Chapter 14
Tensions Rising
"Okay guys! From the top!" Zero called.
"On it, boss!" Quill shouted. He closed his eyes and brought his hands together as if forming an energy ball. Instead of the customary green energy that seeped from his hands and formed a swirling orb, a golden orb of energy began to form. The ground under him cracked under him and a multitude of small stones entered the orb, causing it to swell to the size of Quill's fist. Opening his eyes, Quill took the orb in one hand and hurled it at a boulder.
The golden orb raced through the air before impacting against the boulder with an eruption of earth. When the smoke and dust was dispersed, the top portion of the boulder was completely destroyed. Zero surveyed the damage and offered the Quilladin an approving nod. "Good job," Zero said. "Your formation of the smack down was a little slow compared to that of your energy ball, but that's to be expected with a move that doesn't match your type. We'll just have to work on it a little more."
Quill gave a grunt of ascent, pleased over his work. Turning his attention to Dusty, Zero gave him the go ahead. Without anymore prompting, Dusty rushed forward. He curled into a ball as if he were about to use rollout, but unlike the rock move, a steel blue ring of light appeared around Dusty's curled form. Bouncing from the ground, Dusty slammed into the same boulder, demolishing it upon contact.
"Very nice gyro ball," Zero said as the ground type uncurled himself. "You've made great progress with it. You can use it almost as naturally as your rollout attack." He glanced at the shiny Absol next. "Weiss-"
"I know," she interrupted, her voice devoid of her normally haughty attitude. Without another word, her horn took on a white light with a purple outline. Glaring at her target, another nearby boulder, she swung her head, releasing a blade of white and purple energy.
The blade whistled through the air at alarming speeds until it reached its target. The blade seemed phase through the large stone, doing no visible damage. Just as the blade fizzled out, a diagonal line appeared on the boulder followed by the upper portion sliding off, cut cleanly as if it were a hot knife through butter.
"Good," Zero commented, eyeing the two boulder halves. "And the other?"
Weiss scoffed as if offended at Zero questioning her abilities (which she probably was). Her body tensed as she sank lower to the ground. In the blink of an eye Weiss' body seemed to split into dozens of mirroring images. The images spread out in a circle, each one seeming to shift and fade out like a mirage.
"Twenty of them," Zero noted, glancing at the clones. "That's better than last time."
"Of course," Weiss replied, her haughtiness returning full forced. "I've been practicing that move sense I came to the resistance."
"Careful, Weiss. Your arrogance is showing," Quill commented dryly, the barest amount of bitterness was noticeable in his voice.
"Quiet, you!" Weiss snapped, canceling her technique.
Zero sighed as the two began to bicker. Despite Weiss' apology to the team, Quill still held some resentment towards the Absol. Her attitude and criticisms coupled with her treatment of him during training left quite the sour taste in the Quilladin's mouth. While the others still had their reservations regarding the Absol, Quill was by far the most opposed to it.
Knowing that they would go at it for hours if left unchecked, Zero was quick to step in between them. "Okay, okay. That's enough," he said, giving both of them stern looks. "We're here to train, not bicker."
The duo withered from Zero's gaze and stood down, though they did glare at the other when they thought the Riolu was not looking. Zero sighed in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Moving on. Furno?"
The Chimchar grinned eagerly at his friend, anxious for his chance to show of. He brought his arms close to his body, forming a small 'x' in front of him. His whole body shook as he flexed every muscle he could. At first, nothing happened. He just stood there, shaking, a light sweat breaking out over his brow. Then, a red aura took form around Furno's form, flickering like his tail fire. His muscles bulged with new strength, his entire form increasing in size.
Furno's gaze fell to the severed boulder, a glare making its way on his face. He dashed forward and gripped the fallen half and, in an incredible show of strength, lifted the rock which was about his size. With a grunt, he hurled the stone across the room where it landed with a crash. He turned to the remaining piece and brought up his hand, a white energy glowing from it. In a chopping motion, he brought down his hand, shattering the boulder into dust.
Quill whistled appreciatively at the destruction. "Dang, Furno," he commented. "Remind me not to make you mad!"
Furno laughed bashfully, letting go of his flex, the red energy dissipating as he did so. "Thanks," he responded. "It's still taking me a while to build up the energy for bulk up though..."
"You just learned the move," Zero pointed. "Don't be so hard on yourself."
Furno smiled gratefully at his friend, not noticing Quill making kissy faces behind him and Zero. Zero, however, noticed it and was quick to blast the Quilladin with a vacuum wave. "Stop being an idiot."
"So mean," Quill whined from his place on the ground.
Zero rolled his eyes, making an effort to ignore the grass-fighting type. "Alright, next up is..." he glanced around for their missing sixth member and sighed. "Where's Bella."
The moment her name left his mouth, the ghost type appeared behind him and pulled the Riolu into a tight embrace. Having grown accustomed to the Banette's antics, Zero only had a minor heart attack at Bella's sudden appearance. Groaning, Zero shifted around so that he could look up at the Banette. "Bella..."
The Banette just trilled happily, tightening her grip ever so slightly. Quill, back to his feet, snickered at the scene. He started making kissy faces at the duo, much to Zero's growing chagrin.
"Dusty," he growled.
Nodding, the Sandshrew leapt into the air and slammed into Quill's head with a rollout. Dazed, Quill tottered precariously before collapsing onto his back. "Did someone catch the name of that carriage?" he slurred.
"Idiot," Weiss stated blandly.
Zero shook his head before forcing his way out of Bella's grip. "Enough hugging, we're training," he admonished.
Bella seemed to pout, but relented. She floated away from the Riolu before looking around for a target. Appearing to find one, she suddenly slashed at the open air with her hands. As she did so it looked as if she had cut through the the very dimensions as a shadowy portal appeared in its wake. Grinning evilly, she flew through the portal just as it closed. A second later, a second portal appeared just behind a third boulder. Bella leapt from the portal and punched the boulder with enough force to crack it in half.
"Impressive," Zero said before ducking under Bella as she tried to hug him again. Giving the ghost type a pointed look, Zero shifted his attention to the previous boulder. "My turn."
He clenched his paw into a fist and brought it to his eye level. Slowly, starting at the bone protrusion on his paw, a poisonous purple energy began to seep over his fist. Once his fist was completely covered, he raced across the floor, stopping just in front of the boulder. He reared his fist back and slammed it into stone with a swift jab.
Unlike the previous attacks, the stone did not shatter, though spiderweb cracks began to spread from the point of impact. Purple arcs of what appeared to be electricity washed over the boulder before fading away
Zero glanced at the stone for a second before looking at it fist, the purple energy fading. "Well, I guess it worked. Can't really tell how effective that is without an actual enemy."
"Well..." Weiss began, "you can always hit Quill."
"Hu-Wha?" Quill replied intelligently.
Zero snorted at that. "Despite how tempting that sounds, we don't have time for that," he said. "We still have to work on our combos."
The group -sans Dusty- groaned in unison. "Seriously, Zero?" Quill whined. "We've been here for hours."
"I hate to agree with the numskull, but we have been here for a while," Weiss said.
"We'll head out after this," Zero said.
"That's what you said twenty minutes ago," Furno commented dryly.
"Well you guys want to get stronger, don't you?" Zero questioned, earning reluctant nods from the group. "Then we've got to practice."
"You're more of a task master than the instructors back in training," Weiss groaned.
"That what I said!" Quill exclaimed before realizing who he was talking to. He was quick to turn his head, pointedly not looking at the Absol who scoffed at his antics.
"Look at it this way," Zero said. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can leave."
The other five glanced at one another. "Fine."
"Great!" Zero said clapping his paws. "Let's start out with Spinning Pin."
With a dramatic sigh, Quill stepped forward along with Dusty. The two nodded at one another before Dusty ran forward. As he did so, Quill unleashed a storm of pin missiles directly at Dusty. Just when it looked like the bug type move was about to hit the mouse Pokémon, he curled into a ball and started to spin. A strong wind, generated from Dusty's rapid spin, rose up, trapping the pins and pulling them into the strong winds.
With Quill's attack trapped within his rapid spin, Dusty dashed forward with rollout, still keeping up the winds. He bounced in the air and smashed into what was left of the boulder. The winds and pin missiles smashed into the stone, tearing the rock to pieces before Dusty's curled up form even touched it.
"Excellent," Zero said. "You okay, Dusty?"
"Yes, Zero. The pins did not touch me," Dusty responded.
"Good," Zero said with a nod. "Next is Phantom Cut."
"Seriously, who came up with these names," Weiss grumbled as she stepped forward with Bella.
"Furno," Quill answered.
"What?" Furno questioned. "It's a good name!"
"Whatever," Weiss grumbled. "Let's just-" Before she could finish her thought, Bella lunged forward, slashing the air and forming a portal. "Wait! Hold on a second!" Weiss shouted as Bella flew into the portal.
Seeing that Bella wasn't waiting, and the portal was closing, Weiss sighed in annoyance before channeling purple energy into her horn. With a swish of her head, she released a psycho cut into the closing portal.
A second passed before another portal opened up on the opposite side of the room. Bella flew out of it, punching the ground before moving out of the way as the blade of psychic energy shot out after her. The blade cut into the ground, leaving a fairly deep gouge in the earth.
"Perfect," Zero complimented.
"Hardly," Weiss grumbled under her breath, sending a glare at the smirking Banette.
"Okay, that leaves-" Zero began, only to be interrupted by Furno.
"Flame Wave!"
Zero deadpanned at the chimp Pokémon. "Is that what we're calling it now?"
"What's wrong with it?" Furno said defensively.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." Zero stretched his arms, pointedly ignoring Furno's glare. "Let's get started."
He raised his arm and immediately a a harsh blue wind erupted around him. Grudgingly complying, Furno's tail flame roared with new life. With a sharp inhale, Furno shot a flamethrower at the tower of wind. The winds sucked up the flames, twisting it around with the harsh flow of the winds. In the center of the now flaming tornado, Zero was sweating from both the combined force of the flames and keeping the winds under control.
"Crud!" Zero shouted as he control began to slip. "HIT THE DECK!"
Just barely hearing their leader's voice, the quintet instantly dive to the ground just as the tornado of fire shook, warped, and finally, exploded outward. A virtual storm of small blades of flames shot out in every direction, cutting into the walls, the floor, a few even cut through the curtain separating their current training room from the rest of the facility. Several shouts of surprise, followed by several loud crashing sounds.
Standing in the center of of a scorched ring, thankfully spared from the flames, Zero winced at the sounds. "Sorry!" he called.
"Welp, that's another failure," Quill said, getting back to his feet. "We should call that Flame Burst instead of Flame Wave!"
"Flame burst is already a move, dummy," Weiss snarked.
Quill glared at the Absol, but before he could say anything, Monty -in the form of a Rampardos- poked his head in. "Okay, I'm all for training, but this is the third time this week that this has happened," he said, crossing his arms.
"Sorry," Zero said sheepishly, the rest of his team shifting nervously. "We've been trying to work out this combination to give us an edge against our opponents, but it keeps...blowing up."
"Literally," Quill said behind a poorly faked cough.
"I can see that," Monty deadpanned. "Normally, I'd be more than willing to help, but I've got an expedition to Overgrow Jungle to prepare for."
"Overgrow Forest?" Weiss questioned. "Why would you go to a place like that?"
"Isn't that the forest on the other side of Scarred Field, on the opposite side of Shifting Forest?" Quill questioned.
"Right on both accounts," Monty said, shifting into a Grovyle. "To answer you question, little missy," Weiss blushed a little at that, "I've heard rumors of ruins hidden somewhere in the forest."
"Ruins?" Weiss implored, her interest peaked.
"That's right," Monty said. "It's said to have been an ancient temple designed for the worship of the legendary Pokémon Celebi."
"I've heard of Celebi," Weiss said. "She's supposedly the guardian of time as opposed to Dialga, the ruler of time."
"The guardian...of time?" Zero said, feeling a small tickle in his brain. That sounds...familiar?
"But aren't the legends just that; legends?" Weiss questioned.
"Oh, no,no,no!" Monty said aghast. "The legends were, or rather are, very real. In fact, if memory serves me correctly- "Monty shifted into the form of a Regirock, "-your team has encountered one."
"WHAT?!" Weiss screamed, rounding on the others. "When did this happen?!"
"Uh... About a couple months ago?" Zero replied.
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Weiss all but whined.
"It never came up," Furno said with a nonchalant shrug before turning back to the false Regirock, shuddering at the memory of their fight with the rock type legendary. "Are you hoping to find Celebi then?"
"No, that would be hoping for a miracle," Monty chuckled, reverting to his Grovyle form. "The actual legends haven't been seen in centuries. No, I'm hoping to find a mosaic or ancient drawing of Celebi. That way I'll be able to get an idea of what she looks like and be able to shift into her form."
"Another form to your collection," Quill commented, clapping Monty on his shoulder.
"Indeed, but I digress." He turned to give the team a stern glare. "I cannot have you all wrecking up my training center. Especially without guidance."
"So what should we do?" Zero asked.
"I would suggest asking Stride," Monty replied, shifting into a Greninja. "He has been in charge of your training and has plenty of experience in combat, with and without allies. Maybe he can shed some light on your...exploding problem."
"That's not a bad idea," Weiss said, adding her two cents. "It couldn't hurt."
"Well I don't really want to bother him," Zero said, suddenly shuffling his feet in a awkward manner. "He's been...distant as of late and I think the stress of everything going on is getting to him."
"I'm not surprised," Monty said grimly. "Between running his team and organizing the watch of Razed Ridge, I'm afraid that Stride has been under a lot of stress. That being said, I'm sure he would be more than willing to make time for you all."
Zero still looked conflicted, but he knew that they needed help. "Fine, we'll talk to him."
"Good," Monty said, clapping his webbed hands together. "Now get out of my training center!"
-Resistance-
"I can't believe he threw us out!" Zero exclaimed indigently.
"What did you expect?" Weiss questioned. "We did melt a bunch of his equipment. Just be glad that he didn't charge us."
"That would have been awful," Quill moaned. "We barely have any money as it is!"
"All those escape orbs add up," Weiss commented.
"Ugh, I wish there was some way to just teleport out of a dungeon when we find the client instead of either going the rest of the way through the dungeon or using an escape orb!" Quill complained.
"That's would be convenient, but impractical," Weiss countered. "To do something like that would require some kind of gem made up of pure psychic energy and making at least one of those for every team would be impossible given how there are."
"Guys!" Zero interrupted. "You can argue about the logistics of teleportation later. We're here."
True to his words, the team had stopped just in front of Team Surge's door. Zero stepped forward to knock, but stopped when he heard raised voices coming from inside.
"It sound's like there's a lot of Pokémon in there."
"Probably his team," Quill said, moving forward to knock himself, but was stopped when Zero grabbed his arm.
"Wait!" he hissed. "He's probably having a meeting or something. I don't want to interrupt."
"Well we came all this way," Quill said, beginning to push forward to knock.
"Quill!" Zero exclaimed, pulling harder on his teammates arm.
Furno, Dusty, Bella, and Weiss watched in amusement/annoyance as an impromptu wrestling match started between the two fighting types. "Are things always like this?" Weiss questioned.
"No," Dusty said, watching the fight impassively. "Usually its Furno and Quill fighting."
"Is not!" Furno shouted indigently, his blush betraying his tone.
Both Dusty and Bella stared blankly at the Chimchar, clearly not believing the fire type for a second. This caused Furno to blush even harder as he spluttered in denial. Weiss internally groaned at her teams antics. "Why did I want to join this team again?"
Meanwhile, Zero was still struggling to keep the Quilladin from knocking on the door. "Quill, stop!" Zero said, pulling on the grass-fighting type's arm. "We shouldn't intrude on their conversation."
"I'm sure it's fine," Quill said, dismissing Zero's concerns.
"And if it's not?!"
"Then-"
"Ahem." They both froze at the sound of someone's throat clearing. Slowly turning their gaze to the door, which was now open. Leaning against the door frame, an amused smirk on his face. "I thought I heard voices," he said. "Should have known it'd be you lot."
"O-Orion!" Zero squeaked, letting go of Quill's arm and causing him to fall flat on his face. "Ack! Sorry, Quill!"
"Whatever,"Quill said, rubbing his nose.
"What are you doing here, Orion?" Furno asked curiously.
Orion's smirk fell from his face, his mouth becoming a thin line. "Stride called me. He...he has a plan and he wanted my opinion for it."
"His plan?" Zero questioned.
Orion regarded the Riolu carefully. "It'd be best if you hear it from him."
Zero was quick to deny Orion's request. "We don't want to interrupt."
"It's fine," Orion assured. "He actually wanted to talk to you after this, but no time like present."
Not giving the younger Pokémon a chance to argue, Orion grabbed him by the shoulders and steered him inside, leaving the rest of his team to follow behind. The moment they entered they were greeted with the entirety of Team Surge, each of them wearing matching grave expressions. Some of them (ie: Seth) was glaring openly at the Greninja. The moment he noticed the younger team enter, all his aggression turned on them.
"What are the hatchlings doing here?!" he snarled, looking over the team with burning red eyes. Zero noted that the dark type's eyes widened fractionally when he saw Weiss, but his surprise quickly faded. Zero was wondering if he imagined it when he noticed Seth was waiting for an explanation.
"Well we came to ask Stride a question, but we heard voices, so we were going to leave and come back later, but Quill-"
"Zero, you're rambling," Orion interrupted, causing Zero to flush.
Stride chuckled lightly, though Zero could hear that it was slightly strained. "Ever the awkward one, aye Zero?"
"Well, as you can see, we are currently in the middle of a very important meeting, so if you could scamper along like good children," Seth said his cold tone betraying his words.
"Enough, Seth," Stride said, sounding both tired and annoyed. "I had plans on telling them anyway."
"What?! You're planning on telling them?!" Seth snapped, whirling around. "This is none of their business. They are just children!"
Had Seth not always been insulting towards the young team, Zero would have sworn that he sounded concerned, worried even, about their team.
"They had no place becoming a team let alone hearing team sensitive information!"
And there it is, Zero thought, rolling his eyes.
"Actually, darling, as Stride is still in the process of training them, they are technically part of the team," Jasmine purred, stretching out in a deceptively lazy way.
"A technicality doesn't give them the right to listen in!" Seth snapped.
"Seth, they kind of are involved," Wake pointed out, trying to ease the tensions of the room. Unfortunately, it did not work.
"Everyone is involved!" the Absol snarled. "The whole world is involved with this. The emperor is a problem to everyone. Does that mean you want to tell everyone about this."
"Well rumors on the grapevine will eventually reach the everyone," Bolt pointed out, gaining a harsh glare from Seth.
"Not. Helping."
"Whoa," Quill muttered, leaning down to Furno. "Do all Absol's glare like that."
Furno quickly shushed the Quilladin just as Stride got to his feet. "Seth, whether you like it or not, I plan on telling them. It was my belief that brought them to the resistance, as such, I can't help but feel that they are to serve a purpose in the upcoming war."
"War?" Furno asked, gulping audibly.
Stride looked to his young charge, sympathy glistening in his sunken eyes. He sighed and sat down again. "Yes, war," he said, laying his head in his hands. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Things are getting bad. The emperor is getting more brazen in his attempts at gaining control. His attempt at capturing Furno is proof if that."
"The emperor is getting bolder," Mystic stated, her eyes closed in thought. "In just this past week his soldiers have attacked four towns, capturing two of them."
"And the remaining two are in shambles," Liz added, crossing her arms. "We evacuated the inhabitants, but there were still casualties. Not to mention the land the emperor gained from those two towns just makes it harder for us."
"Which is why we should be focusing on taking back what he's taken rather than chasing fairy tales!" Seth snarled angrily. "Honestly, you're supposed to be a team leader. Instead of having your head up in the clouds with myths, you should be here in the present!"
"My Arceus," Quill murmured, low enough so that only Furno could here him. He looked from Seth to Weiss, gobsmacked. "It's like looking into a mirror!"
"Shh!" Furno hissed.
"It's not a fairy tale," Stride growled. "It could very well be the key to ending this Arceus forsaken war!"
"They key to ending the war?!" Seth exclaimed incredulously. "The key to ending this war is the blood, sweat, and tears of Pokémon who refuse to be ruled by a tyrant! The only way we can win is if we all fight against the emperor, not stand around twiddling our thumbs as we wait for some savior to save us all!"
"And what if you're wrong?!" Stride snapped. "What if we can't beat him?! What if, no mater what we do, no matter how much we give and give to the cause, it's not enough?" His voice slowly lost intensity its intensity with each word until he was slumped in his chair.
Now more than ever, the Greninja just seemed tired. The dark circles around his eyes practically glowed against his palish blue skin and his entire body seemed to sag as if weighed down. This was clearly not something that his team was used to seeing, judging by their concerned expressions. Even Seth looked concerned, though he hid it behind a cold mask.
"Stride?" Liz asked tentatively.
Stride sighed, looking at his team. "I'm sorry. I just...I just can't help but feel that it's all for naught," he murmured. "That, in the end, we can't win..."
"How can you say that, Stride?" Samuel asked. When he got no answer, the Abomasnow got up and stomped towards the Greninja. "I asked how you could say that?!"
Stride still didn't respond, his gaze firmly on the ground. Samuel growled at that and grabbed Stride by his front, mindful of his tongue, and pulled him to his feet with an almost feral growl.
"Whoa, Sammy!" Liz cried, getting to her feet. "Calm down!"
"No, I want to know what the hell is going through his head!" Samuel snapped, glaring at the Greninja. "I want to know what the hell makes you say that everything we've done, everything the resistance has done, as been for nothing! We have helped Pokémon, rescued them from mystery dungeons, saved them from the emperor and his soldiers-"
"And what do we have to show for it?!" Stride snapped, slapping the Abomasnow's hands off him. "Everything we've done has been undermined by the emperor! We've been pushed further and further back by the emperor's soldiers! At this rate, all we can hope to do is delay the inevitable! What we need is to win, not hold on and the only way to do that is to strike down the emperor before things get too bad!"
"And you want us to just go after him?" Seth scoffed. "We'd need to get through all of his soldiers first!"
"Which is why I need to do this!" Stride countered. "We need any advantage that we can get. What do we have to lose?"
"You!" Seth shouted. "If this ends up as bad as I think it will, we could lose you."
"We're losing people with every passing day!" Stride shot back.
"But there not you!" Seth growled as if his his words were actually hurting. "Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, Pokémon look up to you. They see you as one of the resistance's greatest. If you were to die, they would all lose hope and that's all we have at the moment!"
"We won't even have that if we don't get some kind of edge," Stride said.
The two glared at one another, their silence creating tension to suffocate the room. After a full five minutes, Quill, being the blunt Pokémon he is, cleared his throat, causing everyone's attention to snap to him. "Not to sound intruding, but what are you guys talking about."
"Stride..." Bolt began, glancing at his friend, "heard back from the Groudon division. They made some headway in deciphering a tome regarding..."
"The silver soul?" Zero questioned.
"Oh great," Seth groaned, rolling his eyes. "What else have you told them, Stride."
"You act like it's some secret," Stride said without humor.
"Anyway," Bolt growled, giving the duo pointed looks, "they came across the name of a set of ruins that they believe to hold some connection with the silver soul."
"What ruins?" Weiss asked.
"The Ruins of Reminiscence."
"I've heard of those ruins," Weiss said.
"Of course you have," Quill muttered.
"They used to be from a temple used by shamans a long time ago," Weiss said, ignoring Quill's comment. "They supposedly used it to look into the past."
"Look into the past?" Zero questioned.
"Like some reverse future sight attack," Quill commented.
"So you want to go to the ruins to try and find the silver soul by looking into the past?" Furno asked.
"I honestly don't know, Furno," Stride said with a barely concealed sigh. "The truth of the matter is that many archaeologists have explored the ruins for years, but there has been no sign of any ritual site, tomes, or anything that gives some clue about the rituals that the denizens used to perform."
"Yet you think that you can find something that trained professionals haven't been able to find in years," Seth commented disbelievingly.
"Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes is needed to see something that other's can't," Stride responded, not looking at the Absol.
"You don't honestly believe that, do you?!" Seth yelled, leaping to his feet.
"Yes, I do," Stride said, his tone dead serious, leaving nothing for argument. Even so, Seth did not back down.
"This goes far beyond you delusions of an ultimate weapon, Stride," he growled. "I was fine standing by as you would talk and dream about the silver soul, how it would be the thing that saved us all, but this is going too far. Now you are purposely putting yourself in harms way for the sake of chasing a dream! If you continue to act in such a manner I will-"
In a blur of movement, Stride had grabbed Seth by the throat and slammed the dark type against the wall. "You'll what?" Stride asked, his voice a deadly calm. "What will you do?"
"STRIDE!" Liz shouted, getting to her feet as well. "What are you doing?!"
"This isn't the way, Stride!" Bolt said, his expression slightly panicked.
"Tell me something, Seth," Stride growled, completely ignoring his team. "Who's the leader of this team? Who calls the shots? Who are you supposed to listen to without question."
Seth choked slightly as Stride increased the pressure. Even so, Seth glared at the Greninja. "I sometimes wonder."
Stride increased the pressure again, his glare intensifying. "That's very close to insubordination."
"I'd rather be insubordinate than be led to my death by some incompetent leader!" Seth snarled, his face darkening as he struggled to breathe. "One would think that, after Christina, you'd know how to be an actual leader."
The Greninja's eyes widened and his pupils shrank in pure rage. He pulled his free hand to the side, his fingers curled as if holding something, and a small blade of dark purple energy formed in his hand. The blood roaring in his ears drowned out the shouts of his team as he raised his blade to slash at the Absol. As his blade was about to stab the Absol, a something grasped his wrist halting his movements.
Stride's head snapped to the one grabbing his arm, a snarl on the tip of his tongue, but stopped as he met the ruby red gaze of Orion. "Enough, Stride," he said, his voice calm and his expression blank. "This isn't the message you want to send."
Stride was about to retort, but stopped when he felt more than just the gaze of his team on his back. Slowly turning his head, he was met by the terrified stares of Team Dawn Breaker. Each one of them looked horrified and fearful from Stride's action, Zero in particular was physically shaking, Stride rage affecting him more than the others.
Realization dawned on Stride as he slowly realized what he had just done and what he was about to do. He looked around and saw matching looks of horror and shock on the expressions of his team. Even Seth was trying and failing to hide his own fear with a glare that kept falling from his face. Stride's grip slackened, allowing Seth to crumple to the ground and stepped back, his head bowed.
For a while, no one spoke. Everyone just stared wide-eyed at Stride's unmoving form. Finally, Stride spoke up, breaking the silence with a dead tone. "I'm going to ask the tribunal for permission for an expedition to The Ruins of Reminiscence," he said.
Without another words, the Greninja strode out of the room and into the hall.
The silence that was left when the water-dark type had left still filled the air. Emotions were high, extremely so. So high that Zero felt like his head would burst from all the shock, confusion, worry, and fear that was filling the air. Zero felt as if he were suffocating, the pounding in his head not helping the matter. He had to get out of the room, but he was paralyzed from what he had just witnessed.
Thankfully, Orion sensed the Riolu's discomfort and was quick to get him and his team out of the room. "Come on. I can help you guys out with your training," he said brightly, forcing a smile onto his face. A smile that none of Team Dawn Breaker bought. Even so, they allowed themselves to be ushered out of the room, leaving Team Surge to their silence.