Chapter 109 Calm before the Storm
When they get to Calcenon City, they are surprised to see Julia and Amaria also there. After greeting them, they also get to find Hardy there.
Hardy: Yo. I dunno what our next move is gonna be, but my gut says it's gonna be big. You itchin' to kick Team Meteor down as much as I am, mate?
Ash: You bet.
Hardy: That's what I like to hear! They ain't gonna see a single thing comin'! Let's stick it to Meteor once and for all!
Just then, Bennett, Laura, and Saphira are also here, and Saphira is holding an unconscious Zero on her back. Ash is confused as to why Bennett is here, since the last time he met, he knows that Bennett is with Team Meteor.
Bennett: It is not a "risk" to unhand me, woman! As I've already said, I will follow you voluntarily.
Saphira: No chances.
Laura: Saphira, please! He's not a bad person!
Saphira: Oh, so that's why he's been with Team Meteor all this time. You. Catch.
Saphira suddenly throws Zero at Ash, who barely catches it and falls to the ground.
Saphira: Nice catch.
Hardy: Wot, you meant me?
Serena: Ash, are you okay?
Ash: I'm fine...
Saphira: (Turns to Bennett) You, however... You and I have business.
Bennett: Enough already. You know rough-handling a compliant captive is a solid way to jeopardize that compliance.
Saphira: It's not the only thing I'll jeopardize if you don't start talking.
Bennett: I've been talking. You haven't been listening.
Saphira: I didn't like what you had to say.
Bennett: You didn't like me saying I've left Team Meteor behind?
Saphira: I didn't believe you.
Bennett: If you won't believe me anyway, then there's no point in us talking.
Saphira: The right circumstances can breed honesty. You'll tell us the truth or your comrade's injuries will be on your hands.
Bennett: Firstly, no. No matter what you say, I'm not responsible for whatever you choose to do to him. Secondly, if you listened to what both your sister and I have already explained to you, you'd know that he's no longer my comrade. Frankly, and not that any of this is necessary, you'd have better luck forcing answers out of me by threatening your sister instead. (Being hit by Saphira to the head)
Laura: Saphira!
Hardy: Whoa there, you don't have to hit the guy.
Saphira: Don't you dare presume that I would ever do anything to hurt my sisters.
Bennett: You sure don't seem to think twice about anyone else.
Saphira: I'm not surprised to learn that loyalty is a foreign concept to you.
Bennett: And I, discretion, to you.
Laura: Enough! (Steps in front of Saphira)
Saphira: Move. We're not done yet.
Laura: Yes, you are.
Saphira: Laura, please move.
Laura: I will not.
Saphira: Just what did he do to earn your grace?
Laura: I do not believe that respect and mercy are things that need to be earned.
Saphira: Respect and mercy won't keep you safe from our enemies.
Laura: Then I would rather be in danger.
Saphira: You've always been innocent... But I was always hoping that innocence wouldn't fall into naiveté.
Laura: With all due respect and appreciation, sister, in my opinion, it is more naive to think that people are not worth believing in.
Saphira: Next you'll tell me we should all hold hands and sing hymns with Sigmund fucking Connal.
Laura: Not everybody is like him. And I am sure that, in some misguided way, he also thinks that what he does is for the best of others. Perhaps he, too, can still change.
Saphira: (Surprised) How can YOU say that? YOU of all people know what he's- What we've been through- Now you want to lap sympathy on him?! After... I... (Frowns)
Laura: (Walks towards her and puts her hand on her shoulder) Saphira...
Saphira: (Slaps her hand away) DON'T TOUCH ME! Don't touch me... Don't even think about touching me... Stop- STOP! Please stop...
Hardy: Oi, lady. You good?
Laura: (Concerned) Saphira... It is just me, okay? You are safe. The doctor isn't here. It's going to be okay. Just breathe for now.
Serena: Can somebody explain what really happened?
Laura: I'm sorry... I'm afraid it isn't my place to say something like that. But if this is like the past has been, she may need some time to collect herself. Back then there were times where she was unable to even speak at all afterwards for quite some while...
Bennett: Please forgive me if I don't consider that a loss in the immediate moment.
Laura: I apologize for how she was treating you. She is rather protective of Charlotte and me, you see...
Bennett: I saw.
Hardy: I think we all knew that one, lass.
Laura: For now, I will step aside and make sure she is all right. (Leaves with Saphira)
Hardy: Awkward.
Bennett: Rather.
Just then, Eve and Lumi also come to them, and they are surprised to see the knocked-out Zero with them.
Lumi: Z-Zero? Um... Why- Why is Zero here? Is he okay?
Bennett: Don't worry. It's just Sleep Powder. I couldn't let him make it back to Labradorra.
Ash: Where've you two been? We couldn't find you when we first arrive here after Agate.
Eve: We took the lull as an opportunity to catch up on some much-needed training now that each of us may have our own teams again.
Lumi: We don't wanna be deadweight after all! (Turns to Bennett) And you- you're here too?
Eve: Do you really intend to turn tail on Team Meteor?
Bennett: Yes, not that anyone has seemed to believe me about it. Except for Laura, somehow. So if you won't trust that I'm here for the greater good, then let's just say I'm here for her. I'll make things right and support her however I'm able to. It's something I frankly should've started doing a long time ago.
Lumi: I believe you.
Bennett: I don't know what to do with that, but I'll take it. Thanks.
Eve: At any rate, it's not as if whether or not you are trusted will impact your course, correct?
Bennett: Correct. And though I would appreciate if I were not literally dragged along by the ear in the meantime, trust must be earned through merit. To that end, I have an offer.
Ash: The barrier?
Bennett: Correct again.
Hardy: What do you mean? What's the offer?
Eve: As I explained to some others previously, only authorized personnel may pass through that barrier.
Bennett: Zero and I are both authorized. I will bring him into the city, claiming to have rescued him from you all as enemies of Team Meteor. This can be my justification for coming through the Calcenon side. Then, I will cut the PULSE-Mime's power supply, lowering the barrier for all of you to enter and finish off Team Meteor once and for all.
Eve: It's true that we will need the help of someone trusted by Team Meteor if we want to get into Labradorra City. There is no other way, and right now, we don't have another willing subject.
Lumi: I don't think Zero would do it either...
Eve: Right. He sees Team Meteor as the only place he can turn to.
Bennett: Then it must be done before he wakes up.
Hardy: I dunno, mate. This is kinda fishy if you ask me. What's to say you don't just take off once you're in there and turn against us again? This'd be a clever way for you to get out of your enemies' hands.
Bennett: A fair concern. Unfortunately, I don't believe I have a way to make satisfactory guarantees. But you will see whether or not I've stayed true to my word when the barrier lowers.
Hardy: An' by then it'd already be too late for us to regret it, huh.
Eve: An alternative may not present itself.
Lillie: So Ash, what do you think? Should we trust him?
Ash: Even though my last memory with him is on bad terms, considering I was controlled, he is still my cousin, and I believe in him.
Hardy: If you say so... All right! I'll go with it! It may just be the quickest way to save Aya after all!
Bennett: I thank you for offering me the chance to prove my allegiance.
Lumi: I guess that works for Zero too... He'd prefer to be on that side, right?
Eve: It feels strange to have to wonder.
Everyone is looking at Eve with a strange expression.
Eve: What are you looking at me like that for?
Lumi: Do... Do you miss how things were?
Eve: (Sighs) I don't know.
Lumi: I do. I don't want things to go back to how they were, but I miss it. I miss him. Does that make sense? I don't think it does...
Eve: It makes no sense whatsoever. I fully understand.
Cal: Oh, this is where everyone was...
Ash is also surprised to see Cal here, but then again, he also defects Team Meteor just like those others do.
Cal: Am... I interrupting something?
Hardy: I can hardly tell myself, mate.
Lumi: Oh, it's Cal! When did you turn your hair blue?
Cal: (Confused) Uh. Do I know you?
Eve: Evelynn Seijaya. This is Lumi. We only spoke in passing, and only under that one's face. (Points at Zero)
Cal: (Thinking about what she said) Yeah, I don't get it. But uh, have any of you seen Shelly around? Heather had a message for her.
Serena: Shelly and the others are at Agate City to put the slammer on some of the Team Meteor people they caught in Agate.
Cal: Bad day to be a Meteor.
Bennett: Might be the last day to be a Meteor.
Lumi: Aha, I guess most of us here have been on the other side at some point, huh?
Cal: And yet I don't think I've seen any of you before.
Victoria: Cal...?
Ash and the others also notice that Victoria is here, and Ash realizes that Victoria never met Cal after Kiki's death, and she doesn't know the whole truth as well.
Cal: (Nervous) Oh. Um, hi. Been a while.
Victoria: (Angry) Not long enough, if you ask me.
Cal: What, uh, brings you here?
Victoria: Oh, you know... I just thought I'd get out from behind the desk for once. Maybe check up on how things were going here while I take a break from the literal mountains of paperwork and responsibilities building up, Not only from having to deal with everything going on in Reborn City but also from the very slight tiny miniscule teensy weensy issue of Having had to have taken charge of all of Apophyll Academy after YOU got Kiki killed!
Cal: I'm aware there's no way I can atone for what happened there.
Victoria: Yeah, there isn't.
Hardy: (Whispers) Did I miss somethin'?
Bennett: (Whispers back) Let's assume so and not get in the way of it.
Cal: I wasn't going to let Apophyll go.
Victoria: Oh, you weren't! Oh. Well, that totally explains you betraying us all and setting up the PULSE that was going to burn it all to a crisp! So THAT explains what happened to Kiki's Medicham! So that's why you stopped Team Meteor on Pyrous Mountain and she's still alive today- Oh, wait.
Cal: I sabotaged the PULSE. It wouldn't have done anything but overheat.
Victoria: And you REALLY think I'm going to believe something as convenient as that-
Eve: It's true.
Victoria: (Turns to Eve) Who even are you?
Eve: I created the PULSE.
Victoria: Oh. You did, did you? Well, today seems to have been a great day to come up here after all. I get to solve not one, but two problems.
Eve: I will accept any punishment you deem fit to apply to me.
Lumi: Eve-
Eve: But before you do, Please be advised that as I have already escaped Team Meteor, I have nothing to gain by defending this individual. Yet, I personally inspected the damage to the PULSE-Camerupt system after the incident there. Although it was clear that the machine had been targeted by a Fire-Type Attack, there was no significant damage to it from that. However, the coolant system had been completely drained and removed. The machine could have powered on, but it would've overheated and shut down long before producing enough energy to resonate with Camerupt. Further, there was no sign of the Camerupt itself around the scene after the incident.
Cal: It's right here. (Sends out the Camerupt) Back then, I used my attack to covertly withdraw the Pokémon from the scene, and have since recovered it back to health. But that was just a show. I had discarded the coolant system long beforehand. The PULSE would've failed regardless, but then you all got involved and Kiki was hurt. I had to pretend to destroy it myself in order to convince Solaris to drop the operation and retreat before anything else happened.
Victoria: That's convenient. And just how do you explain what happened to her Medicham then? You still let that poor thing be burnt to a crisp!
Cal: Actually... (Sends out the Medicham)
Victoria: You're not going to say that's the same Medicham. It sank right into the lava- there's no way it would have survived that!
Cal: There was another advantage I had discovered when I emptied the PULSE's coolant into the volcano. Although it didn't visibly impact the surface, the temperature of the lava was lowered significantly. A human might have been in trouble, but for Pokémon that are used to taking Flamethrowers in the heat of battle... I was able to rescue it with my Pokémon after you chased me off.
Victoria: And you didn't think to bring any of this up before?
Cal: I told Ash about it. But you said you didn't want to speak to me. I intended to respect your wishes for as long as you needed.
Ash: It's true. That's also when he gave me the TMX for Strength so I could save Shelly and the others.
Victoria: (Feeling a headache) I need to be alone for now. (Leaves)
Bennett: Awkward.
Lillie: Yeah.
Bennett: Perhaps now would not be the best time to stage a raid on Labradorra after all.
Cal: You're planning to what?
Hardy: We'd been mullin' over the possibility of Bennett here giving the barrier the slip and sticking it to Team Meteor once and for finally all!
Cal: I see. (Stares at the barrier) Blake is back there... But more importantly, Solaris. Victoria may want nothing to do with me, or she may accept my defense. But I suspect she will bring her full fury down on him no matter what. I'll join you, then. Someone has to look out for her.
Lumi: Then we should wait just a bit, right? Until we make a decision, and everyone's ready.
Bennett: Our time is limited until Zero wakes up.
Hardy: Aite, then everyone, just do what you need to for now.
Bennett: For the sake of not rousing suspicion, I'll just wait here. Talk to me if you decide you want to go ahead with the plan. Until everyone's ready.
Hardy: Aite, then everyone, do what you need to, and we'll meet back here with Bennett.
Then they also leave to prepare and stock some items, then they also try to find others and talk about the plan to get into TLabradorra.
And here is a new chapter, as you can see, Cal reveal the truth to Victoria, and Ash also learn Bennett is going to be on their side to battle Team Meteor, the next chapter will be getting the Labradorra City back from Team Meteor and I hope you like this chapter.
