I'll be honest, it was hard to resist the urge to update this earlier in the week. Now that I have a proper plan for what I want to do with this story, I've redeveloped my need to keep writing, which I'd begun to lose after the completion of Children of Thieves. But anyway, here's the next chapter, which probably had more planning go into it than the previous one. Enjoy.
Chapter 40:
Brendan's Desperate Act
Bonnie is worried again, and Max can tell. A few days after escaping the latest Tremor, she'd begun to feel a prickle of dread creep up her spine and into her head. The same feeling she got when Homura and Kasei attacked them in Kalos, and again when the Jade Orb was stolen from them. But this time, it isn't as bad as before. However, it lasts a lot longer. Three days after it started, it's still going, and Bonnie grows increasingly paranoid that something is coming. Max is concerned for her, and can tell that she's getting sick of it. At one point, she even cries out, "Ugh, could the bad thing just happen already!? I'm getting sick of this tension!" Eventually, Max has an idea on how to help her.
As they sit down for a break from walking, Max suggests that she use her Aura to sense if there are people around them. Bonnie agrees, and closes her eyes. Normally, Max likes to see her eyes glowing blue as she uses her Aura, but if he's correct, she would be revealing Aura to other people, which would make Ash quite mad. Eventually, Bonnie stops concentrating and opens her eyes. "You're right," she says quietly. "There seems to be a group of people following us." "Friend or foe?" Max whispers back. "Not sure," Bonnie replies, looking around. "Their Aura is blue for now, but considering the fact that my Aura has been warning me of their presence for days, they've been following us for sometime. So, who knows, maybe they'll change to red soon."
Unfortunately, there's no way to tell if this is the case or not. Because Bonnie's power is still only a fledgling ability (thanks Ash), she can only check other people's Aura if she's standing still. While moving, forget about it. Sure, she could just stand still and check on them every now and then, but that draws the risk of their followers finding out that they know they're there. So, they have to just continue on their journey and wait until this group does something. But, after another day, then two, and still no sign of activity from them, the two begin to grow bored of waiting. So, Bonnie comes up with a plan to keep an eye on them. She begins trying to keep an eye on people's Aura while she's moving.
When they stop for a break, Bonnie closes her eyes and focuses on the group of people tailing them. Once she's locked on, she stands up and begins moving. Doing so causes her to lose focus. So, she tries again. And again. And again. But still, nothing. Just as she's about to give up, Max can see her visibly freeze. "Max," she says cautiously, "we have a problem." "What's up?" he asks. "That group is encircling us," Bonnie replies. "They're surrounding us, cutting us off from our route." "Are their Auras still blue?" Max asks. Bonnie nods. "For now," she replies. "But I don't like the way they're moving." Max nods and gets to his feet. "Well, then," he says. "I'd say now would be a good time to leave." Bonnie nods and goes to get to her feet. But as she switches her Aura off, she freezes again. "We have to go, now!" she says. "Why?" Max asks. "Their Aura is changing colour!" Bonnie replies. "They're going into the red!" Without another word, Max grabs Bonnie's hand and they take off. But before they can get very far, someone steps in front of them.
"Hold it right there," says the person. "I'm afraid I can't let you leave." The person steps out of the shadows and Max gasps. "Brendan!?" he exclaims. Brendan nods. "Hey Max," he says, "it's been a while." Then, he turns to Bonnie. "You must be Bonnie Citron. We haven't formally met, though I did see you at Brock and Olivia's wedding. I am Brendan, the Champion of Hoenn, and a friend of May and Max." Bonnie looks him up and down, not wanting to use her Aura to check his, lest he figure out what she is. "I know who you are," she replies. "We saw your video on your promise to stop the Tremors." Brendan smiles at this. "Oh good," he says. "That's actually part of the reason why I'm here."
"Is it because of the Tremor that struck a few days ago?" Max asks. Brendan nods. "Partially," he replies. "More specifically, I'm here because we discovered something about the Tremors. A pattern, if you will." Max suddenly feels his hopes rising. But at the same time, a feeling of dread courses through his body. "Did you?" he asks, somewhat nervously. "What is it?" Brendan thinks about how to put this. "How many Tremors do you think have occurred since they first started almost five months ago?" he asks. Max shrugs. "No idea," he replies. "We haven't exactly been looking at the news. I mean, the two of us have been caught in four but-" "Exactly," Brendan replies. "There have been four Tremors in total over the past four and a half months. All of which you were caught up in." Now, Max feels only dread. He really doesn't like where this is going.
"They also started shortly after you returned to the region," Brendan continues. "Not only that, you two were also at the epicentre of each and every attack." Max's eyes widen. "Are you suggesting we're the ones causing them!?" he demands. Brendan seems to realise how he sounds. "No, no, of course not," he hastens to reply. "You two were integral to stopping The Second Kalos Crisis six months ago. Why would you two be on Team Terra's side?" "So, you're saying we're their targets?" Bonnie asks. Brendan hesitates for a few seconds, before nodding. "More specifically," he adds, "they seem to be after something that you have." At this, Max pulls out his two notebooks. As he does, her whispers to Bonnie out of the corner of his mouth, "Get the repels. We may need a smoke bomb." Bonnie nods and subtly begins pulling the vials out of their bags.
While she does that, Max stands back up and shows his two notebooks. "They're after these," he explains. "I don't know why, but they believe that they contain information that will be invaluable to their cause." Brendan looks at the books. "I see," he says. "I don't suppose you would be willing to part with them, at least for a little while?" Max shakes his head, putting the books back in his bag. "Thought not," Brendan replies sadly. "In that case, I'm going to need the two of you to come with me." Max stares at him with shock. "You're arresting us?!" he demands. "No, no, nothing of the sort," Brendan tells him. "We just need you to come with us to Larousse for a few days or weeks. A month or two at most." "Why?" Max asks suspiciously. He subtly glances at Bonnie, and sees that she's got the repels ready. Brendan sighs. "In short, I need you to lure Team Terra to Larousse," he explains.
Both Max and Bonnie stare at him in amazement. "You what!?" they both exclaim. "I know how bad this sounds," he goes on. "But you must understand the situation I'm in. I failed to stop these last time. I'm supposed to protect this region, and I failed. I will not fail again. Trust me, I've looked at every possible route to get these to stop. This one is the only one that works. I don't like it anymore than you do, but it has to be done." "Arresting us is your only option?!" Bonnie demands. "I'm not arresting you!" Brendan replies, his anger rising. "You'll be free to go around the Battle Tower as you see fit. Hell, you can go all over Larousse for all I care, you just can't leave it. Not until someone from Team Terra with knowledge of the Tremors comes to get you."
Max is dumbfounded by this. "Do you honestly think they'd come get my notebooks themselves!?" he demands. "Don't you realise that they'd just send a Tremor to attack the city, and go in for my notebooks when the defences are down!?" "They won't!" Brendan replies, getting visibly frustrated now. "Larousse is completely environmentally friendly! They won't dare touch it with a Tremor!" "That didn't stop them from decimating Lumiose," Bonnie points out. "That's different," Brendan argues. "With that incident, they were planning on wiping power across the region. Lumiose was just the city they needed to use to activate their plan. Larousse is not in that position. They won't attack it. Trust me." Max can't believe what he's hearing. "You've lost your mind!" he says. "Can't you see how bad this plan is." "You think I don't!" Brendan yells. "I've tried to think of another plan, but I can't! This is the only thing that will work! Desperate times call for desperate measures!" But this is just insane!" Max argues. "There's no way I'll agree to it!"
Brendan sighs sadly. "Unfortunately for you, you don't have a choice," he says. Then, he claps his hands. Interpol agents and Pokémon League officials step out of the bushes and begin to encircle them. Max and Bonnie look around, then he nods to her. "Yes we do!" he says, as Bonnie smashes the repels against the ground. The vials explode, sending up their makeshift smoke bomb. The duo use this moment of confusion to begin running. As they do, Brendan speaks. Max is expecting him to demand they stop, or order the agents and officials to chase them. Instead, all he says is, "I'm sorry." Max is about to ask what he means, when his foot gets caught on a tripwire. A different gas sprays into the air and into Max and Bonnie's faces. They both cough as he realises that they've just been sprayed with Sleep Powder. As he and Bonnie fall asleep, Max sees Brendan loom over him. "I'm so sorry about this Max," he says. "But this has to be done." Then, Max falls unconscious.
Max feels groggy as he slowly regains consciousness. As he does, he struggles to recall what happened. Then, he feels a stinging sensation on his cheeks, and hears a pretty voice calling his name. He slowly opens his eyes, and sees the face of an angel looming over him. It takes a few seconds to realise he's looking at Bonnie. "Oh good, you're awake," she says, then helps him to his feet. Max looks around, and finds that they're in a white room with a couch a TV, a coffee table, and two beds, one of which he was lying on. There are a few windows in the walls, but he's too far away to see what's out of them. "Where are we?" he asks, his mind still waking up. "That's what I wanted to ask you," Bonnie replies. "This is your region after all." Max nods, then steps towards the window. As he does, his brain fully wakes back up again, and he remembers what happened.
He rushes to the window and looks out of it. Looking out of the window, Max can see a huge city on an island. Looking around it brings back memories of a big forcefield covering the place. He sees moving pathways, and a bunch of wind turbines on a nearby hill. Looking down, he can make out the base of a tower, and a really tall one at that. No doubt about it, this was the Battle Tower, which means... Bonnie steps up beside him. "So," she asks, "where are we?" Max turns to her. "Welcome Bonnie, to Larousse," he tells her. "The actual first city in the world to run completely on clean energy. And, for an indefinite amount of time, our prison."
If we could all just ignore the fact that I said Mauville was the first clean energy run city, that would be great! I said that because I completely forgot that Larousse ran on wind turbines. I know I probably could've ended the chapter with Brendan's apology, but I felt that the way I did was a better ending. But anyway, I've got nothing else to say to this, so see you on Thursday for the next one.