Chapter 49: Ice Cream Coney Island

After a successful retrieval of Buffy, she joined Ash and Pikachu on their trip to Coney Island. After receiving compensation from Pete, Ash and Pikachu decided to spend some of the $5,000 with his recently-declared girlfriend. "So, it's your first time to Coney Island as well?" questioned Ash as he, Pikachu and Buffy rode the subway train.

"I've wanted to go so bad as a child when I heard about it from Grandpa," Buffy briefed while petting Pikachu. "So, imagine my frustration coming from his death." Ash and Pikachu nodded while the Mouse Pokémon patted her arm. "I guess you still feel bad about it."

("Can you blame me?") squeaked Pikachu.

"NEXT STOP, CONEY ISLAND," an announcement spoke. "CONEY ISLAND." Buffy, Ash and Pikachu were ready to head out.

"Sounds like our stop's here!" she believed. Some of the people exited with the dating pair and Mouse Pokémon. A little while later, they found an amusement park. "Oh my gosh!"

"This is Coney Island!?" gawked Ash. "We just got here and already, I'm blown away! This is incredible!"

("Totally!") agreed Pikachu. Buffy pointed to the roller coasters.

"Let's ride those!" she suggested. They headed off to where they rode the roller coasters through at high speed. They held on as the car took dips and turns. After that, they rode a couple more roller coasters before they hopped off. "That's one way to get the adrenaline pumping."

"No kidding!" gasped Ash. Pikachu took another minute to catch his breath. "Why are you exhausted? You didn't get on a couple of those rides."

("That's not it,") denied Pikachu. That's when Ash heard snorting, He and Buffy turned to a black horse with a rider wearing a blue police uniform.

"Hey, Moonlight!" the one in the uniform urged. "No need to sniff other animals. Come on, did someone put holes through your blinders again?" The horse shook his snorting head. "Sorry about that. Moonlight couldn't help when it sees other animals."

"It's all good, Officer," Ash assured.

"I'm sure she was just curious," Buffy believed. "We haven't seen NYPD on horseback."

"Yeah, they're usually done in Manhattan," the officer replied. "I happened to have a special assignment. Are you kids doing okay? And hopefully, that pet of yours isn't causing problems on the island, right?"

"He's behaving," Ash promised. The officer nodded before noticing Ash's face.

"Hold on…" he spoke up. "You wouldn't be Ash Ketchum, right? The one April O'Neil did an interview on?"

"Yeah, why?"

"My daughter saw your interview with that friend of yours, Brock. She may only be eight, but she believes Brock is who she wants to love." The kids and Pikachu giggled to the thought. They chose not to say anything. "Well, as long as you're behaving, Moonlight and I'll go back on patrol."

"Sure, good luck," Buffy excused. The officer rode Moonlight away as Casey Jones watched from atop food stands.

"So, the boy I rescued before is out to enjoy the park," he smiled underneath his mask. "I do want to make sure law-breakers are punished." He departed to go on the hunt. The dating pair and Pikachu spotted a restaurant with "Nathan's" on it.

"Nathan's…" mentioned Ash. "April told me and Brock about the business before our interview at Katz's."

"Yeah, Nathan's Famous is one of the oldest restaurants in New York," Buffy mentioned. "They're known for their sausages and frankfurters. Heck, every 4th of July, they hold the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest to see who could eat the most in 12 minutes… and it's done here." Ash and Pikachu gawked.

"They have that here!?" realized Ash. "Whoa! That's something I'd be participating in!"

("Will they be good for me?") wondered Pikachu. Buffy heard Ash's partner and petted him.

"They even have veggie dogs," Buffy promised. Pikachu grew excited.

"If you're good, there's a stand for Cotton Candy," Ash pointed out. Looking, Pikachu eyed a stand where tiny clouds of cotton were on cardboard cones in a few colors: blue, pink and purple. A vendor handed one cloud to a woman with her child. Pikachu gushed to the thought of having some of that.

"Someone's sweet tooth's craving for some," Buffy teased. As they entered, back at the Lair, the Turtles and Brock were helping with assembling the new Trans-Dimensional portal… except for Michelangelo who was not there.

"You know, I should be jealous of Ash at this point," Raphael mulled.

"What do you mean?" questioned Brock. Mudkip wondered as well while standing on the entrance to the Turtles' sleeping quarters.

"That kid's been such a force on Shredder that he's becoming a joke," Raphael complained. "I mean, we knew he was such a joke with how he has two dimwits as his henchmen, Team Rocket didn't change a thing… It's like he's seen this show and wants to recreate it in his fashion!"

"Raphael, just because Ash has been able to save our shells from time to time," Donatello spoke up as he started wiring the control box. "It doesn't mean he gets all of the glory. Keep in mind, we all saved Manhattan from the Technodrome and then us after we were turned chickens by that Anxietron Ray."

"And before you start on Ash having a girlfriend," Mona Lisa started. "You've got me, Raphael."

"And I thought you'd be going after Michelangelo, Mona Lisa," Leonardo spoke up. "After all, he wanted to go after Buffy if not Ash having her first."

"Oh, you mean to sympathize, right?" guessed Mona Lisa. Raphael snickered to the claim.

"The one thing I can agree on the most," he teased. "Though, the idea of Ash's to have the Neutrinos live in their world… Wouldn't that put their world in danger? Krang would still come after them, wouldn't he?" The others looked on, surprised to not have that thought in mind.

"Hopefully, we can stop Shredder for good before that becomes a reality," Leonardo wished. Back at Coney Island, Pikachu was eating a hot dog coated with ketchup.

"Ever heard of a thing called moderation, little guy!?" teased Buffy. "I know you like ketchup, but save some for the rest of the customers." Pikachu scoffed and continued to eat. However, it stopped eating when he saw Zach, Walt and a blond girl wearing a pink turtleneck sweater and denim trousers. Pikachu put the hot dog down before dashing over.

"Now what?" wondered Ash. Reaching, Pikachu readied his call.

("Hey, Zach!") he squeaked. Zach heard and turned, finding Pikachu dashing.

"It's Pikachu!" he cheered. Pikachu leaped into Zach's arms. "Hey, Ash must be here as well!" Pikachu pointed to Ash and Buffy approaching.

"Zach!" greeted Ash. Zach, Walt and the blond turned to Ash and Buffy. "Wow, I wasn't expecting you to be around."

"Likewise," Zach snickered. "Who's your date?" Quickly, Ash reeled in Zach as the blond held Pikachu.

"Don't say Buffy's name," Ash whispered. "We don't want all of Coney Island to lose it."

"You mean Buffy Shellhammer?" guessed Zach. Ash nodded, allowing Zach to accept. "Okay." Ash released Zach. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be upfront."

"Yeah, we've been curious ourselves," Buffy acknowledged. Walt finally addressed Ash.

"How are you doing after what happened at Channel 6?" he asked.

"I'm doing okay," Ash replied as he and Walt shook hands. "But who are you?" Zach chose to answer.

"This is my older brother, Walt," he introduced. "And the one holding Pikachu is another friend, Caitlin." The blond giggled while itching Pikachu's ears.

"I can't believe I'm holding a mouse this adorable, more than Master Splinter," she mentioned. "No offense to him."

"I'm sure there's none taken," Buffy scoffed. "So, Caitlin and Walt are who you're seeing for the first time, but you know Zach?"

"He helped me dealing with Rocksteady and Bebop after they stole a device from a science building and disabled the Turtles with it," Ash explained.

"I still cringe at the ploy you used on that mutant rhino," Zach briefed. Walt became curious.

"I know those two, but what do you mean?" he questioned. Zach whispered to Walt's ear. Walt's color drained from his face. "Yeah, that's definitely cringeworthy." Buffy soon saw a ride that caught her attention.

"Say, is it alright if you watch over Pikachu while we take a ride in the Tunnel of Love?" she requested. Caitlin's face brightened to the thought.

"Can we!?" she cheered. Ash thought it wouldn't hurt Pikachu being with Zach's crew.

"Sure," he allowed. Caitlin hugged Pikachu, much to his delight.

"Take care, you two," Walt smiled. Buffy accepted before she took Ash to the ride. The attraction was a boat ride. As they got on the boat, Buffy pulled a tiny black canister of lipstick. Inside the tunnel, Ash heard calming music where he smiled and felt at ease while Buffy applied the lipstick to her lips.

'I never thought I'd find a girl I'd like to help out, let alone go out on a date,' Ash minded. 'Who'd ever think that Team Rocket would take me and Brock to our girls of the future? Me with Buffy and Brock with Irma… I feel satisfied with how this night's turned out.' Suddenly, Buffy snagged Ash's cap. Turning, Buffy held Ash's lips with hers firmly placed. Inside, their tongues tied. Ash seemed shocked to get this kiss. However, he wanted to smile and close his eyes, knowing now what Buffy wanted. 'I might have spoken too soon, but I don't see a problem with this.' After a minute, Buffy tackled Ash in the boat and smothered his face. Ash's arns flailed to the barrage of kisses. When the boat came out, Ash's face was caked in lipstick kisses. All he could do was smile. Their smiles could brighten the very dim tunnel. After the ride, Zach returned Pikachu when Caitlin saw the lipstick on Ash's lips.

"Wow, she gave you a good one, huh?" she pointed out.

"I'm not complaining," Ash smiled as Walt handed Pikachu a small cloud of cotton candy in a boat-like paper dish.

"Here's the rest of the cotton candy, Pikachu," he offered.

("Thanks, Walt,") Pikachu praised. They broke to come across a giant Ferris Wheel.

"This is the Wonder Wheel," Buffy named. "How about we have this as our last ride tonight?"

"Yeah, I can't wait to see the park from atop," Ash wished. They entered a car before it started to lift with the lights illuminating the Wonder Wheel. "We did a lot today."

"We sure did!" agreed Buffy. She pulled a stack of tiny pictures from her pocket where the three made funny faces. One had Buffy and Pikachu cheek-to-cheek. "It's a night I wish would last forever."

"I know, right? Hard to believe that we've been together for just three days, but our relationship just grew that much stronger. It's also rather funny that I might have gone against my own advice."

"Oh? This should be good. What did you say that you followed until now?"

"There's no need to go out of your way just to get somebody to like you." Hearing his quote, Buffy tried to make sense of it.

"No need to go out of your way, huh? Sometimes, saving lives may be a need to go out of your way. After all, you did a lot to save me from Captain Filch and that other jerk." The reply made Ash blush.

"I came up with that after Brock's many attempts to get a girl for himself… and Misty and Max pulling him away from looking like an idiot."

"You learned from him from a different light. It's not that you sought a girl… You found it unconsciously, which is how love should go." Suddenly, the Wonder Wheel stopped. "Oh, and after everything is going so well!" Then, an announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Coney Island's Firework Show!" a voice spoke through the speakers. Those inside the car looked out where fireworks exploded over the ocean. Colorful embers illuminating the night sky made everyone watch in awe. Cheers bellowed from the street level.

("So pretty!") cheered Pikachu.

"You know, I've kissed you a few times," Buffy brought up. "Can't I have one back?" Ash giggled while Pikachu watched. Remembering Buffy's kisses, Ash landed one of his own. Both closed their eyes, enjoying the moment while more fireworks exploded.

("Is that what happened in the Tunnel?") wondered Pikachu. After getting off, it was back to Manhattan and back to the Shellhammer Estate. Buffy opened the window and hopped back into her room.

"That was a blast of a date, tonight," Buffy assured. "Thanks for taking me out."

"For sure," Ash agreed.

"It's making me wish I could just be with you back to your world. I don't want this lifestyle where I conduct a lot of business."

"It'll work out. I promise."

"You've been delivering promises that you've kept. I wish this is another." They had one final kiss. Ash and Pikachu sneaked out while Buffy got undressed before wearing a nightgown. She tried to sleep, but her smiling face made it difficult. She hugged a pillow before kicking her feet like she was riding a bicycle and giggled. "Ash, I can't wait to be your princess." It took her awhile for her to fall asleep. A couple of days passed as Ash and Pikachu were back in the Lair with the rest of the Turtles.

"You met Walt at Coney Island, dude?" awed Michelangelo. He and Ash were training with the Nunchaku and the Tonfa sticks. Splinter watched on. Michelangelo swung the Nunchaku where Ash blocked each strike.

"I know, right?" giggled Ash. "Though, I also heard you weren't helping the others with the Trans-Dimensional Portal. Where were you?"

"Oh, I was eating at Vinnie's. Diego said Pete was there after seeing us. I decided to ask about it."

"I thought you were a ninja, not an detective."

"Ninja are known to intercept information for their Shidoshi, young Ash," Splinter advised. "They were reliable during the Feudal War in Japan." Ash awed the topic.

"I guess getting information does help if the ninja isn't attacking," he understood when the Turtle Comm sounded.

"Turtles, are you there!?" called out April. Leonardo answered the call.

"April, did Shredder attack again?" he guessed.

"It's not Shredder," April denied. "It's Kellerman!" Hearing the name, Ash and Michelangelo stopped their training to reach Leonardo as Donatello, Raphael and Brock joined. "I overheard him saying he's got a plan to permanently tarnish your guys' reputation… and it sounds even worse than what Shredder would do." Now everyone became curious. What could Clayton be doing to make everyone hate the Turtles?

TO BE CONTINUED...