Time passed for Team Rocket, measured as always, not in meals or sunrises, but in failures. If anyone would have asked them why they kept trying to catch one boy's Pikachu after all this time, they themselves wouldn't have been able to provide a good answer. Maybe it was just a hobby at this point. There was comfort in the familiar, after all, and getting blasted halfway across a region by a failed attempt to capture Pikachu was nothing if not familiar to them by now.

Less familiar was the strange new…something, that now existed between Jessie and James. It wasn't tension, but nor was it comfort; it wasn't fear, but nor was it trust; it was closeness, but one they didn't dare speak of, and distance, but one that pressed them together. Sometimes Jessie would find herself reaching for James, then pulling back before she could even find out that he was about to return the gesture. It should have been happiness, but their respective demons turned it into uncertainty, and they both struggled with it, with wanting more but being too afraid.

Outwardly, very little changed, aside from Jessie's temper tantrums no longer leading to her striking James. Why they thought they could hide it from Meowth, he didn't know, but the cat Pokémon knew better than to bring it up.

Another odd thing that hung around the team now was Rookidee. Rather than getting discouraged by the mounting evidence that the humans it had attached itself to were bad guys, or even by the constant zaps from an overwhelmingly powerful Pikachu, the tiny bird Pokémon seemed more and more determined to stick with Jessie the more failures they suffered. Jessie still refused to catch it, unable to stop thinking of the eagerness with which she'd signed Donovan's contract even as time went on; four failures later, though, when Rookidee demanded once again to be put in a Pokéball so she could be its trainer, she finally lost her patience.

"I'm not a trainer!" she snapped at it. "I might use Pokémon, but I only battle for the good of Team Rocket, not for the kind of prestige that comes with strength." She lifted her nose high. "My personal interests lie with Pokémon contests," she went on. "If you were my Pokémon, you'd be putting on performances on…a stage…"

She trailed off abruptly, ice pouring through her being as she heard her own words. How could she ever direct any Pokémon in a contest again, when Donovan had wanted to do the very same thing to her? Her whole body shuddered, her mind conjuring an image of herself as a Pokémon and Donovan as her coordinator, her unable to even speak and tell the audience that she was just a prisoner being forced to go through motions for the benefit of her captor while she danced at his command-

"Jess?"

A hand on her arm brought Jessie back to reality. Blinking several times, trying to banish the nightmare that had spawned behind her eyes, she turned and met James's gaze. His emerald irises shone with grave understanding, and she lifted her hand and placed it on his, gripping him tightly in an attempt to ground herself.

Meanwhile, Rookidee was chattering animatedly. Apparently not reading the room, Meowth spoke up.

"Rookidee says it can dazzle any crowd," he informed Jessie, and she turned to the Pokémon, her gut churning. A few more chitters, and Meowth added, "Watch, and it'll show ya." The cat turned to the bird. "Go on, den, let's see!"

"Meowth…" Jessie whispered, too horrified to raise her voice.

But it was too late. Rookidee posed, spreading its wings and lifting its beak high. "Rook," it said. It hopped a few times in a quick, tight, star-shaped pattern, switching from pose to pose and place to place almost too fast to see. Then it started hopping further, using the surrounding trees to maneuver itself in a quick, wild blur of blue and yellow. Bits of foliage kicked up from its whirlwind movements, and it flew through them, setting off its own plumage with the fragments of green and finishing with a proud cry of its name, gently flitting back to the ground and coming to a stop in a perfect pose, tiny wings stretched wide.

Everyone stared.

"…Not bad," James remarked at last, sounding surprised.

Nausea roiled in Jessie's gut. "Form could…use some…work…" she choked softly. Realizing there was nothing she could do to stop the tears that were about to start rolling down her cheeks, she barely managed to yelp, "I need a minute!" before dashing into the trees, away from her team, struggling to keep herself from sobbing. Mercifully, none of them followed.

Not far away, a stream gurgled through the forest they'd been traversing, and Jessie dove for it, cupping her gloved hands in the cold water and throwing it against her face, trying to at least mask the hot liquid already staining her burning skin. All she could think about was that first morning at Starstruck Academy, when she'd put on a display for Donovan in hopes of impressing him, after which he'd declared her form could use some work as he began striking her for the first time.

Crying out wordlessly, she tore her long gloves off, needing to feel something; the collar of her uniform was too tight around her neck, and she struggled her way out of that too, leaving only her black undershirt, before she dove forward and plunged her entire upper torso into the river, letting the cold water cascade over her bare skin and drag at her hair, smother her sobs and wash away her tears. She stayed submerged until she absolutely needed air, then sat up, gasping, rubbing her face and pressing her palms to her temples, trying and failing to compose herself.

Curse him!

"Jessie?"

Again, that gentle voice cut through her inner turmoil, and she flinched and looked back to see James approaching slowly, his steps hesitant, as though prepared for her to demand he leave her alone.

She didn't.

"Are you…alright?" he asked her unnecessarily, only saying the words as an invitation to talk.

"…No," she answered, slumping, too overwhelmed to put up a facade.

James walked over and sat down beside her. "You were thinking of him just now," he said softly. "Weren't you?"

Recognizing her own words, Jessie nodded. Gazing at her wavering reflection in the flowing river, she told him, her voice empty of emotion, "My first day at his academy, he had the other girls perform for me, then asked me to show him what I could do. I danced my best for him; I wanted to impress him right away, show him that I really was special. He…was impressed, then said my form needed work, and started hitting me." Her fists clenched. "Any time we couldn't pose ourselves just so for a display or a dance, he would hit us," she said. "And if we tried to favor our injuries, he'd hit us more."

"You're not like him," James said.

"Huh?" Jessie blinked, lifting her head to look at him.

"You don't do that when you direct your Pokémon as a coordinator," he stated. "You don't torture them, or try to force them to fit your style. Instead, you find what makes them special and bring out their unique inner beauty, beauty most people might not even see otherwise - not by beating them into submission, but by believing in them and helping them find their own style. That's what makes you a great coordinator, Jess, and completely different from Donovan."

"You…You think so?" Jessie whimpered, her heart thudding in her chest.

"I know so," James told her firmly. "I've seen you do it, time and again. Pokémon like Dustox, Yanmega, and Gorgeist aren't what anyone would typically think of as beautiful or even cute, but you've taken those types of Pokémon to contest victories by inspiring them to shine in their own special ways. It's amazing what you do in contests sometimes, Jess. So…don't let that monster take that away from you, or your Pokémon. Don't let him control your life like that; shine on just as you are."

"James…" Jessie swallowed hard. Tears were burning her eyes again, but they weren't tears of anguish this time.

Tension stretched between them for a long minute. Then, James took a deep, steadying breath, and spoke. "Listen," he said, "what happened just now, it…got me thinking."

"You, thinking? That's dangerous," Jessie teased, forcing a smile.

He snorted, and her heart skipped a beat. For him to respond to her taunt with amusement instead of retaliating meant that they were about to have a Very Serious Conversation, one that would doubtless involve openness and honesty regarding emotions neither of them were comfortable with. Of course, it had never happened before, but Jessie didn't need precedent to understand her partner's cues.

"I was thinking," James said slowly, "about…freedom."

"Huh?" Jessie blinked. "Freedom?"

"You're scared of being a coordinator now because of what that man did to you," James said; "you may not be in his clutches anymore, but you're not really free of him, either, not as long as what he did still affects how you think and live your life. And you deserve to be free, Jessie, really free."

"So do you…" she said slowly.

To her surprise, he nodded. "That's what I realized," he said. "I'm not really free of her, either, not as long as I let thoughts of her hold me back. I joined Team Rocket to escape her, but really, I've just been carrying her with me all this time. It didn't used to matter, but-"

"James," Jessie cut off his babbling before it could really start.

He offered her a smile. "We both have a right to be free, Jess," he said. "That's who we are. Neither of us can live under someone else's control."

"It's…not so easy," Jessie said slowly, fully aware that he of all people didn't need to be told this. "The next time I take the stage, I won't be able to help thinking of him."

"I know," James nodded. "But that won't stop you from doing it anyway, and you and your Pokémon will do a great job, because you're a great coordinator."

She smiled. A single, happy tear rolled down her cheek.

"And…" He hesitated, then pressed on, "I can't help thinking of her right now, but that won't stop me from doing this."

Before Jessie could fully process this statement, he leaned over, gently took her chin in his fingers, and kissed her. She responded without thinking, leaning into him as a wave of euphoria washed over her, her demons receding as she placed her hands in his lavender hair and pulled him closer. They hadn't kissed since that one time, but she'd been thinking about it, and so had he, about how nothing had ever felt so right…

Slowly, her brain caught up with her body, and she pulled away, breaking contact. "James," she gasped, her breath coming unusually hard. "Is this really the time, or the place?"

"I told Meowth and the others to give you space," James told her. "They won't walk in on us."

"You did?" Jessie blinked, and she allowed her lips to curl into a smirk. "Well, aren't you a naughty boy?" she teased.

He flinched, bristling. "I didn't tell them to stay away because of that!" he yelped, his voice rising to a squeal. "Jess, you were upset, I knew you wouldn't want-"

She silenced him with a finger to his lips, not saying a word, just gazing into his emerald eyes, smiling. Then they collided again, in perfect unison as always, mouths clashing, hands grasping, breathing hard, wanting, needing. Jessie whimpered as James's hands came down to cradle her hips, pressing her body against his, almost falling on him. When his fingers brushed up and slipped under her black undershirt, though, she flinched - a flash crossed behind her closed eyes of the Cinder Room, Donovan's gloved hands stripping her clothing away so he could torture her.

They stopped for a moment, breaking apart, both panting heavily. Silent words passed between them through their locked gaze, and then James nodded and took his hand back, smoothing her shirt over her skin as their lips locked once more. There was no need to undress, really. James did tug his own gloves off and toss them aside, though, and the warmth of his bare hands on Jessie's stomach lit a fire in her veins.

By now, they were both gasping for breath against each other's mouths, pulses pounding, heat rising. Drowning in the sweet taste of James's kiss, Jessie felt a pleasurable ache building between her thighs, a sort of reverse pressure, a yearning emptiness that needed to be filled. As she shifted closer, kneeling to straddle his legs, both of them clinging to each other, their eyes opened to meet briefly, a sudden realization dawning on them both at once:

If we're both sitting up, no one's on top.

With that, the last barrier broke, there was no going back; the pair found their bodies surged together of their own accord as though drawn together by magnets, pressing so close that no part of one body lacked contact with the other. Jessie pushed her hips down against the hardness straining against James's pants, and he moaned loudly against her mouth, the vibrations echoing through her own body. She moaned in response, a duet in perfect sync like when they recited their old motto, all the world seemed to have stopped and there was nothing but their yearning for each other that had been growing far longer than either of them would ever admit. It felt as though they'd both been starving for years while staring at a lavish banquet neither of them dared touch, and now suddenly they were allowed to eat their fill, if they could ever be filled - secretly, they'd always dreamed of this, even if they always buried those dreams, and in James's case, convinced himself they were nightmares; it was all stripped away now, leaving nothing but desire, white-hot and intoxicating.

Neither of them noticed the shadow that fell over them, they were so lost in the moment, nor could they hear the low droning noise that had been growing around them over the sound of their own needy whimpers and desperate gasps for breath. Indeed, they were too lost in each other to register the sound of a Pokéball bursting open. But as Jessie reached down for James's belt, one sound did manage to work its way through her mad frenzy, a sound that chilled her blood and froze her solid before she could get started on the buckle: a soft hiss.

"Serrr."

Before Jessie could brace herself, thick vines slammed into her side, knocking her through the clearing. Both Rocket members cried out in surprise - and in Jessie's case, pain - as James reflexively tightened his grip on his partner and was sent tumbling head over head with her across the undergrowth of the forest. Panting, trying to recover, they scrambled to untangle themselves and rise to their feet, turning back in the direction of their attacker to see a large green serpent Pokémon glaring at them with crimson eyes.

"Serrrr-perior," the Serperior hissed.

All the breath choked out of Jessie's lungs, and she finally looked up to see a zeppelin floating overhead. From the passenger cart hung a thick cable, and down that cable was sliding a man with long, ebony curls of hair and a heavy blue coat, poised perfectly as he dropped to the ground on a single handle that slowed his descent just enough. His black, steel-toed boots met the grass, and he stood tall, tossing his perfect hair with perfect elegance before opening his mahogany eyes and pinning them on Jessie.

"My, my," Donovan purred, "what a sordid scene I appear to have interrupted. I don't recall giving you permission to have a boyfriend, Jessica."

"I don't need your permission for anything!"

"She doesn't need your permission for anything!"

The same shout erupted from both Rockets' mouths in perfect sync.

"Oh dear," Donovan sighed dramatically, "you really will have to learn to curb that attitude of yours, my dear." He smirked. "Not to worry. My methods work on even the most stubborn of spirits."

"How did you find us?" Jessie demanded, trying to fight back her panic; beside her, James shifted his stance to partially shield her from her tormentor.

"I told you there was nowhere you could hide," Donovan responded calmly. "Really, darling, what were you thinking? For many intents and purposes, I own all of Galar, and my money's just as green in any other region. Did you seriously believe you could escape me?" With a dismissive shrug, he waved a hand before she could respond. "No matter," he said. "Come along now, my dear; I hope you've enjoyed your little escapade, because it's time for you to come home with me."

"She's not going anywhere with you!" James shouted.

"Her contract says otherwise," Donovan replied, pulling out that dreaded piece of paper from inside his coat and brandishing it.

"Rooki rook!"

A chirp drew everyone's attention: the tiny bird Pokémon was flitting through the trees, followed frantically by Meowth and Wobbuffet.

"Rookidee, get back heah!" Meowth was calling after it. "James said dey needed privacy!"

"Rookidee!" Jessie gasped, feeling a flood of relief at the sight of her unwanted new companion.

"Rook rook rook!" chirped the bird, landing squarely between Donovan and Jessie and spreading its tiny little wings wide, glaring at the interloper. "Rookidee!"

"You?!" Meowth was the next to notice what was happening, and the cat Pokémon leapt to Rookidee's side, extending his claws. "Whadda youse doin' heah?!" he demanded.

"Wooo-bbuffet!" proclaimed the blue blob that followed, which also joined the line of Pokémon shielding Jessie from Donovan.

Donovan frowned. "Darling Jessica, are these the Pokémon you've been traveling with?" he asked, sounding disappointed. "Pathetic. Any starlet of mine deserves better companionship, or none at all."

"Why won't you just leave me alone?!" Jessie shouted at him. "I'm not your starlet! I'm a member of Team Rocket!"

At that, Donovan gave a slow, dangerous smile. "Not anymore," he purred.

"Huh?" Everyone blinked, confused by his certainty.

"Team Rocket," Donovan mused, turning the words over slowly in his mouth. "Essentially unheard of here in Galar, but a respected name in other regions. A powerful and dangerous organized crime syndicate, primarily rooted in Kanto and Johto. Led by one…Giovanni, yes?"

All the Rockets gasped.

"It really is amazing what information money can buy," Donovan went on smugly. "I've already spoken with your boss about you, Jessica. I explained the whole situation to him, and asked him what price he would demand of me in exchange for releasing you from his organization and into my care." His smile widened, revealing a line of perfectly white teeth. "And do you know what he told me?" he asked wickedly.

"That you can stick your money where the sun doesn't shine?!" James retorted.

Donovan chuckled. "He told me," he informed them, "that you were his most incompetent agent and utterly worthless to him, that he wouldn't ask for a single Pokédollar in exchange for you because I would be doing him a favor just by taking you off his hands, that it would be a relief to get you out of his hair. What were his exact words again, Serperior?" Donovan asked his companion with feigned uncertainty. "I believe it was something along the lines of, 'if you really want her, she's your problem now'?"

Horrified shock froze Jessie into a statue, and that was the only reason she didn't throw up or burst into tears. She felt her whole world come crashing down, everything crumbling away-

James reached over and put a hand on Jessie's arm, immediately grounding her. "Don't listen to him," he told her softly.

"You're lyin'!" Meowth shouted at Donovan. "Da boss would nevah say sumt'in' like dat!"

"He wouldn't?" Donovan mocked. "So you're saying you are competent agents, and would be sorely missed if Team Rocket were to lose you?"

Everyone bristled at that.

"Just so," Donovan smirked. "If you don't believe me, I encourage you to ask him yourself, as I'm sure you have some means of getting in contact with him. But first, darling Jessica here is going to come with me."

"She's not going anywhere with you!" James snarled again.

"She has nowhere else to go," Donovan countered smoothly. "Your own organization doesn't want her, and she signed a contract with me. I own her."

"No one owns Jessie!" James shouted, stepping forward, fully blocking Donovan's view of his target. "I don't care if the boss sold her out, you can't have her, and I won't let you!"

"James…" Jessie breathed, her eyes burning.

Gritting his teeth, James reached for his belt. "Go, Morpeko!" he shouted, tossing his Pokéball. "Aura wheel attack!"

"Are we really doing this?" Donovan groaned with exaggerated irritation, flipping his perfect hair.

"You bet we are!" Jessie snarled, allowing rage to overtake her devastation. "Rookidee, use peck!"

Morpeko had already emerged, black and purple in its Hangry Mode, snarling as it began to glow. Rookidee trumpeted its name proudly and darted into the air, diving for Serperior.

"Dodge and slam," Donovan told Serperior calmly.

Serperior hissed its name, its scarlet eyes gleaming as it perfectly flowed out of the way of Morpeko's attack, sending the rodent flying into the trees, then lifted its tail to hit Rookidee.

"Confuse it!" Jessie shouted.

Turning on a dime, Rookidee canceled its attack and dove out of the way, hitting the ground with its tiny feet and hopping immediately, darting around with the same grace it had shown off earlier.

"Patience, Serperior," Donovan said. "Strike when ready."

"Rook rook rook rook rook rook rook rook!" Rookidee chirped as it flitted around faster than the eye could see. "Rook rook rook rook rook-"

"Ser!"

Suddenly, Serperior's tail lashed out, hitting the tiny bird Pokémon head-on from mid-jump.

"Rookidee!" Rookidee cried as it sailed through the air and slammed hard into a tree before tumbling to the ground, knocked out.

"Rookidee!" Jessie exclaimed, heart twisting at the sight of her fallen companion.

"Enough of this nonsense," Donovan stated coldly. His mahogany eyes turned to his Serperior, and something dangerous seemed to flash between their gazes. "Serperior," he said softly, "wrap attack."

"Ser!" the grass-type Pokémon nodded, and it turned and lunged towards where the four remaining individuals stood clustered.

"Wobbuffet, counter!" Jessie shouted, and her blue Pokémon saluted, proclaiming its name as it began to glow.

But Serperior wasn't aiming for Wobbuffet.

It wasn't even aiming for Meowth.

Before anyone had a chance to realize what was happening, the green serpent flew past all the Pokémon and wrapped its long, thick body in tight coils around Jessie's human partner.

"James!" Jessie yelped.

"Whaddaya t'ink yah're doin'?!" Meowth exclaimed. "No faih fightin' dihty!"

James struggled, but Serperior's body was strong, and only squeezed harder. "Serrr," the grass-type Pokémon all but purred, its crimson eyes gleaming.

By now, Morpeko had managed to make its way back to the clearing where the battle was taking place. Squeaking its name angrily, it rushed at where its opponent was attacking its trainer, but Serperior barely glanced at it as a vine snaked out from under its collar and wrapped around the rodent Pokémon, immobilizing it in midair. Morpeko squealed, flailing, but clearly it knew that even if it could muster the energy to zap Serperior despite its empty stomach, it couldn't do so without hurting James.

"Let him go!" Meowth shouted, brandishing his claws, and in an uncharacteristic display from the human-like Pokémon, the cat leapt forward to try to cut James free. This, too, got barely an acknowledgement from Serperior as it let out its other vine and wrapped that around Meowth's body, holding him in place while it continued crushing James in its coils. "Lemme go!" Meowth shouted, squirming helplessly. "Lemme go!"

Wobbuffet, of course, couldn't do anything; it was a shield, not a weapon.

Jessie stared. Rookidee was unconscious, Meowth and Morpeko were restrained, Wobbuffet was useless in this situation, and James…James hadn't been able to make more than soft choking sounds for a while now. He continued to squirm, but he couldn't breathe any air with which to scream, and Jessie could only watch, helpless, her blood running cold.

"Now then, Jessica," Donovan said, his dark, musical voice wrapping around her like unforgiving binds, "will you stop resisting?"

Flinching, she looked up and saw him striding over to her, unhurried.

"What are you doing?" she all but squeaked.

"I'm offering you a choice," Donovan answered, close enough to tower over her now, and she felt her knees quake in fear. "Come with me quietly, and I let your little boy-toy go."

Jessie looked at James's red, strained face again.

"Better make your choice quickly, though," Donovan continued smugly. "I don't think he'll last much longer without air."

"Y-You-!" Jessie choked, her gaze jerking up again to meet his cold, dark brown eyes. "You wouldn't!" she exclaimed. "You're bluffing!"

Donovan chuckled softly and tossed his hair. "Are you willing to stake his life on that assessment?" he asked in response.

Shuddering, Jessie looked at James again. His emerald eyes, now bulging out of his head, were fixed on her, and his lips moved, shaping words she didn't have to hear to understand:

Jessie, run!

But her focus was mostly captured by the look in Serperior's red irises as it gazed at its victim. That gleam was the same one Donovan's had held when he'd tortured her in the Cinder Room - this Pokémon was enjoying watching a human struggle helplessly in its grip, watching James's red face as it started to turn purple-

Suddenly, another memory exploded to the surface of Jessie's mind:

"Have you ever watched someone choke to death, Jessica? The bulging eyes and tongue, the way the face turns red, then purple, then blue…Truly dreadful…"

Her stomach turned over, and she knew.

"Stop," she gasped, turning to Donovan. "Please, stop, you win, I'll come quietly. Just let him go."

"Come along, then," Donovan smiled, reaching for her.

She pulled back. "Let him go first," she hissed.

The Galarian madman blinked. "You're in no position to be making demands, my dear," he remarked calmly.

"Listen," Jessie said, trying to suppress her terror, "if I go with you now, you'll have no reason to release James. But if you release him, and I don't go with you, there's nothing stopping you from attacking him again, and I won't be able to talk you out of it a second time. So let him go, and I'll go with you. Please…" She choked, struggling desperately to hold back tears. "Please, just let him go, and I won't resist. You've already won, Donovan, it's over, just please, please, leave him out of this, I - I'm begging you!"

"Begging?" Donovan repeated, raising an eyebrow, and his perfect lips curled into a smile. "I think I like it when you beg, Jessica. Do it again."

"Please," she whispered again, knowing James didn't have much time left, if any. "I beg you, please…!"

For another long, torturous second, Donovan dragged it out, clearly only pretending to think about it. Then, with a sigh, he tossed his magnificent hair and nodded.

"Oh, very well," he conceded, turning to his partner. "I'm sorry, Serperior, I'll make it up to you. For now…" He took out a Pokéball and held it up. "Return."

"Ser," Serperior growled before it disappeared in a cloud of red light and returned to its trainer's possession.

James, Meowth, and Morpeko all hit the ground hard as their captor dematerialized. Not until she heard James gasp and start coughing did Jessie allow herself to breathe too, relieved that at least he would be okay.

"Clever girl," Donovan murmured to her, and she only realized how close he was right before he reached out and took her arm in a bruising grip. "Come with me now, Jessica. It's time to go home."

Knowing she had no choice, Jessie allowed him to lead her back to where the wire still hung from his transport.

"J-Jess-!" James stuttered, still coughing and wheezing, and she turned back to see him desperately clawing at the grass in an attempt to chase after her.

"It's okay, James," she told him. "Just get out of here."

"We're not about ta letcha go wid' dat sicko!" Meowth snarled.

"Don't try to rescue me again," Jessie told them as Donovan positioned her by the wire. He raised his free hand and waved to the zeppelin, and another cord came down, this one bearing iron chains and manacles. Forcing herself to hold still as she was bound, Jessie focused on her friends. "If the boss doesn't want me, then I have nowhere else to go, you can't protect me anymore. So just get out of here, and save yourselves."

"Jessie!" James choked, still struggling to get his breath back as he thrashed in the undergrowth, trying to rise.

"James," Jessie said softly as cold metal dug into her skin, and she met his eyes, trying to memorize those emerald irises framed by lavender strands so she'd never forget how beautiful he was. "You've done so much for me during our journeys," she told him. "Given so much for me. Now, it's my turn. As long as I know you're safe, and free…I'll be okay. So go. Get out of Galar, go somewhere he can't find you. Please, that's all I want, is for you to live free. At least that way, one of us can be happy."

"Jess…!"

"It's okay," she said, forcing a smile through tears that were dangerously close to overflowing. "You'll see me again…on the big screen, where I belong."

"Jessie, no-!"

"Goodbye," Jessie whispered, and as the cable pulled at her bindings and lifted her into the air, Donovan gripping the handle on his own wire and riding it up to his transport, hot liquid leaked from her eyes, pouring down her cheeks and dripping from her chin to splash on the grass that was falling away from her feet.

"Jessie!" James wailed, having finally managed to rise enough to stumble towards her, but she was already out of his reach.

She didn't struggle as Donovan hauled her onto the transport car, calling to his Indeedee to start flying them back to Motostoke. When she tried to lean away from the open barrier, his hand came down and planted firmly on her scalp.

"No," he told her, placing his mouth by her ear so she could hear him over the wind and the engines. "I want you to watch, Jessica, as everything you hold dear slips away from you. Your past, left behind, soon to be forgotten. Maybe then you'll be able to focus on your future."

For all the agony ripping at her heart as the other half of her soul was torn away from her, left behind on the ground and fading into the distance, Jessie didn't dare look away. If nothing else, she was mindful of the Pokéball at Donovan's belt, with which he could quickly change his mind at any moment and destroy the only thing she had left to live for.

"He's lucky you're such a good negotiator, you know," Donovan went on after a moment. "I don't often spare people who get in my way."

"You mean like your parents?" she spat bitterly at him.

She felt him start with surprise, and when James was completely out of sight, she turned to meet his mahogany eyes as a smile crossed his lips.

"Cle-ver girl," he purred, chuckling. "We will have to do something about that big, bulging brain of yours, won't we? After all, a proper idol isn't too intelligent."

Jessie cringed, awaiting the blow that always came with this sort of statement, though it didn't come.

"First things first, though," Donovan went on after a moment, the door sealing shut and blocking out at least some of the sound of the wind so she could hear him better. "When we get home, I will punish you for running away. Then, we'll pick up where we left off, and resume our work at molding you into a perfect star." His smile widened, teeth gleaming dangerously, and he added, "And after that…who knows? Maybe I'll even mold you into my perfect bride."

"Wha-?!" Jessie gasped, blinking in shock.

"I prefer my women blond," he smirked, "but I suppose we could always bleach that fiery mane of yours. And to be honest, darling Jessica, I don't think anything in life will ever bring me such exquisite pleasure…" He leaned in close, his voice a husky whisper. "…as breaking your spirit."

His hand came up and caressed her bare arm, just below the sleeve of the black undershirt she still wore, and in that moment, Jessie knew pure, unadulterated horror. A shiver wracked her body as she clamped her lips together, swallowing hard in an effort to hold back a scream that would have come out sounding not unlike the one James made when faced with the sight of Jessebelle. When at last she knew she could open her mouth without crying, she glared at him and choked, "You'll never break me that far!"

Mahogany eyes blinked in surprise; Jessie's voice was shaking and cracked, but she was proud of herself for speaking at all.

"It doesn't matter what you do to me!" she told him, doing her best to mask her fear with fury. "I will never be your bride!"

"My dear, you still intend to resist me?" he chuckled. Snickering nastily, he grinned. "Good," he hissed. "That's going to make this so much more fun. But, darling Jessica, you and I both already know how this ends. After all, you were the first to say it." He leaned close, until his breath tickled her ear, and whispered, "I've already won."

With that, he laughed and stood up, tossing his hair elegantly as he made his way to the head of the zeppelin, leaving her bound and chained up on the metal floor.

Far below, James could only watch helplessly as his other half floated away in a metal box. In his hands, he held her gloves and the blouse emblazoned with the red "R" of their organization, clutching all that was left of the woman he wasn't whole without as he broke down and cried, thoroughly destroyed by the knowledge of one simple truth:

This is my fault.

~R~

It took hours for James to stop wailing, even with all four Pokémon doing their best to comfort him. They were all crying too, five bodies huddled together with grief and despair. By the time James managed to compose himself, it was already long past sunset…and, he realized grimly, that was just as well, because there was something he had to do before anything else.

Maybe Donovan hadn't been bluffing that first day he'd met Jessie and told her to ask around about him if she doubted his legitimacy, but James had to be sure.

Setting up the old comm laptop, James put in a request for a direct audience with the boss of Team Rocket, pacing as he waited for the call to go through, trying to get a handle on his panic. Panicking wouldn't help him get to the bottom of this, nor would it help him negotiate with the man whose charity he depended on to survive.

At last, the monitor beeped and lit up, and James stood at attention, surrounded by the Pokémon who'd come to support him, as he faced his leader.

"What is it?" Giovanni demanded in greeting. There was absolutely no surprise in his stern eyes, and he didn't even look around or ask where Jessie was.

James gritted his teeth. "I think you already know," he growled at his boss.

Giovanni's only response was a slight, dangerous tilt of his head.

Drawing a deep breath, James tried to keep his voice steady. "My partner, Jessie, has been taken away by a rich Galarian madman named Donovan Star," he said, "and Mr. Star claims that you told him he could have her at no cost, that you wouldn't even put a price on her being released from Team Rocket and into his clutches."

"Hmm." Giovanni closed his eyes and smiled, one hand stroking his ever-present Persian. "And so what if I did?" he asked. "As I told him, my agents aren't for sale like Pokémon, but your team is no great loss to me; I won't insist on keeping an agent I can so easily afford to be rid of."

So you won't sell people like property, but you'll readily give them away to be kept as such?! "Sir…!" James's fists clenched, but it would not do to lose his temper with his team leader. "With all due respect, I know Jessie and I are your worst field agents, that we've done nothing but fail and embarrass you time and again…!" He shook, then snapped, gesturing wildly as his voice rose into a shriek. "But have you no heart?!" he cried. "No humanity?! You can't just hand someone over to a monster like that rich creep to be tortured!"

"Tortured?" Giovanni repeated, raising his eyebrows. "I was under the impression that Mr. Star runs an academy for youth talented in showmanship, and Jessie was being trained to be an idol."

"The academy is a sham!" James shouted. "That son of a Stoutland abuses his recruits and beats them down until they're nothing but mindless puppets who'll dance for his amusement!"

"Is that so?" Giovanni asked. "He claimed Jessie signed a contract with him entirely of her own volition."

"She signed on before she knew what she was signing on for!" James yelled. "He's a liar who manipulates women into his manor, then locks them inside and tortures them!"

"Mr. Star also claimed that you violently attacked his estate and stole Jessie away against her will," Giovanni continued.

"He's lying!" James screamed, so loud his throat was starting to hurt. "Jessie was desperate to get out of there, she nearly cried with relief when I rescued her!"

"It's true!" Meowth spoke up. "I saw her, boss, I saw da bruises and I saw da teahs, she was relieved to be outta dere!"

"Hmm…" Giovanni frowned. "I don't take kindly to people lying to me, James," he said coldly.

Mustering every ounce of strength he had, James wrestled down his riotous emotions, drawing several deep breaths until he was confident he could speak normally. "Sir," he said, "you gave me shelter when I had nowhere to go, and I know I've done nothing but inconvenience you in return. I can never begin to repay you for letting me stay on Team Rocket despite being so utterly useless, and I can assure you I would not repay your charity by lying to you. Donovan Star is a dangerous monster who's currently torturing my partner, and he was able to recapture her so easily because you let her go without a fight."

A minute of silence passed in response to this assertion, Giovanni still stroking the head of his Persian, head tilted in thought. His cold eyes betrayed nothing, but James forced himself to be patient.

"Do you know why I've allowed you and Jessie to continue working for me, despite your staggering incompetence?" Giovanni asked James at last.

James blinked. "No, sir."

"You aren't entirely without your uses," Giovanni said. "Your obsession with a singular Pikachu has led you across the world, making you excellent scouts for regions where Team Rocket hasn't yet established ourselves. What's more, if your bumbling is the first other regions see of our organization, they will vastly underestimate us, allowing for potential ease of infiltration down the line. Your worthlessness does provide me with certain advantages."

"Sir," James nodded, accepting this.

"The main reason I haven't fired you despite the fact that you constantly embarrass me, however," Giovanni continued, "is because Jessie's mother happens to have been an old family friend, and you are the only partner she's ever gotten along with…though to say you two work together effectively would certainly be a stretch."

"Sir…" James swallowed, taking this in. "If you've been giving Jessie a job out of sentiment for her family, then you can't just abandon her to be left in Donovan Star's clutches. Her mother wouldn't want that - the only parents in this world uncaring or cruel enough to want that sort of fate for their own child are mine!"

Giovanni tilted his head, frowning hard. "James, I'm going to ask you a question," he said, "with the understanding that the moment I find out your answer is a lie, I will return you to your parents in chains."

A horrified shriek tore its way out of James's throat, his whole body lurching away from the monitor at the mere suggestion of such a thing.

The boss allowed James's moment of sheer panic to pass, then met his eyes through the monitor. "If I were to help you remove your partner from Donovan Star's care, and got her far away from him, somewhere he would never be able to influence her, and asked her about all this, would she corroborate your story?" he asked. "Would she tell me that Mr. Star is abusive and that she wants no part in his academy?"

Gulping hard, but certain, James nodded. "Yes, sir," he answered. "And if you help me get her out of there, I'll personally make sure she calls you so she can tell you so."

"Hmm…" Giovanni closed his eyes.

For a long minute, no one made a sound. Even Rookidee, who understood nothing of this situation, held perfectly still. Though Giovanni's stern face was mostly unchanged, James could see the tightness at the corners of his mouth, and Meowth noticed the way the fingers on the hand that wasn't patting Persian gripped the boss's seat a little too tightly. It was clear to both Rocket agents that their boss was brimming with a dangerous, ice-cold fury, one he could barely contain, and they didn't dare poke the Pangoro.

Another minute passed. Then another.

"…I see," Giovanni said at last, opening his eyes, and he sighed. "Well…that is unfortunate."

"Sir, you have to help me rescue Jessie!" James exclaimed.

His boss met his eyes. "I'm not sure what you're expecting me to do," the team leader stated.

James gasped and recoiled.

"Aside from the two of you, Team Rocket has no presence whatsoever in Galar," Giovanni said. "Donovan Star, meanwhile, is a very wealthy and powerful public figure, one who commands a great deal of respect in that region from civilians, law enforcement, and government agencies alike. If my first move in the region were to be to send a contingent of my own agents on a foreign mission to oppose such a well-renowned man and take something from him, it would make it unnecessarily difficult to infiltrate Galar in the future. Simply put, helping you rescue your partner would be bad for business."

"Sir!" James yelped. "You can't just-!"

Giovanni silenced him with a raise of his hand. "However," he said firmly.

James's breath caught, and he stilled.

"If, in theory, a single rogue agent were to request an assets package from me for an unspecified mission - one entirely unsanctioned by myself - and in the carrying out of that mission happened to release your partner from captivity, Team Rocket couldn't claim any culpability for that," Giovanni stated. "Furthermore, if, in the performing of that entirely unsanctioned mission, the rogue agent in question also happened to completely destroy a man who would dare lie to my face…!" Anger flashed across the Rocket boss's eyes, and James flinched. "Then I would certainly be lenient with that rogue agent's punishment," Giovanni concluded. "Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

"I…" James's heart was pounding, and he felt slightly dizzy as he nodded. "I think I do, sir."

Giovanni nodded back. "In the interest of plausible deniability, I'll only be able to sign off on a single package," he told James, "so make sure you know exactly what you need, and how much of it, before you put in the order. And be aware that you are entirely on your own in this endeavor - should you cross paths with Galarian law enforcement, I will claim no knowledge of your existence."

"Understood, sir," James assured him, nodding again.

"I hope I am." Giovanni looked down at his Persian, scratching its ears. "On incredibly rare occasions, you have been known to display uncharacteristic strokes of brilliance," he said. "For your sake and your partner's, I hope this is one of those times."

"Sir," James said, "I know I've failed you more times than anyone can count, but I've never failed her, and I'm not about to start now."

"Again, for your sake and hers, I hope that's true," Giovanni responded.

"Thank you, sir," James said.

"For what?" Giovanni asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Er, nothing, sir!" James answered quickly.

"Precisely," Giovanni nodded. "We never had this conversation."

And with that, the call ended. James took a single, deep breath, trying to steady himself.

"Did…" James looked down to see Meowth staring at the blank monitor in shock. "Did da boss just write us a blank check ta help us rescue Jessie?" the talking Pokémon asked, dumbfounded.

"A blank check, yes," James said, "but only the one. We need to know exactly what we need before we cash it; we're only going to have one shot at this."

"Can't be too hard," Meowth shrugged. "Just blast our way in and-"

"No," James cut him off, his fists clenching. "Meowth, you know as well as I do that if we just bust Jessie out of there and run away like last time, Donovan will follow her and capture her again. Besides…" He scowled deeper. "You heard the boss. Donovan Star looked him in the eye and lied. As Team Rocket agents, we can't allow him to get away with that kind of insult to our leader."

"So…whaddaya sayin', Jimmy?" Meowth inquired.

Gathering his strength, James lifted his chin, along with his fists. "I'm saying we're not just going to rescue Jessie," he stated; "we are going to destroy Donovan Star, and everything he has to his name, until he's nothing but a broken shell of a man who can never hurt anyone again!"

Meowth stared at James. He'd almost never seen this kind of wrath in the effeminate young man before - the only other times James had been this angry was when someone or something took his bottle caps. Even in the moonlight, there was a fire in James's green eyes that Meowth usually associated with Jessie. As inspiring as that was to see, though, words were just words.

"Dat's a tall ordah," he remarked to his human friend.

"I know," James conceded, his fists dropping back to his sides. "We can't just rush in like usual. We need a plan, and we need a good one. We'll need to gather information, assess all our options carefully, account for every possible contingency, before we even put in a request for assets from the boss - we need to know exactly what we're doing, and know that we have failsafes in place if anything goes wrong, before we make a single move."

"Comin' up wid' a plan like dat's gonna take a lotta work," Meowth commented. "Not ta mention a lotta time."

"I know," James repeated, softer now, and he couldn't help but shudder. "Jessie will just have to…" He swallowed back the bile rising in his throat. "She'll have to hang in there," he managed. "She'll survive, she's strong, I know she can pull through. But we only have one chance to get this right, Meowth, and we can't waste it." Turning to the other Pokémon who stood with him, he met Rookidee's eyes. "Rookidee, can we count on your support?"

"Rook rook!" the tiny bird proclaimed, dipping its beak in a nod once before proudly fluffing its breast feathers.

"Then go look in on her," James told it. "Come back the moment you have anything to report."

"Rookidee!" the bird Pokémon chirped, and it took to the sky.

Watching it go, James felt the enormity of the situation sinking in, and his panic began to rise. He was just one agent, he wasn't even the leader of this tiny trio, taking charge wasn't in his nature! And they had so much to contend with…a man as rich as Donovan would have the whole region in his pocket, they were essentially waging war on an entire nation with one human and four Pokémon!

Closing his eyes, he searched for something that would keep total hysteria at bay, and settled on thoughts of Jessie. Her flowing scarlet hair, her midnight-blue eyes, her arrogant smirk as she pondered doing evil deeds…her grace and flair for fashion, her commanding presence as she directed her Pokémon on the battlefield and on the stage…the scent of dirt and jasmine perfume and gunpowder, the spicy taste of her kiss…

Breathing deeply, James lifted his head. He would not fail her. Not now, not when she needed him the most. If he was her only hope, then he would be whatever she needed him to be, no matter how contrary it ran to who he normally was.

For Jessie, he could, and would, do anything.

"There was once a girl who dreamed of angels and demons, and all in between. Kept her mouth shut, and her dreams, like her family, tempered her memories and bowed to her betters like lowly, spare me, memories escape me; lowly, use me, memories escape me…" -Tender Remains, Myuu ft. Sharm