After changing back into their casual attire, Rei and Usagi's clothes were dry again.
Luna excused herself, for she had promised to help in the kitchen. Usagi was wondering how a four-legged animal like Luna would be able to be much of a help, but a sharp glare from her friend convinced her to shut up for now.
After some time, the two Senshi decided to tell their hostess that they had to return to their home dimension very soon, as they were both worried just how much time would have passed when they return back home.
Even before they entered the big main hall on the first floor of the tower, they could hear the voices of many people.
Humans and Pokémon of all kind were sitting at the table, talking to each other, laughing and drinking from their goblets. Lady Joy was sitting at the front side of the table and smiled when she saw the two girls coming down. She gestured at two seats that were situated directly next to her own chair.
While walking over to their seats, Usagi looked over the assembled guests. In addition to the humans, she could see oversized insects, colorful animals and even a strange, floating creature with a metallic hide, that seemed to be sucking on what looked like a battery with a straw.
"Welcome," Lady Joy addressed them, as they sat down. "As the two newest guests on this island, you are the guests of honor."
Usagi and Rei blushed a little bit as she stood up and raised her goblet. "A toast to Usagi and Rei, our two newest guests, and after Luna the two first guests coming from the Earth Dimension after 100 years."
Everyone else raised his goblet as well, and Usagi bashfully looked down at her lap. She wasn't used to be the center of attention... at least not from that many people.
"And now, I hope you all enjoy yourselves," Joy spoke up.
Usagi wanted to reach for her goblet as well, but realized that it was empty. Lady Joy seemed to notice as well, as she clapped her hands.
"Meowth! Shame on you, leaving our guest without a drink! Now hurry up!"
Meowth came out of the kitchen door, balancing an enorm mug on his shoulder. "Meowth do this, Meowth do that, I can't do everything at once, you know?" he grumbled.
He walked up to Usagi and poured some of the red liquid into her goblet. Usagi took it and sniffed the drink slightly. "Is that... wine?" she asked.
"Yup, the best one we can get on this island," Meowth nodded. "Why d'you ask?"
Usagi was blushing once again. "Um, you know... I normally don't drink alcohol..."
Meowth gaped at her. "What? No alcohol?" He then got angry. "I knew it! A long nose, and an abstainer as well! Oh, what's the world coming to?"
Just to calm the upset cat Pokémon down, Usagi quickly took a sip from her goblet, and she even managed to form the hint of a smile. "Absolutely delicious," she stated. "Really, the best I ever drank."
Meowth stopped his ranting and looked at her closely. "And you really mean it?"
"Of course," Usagi said while crossing two fingers behind her back.
Still grumpy, but satisfied for now, Meowth took the mug and carried it back into the kitchen.
After he was gone, Usagi groaned. "I don't know if I like Luna's brother very much..."
Rei couldn't help but giggle.
"I'm sorry for Meowth's behavior," Joy spoke up. "But there are two things he absolutely detests: Abstainers..."
"And people with long noses," Usagi sighed. "I know, I know..."
Just then, the kitchen door opened once again, and several pink creatures that Lady Joy called 'Chanseys' were coming in, carrying a big amount of trays with food.
Well, while the beverages weren't exactly what the two girls would have preferred, the food was exceptionally delicious.
"It's really good," Rei spoke up after having swallowed a few potatoes.
"I'm glad to hear that," Lady Joy smiled. "After all, if you're staying here for a while, it simply wouldn't do if you weren't satisfied with our chef's creations."
Rei put down her fork in confusion. "Uh... I'm sorry to say this, Lady Joy, but... we can't stay for long. Our friend Luna has told us that time is flowing differently in your world that in ours. We won't know for how long we are already missing... and our friends and families will want to know where we are."
"Oh, I see," Joy nodded. "I understand your worries... but that shouldn't be a problem at all. As I told you, time has no meaning on my island. While Celebi controls time all over Kanto, my island is protected by what you could call a 'time pocket'. No time will be lost, regardless of how long you are planning to stay here."
"Celebi?" Usagi asked curiously.
"The guardian of time," Lady Joy explained.
"Well, that's good to hear," Rei spoke up, but still... we would like to return very soon, if that is possible."
Lady Joy suddenly seemed very confused. "Um, I apologize... Wasn't I a good hostess? Weren't you satisfied with tonight's dinner? And you still haven't seen all of my island. I was looking forward to lead you around a bit, tomorrow."
"That's really nice of you, but seriously: We have to leave tomorrow. There's something we have to take care of, back in our dimension."
"Oh dear..." Joy sighed. "And here I was hoping you would want to stay a little longer."
"We would love to," Usagi said. "But really, we can't. I hope you understand..."
"Oh, I do understand," Joy assured them. "But... you see, there's a little problem with the Hidden Gate. It... only opens once every month."
"What?" Usagi whined. "That means we're stuck here for now?"
"I'm afraid so," Joy sighed. "I'm sorry I had to inform you about it like this, but I DID hope you would want to stay for a while by yourself."
Rei groaned. "Oh well... at least we don't have anything to lose, if time really doesn't go on while we're here..."
"You will like the island, I'm sure," Joy smiled at them reassuringly. "And some of my permanent guests are about your age... maybe you can become friends."
Usagi giggled. "It would be like having a cross-dimensional pen-pal."
And after that, they decided not to think about their worries anymore and to enjoy the meal and the companionship of the other guests, which were much nicer than the Pokémon they had seen in Ash's companionship.
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:02)
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