ACO, Part 7: The Truth Revealed
RECAP: Brock/Julia and Ash/Misty finished up their night out. Brock and Julia learned more about each other while Ash and Misty shared their first kiss. However, all was not peachy because Julia was abducted while out walking by herself, late at night . . .
*Note: This is the same night as the double date.
Brock looked up from the book that he was reading as Ash came into the room they shared. "Hey Ash. How was your date?" He smiled as he noticed the happy look upon Ash's face. 'Ha! He must have had fun,' Brock thought to himself.
"Brock, it was awesome! Me and Misty are finally getting along," Ash began excitedly. "We rode everything at the carnival, and it was a blast." A dark shadow crossed Ash's face. "Well, until Team Rocket showed up," he added with a frown.
"You couldn't help it that those idiots showed up. What happened," Brock asked.
"The strange thing is, well, nothing. Team Rocket made a couple of threats and then left," Ash explained. "Jesse told us that we'd regret our decision for not handing Pikachu over to them."
"Now that's just disturbing," Brock replied. "Usually, they at least attempt to capture Pikachu."
"I know what you mean, Brock. It's like they didn't even try." Ash frowned. "I wonder why?"
"Well, there's no use trying to figure out their motive," Brock said. "I suggest we just get some sleep."
"Oh no you don't, Brock," Ash exclaimed. "What about your date with Julia? How did that go?"
Brock began to blush immediately as he remembered their embrace under the moonlight. "Well, um, the date went great! We saw a movie and then came back here to eat dinner. After that, we talked for a long time. I found out about her background and she about mine. We seem to have a lot in common."
"That's great, Brock," Ash replied. "It's about time you finally found a girl who didn't slap you when you talked to her. We were getting so used to that!"
"That's for sure," Brock answered. He smiled as if he knew something no one else knew. "I'm surprised my permanent color isn't black and blue!" The two began to laugh. After several minutes, their laughter subsided, and the room grew silent. "Well, Ash," Brock said, "we've got a lot to do tomorrow, so we should get some sleep."
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Ash agreed. "Good night, then."
"Night Ash," Brock said as his friend headed towards the bathroom. Brock laid down in his bed and thought about his date. He smiled and began to doze off. By the time that Ash came out of the bathroom, Brock was fast asleep.
~ The Next Morning ~
As she began to become more aware of the sun's glare, Julia slowly opened her eyes and sat up. She regretted her action immediately because the room began to spin. She groaned and held her head, which ached with a dull pain, to try to stop the spinning. "What happened," she asked quietly, directing her question to no one in particular.
"Oh, Julia! You're awake," Misty said from the tiny kitchen in the room. She had been fixing herself some tea, and pulled down a second mug to make some for Julia.
"Yes, I guess I am," she replied with a frown. "What time is it?"
"It's a little after eleven," Misty said, bringing over Julia's tea.
"Are you serious," Julia asked incredulously, as she accepted the mug.
"Yep, 'fraid so," Misty replied. "You must have had fun last night. When I came back to the room after my date, you weren't even here."
"Yes, well . . . How was your date with Ash," Julia asked, changing the subject.
"It went perfectly," Misty exclaimed. "We rode everything, even the Tunnel of Love. And it was his idea!" As Misty went on about her date, Julia began to block out the words of the other girl. She thought back to the previous night, but her mind drew a blank. She put aside her thoughts to once again listen to what her friend was saying. "And the best part," Misty was saying, "was when Ash kissed me. It was sweet and innocent and . . . wonderful!"
"That's great, Misty," Julia replied, giving a small smile.
"Are you alright," Misty asked with concern. "You seem upset."
"No, I'm fine. I'm just trying to figure something out, is all," Julia reassured her. "Besides, I've got this horrible headache, but a couple of aspirin will fix that. Sorry if I seem to be distracted. I'm really happy for you and Ash."
"Thanks," she replied, turning a light shade of red. "It's really strange thinking of us as anything more than friends." Misty sighed with contentment, and shook her head. "Well, Brock and Ash want us to meet them down in the hotel's restaurant for brunch. As a matter of fact, I was about to wake you up."
"Alright, that sounds like a good idea," Julia replied as her stomach growled. "Let me go take a shower, and we'll be on our way." Fifteen minutes later, Julia and Misty met the boys down in the restaurant. As Misty and Julia walked into the entrance, three pairs of hidden eyes were watching them from behind a planted pot nearby.
"Do you think that the plan you made will work, James," Jesse asked.
"Yes, I'm sure that nothing will go wrong this time," he replied.
"Boy, if I had a nickel fer every time I've heard ya say dat, I'd be one rich pokemon," Meowth said.
"Quiet Meowth," Jesse and James yelled in unison.
"Fine, but we should find out what those four are doing," Meowth scowled.
"But we already know from eavesdropping on them last night, Meowth," Jesse said.
"You numbskull! It won't hurt to check twice," Meowth screamed.
"Well, we won't get much of anything done sitting here," James interrupted. "Let's get going."
"I'm staying here," Meowth interjected. "The three of us might look suspicious." Jesse and James put on some disguises so they could sit at a table near the four friends without being recognized. They sat down at a nearby booth and listened to the friends' conversation.
"Hello ladies. Glad you could make it," Brock said. "How did you sleep last night, Jules?"
"Fine, thanks," she answered. "So what are we having? I'm starved!"
"Pika pi! (Me too!)" Pikachu agreed, rubbing his stomach. Julia laughed at the cute gesture.
At that moment, a waitress came up to them. "Hello. I apologize for taking so long to get over to you. Can I take your orders," she asked.
"Could you give us a couple of minutes," Misty asked. "Me and my friend just got here."
"Certainly," the waitress replied. "Would you like anything to drink?
"I'll have some water, and a saucer of milk for my Togepi," Misty said.
"I'll have an apple juice," Ash said. Pikachu tugged on his sleeve, indicating that he wanted juice. "Make that two apple juices, please," Ash corrected.
"I'd like a carton of orange juice," Brock said.
"And I'll have a large coffee," Julia said. She noticed that there were packets of sugar on the table, but no creamer. "Could you also bring some creamer," she asked.
"Ok," the waitress said. She checked over the list. "I've got water, milk, two apple juices, orange juice, and coffee with creamer. Is that correct?" When everyone nodded, she said, "Ok, I'll take your orders when I return with your drinks."
"After we order our food," Brock began, "I think that we should go and purchase our tickets for the carnival tonight."
"That sounds good," Julia agreed. "Then after that we could go to a matinee. It's still too early to head towards the carnival."
"Ok, I'm game for that," Ash added.
"Ditto," Misty said.
From behind the four friends, Jesse spoke to James. "Did you hear that?"
"Yes, I'm not deaf," he replied a little too loudly. Julia glanced over at them, and James quickly lowered his head. "We need to be quieter than this," he hissed. Jesse arched an eyebrow, but said nothing more.
Julia frowned. The two people in the booth seemed familiar to her, but she concluded that it was only coincidental. She turned her attention back to the menu in her hands, but her mind kept drifting back to the previous night. However, before she could think of anything, the waitress returned with their drinks. After she gave everyone their drink, she waited to take their orders. "Are you ready to order," she asked.
Brock looked over at his friends, and then nodded his head. "Yes, we are. I'll have the biscuit and gravy platter," he said.
"Ok, and you, sir," she asked Ash.
"I'll have the waffle and bacon platter," he stated. "And the potato platter with lots of ketchup for Pikachu."
"Uh huh. And you," she said to Misty.
"Yes, um, I'll have two orders of French toast sticks," Misty replied.
"Alright. And you, miss," she asked Julia.
"I'll have the fruit salad and a plain bagel with cream cheese on the side," she said. After the waitress confirmed their orders and left to get their food, everyone grew silent again.
"So," Misty began, breaking the awkward silence, "what movie are we going to see?"
"Hey, I've got a better idea," Ash said. "Maybe instead of spending more money, we should train our pokemon all afternoon."
"That's no good, Ash," Misty said. "Who wants to spend a mini-vacation training pokemon? No offense, Pikachu," she quickly added, noticing the scowl on Pikachu's face.
"Actually, that's a good idea," Brock said.
"True," Julia added. "Our pokemon haven't been out of their pokeballs for almost twenty-four hours."
"Well, alright," Misty agreed, after a little convincing from her friends. "But we at least need to be near some water. That way if we get hot, we'll have water to cool us off."
The friends continued talking about the day's plans for several more minutes. Finally, their food came, and they ate quickly. When they were finished, they paid their bill and left. As soon as they were out of the restaurant's door, Jesse and James followed.
After an afternoon of pokemon training, Ash, Misty, Brock, and Julia left to enjoy a night at the carnival. All the while, Team Rocket had followed them, careful to stay out of sight. At the carnival, the four friends rode every ride that was there. During the last fifteen minutes that the carnival grounds would be open, Ash and Brock played several different carnival games and won some stuffed animals for Misty and Julia. After that, they left the carnival and walked around the city before returning to their hotel.
An hour after they got back to the hotel, Julia laid in her bed. As she listened to Misty's light snoring, she found it hard to fall asleep. However, this wasn't because of Misty's snoring. The reason Julia couldn't sleep was because she was thinking about Brock. Sitting up, she smiled and picked up one of the stuffed animals that Brock had won for her and hugged it. A strange sense of tranquility washed over her, and sleep began to make her mind hazy. Placing the stuffed animal back with the others, Julia laid back down. She put her hands underneath her pillow to support her head, and something sharp pricked her finger. She sat up quickly and lifted up her pillow; underneath was a single, red rose. Suddenly, everything that had happened the night before flooded into her memory.
~ Flashback ~
"What do you want with me? What did I do," Julia demanded of her captor.
"What do I want," he asked. "It's quite simple. I will reveal to you who I am, and maybe then you'll relax a bit." He took off his mask and shook out his hair. "Voila!"
Julia's eyes grew big when she saw the man in front of her. "James!"
James smiled. "The one and only. My, my, my. Don't we look stunning," he asked, observing her outfit.
"James," Julia growled. She walked up to him and slapped his across the face really hard. "You scared the hell out of me."
He rubbed his face where she had hit him. "Geez, Jesse. Why did you do that," he whined. "That hurt!"
"Don't call me that," she screamed, "or you'll blow my cover like you almost did earlier today!" She smacked him again.
"It doesn't matter whether or not I call you Jesse," he replied. "We're in the middle of the forest."
"It does matter, James," she said, rubbing her temple. "Anyway, you did almost ruin my cover earlier, when you, Meowth, and 'Jesse' showed up." She paused. "Where in the world did you get a look alike anyway?"
"There will be time for an explanation later," James said. "First of all, how is the status of the mission? Is that boy head over heels for you yet?"
"I know I'm beautiful," Jesse replied, "but not even I can work that fast! However I must admit that I had him practically eating out of my hands earlier." She laughed her patented laugh. "Well, he'll fall for me soon enough. It may take a little more time, though. Now, about my clone."
"Alright, alright," James replied. "Oh 'Jesse,'" he called out. "Come here." A figure got out of the van and came over to James and stopped. "She's a beauty, isn't she," he asked his partner. "Ditto, transform." To Jesse's amazement, her clone began to glow and shrink. Within seconds, a tiny Ditto stood in the place where the clone stood before.
"Th-that's amazing! When . . . how . . ." she stammered.
"Not only am I handsome, but I'm also a genius," James exclaimed.
"Actually, after you left to find dat brat and his friends, da Boss gave us dis Ditto," Meowth cut in.
"Shut your yap, Meowth," James hissed. "I admit it. This was the Boss' idea. He thought it would be perfect, since this Ditto can talk."
"Just like Meowth," Meowth said.
"I figured as much," Jesse smirked.
"Ditto, transform back," James ordered the pokemon. As it had done before, Ditto transformed once again, and changed back into Jesse.
"Well, I better head back before anyone notices that I'm missing," Jesse stated. Her face grew dark and she glared at James. "But it you ever scare me like that again, I'll kill you!"
James gulped and shook his head. "O-ok Jesse. Whenever I need to meet you, I'll leave a rose somewhere you can easily find it." He then tossed her a bottle of aspirin.
"What's this for," she asked, confused.
"For your headache," he answered.
"But I don't have a . . ." Before she could finish her sentence, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. "Ouch."
"Sorry Jesse," she heard James saying as she slipped into darkness.
~ End Flashback ~
Jesse rubbed the back of her head. 'So that's why I couldn't remember anything. I must have blocked out what happened,' she thought. 'Damn you, James.' She quickly got out of bed and put some clothes on. She then tiptoed over to the door, and slipped out noiselessly.
To Be Continued . . .