I am so very sorry for not touching this in nearly 2 months! I was swamped with college work, and couple that with the demanding upload schedule I've given myself for my main fic, and it doesn't leave much time for me to work on this one. But the first part of that fic is nearly finished, and then I'll be taking a two week break from it, which will give me more time to work on this one. Just please bear with me until then. Also, the words in the title are opposites according to Google and I'm running out of ideas, so please don't at me!
Chapter 8:
Promise and Conflict
After that broadcast, if you asked anyone in Clavell's office if this was the worst the situation could possibly be, they would've said yes without hesitation. However, once Arven told them that Gina and Team Eclipse were holding the twins hostage in the Zero Lab, near the very bottom of Area Zero, they realised that they were dead wrong about that. It seems that no matter how bad this situation got, it always found a way to somehow get so much worse. "So, they expect us to go marching down to the bottom of Area Zero to fight them and free Florian and Juliana!?" Ortega asked. "No," Arven replied. "They expect us to surrender, and for Clavell and Geeta to agree to their demands." "Which we will not do!" Clavell said sternly. "Now that we know where they are, we can send a full strike force after them!" "And we'll be going too!" said Penny and Nemona together.
"Absolutely not!" Geeta replied. "I understand that you went down there before, but this is different. Now, there's a miniature army down there, who've no doubt tamed most of the Paradox Pokémon in Area Zero. It's too dangerous for you." Nemona then did something none of them ever even dreamed she'd do. She refused Chairwoman Geeta. "We're not children anymore!" she pointed out. "We're graduating this school in a few months! We are some of the strongest trainers here! You need all the help you can get! And Penny and I need to save Florian and Juliana! So, whether you like it or not! We! Are! Coming!" She panted with anger for a few more seconds, before realising what she'd just done. She tried to apologise, but Geeta raised her hand. "No, no, you're right." she told her. "Forgive me, it's hard to look at you and not think of that young girl who'd rush into any challenge without thinking." Everyone there beamed at this.
"Now, we need to gather up enough people for this," said Clavell, pulling out his phone. "I suppose the quickest way to gather people together would be the media. But that runs the risk of Team Eclipse seeing it and going through with their threats." Though he didn't say it, his meaning was clear. At this, Penny chuckled and adjusted her glasses, looking like someone straight out of an anime. "I have a quicker way," she tells them. "And one that will ensure that Gina doesn't harm Florian or Juliana." She turns to look at her former Admins. "What do you say we get the old gang back together for one last run." Each of them beamed with anticipation. Everyone else was left confused. "Where are you going with this?" Clavell asked her, sternly. "Gathering numbers," she says simply. "And insulting Gina's pride enough for her to keep the twins as bait." "And, how do you propose you do that?" Carmine asked. Penny just shrugs. "Send out a message," she replies. "Having an army at your beck and call has its uses."
Penny proceeded to explain her plan to everyone in the room. If it worked, it would inform everyone of the situation much faster than the news, and it would make Gina want to keep the twins a bit longer. Of course, it was also highly illegal, and Geeta was very hesitant to let her go through with it. But, when Penny promised that it wouldn't take longer than 5 minutes, and pointed out that it would whip up a strike force by the end of the day, she relented and allowed her to go through with the plan. So, with that sorted, Arven led her and Giacomo down to the Lighthouse and former laboratory of Professor Turo to set things up. While regular calls could be connected between Area Zero and Clavell's office, it wasn't possible to do what Penny had in mind there. So, she decided to go through with her plan in the lab.
If it were any other time in her life, Penny would've been awestruck by all the tech in the lab. But not now. Now, it was time for her to focus. She brought Giacomo with her because he was the only other person who knew enough about computers to be able to help her. She had Kieran stay in Clavell's office to set somethings up there, as he also had a better understanding of technology than the rest, as slight as it was. While she set up her hacking software, Giacomo set up a recording device and managed to tune it to the frequency that phones and computers used. Then, Penny connected the frequency to The Zero Lab, and linked the recording device to all of the phones, computer, and just about anything that made calls in all of Paldea. "Ok," Giacomo told her. "Everything is ready. Are you sure you can do this?" In truth, Penny was nervous. She was about to be heard by every single person in Paldea, something that truly terrified her. But, this was for Florian, and she'd volunteer to give the graduation speech herself if it helped Florian in any way. So, she took a deep breath, nodded to Giacomo, and pressed go.
All across Paldea, everyone's phones and laptops began to ring at once. If they tried to hang up or accept the call, nothing would happen. It was as if their screens had frozen. News broadcasts started showing the strange phenomenon on their stations, as every screen in the region showed the same phone call. Then, the ringing stopped, and the distorted voice of a young woman came through. "People of the Paldea Region!" she said. "I am Cassiopeia, leader of the former Team Star! Perhaps you remember the trouble some of my grunts caused a few years back, and I apologise for that. I also apologise for hacking into all of your systems, but I had no choice, as I bring you bad news!" As people stared, images of the missing twins from Uva Academy appeared on their screens. "I bring you news of the location of these two!" Cassiopeia continued. "They have been taken captive by a new group, calling themselves Team Eclipse. They're trying to threaten Director Clavell of Uva Academy into expelling foreign students like myself, as well as students who are LGBT."
At first, people were sceptical of this, especially since this was coming from the Leader of Team Star. But it was clear that Cassiopeia expected this. "I can understand if you didn't believe me," she told them. "But perhaps you'll believe him." Then, the image changed again, and a live broadcast of Director Clavell appeared on screen. "What Cassiopeia says is the truth!" he told them all. "The leader of Team Eclipse, a young woman named Gina, tried to blackmail me by threatening to harm the twins if I don't meet her demands." Another voice from behind the camera, a young boy with a Unovan accent, said, "This is the footage she sent. I warn you, it may be distressing for some people." Then, all of Paldea was shown the footage, and were horrified by what they were hearing.
When the footage ended, Cassiopeia's logo reappeared on screen. "These people claim to speak for all of Paldea!" she told them all. "This is your chance to show them how wrong they are! If you wish to help us fight back, join us outside Uva Tomorrow, and help us prepare! Now, Team Eclipse, I direct this to you! I know you can hear this! You probably thought I would cower in fear. You probably believed that Team Star would lay down and allow you to walk all over us, as we had before. But you are mistaken, as we have seen what you are really like! You are nothing more than spineless cowards who talk big, but run away the moment the going gets tough! I give you a until the end of the week to do that again. Return Florian and Juliana to us, and turn yourselves in, and we won't harm you! But Team Star formally challenges you to a battle, and if you accept, you will meet us in Area Zero, and we will defeat you! If you do anything to harm the twins, then all of Paldea will see you for the spineless, no good, snivelling cowards that I know you as! I am done hiding away!" At this, the image changed one last time, and Cassiopeia revealed her face to all of Paldea. She also removed the distortion of her voice. "Now, I will enjoy watching you run with your tails between your legs, just like you always do! Cassiopeia out!" And with that, the call ended, and all traces of Cassiopeia's hack were gone.
As Penny turned away from the computer and stood up, she saw Arven and Giacomo stare at her in amazement. "What?" she asked. "That was the most badass thing I've ever seen!" Giacomo said. "Well done on actually showing your face too." Penny blushed at this and rubbed the back of her head. "I'm just impressed with how deep you cut," Arven told her. "I mean, you really went for every last scrap of pride she has!" Penny chuckles at this. "I should hope so," she said. "Gina's all bark and no bite. The moment she sees more than 20 people standing outside of Mesagoza, she'll piss herself and run away." "And if she doesn't?" Arven asked. Penny cracked her knuckles and grinned. "Then I'll very much enjoy beating her senseless!" she said.
I hope that was worth the wait, sorry for how long it took me to finally write this. As I said in the opening notes, once the first part of my main fic is finished, I will be taking a two week break from it and focusing on this one. I'd just like to thank everyone who hasn't given up hope in me continuing this. I promise you, unless plans drastically change, this will be the last time there's a huge gap between uploads. If all goes to plan, I will see you all this day next week with the next chapter. Fingers crossed all goes according to plan.