Now that I'm finished with that section of the story, I'm back to struggling for ideas. I thought of this pretty last minute, so it may be rather messy. But I do have some semblance of a plan for the upcoming few chapters, so it's just this one is a bit of a jumble in my head right now. But I should hopefully have it figured out by the time it's finished.
Chapter 23:
Unlikely Alliance
The first few days without May and Drew around feel quite weird. Not that Max misses travelling with his older sister around, he's been doing that for over a year after all, but the first few days since Slateport have certainly been quieter. It seems as though all of Hoenn is in a quiet state of shock right now. After over a year since the last Tremor struck, they were back again in full force. Now, Brendan and his Elite 4 are working tirelessly to figure out what motive Team Terra may have for triggering them once more. Max and Bonnie both think they might be looking for the Jade Orb once more, but something tells Max that this is not the case. Why do after him and his notebook if they were looking for the Jade Orb as well.
These thoughts danced around Max's head as he and Bonnie make their way through a mountain pass between Slateport and Mauville. He's too distracted to even speak about some of the pokémon that wander around them. Instead, he leaves it just in front of his mouth, not saying anything. Eventually, Bonnie notices this and walks up to him. "Are you going to document anything with that?" she asks, snapping him out of his train of thought. "Or are you trying to kiss it?" Max glares at her, then pockets the audio log. "Sorry," he says. "I was just thinking." "About what?" Bonnie asks. "The Tremors," Max replies. "Why have they started up again? What's Team Terra after? Logically, a move like this doesn't make sense without a clear goal in mind. It turns the public against them, and makes people like the Champion and Interpol work harder to try and catch them. Why take such a big risk? What are they planning?"
As usual, hearing Max get analytical makes Bonnie become quite flustered. But she ignores it and wills her face to stop being so warm. "You're trying to analyse the methods of a group of maniacs," she points out. "Of course there's no logical reason for this. What they tried to do in Kalos wasn't logical in the slightest, was it?" Max shakes his head, realising that she's right. "If you keep trying to make sense of senseless violence, you'll just give yourself a headache and wear yourself out." Max nods in agreement, seeing that she's right. As they resume walking, he takes the audio log back out of his pocket and holds it up to his mouth again, this time actually speaking into it. As they keep walking, Bonnie finds her heart fluttering to the sound of him analysing pokémon behaviours once more.
But unfortunately, this moment between the two is interrupted by the sound of a soft boom, followed by a bit of shaking. At first, they're terrified that it's another Tremor, and brace themselves to start running. But then, they realise that the shaking isn't bothering the pokémon as much as the shaking from Tremors does. This is something else. As they keep moving, they soon find out what that something else is. It's a giant machine, roughly the size of a large tree. It looks like a giant Mr. Mime automaton, with none other than Sarah and Sam piloting it in its head. The Mr. Mime automaton opened its mouth, and Sarah's voice came out, just like with Debbie and Cooper in their Sharpedo. "Max Maple," she calls down. "This is your only warning. Hand over your notebooks to us, or we'll take them from you by force, with this machine!" At first, Max and Bonnie are sceptical that they could do anything with this machine. But then, they raise the machine's arm up and a laser shoots out of its palm, destroying a nearby cluster of trees. Suddenly, the pair figure they should start running.
But before they can get very far with that plan, the sound of an aeroplane echoes through the air. At first, Max and Bonnie are relieved, because it means that someone may find them and help against Team Terra's machine. But then, things go from good, to bad, to confusing, back to bad, then to worse so fast it makes Max's head spin. As the plane comes into view, he and Bonnie spot Team Terra's logo on the side of the plane. At first, they panic, thinking that they're in for it. But then, the plane starts opening fire on Sarah and Sam's machine, causing them to have to stop to try and get out of the way. But all this does is make them easier to hit, and knock down. But before Max and Bonnie can even register this as a good thing, a net comes flying out of the back of the plane as it passes overhead, ensnaring Max in it. Immediately, Bonnie pulls out Nuzleaf and has him use cut on the net to get Max free. As he does that, Max and Bonnie manage to get a good look at who's inside the cockpit of the plane. Their stomachs drop. It' Debbie and Cooper. Of course, as if one persistent duo isn't bad enough, they have to deal with 2 of them. Both of whom are in some sort of machine, just in case things aren't bad enough.
Nuzleaf manages to free Max from the net, and he and Bonnie make a run for it before Debbie and Cooper can notice. But, it seems the duo in the plane are more interested in shooting down Sarah and Sam than actually catching Max. As the plane makes another dive, they unleash another volley of bullets into the automaton, causing it to explode. Max barely has time to wonder if Sarah and Sam managed to get out of it before it blew up, when another volley of nets fly out at him and Bonnie. Nuzleaf slices through these ones as well, as Max and Bonnie leap off the path and down to a lower part in the pass. They run through a rocky area, covered in small stones that make the way slippery. Bonnie has to recall Nuzleaf since he starts lagging behind, and they run to find cover as a few more nets fly at them. The two have to use big boulders as cover, which slows them down from escaping. This seems to be a good strategy, until Debbie and Cooper begin using the bullets from the plane to destroy the rocks before Max and Bonnie can hide behind them.
Eventually, all of their running leads them to a small cave in the side of the path they were on a few minutes ago. Seeing no other option, the pair rush inside. They hear Debbie and Cooper's plane fly overhead, but no sound of bullets or nets can be heard. "I think we're safe," says Max. "Let's just wait here until they're gone." Bonnie nods, then pulls out Braixen and has her use the flame on her stick to allow them to see properly in the dark. It is only then that they realise they are not alone in this cave, nor are they safe. As soon as they turn around, they lock eyes with non other than Sarah and Sam. The screams of fright that come from the four of them are loud enough to shake the mountain, probably. In an instant the four of them have their pokémon ready for battle. Then, the sound of bullets hitting the roof of the cave they're hiding in causes them all to panic and redirect their attention upwards, lest the cave, well, cave in. That's when Sarah has an idea.
"Oi, Maple," she says. "Who do you hate more, the two of us, or the two of them?" At first, Max is totally confused by the question. "Why are you asking me this?" he asks. Sarah rolls her eyes. "Just answer the question!" she snaps. "Uh, those guys I guess" Max replies. Bonnie nods in agreement, which makes Sarah grin. "Glad you agree," she says. "Because I have an idea that could benefit us all." Max and Bonnie look at each other sceptically. "What if we were to work together to knock their plane out of the sky?" she asks. "How does that benefit us?" Max asks. "Yeah, we have one less duo to deal with, but having the two of you duke it out makes it easier for us to escape." "Not to mention you can always steal Max's notebooks from him when they're gone" Bonnie adds. "Look, I'm sure you'd rather deal with the two of us rather than agents who are completely nuts, right?" Max and Bonnie look at each other, unsure if whether or not they should point out how two people driving a giant Mr. Mime automaton calling someone else 'nuts' is the pot calling the kettle black, but another rain of bullets on the cave's roof make them decide not to say anything. "I'll tell you what," says Sarah, obviously getting spooked by the shaking. "You help us get rid of those maniacs, and we'll leave you alone for a little while." "How long?" Max asks. Both Sarah and Sam look at each other, having a silent conversation with their eyes. "2 weeks, at most," Sam says at last. "After that, no promises." Max and Bonnie look at each other, then nodded. "Fine," they say together, "let's do it." The four of them shake hands, then begin plotting.
Of all the stupid, poorly thought through, dumpster fire plans Max has ever seen and taken part in, this was definitely up there amongst the stupidest. The concept in and of itself was unbelievably moronic, but it's made even worse by how bad of an idea it is to execute said concept. But they had no other plans, so they go along with this plan. He and Bonnie are positioned in some bushes along the path, keeping an eye on the sky for the plane to pass overhead. When they came out of the cave, the plane was waiting for them. Sarah had her Gourgeist use Shadowball to cause a makeshift smoke bomb, allowing them to separate and get into position. Now, he and Bonnie are ready, just waiting for Sam's signal to get going. As Max watches for the spot in which Sarah and Sam are hidden, he hears the sound of Debbie and Cooper's plane coming around again. Suddenly, several Shadowballs and come flying out of the pass, from several directions as Gourgeist uses Shadow Sneak to teleport herself and Mr. Mime around and throw off the pilots. As they fly around, dodging the attacks, a cloud of Stun Spore suddenly appears from Sam's position.
At that moment, Max orders Grovyle to send a large Vine Whip upwards, just as Bonnie orders Nuzleaf to do the same. The Vine Whips fly up just as the plane flies overhead. The vines reach the wings and wrap around them very quickly, so quickly in fact, that they rip the wings clean off the plane. The main part of the plan goes flying, before falling to the ground and bouncing across the pass. Debbie and Cooper bail out of the plane before they get hurt too badly, and watch as the plane slides across the pass, before crashing into a small cliff and bursting into flames. Debbie and Cooper look unhurt by all the chaos, but livid at the same time. Max, Bonnie, Sarah and Sam walk down to meet with them, as they glare up at them. "So, you want to work together against us, eh?" Debbie says, her voice shaking with anger. "Well, we'll see how long this little alliance lasts when we kick your ass in battle!" Cooper laughs at this. "That's right!" he says. "Now you're gonna get it motherfuckers! You and us, let's go, right now! Come on! Come on!"
At this, Sarah releases Gourgeist and orders her to use Scary Face. Debbie and Cooper look at it for a few seconds, before screaming with fear and running away down the path, with Cooper crying out for his mother. The four of them watch as they run away, all of them laughing. Then, they turn to look at each other. "Well," says Max, "a deal is a deal." Sarah and Sam nod. We'll leave you alone for the next 2 weeks, as promised," says Sam. "But after that, we will have your notebook." "We'll see about that," says Bonnie, before turning away. "See you in two weeks then." With that, the four of them turn and walk their separate ways. As they do, Bonnie thinks of something. "Hey Sam!" she calls. Sam stops to look at her. "No matter what anyone says to you, you're a good man!" Sam beams at this, his face flushing a bit. Then, the four enemies wave to each other, before parting ways.
So, a nice little wholesome moment to wrap up quite a funny chapter, if I do say so myself. I'm actually quite amazed with how well this turned out, if I'm honest. I fully thought this would be messier, especially since I don't remember what the mountain pass with the Shiftry looked like, (that's where they are btw). Now, on Thursday, we'll be on a bit that I do actually have planned, so it won't be as messy. See you then.