Chapter Disclaimer: I do not own Pani Poni Dash or ESPN.
Chapter 7: Children of the Distressed Era
Night time roamed around the Big Apple, but the city, itself was like the day time: so many cars, and people strolled throughout the streets. No matter where, or when, you go into New York City, getting to your appointed destination was an adventure. However, something was skipping over the roofs, like a ninja. It was in all black, with an unusual tail. Timeout...ninjas don't have tails. As it was skipping over the rooftops, a sound of shattering was overheard. Sounded like someone was breaking into a building...and it came from somewhere nearby. The tiny ninja hopped over to where two large men, wearing ski masks, entered a closed department store, through a broken window. Burglary. The men were snatching brand-name shirts and pants, some as expensive as $295, each. The ninja had to act. Suddenly, carrying arm fulls of clothing, the men came out through the same window. "Hurry!" one of them urged. That's when they were bombarded with numerous stars, showering onto them, making the thieves stop. As the ninja fell, it's tail was glowing brightly. BOOM! It cold-cocked one, across the forehead. It spun back, with that glowing tail, as the struck burglar fell to the ground, knocked out. It sprung and slammed that same tail, into the gut of the other one. The impact was so hard, no amount of body fat could cushion that strike, as well as knock the wind out of him. Then, the little ninja heard sirens. Police were coming. It climbed up the side of the building, up to the roofs, disappearing from sight. Police cars stopped at the front and gone around to find the burglars, out like lights. With them, were the stolen clothes. The officers handcuffed the suspects, arresting them, wondering who stopped these two big bad men, so easily. Was this ninja, an assistant to justice? The next morning, Ash was awake, and watching the news.
"Our last story, in this half-hour," a female reporter started. "People, basically, need to, at least, graduate high school, before they go to college. Well, a nine-year-old girl has been granted a chance, to go, this fall. Rebbecca Miyamoto, a child of an American father and a Japanese mother, will attend classes as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, after her I.Q. Test, revealed her to have an I.Q. level of 231, which is remarkably high." The TV showed a picture of the blond child from two chapters ago. So, that's Rebbecca. Ash thought back to the other night.
"I think that's the same girl, I saw, when I first got here," he remembered. It's kind of funny, with the flip-flop of Rebbecca's and Davis's last names: Miyamoto, Motomiya...never mind. Ash got up and walked over to the door, ready to step out. That's when Joe, from the kitchen, saw Ash, ready to leave.
"Hey, Ash," he called, stopping Ash, a foot from the door. He turned to Joe, wondering what he wanted. "Where you heading off, to?" Ash was still willing to find Kari, even though, he was told that Izzy was providing a worldwide dragnet, to search for her.
"I'm going to continue the search for Kari, on my own." Joe thought he would be wasting time.
"Izzy is still waiting word on the other Digidestined, so, trust us. We'll find her, soon enough." Ash nodded, but still, wanted to go out and look for her. Joe thought of something, for Ash, to pass the time. "By the way, I was wondering, if you wanted to join me, at my summer job." Joe had a summer job? Ash gave a thought on the invitation. "You can even bring your Pokémon, with you." What job allows you to bring creatures? If it meant that Pikachu was allowed to come along, he guessed it couldn't hurt.
"Sure, why not?" Joe was pleased with the acceptance. That's when the sea lion heard about the invitation. It seemed happy, that he wasn't going to be the only creature, that was going with Joe.
"Thanks, Ash," it sighed happily. "I was gonna start thinking, that the kids may be bored of me." Wait, kids? Joe chuckled a bit, thinking that it was a joke.
"Don't worry, Gomamon," he reassured. "They're not bored of you, at all." So, what was this job, with kids, involved? He turned to Ash, seeing if he was ready to go. "So, you set?"
"Yeah, let me get Pikachu," he agreed, before going to grab his mouse. After retrieving his Pokémon, he and Joe, with Gomamon and Pikachu, hopped on a bus, and traveled quite a ways away. Finally, the two arrived at their location. It was a hospital. A hospital? "Don't tell me, this is where you work, is it?" Joe worked at a hospital? He was a doctor?
"It's not as bad as you think. I work as a nurse and attend check-ups on the younger patients, who are in ICU." ICU is short for Intensive Care Unit. Ash was astonished with Joe's position, but wanted to laugh at the title, he was given. He thought nurses were females, like Nurse Joy. Entering the hospital, Ash and Joe were greeted by the receptionist: a woman in her mid-40s, wearing a name tag, saying Nurse Williamson.
"Good morning, Mr. Kido," she chimed. Joe waived, as he got to the desk. Guess he was pretty popular with the older folk.
"Gretchen, it's okay to call me, Joe. I did bring someone to assist me, today." Ash stepped up, and shook Gretchen's hand. "Ash, this is Gretchen Williamson, one of the senior nurses. She's been here for 20 years."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Gretchen," Ash spoke softly.
"Likewise, Ash," she returned. That's when she saw Pikachu. "Oh, what a cute little mouse!" Pikachu blushed from the comment. Then, she gave a clipboard of papers to Joe. "Here's your patients, today."
"Thanks," Joe accepted. Gretchen, then, thought that Ash would need something, for seeing the patients.
"Ash, follow Joe, to get a doctor's gown, in the locker room. You might need to look the part." Ash nodded. Dress up as a doctor seemed childish, but they were going to meet children, so, it's evened out. After entering the locker room, Ash removed the sleeve, so that he could get the teal, long-sleeved gown on easily. Once dressed, Ash and Joe, with the creatures, started to make their rounds. Gomamon was reading the list of patients on the clipboard. Who was first?
"We should be near by Julia Merran's room," he read. "She's a 13 year old, who's recovering from having her tonsils removed." Having your tonsils removed is not fun. They arrived at room 204, where they saw a redhead girl, with brown eyes, and a large gauze over her throat.
"Hey, Julia," Joe greeted. Julia saw the boys, happy to see someone come to her. "I'm Nurse Joe Kido." The patient nodded, accepting the Digidestined/nurse.
"Hi, Joe," she tried to speak. Her voice was pretty hoarse, probably from the operation.
"Don't speak too much, okay? You've got to let your throat rest." Julia smiled. She knew that she was having trouble speaking, since her surgery. That's when she saw Ash, wondering who Joe's companion was, and pointed to him. Joe knew that she was curious of his friend. "That's my friend, Ash."
"Hi, Julia," Ash introduced. "How are you doing?"
("You look okay, from my point of view,") Pikachu squeaked. Julia giggled a little, but stopped. Her throat began to hurt. Poor girl. Ash saw how much pain, that throat was bothering her. That's when Joe had an idea. He grabbed a white board and marker, and gave it to Julia. If she couldn't use her voice, she could use this, to write what she wanted to say. She began to write on the white board. Ash understood why Joe brought out the white board. Finally, Julia was done writing, and showed it to the boys.
"That's a cute mouse," she wrote. "What's its name?" She was talking about Pikachu. Ash was willing to answer her question.
"His name is Pikachu," he replied. "We've been together for a long time." Amused, Julia smiled, before writing, again. Soon, she was done and showed Ash what she wrote.
"Can I hold him?" Ash nodded, as Pikachu hopped onto her bed. Julia reached an arm out, and began to pet the ears of the mouse. He was enjoying the petting, and she smiled. Soon enough, she got back to writing. When finished, she held it to Ash. "Thanks, Ash. Is it all right, if I rest now?" Seemed like Julia wanted to be alone. Joe did have a schedule to keep.
"Of course," Joe replied. Before Pikachu hopped off, Julia gave the Pokémon a kiss in the circled cheek. Oh, that was sweet.
("Thanks,") Pikachu reacted, as it blushed. Soon enough, as she waived good bye, Ash and Joe exited her room. Then, she fell asleep. As the boys continued, Gomamon read the next patient on Gretchen's list. Who was it?
"Next, is Brett Alvinson," he read. "Age ten, who's in the hospital, after getting involved in a drunk driving collision. The car, Brett rode in, was t-boned in the passenger side, in which he was badly injured." In a sense, an idiot, who had too much to drink, had the intention of getting behind the wheel. Running a red light, from a statement, also in the clipboard, the DUI driver slammed into the passenger side, severely injuring this Brett. Also, in the statement, the DUI driver cursed at them, for some stupid reason. As Ash and Joe entered room 301, they saw a heavy dark colored boy, with hazel eyes. He was wearing bandages, wrapped around his head. So, this was Brett.
"Hey, Brett," Joe greeted. Brett heard him, and turned from the TV to the boys. "How are you doing?" The kid smiled, like everything was good.
"Still some pain in my arms, but I'm chillin'," he answered. "At least, you're not like that big guy, who hit me. I don't know why, he hates blacks." The DUI driver hated blacks?
"Don't worry about it. He's in jail, and you'll be all right." Brett nodded. When he saw Ash, he was surprised. Why?
"Hey, you were on Sportscenter!" What? Brett looked at the time. It was 9:50 A.M. "You're just in time." He turned up the volume on the TV. The screen showed a black guy with a pencil thin mustache, and glasses. Under the black guy, was a name: Stuart Scott. The other one was a bald white guy, with glasses, as well. Under him, was his name: Scott Van Pelt. As they were reviewing the best plays of yesterday, Scott had the even numbered plays to talk about, while Stuart had the odd numbered plays. It was time for the second best play.
"Number two, from Rucker Park," Scott started. "Ash Ketchum, the underdog." It was the shot when Ash, yesterday, tried to save the ball from going out of bounds. "And this is nuts." Ash saw himself, chucking the ball from the sideline, and into the basket. Stuart yelled a surprising breath. "Not even LeBron James could match that shot." Joe and Gomamon were stunned. That was Ash, doing that?
"Someone tell me, that didn't happen," Gomamon awed.
"Number one, from the same game, and the same Ash," Stuart spoke. "And, I ain't gonna say nothing, but...this ain't right." It was the crossover, he did on Diego. Ash saw the footage, stunned that he was able to do something like that. "He turned that sideline saver into a foreshadow!"
"That's insane," Scott shrieked.
"It was also, the game winner. His team won 22-20." After that, Brett pressed the "MUTE" button, silencing the TV. Joe and Gomamon were wondering where he learned such moves.
"I thought Dr. J had some slick moves," Joe remembered. "How did you..." Ash scratched his head, and laughed. Was he hiding a secret?
"To be honest, it was a spur of the moment," he admitted. Wait...he just did it? He was lucky.
"Still, bro, that was some sweet move," Brett motioned. "Maybe, when my right side is better, you can teach me a few of those moves." It seemed that Brett was an avid fan of basketball. Ash thought that it wouldn't be a bad idea.
"Yeah, there you go." After sometime with Brett, Ash and Joe were ready to move on. They waived good bye, to the kid-in-recovery, and exited the room. So, who was our next patient?
"Next up is Hope Van Acer," Joe read. Since joining, Ash was curious about this one.
"Is she coming from surgery?" he guessed.
"Actually, she'll be going into it." Going into surgery, not coming from it? What's her story? "She's suffering from a vision disorder, in which her sight had been worsening, for a few years. I heard, without treatment, she would suffer permanent blindness." Oh, dear. Poor Hope. They reached room 321, where a young girl, with long, snowy white hair, was sitting up, with her eyes closed. There was a strong sunlight, illuminating the room. As Joe reached for the doorknob...
"You can come in," she allowed. Joe and Ash walked in, and saw the girl, staring at the wall in front of her...if her eyes were opened.
"Hey, Hope. How are you doing?" She turned to the boys, still with her eyes closed, with a big smile.
"Is that you, Dr. Kido?" she asked. She must have heard that they were coming. How else would she have known? Joe shot a chuckle. She must have thought Joe was a doctor, more experienced than a nurse.
"It's Nurse Kido, still." Hope giggled. Suddenly, she sensed something. Was it Ash?
"Did you bring a friend?" Yep, she did sense him, with her eyes closed. Joe was willing to introduce Ash to Hope.
"Well, a few." ...And Ash's Pokémon. Joe turned to the trainer, hoping that he didn't need help to greet her. He stepped up, past Joe, ready to speak.
"Hi, Hope," he softly started. "I'm Ash." Hope thought that his voice was charming. Ash began to blush a bit. Maybe, he thought her laugh was adorable. "I think I came on, a bit strong." Maybe not. Hope, calming from her laugh, shook her head.
"If it hadn't been for my eyes, I would see the same amount of cuteness, from your voice." Well, she thought Ash was cute. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Who was it? "Are you friends with Ash and Nurse Kido?"
"Actually, only Ash," corrected Peter, who was carrying a basketball into the room. Ash was surprised to see Peter, here than back at Rucker Park.
"Hey, Peter," Ash called. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be commentating some games?" Peter was willing to explain, why he was at the hospital.
"The committee gave me a break. Besides, what's wrong with coming down to visit these kids?" Well, nothing, really. Joe was wondering who this person was.
"Ash, you know him?" he questioned.
"Yeah, he was the emcee from the game, we saw on Sportscenter," Ash corrected.
"That's right. I'm Peter Hamby, or DJ Rockslide to the guys, I work with," he introduced. "I, also, was visited by an interesting coach, namely from Tennessee University. Got her autograph." Who? "So, why are you here, Underdog?" Ash was speechless, unlike Hope, who giggled some more, hearing his nickname.
"Well, I was asked to join Joe, here, for his rounds. Met some nice people." Peter nodded, expecting for that result to occur. "By the way, you said that the coach, you ran into, was from Tennessee. Who was he?" Little was Ash expecting, that the coach in question, was not a male.
"Patrica Summit, a great coach, for over 25 years, for the Lady Volunteers." It was a woman. When Ash heard the female name, he felt a little dumb, but, was a good sport about it.
"Mr. Hamby, could you tell me that story about you, trying to escape the hospital, that one time?" Hope asked out of the blue. Wait a sec...Peter tried to escape a hospital, once? That...that can't be true...can it?
"You didn't like hospitals?" Gomamon guessed. Did he hate, going to the hospital?
"It wasn't that I didn't like hospitals, I was more of a home secured toddler, back 20 years." Okay, so it wasn't the hospitals, but the fact that he wanted to stay at home. "I was only two-and-a-half, when I was scheduled to have open heart surgery done, to correct a blood-flow issue, in Milwaukee. Back then, my parents said that I was a pathic person, always seeing myself, going from Point A to Point B. So, one night, I tried to get out of the hospital, not once, not twice, but three times." Ash heard his tale, amused about his little hospital breakout attempts.
"You must have been quite an adventurous child, back then," he mentioned.
"Absolutely. However, I was caught, before going outside. The next morning, my grandma visited me, with a pair of socks, with small bells, knitted to them. I thought that the socks, at the time, were the coolest things, I got for a 'Get well, soon' present." Joe and Ash were awed by the story. This young man was quite an escape artist...if he was able to escape. Hope was pleased with the story.
"Every time, I hear that, I imagine myself as Peter," she pointed out. That's when she opened her eyes, exposing shady gold eyes. "I wish, I was as adventurous. I do envy him." Ash and Joe started to feel her sorrow. She wished she was like Ash, or Joe, or Peter, and go out, do whatever they felt like. Ash walked up to Hope, with a Pokéball, in hand. What was his intention?
"You know, there are people, who have adventures, without good eyesight," he consoled. "Even the Zubat, I have, had been through a bit." He opened the Pokéball, bringing out Zuby. Hope saw it, with her diminishing eyesight, and held out her hands. Zuby fluttered down, and landed. Seeing how cute it was, she petted the red bat Pokémon. She softly giggled, as the boys watched on.
"I'd like to know where you got that bat from," Peter suspiciously wondered. "However, I should be getting back to the courts, soon." Ash nodded.
"Take it easy, Rockslide." With that, he placed the ball on the drawer, before walking out. Ash felt like he needed to move forward, too. Joe knew that Ash wanted to go.
"If you want, Ash, you can leave," he offered. "But, is it all right, if Pikachu and Zubat are with me?" Joe was wondering, if he could show Ash's Pokémon to the other kids. Ash thought that the sight of Pikachu, would bring the same comfort to other kids wasn't a bad plan.
"Okay. You two, be good for the rest of Joe's patients." Pikachu and Zuby sounded in agreement. Upon their replies, Ash accepted that, and waived, hoping to see them, soon. Joe was in charge of the Pokémon. About a half-hour later, Ash was out of the hospital, and walking aimlessly throughout the suffocating streets. Some sort of word, any kind of word. Ash was hoping to see Kari, no matter how long or far he had to go. Davis, Joe, and Tai tried to have him remain patient, while the others were issuing a Digidestined dragnet. After some time of wandering, he saw...bouquets of flowers, wreathes, messages, all strung amongst a chain-link fence. Behind the fence, was debris of a fallen building. What happened to the building? Construction vehicles roamed throughout the caged-off area. Then, Ash saw a black plaque, hanging on the fence. When he got to the plaque, he read what was on it.
HERE LIES THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER, PASSENGERS OF AMERICAN AIRLINES, FLIGHT 11, & UNITED AIRLINES, FLIGHT 175, WHOSE LIVES WERE LOST IN THE TERRORIST ATTACKS ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001. WE HONOR THOSE, WHO TOOK ACTION ON UNITED AIRLINES, FLIGHT 93, WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES, TO PROTECT MORE AMERICANS FROM A GRIM FATE, EDGED IN THE HEARTS OF MANY WITNESSING AMERICANS, ON A DAY, THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY.
Was this, World Trade Center? What was left of it? Ash couldn't believe, that this was a famous worldwide building. All those lives...why? Terrorism, for what reason? Then, Ash remembered something from before...like, a year and a half, ago. 'This was what T.K. was talking about. That 9/11. This was when Mimi was suppose to be on a flight to Los Angeles, if not for her illness. Unaware to Ash, T.K. approached the trainer from behind.
"So, you've found it," he motioned. "I thought you would." Ash didn't need to turn around. Hearing him was good enough to know that T.K. was right there. "This was the scene, of what terrorists were able to do." Ash looked on, in even more disbelief. How could someone, be able to commit such an act on humanity?
"What...happened, on 9/11?" Here was the story, in T.K.'s words, of what happened, on that fateful day.
"Terrorists of al-Qaida, from a country, called Afghanistan, had gone to the airport, for the start of the operation. There were teams that boarded four commercial planes, which left the runways, accordingly. Soon after the departures, they made their move. They threatened to kill everyone who opposed them, with box cutters. Two of the planes hit the towers of the World Trade Center, while another plane hit the Pentagon, in Washington, D.C." That didn't sound like that was from flight 93.
"What about the fourth, flight 93?" What was different about the last plane?
"According to investigators, the hijackers of the last plane wanted to target the White House, where they believed that the president was residing. That was when the passengers took action, and fought the hijackers, to the end. The last plane crashed into an open field, in Northeast Pennsylvania." So, the people of the last plane, became heroes, and prevented more of the tragedy. Then, T.K. had more. "I bet, you've met a young man, named Peter Hamby, right?" T.K. was right.
"Yeah, we ran into each other, at the hospital, just a couple hours ago." So, why did the Digidestined bring up Peter?
"When he was a high school senior, back in Wisconsin, he heard about the attacks. As he was learning about the tragedies, his peers were poking fun, about the many, that had died. He became so angered about the callousness of his peers, he got out of his class, and gone to the guidance office, where he saw the footage." Guess Peter was pretty sensitive about people, dying, for an act of terrorism. "He told Mimi, about it, at this exact spot. The only thing, that he was feeling okay about, was when he saved a classmate from serious injuries, when she was having a seizure." Peter saved a life? Ash did feel rather pleased that Peter was a hero, even though, these peers had made jokes about the terror, that day. After some time, staring at the aftermath of the World Trade Center, Ash and T.K. decided to head back to Mimi's house. Back there, Ash saw his Pokémon, even Pikachu, trying to caress Gatomon, still worried about Kari, as the rest were relaxing. From Izzy, news about Kari, was the same: no sign.
AUGUST 3-AS THE SEARCH CONTINUES FOR THE MISSING GIRL, I'VE LEARNED ABOUT THE PAIN OF AMERICA. TERRORISM, SUFFERING, AND ALL SORTS OF BAD ITEMS THAT HAVE GONE ON ABOUT 4 YEARS, MAYBE, EVEN LONGER. HOWEVER, I WILL CONTINUE THE SEARCH.
TO BE CONTINUED...