I have no idea how this one will go, but it will most likely end up being shorter than normal, as I don't have very many plans for this chapter. But I genuinely do not know what's going to happen in the next chapter either, so I'm actually pretty stuck right now. But still, I do have some semblance of a plan for this chapter, so here's hoping it all goes well, and this actually comes out on Tuesday.
Chapter 5:
Journey Through Hoenn Begins
When Bonnie explained to Max what Ash had told her, he's really shocked. She neglects to tell him about her fears that she may hurt him, but she does tell him about the fact that Ash accidentally killed someone. "No wonder he seems so down lately," Max comments. "I'm amazed he's still himself. No wonder he doesn't want to teach you." Bonnie gets annoyed at this. "SO you're taking his side!?" she asks. "No, not at all," Max quickly backtracks. "I'm just commenting that it makes sense he'd be so hesitant to teach you. I still think he should keep his promise." Bonnie nods in agreement. "But still, I don't know if I want to be able to use this power if it means I can hurt someone by mistake," Bonnie says, staring at her hands. "Just thinking about it makes my hands shake." Max clasps her hands at this. "So don't," he tells her. "If you feel yourself losing control of your emotions, don't use your Aura. If it happens suddenly as you're practicing, throw the Sphere at your feet." Bonnie thinks about all of this. "Hey, that's a good idea," she tells him. "I'll speak with Ash tomorrow about it!" Max nods encouragingly at this.
But, that is not to be. Ash and Serena leave Hoenn the next day, meaning Bonnie doesn't have the time to approach him about Max's suggestion. Instead, she joins everyone as they see the couple off. Ash meets Bonnie's eyes as he and Serena enter the airport. He shoots Bonnie an apologetic look, before disappearing inside the building. With her one chance to learn some actual Aura gone, Bonnie becomes a bit frustrated. Due to this frustration, her Aura starts to build up again, which only makes her more irritated because it reminds her that she'll never get to learn how to properly control it. Which in turn, causes it to threaten to burst out more frequently. Bonnie considers letting her Aura out and revealing to the world that Aura Guardians exist, just to spite Ash. But Max talks her out of it. So instead, she just sneaks into the fields and lets the bursts out there.
After this happens a few times, Max decides it's finally time for them to leave Petalburg and set off on their adventure. Bonnie becomes very excited about this, and immediately heads out to buy supplies for the first leg of their journey. While she does that, Max charts out their route properly, and writes down any notes he gathered in his Audio Logs over the past few weeks. "Looks like Max's Observant State hasn't gone anywhere!" Norman jokes when he spots this. Max just laughs and nods in agreement. "If anything, it's only gotten worse" he replies. This causes Norman to look at his son quizzically. "Well, you've certainly changed," he comments. "I remember when the words 'Observant State' made you really angry." Max goes a bit pink at this. "Bonnie thought it was funny, so the name just stuck" he explains, shrugging slightly. Norman grins a bit at this. "So, what May tells me is the truth," he says, sitting next to Max. "It seems your affection for your friend goes beyond friendship."
Max goes bright red at this. "Wh-Wh-What gives you that idea!?" he asks, stumbling over his words in shock. Norman chuckles at this. "Well," he says, "before you left for Kalos, you would snap at anyone who called you little zone out your Observant State. Now however, when Bonnie says she likes it, you start calling it that as well. Not to mention how red you got when I brought that up." Max looks furious with himself, much to Norman's amusement. "You know, you're a lot like me when I first met your mother," he tells him. "I was too stubborn to admit that I had feelings for her for years, before I finally had the courage to tell her. Had I known that she like reciprocated those feelings, I would've asked her out long before then. It would've saved a lot of teasing from my friends and family, and would've saved them a lot of us dancing around each other." Max thinks about this. "But how will I know if she reciprocates these feelings or not?" he asks. "I mean, we've only known each other for a year. What if she doesn't feel the same way? What if she never does?"
Norman pats Max on the back. "Just give it time," he says. "Maybe she already likes you, and maybe she doesn't. Just keep travelling with her. You might just find out." Max smiles up at his father and hugs him. "Thanks dad" he says. Norman smiles and hugs him back. "Your welcome," he replies. "Just remember, a relationship isn't something that should be rushed. You need to take your time with them. Just carry on adventuring with your best friend, and once you feel like the time is right to tell her, tell her." Max nods, though he absolutely has no plans on following this advice. Instead, he closes his notebook and begins walking towards his room. "I'm going to go and get ready," he says. "I've got lots of things I want to show Bonnie." With that, he turns and runs off. Norman watches the young boy go and smiles. "He really has changed since he left" he says to himself, before walking to the gym in case any challengers happen by.
After the talk with his father, Max feels a lot less awkward around Bonnie as they prepare for their immanent departure. Bonnie has managed to gather all of the supplies they need, while Max has fully charted their route out, so that he can show her as much of Hoenn as possible. Now, all that's left for them to do is depart. Both of their families gather as the two get ready to leave. Even May manages to return from seeing Drew off in time to bid farewell to them. As they hoist their bags and begin leaving Petalburg, Meyer calls out to Max. "Now, please don't go picking up any powerful items on your travels! Don't want Team Terra on your tail do you?!" Both of them laugh, wave goodbye, then set off on the next leg of their journey.
In the Sinnoh Region, the forces of Team Terra are hard at work, trying to track down any sight of Max Maple, the boy with the golden notebook. The information he has gathered, and his skill at gathering them will be invaluable to Team Terra's cause, so their determined to find him. But they've been searching for over 2 weeks now, and so far they still haven't had any luck. Admin Momiji, the Head Admin of Team Terra, has been particularly vigorous in his search. After her blunder with Operation Jade, she's been determined to prove her worth and that she can undo her mistakes. Two regular agents, Sarah and Sam, are also meticulously searching for the two. After the insane amount of times Max Maple and his companion Bonnie Citron have managed to slip through their fingers, they are determined not to let that happen again. All of Momiji's Sub-Admins and their agents are focused on finding these two, and gaining the information that Max has gathered.
But after nearly 3 weeks, they still haven't turned up anything. As Momiji is about to suggest they give up and try searching manually, Sam cries out, "Got them! I've got a sighting!" Immediately, everyone scrambles over to him. "What did you find?" Momiji demands. Sam moves to the side to show everyone. On a screen in front of him is the image that's being cast from a drone. On that image is none other than Max Maple and Bonnie Citron, the very duo they're looking for. "Good job C-03," Momiji compliments. "Where is this?" "The Hoenn region ma'am," Sam replies. "Somewhere outside of Petalburg Town." Momiji grins at this, then picks up her radio. "Bannai," she days into it, "We have their location. They are in Hoenn, near Petalburg. As Hoenn is your jurisdiction, you shall be the one to go after them." "Will do," the voice of Admin Bannai replied. "Thanks for the info Momiji."
Momiji is about to end the conversation and put her radio away, when she feels someone tap on her shoulder. She turns to find Sarah standing behind her. "What do you want?" she asks. "I formally request that you allow C-05 and me to temporarily transfer to Hoenn to go after Maple!" Sarah replies. Momiji wants to Immediately renounce this, but Sam speaks up before she can. "Please ma'am," he begs. "We would like the chance to make up for all of our mistakes! We failed you before. Please allow us to rectify that!" Momiji thinks about this. As much as it would be a risk to allow these two idiots to go after the key to their victory, it would mean that they're out of her hair for a while, and she has one less pain in her neck. "Fine," she tells them, before speaking into her radio again. "Bannai, I'm sending you 2 agents to aid you," she tells him. "They are C-03 and C-05. Put then to use." "Copy that!" Bannai replies, before the radio goes silent. Sarah and Sam try their best not to celebrate. They've finally been given their chance to make up for their blunders, and finally get one over on Maple and Citron.
OK, so that was less messy than I thought. I'm just glad I managed to get this out before tomorrow, as tomorrow is the 1 year anniversary of this series. As it stands, unlike with The Children of Thieves, I don't have a plan for a special 1 year anniversary chapter, but I'll try to come up with something. Also, I hope you don't get too sick of Sarah and Sam, because they are going to be in this a he'll of a lot more than they were in Volume 1. But with that, see you all on Thursday with the next chapter.