Kalos Quest Vol 3: Trapped

98. Going Solo

(Around two weeks ago)

Zeraora dashed through the forest, jumping from branch to branch. It was so sure that a fight  had broken out in the forest— and given the hour of the day, it was certainly suspicious.

Better check it out. The lightning feline skidded to a stop at an open patch lit dimly by the crescent moon above. There were faint scorch marks surrounding the area, and weird enough, thin sheets of ice at parts. Around here...

A familiar scent lingered in the area.

Zeraora let out a low growl as it spotted Axel's cap lying in the ground nearby. Electricity crackled around it as it picked up the cap, crumpling it in its fist furiously. Thunderclouds gathered above it, its sharp cyan glare glowing in the night.

What is the meaning of this.

—

Hexa was resting peacefully on the desk, when Zeraora came crashing into the room, shattering the glass window. The electricity around it only grew more intense as it stormed around the room.

"Where is Axel." It demanded, grabbing Hexa in its claws.

"Calm down." Froxel was sitting in the corner of the room, "they'll hear the commotion, so quiet down."

Aburi, immune to Zeraora's electricity, held its arm, telling it to stop. Hissing, Zeraora released Hexa, and Aburi caught it.

"He went out after Luna," Hexa answered, "Axel said you'll be back tomorrow. You're early."

Zeraora threw Axel's cap onto the ground, "explain this."

Froxel shot a glance at the cap and stood up, taking a closer look. It was unmistakably Axel's. "So they did run into trouble." Froxel said under its breath, "now that Zeraora's here, what do we do?"

Aburi gathered up all of Axel and Luna's remaining belongings, putting Axel's backpack on its back, "should we try to find them?"

"Oi, blob," Zeraora glared at Hexa from above, "use your cell thingies to find them."

Hexa rolled its eyes at Zeraora's attitude, but closed its eyes to communicate with its cells anyways. It shook its head, "They're out of range."

Zeraora's fur glowed as it tried using its scroll to reach Axel as well. It didn't work.

Dammit!

"In that case," Froxel interrupted before the two powerful Pokémon started arguing again, "we should head out and find them ourselves." It dug through Axel's backpack, holding up his phone, "let's try signing out first."

—

The group travelled all over Kalos to find Axel. With Zeraora's speed, they were covering a lot of ground, but Hexa just wasn't picking anything up no matter where they went.

That was, until Zeraora's keen ears caught onto something. A soft tune. It stopped to listen carefully. "Axel's harmonica." It recognized, running the direction the music came from, "he might be close."

"How do you even hear it?" Hexa questioned. It was hitching a ride on Zeraora's shoulder, hidden by its soft creamy fur.

Zeraora grunted, "kind of like a special relic of some sort. Like my communication scroll. That's how Axel calls me when he needs me for emergencies."

"Don't break the window again," Hexa warned, "I can sense Luna. Second floor in that building a few kilometres away. I'll tell you when it's in sight."