Bianca was heartbroken, Grimsley had betrayed her. When they walked out of the police station, silent and hopeless, and she remembered her meeting with him, she thought of it only as a bizarre dream. She still wasn't sure if it had actually happened, if Grimsley had become someone else entirely, if he had been lying to her for all of that time. She held firmly onto everything she had learned, everything of which she was absolutely certain, and Bianca then realized that Grimsley had played her. The last time they met, and only that time, he lied to her face. Bianca was sure of it, but she didn't know why he had done it, and this ambiguity greatly tormented her; she had to stop thinking about it.

She implored Cheren to keep the sudden deception secret from Jonny and Helma. He immediately agreed, he could not stand seeing her best friend like that. At that point Cheren hated Grimsley more than ever before, but he also hated himself, because he knew his past actions had hurt Bianca deeply.

Jonny and Helma pressured them to speak, they were justifiably mortified by their confusing silence, but neither Bianca nor Cheren gave up a word, and Jonny and Helma soon realized they'd never find out what happened at the police station. They trusted Bianca wholeheartedly however, and she seemed genuinely heartbroken, so they dropped the issue and focused on comforting her.

Cheren couldn't think ill of them anymore, he now cared for their cause almost as much as them. He learned that it takes effort to stay angry with someone, specially when that person hasn't really done anything to earn that hatred; when two people spend enough time together they unavoidably start caring for one another. Cheren also learned that people who want to preserve their hate intact need to isolate themselves, they need to run away and stay away. Because when you look at people from afar, it is easier to forget that they are human beings.

Cheren now was certain he had to make it up to them, it would be the only way he'd ever forgive himself. Zinzolin was out there, and he wasn't planning anything good; people needed to know. Still, they all knew no one would believe them, no one would take them seriously if they tried to reveal his intentions to the public. No one except perhaps professor Juniper, the only person who saw both Bianca and Cheren mature before her eyes. She was the only suitable recipient for their desperate cry for help.

Cheren called her and told her to come to Opelucid, so he could explain everything to her, and maybe get a little bit of redemption in the process. They waited for her, Cheren at the entrance of the bus station, Bianca, Jonny and Helma from a safe distance, to avoid freaking her out.

Their last hope appeared on the scene. Juniper approached a very distraught Cheren from across the street, noticing the extent of his astonishment at the sight of her as she patted him, quite hard, on the back. Bianca and company got out of their hiding spot and approached the pair cautiously.

"You look pale," Juniper said, "did I surprise you?"

"Just a little bit, I thought you'd arrive from the station," Cheren replied,

"you should stay alert, you never know when the villains are going to attack," she said right before she noticed Bianca, who placed herself firmly right next to Cheren. Bianca decided not to hug Juniper, as she usually would whenever they met, because she sensed an uneasiness coming from her. She understood that, because of all that had happened, and because of the side that Bianca had chosen, they weren't in good terms at the moment.

"Please don't be alarmed professor," Cheren exclaimed, once she sensed Juniper's uneasiness. He raised his open hands and made what he thought was a warm and soothing smile in an attempt to appease the situation, but he looked like a creep, "there has been a rather grave misunderstanding," he continued without losing the smile, "you see, when I talked to you and Sabrina and Colress about the threat that Grimsley represented, I might have enlarged a situation which did not deserve the level of danger with which I described it to you,"

"you bet your ass it didn't," Jonny rattily added, "tell that to all of the cheese I sold, oh wait, you can't, it has already been eaten, oh no! My cheese-selling abilities make me a public menace, of course,"

"right, that's what I'm trying to say," Cheren continued, "you see, it...was obvious that the remnants who were on the ruins weren't keen on continuing a life of crime, but I didn't see it, because I didn't want to see it, however, I am a man who can admit his own fault when it is appropriate…"

"dude..." Jonny quietly exclaimed. Cheren sure talked like a pompous jerk, a sorry pompous jerk,

"...and I was wrong, that's why I called you, to tell you that and to ask for your aid as we set the record straight and fight the real villain, Zinzolin, the true mastermind behind the resurgence of team plasma,"

"your intentions might be good kid, but you shouldn't waste your time helping these thugs with no future," Juniper spoke in a rather cold and tactless manner, "they'll never change what they are, weak, and stupid," she said, to everyone's bemusement, "besides, I'm afraid any attempt to stop Zinzolin will prove futile, he has already won..."

"wait what!? Why are you even saying that?" A startled Bianca echoed what everyone was thinking,

"...you don't know?" Juniper replied, "he captured Sabrina, and is using her abilities to make an army for himself, to take over Unova. A much better army than those weak, worthless idiots from team plasma. Now nothing will stand in his way, and every person who has ever said that he's weak will eat their words along with my fists,"

"what are you talking about lady?" Jonny asked her with a hurtful tone, "that wasn't cool, I'm a person okay,"

"he's right, why are you acting like this?" Bianca seconded him, thoroughly confused,

"how else am I supposed to act, what else am I supposed to say? Me, Zinzolin, talking to you through this woman, and what I've said so far is all true, now everyone can become aware of my power with a simple thought, it is mine, truly mine, and you, YOU!" Juniper said as she pointed at Bianca, "You and your stupid hat which hides your big forehead ineffectively, you! I told you! I freaking told you it wasn't over! I wasn't done!"

"What?" Bianca asked again, now even more confused,

"remember? At Rood's house? I told you that you were nothing, and yet here you are pretending that your words mean something,"

"oh no..." Bianca sorrowfully whispered, "...Zinzolin?"

"What?!" Helma cried out at the same time she swung her cane on the air and struck Juniper on the side of the head, knocking her unconscious, "first you took my friends from me, then you hurt them, then you fooled me into thinking I was meeting the professor! Screw you!" She cried out. She was more than tired of all of the conflict, misunderstandings, and more importantly, the lies. It was one of the main reasons why Helma had chosen to live in a cave away from fake and awful people in the first place. Bianca quickly knelt down and placed Juniper's head on her lap,

"yeah, but it is still her body though," she said as she gently examined the faint mark that Helma's cane left on Juniper's temple.

Alarmed from her actions, Helma covered her mouth with her hand and opened her eyes wide. She knelt right next to Bianca and grabbed the professor's head too, then started apologizing profusely while the professor slowly regained consciousness. Seconds later, Juniper fully opened her eyes and let out a faint moan,

"...what happened?"

"I am so sorry ma'm, I hit you with a cane!"

"...It's okay..."

"really?"

"...No."

Juniper opened her mouth, she grabbed Helma's arm with both of her hands, sinking the tip of her fingers as deep and hard as she could on her skin, then bit into her wrist, hard. Helma screamed, tears appeared from the bottom of her eyes as Juniper growled with Helma's wrist trapped in her mouth. The other three promptly tried to take the professor's teeth off Helma, but Zinzolin wouldn't give up, so Jonny started smacking her on the forehead repeatedly with his palms, to no avail,

"I do not think it's okay to hit women!" He exclaimed as he hit her,

"you hit me all the time!" Helma growled painfully,

"yeah because you hit me a lot, also you hit me much harder and you know it!" Jonny replied as he continued smacking Juniper.

Bianca had an idea, there was no time to ponder on it for so she just pinched Juniper's nose, restricting her access to oxygen. Moments later they heard Juniper trying to suck air through her mouth, without loosening her grip on Helma's wrist, and seemingly failing to breathe. She finally let go of Helma and took a very much needed breath, as not even the most powerful mind control could override the body's inherent configuration for survival. Helma pushed the professor away, leaving her on the ground while she got up,

"what do we do?!" Helma exclaimed,

"run!" Jonny shouted, while Juniper tried to get up.

The group didn't think twice, they ran away as fast as they could without leaving the still convalescing Helma behind. However Juniper quickly got up and started chasing after them. She was in very good shape. She quickly caught up to Helma and violently grabbed her arm, then put her own arm around her neck.

Bianca turned back immediately, she wanted to kick Juniper as far away from Helma as she could, but she still cared about her too much, and she knew Juniper was innocent; maybe she thought of Bianca only as a child to be protected, but Bianca knew she would've listened to her, she would've changed her mind, she loved her like a daughter. Bianca then had another idea, and called her stoutland out. It had turned out to be an extremely effective method to neutralize the relentlessly self-righteous opposition. Stoutland shamelessly walked through Juniper and placed itself right on top of her without harming her, freeing Helma in the process.

Juniper tried to move but the pokemon on top of her did not let her. The guys regrouped next to her and thought about what to do with her. Then she started laughing, letting out jarring and disturbing chuckles as she laid like a mannequin on the ground.

"What did you do to the professor?" Bianca asked,

"why do you care so much," Zinzolin answered through her, "you should care more about what I'll do to you, I have taken over her mind, just like I've taken over the minds of many more,"

"well that stops now!" Bianca cried out,

"no, this is just the beginning, watch."

The group felt a presence looming over them. It felt heavy, debilitating, and it called to them. Their eyes were attracted to the end of the street in front of them. An espeon appeared on the middle of the street, a good distance away from them. Still, they could sense that the psychic pokemon was staring right at them. It was shining bright with a pink glow all around it, like a pink sun. Suddenly stoutland became engulfed in a less brighter version of the same pink glow,

"witness," Juniper said calmly.

Jonny immediately urged Bianca to call her stoutland back. He had seen the effects of the same pink glow twice before, and deduced that the espeon was not only the source of that phenomenon but also the source of Zinzolin's control over Juniper.

"Call him back now!" Jonny shouted,

"I'm serious, this is bad", he pressed again after no one reacted.

Bianca obeyed him as soon as she noticed his urgent tone. The sound of the pokeball closing with her pokemon inside served as a signal to run away once more. The four of them bolted away from the scene as Juniper, and the espeon well behind her, stoically stared at them.