Chapter 20: Right Place, Wrong Time
It felt like a lifetime had gone by since Ash and the others had been in adversity pulled into Celebi's Time Travel vortex, but in reality it had only been a brief moment. In the blink of an eye Celebi, along with Ash and the others, came out of time travel. The Time Travel Pokémon landed gracefully, but Ash and the others weren't so lucky as they crashed to the ground in a crumpled heap.
"Ow… that really hurt," Nikki groaned. "Is everyone alright?"
"I'm fine. The only thing that hurts right now is my pride," Ash replied. "How about you guys, Pikachu?"
"(We're okay,)" the Mouse Pokémon answered.
"I'll be fine when James gets off my back," Jessie complained.
"I will as soon as Meowth gets off mine," James retorted. As the humans and Pokémon got off each other they looked around and took in their surroundings.
"Guys… where are we?" Ash wondered.
"I think a better question is 'when' are we," Nikki corrected. It appeared as though they were in the same forest as before, but just about all of the trees were devoid of leaves and appeared to be dead and the sky was an ominous gray color. Looking around they spotted Celebi's shrine in the same place as before, but it too looked very different. The moss and weeds were gone, but the shrine itself was in terrible shape. Large chunks of stone had broken off and fallen to the ground at the base of the shrine.
"What are you going on about?" Meowth asked, not knowing what Nikki was implying.
"Well, if I'm not mistaken that was a time travel vortex we were sucked into, right Celebi?" she inquired. The Time Travel Pokémon nodded. At this point Ash began to realize what Nikki was getting at.
"If that's true then…"
"We've been sent through time!" Jessie panicked. "I can't stay here! There are so many things I've left undone!"
"No! Who will watch over my bottle cap collection?" James wailed.
"And I've got to keep that Persian from making me completely obsolete!" Meowth screeched. Ash, Nikki and the Pokémon all looked at each other with bored expressions.
"Drama queens, aren't they," Nikki commented.
"You don't know the half of it," Ash sighed. While Team Rocket panicked Nikki turned to Celebi.
"Do you think you could send us back?" she asked.
"(No problem!)" Celebi replied. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate.
"Alright, everyone! Get ready to time travel!" Nikki announced. Everyone gathered around Celebi and waited for her to send them back to their own time. After a few minutes it became apparent that something was wrong.
"Umm… why haven't we gone back to our own time?" James wondered. Celebi opened her eyes and sighed.
"(I'm sorry, everyone. That last go must have taken a bit more out of me than I realized. I don't have enough strength to open another time travel vortex,)" she explained.
"So we're trapped here?" Jessie screamed. Celebi nodded her head, confirming their fears. Right then Jessie glared at Ash and Nikki.
"This is all your fault!" Jessie accused, pointing at them.
"What? How is any of this our fault?" Ash demanded.
"If you had just let us snatch Celebi in the first place we wouldn't be here!" Jessie retorted.
"That's right! We'd have Celebi and still be in our own time, but you had to interfere!" James added.
"No way! If you hadn't tried to take Celebi this wouldn't have happened! If anything this is all your fault!" Ash argued, throwing the blame back at the mischievous trio.
"No, it's YOUR fault!" James shouted.
"No, yours!" Ash argued.
"Yours!"
"YOURS!"
"Who cares? If we pilfer Celebi right now we can get her to take us back to our time and leave the twerps here!" Meowth interrupted.
"Oh no you don't!" Ash said. He and Pikachu stepped in front of Celebi, waiting for Team Rocket to make a move. Jessie scoffed and threw out a Poké Ball.
"Magcargo! Get me that Celebi!" she ordered. The Lava Pokémon appeared and went straight for Celebi.
"Knock him back with Iron Tail!" Ash instructed. Using his outstanding speed Pikachu intercepted Magcargo and swung at him using Iron Tail.
"Protect!" Jessie ordered. Magcargo quickly put up his Protect barrier, deflecting Pikachu's Iron Tail.
"Now Flamethrower!" Jessie shouted. Magcargo smirked and spat out a stream of flames at Pikachu.
"Counter with Thunderbolt!" Ash instructed. Acting fast Pikachu blocked the incoming Flamethrower with a well-placed electric bolt. With their attacks blocked the two Pokémon stared at each other, each waiting for the next move to be made.
"Okay, Magcargo! Use…"
"Hold it!" Before Jessie could call out her next attack Nikki stepped in between her and Ash, putting an end to their brief battle.
"Whoa! What's wrong, Nikki?" Ash wondered.
"Right now we've got more important things to do than fight each other," she stated. "Celebi, is there anyway you can recharge your time travel powers?" The Time Travel Pokémon thought for a bit.
"(Well, whenever I time travel I make it a habit to always make sure I arrive at a location near a special healing spring,)" she said.
"Healing spring?" Ash questioned.
"(That's right. If I ever run low on energy those springs will restore my powers in no time at all,)" Celebi explained.
"In that case we need to find that spring and get you back to full power so we can get back to our own time," Ash said.
"Do you know where the spring is?" Nikki asked.
"(I'm not entirely sure. I know it's somewhere in this forest. I'll be able to sense it once we get close enough to it,)" Celebi answered.
"Okay. I propose that while we're looking for the spring we call a temporary truce," Nikki suggested. "As long as you three don't try anything we won't attack you. Agreed?"
"That's fine by me," Ash said. "Pikachu?"
"(I'm okay with it, as long as they don't try anything,)" the Mouse Pokémon stated.
"Looks like it's come down to you three. Do you agree to a truce?" Nikki questioned. Before giving their answer the three of them huddled up to discuss their options.
"I hate being all buddy-buddy with the twerps," Jessie spat.
"Same here, but it doesn't look like we have much of a choice in this matter," James sighed.
"Look on the bright side. If we play our cards right his could work to our advantage," Meowth pointed out.
"And what makes you say that?" Jessie asked.
"Simple. We work with the twerps until they find that spring and get Celebi back to her perky time traveling self. Then, we snatch her out from under their twerpish noses and have her whisk us back home and leave the twerps stuck here," Meowth explained. His human companions each had wicked smirks on their faces.
"I love it," Jessie said.
"If there's one thing more enjoyable than beating twerps, it's betraying their trust," James said. With their meting over they got up and approached Ash and Nikki.
"After careful deliberation we have decided to work with you," Jessie announced.
"Okay. Just remember… we'll be keeping our eyes on you three," Nikki warned.
"Trust us, you have nothing to worry about," James said.
"That's just it… we don't trust you," Nikki replied. "Okay. Celebi, you lead the way. Pikachu, Buneary, stay close to her."
"(Gotcha,)" Pikachu said.
"(Will do,)" Buneary added. The two of them stood by Celebi's side as she lead the group through the forest.
It had been close to ten minutes since their search for Celebi's healing spring began, but so fat they hadn't been able to determine its location. Even Celebi was at a loss as to where it could be.
"Are you sure we're going the right way, Celebi?" Nikki asked.
"(I… I think so. It's strange that I can't sense the spring. I was sure we were close enough to it for me to sense where it is,)" Celebi commented.
"Well next time make sure you know where you're going before you do something like this," Jessie griped.
"Well if you three hadn't decided to try and kidnap her this wouldn't have happened in the first place," Ash countered.
"Why you…"
"Guys… I think we have a problem here." Before a full-blown argument could erupt between Ash and team Rocket Nikki pointed out an obstacle in their path. Right in front of them was a wide chasm.
"(That is quite the problem,)" Buneary commented. Ash walked up to the edge of the chasm and peered down.
"See anything?" Nikki asked.
"Nothing. If I didn't know any better I'd say this thing was bottomless," Ash replied.
"Well that's no good," Nikki commented.
"Now hold on! Don't one of you twerps have a Flying Pokémon that could carry us across?" Jessie questioned.
"The only one we have is Swellow, and he's not big enough to carry us. The only ones he'd be able to carry across are the Pokémon," Ash explained.
"(I could fly across on my own,)" Celebi stated as she hovered in the air in front of the group.
"Well that's just great for little Miss Tinkerbell over there, but what about us?" Jessie demanded.
"We'll have to find another way across," Ash answered.
"(You mean like that way?)" Pikachu asked, pointing further down the chasm. He had spotted a bridge that they could use to get across.
"Alright! Nice work, Pikachu!" Ash praised. They ran towards the bridge, happy to find they had a way across. However, upon reaching the bridge they found it was in much worse shape than it first appeared.
"I'm not too sure about this," Nikki said. "That bridge looks like it could collapse at any given moment."
"I know what you mean. Still, this is our only option," Ash said. Before taking a step onto the bridge he tossed a Poké Ball and called on Swellow.
"(What's up?)" the avian Pokémon inquired.
"We need you to fly Pikachu, Buneary and Meowth to the other side," Ash instructed.
"(Sure thing,)" Swellow said.
"Hold it! Why does Meowth get a quick flight over?" Jessie complained.
"We said Swellow could fly the Pokémon over. That includes Meowth," Nikki explained.
"Hey, you won't hear me complaining," Meowth stated. Because Swellow could only carry one at a time he had to make multiple trips, but eventually Pikachu, Buneary, Celebi and Meowth were all taken to the other side of the chasm.
"Thank you, Swellow," Ash said. He returned him to his Poké Ball to rest.
"Okay, now who's going across first?" Nikki wondered.
"First? What do you mean first?" Jessie questioned.
"We can't all cross at the same time. If we do the bridge is more than likely going to snap and we'll all fall," Ash explained. "It makes more sense for us to cross one at a time to make sure that doesn't happen."
"That would be the logical thing to do," James agreed.
"That's all fine and dandy, but who is going to cross this thing first?" Jessie asked. Truth be told no one wanted to be the first to test the sturdiness of the bridge. After waiting for someone to step forward Ash decided to be the one.
"I'll go first," he announced.
"Are you sure?" Nikki asked.
"I'd rather something happen to me while crossing than one of you," Ash told her. Though she herself didn't want to be the first to cross she also didn't want Ash to be the proverbial guinea pig, but there was something about what he said that made her feel okay with him going first.
"Please… be careful," she said.
"I will. Don't worry," Ash replied. He approached the bridge and gazed at it. The ropes were worn and the planks looked ready to break. After taking a deep breath to calm his nerves Ash took one step onto the bridge, easing on to the wooden planks to make sure they wouldn't break. As soon as he was sure the plank would hold his weight he began to slowly make his way across.
"Okay… so far, so good. Just take it slow and steady and… ah!" he had just reached the halfway point in the bridge when one of the planks gave way. His leg plunged through, almost making him fall into the chasm.
"(Ash!)" Pikachu cried.
"Oh no! Are you okay?" Nikki called.
"Y-Yeah! I-I'm fine!" Ash replied, a bit shaken up. After pausing a bit to regain his composure he got back to his feet and continued on. Everyone watched with eager anticipation as Ash got closer and closer to the other side. Then, after what seemed like forever, he made it to the opposite side. Almost immediately after setting foot on solid ground Pikachu jumped into his arms.
"(Don't scare me like that again!)" he cried.
"Sorry buddy. I didn't mean to," Ash apologized.
"(I know you didn't,)" Pikachu replied. "(It's just… you could have…)"
"You don't have to say anything else," Ash interrupted, knowing exactly what his faithful companion was going to say next.
"Is it safe to cross?" Nikki called.
"Yeah! Just be careful where you step! Some of those planks aren't as sturdy as they first appear!" Ash warned. Nikki nodded and approached the bridge.
"Hold it! Who said you could go next?" Jessie protested.
"You really think I'd let you two go before me? If I did you'd more than likely attack Ash so you could make off with Celebi!" Nikki accused.
"So much for that idea," Jessie mumbled to herself. With no more objections from Jessie or James Nikki began to cross the bridge. After seeing Ash cross she had a good idea where it was safe to step. Still, her pace was a bit slower than Ash's, which did annoy Jessie a bit.
"Oh come on! I'll be an old woman by the time she gets across!" she complained.
"She does appear to be taking her own sweet time," James agreed.
"Hey! Hurry up! You're not the only one who has to cross!" Jessie yelled. Nikki glanced back, annoyance clearly present on her face.
"Will you be patient! I have to make sure I make it in one piece!" she countered. She had hoped that was enough and resumed crossing. She was close to halfway when Jessie decided she was tired of waiting.
"I don't have all day to wait on her! I'm going!" She sprang to her feet and made for the bridge, rushing onto it. Doing so, however, caused the bridge to become very unstable and almost impossible to walk across.
"J-Jessie! W-What are you d-doing?" Nikki stuttered as she tried to keep her balance.
"I'm n-not going to w-wait all for y-you to c-cross!" Jessie replied. As the two girls tried to make their way across James realized he was all alone.
"Hey, wait for me!" he called. He too rushed onto the bridge, but all that did was make it harder to cross. Now the bridge was swaying back and forth dangerously, threatening to throw the three crossing trainers over the side.
"Nikki!" Ash called.
"(Hurry up!)" Buneary urged. Nikki tried, but she could barely make any progress with the way the bridge was swaying. Then, Ash saw something that made him go pale. Back on the other side the ropes holding the bridge up were breaking.
"The bridge is about to fall! Hurry!" he shouted. The three of them tried to cross faster, but that only made the bridge sway even more.
Then… the inevitable happened…
Two simultaneous snaps echoed through the air as the ropes holding the bridge up finally gave way. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the bridge fell into the chasm, taking Nikki and Team Rocket with it.
"No!"
"(Nikki!)"
What started off as a bad situation has now gotten worse. With Nikki and Team Rocket plunging into the chasm is there anything Ash can do to save them? Or are they doomed for a long fall into the darkness? Find out in the next chapter of Search for Power!
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