Chapter 1
The bombs exploded as she felt her body hit the ground hard, just out of reach of the blast. She covered her head with her hands and felt a deep warm gash as her fingers brushed her left cheek. The blood stained through her black glove while she tried to wipe it away on her boot. When the dust had settled she slowly lifted her head and opened her eyes. Headquarters was ablaze, the fire and smoke climbing through the sky like a thick dark beanstalk. She stood up and readjusted her backpack and mentally prepared for what was to come. She knew where he was. She knew what she had to do to get to him...but she didn't have much time.
Her long red hair secured behind her and her bright blue eyes set on target, Jessie began her reconnaissance mission to save her parter and best friend, James. Meowth was back at their cabin, hacking into the Team Rocket headquarters security system and in Jessie's ear on a small earpiece. "Jess...youse can do this." "Of course I can" she retorted, but then softened given the severity of the situation. "Ah, I'm sorry. Thank you Meowth. I couldn't do this without you...and I can't keep doing this without him." Jessie fought back the tears that were begging to be released as she neared the burning building. "Ok Meowth, I'm about to enter." "I got the system down Jess. You're good to go. Please save Jimmy...and be careful."
Jessie silently opened a basement window and shimmied inside. She landed stealthily, as no one seemed to notice her presence. Jessie knew exactly where James was being held...and most likely tortured. She shuddered at the thought as she wove through the bowels of Team Rocket headquarters. Jessie knew that Giovanni's secret chambers were down here somewhere. She had hoped that she would never have to see this place, yet here she was prowling for it. As she neared the end of what seemed like an endless hallway, she noticed something strange. There were no doors, no windows, no nothing at the end of her trek. All that stood in front of her was blank crumbling wall. "It has to be here" she thought frustratingly to herself.
Jessie closed her eyes and pounded her fist on the wall in anger. Suddenly, the floor beneath her feet began to quiver. The deafening sound of rock against rock pierced the air as two enormous stones emerged from the cool tile floor. Steam emitted from their center as the stones slowly separated, revealing a staircase leading to what looked like the center of the earth. She had found it.
Jessie's hands shook and her heart pounded as she began to transcend the staircase. Her breathing quickened and she braced herself for what she would meet at the bottom. Jessie followed the winding staircase for what felt like forever. She was about to take a break when she suddenly reached the bottom. Jessie found herself staring down a chasm like hallway with enormous holding cells, locked up tight with steel bars and wrapped in chains. She gripped her poke ball holster and decided that Arbok should be out with her. With a flash of light, the great purple snake loomed over her.
"Come on Arbok. I need you to be my second set of eyes." The snake nodded and began slithering along side of her, wrapping its body so that it formed a protective barrier around her. "Charrrr?" Arbok hissed fearfully giving Jessie a concerned look. "I know, my love. I'm scared too...but we have to find James." Jessie lovingly rubbed the Pokémon's snout as they continued down the dark hall.
When they reached the first set of cells they were greeted with emptiness. As they kept walking past dozens of empty cells, Jessie began to shake even more. Arbok noticed and nuzzled it's trainer's head. "Oh Arbok, what if we can't find him?" "What if-" Jessie rounded the corner and let out a blood curdling scream. Arbok coiled around her and released a Poison Sting attack into the nearest cell. A moment passed and Jessie finally opened her eyes and stared into the cell at a dead body wrapped in chains. "Holy shit! That's not-oh thank goodness." The skeletal remains seemed to belong to a very long dead person. They were dressed in very old team rocket attire, and Jessie knew that it couldn't be James. "JESS!? ARE YOU OK?" Meowth was shouting into the ear piece. "Yes I am…this place is just terrifying" Jessie said as they turned from the cell and kept on moving.
Suddenly Jessie was filled with a white hot panic. "Arbok we have to find him NOW! Too much time is passing. Let pick up the pace." Arbok scooped Jessie up with it's tail and placed her on top of it's head. "Find him, my love" Jessie whispered more to herself than Arbok. Arbok began slithering down the hall as fast as it could, quickly glancing into all the holding cells to see if James was there. Jessie and Arbok were about to lose hope when a faint light could be seen down at the furthest end of the cells. "Arbok, look! Head down that way, but keep quiet. I have a bad feeling about this." Arbok stealthily brought them to the source of the light: a door to what looked like an embalming room was just barely ajar. Jessie slid down off the snake's head and crept to the door. Her stomach twisted as she hoped and prayed what she was about to see wouldn't be what she dreaded.
Jessie summoned all her courage and pulled the door open. Her stomach twisted as she laid eyes on another dead body, this one laid out and being prepared for…Well…Jessie didn't want to know what it was being prepared for. She saw bottles of different potions, chemicals, and surgical tools. Jessie began to feel sicker and sicker when she thought of what must go on down in these chambers. Giovanni was a dark and evil person, but she didn't know he was this evil. Jessie searched the room and still found no sign of James. She was beginning to panic when she suddenly heard talking coming towards the room. "Shit!" she hissed. She dove out of the room and back into the cool darkness with Arbok.
"Lay him down right here, Samson." "You got it boss." An audible "thump" was heard as something…or someone was placed onto the empty table in the room. "How long ya think he will be out for?" "Long enough." The two men shared a sickening laugh and exited the room. Lucky for Jessie and Arbok they walked down the hall opposite of where they were hiding. As soon as she knew they were gone, Jessie burst back into the room and, to her horror, saw that the loud "thump" came from an unconscious James!
"James!" She cried, almost hysterically. She rushed to his side and cupped his face with her gloved hands. "James? James! James please wake up. Oh please wake up. Don't be dead, don't be dead!" Jessie felt herself losing control. She took a breath and searched for a pulse…she found one. "Oh thank god" she sighed. "CHARRRR!" Arbok stuck its head into the room and hissed loudly to let Jessie know that someone was coming. Jessie knew she had to act fast. She wrapped James in a tight embrace and hoisted him up over her shoulder and onto her back, his arms dangling around her neck. "Just hold on James" Jessie breathed and she made for the exit. "Arbok? Arbok?! Where are you?" Jessie hissed as she stepped into the hallway at the exact moment two Rocket grunts came walking around the corner. "HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN HERE? ARE YOU STEALING A TEST SUBJECT?!" " Oh for fuck's sake!" Jessie yelled and did the best she could to run with James dangling from her shoulders. "GET BACK HERE!"
Jessie's boots pounded against the floor as she ran back towards the staircase. "Almost there, almost there, almost there" she thought to herself rhythmically. She was just about to reach the first step when she felt something wrap around her ankle and send her smacking onto the floor. "FUCK!" She screamed as she hit the ground face first. "Good job, Ivysaur! Catch that thief!" The Rocket grunt yelled after her. Jessie could hardly get up, she was in searing pain. She was pretty certain she'd broken her nose and James's dead weight was getting to be too much to bear. Jessie managed to get up and turn around in time to see a solar beam beginning to form at the end of the hall. There was nowhere to go. Jessie looked around maddeningly to try and find an escape route, but it was too late. Ivysaur fired the solar beam and it flew faster than a Dragonite down the hall towards Jessie and the unconscious James. "Oh fuck oh fuck…James we might die. I am sorry James I tried to save you. I know you can't really hear me right now, but if this is the end, I won't die without finally telling you that...I love you." Tears began to spill down Jessie's cheeks as she braced for the impact. Just as the beam was about to hit them, a deafening crunch ripped through the dungeon. Arbok plunged through the earth, lifting a giant rock into the path of the beam and deflecting it away from Jessie and James. "ARBOK!" Jessie cried through her tears. The snake coiled its tail around her and James, pulling them down into the dark abyss it came from.
Jessie couldn't see a thing. She felt the occasional sting of pain as something sharp scraped her face and arms as she held onto Arbok for dear life. Her ear piece had fallen out and she had no way to contact Meowth to send help. "Arbok, where are we? Whats going on?" She whispered weakly as the snake kept moving. "Charr. Charrrr." The snake responded as if telling Jessie to just hold on. She understood and tightened her grip on the snake. She felt herself drifting out of consciousness. Her eyes began to close.
When Jessie awoke, she was at the edge of a quiet stream surrounded by a peaceful forrest. She could hardly move. Every inch of her body stung with pain, and she laid on the ground breathing in her surroundings. She sat up painfully to see James lying across from her, and Arbok coiled in a deep sleep. Arbok stirred as Jessie began to approach it. "Charrrr char char!" Arbok whispered exhaustedly. "You've done great, my friend. You saved us both. How about a nice long rest in your Pokeball?" Arbok nodded gratefully and with a flash the snake was gone inside its ball. Jessie refastened Arbok's poke ball to her holster and stood up. She had no idea where she was and her only company was an unconscious James. Jessie felt tears return to her eyes as she focused on James. She checked his pulse again and relaxed ever so slightly when she located it. "Oh my sweet James. What have you been through?" Jessie held James's hand in both of hers and let her tears fall. She laid down next to James and sobbed into his chest. "It was always my job to protect you. I have failed you as a team mate and as your friend." She kissed the top of his hand and held it to her cheek. It was warm and so very soft. Jessie had never realized just how soft those hands were.
It was still very late when Jessie's sobs began to subside. She shivered with cold and fear. She knew that she had to try and get some sleep if she was going to have the strength to find her way back to civilization tomorrow. Meowth would be worried sick, and she needed to find a way to contact him. Suddenly, she had an idea. Jessie reached around James's waist to find his poke ball holster. She removed Wheezing and released him. Wheezing floated in front of her with a confused look on its face. "Wheezing. James is hurt and so am I. I need you to go find help. Find the cabin, tell Meowth where we are. Please. I need rest." Wheezing nodded and floated off into the night. Jessie fastened Wheezing's poke ball back to James's holster, letting her hands glide slowly across his waist as she did so. Jessie felt her heart rate increase and her face grew warm. She had hid this feeling for so long, she felt almost vulnerable embracing it in this moment. Even though she was alone, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed at how much of an effect he had on her. He was unconscious and still had this effect on her. Jessie sighed loudly and gave up on trying to be strong for the rest of the night. She curled up close to her unconscious friend and laid her head on his chest. "Oh my love, please don't be gone long." With that, she drifted off into a deep sleep.