So, this might have to be another short chapter. I've got so much on my plate this week it's not even funny. I've got a 1,000 word essay due on Friday, and a 2,500 word essay for Monday. So, I really shouldn't be writing this, but it's an excellent form of stress relief, so I'm going to write it anyway, college essays be damned! *Nervous laughter ensues* I am so going to have to repeat this year. But, enough from me, let's get back to the story shall we?

Chapter 4:

Flight From Pallet

Max and Bonnie aren't the only two stuck in Pallet Town over the course of the month. Agents Hilbert and Hilda, twin partners of Agent Looker, are also stuck in the small town. At first, the two of them were quite happy to have a break from the hustle and bustle of the Interpol headquarters, which is why they agreed to the job. But, after sticking around here for a month, they've long since grown bored of the place. Or at least, Hilbert has. On this particular day, about 3 days after Max's birthday, the two of them are getting lunch in one of the cafés that Pallet has. Delia has offered them a spot at the table anytime they want, but not only could that compromise their position as undercover agents looking after the two kids, but it would also alert the two kids that they are being looked after by Interpol agents. And Hilda figured that if Max is made aware of this, he and Bonnie will try to sneak out of the Town at the first opportunity. So, the two of them keep away from the Ketchum residence, only actually looking out for Max and Bonnie whenever they step out into Pallet Town itself.

So, on this particular day, the two of them sit at the café, and Hilbert has his head on the table, so bored he's about to fall asleep. "Why did we take this assignment?" he grumbles. "Why did we take this assignment? Why did we take this assignment?" He's been grumbling this all day, and has no plans on stopping. Hilda tries her best to ignore him, but eventually she snaps. "Will you stop asking that!?" she demands. Hilbert looks up at her to find her with an annoyed expression. "Sorry," he says. "I'm just bored." "Oh, trust me, I'm aware," Hilda replies. "But do you have to constantly bring up how bored you are?" Hilbert sighs and apologises. "Look," Hilda goes on, "I don't think we'll be here for much longer. It won't be long before we can leave here I'd say." Hilbert looks at her with excitement. "Really?" he asks. "What makes you think that?" "Because, knowing the two we're keeping an eye on, it won't be long before they set out on their adventure. And when they do, we follow them."

Hilbert brightens up at this. "Excellent!" he says. "Now all we need is actual Team Terra agents, and this could actually be fun!" Hilda chuckles and rolls her eyes. "You know that Team Terra agents showing up here would be a bad thing right?" she tells him. "Besides, Kanto is very out of the way. I highly doubt anyone from Team Terra would try anything here." Hilbert's excitement diminishes at this. "What?" he complains. "Then what is the point in us being here?" Hilda rolls her eyes again, but doesn't chuckle. "Because there's always the chance that a Team Terra agent could show up here looking for the two kids. We need to be prepared." It's Hilbert's turn to laugh at this. "Oh yeah, right," he says. "Like some Team Terra agents are going to show up here in the back-arse of nowhere looking for them."

At that moment, two people that Hilbert doesn't recognise appear before them, a man and a woman. The man has matted green hair, while the woman has long, curly blonde hair. Hilda chokes on her drink as they approach. Hilbert pats her on the back awkwardly, before turning to the strangers. "Sorry about her," he says. "She can be an idiot sometimes. Can we help you with anything?" The man nods, holding out 2 pictures. One is of Max, the other, Bonnie. Now, Hilbert gets a nervous feeling in his stomach, but he ignores it in favour of keeping a cool head, especially since these guys caused his twin to freak out. "We're looking for these two kids," the man tells him. "Have you seen them anywhere?" Hilbert squints, pretending not to recognise them. "Hmm, no I haven't," he responds casually. "May I ask what you want with them?"

Both the man and the woman look at each other, expecting the other to answer the question. "Oh, well, they're old friends of ours," the woman responds quickly. "We moved away when we were young, but now we're back, and we've been hoping to reunite with them." "Ok, that's definitely a lie," Hilbert thinks to himself. Out loud, he says, "Sorry, my sister and I aren't from here, so we don't know them." The two nod, then the man puts the pictures away. "Well, that's a shame," he says. "Thanks anyway." Then the two of them depart. When they do, Hilbert immediately turns to Hilda, who's been eyeing the strangers suspiciously since she coughed up her drink. "Who were they?" he asks her. "Team Terra agents," she whispers back. "They're the duo Brendan captured and interrogated about the Tremors." At this, Hilbert realises that he does recognise them. "Their names are Sarah and Sam correct?" Hilda nods, pulling money form her wallet. "We need to get out of here," she says quickly. "Max and Bonnie aren't safe here anymore." Hilbert nods, throwing money down himself. Then the two of them race over to Delia's house to fetch Max and Bonnie.

While all of this is happening, Max is finishing off his notes on all the pokémon that appear in Kanto. He sighs, wondering just how much longer the two of them will be stuck here before they can set out and properly explore Kanto. He'd been here before, but he doesn't know it as well as he know Hoenn, so he's hoping that what little he remembers from 6 years ago will be enough to help him and Bonnie navigate the region. He's snapped back to reality by Bonnie's voice calling his name. He turns around to see her staring down the road. "Max!" she shouts again. "What?" he asks. "Any idea who they are?" she asks, pointing to where she's staring. "They look familiar, and they seem to be looking at us."

Worried, Max immediately looks to where Bonnie was pointing, and he groans. "Oh come on!" he complains. "Give us a break!" Hilbert and Hilda, the two agents who helped 'protect' them in Larousse last year, are running up to the house. As they do, Max quickly reminds Bonnie who they are, causing her to groan too. When the two agents arrive at the gate, Max immediately demands, "What are you two doing here?!" Hilda holds up her hands. "Literally, none of that matters right now!" she replies. "We need to leave. Now!" Max and Bonnie look at each, with mixtures of worry and excitement on their faces. "Why?" Max asks. "And where are we going?" Bonnie adds. "Anywhere but here," Hilbert responds. "As for why," Hilda adds, "Team Terra are here, and they're asking about you. So, we need to get you out of Pallet before they find you." Max and Bonnie nod, then run back inside to start packing.

As soon as they're finished doing that, they run down the stairs to meet with the two agents, eager to finally begin their journey through Kanto. As they do, Delia comes out of the kitchen, holding 2 large bags of food. "I've made you two some food for the road," she tells them. "It's not much, but it should be enough to get you to the next Town." Max and Bonnie smile at her and thank her, before taking the food and putting them in their bags. Then, they head out to meet with Hilbert and Hilda. "We're still staying in Kanto right?" Max asks. Both of them nod. "As far as we can tell, only these two actually know you're here," Hilda explains. "There are other Team Terra agents here, but these two seem to be the only ones who actually know you're here. So, if we can just sneak you out of here, we should be safe." Upon hearing this, Max and Bonnie groan. "It's Sarah and Sam isn't it?" Max asks. Both agents nod again, causing the two of them to groan louder. "Not so loud!" Hilbert insists. "They might here you. Now come on, we need to leave."

With that, the four of them begin to walk out of Pallet Town. As they do, Max suddenly thinks of something. "Wait!" he exclaims. "I need to stop by Professor Oak's Lab!" Now it's the agents' turn to groan. "Why?" Hilda asks. "I was promised that a Mega Stone for Sceptile would be sent to his lab for me!" Hilbert sighs. "It's not safe," he says. "But here's what we'll do. We'll sneak you out of here, without Team Terra knowing. Once we've successfully fled, you call Professor Oak and ask him if the Mega Stone has arrived yet. If it hasn't, we keep going. If it has, either Hilda or I will run back to get it, how does that sound?" Max thinks about this, then nods in agreement. Once that's settled, they head on out.

Unfortunately, the only way they could go to get out of Pallet and not end up lost is through the Town itself. Meaning, they needed to sneak through the main town to get away from Sarah and Sam. To make matters worse, the two of them are standing in the centre of the town, staring at some sort of tech. Sam seems to be vigorously studying it, and smacking it every now and then. They seem to be distracted, so the four of them try to casually walk behind them. At that moment, Sam lets out a triumphant "Aha!" as the machine he's holding starts to beep. Both Sarah and Sam turn around at this, and spot them standing there. The 6 of them stare at each other for a moment, before Sarah shouts, "Max Maple! Get over here right now!" The four of them bolt. Sarah and Sam tear after them.

As they run through Pallet, Max and Bonnie expect some giant machine to come out of nowhere and start following them. But that doesn't happen. It seems like it's just Sarah and Sam following after them. This raises Max's suspicions, but he doesn't say anything about it for now. He just focuses on getting out of there. Hilbert and Hilda also seem to notice this, because they look at each other and nod. Then, they slow down and disappear into some bushes. Sarah and Sam pay this no mind, and continue to run after Max and Bonnie. As they do, they fail to notice Hilbert and Hilda stick their feet out from the bushes and trip them up. The device goes flying out of Sam's hand and smashes against the ground. The twins continue running to catch up to Max and Bonnie. As they do, Hilda stamps on the device, smashing whatever was left of it to pieces. Sarah and Sam watch them run, too annoyed and out of breath to carry on chasing them. Without their big robots, this will be a lot harder than they first thought.

Ok, I had absolutely no idea how to end that chapter, so I ended it like this. I'll pick it up properly on Tuesday. But yeah, I've decided to give the Touko Twins more to do in this Volume because two of them spent the two previous volumes as small side characters who only appeared to advance the overall plot. So, they're going to play a bigger role in this one. Anyway, with that I'll see you on Tuesday for the next chapter.