Chapter 29: Max's plan

An idea came to Max's mind as he followed Cassidy and Butch around the mansion. "Now that I've joined up with Team Rocket - what are my missions?" he asked.

"First - we need to recite the motto with you in it, Max. Then - we need to give you some Pokemon and teach you how to be mean towards others" Cassidy explained.

"So, you're really joining us?" Butch asked in delight.

"I'm wearing the uniform, aren't I?" Max answered. 'Sorry guys, if I see you, I have to do this to help find our Pokemon!' Max thought. "What if the twerps try and get me back on their side?"

"We'll make sure that won't happen, Max. You'll need to wear this too" Butch said - as he gave Max a necklace with had a red pendant on it.

Max curiously took it and wore it. "What does..." he was about to ask what it does then his eyes started glowing red.

"Perfect - now you're one of us. No-one can take you away from us unless they can manage to remove it from you. Right - the Pokemon you can have been a Korbat and a Koffing" Cassidy said as she took Max down to the basement of the mansion, with Butch following them.

"We'll then leave when we give them to you. We'll head to Kanto" Butch said smirking.

"Is that where Team Shadow is?" Max asked, his eyes had returned to normal.

"You seem obsessed with them suddenly, kid. Yes - their main base is in Kanto" Butch said.

"It's because - I want to get a higher rank so I can join them" Max lied. 'I want to join them so I can steal our Pokemon back!' he thought. 'The idiots think this necklace can brain-wash me but it's not working!'

"I like the way you think, Max. There's a lot you'd need to do before all that happens, unless you become Giovanni's favourite of course" Cassidy said.

Max grinned when she said that. "I'll do what I can be his new favourite" he said.

While the three made their way to the basement of the mansion, Ash and the others met up with Dawn, Paul, Reggie, Maylene and Johanna.

"What's the plan?" Misty asked.

"We can't just go barging in, it won't work like that" Officer Jenny said frowning. "We need to split up and sneak inside the building and check every single room - including the basement" she said.

Dawn shuddered at the thought of the basement, Paul looked at her in concern.

"Ghosts?" Paul asked.

"Uhuh! It's where they usually hide" Dawn shuddered at the thought of meeting a ghost Pokemon.

"Cool! If there are Ghost Pokemon - I can catch one to help with finding Max and for future gym battles" Ash said with a grin.

"I wonder if there are Sableye here" May said remembering how she liked that Pokemon back in Hoenn.

"I'm not sure, but we should get ready to go. If Botch and Cassidy are really in the mansion with Max, they would be looking for a spot to hide" Officer Jenny said. "Paul, you and Dawn can go ahead first and be safe while you look" she said. "I'll let the others join you after a few minutes.

Dawn and Paul nodded. Keeping hold of her hand, Paul looked at Dawn and Flora. "We need to be cautious in case of traps, Dawn" Paul reminded her.

Dawn nodded. "And ghosts..." she added, earning a chuckle from him.

"You're cute!" Paul said. With that, he and Dawn ran quietly to the mansion's front door. They pushed it open and crept inside. Dawn noticed at once it was cold and damp. She shivered, smiling as Paul put his arm around her to keep her safe.

"Let's go upstairs to see if he's in the rooms" Paul suggested in whisper.

"Mhm! And we need to look for clues too!" Dawn whispered back. "Love you!"

"Love you, too" Paul said. The couple quietly made their way upstairs. "We need to be careful going up these stairs, Dawn. They look like they could crumble any minute" he warned her. Dawn looked at him then the steps - her face was pale with the fear of falling down the stairs, it only made her clutch onto Paul's arm.

"Hn - Dawn. I'll protect you and won't let anything happen to you" Paul promised her, earning a kiss from her. Dawn anxiously and carefully went up each step with Paul, an image of her falling through the steps kept on repeating in her mind, she began crying at the thought of it, that worried Paul as she clung tighter to him. Concerned for her safety, he kept his arms around her and watched the steps - only noticing one that appeared to be decaying. "Be careful - of that one" he warned her, wondering how on Earth someone could've climbed these steps safely.

"Honey - I'm scared" Dawn muttered, as she looked at Paul - wondering how she can overcome that step. Paul looked at her in surprise - he hadn't heard that nickname for a long time, not since his mother used to call him that.

"It's okay, you'll be fine - trust me. Did you want me to go first?" Paul offered.

"Nnn... No! I don't want to part from you - it's scary!" Dawn shuddered at the thought of letting him go and imagined the stairs swallowing her up.

"Hn... Should we look somewhere else in the mansion for Max if it is easier for you?" Paul asked, worried about his terrified girlfriend. He remembered when his mother would sooth him when he was scared and thought of the name that she used to call him - then he also remembered she used that name for her husband - his father which made him wonder if Dawn would like it.

"Dawn, Sweetheart - we'll get through this! I won't let you get hurt" Dawn heard Paul say - though she didn't expect him to call her sweetheart, she didn't think he was the kind of person who would come up with a nickname for their girlfriend, but she liked that name from him. She calmed down a bit after he pulled her close to her and she felt him press his lips against her forehead, which made her feel back to normal.

"As to somewhere else - I think we should. I'm too scared to go up further of those stairs in case they collapse - they look like they might. I didn't expect you to call me that - Paul" Dawn said, blushing as she looked at him. "But I loved that from you!"

"You are my sweetheart, Dawn. I'm not used to these nicknames, but I'll get there. Right - where should we look then since the stairs might not be safe?" Paul said as the couple with Flora walked down the stairs. Dawn let a sigh of relief when they reached the floor - they were only halfway when she began to feel scared.

"You're my cuddle bear, Paul. I think maybe the basement perhaps. Does this place even have one?" Dawn asked, feeling relaxed that she was away from the stairs.

"Only you can call me that. It should have one - most mansions have basements" Paul answered remembering the ones he had seen in his travels.

"Reggie, Maylene and Johanna - it's your turn to go in" Officer Jenny said after awhile. She didn't want to make a scene if they all came rushing into the mansion at once.

Brock looked at Officer Jenny with hearts in his eyes, wondering if she'd go with him.

Reggie and Maylene held hands as they and Johanna made their way to the mansion. "Do you two have pet names for one another?" Johanna asked curiously, as she looked at Reggie and Maylene, smiling to them.

Maylene and Reggie looked at each other, blushing they shook their heads. "We never really thought of it - what about you and Gus?" Reggie answered.

"I call him my beloved and he say I'm his sweetie" Johanna said, gushing as she remembered the number of times, they've called one another that on dates.

Reggie and Maylene looked at each other again and giggled. "We'll have to think about it someday, right, Reg?" Maylene said, giggling.

"Yeah! We need to think about it" Reggie said. "Where abouts in the mansion should we look for Max?"

"I think up-stairs" Johanna said. "Though - I heard the steps might be dangerous now due to the decay and age of this place" she added.

"We'll have to figure out how to get up there if they are" Reggie said thinking on how that could happen. The three walked up to the door and opened it, walked in and closed it behind them. They shuddered hearing it creek and looked ahead - to see the dusty old interior. There appeared to be cobwebs everywhere which made Maylene shudder.

"Don't tell me that bug Pokemon live in here" Maylene said with a shudder.

"If they do - I'll catch one" Johanna said smiling to Maylene. "I like them!"

"There's the steps" Reggie pointed to them. Surprisingly, they didn't run into Dawn and Paul, who were well on their way to the basement of the mansion.

"Professor Oak, Delia, Ash, May, Caroline and Norman - you guys can go ahead!" Officer Jenny said, earning a nod from them. She watched as the group made their way to the mansion and opened the door, she smiled and watched as they walked inside, closing the door behind them.

Before Officer Jenny could say anything else - her mobile rang. "Sorry - I have to answer this!" Officer Jenny said, smiling noticing it was someone she knew, she put it on loud speak.

"Officer Jenny? It's Cynthia. I saw the news about Max last night and am wondering if there's anything I can do to help to find him?" Cynthia asked.

That voice alone made Brock's eyes turn into hearts. He remembered his dance with her and since that day, he hadn't forgotten about the Sinnoh Champion.

"We're at the mansion in Eterna Forest - we strongly believe that Cassidy and Bib took him there. You're welcome to come and search with us, Cynthia" Officer Jenny said.

"Right - I'll be on my way - will be there in about ten minutes" Cynthia announced, indicating that she was going to fly there - with that, she hung up.

"Cynthia will be joining us shortly" Officer Jenny announced, at once Brock looked goofy. Misty rolled her eyes.

"You haven't changed a bit, Brock!" Misty said.

"She and I danced together" Brock gushed - remembering that moment.

"Maybe in your dreams" Misty said - figuring he was making it up.

"No - it was real! Ask Ash and the others" Brock said, looking goofy as usual as he thought of Cynthia.

"Mhnm... Right.." Misty didn't believe him and figured he had a dream about it. Shrugging, she let him think that way and looked at Tracey. "What do you think Trace?" she asked.

"I'm not sure - it seems peculiar that she danced with him..." Tracey said concerned that Brock might have been dreaming instead.

"I think he was dreaming! Maybe Ash and the others were..." before Misty could say anything else - an annoyed Brock looked at her.

"It was real - Misty. I swear! It was such a fun event but then Team Shadow had to ruin it!" Brock said with a frown.

"Team Shadow? Okay - then you can't be making that up" Misty felt guilty thinking that her friend was a liar. "Sorry - Brock!"

Brock told her about Team Shadow - which got both Tracey and Misty's attention.

"This is serious! I didn't think they existed - what if they have interest in Max for whatever reason?" Misty bit her bottom lip in concern.

Moments later, Cynthia arrived, riding on her Garchomp's back. She landed near them and recalled her Pokemon after thanking him. Brock at once went over to the champion of Sinnoh with hearts in his eyes.

"I missed you!" Brock gushed; Misty went to pull his ear to snap him out of his flirting.

"Thank you, Brock. Nice to see you again too!" Cynthia said smiling to him, watching as he flung his arms around her, smiling the champion kindly returned his hug, which confused Misty.

Max shuddered as he, Cassidy and Butch made their way to the mansion's basement, unaware of the fact that his sister and her friends are looking for him. He looked around his surroundings and noticed a lot of cobwebs that had Spinarak's in it.

"Here we are, kid" Butch said as they reached the basement's door. "It's also an underground to our get-a-way vehicle" he added.

Dawn and Paul were nearby, Dawn nearly flinched when she heard Butch's voice, she didn't expect her and Paul to be so close to Max. Though it was dark and hard to see in front of them. "It's Biff!" Dawn whispered softly to Paul. Paul nodded, confirming he understood what she meant.

"Let's follow closely and we need to work together to rescue Max!" Paul whispered back as quietly as she did, earning a nod from her.

Butch, Cassidy and Max stopped for a moment as Butch opened the door to the basement, the creek made Dawn shiver. Paul nodded to Dawn as he watched Butch, Cassidy and Max walk into the basement.

"Should I close the door behind us?" Max asked.

"Nah - nobody will be here but us anyway, kid" Butch replied. He and Cassidy didn't bother looking around - if they did, they would've seen Paul and Dawn since there was no place to hide.

Max, Cassidy and Butch went downstairs to the basement, Paul waited a few moments then began to follow after them with Dawn. The couple stayed quiet as they followed along, even Flora was silent as she looked ahead of her.

"Now, Max, to be a member of Team Rocket - you need to recite our motto" Cassidy informed him as the three walked further into the dimly lit basement. There were plenty of large boxes around - which Dawn and Paul hid behind, waiting for the right moment to grab Max if they could.

"Why do we have a motto anyway? Do the other grunts have one?" Max asked.

"Yes, everyone needs to recite the motto. It's Giovanni's rule" Butch answered.

"That's easy, I know yours by heart since you say it often" Max said. "But - I can see us failing at missions." he said frowning.

Paul and Dawn looked at one another wondering what Max meant by that. They then listened in the conversations.

"What do you mean by that, Max?" Cassidy asked.

"Well - you do the same old thing every time you met my friends and me - you'd be successful if you didn't do it" Max answered. "You see - I notice when Jessie and James were a part of the team - they used to say the motto a lot and it was a dead giveaway. Perhaps we should scrap the motto and just go ahead with the plan" Max said.

"You have a point. We never thought of that - right. We'll do it. Are you ready to leave?" Cassidy said, figuring where he was coming from.

"Kinda - but do you have a lemon?" Max asked.

"A lemon? Whatever for?" Butch asked.

"I just want one that's all and could you cut it in half?" Max requested.

That puzzled Dawn and Paul.

"Giovanni makes us keep lemons on us - I could never work out why though. Here and I'll cut it in half with the pocketknife" Butch said as he put the lemon on the ground to cut it since they didn't have a table and he didn't think about using the boxes nearby, if he had, he would've spotted Dawn and Paul. He gave the halves to Max.

Max thanked him and tore a piece of paper from the notepad. "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up!" he promised them, with a smirk. Dawn noticed that smirk and wondered what Max was up to. Cassidy and Butch shrugged and walked ahead. Max knelt down on the floor and put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a pen - he dipped the end part without the ink in the lemon and began to write on it.

"Dear May,

If you see this, I'm okay! I'm still with Cassidy and Butt. I used a lemon to hide my message - they didn't know what Giovanni gave the lemons for! Idiots. Tell Dawn and Paul I said I'm sorry for the way I treated them just now - it's because - I am a part of Team Rocket now. I'm not sure when I can see you next - since we're leaving Sinnoh soon and I can't tell you where I'm going. As mentioned in previous letter - good luck for the contests and gym battles. Don't come looking for me as it'll be dangerous if you did - I want you to focus on your dreams and not to worry about me.
If you can read this thank you for being smart and for using an iron! I love you lots, May and hope to see you again someday!

Love Max
xoxoxox!"

"Hurry it up already!" Cassidy snapped at Max as she and Butch waited for him.

Max noticed Dawn's shoe at the end of the box - smirking, he put the paper nearby her. "It seems we have some visitors with us, Cassidy and Butch" he blurted out. He wanted to win Cassidy and Butch's trust to win his Pokemon back after all.

"Why you rotten!" Dawn blurted out in anger. "Max - we were going to rescue you!"

"Who said I needed rescuing?" Max winked at Dawn - hoping she'd catch what he meant by the wink.

Dawn caught on with what he meant as did Paul.

Cassidy and Butch came running up to Max. "Good work - shame about the twerps, let's get rid of them."

Paul frowned. "Shame you had to join Team Rocket, Max" he added, playing along with Max's game.

Max took out a Pokeball, as did Paul, however, Cassidy stopped them.

"We can't battle in here, we don't have time for it either. Let's go, Max! We'll see these losers later, Koffing, come on out!" Cassidy said.

"Good point - wait before we go, Spinerak, come on out, use String Shot on Dawn and Paul" Max ordered, he hated doing this to his friends.

Paul frowned, before he and Dawn could have time to react - Spinerak quickly wrapped the couple with String Shot, tying them together, even Flora got tied up.

"Good work, Max. You make a great addition to the team. Koffing, Smoke Screen" Cassidy held Max's hand, Koffing filled the basement with Smoke Screen, causing Dawn adn Paul to have coughing fits, the worst part is that they couldn't cover their mouths or noses due to their hands being tied back with String Shot. When the smoke cleared up, Max, Cassidy and Butch were gone as were Spinerak and Koffing. The String Shot wore off as well.

"You okay, Dawn?" Paul asked.

"*cough* I am now, thank you, Paul. I wish we could've done something to pull Max away from Team Rocket, but the fact he wore the uniform made me concerned too. I hope he doesn't get too caught up in his plan" Dawn said, frowning.

"He seems to know what he's doing. We'll just have to tell the others he slipped away before we could do anything. Here's the paper he wrote on with the lemon - from memory, if you heat an iron on the lemon writing - it can show what he wrote" Paul told her.

"That's really clever of him to think of it. I just hope he'll be okay" Dawn said. "Should we call Officer Jenny and let her know?"

"Yes - she needs to know what happened" Paul pulled out his communicator and called Officer Jenny on it.

Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy, Misty, Tracey, Cynthia and Brock had just started walking inside the mansion when Officer Jenny heard her communicator buzzing.

"Hello?" Officer Jenny answered it.

"Officer Jenny - it's Paul and Dawn - we have some bad news..." Paul answered.

"Oh no..." Brock said, worried about Max's safety.

"What happened?" Officer Jenny asked.

"Its our worst fear - Max had joined with Team Rocket. He said not to look for him" Paul informed her about what had happened.

Misty at once began crying, Tracey hugged her, Cynthia, Brock, Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny looked at one another in concern.

"Thank you for informing us, Paul. We'll call everyone and try and come up with a plan to find Max!" Officer Jenny said. "I'm not letting him join those low-lives! We'll meet you outside of the mansion. I'll call the others and inform them!"

At least half an hour later, everyone gathered around Officer Jenny, May, Norman, Caroline, Professor Oak and Delia were crying, while Dawn, Paul, Maylene, Reggie, Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, Brock and Cynthia were concerned about him.

"What *sobs* are *sobs* we *sobs* going *sobs* to *sobs* do *sobs*now? *sobs*" May asked, between sobs as she cried for her brother. She longed to see Max again and to hug him.

"We'll try and read this note - that Paul informed us about. And I'll start alerting other Officer Jennies from out of Sinnoh to be on a lookout for Max" Officer Jenny informed them. "In the meantime - all we can do is to go back to your regular activities like doing gym battles and Pokemon Contests while keeping an eye out for him. We don't know where Buff and Cassidy had taken Max. However, given by the notes you have found - Max has this planned out" she added, concerned. "He sounds smart - but it's still dangerous for him to do it!"

"Our *sobs* baby *sobs*..." Caroline burst into tears and couldn't finish off her sentence, Norman hugged his wife close to him as he joined her in the tears.

"I think you're right... *sobs* Officer Jenny. We need to remain strong for our son *sobs* and do our best to continue life as normal *sobs* without him - while keeping an *sobs* eye out for him in hopes he can have a safe *sobs* return... Oh Max! Why did you do this? *sobs*" Norman then broke down in tears.

"I *sobs* hope *sobs* he *sobs* will *sobs* be *sobs* okay!" Ash said and joined the others with the tears.

Soon, there wasn't a dry eye. Each wondering the same thing: How will they get Max back safely from Team Rocket and where would Cassidy and Butch have taken him if their Headquarters isn't in Sinnoh?

Note: What do you think will happen next - where do you think Butch and Cassidy would take Max? Will the others continue on with their goals while keeping an eye out on him? Will Max's plan be successful?

To be continued...

Badges:
Dawn: 1
Ash: 1
Max: 1
Paul: ?

Ribbons:
May: 0
Max: 0
Ash: 0
Dawn: 0

Pokémon:

Ash:
Current: Pikachu, Sceptile and Swellow
Stolen: Noctowl, Turtwig, Starly and Charizard

May:
Current: Bidoof, Sunkern and Munchlax
Stolen: Blaziken, Shinx, Beautifly, Skitty and Glaceon

Dawn:
Current: Starly, Cubone, Budew and Shinx
Stolen: Piplup, Aerodactyl
Shared: Eevee (Flora)
Max:
Current: Treecko, Kricketot, Zubat and Shinx
Stolen: Azumarill, Magikarp and Ralts

Brock:
Current: Croagunk and Onyx
(Stolen: Geodude and Bonsly)

Paul:
Current: Chimchar, Elekid, Weavile, Murkrow, Torterra and Frosslas.
Given/released to other trainers: Starly and Shinx.
Shared: Eeevee (Flora)