Uncontrollable Relapse

20 YEARS AGO - 12 YEARS OLD

"Where are you taking me?!" shouts a disgruntled Lucario as he gets dragged by the headmaster.

"Your outbreaks are getting worse, so this is the only way to teach you to stop," the headmaster concludes, making his way to a building in the back of the academy. Once they make it to the building, the headmaster releases Lucario. "Don't even think about running because there are other people watching and waiting to catch you."

Staring up at the imposing building, Lucario crosses his arms and huffs. "How is this building supposed to be your solution? It's not even my fault anyways! Nicholas keeps picking on me and Latia! I was only trying to stand up to him since no one in this school does anything to stop him!"

The headmaster glares down at Lucario and grabs the back of his blazer before throwing him inside the warehouse. "The world doesn't care if it was your fault or not, Lucario. What matters is if you are able to overcome it, but it seems like you can only resort to physical outbursts. Stay in here for the next period. Someone will come to let you out afterwards."

Shutting the doors, the headmaster chains them back up before turning and walking away, leaving Lucario in the warehouse. However, he isn't the only one in there.

"Oi, look at this," comments a voice in the darkness. "It looks like even the kids they protect get thrown in here."

Mixed with anger and fear, Lucario slowly turns around to search for the voice when a man overshadows him from behind. "Who… who are you?" Lucario asks, trying not to tremble in fear.

"It doesn't matter who we are. Just know that we are a bit angry right now, and we need someone to take the brunt of it."

Still not able to see clearly due to how dark the warehouse is, Lucario frantically tries to run to the door hoping that it would open, but it ends fruitlessly. The chained doors don't budge a single inch, and the voice manages to grab Lucario's neck and picks him up.

"Be glad that we have these handcuffs on, boy," the voice laughs while tossing Lucario further away from the door. "They'll help keep you alive."

As the men begin to beat up Lucario, the only thing that the child can do is huddle and struggle to survive until someone comes to save him. In order to remain awake, he begins to count to himself in order to reassure himself that he's still alive.

17 YEARS AGO - 15 YEARS OLD

Digging his heels into the ground, Lucario attempts to free himself from the headmaster's grip. "No! Please! I don't want to go to the warehouse! Don't put me in there!"

"You don't seem to learn your lesson no matter how many times you're sent here," the headmaster scolds.

As soon as the headmaster lets go to unchain the door, Lucario makes a run for it but is ultimately, quite literally, shot down with a rock to the shin by the faculty who survey the area. The headmaster walks over and picks up Lucario by his collar and throws him inside the warehouse.

"Cool your head in here for a while," commands the headmaster before shutting the door to the warehouse.

Lucario dashes to the door and begins pounding on it. "Let me out of here!" he shouts, pounding so hard on the door that the sides of his hands start to bleed from the rough wood. "I didn't do anything wrong! It was that bastard Nicholas!"

"Hey, look, there's a kid here," a voice in the darkness acknowledges. "Since we couldn't complete our mission, let's at least try to get our anger out."

Hearing chains being coiled around the handles of the warehouse door and the voices in the room snickering, Lucario drops on the floor helplessly and weeps to himself as he begins to count the seconds like a timer. Soon after he begins to count, the voices catch up to him and drag him away from the door.

15 YEARS AGO - 17 YEARS OLD

The headmaster shakes his head as a beat up Lucario follows behind him. "You put up a fight, but you still never learn."

"So you're just going to send me to the warehouse for the next period like you always do, right?" Lucario mocks while resting his hands behind his head.

"Not for the next period," the headmaster responds once they make it to the warehouse. "You won't be able to leave until you can get yourself out."

"What?!"

"Lucario, you are almost eighteen. You'll be graduating this coming May, and you still haven't learned the lesson I have been trying to teach you all these years?

Lucario scoffs as he hears the headmaster's excuse. "Lesson? What sort of lesson have you been trying to teach me? You throw me into this warehouse, knowing full well that there were criminals in here, and you expect me to learn something from it?! The only thing I have been learning is how not to die while I'm being beaten up and tortured!"

Unchaining the warehouse doors, the headmaster holds the handle to the door before facing Lucario. "The lesson I have been trying to teach you is how to fight back with everything you got. The world doesn't care who started the fight. The world only cares about who wins because winning proves that you are strong.

"You have been tortured and beaten by my older brother for too long and you never learned to fight back against him. Your sister, Latia, ended up dying because she wasn't strong enough. Nicholas Kang has been bullying you ever since middle school, but you never were strong enough to defeat him.

"I send you in here while you are still riled up so that you can use that anger and adrenaline to fight against the criminals we hold and prove to yourself that you are strong. However, all you end up doing is succumbing to their torture and beatings like you do with everyone else. There are a handful of men and women here who have tried to kill other students. It's up to you if you want to survive because you won't be leaving until you can get out of here yourself."

Opening the door to the warehouse, the headmaster gestures for Lucario to enter on his own accord. Lucario knows full well that he can't run due to the multiple injuries he has sustained over the years of trying to escape, so he willingly walks inside and watches the small sliver of sunlight escape as the doors close behind him.

"There's a runt in here with us," a man's voice in the darkness says while Lucario listens to the chains being coiled around the door handles.

"Isn't that too cruel to send in a kid," a woman's voice sneers as she chuckles to herself.

Lucario stretches his arms over his head before letting out a long sigh. "Lunch is in an hour, and I don't plan on wasting my time in here. If you're going to come at me, I suggest you do it now."

"Ho? The kid sounds sure of himself," another man's voice groans as it stands up.

—

"Are you sure it's a good idea to put him in there right now?" Ms. Vivian questions while walking with the headmaster back inside the building. "There are more people in there than usual, and all of them come from seriously dangerous groups."

The headmaster adjusts his blazer before grabbing the door to enter the building. "Lucario needs to learn. This world is a matter of life or death. If he dies, that's just his fate. If he lives, then it shows that he has potential. There's a reason why the students' parents sign a waiver before fully enrolling them into the school."

—

Heaving from the constant fighting and injuries, Lucario holds himself up by continuing his count in his head.

365. 366. 367. 368.

With every passing minute, Lucario deals as much damage as he receives. Very slowly, but ever so surely, taking down the criminals in the room.

613. 614. 615. 617.

Not wanting to give up. Not wanting to give everyone the satisfaction of winning. Not wanting to live his life constantly being pushed around. Lucario fights every punch and kick with the intent of killing. With the intent of not giving up. With the intent of winning.

897. 898. 899. 900.

With the last of what seemed like an infinite number of people dropping dead onto the ground, Lucario lifts up his unbutton shirt and wipes the blood that drips from his head off of his face, smearing the color red across his eyes and accentuating the void that fills his eyes.

1,504. 1,505. 1,506. 1,507.

Heading to the chained up door, Lucario uses the rest of his strength and repeatedly punches away at the wooden door. At first, the four-inch thick wooden door didn't move. However, after a while, progress can be seen.

1,952. 1,953. 1,954. 1,955.

After what seems like forever, light can be seen peeking through the door. Exhausted but encouraged, Lucario musters and squeezes out the last of his strength to continue punching this one part of the door. Soon, Lucario's fist completely flies through the door onto the other side.

2,329. 2,330. 2,331. 2,332.

As soon as Lucario's fist penetrates the door, the sound of the chains outside being unlocked and uncoiled ring through. It isn't long after that the door opens, revealing one of the faculty members. Lucario covers his eyes from the bright light and nearly drops from his legs giving out when a group of people begin to file inside of the warehouse and clean up the mess. Not wanting to give in, Lucario stands up and walks out of the hellhole he was thrown in.

"We have the infirmary ready for you if you wish to have your body checked up," says the faculty member that opened the door.

"I'm going to eat lunch," Lucario replies as he limps past the woman. "I'll be there afterwards."

Making his way to the lunchroom, Lucario spots Nicholas. "Hey, you bastard!" Lucario shouts from the other side of the sidewalk. Nicholas sees a beat up Lucario walking straight to him. He starts to make a smart remark, but Lucario picks up the kid by the neck and lifts him as far up as his weaning strength will allow him.

"I hope you're listening because I'm only going to say this once. Don't you ever try to fuck with me ever again because I will kill you if you try."

With that, Lucario launches Nicholas into the bushes. Soon after, a relieved but worried Billy runs up and catches Lucario as he begins to collapse. Before he passes out, Lucario finally notices that he has stopped counting. The last number he remembered getting to is 2,587.