Author's notes: This chapter contains scenes of child abuse and violence. As such, viewer's discretion is advised.

Dungeon 13 - Unnatural Selection: Part 1

8 years ago

The sound of bird peeps signaled that it was morning. Starly flew through the sky over the small village of Thornwell. The villagers started their daily chores that quiet morning, chatting among themselves and opening their stores. It seemed like it would be a good day.

Inside one of the houses, was a small Pokémon lying on a bunk bed. He opened his eyes, rubbing them with his hands, and yawned. He then leaped down from the top bed, still sleepy, and stretched his arms. On the bottom bed, another Pokémon was sleeping peacefully. The child who had already woken up approached and shook him.

"Brian! Wake up! This is the day!" he spoke, wagging his tail and giving a broad smile.

"Five more minutes Lance…" His brother turned his back, wrapping himself in the blanket.

"We don't have five minutes!" He replied, pulling the Zorua's sheet.

Brian yelped and fell to the ground, quickly getting up and yawning. Lance, seeing that his plan had worked, looked at him with a sincere smile.

"When I'm excited about something I will push you…" The Zorua scratched his ears.

"Ah! But come on! We will start training! I can't wait!" Lance gave his brother a grin.

"Maybe we'll make a world trip! Who knows?" Brian agreed, giving a light smile like his brother.

The boys left their room, going down the stairs of the house. They could smell food in the air and went straight to the kitchen. Sitting on the chair was the boys' father. Like Lance, he was a blue and black-furred canid, but unlike the Riolu, he was tall, his arms had two white thorns, alongside one in his chest. He put several pancakes on the plates.

"Good morning, Dad!" Lance spoke as he sat, looking at the Lucario.

"Good morning…" Brian then sat down, scratching his eyes.

"Good morning boys... it's today, right? The day that the guild training will begin…" Their father smiled in the corner of his face.

"Yes! Will you accompany us there?" Lance asked, starting to eat.

The adult bowed his head, sighing as he heard his son's question. He sat quietly, thinking about what he was going to say this time.

"Hey... aren't you going?" Zorua decided to talk, staring at his parent.

"Unfortunately, your uncles and I were called on a mission... I don't know how long it will take for us to return, but we have to leave today."

"You promised us..." The Zorua took one look at his brother and turned his face to his father.

"When will you get back?" Lance lowered his head, his smile, and excitement from before were replaced by a hint of sadness. "I wanted your company…"

"I…" The Lucario tried to speak but was interrupted by a noise.

Someone had knocked on the door of the house, and Lucario got up to open it. On the other side was an amphibious Pokémon with a blue body and four limbs, having orange fins on his arms and legs. The Pokémon carried a smile.

"Good morning Nick! How are the kids?" the Swampert said with a grin, talking to his friend.

"Shiron... good morning, they just woke up and... I already told them about our mission." Nick sighed.

"Dude, you could have waited for at least a little…" Shiron spoke, a little uneasiness on his eyes. "Well, I'll try to talk to them…"

The duo went back to the kitchen, seeing the two brothers finishing eating in silence. When Lance noticed his uncle, the boy gave him a weak smile, waving to the Swampert.

"Hi, Uncle Shiron!"

"And there you are, children! How are my favorite nephews?!" the water Pokémon laughed.

"Guess we'll have to wait for Dad to come back from the mission to celebrate," Brian spoke, thoughtful.

"Kids, don't worry, a friend will take care of everything," Nick said, scratching his chin. "He's a Heracross."

"Dad? Are you leaving now?" Brian asked with his ears lowered, sighing.

"If we stay here any longer, Yuu will end up sleeping in the middle of the road…" Shiron answered, rolling his eyes.

"Well, then... have a good trip…" Lance got off the chair, still looking sad, but forcing a smile to his father.

Nick hugged his kids and then took a deep breath, looking at the Swampert. They were a very famous team, so they constantly had to go out on jobs around the continent, and sometimes even abroad. He hoped that the relationship with his children would not become worse despite all this. The children kept watching the two adults as they left the house. For a few moments, neither brother wanted to say anything.

"I hate that..." Brian broke the silence, looking down. "Dad acts like it's no big deal every time he has to leave…"

"I'm sure he doesn't like it either…" Lance said.

"Says the guy who can see aura…" He walked to the door. "Let's go!"

The siblings left their house. Far away was the guild headquarters where they would enter as recruits. The building was medium size and appeared to be made out of concrete. Some Pokémon were outside doing renovations. The two boys entered the building without hesitation.

In the center, a Pokémon was talking to others, it was a bug type that was similar to a beetle. They realized that it must have been the Heracross that their father had mentioned, getting closer to him.

"Good morning…" the small Riolu said, looking at the adult.

"Hello, mister!" Brian waved to him.

"Well, hello! You must be the recruits…" the Heracross then checked a paper on his hand. "You're both… 8 years old? Don't you think you're too young to enter the guild?" Alder said a smile on his face.

"Well, I think if we start early we'll finish early!" Lance spoke, wagging his tail, his brother agreed with a nod.

"Well, let's register you, come on." He laughed a little, going into a room.

Alder's office was big, with a desk that had a radio, a chair in the back, a window, and two more on the opposite side. He sat down, and the brothers did the same. The Heracross took a pen and a notebook, looking at them

"So... let's go from the beginning, what is the name of the team?"

"I honestly haven't thought about it yet…" Lance tapped his fingers on his chin, thinking.

At that moment, Brian seemed to have an idea on his mind, giving a little laugh, showing his teeth.

"Team Liberators! To bring a message of freedom for everyone!" the Zorua suggested to his brother.

"Interesting, I liked the idea" Alder laughed, his eyes fixed on Riolu.

"Wow, that's so cool Brian! I love it!" the Fighting-type said, wagging his tail. "By the way, Mr. Alder, I'll be the leader!"

"Got it. We'll start your training next week, one thing, you'll have to wake up early." He wrote on the paper, seeing that both of them had consented. "Alright, the Zorua is dismissed, but you... Lance, right? Since you're the leader, I need to say some things to you."

"Hm... ok!" He thought that was a little weird, but trusting in his father's judgment, Lance decided to trust the insect.

"See you guys soon. I need a nap." Brian got up, leaving the place.

Looking out the window, Alder saw the Zorua walking like usual, until the moment he opened the door to his house, leaving the bug's field of vision. Giving a smile, he turned on the radio in the room.

"The operation was a success... we can take the boy. Send the message for the other members of the guild to leave." He said on the device.

"Mr. Alder? What are you talking about?" Lance asked, lowering his ears and trembling a little.

"Well, kid... sorry, but your dreams of being an explorer will have to end here…"

Upon hearing this, Lance jumped out of his chair desperately, running to the door without thinking about anything, when he hit what looked like a body, falling to the ground. Looking up, he saw a red Pokémon, with wide legs and on the bottom, yellow parts. His head had a kind of long "hair", with feathers that circulated his chest. Riolu moved away, crawling on the ground, when he was grabbed by Heracross and, before he could speak anything, his mouth was covered.

"Blaze, let's take him away from here... I swear this job was horrible. Infiltrating in a famous guild! If his father found out, I'd be dead!" He grumbled, going out with a Blaziken.

As they left, they saw that the place was already empty as planned. The two then proceeded to a back door, away from the view of the villagers. While everything was going on, Lance started crying, trying to get rid of his kidnappers at all costs. Heracross, angry, just grabbed him harder. They then followed a forest road, south of the village.

"Stay still boy, it's nothing personal... but our boss needs a Riolu and you are an easy target…" Alder kept holding Lance as the boy struggled, trying to get free.

"Do you believe that crazy man managed to unblock an evolution that nobody has ever heard of?" Blaziken commented while they were walking.

"I don't know, who cares? As long as we get paid, that's what matters…" he rolled his eyes.

"Hmph... Hm!" Lance tried to talk to them, but with his mouth covered, he couldn't say anything but grunts.

"Kid, I swear to Arceus, you're annoying..." Alder said, punching Lance in the head, knocking him out. The kidnappers kept walking for another hour.

Meanwhile, Brian was in his bed, sleeping. He woke up yawning and got up, stretching his body.

"That nap felt amazing… Now, where is my brother?" He then went to the stairs, looking for Lance. "I guess he's still in the guild… hehe! Must be working hard!" Brian ran off, heading towards the building.

The boy looked at the building from far away, seeing that there wasn't much movement, which was strange, there was only one Pokémon in the entrance. Usually, there were several coming and going. Having a bad feeling, he ran as fast as he could, approaching and seeing a green Pokémon that had a circular body, he crossed his arms, waiting.

"Yeah... hi?" The Zorua got closer, saying to the other Pokémon.

"What do you want?" The Quilladin turned around, facing the boy.

"Did everybody leave? My brother was there…" He spoke with a shiver on his body, as if something bad had happened.

"That stupid manager gave the alarm for us to leave!" The grass type tapped his foot on the ground, impatiently. "But there was no emergency! We came back and there was no one there!"

"No-nobody?! What are you talking about?!" He ran inside the building, seeing that in fact, it was empty. He then went back outside, his face down.

"Kid, what happened?! You look like you saw a ghost!" he said approaching Brian.

"I told you! My brother was there! The manager said he had to discuss something with him and I left!"

The silence that followed only served to confirm Zorua's suspicions. His brother was missing. He fell to his knees, desperate and without knowing what to do. In his mind, several questions were being asked. Where was Lance? What was the reason they took him? Was he ok? He had to warn his father! The questions filled the boy's head who then started crying and screaming.

The Riolu woke up lying down, his body was exhausted from the trip and he opened his eyes slowly, looking at the place he was in. It seemed that the walls were made of metal with a locked door, there was no way out and, on the wall, he saw a speaker. Feeling something on his neck, he looked, seeing a collar in place. Scared, he started screaming, hitting the walls.

"Get me out of here! Dad! Uncle Shiron! Uncle Yuu! Help! Help me, please!" He was trying to leave, desperate and clawing at the door.

Suddenly, the collar on the boy's neck activated and he felt a shock running all over his body, making him fall to the ground. Then, the speaker turned on, a voice coming out of it.

"I'm sorry kid... you will stay with us as long as necessary."

Lance didn't recognize who was talking and stayed on the floor, without moving, feeling his whole body burning from the discharge. The door opened and the same Blaziken as before appeared, picking up the Riolu in his lap and taking him to another area of the place. With his blurred vision, the boy could barely discern where he was, seeing only gray walls. How long had it been since he was kidnapped? He couldn't answer, being carried by the red Pokémon. All he could do was wait and trust that his family would find him.

Eventually, they arrived in what seemed to be an operating room, with a hospital bed in the middle, where Blaziken put Lance. On the other side, there was a tall Pokémon, it wasn't possible to see much of him, but he had white skin with some traces of green on his head and arms. He was touching some utensils when he noticed the boy, smiling at him.

"Ah, the new test subject arrived!" He spoke and Lance noticing that was the voice he spoke on the radio before. "My name is…"

The child couldn't hear his name right, lying on the stretcher. The scientist then pulled a syringe, injecting it into Lance's arm.

"Don't worry... boy... you won't die... well, I don't intend to let you die, but if it happens…" the Gallade said. "There are many Riolus in the world! I'm just sedating you at the moment."

Lance wanted to scream, run away, call his father. He was scared, even if he couldn't move because of the sedative. Still, he remained awake but unable to do anything. The boy wanted to remain conscious as much as he could to try to identify who had done this to him. The scientist just smiled, taking a knife and starting to cut Riolu's stomach slowly. Despite his efforts, he lost consciousness.

Waking up, he opened his eyes, noticing that he was in the same room as before, only this time there was a bed.

"I don't know how long I've been in this place... Dad... help me…" He thought.

The routine was the same. He woke up, went to the room, was sedated, and dissected by the doctor. When he tried to escape, he was electrocuted by the collar. The more often this happened, the more the boy began to lose hope. Where was his father? Nick should have found his hiding place by now. He was being carried through the corridors again, but this time, he went to another room, wider, but with nothing but a knife on the floor and a fainted Pokémon, which looked like a black furry dog. The smell of blood was hovering in the air, giving a feeling of nausea in the Riolu, who was thrown to the ground by the Blaziken.

"Where... I am now?"

"Welcome to your new test, Number 10." The doctor's voice spoke through the speaker, he never referred to Lance by name, only by numbers.

"Test? Please let me go!" the boy screamed, tears flowing from his eyes.

"I'll tell you something interesting about where I come from...we have medicine, a pill that can make the Pokémon stronger. It's called 'Rare Candy'. Unfortunately, it has become taboo and illegal."

"Rare Candy? I've never heard of it... what is he saying?" The boy thought, looking at the other Pokémon in that place.

"Of course, being the genius that I am, I was able to recreate, despite these primitive lands." He gave a small laugh. "Of course, I haven't perfected yet. You see, this Houndoom... was another subject, unfortunately, he's unstable. Your mission will be... to survive. Kill this enemy and you may have a break from my experiments."

"Kill him?!" Lance couldn't believe what he was hearing.

As if it were the cue, the Houndoom stood up, snorting smoke, and looked at Lance, showing his sharp teeth. He set off on the boy, shooting a gust of flames. Riolu barely had time to react, picking up the knife on the ground and rolling to the side, dodging the blow. Even so, the dog continued advancing, lifting his claws and, catching Lance distracted, stuck it in the boy's chest, the sound of blood followed by a scream coming from him as he was thrown to the wall. Barely managing to move, he used all the strength he had to stand up, until he fell, his chest bleeding from the cut.

"Hm, disappointing... finish him off, Houndoom," the Gallade said.

Following the order, the black dog advanced, his mouth open and his teeth flaming. Lance screamed, holding the knife and shoving it into the enemy's eye after he approached. Being hit, the dog whined, disoriented. The child wasted no time, stabbing him in the other eye. This time, it was Houndoom who fell. Lance, still angry, continued hitting his enemy in the body, no matter what happened. He realized that only this would make him survive. After several stab wounds, Lance fell to the ground, fainting from his wounds, the last thing he heard was the laughter of Pokémon who had made him go through it.

Waking up again, the blue Pokémon was on a bed of the medical wing, tied up. Moving his head, he managed to identify the doctor who had tortured him all this time.

"A Gallade...?" he thought.

"I see you're awake, child." The scientist turned around, showing a syringe with a blue liquid in his hand.

"What's that?!" Lance began to struggle, trying to escape.

"You think very bad things of me, I already told you what it is when I introduced my canine friend to you…" He was smiling, approaching the bed where Riolu was.

"Get out! I don't want that! Why are you doing this?!"

Hearing the boy's question, the Gallade stopped for a moment, reflecting on what he should answer. Shrugging, he continued on his way.

"Let's say... scientific curiosity, kid. I perfected the serum... probably. I can't be sure until I see the effects on someone, and I won't test it on myself." Smiling, he injected the contents of the syringe into Lance's arm.

Immediately the child started screaming. With tears coming out of his eyes, he felt as if his bones were burning every second, moving uncontrollably, trying to let go, shaking his head while crying. Gallade just watched, his smile remained on his face. Lance was already running out of voice, he just wanted to get out of there and go to the comfort of his home, where everything would be fine. But even if that was what he wanted, nothing seemed to change. There was no sign that he was going to escape so early from the torture he was going through. Then, finally, he seemed to give up. His movements were weakening, the pain diminishing little by little, while he looked at the aggressor, panting, his body was exhausted from all that.

"It seems that the infusion experiment was a success... congratulations, Number 10, you won a few days of rest, the next test will take a while to happen…"

The child was half-eyed, his vision blurred, and his mind tired. Would it be his destiny to stay there until he died? The last time he saw his family, he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become an explorer. Help other Pokémon as much as he could. But now everything seemed to have been taken at once. He would never see his father or brother again. He would never see the sunlight again. Lance started crying again, the tears coming down like a waterfall on his body, until the fatigue hit him, knocking him out.

Author's note: Yeah, this chapter was heavy on both of the brothers. Actually this is my favorite chapter so far, I really enjoyed writing it(despite being, y'know, filled with torture). Anyway, the next part is already on its way, so I'll see you next time!