LoRD V: A Legacy's Denouement Chapter 39

Confessions

"What do you mean he's after Lucas?" Alex asked, over and over again. "You're not really explaining why, Veruka! Why is Vincent after Lucas?"

Veruka couldn't find the words. "That's the part I can't really explain to you, Alex," she said. "You're too young! I can't tell you that even if I truly wanted to."

Alex looked up darkly to his mom. "I've already seen and heard everything that impossibly could, and you're afraid that what you'll say with be enough to truly shut me out?" He asked. "Nothing that you can say will do anything like that! I've seen friends die, nothing is worse than that!"

Veruka's lip stuttered, trying to find out how to explain it. "Alright," she started off, "let's just say Vincent was dreaming one night, and he saw a vision of- of Iron Island. And that there were-"

"Dead riolu and lucario everywhere? Yeah, I know about the Iron Islamd massacre," he said.

"How did you know what I was going to say?"

"I just figured that one you said that, and that you didn't want to tell me, I just knew it had to deal with the massacre there," he claimed. "When I was kidnapped, I learned about it very quickly from David's friend, Milo, once we got to the island itself. I also know my dad and I escaped there, which led us to the mountain over there," he pointed to the towering mountain that they were one behind.

Veruka then shook her head. He already knew a lot about what she was going to say. "Okay, I didn't think you knew all of that," she admitted. "But, anyway, Vincent had four dreams involving seeing that. The last time, he saw not just David, Milo, and Conner, but he also saw a fourth figure... now, Vincent says that it was Lucas, but there's no actual proof of it."

Alex looked stupidly up to Veruka. "Lucas was the fourth person at the massacre?" He asked. "That's not possible!"

"I told the same thing to Vincent, and he didn't believe me," she told him. "Vincent... look, right now, he's a loose cannon. But that doesn't mean he's a bad lucario now."

Alex didn't believe what she was saying. "So, he's going after Lucas to- to-"

"Not to kill him, just to try to get to him. And I honestly have no idea what he's going to try to do," she said. "But he went to some bad people to help him. Do you remember when you went with us to the Red Hand's place, those group of people who helped deal with Jeremiah?"

"Yeah," Alex said.

"He went to them. They're trying to hunt down Lucas together," she said, as Alex looked shocked. "I don't know the deal they made, but they were interested, so they're going after him together. But they're not going to kill him from what I know."

Alex started to cry. "Why would he do that?" He asked, as Veruka kneeled down to his level, watching as Napoleon and Elisa continued to walk. "So... he just abandoned us to hunt Lucas?"

"No!" Veruka said. "He didn't abandon us! He's just doing what he thinks is right, even though it's not. He might be doing it to protect us, who knows?"

Alex still wasn't convinced. He just wrapped his arms around Veruka, as she did the same for him. "Was it my father that showed him that vision?" He blatantly asked. "My father showed him those visions, didn't he?" He asked.

Veruka nodded her head. "From what Vincent told me, yes, it was him," she said. She watched the group being to leave them behind without knowing, as she stood up. "Come on, I need you to be stronger than ever, Alex. We need to keep going."

Alex wiped away his years, as he and Veruka continued to walk down the beach like nothing happened. The shade of night now over them, there was no time to just dally around.

---

Vincent and Lucas sat on separate chairs in the living room of Lucas's home, as a clock over them was ticking loudly. Lucas still wore his sword on his back inside his holster, as Vincent pointed that out.

"Hey, doesn't that feel uncomfortable sitting back with that on you?" Vincent asked. "I mean, it looks uncomfortable."

Lucas shook his head. "I've gotten used to it, I've had to sit in much more uncomfortable positions before," he said.

Vincent nodded, looking at the pictures on the wall. "So, what have you been doing ever since you left the ranch a few days ago?" He asked.

"Look, Vincent, let's not just chat here. I know why you're here," he said, as Vincent looked over to him. "You stopped our boat in Hearthome, remember? Or did you already forget?"

Vincent moved forward, leaning in toward Lucas with a smile on his face. "I just want to have a chat, that's all."

Lucas leaned back into his chair, while Vincent leaned forward. "A chat about what?" Lucas asked, looking puzzled to Vincent, trying guess if he could tell the answer.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said. "I guess I just really wanted to talk."

Lucas then chuckled, coughing a little afterwards. "That's why you had those Red Hand fellows come with you, right?" Lucas asked, standing up from his chair, shaking his hands back and forth. "Is that you're way of setting up a conversation?"

Vincent then laid his feet on the coffee table in front of him, and watched as Lucas walked around a little in the room. "I guess you could say it was a bit urgent," he grinned.

Lucas chuckled some more. "Then it must be one hell of an important conversation!" He said once again, grinning toward Vincent. "They almost killed Bruce and Kerry in order to set up their little chat! So, here we are now, let's chat about whatever you want to talk about."

Lucas walked back over to the couch, and sat back down in the chair, laying back against it. He even put his sword off his back and laid it on the coffee table in front of him. He laid his arms on the rests on the couch, and started to relax. "Let's talk!"

Vincent just looked at Lucas with suspicion, and wondered if he had any sort of plan. But, decided to forget about it. "Let's talk," Vincent reiterated.

Lucas looked at Vincent with an emotionless scowl. Vincent saw that look in his eye that almost made his cringe, feeling like he was now starring into the depths of someone's soul. He didn't know how to feel now that he and Lucas were once again in the same room together, but the feeling was nowhere near the same. Last time, they were friends fighting for a same cause, and now they were uncertain enemies fighting against each other for a cause neither of them fully understood. That was what Vincent realized when he looked at Lucas for the first time since the ranch, and that is what he felt that he would have to see until this was over with.

"Well, what're you waiting for? You can speak now!" Lucas said holding out his hand. "Go on, let's talk!" He calmly spoke, keeping a smile on his face.

Vincent was still silent. He moved his mouth trying to find his words, but continued to stutter on his own tongue. His lips moved to speak but no words came out. Lucas just continued to stare down Vincent, until he spoke up.

"Two friends of mine are in the hospital because of this, and now you sneak into my home and say you just want to talk," he said, "and you can't even talk!"

Vincent still remained silent. He just looked at Lucas, seeing the image of what his old friend evolved into. He just looked at the sword on the coffee table, right besides his feet. He looked at it, and remembered all the times that Lucas helped Vincent and others through the worst of all situations. Then he thought of the visions that Lumis showed him. He saw the blood and the bodies, and he saw Lucas carrying his sword in the middle of it. Everything that Lucas fought for seemed to have been a balance inside Vincent's mind, rocking back and forth as all these thoughts appeared inside his own head.

"Vincent!"

Vincent looked back over to Lucas after being caught in yet another trance. Lucas was shaking his head to Vincent, as Lucas clapped his hands together.

"Nice talk, I really like the tone in your voice. It was really smooth and soft," he said. "Look, if you don't want to say anything, at least give me one reason why you're here!"

Vincent took in a couple deep breaths, and finally spoke. "What happened on Iron Island that day?" Vincent asked. "What did you do?"

"You're going to have to be more specific," Lucas replied. "I was at Iron Island many times, including the time where we went to go after Alex. Remember that?" He asked.

Vincent nodded his head. "Yeah I remember, but- that's not what I'm talking about."

Lucas then looked at Vincent with a tilted head, looking at him strangely. "That's the only time that you and I were ever at Iron Island, so... which time are you referring to?" Lucas asked.

"Did you ever go to Iron Island before we ever met?" Vincent asked. "I mean... I'm just-"

"I was. Several times," Lucas said, tapping his fingers against the arm rests on the chair. "It's not a bad place to visit. I mean, the view from the island is awesome, you can see so much from where you stood. But, to answer the question. I was there."

Vincent then moved back to sit into his chair, sinking into it. "Were you ever there for a mission of some sort? You know, when you were still in the SUI?" He asked.

Lucas nodded his head. "Once," he said. "I was one of the men hired for the cleanup crew after the... killings, that took place there. It was horrible, and it was certainly something that'll haunt me until death."

Vincent became suspicious that Lucas wasn't telling him any of the truth he wanted to hear. "Were you there during the killings? I mean, to help prevent them- or at least  try to."

Lucas knew that Vincent was asking about him being at the massacre. "Are you saying that I was there during the slaughter?" Lucas asked.

Vincent nodded his head, and pointed to Lucas. "Yeah, you know, if you were present at the time," he said to the best he could. "If you were, did you try to stop them?" He asked.

Lucas looked up to the ceiling, and was thinking. Vincent interrupted him very quickly once he did.

"You don't know?" Vincent's grin began to fade away. "Or you just don't want to give your answer?"

Lucas then moved his head back and froth, his neck making a cracking sound while doing it. "Vincent... it's something I don't want to talk about," he said. "what happened at that island was a tragedy. Every time I think about it, my skin shivers and my stomach knots. When I had to help with the cleanup-"

"Were you there or not?" Vincent asked. "Answer the question, please!"

Lucas didn't say anything at first. He continued to think about what he was gonna to say. "I was," he suddenly said.

Vincent knew that he had him now. "You were actually there while it was happening?" He wanted to make sure. "What did you do?"

"I tried to stop them-"

Vincent suddenly jumped out of his chair, and was angered by that answer. "Did you? Did you really try to stop them?"

Lucas also stood up from his chair. "Yes, Vincent, I did!" He then grabbed his sword from off the table, and held it out in front of Vincent. "I grabbed my sword, ready to use it. But- I couldn't act- not at that point."

Vincent was now really mad. "You let him kill all of those lucario?" Vincent shook his head.

Lucas shook his as well. "No!"

"There were females and children there, too!" Vincent said, pushing Lucas back down into the chair. "And you just watched as they killed all of those innocent lives?!"

"That's not what I did! I had no choice!" Lucas said, shifting his sword into his right hand. "I was on a mission at the time- an undercover mission- it's when I first met David Murdock! I was supposed to be a guy called Francis Jurgor, or as David called him, Frank. We took his hostage and kept him under maximum security, while I tried to match Francis's appearance. He was supposed to the the fourth guy in David's little gang, until we caught him. Then I had to become him. I changed my appearance, had to practice using his voice- everything!"

"Liar!" Vincent said, forming an aura sphere in his hand.

Vincent threw the aura sphere at Lucas, as he held up his sword. The sphere hit his sword, which cause him to fly out of his chair. Lucas crashed through a window, and rolled all over the sand of the beach. He spun around a couple times until he was about twenty feet from the water. He pulled out his sword, and watched for Vincent, trying to see where he would attack from.

"No," Lucas said to himself. "You said you wanted to talk! Let's talk!"

Lucas put his sword back in his holster, and stood up. He saw Vincent walk out of the house, and headed toward Lucas down by the shore.

"You're full of... shit!" Vincent shouted.

"Think, Vincent! Think! How else wouldn't have gotten to get anywhere near David Murdock!" He exclaimed. "Use your damn mind for just one minute! At least give me more time to explain!"

Vincent didn't say anything, he just kept pacing forward towards Lucas.

"After a few days of being undercover, I came to know about a plot that David wanted to head to Iron Island. He said it was important," Lucas explained. "Milo and Conner, they weren't really informed on why, either. David said that it was important to him, and that it would later become important to us as well. So, we just agreed to it, thinking that we were just going to look for some gold or diamond, like a treasure hint or something. So, David steals a boat from Canalave City, and I had no choice but to allow it, otherwise my cover would be blown. He head out to Iron Island, and David suddenly says, 'Get your weapons ready!' Then I knew things weren't as they seemed."

Vincent shook his head. "You could have killed him right there!" Vincent said, panting. "You could've have use your sword to kill him!"

"No, that wasn't my mission. I had to keep him alive at the time. Plus, Milo and Conner would have killed me in the process. Not smart." He said. "So, anyway, we get to the island, and David pulls out his sword. At the time I thought it was just a regular sword. Then Milo whispers to me that his sword can use the powers of pokemon to his advantage. I asked him how he was able to do it, and then Conner comes up to me, eyes wide, saying, 'The sword sucks the souls of pokemon he kills.' I asked how many he killed, and- I don't even remember the number, it was too great. I ask David why we are here, and... I can't-"

Vincent grabbed Lucas's collar, and holds an aura sphere just inches away from his face. "Say it, or your face won't be looking pretty for a while!" Vincent threatened him.

Lucas took in a deep breath, and his own lips stuttered for the answer. "He says that we are here to take the auras of the lucario and riolu," he said, as Vincent's heart dropped. "He said that the aura was one of the most powerful sources of energy to ever exist. I told him he was an idiot, but he said that he knew what he was doing. I told him that we shouldn't be doing this, which, to keep things short, almost blew my cover. He went into the caves of the island, looking for where they were located. He found them... we all did."

Vincent looked horrified, as Lucas continued to speak his story.

"I remember looking at my clock while in the cave, it was about midnight," he said, shaking his head. "Just to think of all the wonderful dreams that they were having that night, suddenly- gone!"

Vincent stopped his aura sphere, and collapsed onto his knees. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"The slaughter began. David, of course, started it. He began sucking up every soul that he killed mercilessly, and he felt the power in his sword growing with every soul he sucked in. Milo and Conner helped him, but I just stood there, watching as they killed a large family without any mercy. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then, David says, 'Let this show that we can accomplish anything! This tells the rest of the world that we are the true kings of the Earth! Once they hear the news of this, everyone will be scared of us! We can do anything, go after anyone, we will be invincible!'"

Lucas then paused, as Vincent saw one lone year come out of his left eye.

"They kept one lucario alive. It was a female. I walked over to where they were keeping her, and David pulled out my own sword from behind my back. He asked me to kill her," he said, as Vincent shook his head.

"You didn't," Vincent said, "please tell me you didn't!"

Lucas closed his eyes, not looking at anything. "I asked if I could... at least take her somewhere where she didn't have to see this horror. David agreed to it. So it ok her to another section of the cave, where there were no lucario, and I-"

Lucas chocked on his own words, as he opened he eyes. He looked out to the sea, as the waves crashed against the shore. Vincent stood back up, as Lucas took out his sword from his holster. He then threw his sword to his left, as sand shifted from the sword.

"I had to do it. I had to keep my cover. I had all the intel I needed to take David down. I tried to get him the next day, but instead of capturing David, I found Conner instead. Him and I fought, and I ended up accidentally slicing Conner's throat with my sword while fighting him," Lucas said. "I had to flee, since I knew my cover would be blown in a matter of time. I returned to the SUI with all my intel, then, I quit. After seeing what people are capable of, and after doing what I thought was necessary just to get information, I quit. I couldn't take it anymore. I feel into another depression for a while, and fell off the map. Until I caught another lead on David and Milo, which-" Lucas then turned to look at Vincent with a grin. "Eventually led me to rescue you and Veruka that day we first met."

Lucas pushed his sword toward Vincent with his left hand, as Vincent looked down to see the sword shining at his feet.

"So you know what, Vincent, do it. Kill me, right here, right now," Vincent said, as Vincent seemed shocked. "I'm horrified of myself. Like you're probably thinking, I don't deserve to live, and you're probably right. So, go on, just do it quickly. I won't struggle."

Vincent looked at Lucas, as he put himself into submission. Vincent picked up the sword, and held it with both hands. He looked at his reflection in the blade, and saw all the trouble he went through just to talk with Luca.s after hearing the horror story, Vincent felt that something needed to be done.

Vincent lifted up up the sword into the air, and looked down at Lucas. Lucas closed his eyes, and was waiting for the sword to come down upon him. He knew that his confession to Vincent would be his downfall.