Romeo, King of Puppets

* Phase 1
* Phase 2

## Items

* Burnt-White King's Ergo
* Puppet Prince's Formal Dress
* Someone's Necklace

*"I'm Romeo. We grew up together in the Monad Charity House. Remember? We're best friends!"*
— Romeo
The **King of Puppets** is a mandatory boss in *Lies of P*. He is located in the Estella Opera House Stage. In the second phase of the fight he becomes **Romeo, King of Puppets**.

## Background

*"When the boy opened his eyes, he found himself sitting on a throne that he had not asked for. When he sought his friend of the past, he clung to his memories even though he knew there was no going back."*
— Description
Romeo grew up as an orphan in the Monad Charity House boarding school. Here he met and became best friends with Carlo who stayed at the House because of Geppetto's neglect from work. Both boys had dreams of becoming Stalkers when they grew up and frequently trained with one another. A few years later, Carlo was devastated when Geppetto missed his graduation. He told Romeo that he wouldn't be upset if Geppetto died but was reminded of how lucky he was to have any family at all. In a form of protest and resentment to his father, Carlo gave his necklace to Romeo as a gift to show his friend that he admired him. Sometime later, Carlo met a legendary Stalker and pleaded with her to teach him how to use a sword. However, she found this request annoying and ordered Gemini to "get rid of him" before leaving. Sometime later, Romeo and Carlo both contracted the Petrification Disease. Carlo died from the disease first while Romeo's body continued to harden. Romeo, wanting to save people from the disease, asked Geppetto to transform him into a puppet.

Geppetto fulfilled his request but secretly intended for Romeo to take control of all of Krat's puppets. This was because he wanted the puppets to kill Krat's populace and collect their Ergo so that he could use it to revive Carlo. However, Romeo rebelled and sought to take a stand against death itself and protect humanity from the Petrification Disease, the Alchemists, and Geppetto. Unfortunately, Geppetto had created a secret law of the Grand Covenant known as a Law Zero which gave him ultimately control over every puppet. By using Law Zero, Geppetto started the Puppet Frenzy which resulted in the deaths of the majority of Krat's population. Despite this, Romeo started gathering Puppets to stop Geppetto and the Alchemists and use his influence to protect the remaining humans.

After learning that Carlo's Ergo had been transferred to Pinocchio, Romeo tried to send messengers to P to inform him of the situation and tell him that they didn't need to fight. However, due to manipulation by Geppetto, P killed them all. When P found him at the Estella Opera House Stage, Romeo tried to warn him of Geppetto's true intentions of transferring P's heart to the Nameless Puppet with a short play. Romeo then appeared in his King of Puppets suit and held out his hand in friendship to P. However, P still did not understand him and knocked his hand away. Realizing he had no choice but to fight, he attacked P. During the course of the fight, Romeo tried to get through to P and tell him who the real enemy was and that lives were on the line but was unsuccessful. Romeo's body was badly burned from his suit's destruction but emerged still determined. Unable to get through to his former friend, Romeo reluncantly tried to kill P but ultimately failed. As he died, Romeo thanked P for finally giving him true freedom.

## Gameplay

A full walkthrough of the boss fight, including cutscenes, can be found here

## Trivia

* As a child, Romeo told Carlo to call him "Lampwick".
	+ This is a reference to Pinocchio's troublemaking friend Candlewick (also known as Lucignolo, Lampwick and Romeo), who was turned into a Donkey and sold into labor, resulting him to being worked to death.
* Before battling the King of Puppets, two puppets perform a play in which Geppetto extracts Pinocchio's heart and placing it in another puppet figure, foreshadowing Geppetto's ambitions.
* Romeo's attempt's to send a message are seen when battling the Parade Master and King's Flame, Fuoco. While players are unable to understand them during New Game, their dialogue can be heard clearly during New Game Plus.