Chapter 1
The Isles
Ragged breaths echo through the winding dark hall of trees. A figure raced through the woodland maze, their heavy footfalls thudding against the dry, cracked earth. The figure gave a fear glance behind them, searching for their pursuers, but was only met with the darkness of the dungeon.
Despite seeing nothing, the figure didn't dare slow down. Their pursuers had been following them for this long. There was no way that they would have given up. The bag slung over their shoulders felt heavier than it had before, the contents clinked loudly within. The rough canvas rubbed against their scales uncomfortably. Sweat coated their claws, causing them to have to readjust their grip least they lose their ill-gotten loot.
The figure burst into a larger room, blinking rapidly as light suddenly filled their vision, hurting their sensitive eyes and warming their tan scales. With a wince, they forced their eyes open to look around the room. And their heart plummeted. The room they had ended up in was a dead end. All around them, walls of trees grew inches apart, leaving no room for them to slip through. The only way out of this room was the way they came.
Cursing vehemently, the figure spun around and made a break for the exit. They were just moments from stepping into the dark hallway when a sphere of compressed wind came rocketing through the darkness. The figure gave a sharp yelp, stumbling backwards to avoid the surprise attack. The attack missed its mark, slamming into the ground mere inches, but the ensuing explosion knocked the figure off their feet.
With a cry of pain, the figure fell hard onto their back, the air being knocked out of their lungs. As they fell, their bag slipping free from their grip. "No!" they exclaimed the moment they got air back.
They scrambled to their feet, making a mad dash towards their bag. They claws were mere inches away when a stream of flames shot straight towards them. With a curse, they were forced to lunge to the side to avoid the flames. The fire encircled the bag, not burning it, but keeping it out of reach.
The figure rose to their feet with an enraged hiss, spinning around to glare at the ones that had dared attack them. Instead of seeing his opponents, the Krokorok was met with a second blast of fire rushing towards him. With a startled yelp, the ground-dark type dove to the side, causing the flames to singe the ridges on his back.
"Piss off!" the Krokorok shrieked. He slammed his fist into the ground, causing sharp stones to jut out from the ground, racing towards the still obscured hallway.
His attack shook the ground, the rumbles slowly getting softer before a dull crash echoed as it made contact with something. The Krokorok held still, waiting with bated breath for any sign of his pursuers. Several seconds of silence passed and still no attack followed.
"Did…I get them?" the Desert Croc Pokémon asked aloud.
As if answering his question, a low tremor shook the ground under his feet. He looked down just in time for the ground to crack and erupt as a figure burst from the earth. The ground-dark type had no time to react as a fist smashed into the underside of his jaw, striking him with enough force to catapult him into the air.
"Gah!" the Krokorok shouted in pain as his back slammed into the unforgiving ground. Wheezing, he rolled onto his front and staggered to a knee, nursing his injured jaw and glaring at the one who had just struck him.
Standing just a few feet away was a Monferno with a deep blue band tied around their arm. The damned primate was bouncing on the balls of their feet as if they were brimming with energy, offset by the cocking smirk they were sporting. Their entire demeanor screamed arrogance and their expression seemed to ask, 'is that all?'
The Krokorok slowly rose to his feet, hiding his hiss of pain behind a menacing growl. The Monferno just raised a brow in answer, completely unfazed by the Krokorok's attempt at intimidation.
"It's over, Flint! There's nowhere to run!" The Krokorok's eyes snapped towards the room's entrance as a voice rang out. Stepping out of the shadows was his second pursue. A Riolu with a red bandana wrapped around their neck, an infuriatingly familiar winged-badge pinned in the center.
"Resistance members," the Krokorok, now named Flint, growled.
"Surrender the items you stole!" the Riolu continued, their gaze narrowing.
Flint glanced at the satchel he had dropped, the flames that had surrounded it slowly beginning to die out. He turned back and glared at the Riolu. "Not on your life!"
Instead of replying with something 'heroic' or defiant, the Riolu released a sigh. His shoulders sagged and his once steely eyes became dulled into something Flint couldn't decipher. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Flint blinked, caught completely off guard by the shift in personality. This only lasted a moment before he burst into raucous laughter. "You're scared, aren't you?!" he roared, his laughter echoing through the near silent forest dungeon. "You've got to be kidding me! I was worried for nothing! This entire time, I was being chased by a bunch of rookies!"
The Krokorok continued to laugh, all signs of his previous apprehension vanishing. Relief flooded through him, replacing fear with near hysteric humor. Both fighting types just stared at the Desert Croc Pokémon, seemingly unsure of what to do now that their bluff had been called. After nearly five full minutes of laughter, Flint finally managed calm himself enough to breathe properly.
"You done?" the Monferno asked, attempting to hide his fear under a mask of faux bluster. "Good, 'cause I need something to punch right now."
"You can drop the bravado, you won't fool me again," Flint chortled, sending the Playful Pokémon a grin full of teeth. "Tell you what. You gave me a good laugh, so I'm feeling generous. You two make yourselves scarce and I won't pound you into the dirt. Sound good? Great!"
Not even bothering wait for a response, Flint began walking towards his discarded bag only for the Monferno to step in his path. With a barely restrained growl, Flint glared at the Monferno. "Listen brat," he snarled. "I'm being merciful here. Get out of my way, or face the consequences!"
"You're not leaving with those items, Flint," the Riolu said, stepping next to the Monferno. "You've been terrorizing the denizens of Oran Creek for too long."
Unable to help himself, Flint glared angrily at the duo. "Listen here you brats-"
"Is that really the only insult you have?" The Monferno interrupted. "I mean, I get you're the villain and all, but could you at least get some original material?"
Patience reaching its end, Flint snarled, "You know what? Fine! You want to play heroes? Fine then! Just don't complain when I pound you both into—GAAK!" Flint was interrupted as the Monferno was suddenly directly in front of him, his fist buried in the Krokorok's stomach.
Choking on his own spit and air, Flint stumbled back, clutching his stomach. Gasping for air, he felt the vein at his temple throb as his pain faded into white-hot anger. "You…little…!" Flint practically foamed at the mouth in anger.
"What?" the Monferno asked with that irritating smirk. "I thought you were going to teach us a lesson."
"Just because you got a few lucky hits, don't think—" Flint was once more cut off as the fire-fighting type lunged again, forcing the Krokorok to swiftly bring up his arms in defense.
"How about you talk a little less and fight a little more!" the Monferno shouted, undeterred by his punch being blocked.
With a growl, Flint slammed his fist into the ground, sending another wave of sharp stones racing towards the Monferno. The Pokémon in question nimbly jumped out of the way, landing lightly on the balls of his feet before bounding towards the ground-dark with a fist cocked.
Flint just barely avoided the Monferno's high-speed punch, retaliating with a Slash towards the Monferno's unprotected flank. To the Krokorok's surprise, the Monferno twisted his body out of the way of the Desert Croc's attack. Mid-spin, Furno struck Flint across his jaw with his foot, sending the ground-dark type stumbling back.
Flint nursed his rapidly bruising jaw while glaring angrily at the smirking Monferno. He made to rush forward only to nearly stumble as his tail didn't move with him. Whirling around, Flint was met with the steely gaze of the Riolu who he admittedly forgot about.
"You should pay more attention to your surroundings," the Riolu stated dully, his grip tightening on the Krokorok's tail.
A furious hiss escaped Flint as he glared at the Riolu. "Let…go!" he growled, punctuating each word with a tug of his tail. Much to his chagrin, the Riolu's grip didn't falter, his feet barely shifting across the ground. As he struggled to free his tail, he almost didn't see the flicker of mischievousness flash across the Riolu's face.
"If you insist," the Riolu said before releasing Flint's tail after a particularly harsh tug.
Flint stumbled back, his balance all but lost. He would have fallen over had the Monferno not reached him beforehand. With a bright energy wrapped around his fist hand, the Monferno buried his fist into the underside of the Krokorok's jaw.
The force of the fire-fighting type's punch caused Flint to flip head over heel, too stunned to even try to catch himself. Spots danced across his vision, his mind swirling in indecipherable fog. The last thing he saw before darkness took was the Riolu rearing back a glowing fist of his own, an almost apologetic look on his face.
-Resistance-
"Oof! That looked like it'd hurt," Quill commented, walking into the room in time to watch Zero knock out the Krokorok with a well-timed Power-Up Punch. "Great job you two! I was worried that you'd be rusty after six years out of the field."
"It might have been six years for you, but it's only been a couple months for us," Furno commented smugly.
"It would have been less if you all let us out sooner," Zero muttered under his breath too soft for anyone but Furno to hear.
Furno glanced at his friend, concern shining in his eyes. Zero scowled and looked away, unwilling to meet his friend's gaze. Quill, apparently not noticing the rising tension between the two, walked over to the discarded satchel and quickly rifled through it.
"Looks like everything's here," Quill said. "Mission accomplished! What do you think, Robin?"
"Hmph." A second Pokémon entered the room, a species that both Furno and Zero learned was called Decidueye. The bipedal bird stalked into the room, her eyes roaming critically from the unconscious Krokorok to the two members of Team Dawn Breaker. "You could have ended that battle much sooner. You were toying with him."
"It's called holding back," Furno grumbled. "It's not like he was a big-time villain. We weren't going to go all out against him."
"And the banter?" Robin questioned sharply, causing to Furno's mouth to snap shut. "If you had truly been taking the fight seriously, you wouldn't have drawn the fight out like you did."
"Tch!" Furno clicked his tongue noncommittally and turned his head.
"Now, now. No need to be so harsh," Quill commented towards his fellow grass-type. "They've been cooped up for so long, it's only natural for them to want to enjoy themselves."
"In the field?" Robin asked incredulously. "This isn't a game, Quill. I don't know how things were back on Lyore, but we take things seriously here!"
"We do take things seriously!" Furno growled angrily.
"I have yet to see such in the missions you have been given," Robin sniffed, staring at Furno with a dull look.
Furno growled angrily. He took a single step forward, mouth open to tell off the snooty grass-ghost type, but Quill quickly stepped in front of him. "There's no need for hostility here. We're all on the same side!"
Robin merely gave a near silent huff, but relented. "Whatever. Just grab what was stolen so we can leave."
"Wait. Aren't we taking him?" Zero suddenly asked, pointing towards the unconscious Flint.
"Why would we?" Robin questioned. "Our mission is to retrieve what he stole, not to bring him back."
"So we're just going to leave him here?!" Zero asked sounding completely horrified. "Do you know what happens to sentient Pokémon stay in a mystery dungeon too long?!"
"Of course I do!" Robin snapped.
"Then why the hell are you suggesting leaving him behind!" Zero growled.
"Do you want to be the one to carry him through the rest of the dungeon?" Robin questioned. "In case you forgot, the badges we have don't work like the one you had in Lyore! We can't simply transport Pokemon out of dungeons and I for one have no intention of lugging a criminal through a dangerous area!"
"Then we use an escape orb!" Zero countered.
"You want to waste valuable items on lowlifes?" Robin asked in disbelief. "I would think that you'd want to save them for those who actually deserve it and not those trying to escape the law."
"So we should just leave him to suffer?!" Zero demanded.
"He made his choice," Robin said dismissively. When the Riolu refused to back down, she merely scoffed. "Do what you want. I'll meet you at the dungeon's entrance." With that, the Decidueye spun on her heel and stalked out of the room.
Zero shook with barely restrained rage as he watched the Arrow Quill Pokemon leave. "How can she be so cruel?"
"Don't think too harshly of her," Quill said. "Things…things aren't the same as they were back at the Latios Division. The Resistance has had to shift our priorities."
Zero whirled around, eyes burning straight through the Quilladin. "Shift them to what? Leaving Pokémon behind?!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Quill raised his hands in surrender. "Nothing like that! We just don't have the same funding and support that we had while we were based in Lyore! Items are scarce here, so we have to pick and choose when we use them."
"In other words, we pick and choose who we save," Zero responded coldly.
Quill didn't answer, no longer able to meet the Riolu's eyes. "I'll tell you what…" Quill removed his own pack and pulled out a glossy blue orb. "I have an escape orb on me. We'll teleport out and take Flint with us and bring him to the proper authorities. How about that?"
Zero gave a huff and crossed his arms over his chest. His jaw worked furiously, but his mouth remained stubbornly closed. Quill sighed at this but continued to make his way towards Flint's unconscious form. Zero stubbornly kept his gaze, silently lamenting how much the Resistance had change while trying his best to ignore Furno's worried gaze.
-Resistance-
"Thank you so much for returning my goods!" an elderly mammalian type Pokémon said happily.
Like a good number of the Pokémon that dwelled in the Isles, the elderly shop keeper was one that the two members of Team Dawn Breaker wasn't entirely familiar with. It stood upright with shaggy dark brown fur with a yellow underside starting at its lower jaw. They had an additional yellow stripe that ran from its forehead to the tip of its tail. If they weren't mistaken, they were pretty sure they were a Gumshoos.
"It was no trouble ma'am," Quill replied, passing the satchel to the elderly Pokémon. "We're just doing our part."
"So polite," the Gumshoos gushed. "You know, I was wary when all of you refugees came to our humble island, but you all have been so helpful!"
Quill's smile became slightly strained at that, but Zero doubted the shop keeper noticed. As the elderly Gumshoos continue to prattle on about random aspects of her day, Zero glanced around the marketplace. He noted that while a good number of refugees from Lyore were present, they seemed out of place. Even if some of the natives were the same species as the refugees, it was easy to differentiate who was who.
The refugees walked and conversed like everyone else, but they always grouped together. Traveling in packs as if they would be attacked at any moment which, considering what they had been through, was understandable. On the other side of things, many of the Isles' residents looked at the refugees with barely hidden unease or disdain.
It was no secret that a good number of the Isles denizens were hesitant to accept those that had fled Lyore. Many wanted no part in the war transpiring on the continent and feared that, with the vestiges of the Resistance present, they would be drawn into the conflict. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on who you asked, the islands' chieftain accepted them and even agreed to offer assistance in taking back Lyore much to the chagrin of some of their people.
The former human shifted his gaze from the marketplace to just over the horizon. The marketplace, along with a good portion of the inhabited sections of their current island of residence was built into the side of an inactive volcano. They were high enough to have a clear view of the expansive ocean that lay between them and the shores of Lyore. Shifting his vision to the right, Zero could just make out the tip of one of the neighboring island, Koko.
"Alright!" Quill's sudden shout drew Zero's attention back to the Chesnaught. "Let's head back to the division!"
Right the division. Or, rather their new division. The mere thought of it sent a lance of grief shooting through the former human. The events that occurred at the Latios Division were still fresh in Zero's mind. The acrid smell of smoke, the shouts of fear and panic, Stride's last tortured scream, the Emperor's crooked and cruel smile… All of these things frequented the Emanation Pokémon's dreams, leaving him restless and tired most days.
Zero shook his head and focused on their path forward. Their division wasn't too far from the marketplace. In fact, it took barely ten minutes to reach the gate. Unlike the Latios Division, or any other division for that matter, their current place of residence wasn't even remotely hidden. In fact, it was incredibly noticeable to anyone who bothered to look up at the island's volcano.
Their new place of residence was a castle. Or, the remnants of one to be specific. The castle was built into the side of the volcano with several tall towers jutting from the rock. Many of the castle's windows had been broken in and several boards had been put up to keep out the elements.
The Isles' chieftain had granted the refugees the dilapidated castle to use as both a base of operation for the remnants of the Resistance as well as housing. At one point, the castle would have been far too small to house just the Latios Division, but now…
Quill confidently strode to the metal gate that surrounded the castle's perimeter. He flashed his badge to the Excadrill guard who gave a curt nod before pulling the gate open. It wasn't the most secure means of security, but it was all they could muster.
With a simple 'thank you' towards the guard, the quartet trudged up the stone steps leading to the division.
-Resistance-
One thing that Zero always liked about the Latios Division was the warm and carefree atmosphere that it seemed to exude. Even in the middle of war, the division never felt unwelcoming. While it didn't erase the reality of their situation, it did make Zero, at least momentarily, forget about how serious the war truly was.
Their new dwelling was nothing like that.
There was no warmth from the building. There were Pokémon making pleasant conversation with one another, but there was a depressive air about them. There wasn't a cacophony of laughter filling the halls. No random shouts of exuberance or jubilation. The few children that roamed the halls were subdued. Even Quill's jovial attitude seemed to wane by just walking through the threshold.
"Alright. We better head to the mission's office and report our success," Quill said, forcing a smile. "We can pick out another mission for you two."
"A real mission?" Zero asked. "Or just another chore."
Everyone paused and looked at the sullen Riolu. "What do you mean by that?" Quill questioned.
Zero pinned the Quilladin with a tired glare. "What I mean is are we going to be doing something that actually helps the Resistance or are we just going to be running errands?" Zero asked bitingly.
"Watch your tongue, hatchling," Robin responded scathingly. "Don't think yourself above everyone because you have the Silver Soul. You're just like any other Resistance member!"
"If I was treated like any other Resistance member then I would be helping take back Lyore!" Zero growled through clenched teeth. "Instead, you're keeping us under a tight leash. We can't even leave the main island!"
"That's for your own safety, Zero. We need to make sure you and Furno are fit for active duty," Quill explained in a soothing manner. Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect.
"And when will be ready?!" Zero demanded. "We've already proven that we're as strong as we were before the Latios Division's fall and we were doing actual missions back then! I'm supposed to be your best weapon against the emperor!"
"The only thing you are is a spoiled little brat," Robin said coldly. "In case you forgot, you lost when you fought the emperor."
Zero flinched. For a moment, everything fell away and the only thing he could see was Maledic's malicious grin. His body suddenly ached as if the pain he went through that day suddenly returned.
"Zero, these things take time," Quill spoke slowly. "Yes, you're a valuable asset against the emperor, but you're still a child. You still need time to grow and get stronger."
Zero remained stubbornly silent, his gaze firmly planted on the floor. A mutinous scowl crossing his face. Seeing this, Quill sighed.
"Look, maybe we can work something out," Quill suggested. "You both have made some progress since we found you. Maybe we can convince the leaders to let you guys go out to the other islands…"
Zero's face completely closed off. "Whatever," Zero said before stalking off.
"Wait, Zero!" Quill called out. "We need to report out miss-and he's gone," Quill trailed off with a sigh as the irate Riolu rounded down a hallway leading to the lower levels.
"Entitled brat," Robin said with a barely withheld sneer.
"Cut him some slack. He's been through a lot," Quill defended weakly.
"We all have," Robin responded coldly. Without another word, the Decidueye spun on her heel and stalked off towards the direction of the mission's office.
"Robin…" Quill sail only for his voice to trail off as the grass-ghost type ignored him. He sighed, his bulky frame sagging as if he suddenly doubled in weight. He turned his tired eyes to Furno who had been surprisingly silent throughout the argument. "Let's go, Furno."
The Monferno didn't verbally respond, even when Quill began to walk away. He remained fixed in his spot for several moments, a worried look shifting from Quill's retreating back to the route Zero had taken. After a few more moments of silence, he slowly trudged after the large grass-fighting type, though eyes kept shift behind him.
-Resistance-
Zero retreated to what had been his haven in these past few months. The library. Ironically, since his and Furno's return, he couldn't stand being in their training grounds for longer than necessary. Instead, he found sanctuary in the castle's large library. There weren't many books that survived the passage of time, but there were still a great number of them devoted to myths and legends.
He had originally been hoping that one of the texts would offer some clue about the Silver Soul, but he only found myths regarding the Isles themselves. While not what he was originally looking for, Zero was intrigued. Four of the five islands that made up the Isles, specifically the four surrounding islands, were named after the islands' protectors.
Zero assumed that these were Pokémon, but the former human had never heard of any Pokémon called Koko, Lele, Fini, or Bulu. Granted, there were a good number of Pokémon that neither he nor Furno recognized upon coming to the Isles, it wasn't that surprising. That being said, there hardly seemed to be any information regarding these guardians aside from them being described as 'forces of nature'.
Even the history of the main island's name, Excadwen seemed shrouded in mystery. For one, the castle they resided in had only been used once. A single Pokémon called the dwelling home, serving as both a leader for the denizens of the Isles as well as their protector.
This ruler, at least according to folklore, came into power shortly after the Exodus, a term that the islanders used to describe the departure of the Legendaries. Pokémon, at least until that point, had been reliant on the Legendaries for nearly every facet of their lives and, with them gone, they were lost and scared. It was this ruler that led the denizens of the Isles out of the proverbial darkness and into a semblance of stability.
Upon reading about this ruler, Zero had become enraptured. This one Pokémon led their subjects through bouts of famine, sickness, and war. They even formed relations with humans, surprisingly enough. For all extensive purposes, this ruler was revered almost like a Legendary themselves to their subjects, which would explain why the castle had never been used after their death. It was as much of a shrine to the Isles' first ruler as it was an actual castle, which made it even more surprising that the Isles' leader granted them permission to use it as housing.
Over the course of six months, Zero had all but devoured every book pertaining to this mysterious ruler. Some of the stories seemed completely ludicrous like the one about them restoring a barren valley to a lush grove. Or the one about them splitting a continent. Despite the borderline ridiculousness of these tales, Zero found himself enjoying his time reading them and wanted to learn more about this ruler, but, aside from what he could only call fables, there was very little actual information about them. In fact, the only image he could find pertaining to them were…
"The same set of symbols," Zero muttered aloud from where he sat, pouring over a particularly large tome.
Drawn on the page was a crude drawing of a humanoid-like being. Above the figure was a small spiral surrounded by several short lines with several longer lines stretching down to frame the figure. Finally, directly below both the spiral and the figure, was a sword and what Zero assumed to be a shield.
Zero found this especially odd considering there were only a handful of Pokémon that wielded weapons and none of them matched the primitive picture. In fact, the only ones who even remotely matched the image were…
"You know," a voice spoke up from behind the Emanation Pokémon, "normally I'm the moody one between the two of us."
Zero turned around in his seat to see Furno leaning against the frame of doorway. The Monferno's posture betrayed the subtle look of concern that flitted in the Playful Pokémon's gaze.
Zero sighed softly and turned back around. "How much trouble am I in with the leaders?"
"None," Furno replied, taking a seat next to the former human. "Quill told them that you were tired from the mission and went to relax."
"Oh," Zero muttered, trying to ignore the heavy pit of guilt that formed in his stomach over hearing that the Chesnaught had vouched for him despite his attitude.
"Yeah, Robin wasn't happy about that," Furno added with a mirthless chuckle. "She was upset that you got your way by 'whining'."
"I wasn't whining!" Zero denied angrily. "I'm just…I'm just so tired of all this…"
All of Zero's indignation evaporated in an instant. "I know I shouldn't be complaining about helping Pokémon, but I can't help but feel like we're being assigned busy work! Compared to the things that we were doing back in the Latios Division, all of this seems…tame."
"I mean, their probably making sure that we're capable of handling ourselves," Furno reasoned.
"For six months?!" Zero exclaimed incredulously. He sagged in his chair, resting his chin on his arms. "It feels like we're being pushed off to the side. Even the rest of our team barely associates with us!"
"Well, they're busy," Furno pointed out. "It's been all hands on deck since we disappeared."
"Yet we're being left behind!" Zero argued. "They keep saying that we all have to do our part, yet they have us doing random missions around the islands. I get that we're helping Pokémon, but how are we helping with Lyore!"
The former human's paws clenched over his forearms. "Everyone keeps saying that I'm important. That I'll be crucial in the war against Maledic, but then they go back and say that I'm just a kid or not ready to take part in the war. It's like I'm being pulled in two separate directions. Either I'm important or I need to stay out of the way. It…I…I don't…"
Zero let out an aggravated sigh, thumping his paws against the table. "It's just so frustrating!"
Furno remained silent for several moments before speaking. "I mean…they probably don't know what to do with us," he said carefully. "They've been fighting for years now thinking that the Silver Soul was gone forever. Now that you're back, they don't know what to think. They've been fighting so long without their 'secret weapon' that I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them stopped believing in it."
The Monferno turned to fully face the Riolu. "I don't think that it's they're trying to push you off to the side, they just don't know what to think anymore. I imagine some of them think that the Silver Soul isn't necessary for them to win the war while the others are scared to lose it again."
"So they're keeping me in arms reach at all times just in case," Zero finished.
"That would be my guess," Furno said.
"That…makes sense," Zero relented with a tired sigh. "Still, I just wish I could do more than just run errands."
"We just need to hold out," Furno said. "Eventually we'll get out chance."
"I guess," Zero murmured, though he didn't sound convinced. A few moments of silence passed before the Riolu began to chuckle. "Since when are you the sensible one?"
"Hey! I'll have you know I'm incredibly sensible!" Furno exclaimed, affronted.
"Right," Zero said, playfully rolling his eyes. "Says the one who always exploded at the slightest disagreement."
"That was only after I evolved and you know it!" Furno pouted, though his eyes sparkled with poorly concealed mirth.
"I'm sure," Zero responded sarcastically.
"Screw you!" Furno laughed, giving the Riolu a light shove.
Zero laughed in return, his previous agitation forgotten. A small shoving match erupted between the two, only ending when Zero had nearly fallen out of his chair. The two sat in silence, both panting lightly from their short scuffle. As they sat, Zero relished in the calm that hung around them.
There had been so few moments, even before the fall of the Latios Division, where they could just relax. There always seemed to be something that preoccupied them. Be it another mission or some kind of earth-shattering revelation, there always seemed to be something on their minds that kept them from simply relaxing. Zero wished they could have more moments like this. Moments where they could just enjoy the other's company without thinking about their dreary reality. Unfortunately, it was not to be.
"You two!" Robin's cold voice cut through their calm like a jagged knife. The Decidueye stepped into the library, her aloof expression betrayed by the blatant annoyance in her steely gaze.
Zero had to physically bite his tongue to keep a groan from escaping him. "What did you need, Robin?" Furno asked, sparing Zero from speaking.
"The elders have requested your presence," she replied shortly.
"What? Why?" Zero asked, immediately on edge. Was he getting punished for earlier?
The Arrow Quill Pokémon pinned the Riolu with a look that told them she'd rather be doing anything other than speaking to them. "It would appear that your constant complaining finally paid off."
Zero frowned. "What do you…"
"You both are going to Lyore," Robin interrupted with a poorly hidden scowl. "I hope you happy."
Author's Notes:
Welp, I'm finally back with the promised final arc in my Resistance story. I honestly didn't expect to be gone for this long but life has been a little hectic for me these past months. Nothing bad, thankfully, I've just been busy with my job as well as the commission work I do for a magazine. I can't promise that I'll be able to upload with in sort of regularity, but I can promise that I will finish this story. Thank you all for your continued support and I hope you all enjoy the final arc of Resistance.
