One day. The stupid thing lasted for 1. Fucking. Day. So, I'm now writing this from a brand new laptop! Hopefully this one lasts for longer than 5 fucking months, but who fucking knows at this point? Also, the reason this is coming out on Monday is because this week is going to be so fucking busy it's not even funny. So, I'm going to post these 2 chapters on Monday and Wednesday, my 2 least busy days. Anyway, I am extremely happy that I decided to reread this story from Kalos, because I was stuck on how to get Sarah and Sam to find them in Kanto, and now I know how. So, let's get back to it, shall we? I'm so fucking happy to writing this on a keyboard again.
Chapter 3:
The Location of Maple and Citron
"This is a bad idea," says Sam as he and Sarah sneak around Lumiose. "This is a really, really bad idea!" "So you keep saying!" Sarah snaps quietly. "But I've yet to hear you come up with a better plan!" Sam makes flabbergasted noise, and nearly draws attention to them. "I have come up with a bunch of better plans!" he argues. Sarah scoffs. "Please," she says, "those were barely concepts. This one has actual structure to it." "But at least my plans wouldn't get us caught," Sam mutters. "True," Sarah replies. "But they also would take far too long to find Maple. You suggested we fly a drone around a bunch of different regions until we came across them for Arceus's sake!" Sam blushes at this. "I thought it was a good idea," he mumbles. Sarah rolls her eyes and keeps going towards Lumiose Tower. Her plan is a simple one on paper, but rather difficult to execute. She wants to sneak into Lumiose Tower, and see if she and Sam can gather any information in there about where Maple and Citron are. And it doesn't take them long to encounter their first obstacle. How do they get into the building?
They try going through the front door, and very nearly get busted for it. So, they try going around the back door, only to find that it's locked. Sam tries to pick the lock, but it's electronic, so no luck there. Remembering the different secret entrances that they were shown during the Second Kalos Crisis, the two of them sneak around the side of the building, trying to find them again. Unfortunately, most of them seem inaccessible from the outside, and the ones that are seem to have heavy security. Eventually, the two of them have exhausted all of their options. "I told you this was a stupid idea," says Sam. Sarah scowls at him. "Still better than pretty much all of yours," she argues. "The two of them are leaning against the wall of the tower, waiting for it to be clear enough to sneak away undetected. As they do, Sarah thinks back to how Maple and Citron and the others were able to get into the building. Then, she remembers how, according to the reports.
Looking up at the wall the two are leaning against, she scans it for the secret tunnel that the two Gym Leaders climbed up. She thinks she finds it, but she can't be sure. So, she pulls out Gourgeist's ball and releases her. I need you to raise me up to that part of the building right there," she tells her. Gourgeist nods and begins extending her vines out to the part of the building that begins to indent. Sam stares at her. Where are you going?!" he whispers. "To check something," Sarah replies. "I'll be right back." Then, she allows Gourgeist to pick her up and carry her upwards. They arrive on the indent, and Sarah grins. Then, she turns around and calls down to Sam. "I found our way in!" she calls down quietly. "Climb up Gourgeist's vines!" Then, she has Gourgeist lower vines down for him to use, which he does. Once he's on top, he looks at what Sarah means by 'a way in'. "No," he says. "No way. Absolutely not!"
Sarah rolls her eyes. "Come on," she argues. "This is the only way into the building. Trust me!" "Sarah last time I trusted you with something like this, we ended up tumbling down a rubbish chute!" Sam argues. "I don't fancy repeating that experience." "This isn't a rubbish chute!" Sarah exclaims. "This was how the gym leader broke into the building during the Second Kalos Crisis, nothing could go wrong if we try it!" Sam looks like he wants to continue arguing about it, but the sound of oncoming footsteps below them stops him in his tracks. Then, they hear voices coming from below them. "Into the chute, now!" Sarah mouths. Sam nods, and the two jump in. Gourgeist uses her vines to catch them and slow their rate of descent, and safely land them in the Tower. Sarah grins smugly at Sam, who ignores her and starts walking down the hall. "Let's just get this over with," he says.
Now inside Lumiose Tower, the pair start sneaking around it, looking for the Gym Leader's main office. As they do, Sarah pulls out a small computer chip from her pocket. "Are you sure this will allow us to find out where Maple has gone?" Sam asks. "Of course it will," Sarah replies. "The Gym Leader's sister is practically joined to Maple's hip, so of course he is going to want to contact her to check on her. All we need to do is hack the computer and learn where those calls are sent. And that is where you come in." Sam rolls his eyes. "For the last time, just because I know how computers work, doesn't mean I know how to use them. I can disassemble and reassemble them. I'm not a hacker!" "Which is why I need you to install this thing into the computer," Sarah replies. Sam blushes a bit, and doesn't say anything else. So, the two of them continue making their way up the tower. They have to slip into the shadows at several points to avoid being spotted, and once or twice even had to duck into random lockers to stay out of sight. "They must've increased security since we were last here," Sarah comments. "Yeah, no kidding," Sam replies.
Eventually, they manage to sneak into The Gym Leader's office. His computer is sitting on his desk, and as luck would have it, it's been left on. Sam takes the chip from Sarah, and fiddles with the computer, eventually finding a means to insert the chip inside. Once he's done that, Sarah begins to look through the computer's files and messages to find any information about the whereabouts of Max Maple and Bonnie Citron. But nothing of the sort appears on screen. Sarah stares at this with confusion. "Why isn't there anything here?" she asks. "It's all just work related." Then, Sam realises something. "Wait, this is his work computer, right?" he asks. Sarah nods slowly. "Then why the Reverse World would he use it to personally contact his sister, when he can use his phone or personal Laptop? Heck, why even bring your personal laptop to work?" Now it's Sarah's turn to go red as she realises this. As quickly and quietly as possible, Sam manages to extract the chip from the computer, then they quickly flee the scene.
They manage to make it down two floors without being caught. But as the two of them are about to flee down the corridor to the stairs, they see the beam of a torch approaching them. They turn around and begin quietly sneaking the other way, then they see another torch beam approaching them. They freak out, and start looking around for a means to escape. Quickly spotting a locker, they duck inside of it, and hold their breaths as the guards walk past them, not stopping to check the locker to see if anyone is inside. The two agents breathe a sigh of relief as they watch the torches disappear around corners, then slip out of the locker. As they do, a bag slips out of it. Picking it up, Sarah spots a name on it. "Megan Ical." After staring at it for a few seconds, she realises that she recognises the name. "This is Sparky's old locker!" she exclaims.
Sam stares at the locker for a few seconds, trying to remember who that is. Sarah recognises this and sighs. "That girl that helped set up the weapon in this tower, only to turn against us and help take it down?" "Oh yeah," he realises. "Do you think she still has some of her old Team Terra gear in here?" Sarah shrugs. "Let's find out," she says. Sam nods, and starts searching through the locker, while Sarah rummages through Megan's bag. Sam finds a few pieces of tech, and some Team Terra pins, but nothing truly of note. Meanwhile, Sarah finds basically nothing in the bag. That is, until she goes to close it, she sees something in a pocket she didn't register before. Picking it up, she sees that it's a device of some sort. It's a big block, with a large screen, a few buttons, and an antenna. She tries to turn it on, but it doesn't. Sam notices this and holds his hand out to take it. Sarah hands it over. "Any idea what that is?" she asks him. He shakes his head. "Whatever it is, it's out of battery," he says, pocketing it. "So, let's just get out of here, and I'll see if I can charge it when we get back to our room." Sarah nods in agreement, and the two of them, continue sneaking out of the building.
After a rather uneventful escape, Sarah and Sam are back in their hotel room. Sarah is looking through her laptop, trying to find any information on their target's whereabouts. While she does that, Sam fiddles with the device they found, trying to figure it out. He'd already worked out that it needs a new battery as opposed to simply charging it. Now, all he needs to do is figure out how to open it and take the battery out. Sarah was interested in what it did, but had long since given up waiting for Sam to work it out. That is, until she hears a clatter and Sam shout, "Aha! I've got it!" Sarah spins around to see that he's managed to take the bottom off, revealing a small hole where the battery is contained. Sam is reaching his hand inside the hole, trying to get the battery out. "Need any help?" Sarah asks. Sam shakes his head. "Nope, I've got it," he replies. "I've got small hands." There's a soft click as the battery comes free. Sam grins as he pulls it out.
He analyses the small battery, trying to see if he has one just like it. Eventually, he figures out that he does, and grabs it out of his bag. He slips the new battery in, reattaches the back, then fiddles with the buttons. The machine turns on, and what seems to be a map appears on the screen. On the map are two blinking lights. Both Sarah and Sam stare at it quizzically for a bit, before Sam realises what this is. "It's a tracking device," he says. "But, who's it tracking?" Sarah asks. Suddenly, the two of them remember an incident outside of Cyllage 2 years ago, where Megan had saved Maple and Citron, before she knew they had the Jade Orb. Both of them remember her saying something about a tracking device as they fled with Maple's bag. Both of them grin as they figure out who it is tracking. Immediately, Sam fiddles with more of the buttons, managing to learn where they are. "Pallet Town, in the Kanto region," Sam reads. "Wait until the Boss hears about this!"
But before he can grab his phone to call it in, Sarah grabs his hand. "Wait," she says. Maybe we shouldn't tell them." Sam looks at her quizzically. "What do you mean?" he asks. "If we do, we'll get so much recognition." Sarah nods, but still doesn't look convinced. "True," she says. "But remember what happened in Hoenn. It was almost levelled in Bannai's desperation to capture Maple. Plus, you saw all of the chaos that was reigned. Maple was almost killed!" Sam thinks about this, seeming to beginning to agree with her. "Not to mention, if we tell them where they are, then that will bring a good chunk of Team Terra down on the region," she points out. "Including Debbie and Cooper." Sam looks at her quizzically. "I thought they were arrested?" he says. "They were," she replies. "But they could break out. Not to mention, there are others like them. Besides, if we manage to capture them ourselves, think of all the recognition we'd get in Team Terra!" Sam grins at this. "I suppose it would be beneficial to us and Maple if it was just the two of us going after him," he agrees. Sarah nods. "Ok, let's do it!" With that, the two make plans to get on the next flight to Kanto.
So, Sarah and Sam are actually starting to care about Max and Bonnie, if only a little bit. I wanted to take this time to show the two of them as more than just the annoying bad guys constantly chasing the good guys around. Now, since this was updated on Monday, chapter 4 will appear on Wednesday instead of Thursday, because Thursday is also going to be stupidly busy. End of year in college, and I've got a few essays that I've procrastinated from that I really should get back to. Anyway, see you on Wednesday, where It'll be back to our regularly scheduled programme.