WELL HERE WE GO AGAIN. JAMES IS HERE NOW, AND ONLY HE IS BECAUSE, CALL ME CRAZY, BUT I NEVER REALLY LIKED THE REST OF TEAM ROCKET. I ONLY REALLY LIKED JAMES AND THAT IS WHY ONLY HE GETS TO COME TO ASH'S UNIVERSE. AGAIN IN A LATER CHAPTER THERE IS GOING TO BE A MAJOR EVENT THAT COULD JEOPARDIZE EVERYTHING ASH WORKED HARD FOR! BUT FOR NOW HERE'S THE FILLER CHAPTER BASED ON MY FAVORITE FILLER EPISODE. *I DO NOT OWN STEVEN UNIVERSE OR POKEMON*
Peridot had recently used her magnetic powers to lift the old pickup truck into the side of the barn to put the TV in, a room she now spent most of her free time in, the rest she spent with Lapis making meep morphs. James seemed to be adapting well to his new environment despite the tension between him and Pikachu, Ash had even lent him his old sleeping bag, as he didn't need it anymore and James had nothing comfortable to sleep on. James, Peridot's delight, also developed her shared love of Camp Pinning Hearts, and the two marathoned the entire series together.
It had been awhile since Ash was given the day off by Greg and he decided to spend the day relaxing on the truck, snuggling Lapis and just enjoying each other's company. The sun was setting and neither Brock or James had returned, which concerned Ash because they were both an hour late.
"Hey there they are" Lapis pointed toward the two humans slowly approaching the barn. She grabbed him by his arms and flew him to the ground to meet their friends, Peridot threw open the door.
"James! You're just in time to watch season seven with me!" She exclaimed happily
"Not tonight Peridot" the former Team Rocket member groaned "Fryman had me working overtime prepping dough"
"Yea and Kofi threw me on potato peeling" Brock added
"Isn't it the other way around?"
James angrily grabbed him by the shoulders "well you can thank Steven for that!"
"What?"
"Steven came to the fry shop during lunchtime today asking for something different" James explained "Peedee made me cook some old mozzarella sticks from the freezer and the next thing I know I'm making pizza dough!"
"Odd," Brock chipped in "Kofi started watching Steven walk past Fishstew eating something, he ran outside yelling something to him and then threw a sign on the door saying we sold French fries now."
"Sounds like Steven started some sort of blood feud between the human food places" Peridot thought aloud "just like the Color War of Camp Pinning Hearts"
"It's just two businesses getting a little into competition" Ash stated, "i'm sure this will blow over soon".
The next day Ash did have to go to work in the morning, as expected there weren't any cars to wash so Ash basically got paid to do nothing. After Greg swapped shifts with him, he decided to go check in on Brock, James and this supposed "Resturant War". The boardwalk looked like a massacre with people laying down clutching their stomachs and Fries, pizza, ketchup and tomato sauce everywhere. Ash saw a child outside the Fryshack dressed as a piece of pizza, he approached the order window and looked inside to see James slaving over the fryer and that overweight kid from the drag race sitting in a chair on a laptop.
"Ash!" He heard Steven say behind him
"Steven what did you do?"
"STEVEN! ASH!" they heard Mr. Fryman exclaim as he pushed his way past James and presented them an entire deep fried pizza "try our newest menu item boys, deep fried pizza"
"Uh, no thanks Mr. Fryman I'm just here to say hi to James"
James waited until Fryman retreated to the back room before he addressed Ash "it's awful here Ash! You guys have got to do something!"
"Uh! I can't connect to Fishstew Pizza's wifi!" The overweight kid exclaimed
"No time for internets now Ronaldo!" Fryman exclaimed tossing him a bag "you do deliveries now"
"But I don't even have a car!"
"You've got those wheelie shoes don't ya?"
"Yes" Ronaldo sadly looked down and sadly rolled out the building, on any given day Ash couldn't tell if he should laugh or feel sympathy, so he just looked at James's sad face again and ducked away into Fishstew. Phones were ringing left and right as Kiki ran back and forth taking orders.
"Hey boys" Jenny addressed her friends
"Jenny, you're working the counter?"
"Yep, things have been crazy since this whole war started, anyway I'm obliged to inform you guys about our newest special French-fried pizza with French-fried crust and twice baked French fries on the side cause we have fries now"
"Can we just get a pizza?"
"STEVEN! ASH!" Kofi screamed from the kitchen carrying a massive pile of paperwork "before you place your order you boys must sign these documents pledging your loyalty to Fishstew Pizza, and" he said taking out a smoking branding iron, "you will also receive this permanent V. I. P. pizza eater card!"
"RUN ASH! HE'S DEAD SERIOUS! HE'S LOST HIS DAMN MIND!" he heard Brock scream from the kitchen
"LET ME REWARD YOU FOR BEING SUCH GOOD CUSTOMERS!" Kofi screamed to them as the boys ran for it back to Steven's house.
"What have i done?" Steven asked trying to catch his breath.
"We've got to do something about this" Ash insisted, "get all the employees here tonight, we'll come up with something"
"What are you guys talking about?" Amethyst asked him from the kitchen
"Human stuff" Steven answered
"How you been Amethyst?" Ash asked his friend, he hadn't seen her the same since Jasper and James attacked
She just looked at him and retreated into her room.
After Brock and James's shifts ended, Ash brought them straight to the Temple were the owner's children were already waiting for them with Steven.
"Ronaldo, Kiki, Jenny, James, Brock, Peedee, Ash and I have called you all here tonight because this war between Fryman and Kofi needs to stop!"
"Guys how do you think we all feel?" Jenny asked "do you know how many metal concerts i've missed because of this war?"
"How many?" her sister asked
"Mm, like…. One"
Ronaldo slammed his fist down on the table to get everyone's attention "do you know how much blogging i haven't been able to do?!"
"I don't but this is all my fault. If only my tastebuds weren't so adventurous, i promise to find a way to work things out."
"How?" the scrawny kid Ash assumed was Peedee asked "there's no end in sight"
Steven thought for a minute "we need to stop this hate with some sort of opposite of hate"
Brock sighed "alright i'll do it, i'll pretend to be in a relationship with Jenny to end this feud!" he proclaimed
"Brock that literally won't do anything" Ash said "but a fake relationship is not a bad idea"
"Ronaldo! Kiki! You guys are sitting next to each other" Steven said, an idea clearly forming in his head "you guys should pretend to be in love! There won't be anytime for fighting if your families have to plan a wedding together"
Ash was about to point out the clear flaws in a wedding, and how Steven thought no fighting occurred while planning a wedding, but Kiki had already agreed
"Alright!" the half gem excitedly said "we'll fight this war with the power of love!"
"No way!" Ronaldo intervened "we can't do this because i, have a girlfriend"
Everybody just stared at Ronaldo, not believing what he just said before Jenny asked "where she at though?"
"I was thinking the same thing" James agreed
"I'm serious!" Ronaldo defended himself
"Ok, you guys don't have to pretend to get married" Ash finally voiced his concerns "just pretend long enough until the feud is over"
"I've, got a bad feeling about this" Ronaldo stated
"Shut up Ronaldo!" Jenny spoke "nothing bad is gonna happen, and you'll be spending time with the cutest girl in Beach City"
"Besides" James added "your "girlfriend" won't find out, it's not cheating if it's not real"
"We'll start our plan tomorrow morning" Ash dictated "just make it believable"
The following morning, the group put their plan into action. Ash, Peedee and Brock hid behind Beach City Fries while Steven, Jenny and James hid behind Fishstew watching
"Ah Kiki my darling!" Ronaldo exclaimed throwing himself into the air with a bouquet of flowers
"Oh Ronaldo my sweet!" Kiki also danced with a bouquet right into his arms.
"My dear, sweet Kiki, who i love with all my blog"
"Oh Ronaldo, you're so sweet and quirky in a way i can tolerate!"
"KIKI! Why aren't you in here working your shift?" Kofi shouted through the door
"Yeah come on Ronaldo. We've got customers to take care of" Fryman said from the Fryshack
"But Dad, ever since this war started, i've had to spend countless hours away from my beloved Kiki"
"What!?" the two men asked their children
"It's true" Kiki stated "the only way for us to be together is if we quit working"
"Are you telling me you two are involved in a romantic relationship?" Steven shouted from the distance almost blowing everyone else's cover
"That's right Steven. We have been for some time now"
Kofi approached Ronaldo and gave him the stare of death "you two are only hugging right?"
"Yes sir, just hugs and longing looks" Ronaldo nervously chuckled
"Well Kofi, love is a beautiful thing" Fryman said
"Yes, love is beautiful. We must end this feud so this romance may blossom" he said with a smile as he stretched out his hand
"It's working" Brock whispered to Ash excitedly, but before the men could shake hands, another teenage girl approached them
"Ronaldo?" she asked shocked with a heartbroken look on her face "i come all this way to return your "Koala Princess" DVDs, only to find you with another girl?"
Everyone from behind the restaurant's ran outside to see the girl, shock and awe was on their faces
"Jane my sweet!" Ronaldo expressed trying to explain himself "this is all a ruse to get my dad to stop selling mozzarella sticks!
Jane looked at him angrily, he face filled with tears "save it for your blog, "Keep Beach City Single!" she then ran away crying
"Jane! MY OHIME-SAMA!" Ronaldo screamed trying to follow her, instead he fell face first to the ground after tripping on his own heelys, crying his eyes out.
"The deal is off!" Fryman declared
"FIne by me!" Kofi shouted grabbing his daughters and Brock, dragging them back to the pizzeria while Fryman got his sons and James leaving Steven and Ash alone.
"We need a new plan" Steven said "get the others and we'll figure something out at my place later Ash looked to see Jamie putting a "roommate wanted" sign on the lamppost down the pier.
"Hey Ash, what you up to?"
"Just ended a serious relationship"
"Oh i'm sorry things didn't work between you and Lapis"
"What? Oh no it wasn't my relationship"
"Oh"
"You looking for a roommate Jamie?"
"Yeah, just feels empty in my place you know, just feel like this'll be a good place to meet people"
"Well good luck" Ash said as he walked away from his mailman friend "at least there's now a place we can put anyone else from my world" Ash thought to himself as he walked back down to the car wash to begin his shift.
That evening, they once again met at Steven's house formulating a new plan. "Peedee, how did the original war between your dad's stop?" Ash asked
"I don't know, it was before I was born"
Kiki spoke up, "I remember, you guys know where Suitcase Sams is? Well it used to be a restaurant called the Everything Buffet."
"Oh yea they sold everything there"
"But it wrecked the boardwalk's economy," Kiki continued "not one store could compete. But then, our dad and Mr. Fryman signed a truce and ran them out of town."
"Too bad there isn't a restaurant like that now" James stated
Ash and Steven looked at each other, an idea coming to them "who's to say there already isn't one James? Tell Fryman and Kofi to come here at seven tonight, me and Steven will take care of everything else"
The group went about their day while Steven and Ash rearranged the living room to resemble a nice dining room. Steven went to the grocery store to find ingredients for the restaurant while Ash returned to the barn, realizing that the eatery needed staff, and tried to convince Lapis and Peridot to help. Unfortunately, they both had meep morphs they were making so Ash had to go to the other Gems.
"Why would we put ourselves through a ridiculous ruse just to help two business?" Pearl asked him
"You guys doing something better tonight?"
"He's got us there Pearl" Garnet spoke on behalf of the Gems "we'll do it"
Ash assigned the Gems their roles in the scheme and finished setting up the two tables and two menus. At seven o' sharp, the Frymans, Fishstews, Brock and James all arrived.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Steven answered the door to his guests "welcome to Steven's! Right this way" he said directing the two parties to their tables.
"Nice ambiance" Peedee admired
"There are not enough tables" Kofi criticized
"There are plenty of tables daddy" Jenny reassured her father. The Frymans sat with James on one side while The Fishstews sat with Brock at the other table. Pearl took her role as head waiter and approached the Fryman table.
"Hello, may I take your order?" She asked enthusiastically
"Oh I'm full" Ronaldo said "OF SADNESS!" He screamed slamming his head down on the table crying and repeating Jane's name over and over
Mr. Fryman ignored his son's crying and ordered for the table "Yes, we will all share the fantastic Fries" Pearl wrote the order on a notepad as she approached the Fishstews. "I bet they're not as fantastic as our fries right James?" He whispered to his employee.
"And you sir?" Pearl addressed Kofi
"I will have, the pizza bagel" Pearl wrote that as well and went to the kitchen "I doubt a pizza bagel can beat pizza that isn't a bagel" Kofi told Brock and his daughters with a laugh.
"Order up" Pearl said giving Ash the order slip
"Ah two of our best items"
"Our only items"
"You're doing great Pearl, just keep it up. Amethyst fire one fry and one bagel!"
"Yes chef" she answered in an empty not caring tone. He definitely needed to talk to her about what was bothering her, he missed the old Amethyst. After she finished cooking, Pearl delivered the orders, starting with Kofi.
"Pizza on a bagel indeed" he coldly remarked as if he was going to stab the poor bagel.
Pearl then delivered the Fries.
"Can I get some ketchup?" Fryman asked
"Sorry, no additions or substitutions"
Fryman laughed "this place is all talk, you can eat Fries without ketchup" he stated tossing one in his mouth, his eyes became wide and a look of shock appeared on his face "the ketchup, IS INSIDE THE FRIES!?"
Across the dining room, Kofi dropped his entree after just one bite, "there's. Cream cheese. In this pizza bagel. It adds a whole other layer of flavor! And with pizza on a portable bagel, you can have pizza anytime!"
"It's amazing!" Fryman remarked
"It's genius!" Kofi claimed. At this time, they both looked at each other, they understood what they had to do, the fathers got up and approached Steven and Ash.
"How is everything tonight?" Steven asked playing dumb
"Steven, Ash, we didn't want to do this, but." Fryman started before Kofi broke down on his knees begging
"PLEASE SHUT THIS PLACE DOWN!"
"You want us to close our lovely establishment?"
"Boys we're begging you!" Fryman said joining Kofi down on the ground
"We can't compete with a place like this!"
"It'll drive us out of business!"
"There's already a line!" Kofi screamed pointing toward the door, everyone looked outside to see Sour Cream's creepy little brother looking into the house armed with a fork.
"We'll close up shop, on one condition"
"Anything" the two grown men on their knees proclaimed
"Stop this stupid war! Cook for yourselves and the good of your customers and employees"
"And think about giving James a raise!" James suggested still sitting at the table.
"Let's just do, what we do best" Kofi proclaimed
"Agreed" said Fryman shaking Kofi's hand which ended in a hug. "You hear that Ronaldo the feud is over"
Ronaldo just gave a thumbs up still crying.
"Thank you guys" Brock said, "one more fry and I thought I would've died"
"Yea, now I can get back to what matters most to me" James stated "fangirling Camp Pinning Hearts with Peridot"
The three trainers helped Steven clean up after the families left. Afterward, they wished Steven and the Gems goodnight and began their walk to the barn where they were greeted to their other two roommates.
"Sorry we couldn't help you guys earlier" Peridot apologized "Lapis and I were too busy making this!" She said, presenting a statue of Ash made of soap.
"I made it for you" Lapis said blushing, "do you like it?"
Ash looked at his hideous soap doppelgänger, truthfully it looked awful, but what mattered was Lapis made it from her heart "I love it" he answered embracing her.
James retreated to his tent while Brock returned to the couch. Ash and Lapis went to bed as well, Pikachu joining them after some time.