AUTHOR'S NOTE

Welcome back, readers! I apologize for taking such a long break here, but life has been crazy busy. I've decided to do something rather unusual, and that's to write this chapter in parts. As I mentioned before, I had a lot of planning to do for this chapter, and I eventually realized there was too much content for a single update. So this week, you'll be getting three chapters, published Monday / Wednesday / Friday. The events take place at the same time, so you may want to just read them all together on Friday, but I'll let you choose.

Heads up, I did change the rating to M at this point. I was going to need to change it down the line anyway, and I figured I should do so before I touched on topics that aren't explicitly stated in the FF terms of service. Those topics aren't in this specific chapter though, and the true M-rated content won't be for several chapters yet. Sorry if that got your hopes up ;)

One more thing before I let you get to the story - thank you so, so much for your support and patience! I really treasure each of your comments, and I am beyond grateful to be part of such an awesome community. Your words always bring a smile to my face, and remind me why I started writing in the first place.

CHAPTER 16
Third Time's The Charm! (Part One)

If there was one thing that Team Rocket had always been able to depend on Meowth for, it was that he made good on his promises. Unfortunately, the fulfillment of these promises almost always placed them in awkward situations, and this time was no exception.

"Meowth, do you really think this is going to work?" James asked, leaning casually against the wall of the abandoned warehouse that served as both their home and hideout during their extended stint in Kalos.

"A' course," he said, trying to ignore the way the ladder he was standing on teetered from side to side as he put the final touches on his masterpiece. He extended his claws as if doing so would somehow improve his balance, and the 'masterpiece' crossed her eyes and leaned backwards.

"Watch where you're putting those things," Jessie snapped at him, and with a theatrical sigh, he drew his claws back in, beckoning her closer.

"Quit bein' such a worry wart. When was da last time I scratched ya?"

"Yesterday!" she reminded him indignantly, scowling.

"But dat one was on purpose," Meowth said, which did not improve Jessie's mood in the slightest. "I would never scratch ya on accident!"

"Why you little..." She started forward, intent on shaking some sense into him, when Meowth hopped off the ladder and ran forward, pulling a large mirror into view that he had located only the day before.

If there was one thing Jessie loved, it was the chance to stare at herself in the mirror. She was not ashamed to admit that all her spare cash, when she had any, went towards the best beauty supplies she could find. Her skin was in excellent condition, and she maintained a shine on her red hair that always made her smile. But when she looked, she didn't see herself. She saw a blonde girl of approximately 25, her shoulder length blonde hair styled with several braids pinned together by a single barrette. She tugged uncomfortably on her white skirt, frowning at its insistence in hovering just a couple inches above her ankles.

"I don't know about this," James commented, coming to stand beside her. "You don't really look enough like the twerpette to fool anyone that knows her."

"How many times do I have t' tell ya?" Meowth extended his arm, pointing accusingly at the pair. "T'ings change over time! A good disguise shouldn't be too perfect. Ya just need t' look more like her dan yaself. An' ya do. So are ya ready t' give her a call?"

"Now?" Jessie screeched, looking at him like he was crazy. "Of course not! I don't even know what to say."

"Don't worry." He patted a stack of flattened cardboard boxes that were propped up nearby. "I made cue cards."

Shaking her head and muttering to herself about how capable she was of this charade without assistance, Jessie dialed the number they had obtained for Prism Tower. Team Rocket had no way of knowing what a normal day it had been for Bonnie so far. She had woken up a little past nine o'clock, and spent the morning writing in her journal while sipping on the apple juice her brother had insisted on pouring for her instead of the coffee she would have preferred to drink. There was no reason to believe anything out of the ordinary would happen, right down to the phone ringing when no one else was around.

"Clemont!" Bonnie yelled, figuring that it was most likely for him. "Phone!" The phone rang again, and Bonnie sighed. Sliding out of her seat and flipping her journal closed, she trudged towards it, a dark expression looming on her face. Undoubtedly, Clemont did not want to answer the phone any more than she did. Ever since her stunt earlier that week, most of the calls they got were just challengers looking for the next free ice cream day, or inquiring to see if their robot gym leader was available yet, not realizing that Clembot had never really been broken. After the first couple of those, the excitement of actually being allowed to answer the phone had worn off, and now she viewed it as a chore just like any other.

She grabbed the receiver, holding it up with a frown. "Hi, you've reached Prism Tower -" she started to answer with, but was cut off by a voice that sounded strangely familiar.

"I just knew it would be you!" the voice said excitedly, and the screen flickered to life as a dimly lit room came into view. "I remember it just like it was yesterday."

"You...remember?" Bonnie leaned in closer to the screen, but the lighting was obviously not good where this person was, and the configuration of their phone had obviously been set up for group conversations, as they were standing far back from the screen. "Have you called here before?"

"In a way." The reply seemed evasive, and Bonnie narrowed her eyes.

"Why don't you turn the light on?" she suggested acidly. "I can hardly see you."

"See me?" The voice sounded affronted, but regardless, the speaker stepped closer to the camera, and Bonnie gasped as she got her first real look at them. "In a few years, you'll be me."

"I'll be...you?" Bonnie asked, taking in the sight on the screen. "Does that mean...?"

"I'm you!" The woman visible on the camera leaned forward, with her hands stretched to either side and slightly behind her, a pose that Bonnie herself was fond of. "From the future!"

"Oh yeah?" she said, and she crossed her arms as she looked critically at the screen. She could not deny the woman's resemblance to herself, but something seemed...off. If only there was more light! "What's the code word then? You know. The secret one I promised myself I would use if I ever traveled back in time and met myself."

"Code word?" The woman stared at her in alarm, hesitating a moment before answering. "I - we - don't have one of those." She made a motion as if to flip her hair over her shoulder, forgetting that the wig she was currently wearing wasn't really long enough for it, and waited nervously for the younger girl's response.

"Right!" Bonnie said brightly, and both Meowth and James let out sighs of relief. "Does this mean Clemont finally invented a time machine?" She looked expectantly at the screen, and her counterpart glanced to the side, mouthing words Bonnie could not quite make out before turning back and looking at her with a worried expression.

"He said he would, didn't he? But there's one tiny problem...I borrowed it without permission, and now its beginning to look like this was a one way trip." She looked down, hiding the smile that was playing on her lips. "I need spare parts from Prism Tower to repair the machine, but I can't risk exposure by getting them myself. Could you bring them to me? Pretty please?" She looked up once more and batted her eyelashes at the younger girl who was now glaring suspiciously at her.

"You can't risk exposure by coming here, but calling your younger self is perfectly fine?"

"I...knew I had to," the woman explained, somewhat desperately. "Because I remembered answering this very call! And I know that you'll bring me the parts I need, because I remember bringing them. You wouldn't want to cause a paradox, would you?"

Bonnie hesitated a moment. She was pretty sure that she had heard the word paradox before, undoubtedly something her brother would have rambled about at some point or another - but she was equally as sure that no version of herself would have ever wasted time learning what it actually meant.

"Are you sure you can't just come here? Clemont would love to know about the time machine, and he would be able to help you repair it..."

"I can repair it myself," the older version of Bonnie snapped. "I mean, uh, the technology is more advanced than he's handled at...this point in time. And he must not know about me. The timeline must be preserved."

Bonnie thought for a second, then smiled grimly. She knew what she had to do. "Okay. I'll bring you the parts you're looking for."

The woman grinned. That was exactly what she had been hoping Bonnie would say. "Wonderful! I just knew I could count on you. Now. I didn't come back to this time to leave immediately. I would like a couple days to...you know, do time traveler stuff," she said rather lamely, and Bonnie could have sworn she heard something being torn in the background. "Be at the old railway warehouse on Friday night. Shall we say, a little before seven?"

"You've got yourself a deal," Bonnie said, crossing her fingers out of view of the camera. "Just tell me what you need."

Bonnie sat on the floor of her room, a pile of unusual objects surrounding her. There were several things she had always prided herself on. One of those things was her cleverness. Another was her independence. And a third was that no matter what happened, she would not be as much of a nerd as her brother.

It was sad, in a way, knowing that the story she had been told so elaborately over the phone could not have been real. It would have been exciting to speak to a future version of herself, and find out what was happening in her world. She could have found out if she had ever succeeded with her dream of becoming a Pokemon trainer, or maybe she could have asked for the outcome of some future events. But she was not as dumb as the caller had obviously been hoping for. There was no way she could have been Bonnie, even years from now - her accent, which almost certainly had not originated in the Kalos region, gave her away immediately.

There were other things too, that did not match up. For one, this particular time seemed like a rather boring choice for a time traveler to visit. Bonnie had the unique experience of growing up with someone who was very dedicated to science fiction, and time travel was one of Clemont's favorite topics. While she usually tried to tune him out, she had learned a couple things - mainly that there were several different theories on time travel, some of which did hint at the possibility to visit the future. The future sounded like a much better place to go - and even if she was stuck going to the past, surely she could have picked a more interesting time than this.

Then, there was the matter of the supplies she had been asked for. Science may not have been a point of interest for Bonnie, but she was certainly smart enough to understand it, and she was fairly confident that a voltage regulator, a fan, and various coils and gears would be more helpful in repairing a generator than a time machine. Hence why she had no intention of gathering those materials, at least anywhere the imposter could get her hands on them. Instead, she had picked items that she could both get her hands on with ease and that might come in useful if she found herself in trouble - a jar of marbles from her old toybox, a length of pipe she had taken from a pile of discarded machine parts, and an aerosol can of hairspray she found in Serena's room being among them. She packed each one into her bag carefully, making sure to leave space for Dedenne.

A part of her could not help but wonder if there was still some slim chance this was real. Why, if it was, then she should gather all the correct parts - not to give to her future self, but to save for when she eventually used the time machine. Then, the parts would be with her, and she wouldn't need to ask her past self to collect them. The choice would cause the paradox that was mentioned, which Bonnie had since looked up and discovered essentially referred to meddling with the past in most cases, and she rather liked the sound of that. But, if it was real, then chances are she had already made that choice and it had backfired - or, she was already causing a paradox right now by refusing the request. Her mind running in circles, she shook her head, frowning. Focus, she told herself. Someone was obviously trying to lure her down to the old warehouse - but, why?

The abandoned railway warehouse a couple blocks down from Prism Tower hadn't been in use for years. There had been a time when public transportation was planned for the entirety of Kalos, and indeed there were old railroads both under and above ground, along with a couple of train stations that were still in use. But these railway warehouses became obsolete once the cities had all been completed. She did not necessarily feel it was a dangerous place to be - but it was more than a bit questionable of a place for a girl and her Pokemon to visit at night.

"What am I going to do, Dedenne?" she whispered to the Antenna Pokemon. "What if we get into trouble the two of us can't solve together?" It was a hard fear for her to admit. She always acted so confident, and always said that together, she and Dedenne could do anything. But she had a feeling that this time, their small team just might not be enough, and she was not entirely sure who she could trust enough to join them.

"De-neh!" her Pokemon partner said empathetically, shaking his head as if telling her not to worry. "Nah ne ne." He tugged lightly at her skirt, nestling himself within the folds of the soft fabric. You're not alone, he seemed to say, and Bonnie smiled. And that's when she realized, he was right. She wasn't alone. And she knew exactly who she needed to speak with.

She had a phone call of her own to make.

It was nearly time. Bonnie hefted her abnormally heavy bag onto her shoulder, resting her hand lightly over the top of its open pocket.

"Are you ready, Dedenne?" she whispered, peering into the bag where he was hiding, and he nodded. "Me too."

She took a quick glance around the house as she edged her way along the walls and windows. It wasn't so much that she didn't think Clemont would let her out, especially if she lied about where she was going, but she would have preferred to avoid that exchange altogether. Thankfully the apartment seemed to be all but empty, and once she was safely in the elevator, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She rarely had the chance to shine when it came to operations such as this one. Everyone was convinced she was too young, and had always tried to protect her. This time, she was the one who would protect them, and it was that thought, along with the pride in herself for doing so, that guided her away from Prism Tower and to the entrance of the abandoned warehouse.

She stood on the opposite side of the street from the door, looking down the street and around the side of the building, at least the small amount of space she could see. She supposed she shouldn't even think about entering the building until her backup arrived. But she was so focused on the surrounding area that she failed to notice a face appear in a dusty window, and within moments the door had opened a crack, a hand appearing and beckoning her inside. It was a bad idea, and she knew that even as she pulled the door towards her, but her natural curiosity got the better of her.

"Hello?" she asked cautiously, slipping her hand inside her bag and running it over the curious mix of items she had brought with her. "Is anyone there?" The door shut behind her with a loud clang, and she jumped in surprise. "I have what you asked for," Bonnie called out, shaking her bag slightly. The items she had chosen certainly sounded like spare machine parts. Her eyes sought out a shadowy figure standing near the center of the large one-room warehouse, and she frowned. Shouldn't she have said something by now? "I would really like to see the time machine."

"Oh, you do," a voice replied theatrically, and Bonnie stared hard at the figure. It had not moved, and the voice didn't sound like it was coming from that direction. She found the pipe she had brought, withdrawing it from the bag and holding it up like a weapon. "I'm afraid I can't show it to you. The first time you - I - see the time machine is last week. For me, that is. I'm sure you understand."

I understand that there's no real time machine, Bonnie thought, but she said nothing. Her head swung around as she continued to look for the real location of the person she was now completely sure was an imposter. "Where are you?" she asked, taking another step forward.

"Can't you see me?" the voice said mockingly, and this time it sounded a bit closer to the figure. "I'm right here." A faint light appeared in the distance, and Bonnie could now see a short curtain of blond hair. She gripped her makeshift weapon tighter, and took a few careful steps towards it. Was that even a person? She could see a body, but not the legs.

"Dedenne," she whispered, opening the bag a little wider and allowing him to jump out. "Run up on ahead and check it out." The scurrying sounds of his little legs carrying him farther away from her let her know that he had listened, and she waited, tense, for some kind of sign from him.

"So distrustful," the voice said. "But you brought me what I needed anyway." Bonnie shuddered. She knew it was a trap when she walked in, she just knew it. And yet, somehow, it had not seemed real until that moment.

"Who are you?" she asked, not liking being toyed with."Show yourself!"

A laugh echoed off the unfinished ceiling, and there was a slight pause before the reply came. "I thought we settled that already. I'm you. From the future."

"Then why not come out and say hello?" Bonnie said sweetly. "Don't tell me you're afraid of yourself as a mere child." She made a face at referring to herself in that way, but she had to goad this person out of hiding, and she could think of no better way to do it.

"Of course not!" There was an accusatory tone in the imposter's voice, and Bonnie walked towards the sound. "I just..." there was a swoosh and a bang as something fell on the floor, and the ensuing thumps told Bonnie that something had just fallen on the imposter's foot. "Fine," came an agitated response following a sigh, and another shadowy figure appeared to Bonnie's left. It raised a hand, making a motion with it. "Just do what you came here for and be off, then. Surely you have more important things to do than learn about the future."

"Okay," Bonnie said complacently, striding forward with confidence. She stopped just out of reach, her eyes locked on the figure. "Dedenne, now!" she cried, and a Thundershock lit the air.

The bolt hit the mannequin that Bonnie had initially been drawn towards, knocking off the blond wig that had been placed atop it and causing it to smoke slightly. But she was much more focused on the person standing in front of her, a tall woman with red hair, who had covered her eyes with a slight cry at the unexpected flash.

"Team Rocket!" Bonnie exclaimed, gasping. She took note of a small detonator clutched in Jessie's right hand while she still had light. Was that something that was going to be used on her? "It was you all along?"

"That's right," Jessie said, seeming to have recovered. "Prepare for trouble!" She stood at attention, but quickly realized that she was alone, and that no one would be joining in her declaration. "Oh, never mind," she muttered. "Hand over that bag," she said, her lips curling into a triumphant smile.

"No way!" Bonnie said, hugging it to her. "You always try and cause trouble, but not this time! I won't let you have this, not now that I know who you really are." She continued to hold the bag close, pretending that its contents were extremely precious to her, when in reality, the only precious thing about what she was holding was the bag itself.

Jessie threw her head back in maniacal laughter, hardly believing her ears. "You thought that was real?" she asked. "You're more gullible than I thought." She walked towards Bonnie, holding out her hand. "Now give it to me. Or just give me what's inside it. I don't care either way."

Bonnie eyed her with suspicion, but loosened her grip on the bag. "What are you going to use those things for?"

"Oh, this and that," Jessie said, smiling at her with a grin that made her feel sick. "I won't use them for anything bad, I promise." Her words were dripping with false sincerity, but Bonnie was content to let her think she had bought the act, and hanging her head in defeat, she loosened her grip even more.

"Please don't hurt me or Dedenne," she whispered, playing the part of the child she knew Jessie saw her as. "We just want to get home safely."

"You will," Jessie told her in what was supposed to be a soothing voice, but her excitement at getting her hands on the various parts she had wanted leaked into her tone of voice, and Bonnie cringed inwardly, though she knew that those words, at least, had been somewhat sincere. Jessie would not cause her intentional harm, as long as she didn't put up a fight. Unfortunately, a fight was exactly what she had in mind.

Jessie put her hand on the bag, tugging at it and laughing as she heard the assorted items jingle within it. Now was the time to strike. Her triumphant laughter quickly turned into a yell of pain as Bonnie jabbed the pipe she still held into Jessie's wrist, making her both let go of the bag and drop the detonator which Bonnie quickly snatched up before she could grab it back.

"Why, you -" she started to say, clutching at her wrist in pain. She grimaced, and then shot Bonnie a look of pure malice. "You'll pay for this, twerpette."

"Perhaps," Bonnie said. "But you'll have to catch me first!" She danced back out of reach, looking around for Dedenne. Now seemed like an excellent time to leave, but she wasn't going to do so without her Pokemon partner. "Dedenne," she whispered urgently as she saw Jessie curl her hand into a fist and start towards her. "Where are you?"

"Nah ne ne!" she felt little claws grab into her as he found her and climbed up her leg, coming to rest of her shoulder. "De-neh!"

"What is it?" she asked, noticing that he was pointing back towards the area she had been heading towards when she first entered the warehouse. "Is something there?"

"Ne ne!" He nodded emphatically, and Bonnie altered her steps, spying a small white 'X' on the floor where the now-fried mannequin had been. She had a bad feeling what it was supposed to have been used for, and did not like how close she had come to falling into Team Rocket's trap. But if she played this right, it would be Jessie that was trapped, not her.

"What, not motivated enough to get revenge?" Bonnie asked, noticing that Jessie had not been following her, as it originally looked like she had been doing. "I guess you don't want this, then." She held up the detonator and waved it around, to which she was pleased to see Jessie's eyes follow it.

"Give that back," she snapped, now lunging towards Bonnie. "I need that."

"For what?" One step backwards, three steps to the side. "Don't tell me it goes with your...time machine repair kit." Two steps backwards, one step to the side. No matter how many steps she took, it wouldn't be enough. Whirling around, she pulled the marbles out of her bag. "Here," she said flippantly. "Catch!"

Jessie did not respond, but she made as if to reach for whatever Bonnie threw, only to abruptly turn and cover her face as a spray of marbles came her way. They pelted her arms and legs, but mostly they hit the walls and shelving around them, bouncing away and landing in various places on the floor. She could feel herself losing her balance as several worked their way under her shoes, and she fell to the floor in shock.

However, Jessie was not the only one to fall victim to the marbles. Bonnie had not expected her aim to be so off, nor for the range of the marbles to spread out so far or come back towards her. Laughing and twirling around, she took an even harder fall than Jessie, crying out in shock as her bag went flying off her shoulder, landing close to the older woman. But even as she watched Jessie triumphantly shout and grab it, Bonnie held up the detonator, a menacing look on her face.

"I wonder what this does?" she asked curiously, recovering fairly quickly and bouncing to her feet. Jessie may have gotten her bag, but she had also fallen on top of the white 'X' on the floor. "Should I press it and find out?"

Jessie looked down, her face paling. "No!" she cried, stretching out her hand. "Don't -"

Too late. Bonnie pressed the button, closing her eyes and waiting for the sound of a trap being sprung. But all she heard was Jessie picking herself up off the floor, and she opened her eyes, frowning at the detonator. "Is it broken?" she asked, pressing it again. But the sound of laughter drew her eyes up, her heart sank.

"You stupid girl," Jessie told her, a hint of malice in her voice. "Did you really think I would get caught in my own trap? Even as we speak, James and Meowth are at Prism Tower, with a device that I like to call an electronic disruptor. Do you know what that is?" Bonnie shook her head, feeling numb. "It's a device that will shut down any and all electronic communication, allowing us to reboot the system. And you just turned it on. By the time you get out of this, Lumiose Gym will belong to Team Rocket - and it's all thanks to you." She bowed, and Bonnie stared at her.

"By the time I...get out of this? What?" She could not believe it. There was no way she could be responsible for a misfortune like that, she just couldn't. "You're lying."

"Oh, no." Jessie smirked at her. "I'm not. But you'll find that out for yourself soon enough." And with a last, wicked little laugh, she darted towards the door, avoiding the marbles with agility Bonnie had not expected, and before she could even hope to catch up, she heard the sound of door slamming and locking, leaving her and Dedenne alone in the warehouse.

There was nothing to do except sit and wait. The darkness seemed almost to close in around her, and she curled up on the floor, hugging Dedenne close to her. "This was a bad idea," she whimpered. "Dedenne, how could I have been so stupid?"

"Ne ne," the little electric mouse told her, snuggling closer. There was nothing he could say to make his friend feel better, and nothing he could do to release them from their warehouse prison. He had already tried to shock his way out, and both he and Bonnie had looked for an alternative exit for what felt like forever. All he could do was try to comfort her in the only way he knew how.

"I thought I was being so brave." She could feel the tears start to well up in her eyes, which she furiously tried to hold back. "I didn't know it was all part of a bigger plan!" She looked down at him, her vision starting to grow blurred. "I'm such a failure."

She had only been sobbing for a few minutes when she heard the door rattle. "Dedenne, hide!" Bonnie whispered, forgetting that Dedenne was able to protect her much better than she was able to protect him. She got to her feet, standing with her legs apart and fists in front of her. Could that be Jessie coming back, with perhaps the rest of Team Rocket on her heels? And if so, what did they plan to do to her? One thing was for sure, she wasn't going down without a fight.

Another few rattles followed by a soft click, and then the doorknob was turning. With a deep breath, Bonnie plunged ahead the second the door opened, punching the person that entered the warehouse hard in the stomach. The following oomph from her suspected assailant, however, told her just how wrong she had been, and she gasped. "Todd! You...you're here!"

With one hand still on the doorknob, he stood back up, smiling gently at her. "Nice right hook," he commented, and she blushed. She couldn't believe she had punched him when he had been coming to rescue her. "Of course I'm here. You asked me to come, didn't you? You're just lucky I know how to pick locks."

"You wouldn't have needed to pick the lock if you had showed up when you were supposed to." She had recovered from her embarrassment over her mistake, and now was determined to show Todd how this was really all his fault - even though she knew full well that wasn't the case.

Far from being offended at her accusation, though, he seemed somewhat delighted. "A good photographer never reveals their hiding spot," he said proudly, holding up his camera. "Besides," he said with a wink. "You didn't need me. You're more than capable of taking care of yourself."

Bonnie stared at him, surprised. No one had ever said that to her before. Too many people viewed her as no more than a child who could not handle the more difficult situations life would throw at her, a view which she hated more than anything. "I...well...thanks," she said somewhat lamely, not able to think of a complement to pay him in turn.

"You're welcome," he replied, and they stood there in silence for a moment as Dedenne ran up to sit on Bonnie's shoulder. As soon as Todd saw that both of them were there, he held out his hand to Bonnie. "Come on. We should get you home."

Home. Prism Tower. The place that was currently under siege by Team Rocket...thanks to her. She bit down on the inside of her cheek. She was strong. She could handle this. Hadn't Todd just told her that? "Yes! We need to get there now!" she stressed, running past him and grabbing hold of his wrist on her way out the door. "We have a Gym to save!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE

As you can see, this chapter focused mainly on Bonnie. This was definitely my shortest chapter out of these three, which is kind of funny considering it is one of the longer ones in this story. It was also the most rushed and least planned out of this set of chapters; hopefully that doesn't show too much. I do like giving Bonnie more time in the spotlight though, even if things didn't work out great for her this time around. Next up, we'll switch our main focus to Ash!

Stay tuned for Chapter 17 / Part Two, and thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!