Summary: Jessibelle is determined to get James to marry her, no matter the cost. Kidnapping him, she sets her twisted plan into motion, torturing James in a way he never thought possible. Jessie is determined to save her friend when she realises just what has occurred, but might already be too late. Because James is a broken man, and Jessibelle just might have the power to tear the two apart for good, leaving her to claim the prize she has always wanted.
A/N: It's probably a little creepy, but I have a very strange fascination with the whole James/Jessibelle relationship. It's actually one of my favourite Pokémon pairings, weird as that may sound (although Jessie/James will always take the top spot for me). The idea for this 'fic came from an even stranger turn of my thoughts whilst I was alone cleaning raw meat blood from the shelves of where I work, but since that thought becomes a major event of a later chapter of this story, and indeed becomes a rather vital plot point, then I'll keep it under wraps for now. It doesn't seem that different from any other Jessie/James/Jessibelle 'fic right now, but I'm hoping what I have planned for later rectifies that. In the meantime, please read and leave your thoughts.
A thing to note: this story takes place during Kanto. Although the Rockets have evolved into creatures of awesomeness during BW, I don't feel confident enough to take on the challenge of writing them in their new state. Therefore I'm just going to go with the flow of the older generation. Since I'm currently re-watching Kanto, hopefully I should be okay with characterisation.
Disclaimer: Pokémon belongs to its respective owners. I am not one of those.
Life As We Know It
1. Time of Dying
He came to in an all-too familiar environment. His mouth felt cottony, as though cloth had been stuffed inside it. He could vaguely taste the vile, metallic flavour of blood; he weakly spat in an attempt to rid himself of it, but his spit was red, taunting proof that it would not leave him.
Darkness pressed in on his eyeballs, but he did not need to see in order to know that he was chained to a wall. The shadows of sinister gym equipment stood nearby, black and menacing, and he could pinpoint each bit meticulously; after all, he had spent many an hour in here being trained as a boy.
It was only at this point that he truly began panicking for the first time. He could not hear the growls of his faithful Growly, which either meant that the Pokémon was trapped inside his doghouse, or that his parents had taken care of him in order to ensure that he did not disrupt their plans a second time. His two friends had no idea where he was, and he was unsure if they'd even come for him if they did know, after the way Jessie in particular had yelled at him and blamed him for their humiliating loss the day before. A lone tear slid down his face at the thought of his dire predicament, and he sniffed, trying to keep his tears at bay. Jessie would hit him for being such a weakling.
But Jessie was not here now.
This was the thought that broke him, had him sobbing pitifully like a child as he realised that there might never be a way out of his current crisis. Jessie had always been there to protect him and help him out. Meowth, too. They picked on him a lot, but he still loved them. They were his best friends.
Best friends who probably don't even care.
It was true. Last time they'd been here, they'd been willing to marry him off for his inheritance.
They won't come.
Then the door at the other side of the room opened with a malicious grating sound, and he whipped his head around so fast that he felt his neck crick, mouth suddenly dry, emerald eyes wild with fear. A faint, flickering glow began to chase the shadows from the room as a slight figure entered. Her red curls bounced about her head, like poisonous Ekans spitting from her roots, as she trod lightly across the room. Azure eyes blazed with a manic triumph as her pink mouth curved up into a triumphant smile.
He could only groan in abject terror as the demon with an angel's mocking face came to a rest in front of him.
"I've been waitin' for yuh to return to me, my deah, an' finally yuh have. I knew you'd see sense one day."
Another groan scratched at his parched throat. He was almost delirious with horror.
It's not happening, it's not, it's not, it's not…
She reached out with a gentle finger and ran it down his cheek.
His whimpering intensified. "Jessie…"
She frowned. "It's disrespectful to shorten a woman's name before marriage. Until that moment when we're wed, when we can discuss endearments, yuh know what to call me."
He squeezed his eyes shut.
"Jessibelle."
This was his worst nightmare. It had never occurred to him once that when he'd left the mansion Jessibelle would follow him. He'd thought that the stuff about following him to the ends of the earth had just been talk on her part.
How wrong he'd been.
"Now," Jessibelle was saying, continuing to run a finger down his sticky cheek, "a proper gen'leman doesn't show emotion like you do, deah. I think I need to teach ya the correct way to express your feelin's."
His eyes were so large now it was a wonder they didn't pop out of his head. He knew what was coming next.
Jessibelle produced her whip and cracked it against the cheek she had been stroking almost tenderly just mere moments before. An angry welt at once surfaced at the place where he'd been hit. He howled. She smirked, then soothed the smarting skin with warm fingers.
"Now," she said sweetly, "this won't take long if yuh stay quiet."
She brought the whip back down and sliced it across his other cheek. And did it again. And again. And again.
Please, Jessie, he sobbed desperately. Please come for me.
No one answered.
And all James could do was scream.
A/N: Hopefully another chapter won't be too far down the line.
