So, as I feared, I didn't have the time to write on Thursday. But, now that my side fic is finished, I'll be posting on Saturday for a bit, because we're getting close to the climax of the Hoenn Volume. It's a scene I've been extremely excited to write, so I'm basically trying to get there as quickly as possible. But first, I've got to finish setting it up, which is what the next two chapters are for. So, let's get on with them shall we?
Chapter 46:
Truth Behind the Tremors
Bonnie isn't quite sure what woke her up in the middle of the night and compelled her to check on Max, but she thanks Arceus she did. She walks over to his room and pushes the door open, only to find his bed empty. Panic immediately sets in and she starts searching the house for him. When she can't find him anywhere, a hunch leads her to check the coatrack. Sure enough, Max's isn't there. Immediately, Bonnie scrambles to wake up the rest of the house. At first, Caroline, May, Drew and Brendan are quite cross with her for waking them up. But when she explains that Max is missing, everyone immediately wakes up and begins to panic. May calls Serena to let her and Ash know of this issue. Serena tells her that they're on their way, and will keep an eye out for Max on their travels. When that's sorted, May next calls her brother. As soon as he picks up, she lets him have it.
"WHERE IN THE MIRROR WORLD ARE YOU!" she screams into the phone. Bonnie can't hear what Max is saying, but whatever it was makes May visibly angrier. "What do you mean by sssshhh?!" she demands, not shouting as loudly. "Do you have any idea how worried everyone is!?" Bonnie can hear Max's panicked voice through the phone, barely. Then, May says, "Why are you whispering?" Max launches into a long explanation that Bonnie can't hear. But whatever it is, May is clearly horrified. "ARE YOU INSANE!?" she demands. Max talks a bit more, and must've said something that piques May's interest. "Do you?" she asks. "Where?" Max says something else, but then Bonnie can't hear him anymore. After a few seconds, his voice returns, sounding panicked. "What?!" May shouts. "Max are you- Hello? Hello!? Arceus dammit Max Maple!" She pockets her phone and relays what that conversation was about.
Immediately, the whole room starts panicking, and they begin thinking of ways to get him out of there. At this, Bonnie gets an idea and runs up to Max's room. She grabs his pokéball with Gallade in it, then runs back downstairs. "We can get him with Gallade!" Bonnie shouts. "Call him back and explain this to him!" "Good idea," May agrees before calling Max again. It takes a bit longer than last time for Max to pick up. But when he does, May immediately asks him, "Where are you?" Max's panicked voice comes through the phone. "I can tell!" May shouts into the phone. "Just try to work out where you are! Bonnie has your Gallade ready to teleport you out of there!" A few seconds later, May's phone pings. She checks it, then shows the message to Bonnie. Bonnie immediately orders Gallade to teleport there, while May says, "Hold tight! Bonnie is sending him now!" The phone call ends, and they're all left to stand there and wait to see if it works.
At that moment, Ash and Serena burst into the house. "Did you find him?!" Serena asks. "Yes," Brendan replies. "his Gallade is fetching him now." At that moment, the centre of the room distorts a bit, as Max and Gallade appear in the room, with Max panting furiously. He looks around the room at everyone, then his eyes land on his sister, who looks very very cross. But before anyone can say anything, Bonnie tackles Max to the ground and hugs him. "You are SUCH an idiot!" she yells. "What on Earth were you thinking!?" "I'm sorry Bonnie," Max replies. "But I needed to see what he was doing. Now, could you get off me please. I can't breathe!" Bonnie apologises and gets off of him. Max gasps for breath, then looks around the room again. Everyone is looking at him, and he notices that his mother and sister are looking at him particularly sternly. "Now Max," says Caroline. "You are going to explain yourself." "And tell us what you saw!" Brendan adds. Caroline shoots him a look, and he shuts up.
Max goes through what happened, from when he looked out the window to the moment Gallade teleported him away. When he's done, he shows everyone the picture of the box with the instructions on where to bring it. "This is full of whatever material they need to power the machine causing the Tremors," he explains. "So, if we figure out what MC means, we can work out where they're keeping the machine." Brendan pats Max on the back. "As stupid as that decision was," he says, "I've got to thank you for it." Then, they begin to ponder over what it means. Max tries putting them into one of his navigation devices, but it comes up blank. They try out various other methods, but nothing comes up. Brendan searches through an old book on Hoenn's layout, hoping to find a reference to MC, but nothing comes up.
Throughout all of this, Ash sits there, holding his chin and pondering. Eventually, he speaks up. "What if those are just initials?" he says. Everyone looks at him. "What do you mean?" Drew asks. "I mean, what if those letters are just initials?" he asks. "What if they stand for something?" Brendan thinks about this. "You mean like, a place in Hoenn with the initials MC?" he asks. Ash nods. That's when an idea strikes Max. Something that happened while he and Bonnie were travelling with Kenny after their first contest in Fallarbor. Looking at Bonnie, he can see that she's thinking the same thing. "Mount Chimney!" they both exclaim. Brendan looks like he wants to kick something. "Oh my Arceus!" he exclaims. "How the Mirror World didn't I think of that!?" "But how could they hide a giant machine on Mt. Chimney?" Caroline asks. "Anyone could go up there and see it."
"They did it by blocking off access," Max replies. "When Bonnie and I travelled past it, we tried to go up. But these workers stopped us, saying that it was too dangerous to go up there." Bonnie nods and continues. "They said the volcano was becoming active again," she explains. "They were closing it off under the champion's orders." Brendan looks confused at this. "I never gave those orders," he says. "I was never informed of this." "That's because we don't think the volcano is even active," says Max. "They were there to stop people from going up the volcano. Who would doubt an official looking person saying that the volcano would be active soon, and couldn't be accessed under the champion's orders." May smiles at this. "So, now we know where the Tremors are being shot from," she says happily. "Now, all we have to do is get up there and shut it down." Max jumps up at this. "Well then," he says, "what are we waiting for?"
He turns to head to the door, when Ash calls out, "And just where do you think you're going?" Max turns to look at him. "Well, we're going to stop the Tremors aren't we?" he asks. Ash nods. "That's right, we are," he says, indicating to himself and May. "You're staying here." Max is affronted by this. "What!?" he and Bonnie demand. "You think we're too young for this?" Max asks. "Need a reminder that we were the ones to stop the Second Kalos Crisis? That we held off Team Terra for six months? And did it again this year!? This isn't fair!" "THAT NOT WHY!?" Ash shouts, his temper getting the better of him again. Max reels backwards, suddenly fearful. Ash notices this and calms himself. "Sorry," he says. "But that's not why you can't come." "Then why?" Bonnie asks. At this, Ash looks from the two of them, to Max's phone, to the others. "Don't you think this was a little too easy?" he asks.
When no one speaks, he elaborates. "Think about it. They've been doggedly hunting Max for months, using the Tremors to try and catch him. Except the Tremors keep missing, and he keeps escaping. Then, after managing to keep this device hidden for ages, their Admin of all people slips up and gets spotted by the one person they been looking for, and accidentally shows him exactly where the device is located, before being unable to catch him and allowing him to escape." Everyone else does think about it. "That does seem a bit too convenient," Serena admits. "But why do that?" Max asks. "Why let me see all this. Ash looks at him. "Because you're like me, and they know this," he replies. "You feel that when bad things happen around you, it's your fault. You should've done something differently in order to prevent this. And only you can make it right. So, you disregard your own safety and wellbeing in favour of putting things right, even when it wasn't your fault." Max says nothing to this, so he looks away.
"If you were to go up to the summit of Mt. Chimney and faced off against Bannai and his cronies, would you be willing to do anything to stop them?" "Yes!" says Max, almost immediately. "Including giving them your notebooks?" Ash asks. Max shakes his head at this. "Never," he says. "Ok," says Ash. "But, what if they gave you an ultimatum? Hand over the notebook, or they'll launch a Tremor right at the foot of Mt. Chimney, which'll cause it to erupt. Or, they'll send one out across the entire region. Would you still refuse to give them your notebook then?" Max doesn't say anything, which seems to be answer enough. Ash nods, then turns to May. "So, it'll be just you and me then," he says. "And me!" Brendan interrupts. "I am the Champion of Hoenn! Stopping these is my responsibility! So I'm coming too!" Ash and May look at each other, then nod in agreement.
"Don't forget us," Serena and Drew say. "We'll help." "No," both Ash and May tell them. Serena gets angry at this. "Why not?" she asks. "Is it because you're scared that what happened on Lumiose Tower will happen again!?" "That's not-!" Ash almost shouts, before controlling himself. "That's not why I want you to stay here," he says again, much calmer now. "I need you here in case Team Terra were planning for us to figure it out and go in Max and Bonnie's stead. You can help keep them safe." Serena nods at this, much happier now. May turns to Drew. "I know that's not the reason you said no," he says. "But I'll be sure to keep your brother safe." "Thanks Drew," she says, then she kisses him on the cheek. Ash turns to Pikachu, who's been sitting on the couch since they arrived. "Come on buddy, let's go," he says, holding out his arm for him to climb on. Pikachu doesn't move. Ash almost glares at him, but still Pikachu doesn't move. Eventually, Ash grunts, then moves away. "Fine," he says gruffly. "Walk behind us then." Pikachu nods, then follows after. The three of them step outside, then bid farewell to their friends and family. "We'll be back soon," May promises. "And we'll stop them!" Then, Ash and Brendan pull out their flying types. Then, they climb on, and disappear into the night.