Welcome to chapter 2! This one will also be a bit short, because there isn't much to add to it. I probably could've combined this chapter with the previous one, but I felt that they worked better as separate chapters. Anyway, I don't have much else to say here, other than a small TW for self-loathing.
Chapter 3:
Going Mental
Far from the massive celebrations that his two previous birthdays had been, Max's 12th birthday is a lot more quiet. There are only 3 people who could attend, not including himself. Bonnie, Delia, and Professor Oak, and even he had to leave shortly into it. But, he did get a chance to look over Max's notebooks, and commended him for them. "I know you're probably sick of hearing this by now," he says. "But this is nothing short of incredible. I know many researchers who would do anything for your gift of observation." Despite the fact that he is sick of hearing this, Max can't deny that it is an honour to hear this from Professor Oak himself.
Delia had spent much of the day preparing a small birthday feast for the three of them. She was hoping that at least Ash might be able to make an appearance, given the fact that he lives here sometimes, but he calls them in the afternoon to let them know that he won't be able to make it in time to celebrate. But, he and Serena still wish Max a happy birthday. Even with the subdued atmosphere, Bonnie definitely tries to make sure that he has fun, in order to keep his mind off everything that's going on right now. So far, it seems to be working.
Shortly into their stay at Delia's house, Max and Bonnie come across an old gaming console that used to belong to Ash, before he got a new one. After spending the day fixing it back up, the two of them have been spending some of their time playing with it. So, during the day, while Max was writing in the garden, Bonnie snuck into town and bought a few new games for the console for his birthday. Couple that with the new tray of colouring pencils from Delia, and more film for his camera from Ash and Serena, who shipped it to Professor Oak to avoid suspicions and this birthday is turning out to be a really good one. To make matters even better, before he left, Oak told him that Professor Birch is going to ship some Sceptilite to him for Max to use whenever they set out. With all this going on, Bonnie feels that it would take something big to bring down Max's mood now.
Unfortunately for her, that something big comes in the form of a call from his family shortly before the two of them are planning to go to bed. They'd just finished eating the cake Delia made, and were playing a few round in one of the new video games that Bonnie bought for him, when Delia comes in to let Max know that he has a call from his family. Pausing their game, Max stands up and walks over the Delia's computer to answer it. When he does, he sees that it's just his mum and dad on the other end.
"Hey mum, hey dad," he says, hoping to see May appear on screen. "How are you?" Both of his parents smile at him, though for some reason he gets the feeling that they're hiding something. "Oh we're doing fine son," says Norman. "How are you and Bonnie?" Max's cheeks go slightly pink at the name of his friend. "Oh, we're doing fine," he replies. "We're hoping to set out on our journey through Kanto soon." Norman nods in understanding. "It shouldn't be too much longer before you can do that," he says. "Brendan's recovery is going well. He woke up a few days ago, and is going to start relearning to walk in a few more." Max smiles at this, sighing with relief.
"Happy birthday by the way," Caroline interjects. "We were calling to say that, and to let you know to expect a present from us in the coming days. I believe May's should also be on the way soon." At this, Max notices his mother wince at the mention of May's name. "Where is May by the way?" He asks. "Is she with you?" Neither Caroline nor Norman speak at this. They both look at each other, having a silent conversation with their eyes. "What happened to May?" Max asks again. "She's fine," Caroline says quickly. "At least, we're pretty sure she is." "What do you mean by that?" Max asks. Norman sighs. "The truth is, she's gone missing."
Max's jaw drops. Bonnie, who's standing next to him, starts trying to think of ways to subtly change the subject, but Max presses them for more information. "She received news that a small force of Team Terra agents were going to Kanto to find you," Norman explains. "So she donned her Blaziken Mask and went to put a stop to it. We haven't from her since." We even retried calling Drew about it," Caroline continues. "But he doesn't know anything about what happened either. We have police searching, but they're not having much luck." Max stares at them for a few seconds, before asking, "How long ago was this?" Norman sighs. "Almost a week ago," he replies.
Max stares at them blankly at this. He doesn't know what to feel. He should be angry at them for not telling him sooner, but he can't bring himself to, because he knows that they didn't want to scare him. So, he just nods neutrally. The Maples decide to move on from that, with Norman and Caroline promising to keep Max updated on May's situation, then they end their call. Bonnie immediately puts an arm around Max's shoulder. Normally he'd get flustered by this and try to get away from the situation. Now however, he leans into the embrace, allowing Bonnie to wrap her other arm around him. They stay like this for a little while, before deciding to head to bed.
Bonnie falls asleep relatively quickly, but Max isn't so lucky. His mind keeps wandering back to his sister, and what might have happened to her. More importantly, he keeps thinking back to how it's his fault. She only went looking for those agents because they were going to Kanto to find him and his notebooks. And here he is, adding more information to them. "I'm basically handing them the key to their victory on a platter," he mumbles to himself. "At this point, the only good those books can be for the world is destroyed." At this, an idea strikes him. At first, he pushes it aside and tries to go to sleep, but the thought of what happened to May, plus the fact that he and Bonnie are stuck here keeps dancing in his mind. After a few more minutes of this, he comes to a decision.
He waits until he's positive that everyone in the house is asleep, then he creeps out of Ash's old room. When they first arrived in Kanto, Delia offered both of them Ash's room. However, the thought of the previous times they shared a bed crossed their minds, and they decided not to share a room, just in case. So, Max was given Ash's room, while Bonnie takes the guest room. Over the month, there were times where Max wishes that he and Bonnie were in the same room. Now however, he's incredibly grateful that they aren't, because it means he can get down to the kitchen without waking her up. He sneaks down to the kitchen and begins rifling through the drawers quietly. After a few minutes of doing this, he finds what he's looking for. A book of matches. He looks at them, contemplating his next move. But, his mind is made up, so he pockets the matches and sneaks outside.
As quietly as he can, he unlocks the front door, and makes his way outside to the path in front of the house. Once he's sure no one in the house can see him, he stops walking, and reaches into the pocket of his jacket. With shaky hands, he pulls out his notebooks. He takes a few breaths, as if waiting for himself to change his mind. When he doesn't, he drops them to the ground one at a time. Then, he pulls the book of matches out of his pocket, and holds it up. Then, he takes one out of the packet. After a few more seconds of hesitation, he strikes the match, then holds the flame above his notebooks. "This is for the best," he tells himself, before dropping the match on the books. But before it can hit the books, a strong gust of wind blows it out, throwing the top book off the pile. Perplexed, Max strikes another match and pulls his hand back to throw it onto his notebooks.
This time, he feels a hand clasp his wrist and wrestle it down, before feeling someone blow the match out. Wheeling around, Max comes face to face with Bonnie. "What are you doing here?" he asks her. "I was just about to ask you the same thing!" Bonnie replies. "You told me you were fine!" "I thought I was," Max replies. "But that call from my parents about my sister going missing made me feel guilty about all of this again. So, I thought if I destroyed my notebooks, Team Terra would stop coming after us." Bonnie stares at him as though he's after growing two additional heads. "Are you out of your mind!" she quietly exclaims. "Are you seriously going to give up your life's work like that? Just because some whack jobs keep chasing us?" Max doesn't look at her. "Did Ash set Pikachu free because Team Rocket were after him?" Max shakes his head. "Then you can't give in to despair like this! That's just as bad as letting them win!"
"Ash never had to go into hiding though," Max argues. "Nor did he drag his best friend into hiding with him." Bonnie grabs Max's shoulders at this. "How many times do I have to say this," she tells him, before shaking him violently. "I, chose, to, go, with, you!" Despite the situation, Max can't help but chuckle at this. "I thought I told you that I'd follow you into fire. You'd do the same for me right?" Max nods without hesitation. "Of course I would," he replies. Bonnie smiles, then lets go of him, before bending over and picking up his notebooks. She holds them out to him, saying, "So, are you going to give up your life's work, the very reason you ended up meeting me? Or are you going to continue?" Max takes the notebooks and smiles at her. "I'm going to keep going," he says. "Thanks Bonnie." Bonnie smiles again, before Max pulls her into a hug. She blushes at this, but hugs him back.
As she does, she sees something glow blue behind him. Looking up, she sees a glowing blue figure standing there, staring at her. As she stares at it, it starts mumbling something, but they're too quiet for her to hear. Max seems to notice the fact that she's staring at something, because he lets go of her and turns around. Immediately, the thing disappears, leaving the two of them alone on the path before Max can see it. "What are you looking at?" he asks. "It's nothing," she replies. "I thought I saw something, but it was just a trick of the moonlight." Before Max can argue with her, she quickly takes his hand. "Come on," she says. "Let's go back inside. I don't know about you, but I'm still tired." Max nods at this, then allows Bonnie to guide him inside. He puts the matches back in the kitchen drawer, before heading back up to bed. As he does, he finds himself glad that Bonnie woke up in time to stop him from burning his life's work. Maybe it's not so bad that the two of them are stuck here together. As he drifts off to sleep, one last thought crosses his mind. "It's not as if Team Terra can find us all the way out here!"
I hope you enjoyed that, it was certainly longer than I initially thought it would be. Also, finally, at long fucking last, this chapter is brought to you by my fucking laptop! It's finally working properly again, and connecting to the internet once more. Now, let's just wait and see how long it will take before the stupid thing shits itself and dies once more. I'm betting the next chapter's opening notes will start with me apologising and saying that the laptop has stopped working once again. Only time will tell. Anyway, with that, I'll see you on Thursday for the next chapter.