Finding Warmth

"Breathe, Lucario," Billy softly coaches while he takes his friend to the car. "Slow deep breaths. You're not in the warehouse anymore."

"202… 203… 204…" Lucario's hand trembles as he clenches onto his sides. His counting is slower than usual, but it still lingers with him.

Dunking Lucario's head, Billy slides his friend into the car before closing the door and getting into the driver's seat. "It's over now. You can open your eyes."

The gentle voice of Lucario's only friend eases his mind, causing him to gradually relax into his seat. Billy rubs Lucario's arm to help calm him down a bit as they sit in silence. Billy knows all too well the trauma that the warehouse has caused Lucario. He knew that Lucario wouldn't be able to overcome it after all of these years because of how deep the warehouse nightmares in his mind are.

"Billy," Lucario gasps between his labored breaths. "Take me home."

"Of course, Luca," the concerned friend complies before putting the car in drive and quietly driving off, letting Lucario take in the momentary peace.

—

Cautiously watching Lucario's back, Billy guides the shaken beast to his room. "I'll have the men take the assassins to the Guest House and set up a surveillance team to watch them until you're ready to see them."

The Guest House. Those who enter it never leave alive. Disguised as a common house, it is specially built to keep sound from escaping the walls. The windows to the inside are nothing but pictures plastered on. The darkness that envelops the room and the silence due to the extreme soundproofing is enough to make those who unfortunately enter it go crazy.

Lucario drops onto his bed and kicks off his shoes before curling up. "I want to be left alone. Don't let anyone into my room. I won't be having lunch either."

"I'll be sure to let the men know," Billy responds before leaving the room.

Glancing up at Billy's back, Lucario mutters, "Thank you for your help earlier."

Billy hears this and smiles to himself without turning to face Lucario. "It seems like I'm always saving you after you visit the warehouse," the man chuckles, grabbing the door handle. "Get your rest, Luca."

After hearing the door click shut, Lucario grabs one of his many pillows and hugs it. He knows that he's too old to act like this. He knows that he shouldn't have let his trauma affect his work. However, he also knows that he couldn't help it. No matter how harshly he was raised. No matter how strong he is. There was something innately terrifying about the warehouse.

"I'm so weak," Lucario complains to himself, digging his face into the pillow. "I'm such a disgrace of a leader."

Lucario is strong. Lucario is merciless. However, he is that way so that he will never feel as helpless as he did all those years growing up. He changed drastically, and he is aware of it. He might not like the person he has become, but it's the only way he knows how to survive. He never got the chance to be weak and comforted for it.

-"Daddy!"-

However, he realizes that he doesn't always have to be that way. A little girl showed him that it's okay to show your weakness while also being strong. Weakness and strength are both needed to be human. Only beasts desire strength alone, and he doesn't want to be considered a beast to the child who looks up to him.

"Lily…"

Closing his eyes, Lucario falls into a deep sleep where a smiling angel awaits to give him pleasant dreams. An escape from his reality.

—

Groaning from the lashes, the assassins shriek in pain as Lucario dowses their wounded bodies with alcohol.

"Who do you work for?" Lucario calmly questions, taking his seat in front of the barely breathing men. "I know full well that that Grant bastard isn't someone worthy to be working under, so he must have hired you guys from someone."

"We won't tell you anything," one of the men strains to answer before spitting his bloody saliva onto Lucario's shoes.

Lucario doesn't like this answer, and Billy knows this, so Billy rests a hand on Lucario's shoulder to keep him from doing something drastic before they can get answers. Taking heed of his assistant's silent advice, Lucario glares down at the men before picking the whip back up.

"You're lucky that my assistant is keeping me from killing you immediately," Lucario mentions as he slowly stands up. "However, that doesn't mean I have to keep all of you alive."

Crack after crack, the sound of the whip making contact with the skin echoes around the room. Since the men are already covered in alcohol, the pain of the leather whip ripping holes in them triples when the alcohol finds its way into the new wounds.

After some time, Lucario stops then looks over at one of his own men. "Bring me three canisters of gasoline," he orders before handing Billy the whip and taking his seat. The ordered man rushes out of the room only to come back shortly later with three quarter gallon canisters of gasoline. "I don't want to waste too much energy on people like you. I have a daughter to play with later, and she wouldn't like it if I couldn't keep up with her, so we are going to do it like this."

Lucario takes one of the canisters and pours the entire thing of gasoline onto one of the men. "I will burn you alive one by one. I will decide when I light you up. It may be now. It may be when you don't answer my questions. It may be never. However, I must set an example first because words aren't enough to instill fear." Taking a lighter out of his pocket, Lucario squats down at eye level of the assassin he covered in gasoline. "Goodbye."

Flicking the lighter open, Lucario grins heinously as he tilts the lighter onto the assassin's nose setting him ablaze. The assassin screams in excruciating pain as the fire encapsulates his whole body. His companions look on in horror as their eyes widen, watching both their partner burn alive and Lucario smile at him.

"Now then," Lucario interrupts, standing back up and walking back to his chair. The assassin continues to scream, and his partners throw fearful glances at each other. "Don't mind your friend there. Just ignore his screaming. So, tell me. Who do you work for?"

"We… we won't… tell you," one of the other assassins utters, visibly shaking due to listening to his partner screaming for help. "We knew what we were getting into when we started this job."

Shifting his eyes to the last of the trio, Lucario squints as if he's thoroughly examining him. "Why don't you tell me who you work for?"

The last man doesn't answer but simply shakes his head as he keeps his eyes pointed to the ground. Profusely sweating, the man tries to drown out the cries of his burning partner.

Lucario flicks his finger at the man who is holding the gasoline canisters. When the man approaches, Lucario takes one of the other canisters and casually holds it by his side as he stares at the man who refused to answer. "You say that you all knew what you were getting into when you accepted this job. Was burning alive one of the things you were expecting? Did you think that you'll be getting the normal way out by being shot in the head or something?"

The two men flinch when they see that Lucario stands from his chair. Neither want to be the next one to burn. Actually, they both want the other person to burn instead of themselves. Their selfish thoughts, though unspoken, resonate loudly with Lucario. He knows that if one of them has to burn, they would want the other to be chosen and not themselves.

"Who do you work for?" Lucario keeps asking while pouring the gasoline on the man who didn't answer. "If you answer, I won't light you on fire."

The newly covered man shakes like a leaf blown through fast wind. "M… Mey…"

"Don't answer!" the second man shouts as he shoves his lashed up body onto his partner. "We die with our work."

Laughing maniacally to himself, Lucario transfers his attention to the second man. His cold dark eyes contrast greatly to the smile he has on his face. "You die with your work? What kind of oath is that?" Lucario grabs the man who clearly has a deathwish by his collar and pulls him closer to his partner that's still on fire. "If you want to die so badly, then go right on ahead."

Lucario tosses the man on top of the ablaze partner and watches as he quickly catches on fire due to the alcohol that was poured on him earlier. Guttural shrieking rushes out of the man's mouth as he rolls about the floor to pointlessly put out the fire. As that happens, Lucario twists his head to the last man. "Were you saying something earlier before you were interrupted by your friend here?"

The man quivers as the cold gasoline refuses his body to regain warmth.

"Are you cold?" Lucario asks, petting the top of the man's head. "You can move closer to your friends there to warm up if you're cold."

The man immediately shakes his head. "We… we work for… Meyling's Food Court."

Satisfied with the answer, Lucario walks over to Billy and hands him the lighter. "That's all the information that I need. Kill him," Lucario orders, taking the offered handkerchief from Billy."

"Yes, Father Lucario."