Chapter 2:Homebound & Bounded
Ash and Pikachu crawled out of the strange tunneling hole that appeared to have bonded two different lands together. The two were lucky...lucky to be men. Well, they did see a young brunette female named Kari bathing in a lake. Usually, people bathe in the nude, so it would be no surprise that Ash would peek and see a sight for any outright lecture to gawk towards. "Well, that was a nice sidetrack," Ash sighed with a smile. Pikachu did like it there, since he was able to talk like a human for the first time. However...
("It sure was, Ash,") it squeaked in agreement. It didn't establish in their world. That bit. Pikachu knew it. ("Well, it was nice when I had it.") Yeah, it was nice to spill secrets to your best friend. It was worth it.
"We should get packing. There may be no time limit to completing the Battle Frontier, but we can't really stall them. It'd be rude of us." That's right. Ash was preparing for the Battle Frontier. Wait...what's the Battle Frontier? Hey, Ash- They left. They're now on their way to Pallet Town. As they parted scene, someone else came by. From the same cave was that lavender-haired girl...Timeout! She was wearing a blue bandanna, a magenta button-down t-shirt over a blue blouse and a magenta long skirt. Where was the helmet? The aviator costume? She looked around, mystified of the new setting.
"What the heck is this?" she asked herself. "Some sort of parallel world?" Parallel world? Well, it's connected. Suddenly, she spotted Ash and Pikachu running toward the seen town. "That's him! I gotta warn Kari." She bolted back through the tunnel. As she re-emerged in the other lands, her first outfit was back on. Was there a changing room in that tunnel? She came out the other side running to a newly dressed Kari, sporting a sleeveless pink shirt with a large white stripe in the middle. She also had yellow shorts, thigh-high pink/white striped socks and pink old school basketball shoes. By her was a white cat with purple hair sprouting from its ears and tail, all while donning yellow clawed gloves. Was this the cat-napper, as in the sleeping kitten? "Kari!" Kari heard her friend as Hawkmon swooped down to join the others.
"Yolei, what is it?" she wondered. She got to Kari, heavy breathing heard from yards away.
"A breach in the DigiWorld!" Kari's eyes shot wide, learning that someone had broken into this world. Already, she thought up suspects.
"Davis must be wanting a sneak peek, jeez, that guy won't leave me alone." Wow. Suspect and motive. Yolei was ready to defend this Davis...well, not really. More like, say that it was not him.
"That's who I thought, too, until I saw that this guy had a yellow mouse, not Veemon." Yellow mouse? Ready to forgive Davis, now?
"Where did you see this guy, Yolei?" Hawkmon questioned. Yolei was ready to explain with one deep breath.
"There's a cave about a half-mile from here, and get this. On the other side, there was a town, and weird enough, I was in my other wardrobe, meaning that it's not part of the DigiWorld." Gasps clouded the scene. They were in disbelief that someone could waltz into this world and cause confusion. "If we hurry, we'll be able to see him, again. I bet he's the one who sneaked a peek."
"Okay," Kari agreed to tag along. The four ran to the cavern and, without hesitation, entered. As the Digimon and girls trenched through the tunnel, Ash and Pikahcu were in the town limits. Both gazed the sudden bare streets, houses, plants...nothing felt correct in Ash's head.
"This is weird," he gulped. "Where is everybody?" Pikachu was also left in the dark from the reasons the roads were empty.
("Not sure,") it blankly shrugged. Ash had one suspicious reason of the absence of the people.
"You don't think Prof. Oak planned a surprise party for us while running a parcel to Prof. Ivy over on Valencia Island, do you? I mean, finishing in the Top Eight in the Evergrande Tournament is impressive." The Top Eight? Out of how many others? Pikachu began to get that same uneasy urge that this was a ploy that Ash believed. "I don't know. It's probably just me." That's right, it's all in your head. They stopped by a white house with a nice porch. Without a moment of waiting, Ash and Pikachu walked in, probably expecting someone, at least...all while Yolei, looking through binoculars, spotted them.
"That house, huh?" she figured while back into the bandanna and skirt. She looked through the same town, not seeing anyone else as well. This was weird. "Huh, no one else seems to be outside. Pandemic, perhaps?" Then, she saw a rather large house with windmills at each side of it. Nothing there, either. Kari, who's wardrobe didn't change, wasn't paying attention to what Yolei saw, or said.
"Wow, aren't you all sorts of friendly?" she giggled while a green caterpillar-like creature crawled around her neck, seemingly tickling her. Yolei turned to the childish giggles, eying Kari with that caterpillar-like creature...not quite the happy tone. The two Digimon were just watching, rather amused with this unusual insect.
"Kari, put that caterpillar down! You don't know where that's been!" Yolei, Kari isn't your daughter.
"Oh, come on! It's cute." Cute, maybe, but did she have any clue on what it was? "Besides, I'd be more worried about that insect." She was pointing to a yellow worm-type creature with a spike embedded on it's crown. One look was all Hawkmon and the white cat needed.
"She's got a point, Yolei," the cat understood. Yolei bobbed a nod, agreeing with the cat, but looked back at Pallet Town.
"I want to go and see what this boy was doing in the DigiWorld," she plotted. "Even if it means we need to use dirty tactics." Kari heard her good friend, thinking that she was going to punish the boy just for wandering into the world that they came from.
"Why are you willing to use excessive force?" she questioned. "If he'd harmed the DigiWorld, it's one thing, but I'm beginning to think that you're overreacting to spotting a guy." Yolei didn't seem too concern with what Kari believed. She was ready to execute action.
"Just trust me on this. Gatomon, Hawkmon, let's go." She sprinted off ahead with the two Digimon, leaving Kari and the caterpillar alone.
"Oh, boy." Knowing that she could use help, Kari followed, the caterpillar still clung to her shoulder. Ash was snacking with Pikachu in the kitchen, who was licking ketchup from a bottle. No hot dogs, no burgers, no brats. Just straight ketchup. Ash had something a little more sensible: an apple. Still, he felt something missing.
"It doesn't make sense," he muttered. Pikachu was thinking what Ash had his mind on.
("The fact that the streets are empty?") he guessed while sipping the oozing tomato dressing. Ash's apple was bitten by him as his brain was hard at work.
"The townspeople would be supporting me during the tournament, but for everyone to file, like into Prof. Oak's lab, it just seems unreasonable. I don't know if May's gonna come with me on this one. Max was here when we left to run that errand to Prof. Ivy a couple of days ago." Before Pikachu could try to delve into the issue, a knock was heard. Finally, other than Pkachu, Ash was about to have company. "Now, who could that be? Pikachu, you stay here."
("Understood.") Ash walked to the front door, anticipating someone to explain the absence of the townsfolk. When he opened the door...no one was there. Weird.
"There's no way that it was in my head." Ash stepped onto the porch...into Yolei's trap. Yolei, Hawkmon and Gatomon held the wooden beams that supported the porch above Ash. "Hello?" Yolei sprang down. When she landed on the wooden porch, she wrapped her arms around Ash's head and neck. A WWE classic submission move: the sleeper hold. Cutting off blood circulation and oxygen to the brain, Yolei's grip was mighty strong. Ash tried to stay alive, fighting the grapple as best he could. He grasped her arm that was over his throat, trying to yank it away. Yolei couldn't believe the strength Ash had in his tank.
"Do it!" she cued. Gatomon leaped down, hitting the porch before springing head first...into Ash's gut. The strike flattened Ash's lungs and stomach, knocking the wind and some apple remains from his mouth. Yolei applied one final twist. Before long, Ash was out. Yolei didn't kill Ash, did she? "Guess he was a little tougher than I thought." She dragged Ash back inside the house, carrying him by the armpits as Kari and the caterpillar made it to the scene. Yolei motioned her head to grab a chair for Ash to sit in. Kari raced into the kitchen, right in front of Pikachu. Kari grabbed a seat and carried it to Yolei, not even looking to the mouse. Pikachu saw the caterpillar, unsure of what to make of the situation.
("Was that Kari?") he wondered. ("What's she doing with a wild Caterpie?") Thinking that it was something that might have been requested by Ash, he went right back to licking ketchup. Thanks a lot, No-Help. Grateful for an available chair, Yolei plopped Ash onto it. Now came a dilemma for the both of them.
"I kinda wish I brought rope." Caterpie was willing to help, making noises for attention. Without warning, it spat silky string from its mouth, wrapping around Ash. Two minutes of stringing later, Ash was cocooned, except for the head. It was strapped to the chair, unable to get out. Kind of pointless, since he was still sawing logs. The girls were amazed with what Caterpie was able to do.
"Wow, I didn't know you had it in you," Kari awed. Caterpie enjoyed the feeling of being accepted by Kari. Hearing two different voices, Pikachu ran into the scene, viewing a wrapped friend alongside the two femmes. He didn't like the sight of his friend cocooned against his subconscious will.
("What do you want with Ash?!") he roared. Kari, Yolei and the Digimon jumped, spooked by the sudden appearance of Ash's good partner.
"Didn't really count on resistance," Gatomon shuttered before going into some sort of combat mode, claws in the ready. Pikachu started to pinch its cheeks a bit, emitting electric sparks. Was this a showdown? Gatomon versus Pikachu? 'So, it's got electricity running through its veins. This might be interesting.' Pikachu's mind...a little unusual.
'Here, kitty, kitty, kitty. Come get some delicious rat.' You sure you want to bait Gatomon over? This was about to explode into a bad fur-flying fight...until Kari stepped in.
"Gatomon, stand down," she ordered. Gatomon and Pikachu looked up to the brunette, surprised that she wanted to avoid bloodshed. She knelt down to the mouse, willing to confront him. "We're not here to cause confusion. We were wondering why this boy was in our world." To Pikachu, she was a nice girl, not a reason to show aggression.
("Oh, really?") Both looked over to the zonked Ash. It was time to arouse him.
"Does he have any girlfriends? You know, someone dating him?" G-g-girlfriends? Pikachu would not know anything about a girlfriend that Ash had, prompting him to shake his head in denial. Yolei and the Digimon had to figure that she was up to something mischievous.
"Kari, what are you planning on doing?" Hawkmon questioned her motive. Kari was not going to say a word. She ushered her lips to Ash, planting a kiss, mouth-to-mouth. Yolei, Hawkmon, Gatomon, Pikachu and Caterpie balked stunned gestures to what Kari was performing. She removed her lips, waiting for her magic to kick in. It would take a few seconds. Ash began to arise from the sleeper.
"What's going on?" he groggily moaned. He looked up, seeing the girl who he spotted in that lake, and another girl, who stepped up, willing to grill the trainer allowing himself to notice the cocoon wrap. "Why am I wrapped up in String Shot?" Yolei cupped Ash's chin, pulling him to her face.
"Okay, bub," she snarled. "Now that you're awake, we have a few questions like what you and your rat were doing in the DigiWorld?" Ash was flushed from his mental hiding spot. He tried to act innocent about his short stay in that alternate spot...until he saw the sleeve from when he was in that sleeper hold.
"Like I'm gonna answer to someone who watches too much pro wrestling." That got Yolei to start boiling blood. Kari decided to be the better voice.
"Allow me, Yolei," she offered again. Yolei backed off, allowing Ash to see the fully clothed girl that he witnessed bathing in the lake.
'It's her, again,' he remembered. 'I better not mention seeing her naked.' Kari was ready to talk, but was Ash?
"We're sorry about this. Apparently, my friend saw you somewhere in the world we're from. She was curious to know what your business was." She acted a lot more friendlier than Yolei, making Ash feel more trustworthy to her.
"Well, did you guys come out of the cavern nearby here?" Kari nodded, confirming Ash's question. "Well, curiosity had me and Pikachu check out that cavern. When we came out the other side, Pikachu was able to talk human, and we wandered around for a bit. We didn't really do much but stroll before returning here. We were coming back from an errand over in the Orange Islands." Good thing he dodged the part of seeing a nude Kari. Kari and Yolei felt that they did overreact to a non-issue.
"Yolei, it seems we've mistaken this nice fellow for someone like Davis," Hawkmon realized. That name again.
"Is this Davis a real creep?" The fact that this was heard again, Ash had to believe that he needed to stay clear from him.
"Not necessarily a creep," Yolei answered. "More of a no-nonsense, obsessive guy who think that going with Kari's concept." Verified, Ash rethought on the understanding of where these girls were proclaiming.
"I see. Sorry for making such a debacle for everyone."
"Hey, like Hawkmon said, you're a nice guy. No reason to get mad at you for something we're trying to protect." Ash chuckled, defogged of their confusion. "Now, let's get you out of that cocoon." Ash agreed, wanting to get out. Did he need to go to the bathroom? "Besides, I think we could get along well, together, despite the Sleeping Prince wakeup kiss by Kari." Yolei seemed to have liked Ash. As she grabbed a knife to cut the strings, a television was turned on. That was when a bombshell was dropped.
"24 hours have passed since the entire Town of Pallet has become deserted," a news anchorman announced. Ash, Kari, Yolei and the creatures turned to the TV, wondering what was up with the headline. "The town, located in the western portion of the Region of Kanto, has remained clear of any citizens, including the head professor, Samuel Oak, and famed Pokémon trainer, Ash Ketchum." Two mugshots appeared on the screen. One was a grayish white-haired man with a good amount of wrinkles on his forehead. The other...was Ash! Everyone was shocked. The girls had no clue that they held a famed person captive. Ash was more surprised that his hometown had been quiet for an entire day. The news didn't know that Ash was back. What other contortionist's twists and race car's tight turns waited the young group?
TO BE CONTINUED...
