The Team Rocket Chronicles

by Red Dragonfly

Jesse has and older sister. Jaquie is everything Jesse is not: cool, competent, commanding-and second only to Giovanni in Team Rocket. But can Jaquie withstand an island of super-strong pokemon, unruly teammates, and her own little sister? OCs abound. Complete.

26. Chapter 24: To Protect the World from

The Team Rocket Chronicles

By Red Dragonfly (aka Rebecca Lang)

. . .

Chapter 24

To Protect the World from Devastation

. . .

. . .

The plan was simple. If Jesse and James could pass themselves off as diplomats, so could Karen and Kris.

"The Northern Shore is the closest city-state." Karen stared at the map of the island Jaquie had drawn. "My best guess, it's ten miles from headquarters. Too far to teleport. So instead, I'll have Tunneler make a passage underground. We can ride Accelerator through the tunnel and get there in relatively good time, perhaps a half hour or so."

Kris nodded from deep within his books. "Sounds good to me. This is what I've worked out for our story. Tell me what you think. Jaquie was next in line to be queen-"

"Queen?" Karen asked skeptically.

"Just go with it. So, Jaquie was made queen amid a glorious revolution. She promised peace and tolerance initially, but later in her reign, she abolished freedom of speech and freedom of religion-"

"What?" said Karen.

"-and began to burn thousands at the stake, believing it was God's will to purge the kingdom of heretics-"

"Kris, where are you getting this from, a comic book?"

"A history book," Kris said indignantly. "Queen Mary's reign. You know, Bloody Mary?"

"A game you play with a mirror at sleepovers?"

Kris rolled his eyes. "Pathetic. Mary was a devout Catholic, not a witch. Ruined her kingdom, killed her subjects, all in the five years she was queen. And we can turn her into Jaquie if we want to."

"I don't like the idea," Karen said bluntly. "It doesn't seem plausible to me. But as long as you're the one persuading them, you can tell them what you want."

"Well, actually," Kris said, "I was thinking that you could be the one to tell them."

"Me?" Karen said. "I have to tell them now? This is your plan."

"I know. But, see, it's just that if we really want it to make them feel outraged, well, I just think it would be better for a girl to tell them our story, since girls can cry and get really emotional-"

"I don't cry," Karen cut him off icily. "Why don't you do it. You're a good actor."

"I can't cry. I'd look like a wimp."

"Oh, so it's okay for me to look like a weakling, but you-"

"They won't think you're weak, they'll just think you're a girl."

Karen narrowed her eyes. "So girls are weak?"

"You're twisting my words," Kris said angrily. "I didn't say they were weak, I said they could cry and no one thinks less of them for it. When girls cry, people just feel sorry for them. When guys cry, people laugh at them for being wusses, you know, like how James is. Oh, I don't know how to explain it, but girls can get emotional, guys can't. As a girl, you can get everyone emotionally tied to our story. You don't have to throw a fit or anything, just act sad and hurt, like a wronged victim."

Karen pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "But I'm not-"

"And it's not just that you're a girl," Kris said, interrupting her before he got sucked back into the futile argument. "People trust you more than they do me."

"They trust me?" Karen said incredulously.

"Sure they do. I mean, first of all you look harmless-and don't argue with me, because you do, even if you aren't, and yes, I'm well aware that you aren't. I see the way people look at me. When you go into stores, salesmen swarm around you, ready with clothes and make-up and bottles of perfume. When I go into stores, they guard their cash registers."

"So what? Those are people, salespeople, no less, and these are pokemon."

"It doesn't matter. There's just something honest about you. Don't ask me to explain; that's just how you come off. Like you would never stab someone in the back, like you would never say something you didn't mean, like you had some sort of profound sense of honor. You know?"

Karen said nothing, but pulled her arms into her chest.

"Anyway, I know you could pull this off," Kris said. "You've become an expert at acting sweet and innocent."

Kris was referring to the act Karen put on to lure in unsuspecting targets. She already had the looks but when she poured on the charm, boys flocked to her as though hypnotized. Sometimes Karen used her skills to bring male trainers into an ambush Kris had set for them. Sometimes she used it just for fun.

"It's no different with pokemon than with guys," Kris concluded.

"Gee, I have to tell them our sob story and charm them into trusting us," Karen said, with an edge of sarcasm. "Tell me please what it is you will be doing?"

Kris shrugged. "I'll be you're back up."

Karen laughed in a terse, ironic way.

"Besides, once they do trust us, I can whip them into a frenzy and lead them into an attack. You do most of the work in the beginning, and I'll take over towards the end."

"All right, fine, I'll tell them the dumb story. But it had better not be about Mary, Queen of Scots."

"Bloody Mary. She was English."

"English, Scottish, Chinese, Brazilian-I don't care what she was, she is not Jaquie and I am not going to try to explain a history I know nothing about."

"Fine." Kris sighed. "I'll think of something else."

"Think quickly; I want a good story by tomorrow when we meet with them."

"I'll work on it tonight. Neither of us have watch tonight. By the way, have you figured out a way we can hide that hole you're going to dig."

"Yeah. When we were out with Jaquie this morning looking for pokemon, I found the perfect secluded place near a waterfall."

"Oh, yeah, I remember the place," Kris said. "But I don't think we should go there. Pokemon are watching us."

"WHAT?"

"I thought I'd mention it," Kris said casually. "There are always pokemon watching us when we're outside. There were three Spearows that I counted staring at us in your so-called 'secluded place'."

"And when were you going to tell me?" Karen bristled.

"Uh, now?"

"Just now? The day before we go on the mission you decide to tell me, the person in charge of transportation, that there are spies watching us."

"Well, I forgot, okay? Besides, I thought you would have seen them."

"No, Kris, I didn't. My father didn't take me on hunting trips every month from the time I was six. He might have taken my brothers once, I don't know, but never me."

"I'm sorry," Kris replied, not without hints of sarcasm in his voice as well. "But I don't see what the big deal is. We can just stay here, inside the headquarters. So far as I know the pokemon don't come around here much."

"We can't dig a hole inside the headquarters," said Karen. "Someone will notice."

"Who? Jesse and James are always away. Jaquie always goes off training in the afternoon."

"Jared sometimes comes back. He might get suspicious seeing a large hole in the headquarters."

"So we'll cover it up. One of us can stay here."

Karen paused. "So then... not knowing if they're really peacefully, not knowing for sure that Gadara hasn't told them about us... the other one will have to talk to the pokemon... alone."

There was hesitation in her voice. She tried to hide it behind her tough exterior, but Kris knew at once that she was afraid, that she didn't want to be the one to go. He quickly tried to backpetal.

"I can be the one to go," he said.

"And do what?" Karen replied, clearly not buying it. "I'm the one who has to get them to trust us; I'm the one who has to tell them our story. You said so yourself."

"Yeah, but I planned to be there with you. I can go instead."

Karen just shook her head.

"No, seriously." Kris' voice rose with his anger. "You think I want to stay here? And do what? Play cards with the traitor? No. I'll just end up worrying about..." He abruptly stopped.

"I'll try not screw up the plan," Karen reassured him.

"I'm not talking about the-oh never mind. The point is, you're better off at being back up."

"The point is, I'm the one they're more likely to trust. Do you want this to succeed or not?"

"Of course I want it to succeed!" Kris yelled. "I don't want to let slip the one chance we have to get even with Jaquie."

A flame passion leapt into his eyes. "I hate her," he hissed. "She thinks she's so damned superior all the time. She thinks we're worthless idiots. I'll show her!"

Then he looked at Karen and his rage melted away. "But you don't want to go. I can tell, you're absolutely terrified of doing this alone."

"Of course, I am," Karen said. "I don't like going into situations where I don't know what to expect. And I don't like lying. But I'm better suited. So I'll go."

. . .

When Karen made a decision she stuck with it. It made no difference whether that decision made her feel nauseated; she simply swallowed her doubts and kept herself busy with plans. That night, while Kris was still worrying about what story to tell, Karen rummaged through her clothes drawer-a crate of course-for something to wear for negotiations.

"What about this one," Kris said. "The new republic was in a severe financial depression because of a war reparations. Jaquie was elected to power with promises of prosperity and immediately began to build vehicles of warfare-"

"Are you sure your not just making these things up?" Karen held up two sweaters. "And which color do you think I should wear: the blue or the brown?"

"Hitler's rise to power: 1933-1939. Jeez, Karen, don't you know anything about history?" Kris glanced at the sweaters. "And I'd go with the blue. The brown one makes you look like an old bag lady."

"Always so sweet." Karen put aside the brown sweater. "If you're going to make up a story about Jaquie, try sticking to the truth rather than delving into historical accounts."

"History is realistic and besides, I'm good at it. And why are you spending so much time on how you're going to look? It's not the prom, you know."

"First of all, you may be good at history, but I'm not. I'll mix up the facts and screw things up and the story will make no sense. And secondly, it may not be the prom, but first impressions are everything. If I come up to them drenched in black, toting around a bazooka, they might be a bit suspicious. I have to look sweet and innocent land all that other garbage."

"Maybe I should tell them Jaquie used crime to steadily gain money and power. That would be truthful." Kris jotted down some notes on a piece of paper. "Yeah, I'll go with that."

Karen set a small hand mirror on her dresser crate and began playing with her hair. "I should probably wear my blue contacts. They match my sweater."

"Yeah. And you should keep your hair down. It makes you look angelic, all curly and golden and everything."

Karen took out her ponytail and shook out her hair. "Normally it's curly. Ever since I've been on the island though it's been impossibly frizzy. It must be the humidity."

"So fix it," Kris said.

"I would if I had a curling iron."

"What, Miss Always Prepared forgot to pack it."

"Miss Always Prepared was not expecting to have to worry about her looks on an island filled entirely with pokemon. No curling iron, no hair spray, no make-up, no dresses-all of which I could have used. I didn't think I'd need them."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. There aren't any department stores here for you to pick that stuff up at. You could ask the pokemon if you could borrow that stuff, but I doubt they'd have it."

"I'll make do with contacts and jeans and sweater," Karen said, blowing out a sigh.

She began to brush her hair, fluffing it up elegantly around her face. Kris watched in mild fascination as she transformed a tangled mess into a frizzy veil that floated around her face, but Karen, apparently, was not satisfied; she scowled at her reflection and turned the mirror upside down.

Meanwhile Kris had a thought, and it grew on him during the night. The next morning, he managed to sneak away for a few minutes after lunch.

Karen didn't really notice. She was too busy feeling worried about the whole situation. Worried and tired. She'd been getting, on average, three to four hours of sleep a night, and only two and a half hours last night. I could use some make-up to cover the bags under my eyes. She opened the door to her room.

Atop her neatly folded blue sweater was a make-up case. And a curling iron. And a bottle of hair spray.

"Surprise!" Kris said, coming into the room. "Sorry, but she didn't have any dresses. She had some skirts, but they wouldn't fit you."

"She?" said Karen. "Kris, who'd you steal this from? Not Jaquie?"

"Duh. I wouldn't even go into her room to look. Guess again."

"Well, there's only three 'she's on this island: me, Jaquie, Jesse... You stole this from Jesse?"

Much as she tried to disguise it, Kris caught Karen's smile. It made him puff up with pride. "You would not believe the vanity of that girl. Stowing away on a boat to go on a deserted island... and she brings her entire make-up kit! But so much the better for you."

"I don't know if I should use it, though. It might stir up some trouble."

"It's Jesse," Kris said. "She's not bright enough to figure anything out for herself."

"All right, but if anyone asks about this it's your fault."

"As always," Kris grinned and bowed.

Karen allowed herself to smile. "Now get out," she ordered, shoving him playfully out of the room. "I need to get dressed."

Kris waited impatiently outside the door for forty-five minutes before Karen came out. "Finally! You could have at least left me my cards before you kicked me out."

"Sorry," Karen said. "But I needed to sanitize all of Jesse's stuff before I could use it."

The blue sweater was sleek and clingy on her slight frame. She had on light blue jeans and brown boots and a brown leather belt wrapped around her slim waist, all of which made her look calm and sensible. Her hair had settled around her face in soft, dripping curls, looking as Kris had predicted very angelic. Her make-up, if she wore any at all was light and natural looking, and the one unnerving thing that Kris could see was that her eyes were a pale blue instead of their usual intense brown. But all in all, the effect she wanted was produced; she looked very delicate and innocent in a down-to-earth sort of way which Kris found very attractive.

"A well-spent forty-five minutes," teased Kris. "Now you look slightly less horrible than you did before."

"Always the charmer, Kris," remarked Karen, tossing out her Dugdrio. "Tunneler, dig."

As she watched the pokemon delve into the earth, Kris noticed that Karen's face had become blank. There was a slightly strangled expression in her eyes and she was squeezing her hands tightly together.

Kris put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

But he already knew the answer, as soon as he touched her. He could feel Karen, tense and shaking slightly, was not okay.

"Fine," Karen said. "I'm going to meet pokemon who could kill me as soon as look at me, somehow get them to trust me, and probably ruin everything anyway, so, yeah, I'm perfect."

"You won't ruin anything," Kris soothed. "Look, I have faith in you."

"Those kind of comments just make things harder," Karen muttered.

"Well, would you rather I tell you you're going to screw up?"

"I'd rather you just be quiet," Karen said.

So Kris shut up. Dugdrio returned. Karen broke away from Kris, called out her Rapidash, and climbed on top of it. The sun caught her hair and reflected its color back, dazzlingly golden, and for just a moment Kris thought she looked like some sort of war-queen, perfectly erect and poised atop her white and flame-colored horse. Her face, grim, was hidden behind her curtain of curls. As Rapidash leapt underground, she vanished like a tear drop falling from the eye.

"Good luck," Kris called out cheerfully as he watched her go.

But inside he felt quite differently. It was obvious that Karen hadn't wanted to go, but he had forced her into it. It was his fight, and she was the one taking the risks, while he was stuck in the safety of headquarters. It should have been the other way around.

Damn Karen, he grumbled to himself as he began to fill up the hole. Makes me feel guilty without saying a word. There's nothing to feel guilty about. These pokemon are peaceful. They won't hurt her. It's not like I actually put her in danger.

So why did it feel like he was burying his best friend?

. . .

The ride through the tunnel was far from smooth. Rapidash's hooves would occasionally land awkwardly on the loose gravel, jarring Karen from her mount. There was blackness ahead and blackness behind, blackness everywhere except for what was right around her. Rapidash's fire mane would illuminate the tunnel walls: rough, brown, narrow, eerily shadowed for just that moment; then he'd flash past and that piece of the tunnel would melt into blackness again. All happening so quickly that Karen felt dizzy from the change.

Eventually, though, the darkness dimmed and the air grew fresh. Sunlight came streaming up ahead. Karen wished that the journey through the tunnel didn't have to end so soon. Her stomach churned. Rapidash jumped, up and up, and burst majestically out of the earth.

Karen sat blinking in the white-yellow sunlight. She was in a large grassland, almost a prairie, but greener and with small hills occasionally interrupting the flat land. Trees straggled out of the ground, thin, pale, and tough-like Karen herself. Hardy yellow flowers and small pink clovers adorned the grass. But no pokemon. Karen jumped off her Rapidash and turning her head to and fro, but she couldn't see a single one.

The pokemon-mostly Pidgeys, Caterpies, and Rattattas-were hidden in the grass. As soon as they saw her leap from the hole, they dove for their burrows. Now, they watched in fear and awe as she sashayed through the field. A human. A creature of legend from ages long past. They stared. And when she raised a sphere, uttered a spell, and made her steed disappear in a glow of red, they lost their breath in disbelief.

Karen was becoming quite flummoxed. According information she had gathered from Jaquie's expedition and James' videos, she should be at the edge of the Northern Shore's border, just slightly within their territory. So, assuming she was in the right place, where were all the pokemon?

Karen walked around for a while. Jaquie had mentioned something about the meeker tendencies of the pokemon in other city-states. Listening more carefully, she could hear noises: the slight rustling of grass, the swaying of leaves, the sounds of nature. But unlike Kris, she didn't know what any of it meant, whether the sounds came from the breeze or the pokemon. For all she knew there may have been a swarm of camouflaged pokemon around her... or none at all.

Actually there were only about two dozen pokemon spread across the field and they scampered stealthily away whenever she came near them. They watched her as she walked. She carried herself with such grace and confidence. Her blue eyes very intense, she inspected the field with purposeful majesty.

Karen wandered around, searching futilely for pokemon, feeling like a child abandoned in a game of hide-and-seek. She wished Kris were there; at least he would have been able to find someone. She was essentially useless.

She hated that feeling; she hated all these feelings that rising like a scream inside her. Panic. Doubt. That general anxiety of screwing up. This was Kris' fault, damn him, he had pushed her into the situation and left when she needed him the most, when she needed his skill, his charisma, his unwavering belief that everything would work out fine.

The sun beat down against her. Karen took shelter underneath one of the scraggly trees. She needed to take a second to calm herself, to decide what her next move would be. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Karen couldn't see herself, but if she could have, she might have been amazed. The tension in her face eased away and shadow softened her features. Her shoulders were still perfectly straight, her head still held high, but her rigid composure loosened. For a moment she looked peaceful, yet also strong and radiant.

This was how the pokemon saw her. As they stood mesmerized, one bold Rattatta dared to move. With quick, darting movements, he approached her.

Karen, eyes still closed, heard his movement, heard the irregularities of bold dashes from here to there and realized it was a pokemon. Her heart beat faster. Karen slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing the Rattatta did not surprise her, so the pokemon did not see her startle or flinch. She looked down on the small pokemon, paused-here the Rattatta's heart stopped for this was the moment of judgment-and smiled.

Her smile was an act, of course, a way of charming her way into the pokemon's hearts. But it was also real. Real relief, real joy at (finally!) seeing another living creature. And when Karen wanted to, her smile could be dazzling. All at once the other pokemon flew towards her.

Karen slipped easily into her role. She knew how to charm. A mere smile, a warm gesture, and words of sweet nonsense burrowed into the hearts of whomever she directed her affections at. Within a matter of minutes, the pokemon were hers. When she asked to see their leader, they hurried to oblige her.

A few minutes later, a Blastoise and Clefable teleported into the field.

"A human," the Clefable whispered.

Her face was animated and joyful, but Karen could immediately tell that the Blastoise was not so impressed. He stared her unwaveringly in the eyes with such probing weight that a truly fragile girl might have shivered and looked down.

Karen did not. Instead, she stood slowly, letting all the sweet syrupiness fall to the dust and die.

"I assume you're the leader of this province," she said in her own sensible voice.

"I'm the mayor of the Northern Shore, yes." The Blastoise spoke in a thick, rich voice. "My name is Kolb. This is my advisor, Terese." He indicated the Clefable.

"Pleased to meet you both. My name is Karen."

She smiled but didn't know what to say after that. A long, awkward silence ensued.

"Forgive me," said the Blastoise, "but you caught me off guard. I hadn't expected to see any humans here today. All signs indicated they were hiding in Gadara's territory somewhere."

"Perhaps you'd better explain who Gadara is," the Clefable said gently.

"There's no need," Karen said. "Gadara is the Kangaskhan leader of the Southern Tropics. I suspect that, under the terms of the Alliance Obligation, you may wish to contact her. But it's important that you don't-at least, not until you've heard what I have to say."

The pokemon all gaped at her wordlessly. The attention made Karen's palms go sweaty, but she knew she'd done the right thing. As Kris told her last night, better to put all her cards on the table to begin with-it would make her look like an expert. On a more practical level, Karen knew she couldn't let Gadara see her here. If she did, all their plans would fall apart in a heartbeat

Kolb recovered his composure. "How is it that you know so much about us?"

"I've been in Gadara's territory for two weeks," Karen said simply. "I've learned things about your culture. I'd explain more... but I'm not sure this is the right place."

Kolb frowned. "Perhaps, I should summon a decision-Senate."

"Without Gadara," Karen pressed.

The Blastoise hesitated. "She's a member of the Alliance..."

"I have a good reason for excluding her. For the safety of your city-state, do not call her. She's-"

"Enough," said Kolb briskly. "We will speak of such things in private."

And suddenly Karen found herself not in a field, but in room draped in dark blue curtains and ebony panels. Bookshelves overflowed with thick texts. Marble sculptures and austere artwork were strewn throughout the corners and walls of room. Blue cushioned chairs were arranged in the middle of the room, but there was no table. Instead Kolb stood in the middle of the room, eyes closed, hands focused on his temples.

"Where are we?" Karen whispered to Clefable.

"We're in Kolb's study," she replied. "All decision-Senates are held in one of the leader's studies."

"And what's Kolb doing?"

"He's contacting the others."

They arrived within minutes. A Vaporeon and a Golbat. A Scyther and a Ninetails. An Onix and an Eggsecutor. Karen held her breath. No Gadara, no Gadara, she silently prayed. But the Kangaskhan and her Alakazam never arrived.

The leaders of the three other city-states and their advisors all stared at her as they came in. The Vaporeon made a small gasp. But it was she who first greeted Karen with polite words.

"Welcome to our island-Karen, is it? I am Shalimar, mayor of the Northeastern Beaches. Forgive me if I am flustered, but I have never seen a human before and hardly dared hope to encounter one in my lifetime. Your presence is a blessing to this island, and I am honored to meet you, I truly am."

"So am I," Karen replied, thinking that this was Shalimar flustered?

"Well," Kolb said. "Why don't we start this meeting?"

"Gadara has not yet arrived," Shalimar pointed out.

"Gadara was not invited," Kolb said. "And if you want an explanation, I suggest you look to Karen."

"I asked Kolb not to include her," Karen explained. "You see..."

Her voice faltered. It was hard to stand in this roomful of articulate, intelligent leaders and not feel intimidated in. Karen glanced at Shalimar, who gave her an encouraging smile.

"You see," Karen continued, "my partner Kris and I ran into trouble almost as soon as we landed on this island. We went to explore the jungle... Gadara's territory... just looking around, not harming anyone-when out of nowhere, we were attacked."

"By whom?" asked Shalimar, with concern.

"A Fearow. It cut Kris across the cheek, here, and was trying to sink its beak into his throat. I drove it off and it flew away. Shortly after that, ten Magmars and Machokes charged us and threw us into a slab of rocks. While we were bleeding and nearly unconscious, they came at us with a ring of fire. A few days later, I was poisoned." Karen traced the puncture marks with her finger.

"That's terrible," said Shalimar.

"You think this is Gadara's doing?" Kolb asked.

"I don't doubt it. The groups were very organized, like an army. Later on, our headquarters was invaded by dozens of pokemon. We only survived by being prepared. Either Gadara approved these attacks, or else she's a weak leader with little control over her pokemon."

"I would choose the former," Vannack said. "Gadara has never been weak."

"All these battles and strife." Shalimar shook her head. "Your first two weeks should not have been filled with such pain."

"Is that why you didn't want me to contact Gadara?" asked Kolb. "Because she hurt you?"

"No, it's not that."

So much for breeding sympathy with emotions. Karen told Kris over and over she wasn't good at getting all touchy-feely.

"Here's what the problem is," Karen said bluntly. "First of all, Gadara knew from the start when we came to the island, but I bet she didn't tell you about us until we stepped on your territory-three days later. So right off the bat, she broke the Alliance Obligation-"

"How do you know about the Alliance Obligation?" Enki interrupted. "Did Kolb tell you?"

Kolb shook his head. "She came lecturing me about the Alliance Obligation."

"The reason I know is because for the last week, two human 'diplomats' have been conducting secret meetings with Gadara in Mountaintop City."

"What?" said Shalimar. "She told us she couldn't find anyone."

"Were you one of the diplomats?" Kolb asked Karen.

"I wasn't, no," she admitted. "But James taped the whole thing, and that's how we found out."

The pokemon stared at her blankly. "Taped?"

"From a video camera." The confusion thickened. "You don't know what that is? It's a-" Karen tried to picture it in her mind. "It's a piece of technology that looks like a large black box with a lens. When you push a button, you can record images; then you rewind the tape and play it back again."

They continued to stare.

Finally Kolb said, "It is similar to a psychic memory transfer, except it's done using dumb machinery. As such, it does not discriminate on who may view these memories."

Faint nods of comprehension moved among the pokemon. Karen understood nothing, but she went along with it.

"Yes, well, through watching the tapes, er, memories, whatever you want to call them, we pieced together enough information to find out what was going on. We learned about your government."

"But what does this have to do with not contacting Gadara?" Kolb said.

"Well, she violated your most sacred document. Aren't you upset?"

"Oh, believe me, we are," Shalimar said. "This is a severe breech of protocol. But that is why we must contact Gadara immediately. To confront her."

"But remember the two diplomats I told you about-Jesse and James. They're not as innocent as they seem. Jesse is Jaquie's younger sister."

"Who's Jaquie?"

Karen's insides shivered at the betrayal she was about to make. She spat out her next words quickly.

"Jaquie is the leader of Team Rocket, a powerful criminal organization in the human world. Team Rocket steals pokemon and sells them for money or else forces them fight for their master's power. Jaquie is Team Rocket's second in command. She's a tyrant, a dictator, a crime lord-and she's on your island right now."

Karen glanced around the room to see how the pokemon were reacting to the information. They all looked appropriately shocked.

"I think-I think Gadara mentioned something like this," said Shalimar at last.

"No," said Kolb. "Nothing like this."

"And that's why you can't contact Gadara. Right now, Jaquie doesn't know I'm here. But if Jesse tells her... well, it would be bad for me."

"You don't think Gadara's allied herself with Jaquie, do you?" Enki asked. "She would never do that. Gadara has morals and principles."

"Which she's demonstrated by attacking me and lying to you."

Enki faltered.

Karen decided it was time to display some of that female emotion that Kris was so adamant about.

"I don't know for sure that there is some unholy alliance between Jaquie and Gadara," she said softly. "For all I know, Jaquie's manipulating Gadara from the shadows. I wouldn't put it past her. Jaquie is smart and patient and ruthless. I've seen her weave complicated strategies, creating intricate traps that pokemon never see coming. I don't know what she's planning. But I'm worried for you. She's already infected my world with her reign of terror. Who knows what she could do to you."

There was a long, heavy silence. And then, like small drops of rain, the talk began. A few words here, a few words there. Soon they poured from the mouths of the pokemon in a heated discussions, a summer typhoon swirling around the room, louder, louder, louder, crashing against the walls and the ears.

Karen said nothing. Instead she watched at Kolb. The great Blastoise also did not talk. Though he listened to the other mayors debate, his eyes always came back to her, keen and bright and suspicious. It made Karen feel as though he were looking straight into her mind. She knew she was just being paranoid, but even so, she kept her mind as blank as possible, for fear that even her thoughts would betray her.

At last Kolb called for an end of the discussions.

"The points you make are all good ones. Nonetheless, I would like to hear more from Karen-" Here he looked at her in a hard way that set her heart pounding. "-about Jaquie. I want specific details about the threat she presents."

Karen nodded. She had expected this.

"Of course, I'll be happy to tell you. I-"

Karen's head drifted towards the window. Suddenly she shot to attention, eyes widening.

"What is it?" Shalimar said, sensing her panic.

"It's-it's sunset. I have to be back by 6:00-that's the curfew. I can't be late. I'll get in trouble if I'm late."

"Then you won't be." Kolb closed his eyes. "I'll teleport you back now."

As before, the scenery changed sharply. Suddenly, Karen found herself back in the headquarters, in her room, staring at Kris.

He nearly jumped out of his skin. "Jeez, Karen don't do that!"

"Sorry," said Karen. Then, more sarcastically, "I'll try to be less shocking next time I materialize out of thin air."

"It's not that. It's 6:01."

"Only 6:01." Karen let out her breath. "I was afraid I was late."

"You are late. You broke curfew. You could have gotten us in trouble."

Karen stared at him. "You are lecturing me about tardiness. You, the one who's always saying, 'Don't worry, we have plenty of time. S so what if we're late, no one will notice.' "

"Yeah, but that's me. You're never late."

"Did Jaquie notice?"

"No. She's outside talking to Jared."

"So then what's the big deal?"

"I noticed. I was afraid you'd been captured or something."

Karen smiled sweetly. "You were worried about me?"

Kris bristled. "No," he said. "I just wanted to know what was going on."

"Surprisingly, everything went smoothly. More or less. Give me a little more time, and I think we'll have them right where we want them."

. . .

"So," Kolb said to the council, after the human left, "was anyone else scanning her thoughts?"

"Sarai was," Vannack said, speaking of his Eggsecutor advisor.

"What did you find out about the story she told us?" Shalimar asked. "Was it accurate?"

"Quite accurate, actually," Kolb replied. "Accurate, but dubious."

"What do you mean?"

"She was withholding information. I saw the events she described with great clarity, but not much as to why they happened or what happened after."

"But the information about Gadara's diplomats?"

Kolb sighed. "Yes, quite accurate."

"And Jesse and Jaquie?"

"Accurate as well."

Shalimar looked at the council. "So what do we do?"

"The situation with Gadara bothers me," Enki said. "To be quite honest, it didn't surprise me that she attacked the humans. But why would she be conferring with them?"

"With them, and not us," Shalimar said. "Two weeks they were there and how long did she sit in our studies and lie to us, saying she knew nothing of them? She threw away the Alliance Obligation-the document on which our entire governing body is based. "

"She may have had a good reason," Kolb said mildly.

"We can speculate the possibilities, but it will only be speculation, because she did not tell us," Shalimar replied. "She may have had a good reason. She may have had a bad reason. But whether right or wrong, it was not her decision to make. We have a right to know what was going on and take part in that decision. How long has Gadara assumed that we were too unintelligent or too idealistic to make sound decisions?"

"I think," Vannack said, "that if she chooses to cut us off, why should we hesitate to cut her off?"

"I agree," Enki said. "If she decides to act like a dictator we need to do something to stop her."

"So we should be hypocrites," Kolb said. "She violated the Alliance Obligation and now we should do the same. She decided to isolate herself; now we should cut her off further. That will teach her to be a part of the group."

Silence.

"Well, technically," Vannack said meekly, "it's not against the Alliance Obligation. It says leaders who fail to oblige by it may be punished; it doesn't state how. This could be her punishment."

"It says," corrected Kolb,"that all mayors must confer on important decisions. And until we begin the process of removal, she is a mayor, and this is an important decision."

"But she doesn't need to know right away," Enki said.

"Garada is trying to contact me right now," Kolb replied.

Everyone froze.

"And my decision is to confer with you. Right now we need to put aside the resentment we all feel and act like leaders. We need to decide what's best for the island. Should we tell Gadara or not?"

"Karen explicitly warned us against it, and we cannot disregard such a potent warning," Enki said. "Gadara may be manipulated by Jaquie or tricked by her or, dare I say it, collaborating with her. Frankly, we just don't know. And I don't think we can take that risk."

"I agree," said Vannack. "If Gadara wants to act like a dictator, she can face the consequences for it. She hasn't wanted our opinions all this time, so we won't give them to her. Besides, she's already let her land be contaminated with this threat. Why should we expose ourselves to the same?"

"Shalimar?" Kolb asked.

"Personally, what I would like to do is talk to Gadara and learn the reason for her behavior. But the situation isn't that simple." Shalimar sighed. "For me it all comes down to who I can trust: Karen or Gadara. I neither trust nor distrust Karen, and normally choosing between the two, I would have chosen Gadara. But she has broken my trust and because of that I cannot betray Karen. I vote to exclude Gadara."

"So that's your final decision, then?" Kolb asked.

"Yes," said Vannack and Enki.

"Kolb, what do you have to say?" Shalimar asked.

"If this were my decision, I would have risked confronting her, because once we destroy communication, we will only be left with confusion. But I do not have a say in this decision."

"You get a vote, the same as the rest of us."

"What does my vote matter? You three have all voted and under the Alliance Obligation, I am bound to abide by the majority once a decision is made. I will not contribute to the devaluation of the document by going against the majority. Above all, the government must endure."

Shalimar nodded solemnly.

"So it is decided," she said. "Gadara will contact us one by one and one by one, we will refuse her. She wanted to make the decisions by herself, and so she shall. Because from this moment forward, we are excommunicating her from the Senate."