Chapter 18

Rescue Part 1

Furno wasn't sure how much time had passed. Seconds? Minutes? Hours? He couldn't be sure. Not that it mattered to him anyway. Hardly anything mattered to the young Monferno. Not after what had just happened.

How had things ended up like this? He and Zero had come to rescue their team, recklessly believing that they were more than capable of that feat. They had retrieved their team, yes, but at the cost of their leader. Their friend. Zero had willingly given himself to spare their lives, handed himself over to those who would either kill him or hand him over to the Resistance's greatest enemy. He did all this for them.

A spark of familiar anger bubbled beneath the Monferno's skin, begging for release, to seek vengeance on the ones that took his friend, but the feeling fizzled out as quickly as it came. Crushed under the relentless feeling of helplessness that threatened to drown him.

Behind him, Furno could hear incessant chattering behind him. Team Surge. They were conversing with one another. Trying to figure out what went wrong. Furno ignored them. He ignored his team. Ignored the concerned looks they were sending him. He could only focus on how he failed.

The very ones that had taken their team now had their leader. Grabbed him before their eyes and dragged him into some twisted parody of a mystery dungeon. So close yet so far from his grasp. Furno could still see his friend reaching out for him before the dungeon closed on him. Furno could still see the fear hidden behind the reassuring smile Zero tried to maintain as he was dragged away.

"Dammit," Furno cursed under his breath. Cursing his own failures.

Furno wanted desperately to save his friend, but he couldn't find the will to take even a step into the odd dungeon. The memory of the rest of the ream, bound, their lives held in the lapse hands of Morpheus and his allies. How he had been just moments from death. That cold feeling it brought with it. He had been in danger before, but, not even when he faced Aster, had he ever thought…

…he would die.

For a brief moment, Furno couldn't feel his flame. He felt cold, colder than he ever had before. So cold that he found difficulty breathing. It was choking him. Slowly creeping across the edges of his throat and sealing off his airway until he couldn't draw in even a haggard gasp.

His hands twitched, the primal part of his mind lounging to clutch at his own throat in an attempt to alleviate what was keeping him from breathing, but they wouldn't move. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. What was he going to do? Zero was gone. His friend… Gone…

"Bella! Stop!"

Furno jolted. That was Quill. Quill was shouting. Quill…the rest of the team. They were there, with him at that moment.

With that single thought, Furno dragged himself out of the fog. His eyes opened (when had he closed them?) and, turning, he saw Quill physically restraining the Banette who appeared to be trying her hardest to maul Weiss, the Quilladin's vines being the only thing keeping her at bay. The aforementioned Absol was huddled on the ground, doing little to defend herself against the infuriated ghost.

Shaking the last residuals of his own self-loathing, Furno stumbled over to the group. "Belladonna. Stop."

The Banette froze upon hearing her full name. She turned and Furno could see anger and confusion waring behind pink eyes. Furno understood. She was lost without Zero. Maybe even more than he was. The way she acted around him, she followed him like a lost Growlithe. Without him…

Furno placed a hand on the Banette's shoulder, praying to Arceus his hand wasn't shaking as much as he thought it was. "It's okay. We'll get through this. We'll…" The words died in his throat. What would they do? Get Zero back? They had just barely escaped with their lives. How could he ask them to face that kind of threat again?

"I'm sorry," Weiss' voice said, sounding so small and helpless that it took a moment for Furno to realize it was really her speaking. He turned to her, meeting her broken, tear stained gaze.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, her voice sounding more broken the second time.

"I-It's okay," Furno said, his voice cracking.

"No, it's not," Weiss said despondently looking like she might start crying. "I…I attacked Bella. She was moving to help us. To help Zero, but I attacked her." She shook her head. "I don't know why, but…I just…couldn't stop myself. It's like I was watching my own body act on its own accord. I—" She broke off, bowing her head; her voice cracking. Her shoulders shook violently as she tried desperately to hold in her sobs.

Furno was at a loss of what to do. Weiss was only ways the strong one. The one member of the team that was always resolute and focused. Seeing her break down like she was…it made the false mask of calm and strength the Monferno was wearing crack and slip.

The rest of the team was no better. Expressions of sadness and defeat were worn all around. Bella, who had calmed down, looked completely lost. She kept glancing towards Ashen Woods as if she would charge in at any moment, but, blessedly, she remained rooted in her spot. Quill had a look of fury and self-loathing written across his face; most likely having learned that he had been a key hostage while he was unconscious.

Once more, the urge to comfort and reassure the team arose in Furno, but was quickly smothered by his own guilt and despair. Zero was the leader. He was the one that should be rallying the team, not Furno. But he wasn't there. He was gone…

The sound of grass crunching underfoot was the only thing that kept Furno from falling into the void once more. Looking up, he saw Seth and the rest of Team Surge approaching, their expressions grim.

"Take the rest of your team and head back to the Latios Division," Seth said before Furno could speak. "Go straight to the tribunal and tell them what transpired. Stop for nothing else."

"What about you guys?" Furno asked.

"We're going after Morpheus," Seth answered, his expression never changing.

"What?!" Furno exclaimed, taken aback. "You can't go after them alone!"

"We can and we will," Seth stated firmly, his eyes narrowing at the fire-fighting type. "You all will only hold us back."

Furno winced at the Absol's bluntness, but didn't refute his words. The images of what Morpheus and his goons had done to him and the rest of Team Dawn Breaker were still fresh in the young Monferno's mind. "Even so…"

"Furno, you have to realize that this isn't something that you should have ever been involved in," Bolt said sympathetically. "Morpheus and his allies were far more powerful than we first anticipated. We underestimated them…"

"A mistake we won't make again," Wake growled, cracking his knuckles threateningly.

"but the fact of the matter is that none of you should be involved in this any further," Bolt continued, hardly sparing the Poliwrath a passing glance. "We will see to it that Zero is rescued and returned to the Latios Division."

"But he's our leader!" Quill argued.

"Not to mention that you guys, and I mean no offense by this, got your butts handed to you by those guys," Bogran pointed out.

"Like I said, we underestimated them," Bolt said.

"And you're not going. Period," Seth growled, leveling a quelling glare towards the mutinous Quilladin.

"But even if you guys go after them, you'd still have to go through that dungeon. They'd be miles away by the time you got through it!" Furno stated. It still baffled him how Morpheus was able to summon a mystery dungeon like that. Part of him even wondered if that's what it was, but Furno could never forget the dangerous aura that mystery dungeons seemed to give off. Not after all of the one he'd entered.

"That's not an actual mystery dungeon," Mystic said. "It is an artificial dungeon created through the liberal use of Trick Room, Wonder Room, and Magic Room along with a strong illusion provided by their Zoroark. Unlike an actual mystery dungeon, this one doesn't contain dungeon Pokémon, just the ones that were present when it was created, including its creators. This means that Morpheus and the others will have to navigate through the dungeon the same as us. Unlike us, however, they won't know where they are going while we will be tracking them the entire way. Even with their considerable head start, we will no doubt catch up to them."

The group spoke with such certainty that Furno almost wanted to believe them. He desperately wanted to hold onto the hope that Zero could be saved, but… "But what if…what if Zero's already…" Furno couldn't bring himself to say those words.

A heavy silence fell over the group. Everyone, even Team Surge, seemed to be at a loss of what to say. Furno felt a spike of guilt cut through him as the confidence and bravado that the senior team had been displaying wavered. After several moments, Seth spoke, his voice calculated and measured.

"It is unlikely that Morpheus took Zero simply to…kill him. If that were his goal, he would have done the deed as soon as he grabbed Zero. On top of that, the fact that the Emperor sent Morpheus rather than someone like Aster to oversee his capture leads me to believe that an assassination wasn't their goal."

"You mean hypnosis," Quill said, his eyes widening in horror. "Morpheus is going to try and mind control Zero! Like he did to Cress…" he mumbled as an afterthought.

Seth nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so. That is why we must hurry. The longer Zero is in his clutches, the greater the chance that it will be too late by the time we reach them. We have no time to spare."

"Then—" Quill made to argue, but Seth cut him off.

"No. You all will go back to the Latios Division and tell them what happened. That's an order." Seth glared at the Quilladin, daring him to say something in contrast. Eventually, the grass-fighting type broke eye contact and looked at the ground. Seemingly satisfied, Seth turned to the rest of the team. "Let's go."

With silent nodded of ascent, Team Surge trudged towards the dungeon's entrance. Bolt and Liz both offered the younger team reassuring smiles, but they felt hollow to the Monferno. It felt…wrong letting someone else rescue their leader, but all Furno could do was watch as Team Surge disappeared into the dungeon.

A second passed. Then several. Until final a full minute had gone by in silence for the remaining members of Team Dawn Breaker. Eventually, Bogran spoke.

"So…now what?"

Furno closed his eyes, finally breaking his line of sight with the damned woods. "We go back to the Latios Division," he said, his voice devoid of emotion.

"What?! Are you kidding me?!" Quill exclaimed, enraged. "We can't just leave!"

"We were given an order," Furno said through clenched teeth.

"Screw that!" Quill growled. "This is Zero we're talking about! We can't just leave him like this! We have to do something!"

"There's nothing for us to do!" Furno snapped angrily. He opened his eyes and glared at the furious Spiny Armor Pokémon. "Team Surge will handle it—"

"It should be us handling it, not them!" Quill argued, stepping into Furno's space and leaning in so that their noses were inches apart. "Zero is our teammate. Our leader. We should be the ones going after him and rescuing him!"

"We would just hold them back!"

"The hell we would! We can—" Whatever Quill was going to say was lost as Furno finally had enough.

Without warning, Furno lunged forward, planting his fist firmly into the Quilladin's side. Directly over where Morpheus had pierced the grass-fighting type. As Quill cried out, Furno sent a sweep kick towards Quill's legs, sending the bulky Pokémon crashing to the ground. Before the Quilladin could recover, Furno slammed his foot onto his chest, pinning him to the and leveling his fist towards Quill's face.

The others all tensed, prepared to jump in and restrain the Monferno, but Furno did not continue. He simply stood there, just as frozen as Quill was. No one spoke for several tense seconds; the only sounds being Furno's ragged breathing.

"We can't do anything!" Furno hissed furiously. "We were the reason Zero was captured. He got captured because of us! If he hadn't given himself up, we'd be dead or worse. What the hell could we do now?!"

A sharp itch bit at Furno eyes; his eyes becoming slightly blurred as began to fill with angry tears. He ferociously rubbed at his face, returning his glare towards the still frozen Quilladin. "We were helpless. Completely at their mercy! If were fought them again, we'd die! I mean, look at us! Look at you! You're in no condition to fight! We'd die and Zero would still be in their hands! There's nothing we can do! There's…nothing…"

Slowly, the anger began to drain from Furno. He lowered his fist and stepped off of Quill. He shivered. No, he shook. He shook so violently that he resorted to wrapping his arms around himself in a futile attempt to stop his shaking.

"We can't beat them. We have to go back…" Furno whispered. He turned around, turning his back on Ashen Woods and his team. He took a step forward, not even glancing back to see if anyone was following him. He had to do as he was instructed.

Step.

He had to report back to the Tribunal…

Step.

He had to tell them what had happened…

Step.

What had happened to Zero…

Step.

While leaving Zero behind.

Ste—

Furno couldn't move. His body was locked in place, not so much as twitching despite his best attempts.

"I have to go," he said, not caring who heard. "I have to tell the Tribunal what happened…"

The tears were flowing now. He couldn't stop them. He didn't care to stop them.

"There's nothing any of us can do," he tried to reason. "Those guys…they're too strong for us."

Memories flashed before his eyes, unbidden by his will. Meeting Zero. Joining the Latios Division. Their first mission. Their fight. Zero stepping in front of the Beedrill…

"I can't do anything."

Zero cheering alongside him at their first successful mission. Zero comforting him after his parents' betrayal. Zero's smile. Zero's look of determination. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero! ZERO!

"We can't do anything!" Furno shouted. Fire roared from his throat, billowing into the setting sunlight. It stopped a second later, the flame on his tail dwindling at the same moment. "So why can't I leave him behind?"

Furno collapsed, falling to his knees. Tears cascaded down his face in droves, splashing noiselessly against the grass. He'd never felt so lost. Not even when his parents sold him out to Aster.

That was because was there for him.

Zero had always been there for him, through the thick and thin. Yet, despite that, he was going to abandon the Riolu. Because he wasn't strong enough. He wasn't strong like Zero. He was weak and a coward. Zero deserved better than him.

A cold hand touched Furno's shoulder, causing the Monferno to jerk up. Bella floated there, hand still outstretched, her face blank. She didn't move or give any indication of wanting to speak. She just stared at Furno, and somehow, Furno knew what she wanted to say. He knew what she wanted them to do. What they should do.

Furno broke eye contact, turning back to the ground. He was scared. Scared dying, but most of all, scared of losing his best friend. He couldn't leave things like they were. Not while there was still breath in his lungs.

With a shaky inhale, he looked up again, conveying his thanks to the Banette through his eyes. He stood on shaky legs and turned to his team. "We're going after them."

"What?" Bogran asked, taken aback. A sentiment that was shared throughout the group.

"I thought you said we weren't strong enough," Quill sneered spitefully.

"We're not," Furno said bluntly. "I still doubt that we'd be able to defeat that group, even if we all were at a hundred percent, but I can't just turn my back on Zero. Not after what he's done for me."

Furno looked over the team, taking time to examine each of their expressions. "However, I can't ask you all to risk your lives like this. If you want, you can go back to the Latios Division and speak with the Tribunal. There will be no judgement, hard feelings, or resentment towards those who decide to leave, but I will be going. Who's with me?"

Instantly, Bella hovered to his side, giving a chur of ascent. Not a second passed before Quill got to his feet. He glared at Furno, but in a much milder manner than before. After a second, he nodded in ascent.

Furno nodded to them, inwardly grateful that he wouldn't have to go alone. "Anyone else?"

The remaining members glanced at one another in silence. Several seconds passed before Dusty stepped forward. The Sandshrew's blue eyes burned with a passion Furno had rarely seen in the typically stoic ground type, but it was a welcomed sight to the Monferno.

Next, Bogran stepped forward, giving his own determined grin. Surprisingly, Noelle stepped forward next. The small ice type looked like a strong wind would knock her over, but there was a fire behind ice blue eyes. Furno smiled before turning to their last teammate.

"Weiss?"

The red Absol flinched, her head still bowed. After a moment she took a deep breath before rising to her feet. Turning to face Furno, her bloodshot eyes steeled with resolution. She gave a single nod and Furno smiled.

"Alright then," he said, turning to Ashen Woods. "Let's go get our leader back."

-Resistance-

Ashen Woods: B1

The second Team Dawn Breaker entered the dungeon, they could hear the distant sounds of fighting. Without hesitation, the group charged forward.

"What do you know about Morpheus' group?" Furno al but demanded as they ran.

"Not much I'm afraid," Dusty responded. "They caught us by surprise when we first encountered them. We did not have much opportunity to note any individual skills that they may have possessed. That being said, we can theorize on the abilities of several of their number."

"Explain."

"Well, aside from the obvious illusion manipulation of the Zoroark, a common trait of their species, they also proved to be incredibly quick in their movements and attacks. Aside from that, the Xatu with the group seemed to display some type of precognitive ability considering how they were able to predict Team Surge's attacks and appearances with near pinpoint accuracy."

Furno frowned at Dusty's description of the Xatu. He too had noted how the psychic-flying type seemed to be able to predict not only where Team Surge was and when they would strike. He had heard tales about Xatu staring at the sun in order to gain some insight on future events, but he'd never put much stock in such stories.

"Furthermore, there is the matter of the unknown Pokémon with them," Dusty continued.

"The one with the purple furred cap and fan," Furno clarified.

The Sandshrew nodded. "Yes, he, along with the Milotic appear to be the only members of the group that are actual soldiers, given that they wore the Emperor's mark. The former, Cortex I believe he was called, is a species of Pokémon that I don't recognize, even from books. I would wager that he is a psychic type of sorts, considering his ability to manipulate the minds of others…" Dusty glanced at Weiss, meeting the Absol's gaze briefly before turning back to Furno. "That being said, most psychic abilities have little to no effect on dark types, making it strange that he was able to effect Weiss like he was."

"Difficult, but not impossible," Quill said surprisingly. "Dark types typically have stronger, nearly infallible, innate mental barriers when compared to other types, allowing them to shrug off the mental effects most psychic type moves leave on a target. It's why a dark type can be lifted with Psychic, yet suffers yet takes no damage from the psychic hold itself. It's said that that barrier extends to outside their bodies as well, protecting them against the few physical psychic attacks out there."

Quill shook his head having gone on a tangent. "Regardless, there are a few psychic types out there, either extremely old and well-practiced, or just incredibly powerful, that are able to overcome that 'cloak' and effect even dark types with their power. That being said, dark types have an easier time breaking free long-term mental manipulation or impairment. More so than any other type of Pokémon," he added as almost an afterthought.

Furno glanced at the Quilladin. It didn't take a genius nor an emotion reader to know the significance of his final statement. It was no wonder the typically carefree Pokémon knew so much about psychic types and their abilities. Not when Crass was involved…

"Then we can reason that Cortex is incredibly adept and skilled in psychic manipulation," Furno reasoned.

"Not just that, but, if the groups reason for capturing Zero really is to control him, he might not have long," Quill said grimly. "Fighting types are especially weak to psychic attack. Our bodies are more geared for withstanding physical assaults leaving us practically helpless against psychic types. The Riolu line, because of their sensitivity to aura, have some resistance, especially Lucario given their dual typing, but Riolu…"

Quill didn't need to finish his sentence. All of them knew the gravity of their situation. They didn't have any time to lose.

The group rounded another corner just as another loud explosion ripped through the eerie silence of the false dungeon. Coming to an open room, the group of young Pokémon came upon the sight of Team Surge being overrun.

Large numbers of forest dwelling Pokémon were flooding into the room from the tall walls of trees framing the dungeon, surrounding the team and threatening to overwhelm them. Seth and the others were fighting valiantly, pushing back the horde and defeating numerous Pokémon with very few moves. Occasionally, one sneak past their lines and deliver sharp blows to the defending team, but they were quickly dealt with swiftly. Even so, the horde seemed endless.

"I thought this dungeon wasn't supposed to have Pokémon in it!" Bogran gasped.

"The wild Pokémon present within the woods before it was transformed would still be present within the dungeon as it was created," Dusty pointed out. An uneasy and concerned look crossed the ground type's features. "Even so…for this many Pokémon to suddenly appear and attack without provocation…"

Furno frowned, a sliver of fear flickering within his inner fire. Could Morpheus and Cortex have the ability to rile up wild Pokémon to this extent? If that was the case, how had they rounded up so many Pokémon in such a short period of time? And, above all else, how were they supposed to compete with such numbers?

A dark blur raced past Furno's vison, jolting the Monferno from his thoughts. "Bella, no!"

The Banette gave no indication that she had heard Furno and continued her rush. Flying through the room, the ghost type passed through several Pokémon as she made a bee line for the left-most wall. Several wild Pokémon turned and moved to attack her, but she just phased through them. Just before she reached the wall, Bella suddenly jerked to the right and swung a shadowy claw at what appeared to be open air.

To Furno's shock, Bella's attack seemed to hit something. Not a second later, the room shimmered then broke like glass. At once, all of the Pokémon that had been attacking Team Surge vanished and a familiar Zoroark stood alone, their arms raised in front of them to block Bella's attack.

"Infernal ghost!" the Zoroark, a female by their tone, roared in fury.

The Illusion Fox Pokémon gave an enraged howl before swinging their arms outwards, pushing Bella away from her. She attempted to then attack the Banette, but Bella managed to slip away using Phantom Force. She made to charge the group, but was stopped by a high-pressured torrent of water smashing into her body.

"Gotcha," Wake said with a noticeable smirk.

"Furno?!" Seth asked, surprise, confusion, and anger all flickering behind crimson orbs. "What are—!"

"We're here to help!" Furno shouted back, running over to the Absol. "Zero's our leader and our friend! We can't just sit by and while he's in danger!"

Seth looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel. Rage bubbling within his eyes, he opened his mouth to either reprimand or shout at the young team, or possibly both, when he was interrupted by a harried Mystic.

"There's no time, Seth! They've moved on further into the dungeon. We don't have time to waste! We must pursue them!"

Seth glared harshly, red eyes flitting between Team Dawn Breaker and his own team. With an annoyed growl, Seth spoke. "Fine. It's clear to me that your team is terrible at following even the simplest of instructions. However, you will listen to me now." The Absol leaned in, his voice soft yet carried over the young team with an unmistakable edge of danger. "You will accompany us through the dungeon. You will follow every order that you are given without question. If I say jump, you will jump. If I say fight, you will fight. If I say run, you will run. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Furno responded with only a small amount of fear.

Seth stared deep into Furno's eyes, trying to find some sign of deceit. After several seconds, he appeared to have found nothing of the sorts. He backed away and nodded. "Good. Then we must go…"

"You aren't going anywhere!" The Zoroark had made her way back to her feet and positioned herself in front of the path needed for their progression. Her bright blue eyes glared maliciously at the two groups. She growled as the air shimmered around her as reality began to warp around her. "You won't stand in our—"

The Zoroark's words ceased as a two red beams of light, wide and conical like search beams, enveloped her. The dark type gave a startled yelp as the illusions she had been crafting suddenly became see through before fading.

"What…?" Furno turned towards the source of the light and saw Bella, her eyes shining with bright red light. "Foresight," Furno realized.

"Dammit!" the Zoroark screeched. Her red claws seemed to glow an even brighter crimson. "No matter. I won't let you—"

Once again, the dark type was interrupted, this time by Wake charging at her. With glowing fists, the Poliwrath rocketed towards her, swinging harshly at the tall vulpine when he got close. While caught of guard, the Zoroark was still incredibly agile and was able to avoid Wake's swings, but she was being pushed back. Away from the path.

"All of you, go!" Wake shouted, sending an ice coated fist at the Zoroark, catching her arm and leaving a thin trail of ice running along said arm. "I'll hold her off!"

"Her illusions!" Mystic warned, but Wake waved her off.

"You with me?" he asked, glancing towards Bella.

The Banette glanced at Furno in a silent question. Furno gave a short nod. "Go ahead. We'll get Zero back. I promise."

Bella stared at Furno for a second longer before grinning widely. She turned back to the Poliwrath and gave a determined shriek. Without further provocation, she formed a Shadow Ball and hurled it at the Zoroark. The dark type dodged the attack, of course, but Wake simply laughed.

"Alright then! While I would have liked another go at that Milotic, I suppose I do have a job to do. Let's show this upstart what it means to mess with the Resistance!" Wake shouted almost gleefully, charging the Zoroark once more, Bella following him shortly after.

"Let's go," Seth said, already making his way towards the path. "With Bella stopping the Zoroark's illusions, Wake is more than capable of handling that Zoroark."

Pacified by Seth's words, the two groups quickly followed, leaving the two Resistance members to fight the Zoroark alone. Furno paused at the mouth of the path, looking back at Wake and Bella as the battled against the Zoroark.

"Stay safe," he murmured before running after the group.