My Coney Island Baby
Part 6
by Spruceton Spook
"Oh, I hope it's not closed!"
Misty said, trying hard to keep up with Brock. He was running slightly faster than her as they sprinted swiftly to the
Thunderbolt, and he still held her hand tightly.
They
reached 15th Street a few minutes later, Team Rocket leading the way. Suddenly,
they skidded to a halt when they saw that the trailer's hood was shut, and the
only thing showing were the gruesome pictures of the freak Pokémon. They groaned in unison.
"No!"
James said. "They can't be closed. They were open not an hour ago!"
Mrs.
Ketchum walked up to the trailer. "But look at the sign," she said, pointing a
brightly painted board. "It says that
their last show was at six. That was
fifteen minutes ago."
She
turned away down-heartedly. Although
she loved Coney Island, she was frightened now. All day long she had pushed aside the fear of not being able to
return home, but now she had to face it. Looking up at the slow moving Wonder Wheel, she sighed heavily.
Brock
pulled Misty close to him. He could
feel her shaking softly. Putting his
arm around her waist, she hugged him back softly.
"I
hope we can get home," she mumbled, burying her face in his chest.
"We
will," he assured, leaning his face on her head. "Don't worry, we will."
Ash
wasn't ready to give up, though. He
thought of Pikachu at home, and how scared he must be. And Togepi. He needed to get Misty home to tend to him, too. That was his top priority, to look after his
friends and his Pokémon. And a closed
door was not going to stop him. He
walked up to the trailer and began to bang on it as loudly as he could.
"Come
on, someone open up!" he shouted, a look of determination radiating from his
brown eyes. "Come on!"
"Ash,
stop! You're making a scene!" Misty
said nervously.
Ash
turned to her. "We have to get home,
Misty! As much fun as I had today,
Pikachu and Togepi need us."
Misty
sighed and nodded. She pulled Brock up
to the trailer where they started to bang on it simultaneously.
"Hey! Is anyone home! Come on, open up!" Ash hollered, throwing his fists forcefully on
the steel door. His hands were beginning to ache terribly, but he continued it
nevertheless. Misty and Brock were
right beside him, hollering out, also, their rhthymatic banging sounding like a
thundering set of drums.
The
banging was drawing the curious eyes of passer-bys. Mrs. Ketchum smiled at them nervously to get them to move
on. He shook her head, and ran to Ash.
"Ash,
honey, stop now," she said, seizing him away from the trailer. Misty and Brock
stopped at the same time. "They're not going to open up now."
Almost
angrily, Ash pulled away from his mom. Worriedly, Mrs. Ketchum gazed at Ash. She was aware that his anger was
purely out of panic and fear, something she could always sense from him.
"No,
Mom! We have to get home," he said,
breathing heavily. Suddenly a small sob
escaped his throat. His face glowed red, and he threw his fist heavily at the
door. "We have to get home . . ."
All
of a sudden, the door on the side of the trailer flew open powerfully,
startling them. An angry looking man
stood there, gazing down annoyingly at the three kids.
"We're
closed!" he shouted, giving them looks of pure anger. "Come back tomorrow!"
"No,
you don't understand!" Ash yelled, running up to the man, who looked at him
like he was crazy. "You have an
Alakazam in there, don't you?"
"What?" The man was clearly confused and irked. "Buzz off, kid! I told you, come back tomorrow to see Alakazam! I don't have time for this nonsense! Go home!"
Misty
was enraged at how the man was speaking to Ash. "That's what we want to do!" she screamed, drawing the man's
overwhelmed attention. "But we need
your Alakazam to help! Please!"
"That's
right!" Brock added, clenching his fists. "Please let us see your Alakazam! It's urgent!"
"Are
you kids crazy?!" The man looked at Mrs. Ketchum, who stood a few feet behind
Ash. He looked coldly and aggravated at her. "Ma'am, could you kindly control
your children now, please?"
She
calmly walked up to him. "Please, sir,
we need to see you Alakazam." She took
a deep breath. "Let me explain,
please."
The
man shrugged, and huffed in annoyance. Only then did he gaze oddly at them, scrutinizing their abnormal
clothing with an astonished expression. Something was up with these people. "What's with you crazy people?"
"We--"
Ash began, but Mrs. Ketchum clutched her hand over his mouth, giving him a "let
me handle this" look.
"We're
from someplace else . . . far from here," she said collectively and
earnestly. She was careful not to
mention that they had traveled in time. One little crack like that would probably cost them the chance to get
home, and amplify their chance of get carted away to the nut-house. "My son here was battling an Alakazam, and
it transported us here."
The
man gave her a befuddled glance, but suddenly shrugged when he understood.
"Oh," was all he said.
Mrs.
Ketchum swallowed hard. She put her arm
around Ash's shoulders and pulled him close to her. "We've been searching all day for another one to help us get
home. You know, to teleport us back?"
The
man stood in silence, looking attentively at the six people. Each of them had their eyes fixed nervously
and anxiously on him. Finally, he
sighed. "Come on in."
The
inside of the trailer was larger than it had appeared from the outside. The man led Ash, Misty, Brock, Mrs. Ketchum,
Jessie, James, and Meowth through the first part of the trailer, which was
obviously his working quarters. A few
pieces of furniture were here and there, and on the table sat a safe and ten
old-fashioned (to them) Pokéballs. The
man grabbed for one of the Pokéballs.
"Come
on out, Alakazam," he said, and an instant later, a bright green Alakazam
appeared. Ash, Misty, and Brock's eyes
bugged out at the sight of the unusual Pokémon, astonished smiles taking over
their faces.
"Wow,"
Ash muttered in disbelief.
"Alakazam!" the Pokémon said, shaking its
head from being cooped up in its Pokéball.
The
man grinned and turned to the group, who were looking at Alakazam with deep
interest. Jessie and James were even
regretting not going through with their plan. A Pokémon like that would have certainly gotten them back on the Boss'
good side. But right now, that was
unimportant.
"Do
you think Alakazam can get us back?" Ash asked in a hopeful tone.
The
man nodded. "I believe he can. We've done a lot of teleportation in our
shows."
That
made the group utterly ecstatic. They
still had a little bit of doubt as to whether or not the Alakazam could bring
them back to present times, but at this point, they were just glad that they
had found an experienced psychic Pokémon.
The
group stood together in the center of the room.
"What
do we have to do?" Mrs. Ketchum asked.
"Well,
let's see. Do you have any idea why the
last Alakazam teleported you to Coney Island in the first place?"
"Oh,
that's easy!" Ash said. "That was the
last thing we were talking about before I battled it."
The
man nodded satisfyingly. "Great. That's just what Alakazam do. It's a mind thing, you know. It was because of the Alakazam that you were
teleported, but it's because of you that you're here. Alakazam can only control where they go."
"So
are you saying that all we have to do is think about Pallet Town?" Brock asked.
"If
that's where you were, yup. It should work."
The
group looked determinedly at each other and nodded. A good feeling swept through their bodies. This was going to work!
Brock
felt around for Misty's hand. Upon finding it, he scooped it into his own and
squeezed it lovingly. Misty smiled up
into his face and squeezed back. She
took a deep breath and looked at the others, when suddenly her eyes met Mrs.
Ketchum's.
"I
bet you like Coney Island a lot now, don't you?" she whispered with a sly grin.
Misty
giggled softly and nodded. "A lot."
"Okay,
folks. Get ready," the man said. "Think
of Pallet Town starting now."
Ash
instantly shut his eyes, along with the rest of them, and thought of his
home. He drew up mental images of his
room, and Pikachu resting on his bed happily. He thought of when he had first gotten home from his journey. His mom had not been home, and he, Brock,
and Misty immediately went into his bedroom and blasted his stereo loud to
celebrate their return. They had made a
huge meal (of snacks) and collapsed in the living room to pig out and
relax. The music was so loud that they
had not heard his mom come in, and ultimately she scared the living daylights
out of them. That was a great day,
though.
Ash
didn't even see when the Alakazam had transported them. All of sudden, the sounds of screaming,
excited people, ringing bells, and the thundering of the roller coaster faded away,
replacing it with complete silence. He
clenched his eyes shut more, and held on dearly to his mother's hand. A small shiver ran up his spine when he
realized that they had left Coney Island.
The
feeling of the hard, trailer floor disappeared, and the soft, mushy feeling of
grass substituted it. The silence was
broken by the sudden chirping of birds. Ash slowly opened eyes and beamed ravishingly. Once again, they were standing in his backyard, practically in
the same positions they had been when they were transported the first time,
only this time with the presence of Team Rocket.
Misty
shrieked with happiness. "We made it!"
"Thank
God," Mrs. Ketchum said, letting out the breath that she had been holding.
Jessie,
James, and Meowth looked around curiously, smiling suddenly when they
discovered that they were back.
"We're
alive!" they screamed together, and embraced in a hug. They jumped up and down, but then
immediately regained themselves. They
stood rigidly and faced their adversaries, looking at them in their familiar
determinedly evil faces.
"We'll
be back, twerp!" Jessie said.
"You
haven't seen the last of us!" James added.
"So
long, suckas!" Meowth chimed in, and they instantly bolted into the distance.
Misty
groaned. "Some things never change."
As
she said that, Brock pushed her gently. "Yes, they do," he said, wrapping his arms around Misty and squeezing
her lovingly.
Misty
blushed. "So, are we now . . . ?"
Brock
nodded and Misty leapt into his arms. A
small tear trickled out of her eye as she felt his warm body surrounding her in
another hug. Her first boyfriend was
not the person she had expected it to be, but otherwise she felt that she
couldn't have been happier with anyone else.
"Coney
Island will always be our place," Misty whispered romantically into Brock's
ear. "Always."
"Always,"
Brock repeated in a fervent whisper.
Ash
smiled teasingly at them, sarcastically tapping his foot. "Do I have to put up with this gushy stuff
now?" he asked.
"Oh,
Ash, I think they're cute," Mrs. Ketchum said.
Brock
chuckled. "Don't worry, Ash. Maybe some of it'll rub off onto you
eventually!"
Ash groaned and pretended to
gag as Brock and Misty laughed. The
sound of their voices had attracted Pikachu and Togepi, who ran out of the
house like bullets.
"Pika
pi!" Pikachu exclaimed as he jumped into Ash's arms.
Misty
immediately scooped up Togepi in her arms and cuddled the baby Pokémon.
Mrs.
Ketchum stretched. "What a day," she
said.
"You
said it," Brock replied softly as he gazed into Misty's eyes. He brought his hand up and pushed some loose
strands of hair out of her face. She
blushed at his touch, still not used to having Brock -- or anyone -- touch her
in a tenderly fashion.
"Can
we go to Coney Island again, Mom?" they heard Ash say as he followed his mother
into the house. "Please?"
"Ash,
we were just there!" Mrs. Ketchum said with a laugh. "Haven't you had enough excitement for one day? And besides,
Coney Island doesn't get any better than that."
Misty
and Brock giggled at their small conversation, Misty shaking her head
slightly. What started as just a normal
day in Pallet Town had ended in an experience that Misty and Brock, and even
the others, would treasure forever.
The End
To my mom, who was the one who got me
interested in Coney Island
and
Dedicated to the late, great
Thunderbolt Roller Coaster ~ 1925-2000
Yay, it's finished! So how did you like it? This is my second fanfic, and hopefully if I can
get my brain started again, there'll be another. Please review and tell me what you thought about my story. Hope you enjoyed reading it, and thanks!
~Spruceton
Spook