Dungeon 45 – Undertaking

Scar woke up feeling an unusual vigor. He prepared a piece of brioche bread and sat on a chair, before carefully cutting down the loaf with a knife. He munched on the piece, enjoying how crispy and crunchy it tasted on his mouth, taking time to fully savor the sensation. Today was a special day, after all.

“Scar! There you are!” Max came into the room, leaning onto the wall with his left arm, and carrying a bunch of fliers on his right one. “Today’s the day, right?!”

Behind the ape, Lilith pushed Max out of the way and entered alongside him, panting from the effort of having to shove someone as big as him. “Well… I think it is.”

“You two seem anxious about it,” Scar noted, humming as he munched more of the bread. “Yes. We are near the zenith of our plans. Soon, we will acquire the… Pardon me, miss Lilith. What is the name of the stone? Or is it still unknown?”

“Oh,” Lilith sat down and shrugged. “And don’t worry, it’s called Darkinium-Z.”

Scar nodded, having finished his breakfast. He stood up and folded his arms on his back, smiling again. Everything was going according to plan. “There is no point of giving others the choice when they can stray off the proper path.”

“That won’t matter once we take ‘im outta the seal,” Lilith continued.

Max nodded. “And He’ll have the whole world on His knee—wait, does Necrozma have knees?”

“I hardly think that matters.”

“Dork’s got a point.” Lilith pointed out, flashing a grin. “Can’t exactly have the world on His knees if He ain’t got any.”

“Hmph.” Scar rolled his eyes. He turned around to look at an open window. “We should apace our steps. Have you two uncovered the locations of the other stones?”

“Yes. The Buried Wasteland and the Forest Chasm.” Lilith answered. “And the third dungeon is located here, it’s called Howling Shoal.

“Lovely names, eh? But there’s a problem, boss.” Max clicked his fingers and gulped. “Lillie, can you… y’know?”

“The legends that sealed Necrozma away all those centuries ago weren’t dumb.” She said. “We suspect there might be traps in the dungeons with the crystals. Some kinda failsafe so only the worthy can grab ‘em.”

“A bastion,” Scar replied. “And a valiant effort against us. I do not blame them for doing this.”

Max sighed, hiding a smile as he raised his hand. “This stuff works in our favor, too! Legends aren’t really all that present these days. And the few that are… well, they’re not very powerful compared to Necrozma.”

“Not to mention they lost their power in that event two decades ago!” Lilith completed, nodding. “So we’re on the best time to do this.”

“Very well. We should leave the dungeons to ourselves after the coronation is done.” Scar said bluntly, now looking at his subordinates.

“Gotcha! I’m gonna hand out more fliers, see y’all later!” Max declared, storming out of the room.

Scar sighed, looking at the window again and closing his eyes. “Soon. So very soon.”

In the garden, Percival trained against a wooden plank, hitting it with an energy bone. Every strike was swift and precise, cleanly tearing chunks off the board. He smirked, launching the bone up into the air. With a deep breath, the Lucario took aim at the plank and punched it, producing a deafening sound.

Unlike his previous strikes, this one was more direct and powerful, puncturing a hole in the middle that quickly split the wood in two halves that fell on the ground just as Percival caught the bone back, before dissipating it.

Aura training seems to be going well. Percival thought, sitting down and taking a deep breath. His ears twitched and he looked behind, seeing Brian and Meggie waving at him. He stared at the figures, until they faded.

Am I imagining things? He wondered, never having noticed how much he missed the two. Firmly closing his fists, he grunted. Sorry, you two. But I’m doing this for everyone!

Percival managed to make himself smile at that last thought, something he was glad Brian wasn’t there to see. Percival would never hear the end of Brian talking about the smile, for sure.

He touched the scar on his chest and sighed. When this is over, I promise I’ll see you again, Brian. I’m sorry I never got to say this before leaving, but… I love you.

Even with his head full of thoughts, his feelers detected two familiar auras close, and his smile widened. Percival didn’t even faze, waiting for them to say anything.

“Hi, Percy!” Lilith waved at him with one hand, holding a cup of steaming tea in her other one. From the smell, Percival assumed it was made from Oran.

“Good morning.” Scar said. “What made you wake up so early? Another nightmare?”

“Actually, I haven’t had nightmares for months!” Percival replied, sounding happy while he stood up. “All thanks to you.”

Scar hummed. “Would it be wise to make me the sole responsible for your development?”

“I… guess not,” Percival answered, looking down. Still, he had to admit that Scar played a big role, that much was undeniable.

“We’re not here to talk about this, remember?” Lilith protested, rolling her eyes. “Here’s the thing, Percy. We got a mission to do, you and me. Are ya up for the task?”

“Hm. I was beginning to think I was to spend the rest of my days training and meditating. Not that I mind.” He answered with a smirk. “And of course I’m up for the task, what are we doing today?”

Scar walked towards him and nodded. “As you know by now, tragedy befell upon this town. Our economy lays in shambles, a mere shadow of its former self. Days of glory have been turned to dust before our very eyes.”

“I am well aware,” he retorted. “And I’m doing my best to help this city. To save it.”

“We all know,” Lilith said, looking at Scar.

“Right now I have a bigger mission for you, mister Percival. Something that will certainly act as a compass to a brighter tomorrow!”

“Get this over with, Scar.” Percival sighed.

“As always, you are quick to get to the point.” Scar hummed, giving the Lucario’s eyes a sharp glare. “We will dethrone the king.”

Monarchy. A system that Percival had always found to be flawed. Most of the time, kings and queens usurped the resources for themselves, while they let the common folk starve and rot. Simply unacceptable.

At least Scar followed a similar mindset, and it made things easier for Percival. Still, he wanted… no, he needed more proof of the king’s shortcomings before coming to a resolution.

With this in mind, he set out to discover, with Lilith by his side.

She walked behind him with a notebook in her hands. “Sooo… what do ya wanna check out first? Poverty, mons disappearing, food shortage?”

“All these sound awful,” he noted, eyeing the Lopunny as his ears twitched. “But if I had to pick… I’d say we start with poverty. I want to see how bad it is with my own eyes.”

“I kinda hoped you’d say that, ‘cause I got the perfect example!” She replied, frowning. “There’s a kid I met recently, her family’s fallin’ apart ‘cause of their poverty.”

“Really?” Percival locked eyes with Lilith, frowning. He remembered the time where he, too, was a lost child.

Oh wow. He’s really that gullible? Good to know, Lilith thought, before answering. “Yup. Didn’t get her name, but I remember where her house is at. C’mon.”

She turned around and began to walk on the opposite side of the street, with Percival following after her. “…Hey, Lilith. Do you really believe the king is… well, unworthy?”

“I thought this wasn’t your first rodeo against corrupt forces.”

“It isn’t, but I wanted a second opinion, since you know Scar better than me,” the canine replied, shrugging. “And while I trust him… I don’t know. There’s something odd about this.”

“There’s odd stuff about pretty much anything, dude.” Lilith retorted with a grin. “I trust ‘im with my life. He saved me. That’s all there is to it.

“Saved you…”

She looked around, the citizens of the city were going around on their daily tasks. Percival made a pause to do the same, eyeing the city. A Swellow and a Cramorant talked with each other with smiles on their faces; a Ilumise and a Perrserker walked, holding bottles of beer, until the feline fell to the ground, to which the bug began to laugh. Percival flahsed a small smile, seeing the citizens appearing to be happy.

“Oh? Didn’t know you could smile, Percy~” Lilith teased, punching the canine’s arm.

He rubbed his arm and felt heat rising on his face. “S-Shut it. I’m not smiling!”

“That’s not what I’m seeing,” she pointed at the grin on Percival’s face. “Anyway, the point’s that we’re doin’ the right thing, y’know? They might seem happy now, but it’s a facade. A mask, to hide the sorrow inside.”

“Let’s go,” Percival said. “I want to find out more about this. If there’s something I can do about it, then… I’ll do it.”

They ended up in an area Percival hadn’t seen before. Not weird, considering how much of his time in the city he had spent inside of Scar’s house. Until now, of course.

“W-What is this place?”

And just by standing there he could tell the difference. Despite being in an urbanized area, the slums could be barely called buildings thanks to the consistent neglect that had left them as crumbled shadows of the living spaces they were supposed to be.

Even the floor itself had been neglected to the point where it wasn’t possible to see its pavement under the coat of dirt and grimace, among which a lonely Delibird slept on the concrete, shivering.

“Do you believe Scar now, Percy?” Lilith asked with a tired sigh. She was used to the sight, but it still hurt.

“…I can’t say I don’t believe him.” Percival looked around and frowned. “How long has this been going on?”

“A few months,” Lilith crossed her arms and shook her head, grunting. “Things haven’t been the same since the raid.”

“Speaking of this raid, what’s exactly up with it?” He asked. “I never heard of it before coming here.”

“That tends to happen when you’re an independent city,” Lilith shrugged. “We had some thugs tryin’ to break in and steal the king’s crown.”

“Why?”

She wondered for a moment before nodding and whispering. “That crown, or rather, the jewel on the crown is said to give incredible power. We’re actually after it ourselves.”

“Huh,” Percival’s eyes widened as he whispered back. “Wait, I thought we were going to dethrone him…”

“And we are ! Just, y’know, takin’ out two Pidgey with a single gravelerock.”

“I suppose… that makes sense. I got worried for a moment.” Percival scratched his chin. “Does that jewel have anything to do with Necrozma?”

“It’s one of the things we need to unleash him, so yes.”

Unleash a powerful legend into the world. That sounded like the best idea they had. And probably a dangerous one. A very dangerous one. Percival had mostly agreed to helping this because he thought it was the only choice. Not that he was fully believing in Necrozma. It was more like they could help him, and in turn, he would help them.

“Right. I’ll need to ask Scar about this later, but I hope Necrozma is as benevolent as you all seem to hope.”

Lilith raised a brow. “Is that doubt, Percy? Or should I call you Lance?”

“Percy is fine, even if I don’t like nicknames…” He rolled his eyes. “We should go find that child soon, there’s still other things to check, no?”

“Dude, you should really smile more, y’know? Not everything has to be dark and gritty with ya.”

“I can smile!” Percival pouted, crossing his arms. A wicked smile spread on his face, and it looked like he was putting a lot of effort into it.

“That’s cute!” Lilith chuckled, walking away from him, going to the same house she visited recently. Percival followed her.

While the two were busy investigating, Scar had time for himself, at long last. Now to find something to do, which wasn’t hard, no. In fact, Scar had a plan, a course of action, and something he was used to doing whenever he needed.

First, Scar stopped at the kitchen, opening a drawer and taking out three candles from it. His face was solemn, and there was a visible frown in it.

Fret not, I will pay my respects to you soon, Scar took a deep breath and walked out, climbing the stairs to the second floor of the house. His worried look only worsened with each step, and his heart thumped.

Like a heavy weight was on top of his back, Scar hunched towards his room, taking slow and deep breaths to calm himself down. His mind trembled with memories of a time far gone, one that would never return, no matter what he tried.

…I am sorry. You three escaped from my grasp, and it was all my fault. For that… I am truly sorry.

Scar entered his room. The atmosphere was somber, and the undecorated insides did little to lighten the mood. Scar passed by his large bed and into the northern part, where three portraits could be seen. The top one was a Tyranitar, and a text below it read: “Eve”.

My sunshine… you left me too soon. My days are no longer bright without you, Scar put a candle on the floor next to the wall and lit, the smell of incense immediately filling the area. I apologize for not being the best husband I could have been…

His gaze shifted to the other two pictures: one of a Larvitar with brown scales, and another with green ones. The names behind their portraits were, respectively, Joel and Ruth. Scar trembled, removing the helmet on his head and finally letting the tears fall as he looked at the portraits.

My children… please forgive me. Forgive your father. It pains me to spend the rest of my days without you, but I am doing the best I can. Scar lit the other candles and sat down, looking at the portraits. You three will be forever gone, but the memory of you keeps me alive. And maybe one day I will see you again. Until then… forgive me for what I am about to do. I assure you that it is… for you three.

He closed his eyes and his arms were enveloped by green flames. Scar then whispered, while more tears fell. He touched the candles and they were instantly lit, burning in green flames.

His heart continued to thump, and his lips trembled, like he struggled with what he was doing. The candles flickered in the air, before staying still once again. Why was he having so much trouble with this? Scar sighed.

F-Forgive me, sunshine. Joel, Ruth, you too… It appears that I am unable to finish my prayers today. Would you like to know what I am planning?

No reply, for a moment. The candles flickered again, making Scar smile once more. Well… once we free my Lord, he will use his power to liberate the world, to make a new reality where we will all be free of all pain. What do you think of it?

Wind howled as the candles flickered again. Scar sighed and stood up, the flames now disappearing. He turned around, facing the door. Well… I need to deal with a few things, I will talk to you later.

Much to his surprise, Scar was met by Maxwell, waiting just outside the Marowak’s room. They met eyes, with Max’s widening as he let out a loud gasp. Scar tilted his head, until he noticed that his helmet was being worn. Quickly, he entered his room and put it back, before returning to face Max again.

“You saw nothing,” he said, snarling.

Max noted how his voice sounded deeper and rougher, and he gulped. “N-Nah, don’t worry.”

“I said you saw nothing ,” green flames spread around Scar’s body for a moment, before he exhaled as they faded, his voice back to normal. “I am sorry… Maxwell. That was unlike me. I apologize.”

“I was just waitin’ for you, boss.” Max gulped. “C-Can I ask what happened back there?”

“Hmph.” Scar crossed his arms and sighed. “…My prayers. I needed to talk with my family again.”

“Sorry, boss,” noticing how awkward things turned out, he rubbed the back of his head, his fur tuning fuzzier from the electricity circulating around his body.

“My personal matters are not important right now. What brings you to my door?”

“Oh, uh… just a question. Who’s gonna take over the king? You?”

His weary eyes looked at Max and Scar shook his head. “Most of you would assume such a thing about me. However, the truth is that I was never supposed to be a monarch.”

“…Then who?”

“Maxwell, I believe the answer to this question is fairly obvious by now,” Scar replied.

“…Ooooh.” He gasped. The initial surprise turned into concern as he frowned. “Hold on. Are you sure about this?”

“That is a very interesting question,” Scar hummed. “The new king is a rough diamond, however, there is a reason why I chose who I did.”

“And that is…?”

“Once we release Him from the seal, Necrozma will be weak. He will need a vessel to survive. And what better vessel than a king?”

Max nodded, his eyes widening from the reveal. “You sly Vulpix… Can’t believe it! Well, well, well… this is a neat plan, I’d say.”

His boss simply sighed, approaching the large electric-type. Scar looked up and smiled. “Maxwell, your thirst for knowledge serves me well in this crusade. I appreciate that you have joined my ranks. It means… a lot to me.”

“No problem!” He nodded. “Oh, and I got some neat intel you might wanna hear about. We might’ve found more of the emeras that the Gallade had.”

“Is that so?” He nodded. “How about we discuss this over a nice cup of tea?”

“One day you’re gonna die from… tea poisoning? Is that a thing?”

Scar refused to answer the question, and merely rolled his eyes as they walked off the area.

After some more walking, Lilith arrived at the entrance to the house she was looking for, and Percival was behind her. The auric Pokémon put his hands on his back and waited as his teammate knocked on the door.

“Hold on! I’m comin’!” A voice said from inside the house, and Lilith walked back.

Meanwhile, Percival closed his eyes and waited. While distracted by his thoughts, he reminisced about his friends, so far away from him now. He wondered what they were doing, and if they were happy.

But I’m no longer with them… they don’t need to worry about me anymore. Of course they were. Now that he was out of their lives, they surely were happy. Percival bit his lip and sighed, shaking his head.

Eventually, the door creaked open, held by a Slowking. He eyed Lilith and smiled at her, soon waving at Percival, who retributed with a nod.

“Nice seein’ ya again, mister Slowking!” Lilith said, giggling. “We just came over for a visit, that alright?”

The water-type smiled. “Of course!”

“It’s a pleasure meeting you, sir. I’m Percival.” The canine said, offering a paw.

“Every friend of Lilith is my friend as well, alright?” Slowking replied, shaking Percival’s paw and then entering his own house.

This place is quite nice, Percival thought as he looked around, his eyes seeing the walls, the couch and, a little further, the kitchen. Lilith had said she helped them a little with money problems, and so he figured the house was in a better shape than when she had first been there.

“Miss Lilith!” Chewtle came running from her room, and jumped on the bunny’s arms, giving her a tight hug. “I missed you!”

“Well, if it ain’t my bestie!” The Lopunny said, holding the child in her arms and nuzzling her face. “Can I introduce you to my friend here?”

“Hi.” Percival waved.

“Ooh, I never saw a Pokémon like you before, mister!” Chewtle gasped, her eyes sparkling.

That’s a first. Everyone and their mother know Lucario, he mused to himself. “Well, I’m a Lucario. My name is Percival.”

“Ya can call him Percy like I do!”

“Actually, I would rather—”

“Percy!” Chewtle said, giggling.

Percival blinked and, much to Lilith’s surprise, he smiled, touching his chest fluff dramatically as he pretended to stumble backwards. “…I have been defeated by a child. My only weakness, cuteness!”

Slowking closed the door behind them and smiled. “Sweetie, can you go play in your room? Daddy needs to talk with these two…”

She hopped out of Lilith’s grasp and ran to her room. Percival sighed in relief, but cut off his smile once he saw Lilith was staring, and replaced it by a large pout.

“What brings you two here?” Slowking asked, sitting on his couch.

“Honestly, I just want to help,” Percival stated, crossing his arms. “Lilith told me things have been rough after the raid.”

The Lopunny frowned and nodded. “Yup!”

“I see. That much is true…” Slowking looked down and gulped. “My wife… She got sick during the invasion, and I can’t afford to treat her, not like this… Everything’s so expensive nowadays.”

The canine whined, not even needing his sensors to feel the aura of sadness of that father. It was clear enough in his eyes and voice. “…Have you tried asking the king for help?”

“Didn’t work. He said that it’s to be expected, since we’re still recovering…” he admitted. “But it’s been so long… When will this end?”

Percival grunted. Things were worse than he expected, and while he tried to maintain a rational view on all of this, he still had the impression that there was something else the king could do.

From starving Pokémon to distraught parents, Percival had enough of this. He was tired of sitting around doing nothing while all these innocents suffered. It made his blood boil, and his aura began to wrap itself like a veil around him while he flashed his sharp teeth.

“It ends… It ends today .”

As she heard him say those words, Lilith smiled in the corner of her face.

Scar finished preparing the tea, and filled two cups with it. Max sniffed it and sat down on one of the chairs, yawning. The Marowak didn’t talk much, and soon sat as well, grabbing his cup of tea.

“So, what did you find out about the emeras?” Scar asked, taking a sip.

“Aight, this shouldn’t take too long!” Max replied. “A few days ago, I saw a report of a thief goin’ berserk after finding a shiny stone. Sounds familiar, right?”

“Indeed.”

After another sip, Max continued. “The dude got arrested, so I went to see him. Turns out he described the stone as… well, rainbow emera. Kinda like the ones that we, well, that Percy has.”

“Fascinating!” Scar hummed. “I assumed that the one Percival possesses is the last one of its kind, but alas… it appears that I am wrong.”

“Thing is: I have no idea how he found it. He said it was inside a mystery dungeon.”

Scar scratched his chin in thought. “We all know that mystery dungeons are an abyss of randomness, what do you think about it?”

“I’d have to talk with Meganium again—not that I’d mind, considering how cute she is, and how she can kick my ass—but that’s not the point!” Max said before Scar could complain about this.

“Please go on with your thesis.”

“I don’t think this is a thesis, but sure,” he shrugged. “I think that the battle at the tree contributed to it. I mean, there were two megas there, right? Maybe during the whole Gallade teleporting time, part of the emeras’ dust were spread over the continent. That dust then—”

“…Merged with other emeras, thus recreating the same as Morgan had. Interesting.” Scar completed.

“First, I think I’mma name ‘em awakening emeras,” Max finally concluded. “And yup! That’s my thought, and if we can grab more of ‘em, we might have more chances of actually unleashing Necrozma. Or at the very least, fight off any resistance!”

Hearing those words soothed Scar’s heart, and he could do little more than huff. “Thank you, Maxwell. I appreciate all the help you have given me during these hard times. I assure you, we will have world peace.”

“Don’t you worry boss, I trust you with my life! I’m sure everyone here feels the same way!”

Scar inhaled, nodding. “Alright. Maxwell, I would like to request that you work on finding the awakening emeras. I have… a visitor that’ll be here soon, so I might require some privacy.”

Max got out of his chair and drank the rest of the tea. “I’ll be back once I find more info on this, good luck with the coronation, boss.”

“I wish you good luck as well,” Scar said. Now, I just need to wait…

Citizens walked into their houses, most of them locking the doors, while others stared out of their windows to see a black Haxorus walking across the street, accompanied by two Fraxure. All the dragons wore armor pads on their arms and legs, with chest plates to match. They were colored silver and the light coming from the sun reflected on them, while Vulcan’s armor was adorned in a golden color.

Vulcan checked the houses and frowned. “I’m not sure why they seem to be so afraid of us. Are we really… that scary?”

“Dragons tend to be,” one of the Fraxure answered.

“Hm. I didn’t expect this. Alas, it doesn’t matter. That’s not what we’re here for.” Vulcan stated, continuing his stroll until the point where he saw a large house, a smirk growing on his face as he recognized it as Scar’s home.

The larger dragon knocked on the door and was received right away, as Scar opened it with a smile. “Ah! Greetings, mister Vulcan! Why, come in!”

Vulcan motioned for his companions to follow him as the four entered the house. Scar walked to the living room, presenting the place, containing two couches, along with a table in the middle, holding in several berries.

“I hope this is to your liking,” Scar noted, sitting down. “You may not believe this, but it has been a while since I last cooked.”

“There’s no issue, Scar.” Vulcan replied, sitting as well, alongside his companions. “We’re here to gather our forces. We strike today.”

“And that is fine,” Scar picked a nanab berry and peeled it out, munching on the fruit. “What do you need me to do?”

“Our job as the royal guard is to protect the king. Don’t worry, we will be discreet and do this in his castle,” the Haxorus answered with a snarl, showing off his sharp fangs. “As for your organization, we would like you to call a town meeting, saying it’s of utmost importance that all citizens are present. There, we will announce our coup, as well as the new king.”

“I see.” Scar mused, swallowing another part of the berry. “That can be done.”

“And speaking of your organization, where is—”

The door to the house barged open and Percival walked inside, his body wrapped in purple aura and with a raspy breath. The Lucario exhaled, forcefully dissipating his aura, and soon enough, his gaze met the four reptiles talking in the living room.

Lilith closed the door and smiled sheepishly. “S-Sorry guys, he was running too fast for me to catch up…”

“I want to go with the royal guard,” Percival said. His eyes shone in the light of the day and his resolve was as hard as steel. “It’s my decision.”

“A wise one, mister Percival,” Scar stood up, nodding, and looked at Vulcan. “Is that alright?”

“Of course. The more, the merrier.”

Percival smiled, eager to go with them again, and extended his hand towards Vulcan, shaking the dragon’s own.

The dragons were now preparing for their trip, and Percival had to do the same thing. For him, though, preparations were different. He picked the armor left to him by Scar and put it on, checking himself out in a mirror. While he looked fine, he had a frown.

“…So this is it, huh? Things are changing from here on,” he told himself, sighing as he looked at his large bed. Next to it was a drawer that Percival decided to open. On it, there was his team badge and the headband he used to wear. Those two things combined gave him a somber kind of nostalgia, and his frown grew. “I wonder if they will find out about this once the coronation is finished. Maybe they’ll even come visi—what am I thinking…? They’re not coming. Why am I reminiscing about this now ?”

Struggling to come up with a reason, Percival instead ignored the feelings, shoving them aside on the back of his mind to focus back on the present. Yes, that made more sense. Focusing on his mission would surely help.

“Let’s see. Emera, check. Armor, check,” he took various looks at himself and nodded each time as he confirmed everything he could do to prepare was done already. All except for one, simple thing.

“Pep talk to raise confidence? Probably not checked… Well, here it is, then. Percival, calm down, this is for the good of the city.. It’s almost like my life led itself to this moment… All the pain I’ve been through, all the hardships I endured… They made me strong.”

Remembering the meeting of earlier , Percival wondered what exactly they would do once they got to the castle. This was a coup, and coups usually ended in bloodshed, right?

Percival looked at his paws, they were shaking. “I’ve had blood here before, but… c-can I kill the king if the coup is to succeed? I… I can. O-Of course I can. I’ve done it before, no reason I can’t do it again…”

Even with his affirmations, Percival wasn’t convinced. He took a deep breath and finally turned around, to fulfill his mission and help the city.

Not even the soldiers training outside was enough to disrupt king Edgar from his duties as a monarch. What was enough, however, was the portrait of a Tyrunt standing on the table next to him.

“Terrence,” he said. “…I miss you. I wasn’t supposed to be king, you know. Why did you have to—”

Someone knocked on the door. Typical. Not even in his personal time could Edgar actually enjoy it. He sighed again and closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.

“You may enter.” Edgar said, finally opening his eyes. Vulcan, two Fraxure and Percival had entered the king’s office. Strange, of course, but nothing he couldn’t handle.

Vulcan took the lead, raising his head. “King Edgar. You must be wondering what we’re doing here.”

Before Edgar could answer, or even ponder the question, Percival stepped in. “We are here because you don’t deserve the position you currently have.” The Lucario completed, crossing his arms.

Edgar tilted his head. What were those morons talking about? He was the king! The rightful ruler! But being the king meant that he had to be calm and collected. Edgar stared at them, not saying a single word.

“Did a Meowth get your tongue?” Vulcan snarled, his claws extending and smoke puffing out of his nostrils. “In case we weren’t clear enough, your Majesty, we are here to dethrone you.”

Oh. Edgar frowned. “A coup? Is that what this is all about?” The king snorted, laughing loudly. “Fools! None of you have what it takes to be a monarch, you weren’t even born with the right for that!”

Percival’s fur stood on end as he aimed an Aura Sphere at the king. “Drop the act. We know how this town has been suffering, and I cannot stand and watch this happen any longer!”

Vulcan agreed, preparing to attack at any moment. Edgar, on the other hand, barely flinched. For a moment, he stared at Percival, almost like he was searching for something. Then, his eyes widened. “…Interesting. Those fierce eyes, that ragged look… I’ve seen it before. Do you know a Lucario named Nicholas, by any chance?”

Despite not directly answering, Percival gasped, and that was enough confirmation for Edgar. The Tyrantrum stood up and eyed everyone in the room.

“So… you want to take my throne. This is treachery, Vulcan! And here I thought you were my right-hand mon…”

“I used to be, your Majesty.” Vulcan replied, shaking his head. He frowned, despite his firm words, his arms trembled. “But this was long ago. I can’t respect you anymore. You fail to act as a leader should. Your citizens are suffering and you refuse to take any action!”

Hearing this, Edgar roared, his tail slapping on the chair behind him with so much strength it broke the furniture. “I don’t take action? Moron! You are the one who keeps telling me that we should trust that religious buffoon!”

“Drop. It.” Percival fired another sphere, aiming at the window. The shattered glass fell right on Edgar’s side. “I’ve seen it myself. The state you left them in. A father, struggling to keep his family alive. Do you care about them? Your subjects?”

“How dare you ask me this?!” Edgar roared. His entire body shook, trembled. Percival’s feelers twitched, and he instinctively ducked, barely dodging a fireball aimed at him.

“King Edgar. We of the royal guard find you unfit to rule,” Vulcan said, pointing at the Tyrantrum. The Fraxure by his side roared. “Therefore, we will change things today!”

A burst of flames broke the office’s door into pieces and the four combatants did their best to dodge the attack. Percival, in particular, spun an energy bone between himself and the fire to dissipate the flames. Once he was done, he grasped the weapon and grunted.

“You will not take my place!” Edgar roared, his eyes focused on the four.

Percival grunted again, carefully looking at Vulcan. The dragon nodded and charged towards Edgar, the Haxorus’ claws were enveloped in purple, draconic energy as he tried slashing the monarch. Meanwhile, Percival stood up and took a deep breath, touching the emera in his arm.

“I will judge you myself if I have to!” Percival screamed, a rainbow aura enveloping his body. While still wrapped in energy, the Lucario dashed, launching the club in the air.

It spun with high speed, and Edgar, being distracted by Vulcan’s assault, didn’t see the projectile until it hit him square in the jaw. He stumbled backwards and roared, before Percival jumped in, uppercutting the king’s jawbone. The rainbow aura exploded, sending Edgar flying across the room until he entered his office again.

“Well done.” Vulcan pointed out, panting. “W-What’s this form again?”

“Mega evolution,” he answered, cracking his knuckles. “I can’t stay too long, otherwise I’ll go berserk, so let’s finish this quickly!”

The dragon motioned to his smaller companions. “Go grab the cuffs! Percival and I will deal with the king!”

Now left alone, the duo prepared to fight again. Soon enough, they heard the king’s heavy footsteps drawing near. Percival locked eyes with Vulcan and, together, the two ran towards the Tyrantrum.

“I’ll find you a breach and you’ll strike!” Vulcan shouted, turning his body around, the scales on his tail changed color to a silver tone.

“Get back here, you traitor!” Edgar lowered his head, opening his jaw and trying to strike the dragon with his sharp fangs. It was quick, and Vulcan soon screamed in pain, but otherwise remained where he stood.

That’s the best breach I’ll have… Percival thought, creating a second bone in his left paw. And that’s the one I’ll use!

“H-Hurry, Percival!”

With another long breath, he aimed at Edgar’s legs, launching the two bones he held. They struck with precision, hitting the dragon and forcing him to release Vulcan. Not just that, but his legs gave in and he fell on the ground grunting from the pain.

“Is this enough…?” Vulcan asked, panting. He hoped that was the case, but they could never be too sure.

As for Percival, he still sensed Edgar’s aura, and from how it looked, he could tell the monarch was furious . Nonetheless, he created a sphere in his paw and slowly approached the Tyrantrum.

“No, it wasn’t. But it will be now!” Percival aimed at the monarch, preparing to strike at any moment.

“Don’t! We’ll deal with him our way, there’s no need to kill Edgar!” Vulcan protested.

The Lucario didn’t flinch or look away. His arm, however, trembled ever so slightly, not enough for him to notice. Not at first. Yet, Percival failed to launch the move. Something inside him told him not to, despite the effort he was doing right now.

“What’s… wrong?” Percival asked himself, and suddenly he felt something grabbing his arm. He looked up and gasped; It was Brian. Brian was holding his arm tightly. Not knowing what to do, he closed his eyes and dissipated the move, falling to his knees.

A lot of time had passed since the dragons and Percival had left the house, Lilith noticed. Scar left too, and apparently Max was preparing for a mission faraway, so now she was alone inside Scar’s house.

Sure, she could stay there and do something fun, like reading. Or she could go out and check the coronation by herself. Oh yes. The second option was better! Exciting, even. Lilith giggled as she left the house, wondering how things were turning out now.

And if fate wanted, then maybe Chewtle’s family would be okay, too. Lilith had done everything in her power and could only hope now.

She walked in the streets, seeing the citizens leaving their houses and all of them walking in the same direction, towards the center of the city. That had to be where Scar had prepared the meeting. There were even a few reporters, judging by the recorders and the large quantity of electric-types. Though Lilith wasn’t sure exactly how it worked, she managed to recognize it as a magnetic wire recorder.

“Geez, this thing’s really important, eh?” Lilith told herself, gulping down. “…Well, I trust Scar.”

“Whaddya think this is all about?” A Grumpig nearby asked, talking with someone else.

“No idea. Guess only time will tell.” Answered a Mr. Rime, shrugging.

Oh. He didn’t even tell everyone? Scar, sometimes you’re just lazy… Lilith sighed, walking further to the center of the town, paying attention to what the townsfolk around her said.

“I bet this has to do with that noble that got killed a while ago!” This time, a Carracosta said, talking to a Bagon.

That Salazzle lady. Didn’t realize how important she was. But Scar had to have a reason to order her death.

Lilith finally stopped, right in the middle of a whole crowd. She took a look around, still not finding Scar anywhere. Until she heard the sounds of trumpets, the same sounds she heard when she visited the king in his castle.

Oh shit. The bunny ran, shoving aside the Pokémon around her, trying to get closer to where the sound came from. It was getting closer! Not just the sound, but the coronation as well. Gotta get there!

With several jumps, she made her way to the frontline, placing herself between two Graveler. After all that effort, Lilith panted, only raising her head to see what was in front of her.

Scar was surrounded by several Fraxure, as well as Vulcan himself, who stood by the Marowak’s right side. The ghost-type took a single step forward, putting his hands behind his back and clearing his throat.

“It is without so much as a shred of a doubt that you must be wondering why I called everyone here,” Scar started his speech, extending his arm to show off the royal guard. “These knights of Cydonia have been working with me for the past few months to achieve a singular purpose: We have dethroned the king.”

Total silence. Nobody really knew what to say when confronted with that truth. But there were whispers. Every now and then, someone whispered, asking questions such as “Why?”, “They did what?”, and similar. Scar couldn’t help but smile, everything had fallen according to plan. A Gumshoos approached him, carrying a microphone.

“Reporters, eh?” Scar mused, smiling. “Very well. Then I wish you to record what I am about to say.”

All eyes were set on Scar, but there was no noise, the trumpets had silenced everything other than the Marowak. He took one step forward and ordered the trumpeteers to stand down.

“Attention, world! Hear my proclamation!” Scar started, touching his chest. “Many of you know me as Scar, but my name, my true name… is Asher. A father to some, a husband to someone else. But they no longer exist!”

More whispers spread over the crowd, unsure of what was going on. Lilith nodded, waiting for the speech to continue.

“…For years, I have searched everywhere to find peace, to find a mere remnant of hope to hold on to. And I found it. I found my calling!” Scar raised his club into the air, closing his eyes.

“A creature, a God that was cast aside and buried, all because of the fear, the fear inside the Legends of ancient times. But they never realized what He truly wanted. That is: A world without famine, a world without war, a world… where we can be free. Where nobody will die due to prejudice, to disease, to hatred.”

A loud gasp came from the audience, who watched the events unfold. Scar stood there, eyes closed as he let the common folk take in what he said.

“And because He is still trapped, the war rages on. We cannot stand by and let it happen again. Therefore, me and my companions of the Sunset Salvation have taken action into our own hands!” The Marowak showed the guards again, each of them having a blank expression on their faces. “We have taken away the king’s throne, so never again will he cause pain and suffering to you all!”

Gumshoos gulped, raising the microphone. “S-Sir… let me see if I understand… You carried out a coup? D-Do we need to fear you and your companions?”

Scar shook his head. “Hear me and rejoice! Citizens! Fear us or rely behind us as you see fit! For we… We are the Sunset Salvation!”

The reporter gasped, making sure to record what Scar said.

“We of the Sunset Salvation stand with everyone who has suffered, who is suffering, and who will suffer. Whether they are poor or rich… it does not matter! The king cowardly let you all be made hostages from the aftermath of the raid… and without a shred of mercy, did nothing to assist you!”

The citizens started talking amongst themselves, some nodding, some shaking their heads, but most of them agreed with what Scar was saying.

“It was a meaningless act, and neither I nor my teammates could let it happen again. Therefore, the king has been punished!”

Those words caused another gasp across the audience, but this time, some of the Pokémon began to clap and cheer for Scar.

“Just as the noble mistress Adelaide has been punished for her hideous acts towards her own employees,” this caused a few Salandit in the audience to cry. Scar simply continued.

“We cannot stand by and allow such cruelty to be carried out, so both of them have been properly dealt with. And we will not let this become a one-sided massacre to the weak by the strong! Because, in truth… only those who are willing to be killed can kill.”

Scar then snapped his fingers, and behind the knights came a figure, a Lucario dressed in armor, and wearing a cape and a crown. The citizens shouted, some grunted, some cheering as they applauded the canine.

“And because of this, we have elected a new, better king to rule over this city!” Scar stood by the Lucario’s side, tapping the auric Pokémon’s shoulder.

“It is with great honor that I accept this responsibility,” Percival said, nodding and waving at the citizens. His citizens. “I will do all I can to help this city prosper.”

Scar then raised the Lucario’s arm high in the air. “All hail the king! All hail Percival!”