So, I tried to update this on Friday because I had a flash of inspiration to keep going. But then I ran out of time during the day, and Saturday is when my other fic comes out, so I got about halfway through this fic before stopping and saving, then resuming today. I even had a whole other opening notes written that I had to delete because they were just congratulating myself on updating 2 days in a row lol. And I am quite glad I did decide to write half of the chapter on Friday, because it's my 20th birthday tomorrow, so I don't want to leave this unfinished by then.
Chapter 17:
A Temporary Truce!
Unbeknownst to her, Bonnie has been out for just over an hour. When she comes to, she finds herself covered in foliage, lying on a bank by the river, except at a different part of it than before. At first, she tries to think what had happened to her that led to her ending up here, and then she remembers the Aura Blast, and her falling towards the river. She sits up suddenly as panic overtakes her. That's when she hears the ragged breathing coming from beside her. She turns to see who it is, and is shocked to find Max lying next to her, completely shirtless. At first she gets rather flustered, but then that fluster turns to sheer panic and horror when she registers the rest of him.
Max looks horrible. His leg and shoulder are bleeding badly, with blackened skin surrounding the wounds. There seems to be blood on the back of his head too. She goes over to check on him and realises that he's sweating, and his face is burning up, a clear sign of a fever. That explains the breathing. As panic threatens to consume her, Bonnie can't help but scream in panic and fear. Within minutes, she hears the sound of footsteps coming from above. Worried that it might be Team Terra, Bonnie stays quiet, and shelters Max's body. She will not let them damage it anymore. That's when she hears May's voice calling, "Bonnie! Is everything alright!? Where are you!?" "I'M DOWN HERE!" she cries. "HURRY! Max is hurt really badly! And he has a fever!" May hops down to them so fast it's as if she used Teleport. She takes one look at her brother's form and nearly vomits. But she steadies herself and has Blaziken pick him up and carry him back up onto the path, before coming back down for her and Bonnie.
When they get up to the path, Bonnie sees Max lying there. In the sun, he looks worse than he did on the bank. despite his red face, the rest of his body is pale from blood loss. May and Drew start to panic upon seeing him like this. Drew quickly heads into the forest to find something to bandage his wounds. While he does that, May runs down to the river to fill a rag with water to help with Max's fever. When they're gone, Bonnie decides to try something she saw Ash do in Kalos. Mimicking his position when he healed Megan's leg, Bonnie holds her hands over the wound on Max's leg. Then, she tries to heal him. But she doesn't know how to cause her Aura to flow out like that. She feels tears well in her eyes as she tries and fails to heal Max. She begins to curse Ash for stopping teaching her, and tries one last time. But she hears May begin to return with the water, so she abandons her attempts, swearing to throttle Ash the next time she sees him.
When May returns, she immediately put the wet rag on Max's forehead to help with the fever. "He must've gotten sick from the length of time he was in the water," May hypothesises. "Plus the open wounds probably don't help." Just then, Drew returns with a few long leaves. "I don't have any bandages," he says. "So these'll do for now until we get him somewhere where he can be properly patched up." Both May and Bonnie thank him, then the three of them work on wrapping the leaves around Max's wounds. Once that's done, May replaces the wet rag with another one, then places Max's t-shirt behind his head to cushion it, before tying one of the leaves around his head to hold them in place. Then, she picks him up and places him in Blaziken's arms. "The Mudkip reservation isn't far from here," she tells them. "We can make it there with him. Hopefully Old Man Swamp can help us." Not bothering to ask her what she means by that, Bonnie and Drew just go along with her plan. Once they're sure Max is secure, they head off for the Mudkip reservation.
When they get there, they find an old man kneeling on the grass outside of his hut, with a bunch of baby Mudkip running and jumping around him. Under most other circumstances, Bonnie would've started squealing at all of the cute baby pokémon. But now, the only thing on her mind is Max's condition. The old man looks up when he hears them approaching, and he cracks a smile upon seeing May. "Well, if it isn't the Top Coordinator," he says. "What brings you here? And how is Max?" At this, May points to Blaziken. "He's hurt, and has a burning fever," she says. "We need your help right away!" The old man's smile dropped immediately. "Bring him inside," he tells them. "I may have something to help him." Both May and Bonnie sigh with relief, then follow the old man inside.
Max is immediately placed on a bed in the house, and the old man goes into one of his other rooms and comes back out with a first aid kit. He opens it and immediately starts undoing the makeshift bandages on Max's body. Luckily, the wounds have finally begun to coagulate. They still look awful, with blackened skin surrounding the scabs, but at least the bleeding has stopped. A Mudkip walks up to him holding a few burn heals. The Old Man takes it from the Mudkip, thanks it, then applies the burn heal to Max's wounds. Then, he rewraps the wounds with real bandages. With the threat of his wounds getting infected dissipated, The Old Man then turns his attention to the fever. He applies another wet cloth on it, before telling the Mudkip to go and fetch some human medicine. When the Mudkip leaves, he turns to May. "What the Mirror World happened to him?" he asks. May goes through everything that occurred during their dash along the river, leaving out the detail of Bonnie rushing forward to stop the attacks. She omitted it because she has a theory that she'd like to run by Max when he wakes up.
When she's finished talking, a voice comes calling through the cabin, one that freezes Bonnie in her tracks. "Hey, Mr. Swampy, I don't think you have any human medicine left!" "Oh no," Bonnie thinks. "Not her! Not her!" Sure enough, Trixie, the very girl Bonnie was hoping wouldn't walk through the door does just that. She looks around the room to see what's the matter, and her eyes fall on Bonnie. Her face sours. "Oh, it's you," she says. "Where's Max? Did he finally realise what a pathetic travelling partner you are?" Bonnie wants to make a scathing retort, but comes up with a better idea. Instead of replying, she steps to the side, not dropping her glare, and allowing Trixie to see Max's state. The colour drains from Trixie's face as she takes him in. "What happened?" she asks. "Team Terra attacked us," Bonnie replies bitterly. "That's all you need to know."
That's when something Trixie said a few seconds ago clicks for her. "Wait, what do you mean there's no human medicine left!?" Trixie looks both snarky and worried, which is not a face Bonnie thought someone could make until that moment. "It means exactly that," she replies. "There's, none, left!" May turns to Mr. Swampy. "Is there anywhere where we can get some more?" she asks. Mr. Swampy nods. "There's a Pokémon Centre about 2 hours walk from here," he says. "That's where I get my medical stuff from. You should be able to buy stuff there." Without another word, May makes for the door. But before she can leave, Mr. Swampy calls out, "Wait, I need two of you to remain here and help me out. Both with keeping an eye on the Mudkip and on him." He jerks his head at Max as he says this. "Your his sister, so you'll know him better than anyone." May sighs and nods in agreement. Drew also offers to stay behind to mind the Mudkip. Which leaves the job of going after the medicine to Bonnie.
"But Team Terra are still out there," Drew points out. "Is it safe for her to go alone?" "She won't be alone," says Trixie. "I'm going with her." Bonnie want's to shut that idea down immediately, as she'd rather be captured by Team Terra than have to suffer being alone with Trixie for over 4 hours. But before she can object, Mr. Swampy nods and claps his hands. "I think that works just fine" he says. Trixie looks at Bonnie with contempt. "Look," she says, "I don't like this anymore than you do. But Max needs that medicine, and I'm not so heartless that I'll let him suffer like that simply out of hatred for you. So, just until we get him that medicine, truce?" she holds out her hand. Bonnie looks at her, then down at her hand. Then, she sighs and shakes it. "Truce" she agrees.
The two girls are told exactly how much medicine Mr. Swampy needs. He also directs them to the quickest route to the Pokémon Centre from his house. Unfortunately, this route is also one where they'll most likely be spotted by Team Terra. Trixie doesn't look phased by this information, despite the state they left Max in. When Bonnie points this out, Trixie merely scoffs and says, "He was in the water trying to protect you from them. We'll be running away and actively trying to avoid getting spotted. I think we'll be fine." Bonnie longs to punch her in the face, but resists the urge. Instead, she looks at Max, informs everyone that they'll be back soon, then she and Trixie leave the hut and set off for the Pokémon Centre.
Neither of them says anything for a while. Instead they walk in silence. Eventually, Bonnie can't take the silence anymore and blurts out something that has been worrying her. "Why are you helping me?" she asks. Trixie looks at her quizzically. "Why are you helping me save Max. You hate me, and you know I hate you. So why do this for me?" Trixie looks her up and down, before a small smirk appears on her face. "You're worried that I like Max, aren't you?" she asks. Bonnie goes red and tries to deny it, but Trixie just laughs. "Oh you are! That's so funny." Bonnie glares at her, then looks away. "Well, you don't have to worry, I'm not" Trixie tells her. Bonnie looks back up at her. "Really?" she asks. "Well, I did think he was kinda cute at first," she admits. "But then I realised that hearing him nerd out all day would drive me crazy." "Then why help me?" Bonnie asks again. "Because of the affect he has on you," Trixie replies. "Your duo makes battling an actual challenge."
Now it's Bonnie's turn to look quizzical. "Don't get me wrong," Trixie continues, "you're good. But only better than the average trainer. But with Max's strategies and your strength, you two are actually fun to battle! Everyone else is just a pushover." Bonnie can barely believe what she's hearing from this girl. "I never knew you could actually respect someone" she says. Trixie laughs at this. "Oh no, I respect your duo," she explains. "By yourselves, you aren't worth shit. I'm only helping you because that's the only way to make this League worth battling." She stops as she comes to a realisation. "Wait, you are participating in this League right?" Bonnie nods and shows Trixie her first badge. Trixie smirks at this and holds out 2. "Well, at least there's one challenger worth giving a crap about" Trixie says. Then, they resume walking in silence.
This silence is once again broken by the sound of someone shouting, "Altaria, Dragon Pulse!" Bonnie grabs Trixie's arm and stops her, right before a Dragon Pulse strikes the ground in front of them. The two girls turn, and come face to face with Debbie and Cooper. "Oh for Arceus' sake!" Bonnie exclaims. "Can't you leave us alone!? We're in a hurry." Both Debbie and Cooper smirk evilly at them. "Oh we'll leave you alone," says Debbie. "Just as soon as you tell us where Max Maple is." Trixie looks between the two agents and Bonnie. "Wait, you know these clowns?" she asks. At this, Cooper glares at her. "We're not clowns!" he barks. "We're trying to save the world. And to do that, we need Max Maple. So just tell us where he is and we'll let you be on your way."
Bonnie is tempted to give them the complete wrong place, but Trixie beats her to it. "Please," she says, "I've seen enough movies to know what's actually going to happen. If we tell you where Max is, you'll capture both of us to use us as bargaining chips against him. But if we don't tell you, you'll just kidnap her and have me run back to tell him what happened, then use her as bait for him. Have I got that right?" The two agents stare at them for a few seconds, then their faces fall, and Debbie's eye twitches. "I told you it was an obvious plan" she says. "I didn't realise they'd figure it out so quickly" Cooper replies. Then, they each pull out a gun. "Ok then," says Cooper. "New plan. You're going to tell us where Max is, or we'll leave you in the same state we left him. Understood?" At this, Bonnie releases Dedenne and orders him to use Electroshock on the guns. He hits them with the attack and the two guns explode.
Now Debbie and Cooper are really mad. "Ok then," says Debbie. "Even newer plan. We do this the old fashioned way. Pelliper, Wing Attack!" "Use Dragon Pulse again Altaria!" cries Cooper. Bonnie summons Braixen and has her use Flamethrower, while Trixie summons her new Mudkip to use Water Pulse. However, instead of hitting one of the enemy pokémon, the Water Pulse creates a large cloud of steam, obscuring Team Terra's vision of them. While the steam cloud is up, Trixie quickly grabs Bonnie's arm and pulls her away from the evil team. They barely have time to get away before Pelliper blows away the steam. The duo spots the two girls disappear around the cliff and give chase. Despite Bonnie and Trixie's head start, Team Terra are bigger and faster than them, meaning they manage to catch up to them. Dedenne momentarily stuns them, which allows the two girls to get further ahead.
When they do, Trixie turns to Bonnie and says, "I've got a plan. Keep them busy for a few minutes, ok?" Bonnie barely has enough time to give her a quizzical look and nod, before Trixie disappears into the foliage. By this time, Team Terra have gotten over the stunning, and resume their chase. If they notice that Trixie has left, they don't comment. It's Bonnie they're after, after all. They continue to chase her along the path, while she continually glances up at the forest to her right. Once again, they don't notice this and continue to run after her, determined to catch her. Bonnie uses Nuzleaf to cut down some branches in order to slow Team Terra down a bit. But even so, they manage to catch up to her. Right as Cooper is about to grab hold of her, they reach a thinner part of the path. When they do, they hear someone shout out from the trees beside them, "Pidgeot, Gust now!"
A powerful blast of wind rockets out of the trees, striking Team Terra dead on and sending them flying into the river. Bonnie gets caught in it too. But before she can get thrown in, Trixie emerges from the bushes and catches her, stopping her from falling into the river. "Thanks," she says, panting heavily from all the running. "Good plan, but next time tell me about it before you instigate it." "Sorry," Trixie replies. "But there wasn't enough time." Bonnie gives her a hard look, then leads on to the Pokémon Centre. As they walk, Trixie can't help but ask, "Why are they after Max?" Bonnie sighs. "That's on a need-to-know basis and you don't need to know" she replies. Trixie punches her for that. "They now believe I'm involved in this, so they might be after me now," she points out. "So I'm pretty sure I need to know." Bonnie sighs as she realises that Trixie is right. So, she explains the whole ordeal with Max's notebook. Trixie stares at her in amazement. "And you're continuing to travel with him!?" she asks when Bonnie finishes. "He's my best friend," Bonnie replies. "I would follow him to the ends of this world!"
Trixie giggles at this. "Oh yeah, I think he's more than a friend to you" she says. "Bonnie flushes scarlet. "What makes you say that!?" she asks. Trixie laughs again. "Nobody would go through this sort of stress for someone who's merely their 'best friend'. You clearly like him more than that." At this, Bonnie's blush goes down. "Do you really believe that?" she asks. Trixie stares at her. "Well it's a fact of life," she says. "Everyone I know would've long abandoned Max by now, unless they liked him like that. But even then, to go so far as to be chased by Team Terra agents and still stick with him, you must clearly be head-over-heels for him." At this statement, Bonnie feels something for Trixie she never thought she would, pity. "If you honestly believe that, then you need better friends," she tells her. "Because my older brother would do this for anyone, even though he already has a girlfriend." Trixie laughs at this. "Or maybe, you need to grow up!" she shoots back. "This world is a selfish one, full of people who will only do anything for other if they can benefit from it! That's how this world has always been!" Bonnie can't help but stare in utter bewilderment at her. Trixie tuns away and walks a bit faster, and for a second, Bonnie can see tears well in Trixie's eyes. But she wipes them away and says, "come on. We're wasting time."
Neither girl speaks for the rest of the journey to the Pokémon Centre. They arrive there without any further delays, and buy the medicine that Max needs. Then, to make sure it gets to Max as quickly as possible, Trixie sends out Pidgeot and hands the bag over to it, telling it to fly it over to the hut as fast as possible. Only when it's gone does Bonnie think of something. "Eh, Trixie," she asks, "why didn't we fly on Pidgeot?" Trixie freezes as the same thought hits her too. "You know what?" she says. "I genuinely have no idea why I didn't think of that." With that, they walk back to the hut, really angry with themselves for not thinking right. They come to an agreement that if anyone asks why they didn't ride on the bird, they'd lie and say they were ambushed by Team Terra and had to send Pidgeot on ahead.
After another 2 hours of walking, with no more interruptions from Team Terra luckily, they arrive back at the hut. When they do, they find that Max has woken up, and that his fever has gone down. He has been instructed by Mr. Swampy that he must remain in the hut for another day before he can travel. Bonnie is ok with that, but Trixie decides that she will not stick around with them any longer. So, she bids farewell to everyone, then turns to leave. But before she does, she stops next to Bonnie and extends her hand. "I must say, it was more fun than I thought to team up with you" she says. "I guess it was" Bonnie replies, shaking her hand. "But don't get the wrong idea," Trixie continues, "I still hate your guts." "Oh don't worry," Bonnie continues," the feeling is mutual." The two of them continue to stare at each other for a few seconds, then turns around and leaves the hut. Max stares after her for a few seconds, before asking, "What the Mirror World did I miss?" Bonnie sighs. "It's a long story" she replies.
Well now, it seems that there's more to Trixie than just being a stuck-up brat. But you'll have to wait for more information about her, as I will be feeding you more info about her throughout the story. As you can see, their relationship is beginning to thaw a little bit. But once again, this will be slow going. Now, Thursday's chapter may or may not be released on Thursday, since that's probably when I'm starting my new job. So, we'll see where this story's upload schedule goes. See you in the next chapter.