A/N: -Peeks around and shuffles in-. Um, hello again. Long time no see for this fandom, right? I don't quite know why I lost interest in it, but the fact remains that I did (although Rocketshipping still had a large part of my heart – you can't just forget your first Fanfiction love!) and I found myself uninspired to carry on writing. However, I pre-ordered Pokémon Black on a whim and got re-addicted to both the anime and the games when it arrived, thus getting me to this point. Yep, writing again. I'll admit that I haven't seen most of the episodes from D/P and Best Wishes, but I'm determined to catch up and stuff. Meanwhile, I'll try my best for this pairing, because I'd like to say goodbye to them better than just abandoning them like last time.

I like writing song-oneshot things, so I thought that I'd do it for Rocketshipping too. D/P 117 is win, and this was the song that came out of my shuffle, and they fused to make this. :) Whether it's any good or not is a different matter entirely. xD

Disclaimer: Not mine.


Carnival of Rust

1. Saviour

Do you breathe the name of your saviour in your hour of need?


Well, that's it; I'm done for, he thought in a panicked sort of stupor as the Metagross lifted him easily into the air, dangling him like a marionette puppet over the precipice of the sheer cliff face. He could feel Mime Jr. shaking in his arms, Carnivine's vines trembling around him. He dared not open his eyes to gaze at the evil pleasure that he was sure would be burning like lye in the Metagross' eyes as it sent the three of them tumbling to their deaths. Time seemed to slow down to an aching crawl as James counted down the frantic heartbeats to his end.

It's over, he thought, and I never had a proper chance to say goodbye to Jessie and Meowth…

Meowth…

A vision of the scratch cat Pokémon filled his mind. It was comforting to have something to focus on rather than his dire predicament, and James did so eagerly, memories of himself and Meowth flashing before his eyes: giving the cat his rations during their Team Rocket training; images of the two of them cuddling for warmth in the snowy mountains; incessant teasing about everything; the memory of just hours earlier before the fight which had torn them apart for good, the trio of James, Meowth and Jessie…

Jessie…

At the thought of his best friend, James' heart tightened to an almost unbearable level in his chest, to the point where he thought that it would explode and kill him before the Metagross did. The idea of being killed by Jessie was a much more appealing one than his current predicament. Fervently wishing that it really would happen, James allowed the recollections of his best friend to fill his senses until she was all he knew.

The very first meeting between them on top of Team Rocket Training headquarters, with the dying sun splashing blood across the sky. Jessie refusing to let him fall so that they could succeed in their final training mission together. Jessie refusing to leave him behind on the doomed St. Anne. The two of them together in the balloon after his terrifying encounter with Jessibelle, re-affirming their friendship with a handshake and a smile. The various plans to capture Pikachu, the various blast-offs at the paws of that same Pokémon. The nights they had shared around their campfires whilst their feline counterpart snored quietly curled up in a corner of the campsite, talking long into the night about nothing and everything.

Jessie and Meowth had always been there for him, through thick and thin. They'd had their share of bad times, of course they had – various incidents of screaming matches flickered briefly through his mind – but they were nothing compared to the good times that they had shared as a team, this predicament now had helped him to see that.

The Metagross roared, and James squeezed his eyes even more tightly closed, knowing that the end was upon him.

Goodbye Jessie, Meowth, he thought silently.

Jessie…

There was another roar and then the rush of air.

James didn't even have time to scream before he hit the ground with a jarring crash.

Wait…the ground? Surely he hadn't reached it already; the cliff had been deadly. He would certainly have smashed every bone in his suffering body if he had…

Utterly confused, James opened his eyes, expecting perhaps that the Metagross wanted to toy with him before finishing him off.

Only the Metagross was nowhere in sight and James, Carnivine and Mime Jr. were planted firmly, if rather painfully, on the stone floor.

And somehow, miraculously, they weren't dead.

His eyes were drawn upwards, ready to thank Whatever Was Out There for sparing his scrawny butt if only for the moment…

And his gaze collided with Jessie's.

She was standing triumphantly above him, hands on hips, the sun behind her making her glow like some sort of other-worldly creature. She was grinning in a rather maniacal fashion, but James thought that he had never seen her looking so lovely…so beautiful. The consideration caught him off-guard because she was his best friend and although he'd always known that she was attractive, he had never truly thought about it himself…

But then again, he argued, he was probably only feeling like this because she'd saved him from a terrible fate, and so he pushed that niggling, disturbing thought out of his mind and continued to gaze up at his Team Rocket partner.

Somehow, he knew that everything was going to be just fine now that she was back here with him.


Don't walk away, when the heart is yearning, don't walk away.

- Poets of the Fall, Carnival of Rust


A/N: Yeah, you can drop me a line and tell me if I suck or whatever. :P