Chapter 1
Shock and Aura
"Wh-What?" Zero all but whispered, dropping the lantern with a loud clang that seemed reverberate within the silent chamber. "What does this mean?"
"It means," Stride began slowly, "that you, Zero, are the wielder of the Silver Soul!"
"But, how?!" Furno exclaimed. "How is this possible?!"
"I'm not sure," Stride admitted, openly gaping at the lantern, which had lost its light when the Riolu relinquished his hold. "This…this must be why Angela wished for you two to join Myself and Orion. She must have known that Zero had the Silver Soul, or at least perceived that Zero would play a crucial role in all this. I should have known when I saw that Aura Sphere," he muttered under his breath.
"My…Aura Sphere?" Zero asked, still in a daze.
"A Pokémon's Aura Sphere is a reflection of their soul," Stride said distractedly. "Aura is the lifeblood of all living things, or their soul. Aura Sphere, as the name suggests, utilizes that energy, as such the color of the attack is the color of your soul, but that's not important." He turned to Zero. "What is important is that you have what I've been searching for all this time."
Stride looked happy, excited even. He appeared to be in the verge of tears as he gazed at the one that he had been searching for. He was so relieved, relieved that he was right, that everything he had done had not been for nothing. Relieved that he had found the instrument of the resistance's success.
"B-But…!" Furno spluttered, trying to make sense of what was happening. "How?! Zero's not even a real Pokémon!" He blinked, before sending a sheepish glance over to Zero. "No offence."
Zero just shook his head dismissively, not fully hearing what Furno had said. He was still in a state of shock, his gaze still firmly locked onto the lantern at his feet.
"The prophecy never specifically stated that the wielder of the silver soul has to be a Pokémon," Stride explained, still sounding animated. "Not only that, but many believe that humans are just a subset of Pokémon. Though that is inconsequential at the moment."
He turned to fully face Zero, his eyes becoming suspiciously wet. "After all this time, I've finally found it. The Silver Soul. At last, we have a way to truly fight back against the Emperor!"
"This…this doesn't make any sense," Zero spoke up. He sounded lost and confused, something that both Pokémon picked up on. "This…shouldn't be possible."
"But it is," Stride insisted. "Against all odds, you have the Silver Soul and thus the power to turn the tides of the war! You can end the Emperor's reign! You should be happy about that!"
"No, I mean that this shouldn't be possible!" Zero looked up at Stride, his eyes holding a myriad of emotions. "Don't you remember? When you first brought us to the Latios Division, you brought us to Phoebe and she said that I didn't have the Silver Soul!"
Stride still at that. His eyes widened marginally as he did indeed remember that event. Surprise glittered behind light red orbs before being replaced by righteous fury. "That lying bitch!" he suddenly roared, causing both Zero and Furno to jump in surprise. "She lied! She lied to all of us!"
"Stride, calm down," Furno tried to sooth, but his pleas fell upon deaf ears.
"Everything we did! Everything we sacrificed!" Stride continued to rage. He summoned several Water Shuriken and hurled them at the opposite wall. Deep gouges appearing on the depiction of Registeel was the result, but it was not enough to curb the ninja Pokémon's rage.
"We lost Pokémon, good Pokémon, to bring her to the resistance for an ability that she doesn't even possess!" Stride screamed, releasing a Dark Pulse that destroyed a large portion of the wall. "All of those losses, all of those deaths…they were all because of her!"
Zero and Furno shivered fearfully at anger and murderous Intent the Greninja was showcasing. Even when they showed up randomly just a few days ago, Stride had never displayed such rage. It honestly felt like the Greninja would kill them if they got in his way. Eventually, Stride's anger petered out, leaving him panting in exhaustion.
"Stride…?" Furno asked tentatively.
Stride gave no indication that he had heard the Monferno and stared blankly at the heavily damaged wall. Cautiously, Furno stepped towards the Greninja and called his name again. "Stride?"
Stride glanced at the newly evolved fire type, his gaze devoid of any emotion. Zero immediately took a step forward, his form wound like a spring, ready to jump in and defend Furno if need be. Stride eyes moved to Zero and he noted his tense demeanor. He closed his eyes and took a deep, calming, breath. "I…I'm apologize for that," he said, his voice notably calmer. "I lost my temper."
"What was that?" Zero demanded, not relaxing from his guarded stance. "I get that she lied, but to react like that…"
"I led the mission to retrieve her," Stride said, earning shocked looked from Zero and Furno. "We heard word of a Pokémon that could detect the Silver Soul and I wished to follow up on that lead, but it was a trap. The emperor's soldiers were there waiting for us. Only about half of the platoon I was leading survived."
"So that's why you were so upset," Furno reasoned.
"No, there's more," Stride said. "Just as we were about to depart, a Misdreavus came to us saying that she was the one we were looking for. In that moment…I thought of nothing else." Stride opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. "Everything left me. My duty as a member of the resistance. My duty as the leader of my platoon. Everything… All I could think about was finding the Silver Soul and, because of that, even more of us died in an effort to save that Misdreavus."
"But you couldn't have just left her," Furno said. "Even if she didn't have what you were looking for, it was still your responsibility to protect her! That's what the resistance is all about!"
For almost a full minute, Stride said nothing. He simply continued to stare unseeingly up at the ceiling, but when he did speak…
Both Zero and Furno wished that he had remained silent.
"In this world…during these times…you can't save everyone. Try as you might, sometimes sacrifices must be made in order to survive to fight the fight."
A sudden rush of cold air seemed to pervade the room, reminding the two members of Team Dawn Breaker of their encounter with Regice. Furno opened and shut his mouth, trying, and failing, to think of something to say in response. Zero too stood agape, more so at the clear dead tone in Stride's voice rather than what he had said. The worst part was, they knew that Stride was right. They were even told as much during their encounter with Mifune, but still…
Should it be alright to leave someone behind?
Several minutes of silence ensued as Stride's bitter words sank in. Finally, Zero spoke tentatively. "So…what now?"
"Hm?" Stride hummed questioningly.
"With the lamp," Zero expanded. "With…me having the Silver Soul and all? Do we…tell everyone?"
"We should at least tell Orion," Furno added once he had found his voice. "After all, he risked his life for this too."
Zero stilled at the mention of Orion. His ruby red gaze shifted to the lamp, an unreadable look in his eye. Before either younger resistance members could react, Stride lunged forward, scooped up the lamp, and cleaved it straight down the middle with a Night Slash all before the colored fire could ignite.
"Stride!" Furno exclaimed in horror, a sentiment that matched the expression on Zero's face. "What the hell?!"
"This is too dangerous for anyone to get their hands on," Stride replied coolly. "If the Emperor learned that Zero possesses the Silver Soul, it could mean the end for us all."
Zero swallowed thickly at the thought of being ousted by the emperor. He was already a target for being a rare Pokémon by Aster, if the Emperor found out what he held… He'd have every one of his soldiers out looking for him! That was something Zero would rather avoid.
"B-But Regigigas said we had to protect it!" Furno exclaimed.
"No, they said to never let the lantern to fall into the wrong hands," Stride recounted. "They never said anything about destroying it to do so."
"But…But…!" Furno spluttered about, unable to come up with a viable argument. "But what about Orion?" he asked. "Do we tell him."
"No."
"What?! Why not?!" Furno shouted. "He did just as much as the rest of us to get us here and he nearly died for it! He deserves to know!"
Stride regarded the Monferno with a critical eye before turning away. "…the Emperor has eyes and ears everywhere."
Furno frowned, not understanding what Stride was talking about, but Zero understood. "You think he's a traitor."
Stride eyed the former human. "Perceptive as always, Zero."
Furno gasped, visibly appalled by what Stride was saying. "How can you think that Orion is a traitor! After everything he done for us?!"
"I'm not saying explicitly that his is a traitor, I am simply thinking weighing the possibility," Stride elaborated. "Orion wouldn't be the first to betray the resistance. These are dark times we live in and many would do whatever it takes to survive."
"Even betray their friends?" Furno practically growled.
"Precisely," Stride nodded.
"Do you even have any proof that he may be a spy?" Furno said.
"I don't," Stride admitted, "but we cannot risk the chance of this information falling into the wrong hands. Outside of you two and myself, should only before the higher ups like the Tribunal. Only their loyalty to the resistance cannot be questioned."
"If that's how you feel, then why'd you ask for Orion to come with you in the first place?" Zero questioned. "If you don't trust him, then why bring him here in the first place. Why not one of your teammates?"
"As to why I didn't want to risk bringing my teammates, I didn't wish for them to face punishment upon our return. Orion can easily say that he was oblivious to my intent, but one could just as easily argue that my teammates were aware of my plans and would be punished for it. As to why I asked Orion to come…" Here, Stride paused as if debating whether or not he should say. "…I trusted Orion enough to help me gather information on how to find the Silver Soul. Not with the information of its wielder."
"So, what? You want us to lie about what we found?" Furno asked heatedly. "Not just to Orion, but to our own team as well."
"That is exactly what I am asking," Stride said, pinning both Zero and Furno with matching hard looks. "If this information were to get out, not only would Zero be in danger, but the everyone you have ever known or loved. Is that what you want?"
Furno physically shrunk back as if struck, the fight and defiance leaving his body. "…no," he mumbled.
Stride nodded in ascent, seemingly satisfied with Furno's response. He turned and walking over to the stairs, but was stopped by the sound of Zero's voice. "That's rather hypocritical, don't you think?" he said. "You told us to trust our teammates, yet here you are saying not to trust them."
Stride froze, his fingers gripping tightly around the metal railing that spiraled along the staircase. "You're right," he said, not turning around. "It is hypocritical, but that's how it is. You learn to just deal with it.
Not giving Zero time to respond, Stride descended the staircase, completely missing the heated glare the Riolu was giving him.
-Resistance-
When the trio walked down to the lower floor, Orion was just regaining consciousness and pushed himself to a sitting position. When the Lucario noticed the trio's arrival and immediately brightened. "Guys!" he exclaimed. He tried to get up, but almost immediately felt dizzy and fell back on his rear.
"Orion!" Furno exclaimed in worry as he and Zero rushed to his side. Stride followed at a much more sedate pace.
"I guess I was more injured than I thought," Orion chuckled weakly. He waved off Zero and Furno's concern, muttering that he was fine. It was then that he noticed Furno's new form. "Whoa! Furno! You evolved!"
"Heh, yeah," Furno grinned unabashedly. "It happened when we were battling—" He cut himself off, his eyes blown up wide. He had almost blurted out what had happened!
Orion tilted his head in confusion. "Huh? What's wrong? Who were you battling?"
Furno looked helplessly at Stride who exhaled deeply and shut his eyes in vexation. "We encountered a guardian on the floor above us," he stated calmly.
"A guardian? So, there was something kept here after all!" Orion exclaimed excitedly. His eyes roamed over the three of them, searching for whatever they could have found on the upper floor. When he found nothing, he frowned at them. "So…what'd you find?"
"…nothing," Stride answered after several seconds of silence.
"Nothing?" Orion repeated incredulously. "What do you mean nothing?"
"Just what I said," Stride replied. "We found nothing."
"Really?" Orion questioned with a heavy amount of skepticism. "There was a guardian in this place and it wasn't guarding anything?"
"Correct."
The Lucario gave the Greninja a deadpan look. "You do realize that I can detect lies, right?"
"…"
"So, you three did find something," Orion said, looking expectantly at the trio before him. Both Zero and Furno were blatantly looking anywhere but at Orion while Stride continued to look impassive. Orion gaze narrowed. "Well?"
"We found nothing," Stride repeated, his tone never changing. "There was nothing there."
"You're seriously still saying that? I just told you I can tell if you're lying!" Orion growled angrily.
"…"
Orion's scowl deepened at Stride's silence. He looked to Zero and Furno, noting that they were still looking away from him. "Zero? Furno?"
Both young Pokémon visibly flinched when their names were called. "It…It's like Stride said," Furno began, still not meeting the elder Pokémon's gaze. "There wasn't anything there."
Orion's expression closed off, becoming devoid of emotion. "I see. Zero? Do you say the same thing?"
Zero tensed, fighting the urge to duck his head. It felt…wrong lying to Orion after everything the Lucario had done for them. How he consoled Zero after his first encounter with Intent and brought him out of a panic attack when he was coming to terms with his…death. It…hurt just thinking that he had to lie to him…but.
Zero glanced at Stride, meeting the Greninja's eye. He didn't have to sense his emotions to know what Stride wanted him to do, but could he? He looked to Orion and, despite the aura Pokémon's face being a blank mask, Zero could see pain in his eyes. Pain that, despite everything he had done for the group, they wouldn't trust him, but if Zero told him…
He would be betraying Stride's trust. The one that brought him and Furno to the resistance, taught them, and helped them at every point in their journey. Despite how he distanced himself and acted cold towards them on occasion, Stride was always a constant for them. Orion on the other hand deceived Zero, causing him to get hurt in the process. Yet he was trying to make amends…
How could Zero possibly choose?
The former human clenched his fists, steeling his resolve. "We…we didn't find anything," Zero mumbled, allowing his eyes to fall to the floor.
Zero heard a sharp intake of breath from Orion and he felt a noticeably chilly aura emanate from the Lucario. "I see. Well then…I guess that's that."
"It is," Stride said crisply.
"Then I see no reason to linger in this place," Orion said. He moved to get up, sending Zero and Furno away when they tried to help him with a sharp glare, and stood up on shaky legs. Not looking back at the trio, he walked towards the stairs leading out of the temple, doing his best not to fall.
When he was gone, Furno visibly slumped forward. "I feel awful lying to him," he said depressingly.
"I know," Zero mumbled. "After everything he's done for us…"
"It's for the best," Stride said as he walked past him towards the stairs Orion had just exited through. "We can't risk this information getting out."
"I know, but still…" Furno whispered.
"Orion's tough. He'll recover," Stride said dismissively. "When this is all over, and the emperor has been defeated, I'll personally apologize to him."
Without another word, Stride left the room and the dungeon. Now alone, Zero and Furno glanced at one another, once more feeling conflicted over the course of action they had taken. Unable to do anything else, they grabbed their pack (Zero made a mental note to never go anywhere without it) and left the Temple of Memoria.
-Resistance-
The trek out of the Ruins of Reminiscence was…awkward to say the least. Tensions between Stride and Orion were all but tangible. The group did their best to avoid the mystery dungeons that laid between them and the Groudon Division, their destination, meaning there was plenty of time to themselves. It was made even worse with Orion's less than subtle attempts at gaining information from the Greninja.
For the first two days, it was simple questions about the guardian; what it was, how they fought it. Questions that, while seemingly innocent, were trying to get them to let down their guard and let something slip about what they had found. When it didn't work, his questions became a lot less subtle, sometimes even blatantly demanding to know what they had found. Each question was met with silence, something that only infuriated the Lucario. By the third day, he was silent.
Both Zero and Furno, for the most part, remained silent throughout their journey. Orion had tried to ask them questions, but Stride had always shot him down before he could even get two words in. To make things worse, they couldn't talk to Stride or talk among themselves over what had occurred for fear of Orion overhearing. It was hard for both of them, having this groundbreaking information and not being able to talk about it in order to process what they now knew. For all that stress and worry, it was even worse for Zero.
The former human was lost to say the least. When he had first woken up in this world, he was confused and scared. He was a human in a world of Pokémon in the body of a Pokémon without any memory of being human. He didn't know where to go or what to do. He was alone in the world. Then he met Furno and was brought to the resistance and, suddenly, he had a purpose. He knew what he was doing. He had a clear purpose.
But everything changed in an instant.
Now he was some sort of prophesized messiah that would save everyone from the Emperor, but he didn't know how. How could he stop someone that has put all of Lyore into such a state of fear and disarray? He was just one person, or one Pokémon, with a power he neither understood or knew how to use. Zero…Zero didn't know what to do anymore, but one thing was clear. For whatever awaited him, he had to figure out some way to use the Silver Soul. It was with this thought that spurred Zero to act when they took their next stop.
"Hey, Orion?" Zero said, tentatively approaching the Lucario. Orion grunted in response and did nothing else. Taking this as consent to continue, Zero spoke again. "Can I…ask you something?"
"Oh, you want to ask me something? That's rich!" Orion laughed cruelly, causing Zero to duck his head. Orion saw this and sighed tiredly. "Sorry, that was wrong of me."
"No, you have every right to be angry with me. I mean, we're not being exactly forthcoming with information ourselves," he said, casting a furtive glance towards Stride. The Greninja was resting against a nearby tree with his eyes closed, but Zero sensed that he wasn't as asleep as he appeared.
"It's fine, I know that Stride's the one that's making you and Furno keep quiet," Orion said, glancing at Furno, who was laying down a little ways away. The fire on his tail was out, indicating that he was asleep. "I just wish I knew why he's so paranoid, especially after asking me to come with him in the first place."
Zero hummed noncommittally. While he knew of Stride's reasons, Zero still didn't agree with them. Even so, he chose to put his trust in Stride and remained silent.
"Anyway, what was it that you needed?" Orion asked trying to make his expression appear brighter, though it didn't reach his eyes.
"Uh, I wanted to ask you about the move Aura Sphere," Zero said. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Stride give an almost unperceivable twitch.
"Aura Sphere? Why do you want to know about that?" Orion asked curiously.
"Well…" Zero said, knowing that he had to be careful of what he said. "You mentioned how Lucario have the ability to manipulate the aura around us to use Aura Sphere while others had to use their own aura for the attack, but does that mean they can't use their own aura?"
Orion frowned at the Riolu, but answered all the same. "No, it doesn't. It just takes less energy to do it that way and the formation is near instantaneous. However, any Aura Sphere conjured this way will be naturally weaker than one conjured with your own aura."
"Why is that?" Zero asked.
"Well…that's a little difficult to explain," Orion said. "Think of it this way; a Thunderbolt from a Magmortar will inherently weaker than that of an Electivire's since, as an electric type, they are able to generate much more electricity than any other type. It is the same way with other types; moves of the same type of the Pokémon using them will be stronger than if another type used them."
"So, using your aura for an Aura Sphere will be stronger because its your own power?" Zero reasoned.
"Yep."
"So…how do you use your aura?" Zero asked.
Orion looked at Zero as if he had grown a second head. "You do know that Riolu can't use aura, right?"
"Huh?!" Zero exclaimed. "What do you mean I can't use aura?!"
"Oh, I keep forgetting you've got amnesia," Orion said sheepishly. "Riolu are incapable of using aura. You are sensitive to it, allowing you to pick up on emotions, but you are unable to manipulate it in the way that Lucario does."
"Oh…" Zero said crestfallen. He then grew confused as he had used Aura Sphere on several occasions. If he couldn't manipulate aura, then how did he use Aura Sphere? More importantly, learning to manipulate his own aura was the only actual lead on how to use the Silver Soul. Did this mean that he had to wait until he was a Lucario until he could use it?
"However…" Orion said, jolting Zero out of his thoughts. "When a Riolu gets close to evolution, their connection to the aura becomes stronger. This causes random and uncontrolled bursts of aura manipulation. It is only then that a Riolu can begin to learn how to manipulate aura. You won't be able to do much with it, but learning is the first step into becoming a Lucario."
"So, I'm close to evolution," Zero murmured. It didn't seem very plausible to Zero
"What was that?"
Zero jumped, a furious blush coloring his cheeks as he realized he had spoken aloud. "Oh…um, I…think I used Aura Sphere when we were fighting the guardian at the temple."
Orion gaped like a Magikarp for several seconds, seemingly too shocked to speak. "That's…That's great, Zero!" Orion exclaimed when he found his voice. "You're close to evolving!"
"Yeah," Zero said, feeling rather awkward.
"This is great! Typically, it's a Riolu's parents that teaches them, but I am more than willing to help! Ha! Imagine me, a teacher! Who would have thought!" As Orion gushed over the prospect of teaching, Zero was deep in his own thoughts.
This is great! He thought. With Orion teaching me how to use my aura, I'll unlock the Silver Soul for sure! The only thing is I'll have to be careful of what I show him. If he sees that my aura is silver…
"By the way, what color was your Aura Sphere?" Orion suddenly asked.
Crap! Zero was panicking. What was he supposed to say?!
Thankfully he was spared from answering when Stride got up. "Come on, we need to move out!"
He gave Zero a sharp look as he passed by him to wake up Furno. "Whazz goin'?" the fire-fighting type mumbled drowsily.
"We're leaving now," Stride responded, leaving Furno wake himself up. "We've still have several days of travel until we reach the Groudon Division and I wish to get there as soon as physically possible. With luck, we can get ahead of my…insubordination."
"Insubordination? I believe you mean treason!" a voice rang out.
In an instant, Stride had summoned a blade of dark energy and pointed it in the direction the voice had come from. Orion was right at his side, a bone staff already formed in his paws. "Show yourself!" Stride demanded.
The voice chuckled in response. "As you wish."
To the quartet's surprise, a familiar figure stepped out of the brush, flanked by several other Pokémon. "Razor?!" Stride exclaimed, his blade disappearing
The Samurott smirked at the shell-shocked quartet, his teammates mirroring his expression. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen. What led us to this moment?"
Stride's shock melted away in an instant, a scowl replacing it. "What are you doing here?" he growled.
"I thought you would have figured it out," Razor said condescendingly. "The Tribunal sent me here to collect you and your fellow traitors."
"Traitors?" Furno gulped.
"That's right," Razor said, smiling cruelly at the Monferno. "As of this moment, all four of you are court martialed!"
Author's Note:
Sorry for the late update. I lost track of time. Anyway, I wanted to thank all of you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy this next act of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Resistance. I will try and update as much as I can, but it most likely won't be a frequently as before, but I will NOT abandon a story. Feel free leave a review and I will see you all in the next chapter.