So, a warning, of this batch of 11 chapters that I have planned, this one has the least amount of planning gone into it. As a result, it will probably be rather messy. But it will still be more planned out than a lot of the other chapters in this fic, especially in Kalos. Anyway, here we go.
Chapter 41:
Life in Larousse
Resigning himself to their fate, Max goes over to his bag to take out his notebook and work through some of his audio logs. Only to find that his notebooks aren't there. He immediately begins to panic, and tear their room apart, trying to find it. Bonnie joins in, but even with her help, the notebooks are nowhere to be found. Now, Max begins to panic harder, and hyperventilate slightly. Bonnie sits him down on one of the beds and begins to rub his back and talk to him in a soothing voice, trying to tell him that everything will be ok. Eventually, Max has calmed down enough to think straight. "Ok, I'm calm," he says. "Sorry about that." "It's ok Max," Bonnie insists. "That's your life's work. I'd totally freak out if something like that happened to me." Max thanks her, then starts to think about what to do about his predicament. Eventually, he thinks of something. "Let's go find Brendan," he decides. "Maybe he'll know where they are." Bonnie nods, and they leave the room.
In the 5 years it'd been since Max was last in Larousse, he'd completely forgotten just how big Larousse's Battle Tower is. the two of them get lost really easily, and spend the better part of two hours trying to find their way around. Eventually, as they wander down a hallway, they hear the sounds of training coming from one of the doors. They run over to that door, and finally find Brendan. He's training his pokémon in a gym area, a real one, not a pokémon one. He hears them coming and looks up, giving them a grin that's clearly hiding his guilt. "Hey guys," he says. "What's up?" "Where are my notebooks?" Max demands immediately. Brendan looks confused for second, before realising something.
"Crap!" he exclaims, slapping his forehead. "I forgot to give them back to you. They're in one of the labs here in the tower. Come with me, I'll give them to you." Then, he wipes the sweat from his head, returns his pokémon, then leads them down the hall. As he does, Max asks him, "Why did you take my notebooks?" "I had some of my officials and experts read through it, to see if we could figure out what they want with it." "And I'm guessing you didn't find anything?" Max asks. Brendan shakes his head. "Nothing," he replies. "The only thing of note they could find was some information you'd gathered on the Jade Orb. Yet, they aren't after that anymore. So, there isn't anything in there that would be worth stealing it for." They walk in silence for a few seconds, before Brendan adds, "By the way, my officials and experts wanted me to say to you that your notebooks are extremely impressive. The fact that you gathered all of that information in just under a year and a half is unbelievable." max's cheeks colour a bit. "Thanks," he says.
They arrive at the lab and Max picks up his notebooks, putting them into his bag immediately. "How long were we out?" Max asks. Brendan shifts uncomfortably. "About a week," he admits. Bonnie's jaw drops to the floor, while Max just nods. "So, enough time to let Hoenn know you've finally thought of a way to stop Team Terra then," he comments. Brendan looks at him quizzically. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asks. Max shrugs. "Well, it's kind of obvious what you're doing here," he says. "You're trying to look like you're doing something about the Tremors in order to look good to the people of Hoenn." Brendan looks affronted. "What gives you that idea!?" he demands. "Maybe the fact that no one would dare do something this desperate if they didn't care about public opinion!" Max retorts. "If you were truly doing what you believe is best for the region, you wouldn't be taking an action so drastic that it could risk the capital city of Hoenn!"
Brendan's face flushes red with anger. "Do you honestly think I'd do something this drastic for the public's approval!?" he demands. "If the public found out what my plan is, they'd want my head on a pike!" "Then why do something so stupid?" Max asks. "Surely it would be wiser to take your time to find a better solution." "You think I haven't!?" Brendan practically yells. "I've exhausted every possible solution to this crisis! This is the only avenue left unexplored! I don't care how unpopular a plan it would be! This is all I can do to stop them! That's why I haven't announced this plan to the public!" Max stops there, shocked. "You haven't?" he asks. Brendan shakes his head. "As far a anyone who knows you is concerned," he says, "you two are still on your journey together." "Then, how do you plan on luring Team Terra here?" Max asks. At this, Brendan picks up a tablet from the counter and hands it to Max. On the screen is a bird's-eye view of Larousse. Next to the tower on the screen is a yellow circle.
"What's that?" Bonnie asks, pointing to the circle. Brendan smirks. "That, my dear Bonnie," he says, "is the drone that has been following you since you set out on your journey here." Both of them gape. "You've been tracking us with a drone!?" Max demands. Brendan shakes his head. "Not us," he tells them. "Team Terra have. Why do you think they always knew where to find you?" Max thinks about this, and realises that Brendan is right. All those times Team Terra were able to find them suddenly made sense. "But, how are you tracking it?" Bonnie asks. Brendan takes the tablet back and places it on the counter. "I'll admit it wasn't easy," he says. "We had to follow you for a few days in order to find out how they were keeping tabs on you. Then, once we placed the tracker on it, we had to wait a few more to make sure Team Terra didn't know about it. Now, they know you're here, and have no idea that we know."
Max considers this. "I suppose that's why you're ok with us going around Larousse," he comments. "Because you can track us by tracking the drone." Brendan can't help but laugh at this. "You really are way too smart for your own good," he said. "But yes, that is one of the advantages we have here." "So, what's stopping us from destroying the drone and escaping?" Bonnie asks. Max facepalms at this. True, that had been what he was planning, but now Brendan knew about it. Brendan chuckles at this. "In truth, we did think about this," he says. "If you do that, then I'm afraid we'll have to ban you from leaving the Battle Tower." "Because then you can't track us?" Max asks. "Partly," Brendan admits. "But mostly so we can keep you safe. If we lose that drone, then we will have no idea how you are. If we lose it, they could kidnap you in the city, and we'd be none the wiser. So, it would benefit us all if you would leave that drone alone. Just until we manage to capture an agent of Team Terra, ok?" Max and Bonnie look at each other, then agree to these terms.
After that, nothing much happens over the next week. Max finds out he missed the Verdanturf contest, which pisses him off a little bit. But not as much as it pisses off Bonnie that she can't head to Petalburg to challenge Norman to a gym battle. She uses Brendan's gym to get a bit stronger, but it's not the same. For his part, Max is able to use the time to completely catch up on all of his logs. Once those have all been listened to, he starts wandering around the city, speaking into his audio logs about the different pokémon he sees here, and how they behave differently to their counterparts in the wild. For instance, Wingulls are little food thieves in the city, and will yank food straight out of your hands if you aren't careful. Max learns that the hard way, when one of those little buggers steal a burger right out of his hand, much to Bonnie's amusement. She's kind enough to share some of hers with him, but not so kind that she doesn't laugh her head off at the incident first.
Something interesting finally happens about two weeks into their stay in Larousse. Max has just finished describing the behaviour of a Rattata in the city, when he and Bonnie accidentally get separated on the moving pathways. He becomes worried, and goes to swap pathways to make his way back to her, when he feels an arm enclose around his neck. Turning his head slightly, he sees Cooper behind him, with a gun in his hand. "Scream, and I'll blow her fucking head off," he threatens. Max can now see Bonnie in the crowd, frantically trying to find him. Cooper raises his gun and points it at her. "So, will you come quietly, or will I have to stain her beautiful yellow hair with red?" Max just nods, not trusting himself to speak. Cooper smiles and lowers his gun. "And don't try to resist," he adds. "Because Debbie is up in one of the buildings, with a sniper ready to shoot her down.
But before Cooper can take him away, Bonnie suddenly disappears from sight. Cooper swears, then taps something in his ear. "Debbie, do you have a visual on the girl?" he asks. Even from where he is, Max can hear the radio static. "Debbie come in!" Cooper repeats. "Do you have a visual!?" "Oh, I'm afraid she doesn't," says a voice from behind them. "But I certainly have one on you." Cooper spins around to find that his own gun had been taken and is being pointed right at him. Max recognises the man holding it as one of the agents Interpol agents involved with the Second Kalos Crisis. "Let the boy go," Herbert says quietly. "And come quietly, or it'll be you who's hair is dyed red." Cooper freezes at this, and lets Max go. Then, he shoves him into Herbert and makes a run for it down the street. Herbert goes to chase after him, when they hear a scream from behind.
Max immediately recognises that it's Bonnie's scream and panics. Worried that she might've been shot by Debbie, Max takes off running in her direction. Herbert calls after him, but he ignores him. So, Herbert radios in to inform other agents of Cooper's flight, then runs after Max. When Max gets to where she was standing, she finds her struggling against Sarah and Sam, who're trying to find out where Max is. "Hey!" he shouts. "Let her go!" Sarah and Sam turn around and spot him. By now, the crowded walkways have been deserted, as the crowds scatter from all the action. Sarah lets Bonnie go and approaches Max, while Sam keeps a hold of her. "Well, it seems we're at an impasse," Sarah says. "You have something we want, and we have someone you want. So, shall we trade?" Bonnie rapidly shakes her head no, but Sam holds it in place to stop her.
Just as Max is about to agree, someone else comes out of nowhere and punches Sam right in the face, knocking him down. "Nice punch Hilda!" Herbert shouts. Hilda gives the thumbs up, then turns her attention to Sarah, who's got her fists raised to fight. But, Hilda merely swings her leg out and knocks her to the floor. Then, she and Hilbert handcuff the two criminals. "We've apprehended two agents," Hilda says into her radio. "Copy that!" replies another voice. The voice of Detective Looker unless Max is mistaken. "We're still in pursuit of the other two! Escort them and Maple and Citron back to the tower!" Copy that," says Hilda, before putting the radio away and hoisting Sarah to her feet, while Hilbert does the same with Sam. "Come along you two," she says. "Let's head back." Max wants to protest, but knows there's no point. So, he and Bonnie do as they're told.
Unsurprisingly, Sarah and Sam know nothing about the Tremors. How they're caused, where they're shot from, or why they're being used on Max and Bonnie. Looker and Brendan want to try interrogating Debbie and Cooper to find out if they know anything about them, but those two had successfully managed to escape. Now, they were stuck with these two idiots. Eventually, Brendan gets so frustrated by how close they came to getting somewhere, that he pulls Sarah and Sam to their feet by their shirt collars and push them against the wall. "If neither of you have anything useful for us, then you can get fucking lost!" he snaps. "Tell your bosses that if they want to get their hands on Maple's information, they can send someone with actual information of their own!" Then, he sends them on their way.
"Was that really a good idea?" Looker asks. Brendan pants with anger. "Probably not," he admits. "But I don't care." Then, he turns to Max and Bonnie, who were sitting in on the interrogation. "I'm sorry you two," he says. "But I'm afraid your stay here is going to have to be extended." "What!?" they exclaim. "You said we'd be here until you manage to catch an agent of Team Terra!" "An agent of Team Terra with information on the Tremors," Brendan corrected. "These two didn't have any, so they were useless to us. And, I'm afraid we're going to have to give you a few limitations now." "What kind?" Max asks. "After that scare with the sniper, I'm afraid I can no longer allow you to leave the tower," Brendan explains. Seeing how desperate Team Terra have become made me realise this plan is too risky if we allow you to roam Larousse without supervision." Max and Bonnie are outraged by this, and they let Brendan know this. But he ignores them and leaves the room, their complaints falling on deaf ears.
After Sarah and Sam make their escape from Larousse, they contemplate going back in to try again. But before they do, Sam comes to a realisation. "Wait," he says. "I don't think returning would be a good idea." "Why not?" Sarah asks. "Debbie and Cooper were there. No doubt they'll return." "But something tells me that that's what the Champion wants," says Sam. "I think he's using Maple as bait." Sarah stops to think about that. "Good point," she says. "We should probably radio this in. We may get some recognition." Sam nods in agreement, and pulls out his radio. He reports this to Admin Bannai, who thanks them for the info. "Come back to base for now," he 'll just have to wait until they leave. Then we'll set up some bait of our own." Bannai laughs to himself, then ends the conversation.
Max is bored. True to Brendan's word, he's forbidden them from exiting the tower. While it may draw more attention to them, at least it keeps them safe from too much harm. But on the downside, it leaves the two of them with very little to do other than train. Both of them take to use a few of the gyms around the building that Brendan had installed to prepare for gym Battles and Contests. When they aren't doing that, they're in their shared room, or else wandering around the tower, familiarising themselves with its layout. But they soon grow bored of this too. They try to appeal to Brendan to let them go, but he simply refuses. "What if something like that happens again, and Interpol aren't quick enough to prevent it," he replies. "Both of you nearly died that day. If you had, I never would've forgiven myself, and May would never speak to me either."
So, they resign themselves to their prison. One night, about a week after the incident in the street, Max is sitting on his bed, reading through his notebooks, while Bonnie sits at their window, staring out beyond the city limits, as if imagining what it would be like to roam free once more. They sit there quietly for a while, until Bonnie breaks the silence. "Hey Max," she calls. "What's that?" Max stands up and walks over to the window. He looks to where Bonnie is pointing and sees a streak of fire descending from the sky. For a few seconds, Max can't believe what he's seeing. He rushes to one of the shelves in their room and grabs a pair of binoculars that sit on it. He runs back to the window and stares at the streak through them. The sight before him brings a grin to his face.
"It's my sister," he says. Bonnie stares at him with amazement. "What?!" she exclaims. "I'd recognise that Blaziken anywhere," Max tells her. "Plus, I can see her riding on his back." He hands the binoculars to Bonnie, who can see that he's right. "Why is she here?" Bonnie asks. Max shrugs. "She's probably here to visit Drew," he replies. Bonnie stops dead, and stares at him." "What do you mean by that?" she asks. "Drew lives in Larousse," Max replies. Bonnie gapes at him. "And, uh, you didn't think to tell me that BEFORE!?" she exclaims. Max suddenly gets quite sheepish. "It slipped my mind," he replies, rubbing the back of his head. "Something important like THAT slips your mind," Bonnie exclaims. "And yet you remember a random pokémon you encountered WEEKS PRIOR!?" Max shrugs. "It's a little something called ADHD," he replies. "More importantly, we should call her to explain what's happening."
He goes to pull his phone out, when Bonnie stops him. "Wait!" she says. "If she's going to visit Drew, then maybe she's finally going to tell him how she feels!" Max's eyes widen at this, and he puts his phone away. "Good point," he says. "We'll wait a bit, then call her." Bonnie nods, then the two stare out the window, waiting for a sign that May and Drew finally get together.
Ok, so that turned out to be longer than I expected. Sorry for how messy it was, but I had a lot to cover in one chapter. I know there were a few places I could've ended that, but I wanted to end it with a Contestshipping tease. Now, will this ship set sail, or sink once more? Find out on Tuesday. In case you can't tell, I'm running out of things to say in these notes.