A/N: Here is Chapter 9 that was updated rather slow this time. I'm sorry! The late nights were getting back at me now. Anyway, hope you like this chapter!
Chapter 9: Wait
Ash woke up to the noise of Pidgey outside and soon realized it was later than he thought. Everyone else was already awake and ready to go. He yawned before standing up and walking over to Dawn and the others. Yoru thanked them for all of their hard work and Jigglypuff hopped onto the floor.
"Safe travels!" Yoru said as he watch a circle of light appear around Jigglypuff.
Ash nodded and stepped into the circle. They vanished from the Khun Republic as quick as Yoru could blink. He was left in the small room wondering if all that had really happened.
Ash, Dawn, Brock and Gary soon found themselves in the middle of a dark alleyway. They looked around and Dawn clung onto Ash's arm feeling slightly frightened. Jigglypuff looked around as well and noticed a little house which had its lights on not far away. Gary ran after it as the excited Pokémon went towards the house. Brock followed but Ash stayed behind for a few seconds. He thought he had seen a shadow lurking behind him so he spun around to check. There was nothing there.
"Ash...come on!" Dawn shouted with a small smile on her face.
Ash nodded and ran up to her to catch up with the others. The brightly lit house wasn't as far away as it seemed so they reached it within a couple of minutes. As it came to a clearer view, it wasn't a house.
"Hey, a Pokémon Center!" Brock exclaimed happily.
Everyone walked inside, knowing that they would have a place to sleep tonight. Each took the turn to step through the door and look around. Ash blushed as his stomach grumbled and Jigglypuff mimicked his actions. Dawn giggled and glanced at the desk near the end of the room. Nurse Joy was speaking to a little girl but Dawn's attention turned back to Ash when he spoke.
"Man...I'm starving," He groaned. Gary sighed.
"We might as well get something to eat then..." He grumbled and was about to turn to Brock when he noticed that Brock was no longer standing beside him.
They sweatdropped when they realized that Brock was busy flirting with Nurse Joy. It didn't last long however, because Brock soon received a Poison Jab from Croagunk. Gary, Ash and Dawn decided to get some food and wait for Brock to catch up. He usually recovers reasonably fast so they needn't worry. They found a spare table to sit at and impatiently waited for their food to come. Gary skidded over when he saw Brock heading their way.
"You alright back there?" He asked. Brock rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Yeah, I'm getting used to it. So how's about after we grab something to eat we go out looking for another feather, huh?" Brock said with Jigglypuff on his lap.
Ash nodded, half listening and half eyeing the large tray of food that a Chansey carried towards them. He was about to start eating but paused when Dawn began talking. She was rather quiet but Ash could still hear every word.
"I still can't believe you're doing this for a complete stranger..." She said, watching her hands tremble slightly.
There was silence for a moment and Ash stared at the ground. Not even Brock knew what to say in response to that. Jigglypuff's eyes quivered and Ash glanced at it before standing up.
"E-excuse me for a minute..." He muttered, walking away slowly.
Dawn was about to go after him but Gary stopped her, saying that Brock should instead. She couldn't understand why but stayed in her seat. Brock headed off to find Ash and Jigglypuff let out a long sigh.
Ash stopped at the balcony and rested his arms on the cold railing. He looked up at the cloudy sky and thought. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Brock calling his name from behind. Ash just watched him approach him, confirming that it would be nice to have someone to talk to.
"Ash, are you...okay?" Brock asked worriedly.
Ash was about to lie but he stopped himself. "No, I'm not." He said.
Brock sighed and eyed the sky. Ash did the same and noticed that it was raining suddenly. Not that it really mattered. He was once again dragged out of his thoughts when Brock turned to him again.
"Dawn was the person who meant the most to you then?" Brock asked.
Ash's eyes widened at this. "Yes...how did you know?"
Brock began to explain that The Time Space Witch had very high prices for wishes such as Ash's. He had been told that she made you pay the most precious thing in order for your wish to come true. Even then, you would still have to wait for it to actually happen.
"It's what she did with all of us." Brock added and Ash could only wonder.
'Dawn means a lot to me...and I'm glad she's alive even if she doesn't remember me.'
Ash had a better understanding now and he seemed to have calmed down. Both he and Brock agreed to go back to where Gary and Dawn were. But when they arrived Ash didn't like what he saw. The table was empty with Dawn and Gary still sitting in their places. Not a crumb was left on the table.
"Before you blame me, it was this that sucked all the grub away like a vacuum cleaner!" Gary said, holding Jigglypuff up to show them.
"Right...well, I wasn't all that hungry anyway," Brock said, chuckling nervously. He was concerned about Ash since he knew that Ash was ravenous.
Ash moaned and clutched his stomach that was still grumbling loudly. Dawn stood up and walked over to him, holding something behind her back.
"Here, Ash. I managed to save some for you." She said, pulling out a plate of food and giving it to him. "I know it's not much but...Jigglypuff can eat a lot when it wants to."
Ash stared at Dawn for a moment before gratefully taking the plate from her. He smiled and Dawn returned it sweetly. It didn't take long for Ash to finish what was on the plate so they walked up to the desk Nurse Joy was at shortly afterwards. Dawn realized that the girl from earlier was still there and she didn't look very happy. The small girl had dark purple hair and was holding a Purrloin plush doll. Dawn knelt down and smiled at her.
"Is everything alright?" Dawn asked. Ash came to stand behind her as Brock and Gary talked to Nurse Joy. The girl hesitated.
"T-they got Axew!" She said with a worried expression on her face.
"What?!" Ash said. "Who?"
Dawn stood up to get the others while the girl told Ash what happened. Gary and Brock soon appeared and listened to what she had to say.
"They were these mean people w-who had Ice Types and I-I was so afraid." She said, her bottom lip quivering. "I couldn't save Axew!"
"No need to worry, we''l get your Axew back!" Ash reassured her. "What's your name?"
"It's...I-Iris," The girl replied.
"Okay, Iris, we'll get those people who took Axew!" Brock said and turned to his travelling companions. They nodded and ran out of the Pokémon Center.
"Didn't Iris say there were three of them?" Dawn asked. "The ones who took her Axew?"
Ash nodded. "Yeah, she did!"
It had stopped raining and the sun was high in the sky. Everyone kept looking around in search of anyone suspicious with an Axew but so far; no luck. Pikachu jumped to the ground with electricity sparking around its cheeks. That was when Ash had an idea to draw those evil-doers to them.
"That's it!" Ash exclaimed, punching the air. Gary turned to face him.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt and aim it at the sky!" Ash commanded.
Pikachu immediately obeyed and shot a powerful Thunderbolt at the sky. A few minutes later, they heard voices from behind them.
"Did you see that Thunderbolt?" One said excitedly.
"We'd better catch that Pikachu for us!" Said the other.
Ash ran in front of Pikachu and glared at the threesome that was charging towards them.
"No you don't! You're not laying a finger on Pikachu!" Ash shouted causing them to stop in their tracks.
"Listen, is that a stuck-up trainer's voice I hear?"
"It's shrieking to me loud and clear."
"On the wind!"
"Past the stars!"
"In your ear!"
"Bringing threatening chaos at a breakneck pace!"
"Dashing hope, putting fearful fear in its place!"
"A rose by any other name is just as sweet."
"When everything's worse, our work is complete!"
"Ha! Jessie!"
"And it's James."
"Meowth, now dat's what I call a name!"
"Putting you Pokémon trainers in your place."
"We're Team Rocket!"
"In your face!"
"Geez, are you the geezers who took Axew?" Gary shouted. "You don't look that tough, if you ask me!"
"Hey, at least call us fools if you must!" The woman with pink hair, named Jessie, retorted angrily.
"We're tough all right, and no one's asking you!" James shouted back.
"And ta prove it!" The Meowth added, holding up Axew who was in a net.
Ash, Brock, Dawn, and Gary gasped as the saw Axew squirming about in the net. Jigglypuff came beside Pikachu, clearly wanting to battle to get Iris's Axew back. Ash glared at Team Rocket and clenched a fist.
"As if we need another annoying team to deal with," He muttered.
"I heard that!" Jessie screamed. "There can't be another team because we are the only one who can-"
"Actually, there is another team." Brock said, cutting Jessie off. Ash glanced at him.
"Sorry Brock, no time to talk. Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash shouted.
Pikachu charged at Team Rocket and used a forceful Iron Tail. The net Axew was in was cut into shreds and Axew jumped down. Both Pokémon ran back to Ash and Meowth yelled after them.
"No way, Pikachu give 'em your best Thunderbolt!" Ash said.
Pikachu jumped high into the air and Team Rocket could only watch in awe before getting zapped. A small explosion occurred where the trio stood, sending them flying. Ash could just about make out what they were saying.
"We're blasting off again!"
It sounded like a pun and Ash chuckled. Pikachu hopped on his shoulder and Ash praised it, rubbed its head. Dawn, Brock and Gary ran up to him with grins on their faces.
"Great job Ash, Pikachu!" Dawn said joyfully. "You were amazing!"
Ash felt his face heat up a little when he heard this but focused his attention on Axew. It was glancing around as if it was looking for something. Ash knelt down beside it and smiled.
"If you're looking for your trainer, she's back at the Pokémon Center. She's really worried about you, you know." He said and Axew stared up at him looking pleased.
"Hey look there!" Gary said pointing at something on the ground. Axew went to pick it up and handed it to Ash. He took it and smiled.
"It's a feather!" Ash said, his smile widening. He went to Dawn and gave to her.
They waited but nothing happened. Bewildered, Dawn peered down at the feather in her hands. She blinked and asked what was wrong with it. Brock took a closer look at the feather.
"This is just a Pidgey feather Dawn," He said with disappointment in his voice. "I'm sorry."
A gust of wind went by and blew the feather away. They sighed and exchanged looks of dismay.
Everyone made their way back to the Pokémon Center where they saw Iris and Nurse Joy waiting for them outside. There was another person with them who followed Iris when she ran up to Axew.
"Axew, I'm so glad you're safe!" She exclaimed, hugging Axew tightly. Iris stood up and looked up at Ash. "Thank you, Mister!" She said, bowing quickly.
"It was nothin'!" Ash said. "Bet you're glad to have your Pokémon back."
"Oh, Axew isn't my Pokémon. It lives in my back yard at my home, right Cilan?" Iris replied, turning the boy with green hair who was standing next to her.
"Yes, it's good to see that Axew will be going back to his home."
"I nearly forgot. This my friend, Cilan!" Iris said, introducing him to the others. She grabbed his hand and held it out.
"Nice to meet you, Cilan!" Ash said kindly, shaking his hand.
They went inside and sat down comfortably. Ash thought it was weird that everyone he was meeting looked so familiar. It definitely wasn't them though because they were so different. It was the same with Brock and Gary. He decided that his curiosity couldn't be kept withdrawn much longer so Ash went up to Nurse Joy.
"Nurse Joy, can I ask you something?" He asked, leaning over the desk. Nurse Joy turned around to face him.
"Go ahead, what is it you'd like to know?" She said, smiling.
"Well, we're travelling around different worlds and I keep seeing people who looks like someone I've met before. Yet it's not them at all." Ash explained. Nurse Joy gave the matter some thought before replying.
"You see, there are many worlds and you will meet people who look like ones you've met. You might see them around again but they won't be the same people you encountered, usually...sometimes they'll remember you but not often. Does that answer your question?" Nurse Joy said and it took a while for Ash to take it all in.
"Yeah, thanks Nurse Joy!" He said, walking back to Dawn and the others.
Ash sat down next to Dawn and sighed. Who knew that travelling to different worlds could be so complicated? It didn't put him off though. Nothing would stop him from saving Dawn.
"Can searching for the feather wait until the morning?" Gary asked, yawning. Ash nodded and glanced at Dawn.
She gave him a smile but she looked sleepy. Pikachu yawned but stopped Jigglypuff from singing a lullaby.
"If you're going around town tomorrow, we could show you around!" Iris suggested eagerly. Ash hesitated.
"Thanks Iris, that would be nice of you but you have to stay close to us." He said and Iris nodded.
She was only a little kid after all. After what happened before with the encounter with Team Galactic, Ash was unsure whether it was safe enough to let Iris come along. There hadn't been any sign of them today, just Team Rocket who weren't much harm. Maybe they would get let off easy this time around. Ash hoped that was the case, he had had enough but this was only the beginning!
They all went to get some sleep to prepare themselves for the events of tomorrow which were still to come. No one had any trouble in getting to sleep, thanks to Jigglypuff, so the only thing that was left to do was ...
Wait.
A/N: Bet you didn't see Team Rocket coming, huh? Well, maybe you did. Yeah, just something different! ;) Please review this if you could. Thank you!
