After about half an hour the two made it to the clearing where May first found the baby's egg. The two had tried to get him out of the bag as soon as they entered the woods but the small pokemon had fallen into a deep sleep thanks to the comforting warmth of the bag.
"You found it here?" Ash asked as he stared around the clearing at the grazing animals. It was bizarre, they weren't running from them.
"Yeah, just over there...what're you looking at?" She asked, finally noticing his less than full attention.
"This is so surreal" he mumbled as he stared at the deer dotted around.
"What, you mean the animals? I guess it is, I've kind of become used to them. You can't go over to them and stroke them, but you can get within touching distance."
"I'm coming this way home from school all the time now."
"But you don't live this way"
"I don't care"
"Idiot" she sighed as she rested the bag on the floor.
"What're you doing?" Ash asked, his voice starting her
"Putting him down. I'm not carrying him anymore my back's killing, he's heavier than he looks."
"I thought we were trying to protect him? Someone could just stroll along and pick him up and sell him to the highest bidder"
"And who, pray tell, would do that here in the middle of the woods?"
"I don't know, but that doesn't mean we should risk it. Pass him here, I'll carry him" he motioned her over as she grabbed the sleeping pokemon's substitute bed.
"Alright. If you insist, but he does start to ache on your shoulders after a while"
"I'll be fine. See I can take pain" handing him the sleeping pokemon she punched his arm half-heartedly "ow" he complained as he slipped the strap over his shoulder.
"Yeah, you're real tough" she deadpanned as she started to wander around the clearing.
"If you found him here then that must mean that he came through something right? I mean he can't have fallen from the sky. People would have seen him."
"Yeah, and yesterday I don't remember seeing any animals. I think they must have been startled, or sensed danger. Whatever it was they weren't here yesterday"
"Maybe, so if they're back that must mean the danger's gone, right?"
"Presumably"
"You know, you could be a little more help. It feels like I'm doing all the working out"
"Oh shut up Ash, we're both doing work, I'm just agreeing with you on one of the rare occasion that you're right"
"It's not that rare"
"Oh please, it so is"
"You know, you two should really stop bickering so much. You were so loud you led us straight to you." Neither could supress the jump at the surprise at the barely familiar voice.
"Who the hell was that?" Ash asked as he span on the spot. Trying to see who was there.
"It's that woman" May gasped in recollection.
"Who?"
"One of the three after Pikachu"
"Oh, so you're the one that sent this little guy over here?" Ash glared up at the woman as she leaped from her spot high off the ground in the branches of a tall tree and landed with practiced ease before the two.
"Yes I am, now if you don't mind I'd like to take him back. This dimension is no place for a pokemon."
"And it's gonna be safer with you?" She laughed up at the woman. "Listen old lady, I don't care what you want, all I care about is getting him back to his family. He'll be safe there. There's no chance in hell that I'll let you take him. Got it?"
"Who're you calling old lady?" Jessie shot back, her mind stuck on the insult.
"That's what you care about?" Ash asked disbelievingly.
"I'm not old"
"You're old compared to us" he pointed out smirking at the woman.
"Ash, shut up, and preferably run. I'm not losing him" May's hushed voice gained his attention and he nodded subtly. Spinning on the spot he grabbed her hand and ran, hoping the quick movement would startle the woman.
Unfortunately for them the two missing members were stood behind them grinning.
"Got you kids cornered." The cat started "you can't run away now"
"Who's running?" Ash snapped automatically.
"Well, you two were just about to run. You grabbed your girlfriends hand and was about to run away"
"What do you mean girlfriend?"
"Honestly, that's the bit that bothers you." May asked stunned, her friend really was a strange one.
"Anyway, we weren't running away we just don't want the kid to be woken up."
"Oh, well here's a thought hand him to me and I'll look after him while we fight."
"How about no?"
"That's a shame, well I suppose we'll have to fight against you and your girlfriend."
"Listen, I don't know what's wrong with you but she ain't my girlfriend. If anyone's dating anyone around here it's you and the old woman over there"
"James, don't let him call me old, fight!" She ordered as she gritted her teeth.
"Yes Jessie." He agreed, apparently used to her demands. Pulling out a poke ball he threw it just short of the two "Carnivine!" As the pokemon was released it veered away from the two and instead latched onto his head. "Ow, Carnivine, honestly, I don't think this is the time." Grabbing hold of the huge green creature's Venus flytrap mouth he threw it towards the two. "Fight!" He ordered as the thing landed on its leaf like legs.
The thing nodded its head facing the two kids who were staring at it more than stunned.
"What the hell is that thing?" Ash asked, "it looks like something in my mum's garden"
"Hey, leave Carnivine alone, Carnivine use bullet seed" he pointed towards the two, instructing the plant to attack them. Mildly confused the pokemon followed orders opening his mouth wider than physically possible and shooting bullets at the two. Eyes widening in shock they dived to the side missing the projectiles by mere millimetres.
"Hey! Are you insane?!" Ash screamed as he was crouched on the ground, weary of the plant and clearly insane man.
"Not to the extent where he has to be institutionalised" the cat creature cut in earning a glare from the man at his side.
"Meowth shut up." He told the creature as he called Carnivine. "Carnivine bullet seed once more" the plant attacked with the pellets he stored somewhere inside his mouth and just barely grazed the two again.
"Stop shooting at us!" Ash shouted once more, staring across at May who was gripping her arm. A bullet getting just a little too close breaking the skin.
"Why would we do that? You have something we want and you won't give it over. Why would we stop attacking you without Pikachu? Give us the pokemon and we'll stop attacking."
"Not a chance"
"Well, there's no chance we'll stop attacking. Hey Jessie you gonna let James do all the work? You know the boss'll find out. I doubt he'd be too pleased with that"
The girl gritted her teeth at the cat's voice, sometimes she hated that he could talk.
"Alright, fine, I'll play too" pulling out a ball she threw it between the two. "Seviper"
A coiled up black snake burst in between the two, his long red fangs sticking out of his mouth.
"What the hell is that thing? It's worse than the plant" Ash asked, unintentionally offending James and Carnivine.
"Don't speak about Carnivine like that" he shouted across to them, looking somewhat like a temperamental woman.
"Shut up"
"No, you shut up you little brat, Carnivine grab him." He commanded and the plant willingly followed wrapping his leaf like arms around Ash's wriggling body.
"Hey, let go of me!"
"No, and I think we'll take Pikachu too"
"The hell you will" Ash kicked out at the pokemon in front of him, hoping for a lucky hit but the creature seemed determined to hold on. With his arms trapped to his side there wasn't much the boy could do so he set his sight on trying to save the baby. Shaking his body sideways he jolted the sleeping pokemon making his head pop up half lidded eyes staring at the boy confused.
"Pikka?"
"Pikachu get out!" He ordered, kicking away the snake's tail that tried to wind around the pokemon.
"Pikka?" He asked, awakening more from the panicked tone of Ash than his actual words.
"Get up and out!" He shouted, losing patience with the small thing. Was it so hard to follow simple instructions? Apparently so.
The yellow mouse simply stared at Ash before turning his head towards the plant.
"Pikachu?!" He gasped as he stared at the grinning green thing.
"Get out, go to May" briefly glancing sideways he gathered that that probably wasn't the best idea seeing as the woman was cornered by the snake and was batting his tail away with a fallen branch. "Go back home. Find your way back home!" Going to May was out of the question but he was sure they'd release them if Pikachu wasn't there anymore. They'd go after him instead of trying to kill them.
Pikachu looked torn.
"Pikka" he tried as he reached up to his face crying out in shock as the Carnivine tried to grab at his hand.
"Pikachu!" He shouted as the pokemon hesitated to dip back inside the bag. He looked on the verge of tears. All this was too much for the new born.
He jumped out of the bag and ran across the grass, finally listening to the boy's panicked voice. He jumped over the Seviper's tail that was laid out in front of him. He wanted to run to the girl. But as soon as he turned to contemplate that he saw her stood like she was fighting the tree branch not lowering once.
"Pikachu, run home, we'll keep them busy. Just get back home!" May shouted, panicking more than a little. She was cornered and Ash was captured. If the baby was caught all would be over.
Nodding his head once he started to retrace the human's scent. He could hopefully follow that back to their home.
As soon as the small mouse ran from sight the old woman withdrew her pokemon. "James, they weren't bluffing the things heading home. Come on, let's go"
"No Jessie, they insulted Carnivine, we're getting even."
"Never mind getting even. How's the boss going to react when we tell him that we lost the pokemon because of you?"
"Carnivine!" He shouted immediately running in the direction the small thing had fled. Ash dropped to the ground with a hard thud as the pokemon vanished into thin air. The air still seemed to vibrate where the pokemon was and his skin tingled where the plant like arms had held him so tight the sensation had been cut off and was just now returning.
"I hate pins and needles" he grumbled as he ran over to May, now free of the snake and waiting for him to come over.
"Come on Ash, let's get back home before they get there. Who knows what they'll do to him?" She seemed to recover quicker than him. Just remembering he probably couldn't remember where she lived she added. "We should probably go now. I'd hate for him to get caught because he couldn't get inside."
"Wait, what about your family. They'll see him!"
"Honestly, right now that's the least of my worries." She answered truthfully as she grabbed onto his hand. "Now, come on, I'm not waiting around another second. We need to save him. Otherwise there was no point in even picking up his egg"
"May, wait!" Ash shouted, halting May in her run and painfully jolting her shoulder.
"What Ash?!" She practically shouted, glaring at her friend.
"Not that way, is there any other way back out of the woods?" He asked, needing his answer before the explanation.
"Well yes"
"Then we'll go that way. There's no point following, we'll never pass them"
"Ash, what're you talking about. We could if we hurried"
"No, think about it, if we catch up we'll never get past them. They'd never allow us, they'd keep us trapped behind. Either with their bodies or those pokemon. But if we go the other way, we could catch up and pass them"
"When did you come up with this?"
"I'm not as dumb as I look"
"There's a surprise"
"Shut up and lead the way" he ordered waiting for his friend to move. And after a second of looking around May started running, dragging Ash behind.
This had better work.
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