Chapter 11 – The Bitter Truth
In a final act of selfless loyalty to their friends and their home, Cade and Darman gave their lives to ensure the other's escape. Now, with even greater resolve, Sarah, now with the assistance of her parents as well as Andre and Razon, must find a way to determine what Neo-Cyclone's scheme may be. However, that may not be all that Raynar might discover, and one crucial detail concerning his daughter and Mewtwo will force him to make the toughest decision for any parent: to let Sarah make her own decisions and to acknowledge that there is little more he can do for her…
"They couldn't have gone far…" John said as he slowly crept along a path. The Delta Force Four had been tasked with finding the escapees and taking them out on sight, but for some reason, there was no sight of them anywhere. "Something's not right…" Wes muttered, "We should have found them by now." "I don't know, they are pretty good at hiding…" Scylla replied. "Keep your cool, we can't let them escape" Vance said as he looked around when suddenly he was knocked out by a powerful blow to the back of the head. John spun around to identify the threat only to see Raynar K'Tal standing on Vance's back, Exomere's tip to the back of the Garchomp's neck. "Make one move and he dies!" Raynar shouted angrily. "C'mon Raynar, you and I both know you don't have it in you to kill!" John taunted when suddenly he felt something grab him. "Yeah, but I do" Razon answered from behind him. "You're not going anywhere" Mewtwo said as he lifted up Wes and Scylla using Psychic. Finally, Sarah and Andre ran around them with ropes and bound the four Neo-Cyclone operatives together. "Aw, that's perfect! They're using our one tactics against us!" Wes complained. "They want something from us" John said, "Otherwise Raynar might have killed Vance."
"Razon, why don't you handle the interrogation?" Raynar asked. Razon grinned evilly and replied with a laugh, "Gladly…Mewtwo, you can give me a hand with this." John swallowed hard from nervousness; when Razon worked for Cyclone, everyone knew he was the sadistic type, and it seems that he had become even more sadistic over the course of fifteen years; throw Mewtwo into the equation, and he knew this was going to be excruciatingly painful. "Alright, so tell me, what exactly is Neo-Cyclone's objective?" Razon asked his claw to John's throat to emphasize his captive's vulnerability. "To rid this world of injustices and begin anew" he replied. "And how do you intend to do that?" Razon asked. "Wouldn't you like to know?" John answered with a grin. "Wrong answer. Mewtwo, go ahead…" Razon said. Suddenly, Mewtwo shot Aura out of his hand in a form resembling lightning, striking John right between the eyes. The Weavile screamed in pain until the attack stopped after three seconds. "Now, let's try this again; how do you intend to accomplish your goals?" Razon asked more forcefully. "Ugh…I don't know, that's the truth! I don't know!" John exclaimed. "I do…" Vance answered in defeat. "Well then, start talking!" replied Razon. "Master Lettos intends to harness the powers of time, space and antimatter in order to destroy this world and create a new one in its place…" Vance said, "I am one of the few that know of the true intent of Neo-Cyclone…" At this, John, Wes and Scylla turned and stared at him in disbelief. "Is…Is this true!" Wes exclaimed in horror. "Every word" Vance answered with a tone of finality. John, Wes and Scylla looked back and forth between Vance, Razon, Mewtwo and each other for several seconds. "I didn't sign up for this!" John shouted, "I want out!" "Same here!" Wes chimed in. "As do I. I kind of like being able to exist you know" Scylla said with a tone that although seemed indifferent barely hinted at her fear. "I also have my doubts…" Vance muttered, "and I've decided enough is enough…" Razon tilted his head to the side and replied, "Elaborate…" "We…or at least I wasn't trying to capture you…in fact, I was trying to defect" Vance answered. At this, Raynar intervened, replying, "I'll judge your sincerity…" He closed his eyes and reached out to their Auras, trying to see if there was any treachery in the minds of the Delta Force Four. Much to his surprise, not only did he sense none, but he sensed a deep hatred directed towards Neo-Cyclone as well as a sense of guilt and betrayal. "Very well" Raynar said as he undid their bindings, "You're free to go." None of them left, however, much to everyone's surprise. "Sarah, might I say something?" John asked, gesturing to her. "Yes, what is it?" Sarah asked, stepping forward. "I know there's bad blood between us and all, but this along with the encounters we've had with you taught me something…this is our home too, and we have to defend it no matter how high the cost…" John said with a tinge of sadness to his voice before he suddenly seemed to explode with determination. "We will fight with you!" he declared. "That says it for me!" Wes answered. "I'll give you my full support!" Scylla replied. "I'll follow you to the end!" Vance exclaimed, "Let's show Dallon Lettos to mess with our world!"
Hours later, all ten of them had traveled a long distance, now as allies rather than adversaries. Raynar, Eva and Sarah lead the way, Razon, Andre and Wes acting as guards, and Mewtwo, Vance and John conducting forward reconnaissance ahead of them. By now, however, all of them were exhausted and decided to set up camp in an impromptu clearing made by Vance cutting down several of the surrounding trees. Thanks to Vance's Flamethrower, starting the fire took about a second as opposed to the two to five minutes it took Cade or Darman or the thirty seconds to a minute it took Mewtwo to make a fire with two sticks. For the most part, the evening consisted of discussing information on Neo-Cyclone provided by the Delta Force Four's defection, although it soon became clear that except for Vance, they were completely clueless as to what their overall plans were. For some of them, however, other things were on their minds, particularly in Sarah's case. She leaned against Mewtwo and whispered something in his ear. He smirked deviously and whispered in reply, "Lead the way…" "You'll know when you get there" Sarah answered as she got up and walked away. Mewtwo, rather than following her, first said, "I don't know about you, but I'm heading down to the river to wash up…" With that he teleported away, but as the meeting had been interrupted at random, everyone was silent. "Hmm, really?" Raynar muttered upon noticing that Sarah was gone too. "I'll be back…" he said as he stood up and walked off. "I'd better tag along to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid…" Eva sighed as she stood up and followed him.
"What could Mewtwo be up to?" Raynar muttered as he got close to the river's clearing when he saw something that made him stop in his tracks; Mewtwo and Sarah were…you know what, I'll leave that to your imagination. Anger surged within Raynar, not because he had a problem with Sarah's choice of a lover, which he did, but because of how protective he was of her. He was about to leap into the clearing and pry them apart when suddenly someone grabbed him from behind and knocked him to the ground. "Eva! What the Hell!" Raynar attempted to shout, but his yelling was muffled almost completely by Eva's hand over his mouth. "I knew you would do this!" Eva whispered furiously, "Back off!" "I'm not going to let just anyone have my daughter like that!" Raynar shot back, his voice still muffled by Eva's hand. "Raynar, she's growing up. You need to let her make her own decisions" Eva whispered. "Well…not this young she shouldn't!" Raynar muttered beneath Eva's hand. "Um…I wouldn't be talking if I were you…" Eva replied flatly, shaking her head. "What the Hell is that supposed to mean?" Raynar asked in irritation. "You didn't exactly keep your chastity for too long yourself Raynar" Eva answered, "Both of us were only two years older than Sarah is now." Raynar blushed slightly and remained silent; Eva was right, and the last thing he wanted to be was a hypocrite. "It's the truth you know" Eva said. "Yes, but it's a bitter truth in this case…" Raynar muttered, "Let's just get out of here before Mewtwo or Sarah notice us. I have nothing more to say…"