LoRD V: A Legacy's Denouement Chapter 32

Rabid Dogs

Rupert regained consciousness, as he found himself waking up in a dark location. He could hear the sound of cars moving along the streets, beeping their horns as they drove up and down the street. Rupert moved around, trying to get a grip on where he was. He smelled to figure out where he was, and he couldn't bear what he was smelling. He stood up, and could barely even do that. He looked down directly at his feet, and found himself in a dumpster in some alley.

"Leave it to Edna to just throw me somewhere!" Rupert said, as he climbed out of the dumpster.

He landed on his feet, wiping off a used napkin off his shoulder, and a ripped portion of a garbage bag on the other. He casually walked out of the alley, and it took him a while to have his eyes adjust to the sunlight, as it beamed down at him. Once his eyes adjusted, he got a good look around the city.

He was in one of the less crowded districts of the city. He saw plenty of cars, but not many people walking up and down the street. The street was mostly composed of small businesses and apartments, as he tried to figure out where to even go.

"The tower!" he thought to himself. "the flower shop was facing the north side of the tower, so..."

Rupert stepped out onto the sidewalk, and looked up toward the massive tower. He saw that he was on the side that had the small width, he needed to be on the left side of it. He needed to do this quickly, so he began to rush in.

"Vincent, if you can somehow read my mind, don't do anything you'll regret!" Rupert spoke in his mind.

---

Back on the ranch, Alex was walking around the ranch along the border of the ranch, where the trees were. He watched as the other pokemon were doing their usual activities, and even saw Elisa showing Jacqueline the ropes of the ranch. He could make out only a little of what they were saying and doing.

"So... you really do have a strict food schedule here, don't you?" Jacqueline questioned.

"Yes, and all the food needs to be used within a week after purchase, so don't hesitate giving them more than you think is necessary," Elisa said, lifting up the massive bag without needing any help. "After a while, you just get used to doing this kinda thing. Trust me, it only gets easier. I told Ina the same thing."

Jacqueline then had to raise the question. "Ina? Was she the last person that worked here before me?"

Elisa then went back to just being the answerer. "She was also a friend of mine, too. Ever since we were kids." Elisa added.

Alex wasn't able to hear anymore. He just kept walking, as he was trying to figure out what to even do. He didn't feel like playing with any of the other kids, he didn't want to be with any of the adults he just wanted to be alone. He couldn't understand why, he just wanted to be alone for a while. He looked at the trees as he passed each one, and just thought to himself. One thing that has been raging through his mind was the fact that he hasn't seen Vincent since yesterday. He could ask Veruka about that.

"Alexander," a voice came from the trees as Alex became easily spooked by the voice. "Don't be afraid, son."

Alex looked toward the trees, and saw a lucario standing there, just looking at him. "Vincent?"

"You haven't forgotten about me already, have you, Alexander?" The lucario replied, as he grinned. "Just don't lose your path, son. We will be with you, always."

Alex rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming, he then opened them, and saw that the lucario was gone, just vanished into thin air. "Dad?" Alex replied, looking around to see where the lucario went off to.

Alex was so confused, he swore he was dreaming. He was just hoping that if he was, he could wake. Because he knew that eventually, everyone would have to wake up from a dream. But he wasn't, he knew what he saw was real.

After this, Alex just kept on walking like he hasn't seen a thing. Just another part of his life that cannot be explained, and that was it.

---

As all of this was going on, the Red Hand was still looking at Vincent for an answer on whether or not he knew the man. Vincent just kept starring at Kerry, unto, Harris talked up again.

"Vincent, do you know him?" Harris asked again.

Vincent shook his head. "I don't think so," he said.

"Mmph! Mnmhm Vhnm!" Kerry said, trying to speak with the gag in his mouth.

"Then let's let him speak," Louis said, pointing to Steve. "Take off the gag."

Steve carefully removed the gag, and man, did Kerry go off his rocker. "You son of a bitch! You don't know me? thanks for sticking my neck out for me! Jerk!"

Louis then pulled out a knife, and walked toward Kerry. Kerry kept one eye on the blade. "So, you do know this lucario?" He asked, shaking his head. "That must mean you must know Lucas Deming!" He said.

"Who's Lucas Deming?" Kerry asked, trying to conceal him. "Ask him! He knows! Hold that knife up to him!" Kerry said moving his head toward Vincent.

"Can't, he's our employer."

"What?" Kerry looked toward the lucario. "You hired the Red Hand? How could you do this Vincent!"

Louis moved the knife closer, until it was right against Kerry's neck, as Steve continued to hold him down. "Ssh! Let's not start freaking out now!" Louis said, grinned toward the young ex-agent. "I'm going to start thinking that you don't like us."

"Kerry, just tell them everything you know on Lucas," Vincent began pleading with Kerry. "No harm will come to you if you tell them!"

Kerry looked angered toward Vincent. "What if I don't know anything?" Kerry said, looking at Louis. "And what do you plan on doing with Lucas- ah, damn."

"So, you do know him?" Harris asked walking up next to Kerry. Harris then pulled out his own gun, and began intimidating him. "You mind telling us where he is?"

Kerry looked at Vincent with disgust, as Vincent felt sorry for him. Although at this point, he didn't know what to do.

"Stop looking at him!" Harris said, kicking Kerry in his stomach, as he fell to the ground. Louis retracted the knife, and helped him to his feet.

Louis then used his might to slam Kerry against a red, as some of the leaves fell from the sudden force. Louis then pulled the knife out again, and slammed the blade into the bark of the tree, as the knife wobbled back and forth right next to Kerry's head. Kerry wasn't afraid often, but now, he was really scared for his life.

"Now you listen to me," Louis said, eyes narrowing. "Tell me everything you know on Lucas Deming! Once you do, we will be on our merry little way, and we will leave you alone to piss yourself. But right now, I need you to tell me exactly what you know, so we can all move on with our lives. Okay?" Louis asked, grabbing Kerry's collar.

Kerry still was resistant, giving a deep glare at Louis. "I don't know anything," he replied. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you anything! You're just a pack of rabid dogs out looking for meat! All of you!" Kerry glanced over at Vincent.

Louis then let go of his collar. "When was the last time you saw him?" Louis asked, as he pulled the knife back out of the bark.

Kerry didn't answer, but instead, released droplets of spit from his mouth, as the saliva dropped all over Louis. He used the back of his hands to wipe it all off, and looked disgusted toward Kerry.

After few moments of silence, Louis just laughed, and laughed, and laughed. It reminded Vincent of the way Madman Ackerman laughed whenever she planned to cause trouble, as he took a couple of steps backwards.

"Red Hand," Louis turned back to his followers. "Code Six!"

Vincent watched as the other six members of the Red Hand started to surround Kerry, as he became worried. "What are they doing?" He asked, as Louis turned around.

"Whenever someone refuses offers we make, we initiate code six," he said. "And... well, you'll have to watch."

Vincent rushed over toward the others, as Louis held out his arm to stop him.

"Don't hurt him!" Vincent shouted. "We are after Lucas, he has nothing to do with this!"

Louis then looked back down at Vincent. "We can't be sure about that," Louis replied. "Trust me, this code will prevent him from talking about anything for a while. Just let them do their job."

Steve started to initiate 'code six,' by punching Kerry in the face, as the back of his head slammed against the tree. Kerry threw a couple pinches back, as the other members started to surround him. Vincent couldn't make out everything hat was going on, and he felt useless just watching. He knew if he did anything to cross Louis, the same would happen to him.

Vincent could only see the men and woman surrounding him, as the held him down and began beating him down. Two of the guys held him to the ground, while the rest puts began using him as a punching back. Vincent closed his eyes and held his large ears, trying to see or listen to anything. He could hear a muffled shout from Kerry, and the fading sound of punches against human flesh. Louis just watched, as his followers continued to abide by his command. Louis then help out an arm, and said, "Stop!"

The Red Hand then stopped, as the all walked away from Kerry. Vincent opened his eyes and ears, as he quickly walked over to look at Kerry. He was almost brought to tears at the sight he witnessed. Much of Kerry's face was covered in cuts and bruises, his arm looked like an elongated noodle, and his right foot was almost bent inward.

"Don't worry, he's not dead," Louis laughed to himself, shaking his head while doing so. "He will live, but it'll be hard for him to remember much of this. Come on, help me get him into one of the cars. We're just getting started, my friend." Louis said, as he patted Vincent on the shoulder.

Vincent was mesmerized by the brutal sight of Kerry, he couldn't even look at him without vomiting in his mouth. He just picked him up by his feet, not being able to look at him. He could feel Kerry's right foot easily shifting, as Vincent could easily feel a crack in one of the bones in Kerry's foot, except there were probably more.

Harris helped pick up the other end, as he and Vincent walked off with Kerry's body. "And so it begins!" Harris laughed like Louis, as of it were a joke.

Vincent was beginning to wonder if that was necessary.

---

Rupert continued to make his way through the streets of Hearthome, as he felt everyone else's eyes on him, knowing that he was a pokemon walking through the human streets of the city. He couldn't bear being looked at so strangely by so many people. He had the same feeling the last time he was here with Napoleon and Lucas, it was just unexplainable. Despite this, he still made his way to where he had to go, as the shadow of the massive Skyline Tower was like a large coat over him.

The street looked familiar, he knew that he was in the right area. He noticed the businesses lined up along the sidewalk, as he tried to find the right one. He accidentally bumped into a woman walking down the street, and started curing at the toxicroak. He wanted to curse right back, but figured she probably wouldn't even understand him. Maybe he really is fitting into the city, he thought to himself.

After his encounter with the woman, he happened to look up, finding a sign that read The Aroma. He looked over to the right, and discovered the flower shop he was looking for. The setting looked a little different, though. The flowers were actually blooming and not dying, like they were when he last arrived here. And the restaurant next-door was setting up tables outside for customers to enjoy the weather, beside the traffic running the peace that could be. Now, all he had to do was try and find them, if they were there.

He walked right up to the counter, to see if they were there. He then looked around in every direction, and just couldn't find them. "I'm screwed if I can't find them!" Rupert thought to himself! making it his sole mission just to find the couple.

He walked around for another minute, not being able to find them. He started to panic, as he started looking it to the street.

"Please, let them come! Please!" he thought, just asking for one good deed to happen to him.

He felt a tap on the back of his shoulder, as he turned around. "Excuse me?" A man asked, as Rupert looked at a man wearing a black suit. "Are you looking for someone?" He asked.

The man smiled at him, as a woman wearing a similar outfit came up next to him. Rupert just laughed at the sight of the two. "I was really hoping you'd both be here," he said. "You did say that you're here undercover for clients... why are you dressed up?"

"We were going for lunch," Bruce said. "Why? Did you want us for something?"

Mallory walked up next to her husband, as Rupert tried to figure out where to begin.

"Feel free to say no, but I- we, need your help. And it's something very drastic." Rupert started.

Mallory started to question the toxicroak. "Concerning who?" She asked.

"Lucas," he said.

That one word made Bruce and Mallory look at each other with keen looks. "What about Lucas?" She asked him another question.

"He's being hunted!" Rupert said, trying not to speak too loudly. "For all I know, it could already be too late, but Vincent, my lucario friend, went to the Red Hand in order to make an agreement to hunt down Lucas."

"The Red Hand?!" Bruce and Mallory both exclaimed.

Rupert nodded. "I need to know where he is, I need to warm him so that he can live!"

Mallory couldn't comprehend what she was hearing. She was the one who originally said that the Red Hand would come back to bite them all. "Shit!" She said. "Alright... we just saw Lucas yesterday! He said he was going to stay at some inn for a few days before he left the region. It was the, the, um..."

"The Butterfree Inn!" Bruce said, pointing his finger to the sky, feeling proud that he remembered. "He said he was going there until he moved out. He also said something about why it shouldn't be called the Butterfree Inn..." Bruce said, trying to remember that part.

"Where is it?" Rupert asked. "Do you have a GPS or something I can use? I need to warn him, there's no way he fight them off on his own!"

"We have a GPS, but..." Mallory said, stepping up to the toxicroak. "We're coming with you," she said.

Bruce then held his wife close. "That's right," Bruce agreed, "Lucas was a longtime friend of ours. If what you say is true, then we gotta help him as well."

"There's also a few places where we can take him off the grid," Mallory said. "He will be put in a safe spot until the Red Hand decides to abandon their contract."

Rupert then started walking off from where he came. "Alright, let's go then!" He shouted. "We got no time to lose!"

Bruce brought out his GPS, and dialed in the final location. It instantly brought up a location, but the route directed them to move in the opposite direction. "Guys, it's this way!" He said, pointing the other way.

Rupert sighed, as he ran back the other way. "Go figure," he said to himself. The race was on.

It was truly a race to see who could get to Lucas first.

---

Lucas looked out the window of his cheap room, and saw the traffic driving by on a crowded highway. He then looked away from the window, and walked back toward him bed. He crouched down, and reached under it. He felt many objects, but the one he was looking for. He eventually reached in, extending his hand more, and managed to drag out his sword, as it slid out onto the carpeted floor in front of him.

He laid out the sword on his bed, and sat down. He picked up the sword, and gazed at it. "Many memories with this stupid thing," he said to himself, laying back down onto the bed. "But, I guess all good things have to come to an end."

He opened the window to his room, and looked down. He saw an open dumpster will trash compiled inside. He then went back into his room, and picked up the sword. He walked back over to the window, and then back down at his sword. Sword, dumpster. Sword, then back to the dumpster.

"Goodbye, old friend." He said, preparing to toss the sword and holster out the window, and into the garbage.

Then, his cell phone began to ring. He tossed the sword back onto the floor of his room, and just answered the phone, wanting to get this over with quickly.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Get ready," a voice said on the other line. "You're being hunted."

Lucas looked out his window, trying to see if anyone was on their phones. "Mallory?" He asked. "What're you-"

"No time! Get anything you can to defend yourself, the Red Hand is coming for you!" She said, as Lucas grabbed his sword. "We will be there in five minutes! Just wait for us, we are on our way!"

Lucas hung up the phone, as he started to panic. "The Red Hand?" He said, looking around his room.

He put the holster on his back, and pulled out his sword. He looked at the shiny metal making up the sharp steel, as he closed his eyes and took in a couple deep breaths.

"Here we go again..." He said told himself.