meggie gulped, backing away from that part of the town.

Meganium simply raised her head. “What a tragedy, Cobalion always said that he felt sorry for what happened here…”

Max raised an eyebrow. “Hey, miss Meganium. What exactly is your deal, huh? And how the fuck do you know a Legend?”

She turned her face around. “Mistress Xerneas taught me everything I know about the higher beings. I owe her my life.”

Brian sighed. “Now’s not the time, guys…”

It really wasn’t. From the building’s exit came the three enemies, with Lycanroc on all fours. Morgan kept his cool, while Derek was already transforming into his mega form.

Max was less than happy. “Shit! We have two of ours wounded!”

Brian didn’t even notice, his eyes were fixed on Morgan and Morgan only. That single Pokémon was the source of everything that went wrong in his life. And right now, he wanted nothing more than to pummel him into the ground.

“Max… take my badge, and Meggie’s. Use all of our badges to get home! I’ll deal with those guys! If you have to, charge them with your electricity! Just… get out!”

Max took the badge, but didn’t accept the idea yet. “…Are you insane? You’re gonna—”

He threw a Shadow Ball backwards. “I said get OUT! Leave!”

Meggie did the same thing, throwing her badge to Max. She then went right to Brian’s side. “We’re a team, right…? We work together!”

Brian’s ears twitched after he heard that. “What…? Meggie, not to be rude, but you’re too weak for this!”

She simply shook her head. “I don’t care! This guy is hurting others, he’s a monster, and… he needs to be stopped.”

Morgan gave one step further, clapping his hands. “Oh, please. You actually think you have the strength to do that? You’re pitiful.”

“…You asked me if I decided what I’m gonna do,” Meggie held her tiara again. “I have. I’m going to stop you!”

“You are welcome to try.”

Brian lowered his head, but refused to back away, also moving forward, while a flash of golden light shone behind him, transporting his friends to safety. Now it was only him and Meggie against three. The odds weren’t in his favor, but that wasn’t going to stop him.

“I’m… going to end this right now!” Puffs of flame were coming out of Brian’s mouth as he prepared to strike.

Nothing could or would stop him now. He charged on all fours and jumped, releasing a flamethrower, but at the last second, Lunick jumped, punching him on the chin and knocking Brian back to the ground.

Snarling, Brian went for another strike, but beneath him, a rocky formation emerged, hitting his chest with enough strength to make him fall back again. Lunick chuckled after using Stone Edge, and now ran again to finish Brian off.

Can’t lose… can’t lose…! Using all his strength, Brian stood up just in time to punch Lunick, but fell down once more.

Meanwhile, Meggie was running as fast as she could, dodging strike after strike from Derek, the Mega Garchomp only laughed, raising his scythes to cut her open, but her small stature made it easy to escape from the attacks.

Brian tried to stand up, but his body didn’t answer him, even if he was putting all his might into it. He couldn’t just let things end like that! He needed to win, to defeat those three! If only… he had the power to do it.

Lunick licked his lips, now right behind Meggie, the wolf pounced, trying to get a hit on her at the same time she was dodging Derek’s attacks.

“NO!” Brian screamed. He finally snapped, a rush of adrenaline spread across all of his body, and, ignoring all the pain and all the wounds he felt, Brian ran, and ran, claws glowing with a crimson tone.

He didn’t even command his body to do it, it was moving on its own. Brian’s brain was fixated on Lunick, his enemy, the one that was about to hurt another one of his friends, and he wasn’t going to let that happen. Brian closed his eyes and simply slashed.

“A-Arg…” was all Lunick said, falling to the ground with a large cut on his throat, blood oozing out of the wound, landing right on Brian’s face.

Terrified at what he had done, Brian fell on his knees, not focusing on anything else other than what just happened. His eyes stared at Lunick, until he saw the wolf’s body going limp; Brian had killed someone. He killed. Murdered. Murder. Murder.

N-No… He killed. Murdered. Murder. Murder. Murder.

Meggie looked back, distracted by that, and was hit by a headbutt coming from Derek. Her body rolled across the floor, until she was near the edge of the city, seeing the immense hole.

“N-No! Uh, Brian! Snap out of it! I need your help, now!”

Brian didn’t react, too enveloped in his own thoughts about the killing, the blood that dripped from his face, the one that was on his hands, nothing mattered anymore.

Morgan crossed his arms. “Derek, finish her.”

“Sorry, young lady! Boss said so!”

Stomping the ground, Derek shattered it, making Meggie fall down the cliff. Her screams filled the air.

“H…Huh?!” Brian snapped back to reality, but it was too late.

He heard something breaking again, and the screams stopped.