Chapter Seven

Always By Your Side

The smoke faded into steam and the familiar silhouette came into view, bearing a smug grin on his face.

Ash floated in midair with his arms crossed; flashing complacent eyes to the person he was talking to. Jessie's lips dipped down into a vicious frown like that of a Gyarados.

"Ash!" his friends cheered with excitement.

The flying trainer winked, giving them a thumbs-up before turning his attention back to the Captain. The smoke continued to clear around them, but when it did, Ash remained to be the only one in air. Something must have accompanied him for he couldn't have made the devastating beam appear.

"Send the Pokemon after him!" James yelled, having the Golbat pursue the flying boy.

Ash dodged behind another sail, everyone's eyes on his every move. The Captain and her crew were too focused on taking him down. A few Murkrow were released from their Pokeballs, joining the Golbat on their hot pursuit for Ash.

All the flying Pokemon launched a group wing attack on him, but Ash cart-wheeled out of the way, taunting them. "Nice try!"

Jessie bared her teeth menacingly, the veins popping out of her neck. She made a move to reach Ash even though she could not fly. Her crew followed after her, pulling out their other weapons, swords.

Ash had settled onto another beam, this one much higher up than the others. He held his hands behind his back, pacing the beam, whistling a tune to himself.

While the display was happening about the ship, the group that remained tied in their spot on the deck looked on, hoping that Ash wasn't pushing his luck too much.

Three soft thuds frightened the bunch, having them hunch their shoulders at the feeling of new visitors. However, the captives froze, mouths hanging open upon finding that the thuds belonged to two people they all thought had met their end in the ocean water, along with a creature they were just as grateful to see.

"Keep very quiet," Misty instructed in a hushed voice, tugging at the rope. She stared down at the thick lasso, trying to loosen it as another person twiddled with the knot that laid before Tracey's chest.

"Try to hold still too," the spiky haired boy, Gary whispered, pulling desperately at the knot, ignoring the blistering that developed from rope burn.

As the two persisted on freeing their friends from the uncomfortable bound, Pikachu pulled on Misty's shirt, grabbing her attention.

"Pikachu pika, pikachu," it explained, although Misty wasn't too sure what exactly it said. She only managed to decipher that it had an idea.

Gary paused, waiting for Pikachu to do something. The rodent beckoned the two back and its tail glowed brightly, preparing for what appeared to be an iron tail strike.

The captives looked on hopefully, waiting for Pikachu's tail to free them at last.

"Archen! Archen!"

Pikachu's tail drooped unexpectedly, its ears perking at the sound of the Pokemon's cries. The captives bit their lips, eyes darting to the direction of the cry.

Misty and Gary held their breath, scanning the deck for the culprit. And there it stood, flapping its weak wings a few feet away.

"Archen!" it crowed loudly. And without thinking, Gary lunged towards the pesky spy, clasping both his hands over the bird's rock hard beak, hoping to subdue it. This proved to be a bad idea, however for Archen squeezed out of Gary's grip, relinquishing a painful pluck attack.

Gary slid back, crashing into Misty and Pikachu.

"Archen! Archen! Archen!" the bird cried out again, flapping its wings so that it was hovering a little over the floor by a few inches.

The bird's continuous cries succeeded in alerting Team Rocket, the pirates and their Pokemon to the stowaways trying to free the other hostages.

Realizing that their window of opportunity was closing with Team Rocket leading the way back to the deck, Misty ordered Pikachu in haste, "Iron tail, Pikachu, hurry!"

Pikachu nodded, collecting all its strength as its tail glowed once more. With a quick swipe and the sound of rope slicing, Ash's friends were unbound, rising to their feet quickly.

They all backed away but were soon cornered by the appearance of the Mightyena and Toxicroak. Team Rocket and the pirates were closing in on them, trapping them.

"Dedenne, use charge beam!" Clemont shouted at the now free fairy rodent.

"Deden!" it cried, releasing an electric beam towards the pirates' approaching Pokemon.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried as well, releasing a thunder shock.

The opposing Pokemon cringed and shook due to the powerful blows, but did not falter. Once Dedenne and Pikachu wore themselves out, the Toxicroak and Mightyena simply shook off the sparks that buzzed along their bodies, hardly injured at all.

Team Rocket and the pirates were right behind their Pokemon and with Jessie's order were about to pounce.

Ash spotted his friends about to be mauled by the enemies and darted downwards before them. His friends all huddled together, Ash shoving Gary, Pikachu and Misty behind him, acting as a human shield.

Though they all braced themselves for a powerful attack, it never came. A large dragon descended before them, flapping its great wings powerfully, knocking the enemies out of their feet, and rendering them vulnerable.

The dragon landed on the deck with a great thud, sending a quake throughout the boat. And on the other side of the fallen opponents, another dragon hovered nearby. The tables had turned as Team Rocket and the pirates found that they were now the ones who were cornered.

Ash released a sigh of relief as he saw Drayden's Flygon guarding them with Drayden and Iris, climbing off its back. "Thanks, you guys!" Ash breathed, the tension melting away as quickly as it came.

"No problem!" Iris chirped, checking on the others. "Everyone okay?"

"Ugh…yeah," Brock groaned, stretching out his arms above his head.

"Is that Dragonite?" Max exclaimed, his eyes glistening at the orange dragon that hovered over Team Rocket and the pirates. Noticeably on Dragonite was Lance, his cape flowing gracefully behind him.

"We better hurry and get your friends out of here, Ash," Drayden suggested, placing a firm grip on Ash's shoulder.

Ash nodded. "Right!"

"But Team Rocket stashed our Pokeballs somewhere on this ship!" Cilan reminded.

"Leave it to me, Cilan," Ash told his green haired friend with a smile. "Just get on Flygon and—"

"HEY TWERP!" shrilled the voice of the Captain.

Ash sighed exasperatedly, moving passed Flygon to face the enemies in front of them. "Yeah what is it?" he spat.

"I have unfinished business here," Jessie drawled, the vein in her temple protruding with every word she spoke.

"I say your business is done," Ash retorted, shaking a fist.

To Ash's surprise, Jessie's lips curled into a mischievous grin. He noticed that James, Meowth and the pirates were nowhere near intimidated by the fact that two dragons were ready to launch an attak. Not only that but, they did not look like giving up either.

Misty appeared at Ash's side while Pikachu leapt onto his partner's shoulder, its electric sacs sparking.

"I warned you…" Jessie said lowly.

Then she drew her hand that was behind her back brandishing a small net gun. Before Ash could do anything, Jessie pulled the trigger of her shooter, launching a massive web-like net that hurdled straight for the Flygon. James did the same, holding his own small net shooter, aiming it at Dragonite.

Flygon and Dragonite were captured with the net that bound them tightly. Lance was knocked off his dragon crashing onto the deck, while Dragonite dropped, dipping the ship a little. Flygon squirmed but its wings were clasped to its sides. The net itself radiated an electric shock that coursed through the dragons' bodies, causing both to cry out in agony.

"Dragonite!" Lance called out about to run over to his fallen friend, but two pirates grabbed him by the arms, subduing him.

Ash and his friends looked on in horror. "But how…?" the boy choked. They were winning. His friends were free and they were going to fly away from the pirate ship. He and Misty had saved Gary from falling into the ocean in the nick of time. Misty and Gary untied their friends and the Dragon trainers had cornered the enemies. How did everything take a turn for the worst in a matter of minutes?

"We're Team Rocket!" Jessie answered, grabbing the black haired trainer's attention. "You should know by now that we have plenty of tricks up our sleeves." She pointed her net gun passed Ash, aiming for Pikachu.

Misty grabbed Ash by his collar, dragging him away and swiping Pikachu up with an arm, narrowly missing the launched net, which landed on the floor catching nothing.

"How are we going to get out here?" said Gary.

"We need to fight them," Misty said.

"But with what?" asked Gary again.

Clemont made a move towards Ash and Misty, Dedenne on his shoulder. "I'll use Dedenne!"

"And what about us?" Max asked, not impressed with the plan so far.

"Look out!" Bonnie cried, pointing to another net flying towards them.

"Everyone out of the way!" yelled Tracey and they all jumped out of the way before getting captured by the net.

"I have an idea," Iris said suddenly. She didn't bother explaining and instead leapt to climb a rope that hung from the nearest sail, clambering upward like a Mankey.

"Iris!" Misty screamed. What was she doing? She didn't have a Pokemon on her. Or did she? Whatever her plan of action was, Misty and the others had to trust her. However, they all were in a risky position. Drayden tried to unleashed his Flygon from its net, but only wore himself out, getting shocked.

"I think I might have something that could free your dragon," Clemont suggested. "But my backpack was taken along with my Pokemon…"

There was no time left to plan. The pack of Mightyena growled, jabbing straight towards them.

"Leave Team Rocket to me!" Ash said, jumping into the air with Pikachu on his shoulder. "I'll lure them away from you guys."

"That won't work, Ash!" Gary said. "They're not going to ignore the fact that their prisoners are now free."

"We have to try!" Misty said, shooting a glare in Gary's doubtful eyes. "We're going to have find where Team Rocket hid Clemont's backpack and all your Pokemon."

"Misty," Ash said softly, his eyes darting between her and Jessie. "Look out for them. If anything happens, call for me, okay?" His eyes froze for a moment, glistening into his best friends' green peepers. There was a hint of obligation and worry in his expression. He didn't want to leave Misty or his friends but he had to figure out a way to lure Jessie and pirates away.

"Just don't get yourself killed!" Misty ordered.

Ash released a weak grin, nodding. He locked his gaze back at the enemies and proceeded to taunt them to go after him. "What're you waiting for?"

"Like I'm that thick!" Jessie proclaimed. "All of you go after his friends!" she commanded to the pirates. "Leave him to me!"

The pirates thrust straight ahead, their Pokemon in pursuit. Jessie followed Ash's movements with her cold, blue stare, biding her time. She dropped the net gun to the deck, not caring as it made a scratch on the floor.

Lance had managed to free himself from the pirate grunts and rushed over to tackled Jessie but was subjugated by the Toxicroak, punching him with a poison jab.

"Oh no, Lance!" Drayden shouted, tripping over his Flygon's tail, but paused as the Toxicroak held its glowing, purple fist in the air. Drayden shielded his head, but the poison never made contact with him.

"Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Ash yelled and Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder for a moment, unleashing a powerful electic attack on the Toxicroak.

Thankfully the Toxicroak submitted to the shock, fainting on its face. But one could not be sure that it would remain down for long.

"Discharge!" Bonnie cried.

Dedenne's small sacs on its cheeks emitted a flurry of sparks, causing the approaching Mightyena back away. This gave the group a chance to move towards the Captain's cabin to locate their Pokeballs.

The Mightyena were not done yet, though. As the group was able to make a couple of strides, the Pokemon bared their teeth, charging.

"Dazzling gleam!" shouted Clemont.

A bright, glistening light shrouded the entire boat for a split second. Ash begrudgingly shut his eyes from the light not wanting to give Jessie a chance at attacking.

There were collective howls heard across the deck and once the light dispersed, the Mightyena had fallen unconscious.

"It worked!" Max shouted with glee.

"Hurry, get inside!" Misty ordered, floating above them.

Clemont and Bonnie led the way into the Captain's hold. Jessie dared not to look away from her ultimate prey, Ash. Lucky for her, she had James and Meowth to assist. Misty on the other hand, was going to look out for Ash, whether he wanted her to or not. She propelled herself to sail.

"Don't let them go in there!" Meowth screeched.

"Archen!" Archen crowed suddenly, pointing its wing upwards.

James and Meowth looked up as the pirates shuffled to their fainted Pokemon. Iris dropped right by Drayden and Lance.

"Lance, are you okay?" she asked panicked, watching Lance writhe from the poison that had him curled into a fetal position.

"Archen!"

Iris glared at the pesky bird as it continued to alert the obvious. She pulled a Pokeball out of her pocket, allowing the Pokemon from within to escape.

"Axew!" the creature shouted.

"Never mind the bird, Iris," Drayden told her. Even though the urge to silence the bird was great, Iris listened.

"Stand by, Axew. We're going to need you." Iris told her faithful partner.

"Get up! Go after the twerps!" James shouted, stomping his feet at the pirates who were recalling their now fainted Pokemon.

"Use your other Pokemon!" Meowth demanded.

"Right!" the pirates agreed with a nod. A few of them released new Pokemon and the others commanded their flying types (Golbat and Murkrow) to aid.

There were suddenly more bursts of white light as more Pokemon were released. But they all were coming from inside the cabin. Ash's friends had successfully found their belongings and Pokemon.

Bursting out of the cabin, Brock's Fortress led the way followed by Clemont's Chespin. Bonnie had Dedenne on her head and Max was given Tracey's Marill to command while he would use his aged Scyther.

Cilan and his Pansage teamed up with Gary and his Umbreon against the oncoming pirate duo with their Raticate.

Clemont made his way to the fallen Dragonite with his backpack and Chespin by his side. He pulled out a small device and attached it to the net, the electric waves being absorbed. "I think if I cut off the power to the electricity, then the net will be easy to cut."

Jessie brandished a long sword from her belt, which had an unusual clasp allowing her to d hold onto it with her hooked hand. With her free hand, Jessie climbed the closest beam with no effort at all. She was standing at Ash's level in no time, but Ash ascended further.

"Afraid I'll scratch you, boy?" Jessie asked.

Misty grew weary as Jessie managed to get so close.

"I'm not afraid of anything!" Ash shouted.

"Prove it then!" Jessie barked.

"Fine, let's play fair shall we," Ash said, determination lingering in his voice. He edged closer to Jessie and he pulled out from his own boot, a small dagger.

Misty watched on, soaring closer. Are they going to fight without Pokemon? But Pikachu was right there on Ash's shoulder.

"Ash just use Pikachu!" Misty cried out. And before her appeared in an instant an Ariados, latched onto the sail right by her. Misty became paralyzed as the giant spider crawled closer. Her spine shuddered and chills covered her body.

"Pikachu help out Misty!" Ash said, ducking as Jessie swung her sword across the air, aiming for his head.

Pikachu did not hesitate and leapt from its beam to the one Misty was near and used an iron tail attack, causing the Ariados to fall onto its back on the deck. Its legs flailed madly and creepily in the air.

"M—Misty!" Ash cried out, holding his small dagger against the long blade that Jessie held. "Misty take Pikachu and go help the others!"

Pikachu hopped onto Misty's shoulder, calming her down from her sudden meet with a bug Pokemon. "B—but Ash…"

"Go!" Ash said through gritted teeth trying to overpower the Captain but being pushed back. "Pikachu get her to listen!"

"Ash! Let me help you!"

"No! Ah!" Jessie's sword grazed Ash's cheek, leaving a shallow cut. "I'll be fine, go!"

"Yes…" Jessie drawled, swinging her sword again. "Listen to your boyfriend, brat. No need to watch him die."

"Ash!" Misty was about glided right over to her best friend, but his voice commanded her to listen.

"Listen to me! Just go take Pikachu and help the others!" Desperation was laced in his voice.

Misty struggled with what she wanted to do and what she had to do. She wanted to help Ash and her friends but Ash was helpless without a Pokemon and looked to be losing to Jessie. But she wanted to trust him; she wanted to trust that he'd be fine without her.

"This is no time to worry about me! Go!" Ash shouted.

Misty gave him one last fleeting look and then descended with Pikachu to help battle the pirates with her friends. Once his best friends left, Ash used his lasting strength to push Jessie off, which worked.

The Captain staggered back a little, but still remained balanced on the beam. She wasn't about to let this fight end.

Misty had reached the deck with Pikachu. They both landed by Flygon as it remained in its uncomfortable bind. She saw the agony in the poor dragon's eyes and couldn't bare watching it lose its energy to the net. "Don't worry, we'll set you free," she told the dragon.

Misty checked around to see that her friends were doing fine, their Pokemon battling the opposing ones that belonged to the pirates. She made sure that no other threat was looming over her.

"Pikachu, do you think iron tail would work?" she asked the electric rodent.

"Pika?" Pikachu said, tilting its head to the side. It was worth a shot and Pikachu took a moment, letting its tail became the steely armor that would cut through the electric net.

Pikachu launched into the air, its tail glowing and attacked the net but it did not cut. The net however sparked, almost as if it were malfunctioning.

"Maybe it's breaking?" Misty murmured to herself. She turned to Pikachu who was breathing heavily, but looked determined to cut through the net. Misty looked around and saw Clemont working on freeing Dragonite.

Amidst the battling going on around him, Clemont managed to continue working with the help of his friends and Chespin guarding him.

But Misty couldn't just leave Flygon. However there were no opposing threats protecting it, so she figured it would safe to head over to Clemont and ask him how she can help.

"I'll be right back, Flygon, okay?" Misty told it sweetly, her heart aching for it.

"Pikachu, pika," Pikachu told it.

The Flygon appeared to have understood, nodding slowly, not wanting to set of the electrical circuit on the net. Misty fled to Clemont's side, dodging oncoming attacks.

"Any luck?" she asked, breathlessly.

"Almost," Clemont said weakly. "This device is sucking the electrical circuits from the net. Once it's all dried up, I can easily use a knife to cut through the rope."

Misty nodded and smiled hopefully at Pikachu. She glanced over to make sure that Flygon was still okay, but sadly noticed that Meowth was standing by it. The cat had a remote in its paws, pressing whatever buttons were on it.

As the cat continued to prod on its remote, the sparks that were dying on Dragonite's net resurfaced with more power, short-circuiting Clemont's device.

"What?" Clemont exclaimed, flabbergasted. "What went wrong?"

Misty narrowed her eyes, feeling the fury rage within her soul. She saw as the Flygon let out a moan of agony. "I know what happened," she said harshly.

The redhead, jumped forward, lunging at the cat before it had a chance to notice. She tackled Meowth onto its back, trying to pry the remote from its paw.

Meowth struggled beneath her, holding the remote out of her reach and dug its claws into her arm that held it down. Misty winced, biting her lip at the piercing claws that drew blood and reached for the remote. Her fingers latched onto it and pulled it with both hands.

"It's mine!" Meowth whined, pulling the remote against Misty's hold. "James!"

Misty yanked it at last out of the cat's paws, rising to her feet and smashing the remote with all her strength onto the floor. It shattered at her feet, leaving a horrible skid on the wooden surface of the boat.

Upon the remote shattering, the net appeared to be a regular net. It no longer emitted flurries of sparks.

"Clemont cut Dragonite free!" Misty shouted. She turned to find that Pikachu had followed her and was already nibbling through the net to cut Flygon loose. "Good work, Pikachu."

"Hey, what'd you think—" Meowth began, James arriving at his aid.

"Meowth—ah!" James said but stopped as the net fell off Flygon and the dragon extended its massive wings, glaring at James and Meowth with a vengeful gleam in its eyes.

James and Meowth cowered before Misty, Pikachu and Flygon. They clung to each other for support, expecting for something unpleasant to occur. However, their legs spoke for themselves, breaking into a run.

"No way!" Misty said picking up the net and with the help of the Flygon, tied it around James and Meowth like a rope.

"Fantastic, now what do we do?" James asked Meowth while Misty finished tightening the knot.

"You do nothing," Misty explained, chuckling.

"Lance!"

Misty and Pikachu heard Iris call out. Misty along with the rodent, rushed over to Lance who was quivering due to the effects of the poison. However, Pokemon battles raged on between Gary and Cilan against the pair of Raticate. Brock and Max fended off the regained Toxicroak and Ariados, while Tracey and Bonnie aimed for the flying Pokemon that tried to attack Ash in midair.

Clemont managed to free Dragonite and they both rushed to Lance.

"Dragonite," Drayden told the orange dragon. "Take Lance back to the village."

"No…Dragonite, Drayden," Lance whimpered, holding onto his stomach. "How will everyone—get off the boat with only…one dragon?"

"Lance, listen to Drayden," Misty told him.

"Yeah, we have Flygon and the others got their Pokemon back," Iris explained calmly.

Lance's breathing was becoming shallow. He was losing time just as the rest of them. But unlike the others, Lance was in dire need of medical attention.

Without another word, Drayden lifted Lance's frail body onto Dragonite, pulling Lance's arms so that they were fastened onto Dragonite's neck. "Make sure he doesn't fall, Dragonite. Get him there as fast as you can."

The dragon gave a curt nod, rising into the sky and zooming out of sight. Drayden turned to face Misty. "Thank you for saving my Flygon. And thank you for saving Dragonite." He turned to thank Clemont. They twirled around to see the others continuing to battle relentlessly against the pirates. And by the looks of things, the pirates were winning.

With Lance safe away from the ship, Iris and Drayden teamed up to help the others while Misty and Clemont paired off with Chespin and Pikachu to help end the battles once and for all.

Misty looked up to see that Ash and Jessie were still dueling. Ash looked like he was struggling but his feet was still planted on the beam. She hoped that he would be fine.

"Getting tired, boy?" Jessie taunted, standing straight, wielding her blade in a motion as if it were a dance.

"Yeah, right," Ash breathed, keeping up with enough stamina. "You don't know what I'm capable of, Captain." He prodded his small dagger, blocking every swipe that Jessie made.

"I could do this all day," Jessie said, leaning against the pillar of the sail, almost looking bored.

"I can do this all night!" Ash said, challenging her.

"Doubt you'll make it for your bedtime, twerp," Jessie spat, hunching forward, swinging her sword madly, causing Ash to stagger back.

He was leaning over the edge now, his strength losing to that of Jessie as she used both her normal hand and her hooked hand to disarm him.

Ash's eyes darted downwards quickly, seeing that his friends were doing okay and that Flygon was free. He also caught a glimpse of James and Meowth pathetically tied and immobile.

"L—look at that, Captain," Ash grunted. "Your henchmen are helpless."

Jessie peered quickly to confirm that indeed James and Meowth were tied up and unable to assist. This fact alone was not going to weaken her though. Jessie continued to push her sword closer towards Ash's face.

"A—and my—my friends are winning," Ash continued, his arms trembling under the pressure. He pushed his arms upwards, Jessie's strength faltering.

It went on more a few more minutes, both testing the strength of the other like an arm wrestle between two heavyweights. Jessie's hooked hand gave her a disadvantage allowing Ash to nearly disarm her.

The Captain stumbled backwards, but held onto the sail. She held her sword out defensively while Ash pointed his dagger at her with triumph.

Ash stared at her with a cocky smirk on his face, his chest rising up and down, trying to steady its breathing. "Are you finished?"

Jessie looked at her opponent, her eyes twitching. She refused to lose. She refused to let all her hard work and planning fail without any sort of reward. Her mind was boggled to how this time Ash and his stupid friends were able to outdo her and her crew.

Each time, every time, Ash was always the victor. Not this time, though, Jessie thought angrily. Her shaky eyes, scowled down at the redheaded girl that should have drowned in the ocean last night. Jessie's upper lip twitched as a thought bubbled in her head.

This thought brought her pleasure at how she would be able to weaken the boy. "I suppose you think that she's going to stick around."

Ash narrowed his eyes, remaining in his defensive stance. He didn't bother giving Jessie a response, knowing that she was trying to distract him.

Jessie went on. "She's a gym leader isn't she?" She eyed Ash, watching his face grow into more puzzlement. He remained quiet, however. "She's got responsibilities. Do you think that she's going to continue gallivanting by your side on your silly pursuit of being the greatest trainer in the world."

Ash, without thinking let his arm lower slightly, absorbing what Jessie was saying. But as the Captain inched forward, Ash shot his arm back up in the air, holding his dagger with both hands this time.

Jessie's smile grew as she pumped her chest. She was going to break him. She was going to wreck him.

"I mean you have other friends," Jessie explained. "Poor girl might feel forgotten from time to time." She showcased a mock look of concern.

Ash's nostrils flared, his arms trembling before him, not wanting to give Jessie any response.

"I bet you don't even write her, do you?" Jessie pouted. "Do you even call her? Don't you ever wonder what she's up to?"

"It's none of your business," Ash spat suddenly, unable to keep quiet any longer. He remained in his stance, waiting.

Jessie smirked again in triumph. He was weakening at the harsh but somewhat true words of the Captain's. Ash pondered what Jessie was saying; forcing the guilt that weighed him down out of his mind, refusing to believe what she was saying was indeed true.

"It's a good thing, Misty…" Jessie spat, sticking her tongue out as if there was a sour taste latched onto it. "It's a good thing that Misty is pretty independent. I'm sure she doesn't even care that you don't bother giving her a call or dropping by the gym for a visit—"

"You don't know a thing about Misty!" Ash shouted, looking down to see that Misty was ordering Pikachu to attack a Murkrow. "Our friendship is great. Too bad the same can't be said about you and your crew!"

Jessie cocked a brow, not even flinching. She continued to prod the boy on an obviously touchy subject. "I found her in the Hollow, you know? She was crying, because of you."

A pang of guilt stabbed Ash right into the heart. He felt it slowly crumble, wanting so badly to go back in time and take back everything he had said. He wanted to make it up to Misty. He looked back down at Misty who was actually smiling alongside Clemont as they both defeated their opponents. Ash's arms lowered, feeling his body being consumed with heartache.

"She doesn't deserve what you said to her," Jessie went on, spitefully. "It's only a matter of time before she forgets about you. Just like how you easily disposed of your friendship."

"I…didn't," Ash croaked.

"She can easily replace you with someone else like how you replaced her with all the other twerps on this ship."

Ash shook his head, rage boiling in his weakened heart. "No! I never replaced her!" He raised his arms again, taking a step toward Jessie. "I'll never let her feel that way!"

"She already does, though," Jessie went on not feeling threatened by the dagger approaching her. "Another boy will grab her interest. She'll forget about you."

"No she won't!" Ash yelled, leaping into the air, swinging his dagger to silence Jessie.

The Captain, however, blocked his dagger with her sword quickly, almost like an instinct. Her smile did not fade; the outrage Ash was showing only fueled her. "She won't remember who you are."

"I'm still her friend!" Ash spewed.

"But you don't write."

"I'll write her everyday from now on!"

"She throws your letters away."

"I'll call her!"

"It goes to the machine, and she never calls back."

"I'll visit her!"

"She out at the moment, but I'll tell her you stopped by," Jessie guffawed, having way too much fun.

"I'll come by her window like I did the other night. I'll take her to Neverland and we can hang out and have fun!"

"Her window's closed."

"I'll open it!" Ash swore through gritted teeth, his stamina failing.

"It's barred."

"No! Stop!" Ash demanded. But Jessie had achieved what she wanted to happen. She broke Ash and his feet was now back on the beam, his balance wavering.

Jessie leaned closer to the boy, whispering into his ear. "Her life does not revolve around your existence. She lives beyond you. Your friendship died the second you two went your separate ways."

Tears pricked Ash's shaky eyes, his heart broken beyond repair. Jessie shoved him off the beam and Ash did not have the will to fly and save himself. All the happy thoughts and feelings that fueled Ash was sucked dry, leaving him as nothing but an empty, sorrowful shell.

"Pikapi!"

"It's Ash!" Gary cried out.

The others looked up, seeing the figure of Ash plummeting down to the ship.

"Why won't he fly?" Brock yelled in shock.

Misty feared that her friend would hurt himself beyond repair if he hit the surface of the ship. She jumped into the air, her arms up and Ash crashed on top of her, sending them both landing roughly on the ship floor.

Ash remained lifeless on top of Misty. She stirred beneath him, ignoring the protesting aches in her back and ribs. Misty held Ash's head looking into his sad eyes. "Ash?" she whispered, tears threatening to escape her lids.

Tears flowed out of Ash's eyes as he lay blankly in Misty's warm arms.

"Ash, say something," Misty told him.

The battles had halted since Ash fell to the floor. Jessie looked down at the scene, before she rolled her eyes, chortling.

Ash's friends gathered around and Pikachu arrived on the other side his partner. "Pikapi…" it said sadly.

"Ash? Ash!" Misty cried, giving the limp boy a little shake. Ash was not asleep nor was he dead, but his body felt cold and his eyes were glistening with sadness and misery.

When Ash did not react to Misty's persistence, Pikachu placed a paw on its trainer's arm, rubbing it.

Misty's tears fell onto her friend's cold face. "Ash…" she whimpered. "You have to get up," she breathed. "You better not die, Ash!" she demanded. "You can't or I'll never forgive you!" Her voice cracked as a new wave of emotion swept over her.

"Mi—Misty…" came the low voice of Ash.

Mist's eyes widened as she watched Ash closely, waiting for him to say something else.

"I'm sorry…" he huffed, weakly. "I didn't mean to abandon you…"

Misty looked at her friends for a fleeting moment, exchanging confused looks with them. Her gaze swept back to Ash.

"You never did," Misty assured him, cradling his head closer to her. "Don't ever think that." Her lips quivered as she forced them to form a smile. "I'm not going anywhere."

To her amazement, Ash smiled a little. Misty felt Butterfree collect in her stomach at the hopeful sign that Ash was going to be okay. "I'm not going anywhere either," he sighed.

Footsteps approached, stomping passed the group of Ash and Misty's friends. Jessie had apparently freed James and Meowth as they were standing behind her scoffing at the touching scene before them.

"I knew you'd be useful," Jessie said, eyeing the redhead who glared deeply at the heartless woman. "Finally he's fallen. Thanks to you." Jessie smiled, pleased with herself. "Consider it your fault that he failed, brat."

Blood boiled in Misty's veins; she wanted to attack the woman who did this to her best friend but refused to leave Ash helpless. She held him tighter, her fury dissolving into heartache. "Ash," she sobbed, bringing his head close to her face. "You're going to be fine."

"You're nothing but a cruel hag!" shouted Max.

Jessie twirled around, glowering with such intensity that Max and the others shrunk. However, that did not stop them from putting in their two cents.

"You're not getting away with what you did to my friend!" Gary shouted, his Umbreon growling by his feet.

"You did this to Ash not Misty!" Tracey retorted. "How dare you place the blame for your heartless actions on a kind-hearted person!"

"This is low even for you," Cilan exclaimed, his fists shaking and his Pansage's tail pointing upwards in anger.

"Quiet!" Jessie roared. "This is my ship and I will send you all to the gaping jaws of the Feraligatr in a flash!"

Misty did not pay attention to the Captain's outburst. She was still preoccupied with her weakened friend in her arms. The tears continued to pour from her eyes and her throat choked on her sobs.

Ash's eyes began to flutter against his control. Misty panicked, holding him much closer, radiating all the care and affection she can exude. Misty lowered Ash's head, staring into his sad, flickering eyes. "I won't let anything else happen to you," she promised.

Ash's smile stretched a little, his eyes finally closing. Misty released more tears, swallowing her sobs.

"Pikapi…" Pikachu was now crying, clinging onto his trainer's arm with all its love.

"You're my best friend, Ash," Misty murmured, caressing Ash's tear stained face, rubbing his cut softly. She brushed a few loose strands from his eyes and lowered her face to his. Cradling his head delicately, Misty pressed her lips onto his letting him know what her true feelings are at last whether he was aware of it now or not.

She let her kiss linger for a moment. And upon the contact, Misty felt warmth brisk her lips. She slowly parted, pulling back to get a clear look at Ash. His eyes had opened again and his whole body was beginning to warm up.

"Misty…" his voice wheezed with a little more clarity than before. Pikachu's ears perked up and it faced its trainer who had regain consciousness.

"Ash?" Misty shrilled with hope.

Their friends spun around to see their fallen hero was looking more alive than before. Team Rocket's mouths dropped, paralyzed watching the boy regain his strength.

"I feel the same way," Ash whispered genuinely, letting Misty know how he felt in his own "Ash" way. He reached a hand over to Misty's shoulder and pushed himself up while his strength rebuilt. Misty released her friend, allowing him to get up.

This time it was Misty who found herself being held onto by Ash's warm embrace. It was not tight or painful like back when they reunited at the Hollow. Instead, it was soft, warm and loving. Misty wrapped her arm around Ash with the same amount of love she was able to shower him with.

They both stood up, stilling clinging onto each other as their friends watched happily and as Team Rocket scowled before them.

Ash and Misty finally let go, gazing into each other's eyes, which no longer looked downtrodden but shined with hope and love. Ash looked down to see Pikachu chipper that its trainer was fine.

"Hey buddy, ready to finish this?" Ash said, raising a fist.

"Pika!" Pikachu chirped, launching itself onto Ash's shoulder. Ash and Misty faced Team Rocket, their eyes burning with revenge and perseverance. Their friends all turned to look at their enemies with the same glint of determination on their faces.

They all stood before Team Rocket and the pirates, their Pokemon getting into a battle stance, ready for one last fight. Their last hope had risen again and they were not going to fail. They were going to finish this once and for all.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: The next chapter will conclude this tale of Misty and Ash's adventure in Neverland. But, the next installment will include the final showdown between Ash and the Captain, so stay tuned! I'd also like to once again mention that the Peter Pan story I am going by is the 2003 live action movie. And in this chapter, a major scene from the movie is played out in the form of Pokéshipping. Also a quick clarification in case anyone's curious, Ash's friends each have only one Pokémon on hand. Mainly because I feel as though there are enough Pokémon battling aboard a pirate ship, I don't want it to be overkill.

Hope this chapter was exciting enough as I had a lot of fun writing it! Anyways, next time the grand finale!