The Team Rocket Chronicles

By Red Dragonfly (aka Rebecca Lang)

. . .

Chapter 26

Jared's Observations

. . .

. . .

March 17th-Evening

It was a little thing, but it bothered him.

Everything seemed to have settled down, and it was peaceful again. Jared was in the main room, operating the healing machine for Karen. Though she stood right across from him, she was ignoring him, as usual. The machine beeped and whirled. In the corner, Jesse and James chatted quietly amongst themselves.

"But who are they?" James said a little loudly.

Karen's head snapped towards them and her blue eyes glinted with interest. (Blue? But weren't Karen's eyes brown?)

Jesse hushed her partner and glanced around the room to see if anyone had heard them. She glared at Jared.

"Nothing to listen to here. Go back to your own business."

Jared looked at Karen, but her head was lowered, apparently not so interested after all. Were her eyes really blue? He couldn't tell. The healing machine sang out its ending tune. Karen took out her pokeballs and walked out of the room.

. . .

Why did it bother him? So, Karen wore contacts. Big deal. So Jesse and James were having secret talks. They were entitled to their own conversations. Who were they? Did Karen know? How could she? And why did it matter if she did?

It mattered because there were secrets everywhere. There were things going on between Jesse and James and Karen and Kris. Sometimes it showed up in odd little events. Sometimes it grew into a full-scale shouting match.

Like the Make-up War.

. . .

March 18th-Evening

"Thief!"

Jesse's high-pitched screech startled Jared out of his sketching. He jumped, but she wasn't yelling at him. She'd flung open the door to Karen and Kris' room, interrupting what appeared to be a deep conversation between the two of them. Jesse pointed a quivering finger in Karen's face.

"Thief! Thief!"

Karen stood up and shoved aside the accusing finger. "Do you have a point or are you just making a general comment about my job in Team Rocket?"

Jesse shoved a pouch in front of Karen's face. "My make-up! You've been stealing it! You're wearing it right now!"

Kris tilted his head, but didn't say anything. He pushed a small shiny weapon under a pile of CDs.

"So?" Karen said. "What are going to do about it?"

"I'll-I'll fight you," Jesse sputtered.

"With fists or pokemon?" Karen asked. "Either way, I'll win."

Jesse seethed.

"Now, if you're finished with your mindless protest, please get out of my room."

"No." Jesse crossed her arms.

Karen's eyes narrowed. "I said get out."

"You stay out of makeup and you leave my things alone."

"Oh please. I'll take whatever I want. What are you going to do to stop me? Tell on me to Jaquie?"

"I can take care of my own problems," Jesse said.

"No, you can't," Karen said. "You have no strong pokemon, no martial arts training, not even a weapon on you. All you have is a big sister in a high place, and even she wishes you'd drop out of the universe."

Jesse flinched.

Karen came closer, like a piranha sensing blood.

"Your sister hates you, Jesse. And who can blame her? You're an embarrassment. A miserable failure to a person who hates failures. Look at yourself. Crying like a baby over some make-up, but what are you going to do about it? Nothing. And what are you going to do with your life? Nothing. That's all you amount to Jesse. Nothing."

Jesse's eyes flashed, but their fire was quenched by tears.

"Now get out," Karen said.

Jesse stumbled back.

"Leave her alone, Karen," James said in an angry voice.

Karen put her hands on her hips. "Don't even get me started with you. You're worse than your partner. Just go away, both of you." Her voice held a strain of weariness.

"You're the one who's nothing, Karen. You're nothing but a bully."

Karen's eyes darkened. "I swear, if you both weren't under Jaquie's protection, I'd beat you up myself. But Jaquie won't be around forever. And when she's gone-"

"Enjoying the show, Jared?" Kris interrupted.

Karen immediately shut her mouth and whirled around to stare at him.

For the first time, Jared became self-conscience of his own actions. He'd long since put down his paper and was practically leaning out on his chair to get a better view. Embarrassed, he tried to go back to sketching.

A cry of protest from Jesse and James soon caused Jared to glance back up. Kris had shoved past them and was walking right up to Jared. It made Jared nervous, even though Kris smiled and didn't look angry at all.

"Don't mind Karen," he said in a friendly tone. "She gets a bit cranky when she has to deal with idiots. But she wouldn't really hurt them, you know."

"I know," Jared replied.

At least, not while they were still under Jaquie's protection. It was that part about Jaquie being gone that bothered him. Was Karen planning something once they got off the island?

But Kris hadn't finished. "For the record, Karen didn't disobey Jaquie's orders. Just be sure to mention that when you give her your report."

"What report?"

"Well, you're her spy, aren't you? That's why you were eavesdropping on us."

Jared felt his face grow red. "I just happened to overhear."

"Sure, that's it," Kris said peaceably. "You just happened to overhear. Later, Jaquie asks you what you noticed while she was gone and you tell her. Nothing strange about that. You're friends now. I bet the leader of our expedition, the second-in-command of Team Rocket, must love gossiping with a lowly grunt like you."

Jared was silent. He knew what Kris was insinuating, and he wanted to tell him flat-out that he was not a spy. But he didn't. Because he felt a little prick of doubt. Jaquie had asked him to keep an eye on Karen and Kris, even though she hadn't called it spying. Could she be using him? Was that the only reason she tolerated his company? Because he was good at noticing things?

While Jared mulled this, Kris walked casually back to Jesse and James.

"By the way, Jesse," he said. "I stole your make-up for Karen to use. You shouldn't stick your bag right on top of the camera. I think some of your nail polish spilled and got into the film."

James squealed and ran back to his room.

"You might want to go check on him," Kris suggested. When Jesse didn't move, he added, "Hey Jesse, what is it that you and James do all afternoon, when you go out by yourselves? Is it anything I ought to tell Jaquie about?" he teased.

Jesse turned and stormed away.

Karen shut the door with a loud bang.

And that was the end of the Make-up War.

. . .

Kris was good at digging into Jared's self-doubt. He realized later that Jaquie need not be subtle-if she had wanted Jared to spy on his compatriots, she could have just ordered him to.

But she didn't. In fact, she had specifically denied it.

. . .

March 16th-Afternoon

"Why haven't they attacked me yet?" Jaquie raged.

Jared had just come back from refilling the electric weapons and was almost sorry he'd interrupted. Jaquie was pacing furiously, flipping through notebooks and tossing them aside.

"They've had ample time to recover. What's stopping them?"

"Who?" Jared asked. "Nidorina and Pidgeot."

She looked at him and her tone lowered. "No. Those two have been consistent at least. Three rebellions in the last three days. But why are they the only ones fighting me? The first week we were here, it seemed like every pokemon we came across was trying to kill us. And now nothing. Why?"

"I don't know." Jared sat down on his log. "But isn't that a good thing. If you can barely handle Nidorina, then why do you want the whole island to attack you?"

He shut his mouth as soon as he'd said it, so quickly he bit his tongue.

"Because," Jaquie growled, "if they attack me, at least I would know what they were up to. I refuse to believe that we've crushed them into meek submission, and the only other explanation I can think of is that they're amassing a large army for a counterattack."

"What will you do if that happens?"

"If they attack directly, we can all retreat somewhere and launch a guerrilla attack from the jungle. But we'd have to stick together to be safe. And I don't like how Jesse and James are always out in the forest."

"You give them permission to leave," Jared pointed out.

"Better than having them sneak out on me-and knowing my sister, she'd do just that. At least this way, they have their tracking device and won't hesitate to come to me if there's trouble. That's the best I can do. I don't have time to watch them every minute of the day."

She went back to flipping through her notes.

"Maybe instead of waiting for the pokemon to attack you, you should attack them first," Jared suggested.

"Oh, I will, if I can," Jaquie said. "I intend to get into the invisible wall city at least, to rescue Meowth. The problem is getting the pokemon I caught here to attack their own city. I may end up losing their trust, and then I wouldn't be able to use them for... for later." Jaquie tore off a fresh piece of paper.

"I don't see the point," Jared said. "You have to turn them over to Giovanni eventually."

"So, he can dose them all silly with amnesia serum," Jaquie muttered. She looked at Jared. "Sure that's the point," she said in a louder voice.

"Why don't you use amnesia serum? That would make your job easier." Under his breath, he added, "Then you'd stop yelling at me.''

"I don't believe in that stuff. The trainer becomes dependent on the serum, and the pokemon become dependent on the trainer, and both end up inefficient fools. And I'm not yelling at you, or at least, I'm not trying to."

Jared bit his tongue for the second time that day and winced. "Even if you don't believe in the serum, Giovanni does, and he's going to use it on them eventually. If you're training them to make them stronger, the pokemon will still be stronger when the amnesia serum is applied, but if you do succeed in making them trust you, that won't do much. The amnesia serum will wipe out their memory of you."

Jaquie didn't say anything. She just started scribbling on the paper.

It occurred to Jared that perhaps Jaquie wasn't going to give all the pokemon she captured to Giovanni. As the second-in-command, she might be entitled to take her pick.

"Jaquie are you-?"

"Shh,"Jaquie said. She had stopped writing and was looking around at the forest. "Did you hear that?"

Jared listened. "Hear what?"

Jaquie shook her head. "Sometimes, I feel like I'm being watched. I'm not sure if it's a sound I've heard or just my suspicions..." She sighed. "I envy Kris. Kris knows when he's being watched." A look of worry crossed her face. "By the way, have you noticed anything unusual about him?"

"No... well, he's being nicer to me, I think."

"You think?"

"He kind of forced me to play cards with him yesterday," Jared explained. "He might have just been bored."

Jaquie frowned. "Where was Karen?"

"Kris said she was outside. I didn't see her, though."

"Do you think those two have been acting strange lately?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't say exactly. It's... I don't know..." Jaquie's voice trailed off and she rubbed her head. "Maybe you could keep an eye on them for me. Let me know if they do anything unusual."

"Spy on them you mean?" Jared said in a mysterious tone.

There was no humor on Jaquie's face.

"Not spy," she said, spitting the word out like it was distasteful. "I just want to know if something's wrong. But I don't want you to be spy for me. I hate spies."

. . .

On the other hand, if Kris really thought Jared was a spy, he sure had a weird way of showing it. He'd become open and friendly toward Jared, telling him all sorts of gossipy tidbits. But all this just gave Jared a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't believe the interest was genuine. It was like the sheen of a mirror, blinding him from the truth.

So what was he was concealing?

And why had Kris forced him to play cards that one day?

. . .

March 15th-Afternoon.

"We're running low on ammunition," Jaquie said. "Can you fix the problem?"

Jared shrugged. "It's no big deal. I have the equipment I need, and my Electrabuzz can supply the electricity. All I need is an ice pokemon."

"Why don't you borrow Kris' Cloyster then? He probably isn't using it now. Tell him I'm giving him an order. He'll complain, but he'll do it."

Jared nodded and walked back to headquarters.

Kris was there, listening to his CD player. He looked up when Jared came in. Jared picked up the resupplying device, a black square box with what looked like a flower-shaped steel phonograph head blooming from the top and a rubber tube coming out of its square base. He took it outside and went back for the bazookas. Then he got the charges for the revolvers. Kris was watching him now.

"What are you doing?" he asked, pulling his headphones down.

"I'm going to recharge the weapons," said Jared. "By the way, I need your Cloyster. Jaquie's orders."

Kris took out a pokeball and tossed it to Jared. Jared caught it, nearly dropped it, and caught it again.

"Thanks" he said, pleasantly surprised that Kris hadn't put up much of a fight.

Unfortunately Kris followed him outside. "So how does it work?"

Jared unscrewed the front panel off of the bazooka and attached the hose to a special tube inside the bazooka.

"It's simple really," he said. "We can't make ice or electricity, so we just store it, like electricity in batteries. This system is designed to transfer the pokemon's attack into the storage unit, via the machine."

Jared tossed Kris' pokeball to the floor. "Cloyster, blizzard. Aim for the flower-shaped device."

Cloyster did nothing.

"Ice Storm, blizzard. Aim for the part that looks like the top of a phonograph."

Cloyster obeyed Kris' orders without hesitation.

"He won't listen to you," Kris explained.

"Thanks," said Jared.

"No problem," Kris said. "So how does this phonograph thing work?"

"Well, the top just harnesses the attack. See, how it looks like a large funnel. It works like one, too. The wide concave section catches the attack, which then flows into the box. The box is the only really complicated part of the machine; it compress the ice or electricity. The compressed ice, in this case, is then squeezed through this long gray tube which is connected to the gun. Then the gun is reloaded. Got it."

"Yeah, I think so," Kris said. "But what about the revolvers. We load charges into those."

"All I do in that case is attach a different, smaller tipped hose to the box-part of the machine. Then, instead of attaching the hose to the machine, I attach the hose to the charges you put in the revolvers."

"Can it work with any pokemon attack? Or just ice and electricity?"

"It can use most any special attack. Ice and electricity just work best. Leaf attacks just turn to salad, water doesn't do much harm, and fire's too much of a bother, especially since we could just use flamethrowers. But it doesn't work with psychic attacks, because there's no physical element which can direct psychic energy."

"Interesting." Kris looked at Jared's pile of guns. "Are you going to reload all of those?"

"Yes," Jared said tersely.

"And how long does it take per gun?"

"About ten minutes for the bazookas. About three for the charges."

"Hmmn. Then maybe you should put the guns in the shade so the metal won't burn you when you pick them up."

Jared looked at the guns, laying beneath the hot sun, and cringed at his mistake. He moved the guns into the shade.

It took Jared nearly two hours just to finish with the ice. Then he withdrew Kris' Cloyster. Kris gone back to his room, playing solitaire this time.

"Thanks," he said. "So are you done? Are you going back to Jaquie?"

"I only did the ice. I still have to finish with the electricity."

Kris looked up. "You mean outside, between the barrier and the headquarters."

"Yeah," Jared said. "Right where I was all this afternoon."

Kris swept up his cards and patted them together with his hands. "You know how to play speed?"

"What?"

"Speed-it's a card game."

"Yeah, I know how to play that."

Kris got to his feet. "Play with me," he ordered. "In the main room."

"I haven't finished with the guns yet."

"So? Do it tomorrow. This is your free time."

"But I don't want to play."

"Too bad. I didn't want you to use my Cloyster all day."

Jared sighed and sat down. "Why don't you play with Karen?"

Kris had come across one of Jared's liquid revolvers lying on the table. Jared tried to snatch it up, but Kris grabbed it first.

"Karen's busy," he said vaguely. "And what's this?"

"It's an electric revolver I modified to shoot out liquids. What's Karen busy doing?"

"Why would you turn a perfectly good electric revolver into a water gun?" Kris said, with some disgust.

"I never said it shot water, I said it shot liquids. Potions, antidotes, and stuff like that. They absorb into the pokemon on contact and work instantly, no delay periods. For the third time, what is Karen doing?"

But Kris was eying the revolver with renewed interest. "Any liquids?"

Jared crossed his arms.

"She's out doing... oh, I don't know, Karen stuff. We don't always tell each other what we do, you know. Now, will this liquid revolver shoot, say, revive?"

"Sure."

"Amnesia serum?"

"I guess."

"Poison?"

"I don't know. I haven't really tested it much."

"This could be useful," Kris said, pocketing the gun.

"I never said you could keep it," Jared protested.

But Kris ignored him. He pushed the rest of Jared's stuff in sloppy piles at the edge of the table, cut his deck of cards, and shuffled the cards together.

"Let's play speed." He began to deal.

Jared sighed and picked up his hand. "You don't respect me at all, do you? You respect Karen, but not me," he grumbled.

Kris laughed. "Believe me, if you don't respect Karen, you end up bleeding real quick. I ought to know. Ready?"

Jared nodded and turned over his card. "Does she really beat up people?"

"Not so much anymore." Kris began rapidly discarding cards and picking up new ones. "Now she's found worse ways. Take guys, for example."

Kris put down three cards, picked up three cards, and put down another two, all while Jared was still looking from his hand to the top card.

"Most guys, they see Karen, they think she's beautiful, which, you know, she is, and they fall head over heals for her. Then they start babbling about themselves and bragging about how great they are. Karen gets the idea that they think of her as some sort of Barbie doll or trophy-that they don't respect her as a person. So she breaks their hearts-speed."

All Kris' cards were gone. Jared looked at his cards. He still had a full hand and his pick-up deck was half full.

"You're quick," he commented.

"Thanks." Kris picked up the cards and reshuffled.

"I thought Karen was pretty when I first saw her."

"Of course you did. It's kind of hard not to."

"I tried to help her load boxes on the boat."

Kris laughed. "Well, there you go. Now she hates you." He began sorting cards into piles.

"For being nice?" Jared asked.

"For acting as though she was weak. And also because you're a traitor and Karen really can't stand traitors."

"But I'm not a traitor!" insisted Jared hotly.

Kris shrugged.

"So she decided to break my heart."

Kris laughed again, much to Jared's indignation. "You really are ignorant. Does it really feel like your heart's been shattered, that your ego's been crushed like an aluminum can?"

"No. But I was never really in love with her."

"Bingo. Let's play." Kris turned over his card.

"So she didn't do a very good job."

"Please, if she had wanted your heart broken, it would be broken. I've seen her in action. She acts like the sweetest girl imaginable and leads the bonehead on with the way she looks at him, the way she speaks, you name it. She becomes the most perfect girlfriend the guy could ever have, and right when the guy is entirely smitten with her, she reveals her true character. Usually, she robs him and taunts him, then leaves him to cry in the dust."

"Ouch."

"She didn't do that with you. You should be grateful."

"So maybe she-"

"Speed!" Kris put down his last card.

Jared shoved the rest of his cards in the middle and Kris shuffled again.

"So maybe she doesn't hate me," Jared concluded.

Kris rolled his eyes. "You were spared mainly because you're working together. Karen doesn't get involved with guys she works with. She says when she breaks their hearts they get distracted and can't get anything done."

"So then I take it you and her aren't-?"

"Oh, hell, no," Kris said. "I work with her more than you. You think she would ever let the two of us get involved? Yeah right. Ready?"

Jared picked up his cards. "How do you stand her?"

Kris shrugged. "She's just Karen."

"Sometimes, I can't stand her."

"Understandable. But she got what she wanted. If you hate her, you respect her."

"I don't hate her, I just don't especially like her anymore. Besides, hate doesn't always equal respect."

"Most of the time it does. If you hate someone, you respect them, if they're strong. For example, I hate Jaquie, but I respect her."

"You hate her?"

"Yeah. Hate and respect go together."

"You must hate Karen then," Jared commented.

Kris paused. Jared took advantage of the situation to put down two of his cards. Kris quickly caught up.

"No, I don't hate Karen. I respect her and all, but I don't hate her." Kris shrugged. "It's weird. I know better than anyone that she can be cruel, ungrateful, strict, bossy, no fun at all, sarcastic-and I mean sarcastic-but still... She's just Karen, you know? Speed."

Jared sighed. "You beat me three times now. Can I go back to work?"

"No. This is fun."

Jared picked up a card and glanced at it. A jack of diamonds.

"Who's Terrance?" he asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Terrance. She called me that once. Who...?"

"Her brother," Kris said quickly. "And if she called you that it means she really doesn't like you. Terrance is the oldest of her three brothers. He treated her like she was weak and wouldn't let her do anything simply because she's a girl. That's why she's so insecure about her own strength, I guess. And that's why you should never, ever insinuate that she's weak."

"Thanks for the advice. What about you?"

"Middle class, middle child. Parents away all the time. Bossy older sister. Cute little brother. And me always getting in trouble. I didn't fit in, so I left-speed."

"Did anyone come from a poor family?"

"Jaquie."

"Jaquie? Really?"

"Oh, and Jesse too, until Jaquie started making money."

Jared looked at his watch. "It's getting late. Maybe I should go back to work."

"No, let's play again."

"But I really don't want-"

Karen walked in through the front door, brushing dirt off her shoulders and hair. She seemed tired too, and her eyes were red. She yawned and saw Jared and straightened up.

"What are you doing here?" she said. "It's not curfew yet."

"I was refilling the weapons outside, before Kris roped me into several games of speed."

"Oh." Karen glanced at the door. "There's a bunch of guns and stuff scattered out there. Are they yours, Jared?"

"Yeah. I'd pick them up, but Kris won't let me leave."

"I never said you couldn't leave. Go if you want to."

Jared headed for the door. But before he went, he got one last look at them. Karen sank into the chair and sighed. Kris patted up his cards again.

"You want to play speed with me, Karen?"

"No. You always win."

. . .

But it wasn't just Karen and Kris acting weird. Something was going on with Jesse and James, and they didn't even bother to hide it. All morning long, they whispered and whispered, while they cut up the fruit and cleaned up the headquarters. Jaquie didn't know; she spent the mornings with Karen and Kris, hunting new pokemon. But Jared was right there. He heard everything loud and clear.

Especially when the whispers turned to shouts.

. . .

March 17th-Morning

"Have you tried just asking her direct?" James asked.

"Yes!" Jesse chopped an apple in half, clearly frustrated. "She always says no!"

"Have you tried begging and pleading like with the boss-"

"I've tried everything! Jaquie just won't give me an interview."

Jared sighed. He was supposed to be fixing a broken alarm, but it was getting hard to concentrate with Jesse and James practically yelling just across the room. He glanced at the frayed wires.

"Did you ask Jared?" James asked.

Jared looked up. "Ask me what?"

"Can you ask Jaquie if she could give us an interview?"

"On what topic?"

Jesse exploded. "That's exactly what she always says. I don't have a topic. It could be on anything. I just need to talk to her... alone... away from headquarters... without her pokemon."

"Do you have a reason? Jaquie usually wants a reason."

"Here's my reason: because it's important to me."

"Okay," Jared said, taking a breath. "Do you have any interview questions then?"

Jesse looked at James, who shrugged.

"I can make some up," she said.

She certainly wasn't giving him much to work with. "Do you even have an interview date?" he asked desperately.

"Three o'clock sharp this afternoon, or any other day of the week, as long as she tells me beforehand. The place will be by the apple tree, right outside the barrier. She cannot have her pokemon with her."

Jared startled. "All right. I'll try. But why don't you want her to bring her pokemon? And if you don't have any topic in mind for an interview, why do you want to interview her in the first place?"

Jesse squinted at him. "No wonder Jaquie likes you. You two think exactly alike. Exactly alike."

She walked out the door without answering his questions. Jared noticed her gait as she walked, so unlike her sister's. Jesse swung her hips and her arms. Her hair sashayed back and forth, her lone curl a pendulum. She had a look of confidence about her. Was she always that confident? Jared wondered. He couldn't remember.

"Hey Jesse, grab that sack of apples outside while you're out there," James yelled. "We can peel them to make apple sauce."

The door closed without response.

"Why does she want an interview so badly?" Jared asked. "Is it for your news report?"

James paused for a half beat. "Sure," he said.

Jared went back to his original task, which fixing the alarm system. The one he created had short-circuited this morning and woke everyone up with loud screeches at 3:19 A.M. A false alarm. Jared disconnected it and was trying to fix the problem. One wire was frayed and that seemed to unbalance the whole system...

Jared threw down his work. "You know what the problem with this alarm is? It's useless. Not because I can't fix it, but because what's the point? Psychic pokemon could get in just by teleporting, and they're the main threat."

"You should have listened to Jesse's idea," James said unsympathetically.

"Which was?"

"Mirrors. We've used them before. They toss the psychic attack right back at the one who used it."

"Even teleporting attacks?" Jared muttered. Then he straightened. "Wait. Mirrors can reflect psychic energy. Real mirrors? How?"

"I don't know. They just hit the mirrors and go spinning in another direction."

Jared's brain began to theorize. "Maybe they misconstrue the aim of the attack. The pokemon sees itself in the mirror and so the psychic attack is aimed at that pokemon. Or perhaps the unique surface of the mirror..."

Jesse waltzed back in and whispered something in James' ear. Jared only caught the words, "Jaquie" and "two more."

James winced. "Spearow?"

Jesse nodded.

. . .

March 17th-Afternoon

"No, Tauros, stop," Jaquie said. "Stop struggling. The more you struggle against a psychic attack, the more painful it is. You have to be calm and ride it like a wave."

Jared approached with caution. Jaquie stood in the middle of a ring of dueling pairs, watching intensely as a Tauros and Jynx fought. All her pokemon were accounted for, except Nidorina and Pidgeot, and they were throwing attacks in all directions. Jared hesitated at the edge.

"Jaquie?" Jared began.

"You're letting yourself be intimidated by Jynx's psychic abilities. There is nothing spectacular about psychic attacks. It's merely a kind of energy created in the mind. Nidorina can redirect a psychic attack with her reflect-counter at her opponent. Don't tell me that you can't even reflect it."

Jared tried again. "Jaquie, if you're not too busy..."

"No, Tauros. I said reflect. Okay everyone stop what you're doing," Jesse commanded. "We're going to go over one of the fundamental rules of fighting. Whenever you find yourself taken by surprise, use reflect. I want all of you to drill on how to use reflect; this is to become an instinct for you. Nidorino, Slowbro, Ryhorn, Dodrio, lead them in the drill."

"Can I talk with you for a minute?"

Finally, she turned from her work. "Sure, Jared. What is it?"

Jared carefully explained Jesse and James proposition. He watched her eyes grow distant and her mouth grow hard. She waited until he finished, then she said, "No."

One brief word, no explanation.

Jared felt a bit annoyed. "Why won't you let her interview you?"

"Why should I? I don't have any reason to permit an interview?"

"You don't have a reason not to. Besides, she's your sister."

"That doesn't mean I should tolerate an obstruction of my time."

"You've been working too hard anyway. Take some time to do something besides work. Besides, I doubt it would take that long."

Jaquie pressed her lips together, silent, and looked away.

"You want reasons," Jared said, growing irritated. "Fine, here are reasons. First, it's harmless. Second, it shows you support her in her new career. Third, you get an afternoon where you can guarantee she won't get in trouble wandering around the forest."

Jaquie stood up. "I'm too busy."

"For your sister?" Jared said incredulously. "You know she looks up to you. She hides it well, but she does."

"Well, she shouldn't," Jaquie said harshly. "The second-in-command of a mafia, why should I be her role model?"

"What?" said Jared.

"Nothing. There are just things that I don't want to talk about. Things that I don't want people to know about me-even Jesse."

"Like what?"

"If I won't tell my sister, I'm not going to tell you. For once don't pry into this matter. It is none of your business. Tell Jesse I do not want her to interview me and tell her to stop asking."

Jared didn't speak for a long time.

"Did you capture two pokemon this morning?" he asked at last, changing the subject.

"Yes."

"Were either of them a Spearow?"

"No."

"Oh."

And they were silent again.

. . .

March 17th-Early Evening

"Well, isn't that typical of Jaquie," Jesse griped. "Even when you ask her, she still won't do this for me. Fine, see if I ask any more favors of her. I'm never speaking to her again."

"Good," Jared grumped. "Then you can forget this stupid interview."

"I still want to interview her, I just don't want to speak to her."

"How will you accomplish that?" Jared asked. "I mean, reasonably."

"I'm not reasonable," Jesse said. "If you want reasonable, go see Jaquie. She'll reasonable you to death."

"Why do you want to interview her so badly? Just tell me that."

"That is none of your business."

"Nothing ever is!" Jared exclaimed "That doesn't keep me from being involved. If I'm going to be put in the middle of two fighting sisters, at least tell me what the fight's about."

Jesse crossed her arms and flounced away.

Jared turned to James. "What's with those two? Why can't they get along?"

"They used to,"James said. "Before we joined Team Rocket. Remember, Jess?" He called to his partner.

"That doesn't count," Jesse replied. "She was nice then."

"What happened?" Jared asked, interested now.

Jesse turned towards them. Her eyes softened and her expression seemed distant and sad.

"She used to take care of me when I was young. Really young, maybe five or six. She'd take me to the park and watch me play while she read her books. But sometimes she'd stop reading and push me on the swings. Or she would show me the books about pokemon she was reading. And she would take me into the field and say, 'Jesse, don't move. Pretend you're a bush and if you wait long enough, the pokemon will come.' And they always did. That's how I learned to disguise myself. And she took me to the mall, too, to look at the toys, even though we couldn't afford them."

"Is this the same Jaquie?" Jared said. "Jaquie, our leader?"

"I told you, she used to be nice. Even when she joined Team Rocket, she was still nice, plus she was rich. We'd go to the mall, and she'd buy me whatever I wanted: toys and dolls and pencil boxes and new clothes. Then we'd have ice cream. I'd have the super deluxe banana split with strawberries and sprinkles and chocolate fudge and Jaquie would always have a cone of chocolate-dipped vanilla. Then we'd walk home and Jaquie would show me her pokemon and have them battle. She was-she is-the best trainer out there. Watching her battle was better than T.V."

Jesse sniffed, and James went over to her.

"Ever since we joined Team Rocket, she was never the same," James told Jared. "Jesse joined Team Rocket to be just like her sister. But we were never good enough, no matter how hard we tried. Maybe that's why Jaquie doesn't like us."

"That's no excuse," said Jesse. "I'm not perfect like her, I can't help that. But that's no reason for Jaquie to stop being my big sister."

Jared remembered a conversation he had had with Jaquie earlier, when he'd told her about his younger brother. Get out of Team Rocket, Jaquie had warned him. Was this why? Because it tore family ties apart.

"We used to be so close," Jesse continued. "Now she won't even give me one lousy interview." The pain and sadness in her blue eyes remained, but now there was anger too. "I'm finally beginning to do things right and she won't help me. Some big sister."

. . .

All this drama between Jaquie and Jesse made Jared miss his own younger brother, Oliver. If Team Rocket dissolved family bonds, it hadn't done anything to Jared's family yet. Oliver still admired Jared.

When he learned of the expedition, Oliver gushed about how cool it would be for Jared to stumble upon a scientific discovery that would change the world of pokemon forever. So far, that hadn't really happened, as Jared had been largely confined to the headquarters. But he was feeling restless. It was time to get out.

. . .

March 18th-Afternoon

"James told me about the ruins," Jared explained. "I'd like to go see them. So far, I haven't seen much of anything on this island, and I kind of promised Oliver I would tell him about everything and take pictures."

"Oliver's your little brother?" Jaquie said.

"Yeah," said Jared. "So can I go?"

"It's your free time, Jared. You can do what you like. Just be sure all your pokemon are in good health. Take a couple of revolvers and make yourself one of those tracking devices in case you get in trouble."

So Jared went back to the headquarters and packed. He looked for a tracking device to fix, but the only one he found was the one belonging to Jesse and James, which they'd apparently left behind.

Jaquie isn't going to like this, he thought.

He wondered if he should tell her about it, but it was already four, and he wanted to get to the ruins. So he took their device and resolved to tell Jaquie about it later. Jared walked through the forest. The smooth plastic box with the gaudy red button was nestled in the palm of his hand. In case you get lost or run into danger, just push the button and I'll come. The guns meant nothing. His safety lay in that box.

Sunlight poured from the sky and trickled on the surface of the leaves. But the light was only superficial and did not penetrate into the heart of the forest, the clustered shadows, which chattered with noise and life. Jared forgot about the mysteries of Team Rocket and focused only on the deeper mysteries of the forest.

And then he came upon the ruins and sucked in his breath. The buildings were garnished with flowers and vines, like embroidery on a gown. There was an old fountain in the middle, cut out of the earth like a pool, but dry now. Statues in the shape of water stood around the fountain, mouths and faces turned towards the pool, poised to shoot out water in beautiful streams.

Buildings lay on three sides of the fountain. Facing left and right were small stores made out of sand and worn smooth by the passing of times. Jared touched it, and the sand felt like plaster. In the front of the plaza, there were three large building made of stone. At first they seemed as unelaborated as the smaller buildings, but on closer inspection, there were many small three-dimensional pictures of pokemon etched on the surface of the plaster.

Jared traced his finger over the pictures and wondered what stories they told. The doorways were made of heavy dark wood, arched and roughly fourteen feet tall, with words carved on them. English words, Jared realized. The largest building of the three, the one in the middle, was named City Hall. A smaller inscription below it read, "A place where all may have voice." To the left of City Hall was the Hall of Commerce, "a place of prosperity" and to the right was the Hall of Justice, "a place of truth."

Then he came to the statue of a Venusaur. It was the grandest Venusaur imaginable, with a noble bearing and sad eyes. As Jared circled it, he could see it merge into an Ivysaur, fierce and determined. Then the Ivysaur became a poor, mewling Bulbasaur, all wrapped up in chains. Venusaur, Ivysaur, and Bulbasaur were all one: adult, adolescent, and child, the same spirit woven through.

Pictures could not describe the majesty of what Jared saw, but he took them anyway. Quickly, greedily, running out of film and probably losing half to poor lighting. He felt like an explorer discovering a new land.

No, it wasn't quite like that. It was like the Spanish finding Tenochitalin or Machu Picchu. A new culture, a new way of life, with its own beauty, its own secrets, and Team Rocket had come to conquer it. Suddenly, Jared felt ashamed. He looked at the little Bulbasaur all chained up and didn't want to be there anymore.

He left.

But he couldn't get the image out of his head, so that evening, back at headquarters, he took out a pencil and a pad of paper and started to sketch. Inspiration coursed through him, and he felt his mind lifted to a higher plain. For a glorious moment, he was in his own world, separate from all the drama of Team Rocket.

. . .

Everyone had secrets.

Jesse and James had a secret, and they whispered it like teenagers during passing period, making it well-known they were concealing something. Karen and Kris' secrets were more subtle, a ripple in the pool of normality but still discernible if one watched. And Jaquie had a secret, a secret not connected to the island, but deeper and ingrained, carved into her as deeply as the hieroglyphics on the ruins. Even the forest had its own secrets, secrets that would live and die unseen.

But Jared never probed beyond the surface. He watched and observed, but never tried to figure out what those shadows hid. Because, hidden beneath stacks of books and pieces of broken machinery, Jared had his own secret. His dream. A weapon that could shoot off psychic energy.

March 18th-Night.

The blue print was drawn. Rough, much erased, and imperfect.

But drawn.

So let everyone keep their secrets. He would keep his own. And hopefully it would all work out for the best.