Chapter 6

A Family Reunion

The Infernape gaped open mouthed at his son. His face displayed a patchwork of emotions that he tried to reign in, only to fail spectacularly each time he blinked. As opposed to his face, his entire body was stiff and looked as if a small gust of wind could blow him over. Even the flames on his head seemed to burn and waft at a much more sedate pace.

Furno, by that point, was growing visibly nervous and self conscious. "Uh, look. I know you're probably mad that I ran away like that and I wouldn't blame you since I probably caused you to worry and possibly think I died or something..." Furno was rambling at that moment, as his nervousness grew with each passing moment of silence from his father. When his father still didn't talk, Furno just kept prattling on.

"I-I know you probably don't want me here..." Furno's throat seemed to close at the prospect of rejection. He swallowed thickly before continuing. "B-But e-even if you don't want me anymore, I wanted to make sure-"

Furno was cut off by the Infernape crashing to his knees and enveloping the young fire type in his arms. Furno's eyes widened in shock as he felt him pulled into a tight hug. He felt something wet drip onto his shoulder and he knew that his father was crying.

"Don't you dare..." the Infernape muttered, causing Furno to stiffen. "Don't you dare think that I could ever not want you!"

As soon as those words were said, the floodgates were opened. Furno completely broke down in his fathers arms, abandoning the charm in favor of clutching him like a lifeline. Tears poured down the fire type's face as he cried out all of his guilt, sadness, and happiness all at once, trying to convey these very feelings into his hug. The Infernape seemed to understand as his grip tightened and his tears increased.

The trio behind the reunited pair watched on with smiles on their faces, happy to see the young Chimchar that they had known for so long happy. Zero in particular was extremely happy for his friend. Furno had confided in him his thoughts regarding his family, how he felt guilty over leaving and how he feared that they would disown him should he ever return to them. The former human truly was happy that his friend.

Zero's smile fell a second later when a tiny flicker of emotion popped up on his radar. After training with Monty, and reluctantly using the few lessons Orion gave him on the matter, Zero had developed an almost passive level of emotion sense. At any given moment, as long as he was at least somewhat aware, he could sense the emotions of all those around him in a thirty yard radius. Sixty if he focused hard enough. He also was able to 'muffle' the emotions he sensed as too no go completely insane with his constant use of his emotion sense.

Frowning slightly, Zero full immersed himself in his aura sense and focused on the two fire types. He sensed happiness, shock, elation, a small amount of disbelief, all the things that he would expect from such a scene, but there was one other emotion that didn't make sense to the young Riolu. He felt fear, and not from Furno.

The fear was coming from the Infernape.

Zero narrowed his eyes at the larger Pokémon. Why would he be feeling fear? he asked himself. Is he afraid that Furno will leave again? Or is it something else...?

Another voice calling from inside the house brought Zero out of his thoughts, "Sol? Is everything alright? Who's at the door?"

Stepping into the doorway was another Infernape, this one a female. She saw the Greninja, Quilladin, and Riolu first and was about to question them when she saw her husband on the ground. "SOL! What happened?! Are you o-" Her gaze landed on Furno as he began to look up and everything froze. "Furno?" she whispered tentatively, almost scared of the answer.

Furno gave her a watery smile. "Hey, Mom..."

Th second Infernape gasped, bringing both hands to her mouth. Not even a second passed before she too was on the ground, her arms added to the hug. "Oh, Furno!" she balled, gripping her son, almost tearing him away from his father. "Oh, Furno!"

"Mom...I'm sorr-" She placed a finger on his lips to silence him.

"You have nothing to apologize for," she said, trying her best to stem the flow of tears spilling down her face. "All that matters is that you're here now."

Furno's eyes widened before a fresh wave of tears began to flow. He hugged his parents with renewed vigor, wailing in pure happiness over their acceptance. The two Infernape just held their son as he cried, whispering soothing words into his ear.

After a bout ten minutes of crying, the chimp Pokémon seemed to be tapped out. He managed to hiccup himself into a relative state of calm. He slowly pulled away from the two Infernape, only about five feet so that he could look them both in the eye. "Do you really forgive me?" he asked, his voice barely over a whisper.

"Of course we do," his mother said.

"No matter what you do, nothing would ever stop us from loving you," his father added.

Furno looked at them with big, red, searching eyes, looking at their faces for any sign of deceit. Deciding that the two fire-fighting types were being truthfully, he leapt at them with renewed sobs and clutched them tightly.

This time, it only took two minutes for Furno to calm down, he backed away again, his cheeks aflame. "Sorry..."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, little flame," his mother said, wiping away her own tears, causing Furno blush even harder. "I'm just so glad you're okay."

"I'm not going to lie to you, Furno. I didn't think you'd respond to my request," his father said in a slightly sheepish way.

All of the quartet was surprised by this, though Stride his his well, however, it was Furno that spoke. "Y-You sent the mission request?"

"Yes. I figured it would be the best way to get your attention," the male Infernape explained. "What with you being part of the resistance and all..."

"I guess that makes sense..." Furno mumbled before his eyes lit up in realization. He quickly retrieved the charm that he had dropped during his breakdown and presented it to his father. "Here's your charm!"

"Thank you," his father said gratefully. He took the small gold charm and placed it on his hand where it seemed to stick. He let out a sigh of relief as the familiar weight press against his hand. "You have no idea how good it is to have this back. I felt bald without it."

Furno giggled at his father's antics while his wife gave a short, "Dear", smacking his arm as she did so.

"How'd you know he was part of the resistance?" Stride asked suddenly. Furno physically jumped, obviously forgetting that it wasn't just his parents with him. His father, stood up straighter and eyed the Greninja with a curious yet cautious look.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" he asked.

"Oh! That's Stride," Furno piped up. "The other two are my teammates, Zero and Quill."

"Hello," Quill greeted brightly.

Zero nodded his head and smiled warmly at the two Infernape.

Stride's expression remained the same. He stared at the Infernape, unblinking with a blank mask. He just stared silently before he repeated, "How did you know he was part of the resistance?"

The Infernape narrowed his eyes slightly at the senior resistance member. Both Quill and Zero tensed not sure of what was about to happen but wanting to be prepared. Furno was looking between his father and Stride nervously, afraid that a fight would break out.

The two larger Pokémon stared down the other, the tension mounting with every passing second. Just when the tension was about to reach its peak, and a fight seemed to be emanate, the Infernape broke it. "A resistance member told me."

"A resistance member broke the confidentially agreement and willing gave information on a fellow member?" Stride questioned, a dangerous edge in his voice.

"You mustn't be angry with them. It was our fault that he told us," he said quickly. "When Furno disappeared, we had no where to turn. We were desperate to find him. We searched everywhere for him during all time of day. There were even nights were we went without sleep just so we could search longer."

Furno visibly winced as he heard what his parents went through when he ran away, though only Zero seemed to notice. Furno's mother came up behind her husband and hugged him as he continued to speak. "We asked every Pokémon that came through the town if they had seen him. Chimchar are uncommon in these parts, so we had hoped that someone would have seen him, but no such luck. We were beginning to lose hope until a member of the resistance came to the village to complete a mission. They seemed to take pity on us and confessed that a Chimchar had joined their division."

"We knew that it was a long shot, but if there was even the slightest chance that Furno was part of the Latios Division, then we had to try," his wife continued. "We created the request and had it sent to the Chimchar and their team and...here you all are."

"I see," Stride said tonelessly. "Then I apologize for my accusation. Secrecy is highly stressed in the resistance. We can't afford any leaks or spies among our ranks."

"It's perfectly fine," the male reassured with a friendly smile. "You were just doing your job. I cannot fault you for that. How about we start over?" He held out his hand for the Greninja to shake. "My name is Sol. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Stride looked at the hand for a second before he reached out and shook it. "I am Stride and the pleasure is all mine."

"And this is my wife, Cinder," he said, gesturing to his wife who stepped forward.

"It is nice to meet you," she said, raising her hand.

"And you," Stride said, grasping her hand and brushing his lips across the flat of her hand.

"Oh, a gentleman," she said with a slight blush coloring her face.

Stride smiled. "I may be a soldier, but I have manners."

Cinder nodded her head in acceptance and turned to Zero and Quill. "I take it that you two are part of my little flame's team?"

"Moooom," Furno whined in embarrassment, earning snickers from Quill and Zero, though Zero did a better job at covering his.

"That's right, Ma'am," Zero answered when he recovered from his laughter.

"Cinder is fine, dear," she said serenely. "Ma'am makes me sound old. I must say, I didn't know that the resistance recruited Pokémon so young."

"Typically we don't. These three, however, are exceptions," Stride said. "These three are practically prodigies in their own right and were able to form a team earlier than others, despite their age. You should be very proud of your son. He is very strong in his own right, even without his Ikari Flame."

Furno ducked his head at the praise, feeling rather bashful now that he was being praised in front of his parents. His parents' smiles seemed to grow rather strained however.

"Be that as it may, don't you think that children should not get involved with the current state of affairs?" Cinder asked.

That didn't stop you from trying to send him to the emperor's forces! Zero thought rather angrily, but held his tongue as he did not want to come off offensive.

"I do believe that," Stride said, gaining shocked looks from the young team. "However, in times like these, such luxuries are impossible to obtain. It is all we can do to train them young so that they will be able to fight should the need arise.

Cinder pursed her lips. "So you would turn them into soldiers?"

Stride raised his brow at that. "Is that not what you intended to do to him when you were about to send him off to the emperor."

It became dead silent. Not even the wind dared to blow.

Everyone watched wide eyed and horrified as a look of fury came over the female flame Pokémon's face. "We had no intention of turning out son into a soldier. We were only sending him so he could learn to control his Ikari Flame without causing harm to the village!"

"Be that as it may, the emperor's intention towards your son was, and still are, less than noble. He wishes to bring your son to his side and turn him into yet another mindless minion," Stride said grimly.

"And how do you know that?" she demanded, now glaring openly at the water-dark type. "How do you know that the emperor would do that?"

"Because that is what the emperor does," Stride said simply, his stony gaze never faltering.

Cinder looked like she was about to argue, but stopped when Sol placed a hand on her shoulder. "Please, Cinder. We didn't call them here to fight. We called them so we could speak with out son." Cinder gave her fellow Infernape a furious look, but deflated at the sternness and desperation present in her partner's eyes.

"I'm sorry for that," Sol apologized. "We both can be...rather defensive when our child is involved. I'm sure you can understand."

"I understand completely," Stride said, bowing his head. "Children are a precious thing in our world. It is only natural that, as a parent, you would want what was best for your child."

"Thank you," Sol said. "If...If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could we talk to Furno alone? It's nothing against you personally. It's just..."

"You want to spend quality time with your son," Stride finished, earning a nod from the Infernape. "That is fine. We'll take a walk around town while you talk."

Furno looked a little conflicted. He obviously wanted to speak with his family, but he didn't like the idea of just abandoning his team. Stride, however, was quick to banish his fears.

"Don't worry," he assured. "We'll just be walking around. If you need us, just give a shout. We'll be back in fifteen minutes."

"That seems fine," Sol said, turning to his wife who was already ushering Furno into the house.

Furno glanced over his shoulder and locked eyes with Zero, silently asking him if this was okay. Zero smiled and nodded his head reassuringly, telling him that it was okay to spend time with his family. Furno smiled back and entered the house as the door closed, leaving the trio alone.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Zero asked, his smile falling and becoming a look of worry.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Stride said as he lead them into the village.

"But what if he decides to stay?" Stride stopped and turned to face the Riolu.

"Then that is his choice." At Zero's almost mutinous look, Stride continued, "Zero, I cannot tell you if Furno will stay or not. As I said, that is his choice. We cannot influence that. However, if he does decide to stay, we must continue as if nothing has happened."

"But-"

"Zero," Stride cut him off with a stern tone. "As a member of the resistance, and the leader of Team Dawn Breaker, you have an obligation to help other Pokémon and fight against the emperor's tyranny. You must do this, with or without Furno."

Zero seemed crestfallen at that. He had only joined the resistance because of Furno. Because he had no other place to go. Without Furno by his side...it just wouldn't be the same.

Stride saw the gloomy look on his charge's face and his expression softened. "It is what Furno would want, should he not return."

Zero looked up at the Greninja and nodded minutely. "Okay."

Stride could tell from the emanation Pokémon's tone that he was still reluctant to accept this, but chose to ignore it. He knew that it would be hard on the former human, but he would pull through eventually. Resistance teams lost member all the time for various reasons and while it hurt at first, they would eventually get over it.

"Come on, Zero!" Quill exclaimed, slinging an arm over Zero's shoulder. "This is Furno we're talking about. He'll come back with us! Just wait and see!"

Zero smiled gratefully at his teammate, though it didn't quite meet his eyes. He glanced back at the house where they had just left his friend and couldn't shake that heavy weight of impending loss from his stomach.

-Resistance-

Furno's parents had lead him through the familiar hallway into the sitting room. It was just like he remembered. The cushioned chairs and love seat sat adjacent to the staircase that lead to the upper floor which housed his and his parents rooms. Along the walls were bookshelves filled with not only books, but also a plethora of senseless baubles that his parents had collected in their youth. Hanging on the wall just above the love seat was a painting of two Infernape holding a small and wailing Chimchar.

Furno remembered when that picture had been painted. He was very young then, but his memory of that day was clear. It was hot and muggy then and a young(er) Furno was in an especially cranky mood. His parents had scheduled a time to get a family portrait from a traveling Smeargle who would be leaving that evening. Fifteen minutes into the painting, Furno had started wailing like Giratina himself was after him and nothing the two Infernape did could calm him. In the end, they just had the Smeargle paint him crying and that was that. The painting was a never ending source of embarrassment for the fire type, but his parents loved it. They said that it was 'natural', whatever that meant.

A bittersweet smile crept over the chimp Pokémon's face as he remembered that day. He wished he could go back to a time where he would be blushing furiously as his parents relentlessly teased him about the picture. He longed to feel the embarrassment that he loathed at the time instead of in his current situation: sitting awkwardly across from his parents trying to look anywhere else.

Time passed on at a Slugma's pace, the ticking of the old and partially decaying clock on the wall becoming almost deafening in the silence. Furno glanced up once or twice to gauge how his parents were feeling, but quickly lowered his gaze when he saw his parents staring right at him.

Tick

Furno fiddled with his hands in a nervous fashion, wondering why his parents weren't saying anything.

Tick

He idly swung his legs back and forth, unable to touch the floor with his small legs. He really wished that his parents would just say something.

Tick

Why aren't they saying anything? he asked as he began to tap his fingers anxiously.

Tick

He was almost mauling his own lip at the intensity he was biting it.

Tick

Sweat was practically pouring down his face as he continued to fidget anxiously. He could barely take the silence any longer.

Tick

He couldn't stand the silence any longer and blurted out, "I'm sorry!"

His parents looked taken aback by his sudden outburst, but he wasn't finished. "I'm sorry I left and joined the resistance. I know that you want to talk me into leaving, but I can't! I just can't leave, not after everything I've been through, after everything I've seen..."

They still have not said anything and Furno took it as a green light to continue. "When I first joined the resistance, it was partially out of spite towards you, but it's become so much more than that," he said, looking at his hands. "We've-I've helped others, the team and I. And I mean really help Pokémon, not like running errands for villagers. We've rescued Pokémon from mystery dungeons, we've taken down outlaws, we've...brought items to those who request them." He blushed marginally at the last one, but quickly shakes it off. "The point is that I've been helping Pokémon, I've been doing good in this world instead of just sitting back and doing nothing. Not only that, but I've seen first hand the state of the world.

"I've seen cities enslaved, constantly living in fear of their oppressors, fearing that their children would be taken from them, never to be returned. I've seen it all." He looked up and for the first time since entering the house looks his parents in the eye. "I have helped some of them, but there are still so many that are in pain and I can't leave them like that. I can't leave the world like that..."

Furno closed his eyes, thinking back to all the towns and cities that he has been to and the pain and hardship they've been put through because of the emperor. He felt determination build up inside him, fueling his inner flame which ran through his very veins, filling him with warmth. "So you see, I can't leave the resistance, not when there is still so much suffering. I would never be able to forgive myself if I were to leave them all to suffer, not if I have the power to help them. So please...please don't make me leave the resistance!"

Furno sat there, his eyes hidden behind tightly scrunched eyelids. He waited for the impending voice that would either bless him or damn him to a fate he longed for. His mind was made up about returning to the resistance, but he wanted-no, he needed his parents blessing. He needed them to tell him that they understood and would not try to keep him from it. He needed that reaffirmation from his parents that he was doing the right thing.

When the silence persisted, Furno couldn't stand it any longer. He opened his eyes and looked at his family with a desperate look. "Please, say something! Anything!"

Furno was physically fighting back his mounting tears as he gazed at his parents pained and conflicted expressions. After a few seconds, his father opened his mouth to speak. "Furno...we understand where you're coming from, but I think I speak for both of us when I say, we don't like you being part of the resistance."

Furno felt his heart drop to his stomach. "Wh-Wh-What?"

"We understand that you want to help others, heck, you always wanted that, but we believe that the resistance isn't the best place for that," his father explained.

"If you want to help people, I'm sure that there are more...reputable ways of doing that," his mother added.

Furno's brows creased at the implication. "What do you mean by that?"

The two Infernape looked at each other, seemingly silently thinking of ways to explain their position to their son. Finally, Sol spoke up again. "Well...the resistance doesn't exactly have the best reputation among the rest of Lyore."

Furno felt his hackles raise in anger. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, I'm sure they've sugar coated things with you being their, but the resistance is not as good as you make it out to be," his mother spoke then.

Furno gritted his teeth to keep himself from snapping at his mother who continued, seemingly not noticing her son's growing anger.

"Sure they have beaten their fair share of outlaws and 'helped' other Pokémon, but that just makes them outlaws. Only helping others for the reward."

"That's not true..." Furno muttered, but it went unheard.

"Not only that, but they've been attacking innocent soldiers in towns and taking them over for their own gain."

"They were liberating them."

"Just a few months ago, they took over Glaucuous Town in the east. Many citizens were grievously harmed in the assault and their were rumors of brutality against the citizens after the fact being reported. Apparently they started holding citizens prisoner in their own city."

"That was the emperor's forces..."

"It's horrific the things the resistance has been doing and I don't want you taking any part in that," she continued, not even hearing her son. "I'm sure they are keeping you shielded from these happenings, but the resistance is not doing good, they are only taking over like a disease until the collapse our government and overthrow the emperor! The emperor is the one truly helping the Pokémon of Lyore!"

Furno's balled his hands into tight fists and ground his teeth together in silent fury at each word, each lie she spoke. He wanted to make her stop, to get her to stop spouting such lies about the ones trying to save Lyore, but she kept going. "It is the emperor and his soldiers that are helping this land. They are the ones that are protecting the us all from the usurpers that are plaguing Lyore."

Wrongwrongwrongwrong! Furno thought furiously, biting his tongue to stop himself from shouting.

"If you really want to help others, than you should join the emperor." Something in Furno snaps at that. "While neither of us want you out in harms way, we know that you will never be satisfied unless you're helping others, so we believe that joining the the regimen will do you good."

Furno couldn't believe what he was hearing. The rage he had felt was completely gone and in its place was horror. Horror not only that his parents were telling him to join the emperor, but that they truly believed that the emperor was doing good in Lyore.

"Hey, you can even get in their good graces by giving them information on the resistance!" Furno's father suddenly added. "You've been living at one of their divisions for the last few months, surely you know a thing or to that could be helpful to the emperor. He'd surely let you join if you gave him that kind of information."

Furno had a look of disgust on his face at the mere mention of betraying the resistance. At betraying his friends. He would never do such a thing! He felt physically ill a that moment. But again, his expression seemed to be overlooked.

"If you're worried about your friends, I'm sure they could join as well," his mother said, as if this would make everything better. "You'd just have to tell them the truth about the resistance. I'm sure they'd understand and stand by you, they seem like nice boys..."

Furno feels physically ill. His parents sound almost deranged with their words. They speak as if the matter is already solved and that he would join the emperor and be off saving the world like some superhero! It sickened him.

"I'm sure that once you join, everything will become clear and you'll realize that you've made the right choice," his father said, oblivious to the Chimchar's disgust. "They even have a station not far from here that you can stay at so you can visit us whenever you want!"

"Don't worry, my little flame, the emperor can help you," his mother said, smiling sweetly at her son. "You'll see that the resistance for what it really is and-"

"You're wrong."

His mother paused at that. "What was that?"

"I said you're wrong!" Furno growled angrily.

Both Infernape seemed to be taken aback by their son's sudden hostility. "Furno we..." his father began, only to be cut off.

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Furno roared, causing his parents to jump in surprise. "You're wrong about the resistance!"

"Furno!" his mother scolded, but Furno ignored it.

"Everything you said..." he began, "everything you said about them...it's not true! They aren't just a bunch of bounty hunters, they aren't villains trying to take over Lyore... They're all heroes, fighting to end the suffering caused by the emperor!"

"You don't know what you're talking about," his father said.

"No, you don't!" the young fire type snapped. "Glaucuous Town, the city you said the resistance took over? They didn't take it over. They freed it from the soldiers that were oppressing the citizens!"

"Furno," his father began slowly, "the emperor and his regimen weren't the ones oppressing them, the resistance was and still are."

"You're wrong," Furno denied, shaking his head violently. "You're wrong, you're wrong, yourewrong, yourewrongyourewrongyourewrong!"

"Furno..."

"No! You'd know anything about what happened there so don't act like you do!"

"And you do?" his mother questioned doubtfully. "Why are you so adamant that we're wrong when you don't have proof of what happened?"

"I have proof..."

"Oh? And what, pray tell, is this 'proof'?" she asked. She probably doesn't mean to sound condescending, but it burns Furno up inside all the same.

"Because I was there."

Everything became quiet. A chilling air seems to move through to room, freezing the fire types' mouths shut. Even the clock seemed to have lost its tick as nothing is able to break the silence.

"I was there in Glaucuous Town, before and during the fight," Furno said after a few seconds of silence. "I saw the fear and pain that the citizens felt day in and day out. I saw what the soldiers did to them. To the children." An image of Koda flashed through his mind, causing that burning ember to flare out with anger. "I've seen what the emperor does to Pokémon under him, hell, it was us that found the citizens that were imprisoned in the catacombs. They were put there by the emperor's soldiers!"

His parents frown. "I'm sure you were mistaken-"

"I'M NOT MISTAKEN!" he shouted angrily, his outside flame burst and glowed ominously. Red began to creep into the Chimchar's eyes as his rage began to fuel him. Both his parents gained looks of horror and fear at their son. Just when it looked like Furno was going to explode, he took a deep breath, his flames reseeding to their normal state, and his eyes returning to normal. He took a few more seconds to calm himself and stared at both of his parents, trying to convey his thoughts and emotions to them. To try and get them to understand. "The resistance isn't evil. The emperor is. He's the one hurting Lyore and the resistance is trying to stop it. Please, you have to believe me."

Both his parents just sat their, still looking somewhat fearful over Furno's partial transformation. The looked at each other, seeming to have a silent conversation. This went on for several tense minutes.

"I was afraid of this," his mother said, finally breaking the silence with a broken sounding voice.

"What are you talking about?" Furno asked, suddenly feeling cautious.

"We knew that it was a possibility," his father said to her, either not hearing or ignoring Furno's question.

"But I didn't want it to be true!" his mother cried.

Furno was now very confused. It sounded like they were coming to terms with what he had just told them and they were reluctantly seeing that the emperor was bad, but something seemed...off.

"They really did it," the female Infernape muttered to herself. "They really did this to my baby..."

"Who did what to me?" Furno demanded.

"He said that it was likely what happened," her spouse said soothingly.

That rose alarm bells for Furno. "Who's he?"

Both his parents finally turned to him, their eyes burning with the same pain that any parent would have if told their child had a deadly illness.

"Mom? Dad?" Furno asked warily. "What's going on?"

-Resistance-

Back outside, the remaining trio were currently walking around the eerily silent village. Zero and Quill were quietly conversing to one another about meaningless things, though Stride noticed that the young Riolu was almost constantly looking around at what was around them. Stride was inwardly proud of the young leader's cautiousness. He knew all too well how badly things could go if an entire team was caught off guard and a silent village like this practically screamed ambush. Yet nothing has happened.

Stride himself, while also glancing around for any sign of danger, was in deep thought. He kept replaying the conversation he had with the two Infernape and something about them rubbed him the wrong way. He must have been blatant with his conflicting thoughts and how they affected him because it wasn't long until Zero picked up on his conflicted emotions.

"Stride? Are you okay?" Zero asked worriedly.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine," Stride reassured with a forced smile. "Just thinking."

"About what?" Quill asked curiously.

Stride hesitated for a second, inwardly debating if he should share his thoughts. "...About Furno's family."

Zero gave him a curious look, seemingly attempting to gauge something from the Greninja. Quill on the other hand jumped excitedly.

"Yeah, they were pretty nice," he chirped. "They seemed a little hesitant about the resistance, but they probably just worried for Furno."

"But that's just it," Stride said. "They knew about the resistance. That shouldn't be possible."

"They said a resistance member told them," Zero pointed out, though Stride noticed a flicker of doubt in his eye.

"Yes, they did," Stride concurred, "but as you know, we are not supposed to reveal anything about the bases or ones that reside within them for fear of that information getting to the emperor."

"Well, maybe that resistance member felt bad for them," Quill reasoned. "I mean, you saw how they were. They were desperate to find their son. I honestly might have caved if I saw someone like that."

"While that may be true, there is still something that does not add up," Stride said. "They mentioned the division's name."

"So? The one that told them probably told them," Quill said, unconvinced.

"That is impossible," Stride said evenly. "Go ahead. Try and say the name of our division."

Quill gave the Greninja a curious look. Not understanding what the Greninja was talking about, Quill shrugged and opened his mouth to speak.

Only no sound escaped his lips.

Quill's eyes widened in shock. He tried again and again to say their division, but found himself unable to utter it. "Wh-What the heck!"

"What's wrong with him?" Zero asked, looking slightly worried for his friend.

"There's nothing wrong with him," Stride answered. "He just can't speak the name of our division."

"How? Why?" Quill asked, completely flabbergasted.

"You're resistance badges," Stride said. Both Quill and Zero pulled out their badges in confusion, prompting Stride to continue. "The stone in the center, while lighting up with the color of your inner aura also posses a very deeply embedded psychic suggestion that makes whoever is bonded with it unable to speak the name of the division they are part of."

"That's insane!" Quill said, staring at his badge as if he expected it to start talking.

"But then," Zero began, "How would Furno's parents know the name of our division?"

"I don't know," Stride confessed, glancing back the way they came.

-Resistance-

"Mom? Dad? What's going on?" Furno repeated. He had stood from his chair and backed away slightly, feeling an intense sense of unease at his parents expressions.

"He told us that this may have happened to you," his father said softly.

"Who are you talking about?!" Furno growled out angrily, annoyed by his parents not answering his questions.

"He told us that the resistance would do this to you," his mother said unhelpfully, further angering the Chimchar. "He said the resistance would do this to you!"

"What are you talking about?!" Furno demanded, his patience reaching its end.

His mother looked at him dead in the eyes. Furno flinched when he saw the heartbreak and devastation burning in her eyes. "They brainwashed you. The resistance brainwashed my baby!"

Furno blanched, not expecting that response. "What?"

"Furno, don't be scared," his father said, approaching him slowly. As if he were approaching a wild Pokémon. "The resistance had brainwashed you. They've made you see things that weren't true. They've manipulated you into thinking the emperor is evil."

"Th-That's not true!" Furno said, his mind reeling from what his parents were saying. His father got closer and he backed away instinctively.

"Furno, please believe us," his mother pleaded. "You're not right. The resistance...they did this to you. They made you like this, but we can help you. He can help you."

"Who are you talking about?" Furno asked. It was then the sound of footsteps descending the stairs reached his ears.

He turned slowly to the staircase and saw a horribly familiar face walk around the corner.

"Oh, no," he whispered in horror.

Aster grinned evilly. "Oh, yes."