In the following days, Jessie started pushing the boundaries of Donovan's control. She started small, posing a little too boldly during practice - of course, she got extra blows for it, but that was the goal. Once Donovan's eye was on her, she pushed a bit harder, no longer bowing her head as much, eating a little too fast, minor things she knew made him mad. The beatings got worse, and she had to work to hide how smug she felt about her extra bruises. Five nights after Rookidee's question, it came back with the assurance that it was now prepared to take down Donovan's confession, and she told her bird Pokémon the rest of her plan, emphasizing the parts it had to play.
Jessie was nervous the following day, knowing full well what it would hold, but she also knew it had to be done. All morning, and through lunch, she overtly defied Donovan's teachings, waiting for the right moment. He was getting irritated now, and come afternoon class, when Jessie made an extra twirl off a double-step, he came down on her hard.
"Get back in line!" he barked at her, pounding her with his baton. "The step is one twirl, not two!" When she was doubled over in pain, he glared down at her. "You're getting unruly, Jessica," he said coldly. "I suggest you be more mindful of your place."
For one, singular moment, Jessie teetered on the edge of a precipice, knowing the agony that awaited her at the bottom and that she could step back if she so chose.
But she had to make the leap.
Drawing a breath, she lifted her head and met his mahogany eyes. "Or what?" she asked coldly. "You'll just hit me more?"
A horrified gasp swept across the courtyard where Donovan's starlets were training; even the Indeedee gave surprised murmurs. Donovan blinked, momentarily too stunned to even strike back.
"All you ever do is hit me," Jessie went on. "It's getting old, Donovan. Beat me senseless, toss me in the Cinder Room and shoot me up with venom - whatever. I lasted five days in there. I have no reason to be afraid of you when I already know all your tricks."
"Jessica, no, what are you doing?!" whimpered Lacy from behind her, but Jessie kept her eyes locked with her captor.
"I should have called your bluff with James," Jessie spat. "I don't believe you really killed your parents."
"Do not take that tone with me, Jessica!" Donovan snarled, his shock wearing off as ice-cold rage began to blossom in his dark brown eyes. He struck her across the face, forcefully enough that Jessie couldn't help but cry out, and more blows came, dangerously close to breaking bones as his wrath drove his arm too hard.
"Hitting me proves nothing," Jessie choked out between strikes. "Hit me all you want, but you won't damage me - I'm your best starlet, you wouldn't risk my health." His steel-toed boot drove into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her, but when she managed to struggle in another lungful of air, she looked up at where he was pressing his heel into her chest and sneered, "You're not man enough to take a life. Admit it."
By now, several of the other girls were crying and pleading with Jessie to stop, but when she dared risk a glance at her audience, Jessie saw Rose holding two of them back. She met the brunette's eyes for a moment, and her ally gave her a slight nod.
Donovan had gone dangerously still, and Jessie was fully aware of what he was going to do to her, but as long as she got what James needed first, her fear of what was coming wasn't enough to make her back down. After a long, tense moment, Donovan removed his boot from her chest.
"Serperior," he said, "slam."
"Serrr-perior!" his ever-present grass-type Pokémon snarled, and its tail came down hard on Jessie's body, only just failing to shatter her skeleton because the Pokémon willed it so. A scream was torn from Jessie's throat, and she came dangerously close to passing out, but she held on. When her breath returned to her, she forced herself to look up at Donovan again.
"More beatings," she ground out, her voice rough. "That's all…it ever is…with you. But you won't kill me. You can't."
She shuddered when Donovan actually clenched his fists in rage; the blazing ice behind his mahogany eyes was terrifying, but Jessie couldn't turn back now. Silently, she prayed for him to just give her what she was pushing for, that he wouldn't make her needle him harder - she could take more, but she so very much didn't want to have to…
"You want proof?" Donovan asked at last, his voice colder than a blizzard attack. Without waiting for a response, he bent down and seized Jessie by her hair. "Indeedee, keep putting the girls through their paces. I'll be busy for the rest of the day."
"Dee dee!" chirped the servant Pokémon while the girls all whimpered in horror.
"Come with me, Jessica," Donovan hissed, already dragging her across the stone courtyard. "I have something to show you."
Choking from the sting of his rough pulling, Jessie stumbled, struggling to get to her feet so she could walk with him, but every time she managed it, Serperior's vines whipped out and struck her down. By the time they were most of the way through his manor, she realized she wouldn't be allowed to hold her own, and she gave up and stilled, just waiting as her captor hauled her to the front door of his estate and barked at his Indeedee to unbar the way so he could leave.
For the first time since the day she'd enrolled, Jessie found herself out in the gardens that stood between the front gate and the manor. Donovan continued dragging her across rough cobblestone walkways, and she started wondering if her hair would actually rip out of her scalp. Finally, with one last, tremendous tug, he hauled her up and threw her forward, finally releasing his grip on her crimson mane.
"Up," he snarled at her.
Gritting her teeth, Jessie rolled over and got to her knees. Before she could rise further, Donovan's hand came down on her head again and planted her right where she was, turning her face towards the wall they'd approached.
Two carved marble headstones stood in front of rectangles of earth, outlined in rainbows of flowers. Jessie flicked her eyes up, and to her relief, she saw a Rookidee with a necklace sitting on the wall behind the graves. Showtime.
"Are these your parents?" she asked.
His fingers tightened on her scalp. "Indeed," he replied, his voice calm. "My poor late mother and father. I buried them here myself…in more ways than one. As you already realized, weeks ago."
"So you say," Jessie responded.
"Hmm…" He released his grip then, and she looked up at him, though she stayed on her knees. His expression was dangerously calm, his perfect lips curled in a wicked smirk. "You want more? I'm happy to share, darling."
"I'm listening," Jessie told him.
Donovan chuckled and reached out a hand. Serperior slithered over to brush its head against his fingers, hissing its name. "My parents were quite indulgent when I was growing up," Donovan said. "Our family's wealth has grown over generations, and now stands as essentially limitless, and they loved squandering it, knowing there would be no consequence. When I was born, they lavished every possible gift on me - toys, tutors, food, friends. Everything they thought I wanted was mine before I even asked. Not that they ever asked me…" He gave a soft, dismissive sigh. "When I was a young man, we took a trip to the Unova region, for no reason other than that we could. I hadn't been terribly interested in Pokémon before then, but one day, I happened to cross paths with a Snivy, and the moment our eyes met, I felt a connection. I knew that it and I were kindred spirits, though I wasn't yet sure how so. My parents, of course, had no issues with getting me a Pokéball so I could catch it, and it became my dear partner and friend.
"As I told you the day we met, I was dazzled by the incredible showmanship on display in the Unova region, and I suggested to my parents that perhaps we might put our wealth towards building competition for the region's theatrical prowess. They were dismissive; without ambition, they saw no reason to expand our empire. Instead, they paid for tutors to help me with training my partner Pokémon, young trainers to practice against and the like. As my Snivy grew into a Servine, I began to understand it a bit better…" He gave a soft, dark chuckle. "It didn't like that it had to allow its opponents to be taken back and healed after it defeated them. Through my bond with my Pokémon, I came to understand who I was.
"Then, one night, only a few short years ago, my mother fell ill - nothing serious, the doctors assured us, just a cold, she needed bedrest and would recover within days, but my father would have to sleep elsewhere, lest he catch the same sickness. Servine and I saw an opportunity that day. We relieved the Indeedee of their watch one night, and when we were alone with her, I had Servine wrap itself around her throat, vines squeezing her chest tight enough that she couldn't breathe enough to scream. She was too weak to fight, and Servine and I watched the life drain out of her. Once she was cold and blue, and there could be no saving her, I sounded the alarm - I claimed that I'd panicked too much to respond in time, and no one questioned me. If anyone thought it odd that my Servine evolved into a Serperior in the same span of time it took my mother to die, they didn't say so.
"My father was overcome with grief after the funeral, and after several phases of mourning, he settled on trying to eat his feelings. While he gorged himself one night, I sent the Indeedee away, and then Serperior wrapped my father in a crushing grip and squeezed the life out of him, too. When he was as cold and blue as my mother, I bit off a chunk of his food and spat it out, and Serperior used its vines to shove the meat far down his gullet, far enough that he certainly would have choked to death on it had he been alive. Again, my excuse for not getting help sooner was panic, and again, no one thought to doubt me.
"With them out of the way, the entire Star family fortune was mine and mine alone, to do with as I saw fit." When Jessie looked over at him, he tossed his hair elegantly. "Serperior and I haven't had any more since then, as you were so clever about negotiating your little boy-toy's life, and I'm more than satisfied training my starlets as I do." He looked down at her, their eyes met, and Jessie couldn't help but shudder at the gleam she saw there. "But understand, darling Jessica, that if you continue to be more trouble than you're worth, you will be our third corpse," he hissed. "Indeed, your undeniable talent for the stage has made me exceptionally lenient with you, I've bent over backwards sparing your life in hopes of making you my leading lady. This, however, is your final warning. Push me this far one more time, and I will bury you with my parents, and hope I can find someone else to take your place." He smiled. "Do I make myself clear?"
"You're definitely clear about one thing," Jessie replied: "you're a monster."
Instead of striking her, Donovan laughed, his perfect white teeth flashing in the sun. "Call me what you will," he chortled. "All that matters is that I always get what I want, and no one ever gets in my way. Am I understood?"
Nodding, Jessie took a breath. "I understand," she stated, enunciating clearly, and to her relief, Rookidee responded to the cue of her key phrase immediately, if the sudden flutter of wings overhead was any indication.
"I hope you do," Donovan purred, and his smirk widened dangerously. "Now then…"
Serperior's vines whipped out, striking Jessie hard enough that she hit the ground. Donovan knelt down beside her, weaving his fingers through her hair once more.
"I believe we have some work to do in the Cinder Room," he hissed.
Fully aware that this had been inevitable, Jessie whimpered nonetheless. Bracing herself all day hadn't helped, and the drag back through the manor to Donovan's torture chamber was almost unbearable. For the third time, he tugged on his gloves, stripped her down, shot up trigger points all along her body with venom, and then there was only pain. By the time he stopped kicking her, night had long since fallen, and she staggered under his crushing grip as he forced her to walk on legs that protested against every movement she made. With a flash of panic, she suddenly realized he might take her to a solitary room again, but luckily, he returned her to the communal bedroom, shoving her inside unceremoniously and locking the door behind her.
"Jessica!" Rose cried out, leaping forward to help Jessie as she began to fall, barely saving her from setting off five different injection sites by hitting the floor. "Oh, Jessica, are you going to be okay?"
"I'm fine," Jessie ground out. "Window."
"Right," Rose nodded, and she helped Jessie over to the open window. "Rookidee's already here," the girl whispered in Jessie's ear. "I told it to come back later."
"Thanks," Jessie murmured back. "Can't let Donovan know about it."
The scent of night was sweet and invigorating as Jessie placed her face in the gap. After two breaths, she whistled softly, and Rookidee came immediately, pushing through the opening and settling by Jessie's hand where she'd braced herself against the windowsill.
"Did you get it?" Jessie asked the little bird Pokémon.
"Rooki rook!" Rookidee chirped, nodding enthusiastically.
"All of it?" Jessie pressed. "It's all recorded and saved, ready to be sent to…whoever James intends to hand it over to?"
"Rook! Rook! Rook!" Rookidee insisted, nodding repeatedly as she spoke.
"Good," Jessie breathed. "Glad that wasn't for nothing."
"Rookidee." The tiny bird Pokémon nudged a small stick with its foot, and Jessie saw that it was another match.
"Rose," Jessie croaked, "can you take a close look at that match for me? My hands…" She eyed the swollen purple spots on the backs of her hands that would make any attempt to pick up such a tiny item excruciatingly painful.
"Okay," Rose whispered. Under Jessie's watchful eye, the girl picked up the matchstick and started turning it over, peering closely at it in the wan moonlight. "What am I looking for?"
"A marking, an indentation, any sort of shape," Jessie answered.
"There's…a question mark," Rose said slowly. "I don't see anything else…"
"A question mark," Jessie repeated softly, and she looked at Rookidee. "He's ready, then?"
"Rook rook!" Rookidee nodded eagerly.
Jessie sighed heavily. "Well, I'm not," she said. "If we're going to burn this place to the ground, I want to be able to enjoy it. Tell him to wait a few days, until the toxin wears off…Four nights from now, I should be good to go."
"You want to wait?" Rose repeated, her voice rising to a squeak.
"Keep your voice down!" Jessie hissed.
"Sorry, sorry," Rose whimpered. "But, Jessica…if we can get out now, let's get out now. Every day we're here just means more beatings…"
"I can take more beatings," Jessie huffed. "And so can all of you, you've lasted this long. We're not going to destroy him unless I can personally rub it in his face." Gritting her teeth, she pinched the matchstick Rose still held between two fingers and returned it to Rookidee. "Tell James to wait," she ordered. "We go when I'm ready, and not a day sooner. Understood?"
"Rookidee," Rookidee nodded, taking the wood splinter back in its beak, and it flew away, quickly returning to the temporary Rocket base, which it already considered more of a nest than the tree it had hatched in.
"Rookidee's back!" Meowth called as the little bird hopped its way through the hole in the roof of the mercifully-still-abandoned warehouse.
"What news?" James asked it as it flew down and dropped the match on the table that was covered in various sketches and plans.
Rookidee chattered, and Meowth relayed Jessie's message. A cold shiver of horror ran down James's spine as he understood the implications.
"More poison," he said softly. "So that was the price of getting Donovan's confession…"
"She prolly knew he'd do dat if she pushed him dat fah," Meowth pointed out. "It was her choice, James."
"I know," James whispered, but he couldn't stop shaking. Hearing Donovan's threat in the recording Rookidee had gotten of the man's confession had had him on edge all day already - knowing that he wasn't just risking his life and Jessie's freedom if he got this wrong, but that she would die too, added an extra layer to the pressure that he'd already been on the verge of cracking under as it was…and now to know that she'd suffered more torture just to get that confession and threat…
"Wobbu?" Wobbuffet asked, waddling up to him and raising an arm.
"No, that's okay!" James told it quickly. "I'm fine, thanks anyway."
"Wooooo-bbuffet," the blue blob proclaimed, saluting and backing off.
James looked around at the base, which was packed with everything he'd ordered from his boss's blank-check offer. He'd had it all for over a week - the idea of recording a confession from Donovan about his parents' fate had only occurred to James after he'd put in the order for assets, while he'd been hard at work recovering the identities of Donovan's other victims, and he'd had to find and buy adequate recording equipment on his own, but it had been worth it. What was more, he'd finished securing the girls' futures in the meantime, so now, there was nothing left to do but strike. Within a day, all the supplies surrounding him could be set up to take down the entire Star estate in a single, destructive, glorious night, assuming all went as planned.
But if Jessie was crippled with venom, then it would be too risky to go tonight - so much of the plan actually did rely on Jessie's involvement, moving too soon was a risk they simply couldn't take. Years of failed plans had at least taught James what happened when you didn't account for the possibility of failure, and knowing that there would be no coming back from it if this didn't work…
"Whadda we do, Jim?" Meowth asked.
Drawing a deep breath, James willed down his rising panic, focusing on memories of flowing crimson hair and the smell of dirt and jasmine perfume and gunpowder. As much as it pained him, as desperate as he was to rescue his partner, he knew there was only one answer. "We wait for her signal," he answered. He turned to Rookidee and told it, "Bring that match to Jessie every night from now on. The night she lights it, that's when we move."
"Rookidee!" chirped the little bird proudly, fluffing its yellow breast feathers.
"Let's get some rest," James told the team. "Tomorrow, we'll start setting up, so we can go in as soon as Jessie's ready."
The Pokémon of the base all called their various forms of affirmation, and James closed his eyes, shuddering with nerves, and also a strange excitement.
Soon, Jess…Soon, I'll get you out of there, and we'll get to say everything we didn't have a chance to say before. Just give us the word, and you'll be free.
And, just as Jessie promised, that word came four nights later.
~R~
It was a strange few final days at Starstruck Academy. Shot up with refined Toxapex venom and taking near-constant beatings whenever Donovan found any excuse to hit her, Jessie was in constant agony, and yet she had to struggle not to laugh whenever she took a blow. Enjoy being able to beat me up while you can, she found herself thinking, smug in the knowledge that his time was coming soon. Still, she managed to stay outwardly broken down, and though he was exceptionally brutal on her, that at least meant the other girls got hit less. Not that Jessie felt bad about making them wait a few more days for her to be ready to fully enjoy Donovan's downfall, of course; it was just helpful to the cause.
Every night, Rookidee brought the same match, and Jessie understood that her lighting it would be the signal that James was waiting on before he made the first move. With each passing day, the effects of the poison eased, and though Donovan had been a bit heavy-handed with the stuff this time, as she'd predicted, on the fourth day, she found she was able to clench her fists without being crippled, and that was good enough for her.
Her heart was pounding when Rookidee came to the window and dropped off the match that night. It was almost unbelievable that it was finally time, and she was as nervous as she was excited.
"Is James ready to go immediately?" she asked the tiny bird Pokémon.
"Rookidee!" her ally chirped, nodding eagerly.
Jessie grinned. "Then so am I," she told it, and she picked up the match and struck it on the stone just outside the window.
The tiny orange flame blossomed into being, and Jessie's hand shook as she handed it back to Rookidee, who gave one final triumphant chirp of its name before flying off to give the signal.
"Now?" Rose whispered.
"Not yet," Jessie responded, going for her things. "Start packing, but we don't make a move until James gets started on the Indeedee."
"I thought that was why-"
"Serperior is another story," Jessie cut her off. "You'll see. For now, get dressed."
"Jessica…?"
Rose's soft whimper made Jessie pause in her packing and look over her shoulder. The petite brunette was hugging herself, practically shaking with apprehension.
"I'm not sure this is a good idea," she said in a small voice. "If something goes wrong…who knows what he'll do?"
"I know what he'll do…and you're right to be afraid," Jessie admitted. "But if the plan does fail, I'm the one he'll destroy, and I've decided that it's worth that risk. I won't stay here, Rose, one way or another; I'd rather die."
"But it's not so bad here if you just do as he says," Rose protested.
"And is that really enough for you, for it to be 'not so bad'?" Jessie demanded, losing her temper as she shoved her last few things in her bag and stood up to face the timid girl. "Wouldn't you rather have a life that's actually good?"
"I'd rather not die," Rose squeaked.
"You won't either way," Jessie huffed; "I'm the only one risking their life for this plan, and I say it's worth it."
At that moment, a loud noise resounded through the manor - not an explosion, but jarring enough in the stillness of the night to attract the attention of any living thing in the building. Several of the girls gasped and sat up in bed, and Jessie motioned to Rose.
"That's the signal," she said. "Help me, won't you?"
Not waiting for a response, Jessie grasped the frame of her bed and heaved. Pain shot down through her arms and up her legs and back as she strained several injection sites, but she gritted her teeth and pushed through it - a lifetime of getting beaten up by the twerps had taught her to focus on her work even when her body protested, and that was more important now than ever. With all her strength, she hauled the small bed out of its place and towards the door, and after seeing that Jessie was determined, Rose joined in, easing her burden somewhat, though the tiny girl had little to add. When her bed stood as a barricade, Jessie went back for Rose's bed, this time lifting it up to place on top of her own, and Rose hurried to help. Panting, they flung the last of the barrier in place, and after Jessie took a moment to catch her breath, she hit the light switch, illuminating the room in a rosy glow.
All the girls were fully awake by now, sitting up and staring at Jessie and Rose. Jessie lifted her chin and met their eyes.
"Girls," she declared, "get dressed and pack your things. We're leaving."
Absolute silence met this statement. No one moved, no one spoke; the eyes of the eight other prisoners barely even flickered, as though the girls hadn't even heard her.
"Jessica's been working on a plan to get us all out of here since she came back," Rose spoke up at last. "She has a partner on the outside who's been preparing to take Donovan down, and…tonight's the night. I'm sorry we couldn't tell you - I wanted to, but we could risk Donovan getting suspicious."
"There's no point in leaving," said a blond girl Jessie knew to be Danielle. "If we try, he'll just hurt us more. Jessica already left once, and he brought her back."
"This time, he won't have a place to bring us back to," Jessie stated. "My partner and I are going to burn this place to the ground and destroy everything Donovan Star has to his name."
"But where will we go?" asked Lacy. "Donovan scrubbed all our legal records, we don't even exist anymore-"
Fed up, Jessie stomped her foot hard, cutting off the dark-skinned girl's soft whimpers. "Who gives a single Raticate tail about legal records?!" she snapped. "You're human beings, all of you, and pieces of paper don't define that!" With a huff, she folded her arms and added, "Besides, my partner's been working to track down your families, I'm sure he's found a place for all of you to go home to - he wouldn't be ready to move if he hadn't already secured your futures, too."
"Our future," said a pale girl with black hair - Felicity, the first recruit. "Donovan's going to give us a future. We're here so he can turn us into stars. Without him, what do we have left?"
"You have your lives!" Jessie shouted. "He's not turning you into idols, he's turning you into puppets he can put on display for his own amusement, all so he can keep hurting you without anyone stopping him! Look," she growled, stepping forward, "the path to stardom is difficult, and you'll face failure and rejection at every turn - I did! But a real idol is someone who captivates her audience with her own unique style and flair, and makes something of who she is on her own merits! Think about it, if you all do exactly the same thing, how will any of you be remembered? How will you stand out? You're not stars in here, you're playthings, toys being forced to give a madman public clout while you suffer for his sick pleasure! That's not a life…" Her fists clenched. "That's not what being a star is really about!"
No one argued against this.
No one moved to get dressed, either.
"Listen," Jessie sighed, "my partner and I are taking this place down tonight whether you like it or not. So get dressed, pack whatever belongings you want to keep, and get ready to move. There's nothing you can do to avoid being rescued now." She walked to the window, arms folded, then added, "Or at the very least, get away from the wall. I won't be held responsible if you get hurt when James busts it down."
At that moment, as if on cue, a sharp metal stake burst its way through the wallpaper next to the window. A few more speared through, and Jessie thought fast - Felicity was too close, if there was an explosion coming she'd get buried!
"Get back!" Jessie yelped, and despite what she'd just claimed, she rushed to haul Felicity away from the danger zone. Rose was already ushering several panicked girls across the room, and without thinking, Jessie dashed around and picked up the stragglers, lunging to put them all with Rose's group and throwing out her arms to protect them as, finally, the charges went off.
Stone exploded, dust and shrapnel clouded the air, and everyone coughed on the powder carried on the breeze that swept in through the freshly-created hole. Then, Jessie turned around, and even though she'd been expecting it, she still found all the air stolen from her lungs by the sight of the most magnificent man she'd ever seen.
There stood James, tall and proud, posed elegantly with one of his signature roses held to his face. His lavender hair ruffled in the cool night air pouring into the room, and when he opened his emerald eyes to lock gazes with Jessie, she felt her knees go weak from the torrent of emotion that slammed through her chest.
For the millionth time, she wondered how she could ever have failed to notice how beautiful her partner was.
"Someone call for a hero?" James asked, his smooth, velvety voice washing over her, a balm to all her aches and stings.
"No," she answered, smiling, "just a thief."
"Good," he chuckled, "because that's what you've got."
Jessie laughed, and would have thrown herself into his arms were it not for all the eyes on her. Gathering her resolve, she turned to the cluster of captives huddling behind her. "Girls," she said, "this is James. He's going to escort you all out of this place."
Everyone except Rose was curled up in fear, plenty of them wide-eyed as they looked at their rescuer. With a jolt, Jessie realized that James was the first human man besides Donovan any of them had seen up close since coming here, which in some of their cases was well over a year.
"Right this way," James said, and Jessie glanced back to see that a sheet of metal had been lowered from somewhere to provide a path between the opening James had blasted and the wall that stood around the estate. "Come on, you're all safe now." When he took a step closer, Jessie heard several terrified whimpers from the group of victims. James blinked and stopped short. "Don't worry," he said, "I won't hurt you."
"It's okay," Jessie told them, trying to soften her voice. "James is the most gentle person you'll ever meet. Rose," she added pointedly, glancing at her ally.
Rose nodded. "If Jessica says we can trust him, then we can," she told her fellow captives. "Come on, girls, there's no sense in staying here."
"Donovan will be furious…" whimpered Felicity.
"We're counting on that," Jessie smirked.
"Don't worry, he can't hurt you anymore," James told the girls soothingly. "We won't let that happen. But you need to come out now, you don't want to be here when this place gets blown to smithereens."
Slowly, the orange-haired Melody made the first move, tentatively standing up and moving away from the group.
"That's it," James coaxed gently. "Get your things and come on."
"I'll leave this to you, James," Jessie sighed, stepping away from the group with relief.
"Oh, here, Jess," James said, tossing her a bag.
Jessie caught it and looked inside; one glance was all she needed. "Thanks," she told him.
He nodded.
By now, the girls were starting to uncurl from their huddled group by the far wall and move towards James. "I know it's been hard," James murmured soothingly to them. "Jessie's told me everything you've been through. But it's over now, you're all safe…"
Jessie stepped back, and had just turned around when she heard Edna ask, "Are you Jessica's boyfriend?"
"Er…" Jessie turned back and met James's eyes as he looked at her pleadingly, several questions passing between them without words. "W-Well…"
"James and I don't care much for labels," Jessie huffed. "We're together, and that's all you need to know. He is taken, though, if that's what you're asking," she added pointedly, her gaze still locked with her partner's.
James nodded, gratitude in his eyes. "Right," he said.
Right. Jessie's heart skipped a beat at this confirmation, and she wanted so desperately to make something of the moment, but there was no time for that now. With some regret, she turned and started walking towards the bathroom as Meowth spoke up behind her.
"Right dis way, girls!" he said. "Watch yah step!"
"Is that a Pokémon?" she heard a voice whisper.
"What is that?"
"I've never seen that Pokémon before…"
"And it can talk…"
"Meowth's da name," Meowth said, "and I'm here ta help you gals get outta heah."
"A Meowth?"
"I've never seen one like that…"
"What a strange Meowth…"
"I'm from Kanto," Meowth explained. "Though I'm special even for a Kantonian Meowth…"
The bathroom door closing cut off the sounds of the girls' rescue as Jessie shut herself inside and turned on the light. With deep breaths, she sorted through everything James had given her, then worked her way out of the nightclothes her captor had provided and started getting dressed in her old uniform. It took a lot more work than usual, as her body was poisoned and bruised all over, but with every piece she managed to pull on, she felt the reality of the situation become more and more solid. This was the night she would break free of that monster, she was going to be with James again and this nightmare would soon be in the past. James had even packed a pair of her earrings and a tube of her favorite lipstick, and once she'd spritzed herself with some of her old jasmine-scented perfume, she almost felt like herself.
Then she looked in the mirror, and that notion shattered. The face, the hair, the clothes, the overall style, it was all the same girl she'd been for a long time…but behind her own blue irises, she could tell, something had changed. She wasn't herself, not her old self, and she never would be again. It wasn't even the purple and black markings that covered every bit of skin on her exposed stomach and thighs; there was a different person behind that familiar face now, she could just tell. Donovan Star had taken something from her, something she would never get back.
But maybe she could still take something else for herself, something that would be of even greater value than what she'd lost.
A loud banging sound interrupted her introspection, and she turned her head to the door. Beyond it, she could hear a couple of screams of terror, and then there was another BANG!
Jessie smiled. Just as they'd planned…
One final, almighty crash marked what Jessie knew to be Serperior bursting its way through the barricade she and Rose had set, and she cracked the door open just in time to hear Donovan shouting, "What in the name of the legendary kings is going on in here?!"
Grinning, Jessie flung the bathroom door wide with perfect dramatic timing and strutted out into the bedroom. "Prepare for trouble, and your last curtain call!" she declared.
"And make it double, 'cuz tonight you fall!" James picked up as she joined his side. It wasn't the most clever impromptu rhyme they'd ever made, but the fact that James had made it without a moment's hesitation gave Jessie a rush so powerful she felt dizzy with euphoria. When she reached out a hand, his gloved fingers met hers precisely midway, and they swung into a pose without even glancing at each other.
"To protect the world from devastation!" Jessie all but sang.
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
Their dramatic dance had Jessie floating on a cloud of joy, delighted that she was getting to dance her way, and she made a split-second decision that she would drag this out as long as possible. "Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!" she proclaimed.
"Putting rich dirtbags in their place!" James continued, and again, he didn't even hesitate for a split second, not with extending the motto, and not with adjusting it to suit the circumstances.
"A rose by any other name's just as sweet!"
"When everything's worse, our work is complete!"
"We bring the white light of evil into the future!"
"Thrusting the hammer of justice onto the black darkness of the universe!" They'd abandoned that couplet a while ago - it didn't even rhyme - but it felt too appropriate to leave out here.
With no other means of prolonging the recitation, Jessie spun off James's hand, twirled, and posed with a dramatic flourish. "Jessie!" she proclaimed.
"James," James added, posing just as elegantly by her side.
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!" she declared.
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" James finished.
"Meowth, dat's right!" Meowth inserted, hopping through the hole in the wall to stand beneath Jessie and James's clasped hands.
"Woooo-bbuffet!" Wobbuffet called from the Rocket balloon basket outside.
A ball of blue and yellow feathers flitted into the room, perched on Jessie and James's interlocked fingers, spread its tiny wings wide, and cried out, "Rookidee!"
At last, Jessie allowed herself to look at their audience. Donovan had been standing poised where he was, his expression almost painfully bored; with a wave of something equal parts disdain and admiration, Jessie noted that even though he'd surely been in bed, and must have come as quickly as possible to investigate what was going on, he looked as perfectly groomed and magnificent as ever, as though even his own clothes and hair didn't dare defy him. When their eyes met, he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Are you quite done?" he asked coolly.
"We're just getting started," Jessie snickered, straightening up.
Donovan sighed heavily. "Oh, Jessica…" He shook his head. "I had such high hopes for you," he told her, sounding almost wistful. "You could have been great, you know - your talent for showmanship is undeniable, and I would have made you into a star to shine across the regions."
"You mean as your perfect marionette?" Jessie growled.
The Galarian madman shrugged without even a trace of shame.
"Sorry, but I'd rather live the rest of my life in obscurity than be famous as your puppet!" Jessie spat venomously.
"Well," he remarked, "now you won't get to do either. Serperior," he said, turning to his ever-present partner, "it looks like you'll get to finish off her little boy-toy after all…and then take her, too." He smirked. "Have fun," he told his bloodthirsty Pokémon.
"Serrr!" Serperior hissed, and it coiled and lunged at Team Rocket.
"I don't think so," James said with a grin, having produced a large tube launcher from somewhere, and he took aim and fired at the green serpent bearing down on him.
A large, gelatinous glob hit Serperior head-on, knocking it back and encapsulating it in a case of unyielding goo from its chin down past the tip of its tail. It fell hard, wriggling in its sticky prison.
"Serp! Serp! Serp!" it hissed, thrashing, but it was getting nowhere; under its collar, the tips of its vines poked out, but it couldn't extend them.
Donovan stared, his jaw going slack. Jessie laughed.
"Sorry, darling," she sneered, "but this Serperior is being appropriated in the name of Team Rocket!"
"I'm sure our boss will put it to much better use than you ever could," James agreed, confirming her unasked question.
Snarling, Donovan turned for the door he'd busted through. "Indeedee!" he shouted. "Get in here!"
"Lookin' for dese?" asked a voice from outside.
Everyone turned to see that Meowth was perched back in the hot air balloon's basket. He stood on top of a large glass box full of Pokéballs that was being held up by Wobbuffet, another Pokéball in each of his paws.
"One Makuhita," Meowth said, hefting the ball in his right paw. "One Hatterene." He hefted the one in his left. "And t'irty Indeedee," he finished, tapping the box he stood on with one foot. "All accounted foah."
"Also being appropriated in the name of Team Rocket," James said.
"Which means you have no Pokémon," Jessie concluded, grinning at her former jailor. "Tough luck, my dear, but that's just how we roll."
Donovan opened his mouth, but though his jaw worked, no sound came out. Instead, he just gaped wordlessly, lips flapping like a Magikarp. His mahogany eyes, normally so sharp and cold, were wide, and getting wider, as he slowly realized that he had nothing else up his sleeve.
"My dear Jessie," James spoke up after a moment.
Despite everything, despite the triumph of this moment, the term of endearment made Jessie flinch.
"Sorry," James said quickly, and when she turned to him, she saw in his eyes that he understood. He held out a smaller launcher to her. "I was just going to ask if you'd do this world a favor and take out the trash," he told her with a tiny smirk.
The moment passed, and Jessie grinned. "With pleasure," she purred, taking the device, and she aimed it at Donovan and fired three times.
Metal bands flew out of the weapon and snapped tight around Donovan's body, one around his chest and upper arms, one around his waist and wrists, and one around his legs just above his knees. He wobbled for a moment, then toppled, his expression utterly comical as he fell flat on his face, and Jessie erupted into a fit of side-splitting laughter at the sight.
Everyone let her have the moment. When she could breathe again, she stalked over to the bound lunatic where he was writhing on the floor and kicked him onto his back, planting her boot on his chest. "How does it feel to be powerless?" she grinned at him.
A vein was bulging in Donovan's forehead, another throbbing in his neck, his face so twisted with outrage that it was hard to believe he'd ever been handsome. "Enjoy this while you can, Jessica!" he hissed.
"Oh, I am," she assured him, bending down and reaching for his coat. "Now then…"
She fished around in his inside pockets for a minute, having to tug the garment through his restraints a little ways so it would be loose enough to search. At last, she emerged with her first prize: a metal ring loaded with keys.
"Quite an impressive key collection you have here," she chuckled. "Did you get a different lock on every single door in this place?"
Donovan growled.
"And…" She reached in again, finding several pieces of paper. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…" She pulled the documents free. "…ten contracts," she finished, brandishing the wretched files. Smiling, she turned back to James. "Paper makes for the best kindling, don't you think?" she asked him.
"I'm glad I brought matches instead of a flamethrower," he responded, smiling at her.
Laughing, Jessie stood up. "Let's burn this place to the ground!" she said viciously.
"Of course," James nodded. "But first, how about we take everything worth taking for ourselves?"
"An all-expenses-taken shopping spree!" Jessie exclaimed, clapping her occupied hands together awkwardly in delight. "I like the way you think, James! I hope you brought enough bags to hold all the loot, though."
"I might have overdone it a bit," James chuckled, and Wobbuffet started flinging clusters of empty sacks from inside the Rocket balloon, piling them at the edge of the hole in the wall.
"Don't forget dese!" Meowth said, holding out two massive contraptions, what looked to be large sacks full of small objects perched on top of rectangular containers with hoses coming out of them.
"What's this?" Jessie asked as James hooked his arms through the straps and hefted one of the enormous things onto his back.
"Charges," he answered, gesturing to the bag at the top. "And accelerant." He tapped the block, grasping the hose in one hand and pulling it out to aim the nozzle.
"We got plenty moah where dat came from, so don't be afraid ta drench da place!" Meowth told Jessie.
"So we take what we want, and burn the rest," Jessie grinned, shouldering her own pack and gathering a few sacks from the pile. "Sounds like a good plan to me. Let's go!"
"Lead the way!" James told her. Turning to a small yellow rodent that had been standing by mostly still, he added, "Morpeko, keep an eye on Donovan, and don't hesitate to zap him if he starts getting fussy."
"Peko!" Morpeko squeaked, and it trotted over to stand beside Donovan.
"Rookidee, watch Serperior, and subdue it if it thrashes too hard," Jessie told Rookidee.
"Rooki rook!" Rookidee chirped happily, and it flitted over to stand on Serperior's exposed head. "Rookidee!"
"You can't do this!" Donovan shouted furiously, still squirming against his binds. "This is my estate!"
"Which is exactly why we're going to pillage and burn every inch of it," Jessie responded sweetly.
"You can't!" he roared.
"Watch us," Jessie smirked, and she and James laughed gleefully as they charged into the Star mansion.
Room by room, they looted the place, packing away all the valuables they found into sacks before spraying every cleared chamber with lighter fluid and planting charges along every support beam and solid wall, opening every single door and window in the entire estate so the flames would have air to burn, though they didn't light it up yet. Though most rooms were entirely unused as far as Jessie knew, every unlocked door revealed more splendor and wealth, some outfitted for living in, some clearly just for storage, some an odd mix of both. Priceless art pieces, raw gemstones and blocks of precious metals, ornate pieces of jewelry, it was all to be found throughout the manor, and the duo had to run back to drop off stuffed bags of goodies every three or so rooms. One door opened to reveal a room-sized vault full to the brim with cash, and that took several trips just to pack it all; another room on the ground level was entirely empty, save for a massive hole in the middle of the floor, and James explained that this was where Donovan had stored his employees' Pokéballs, and that Meowth had tunneled in here with the rest of the team's Pokémon and lured all the Indeedee over to be recaptured.
Every now and then, Jessie would place one of the ten contracts in a room she felt was important. Lacy's contract went in the dining room, Rose's contract went in Jessie's old private room, Edna's contract went in the parlor where Donovan had tricked them all into signing their lives away, Felicity's contract went on what was clearly Donovan's bed, Melody's contract was placed in the changing room, Tabitha's contract went in Donovan's study, and when they raided the mansion's attic, Jessie chose Danielle's contract to be the tinder for what seemed to be the only wooden room in the building. Most of the attic was full of crates of papers anyway - presumably old family documents, photos, and the like, and Jessie felt a thrill at the thought of it all being reduced to dust as she drenched it in fuel.
One large room held rows upon rows of elegantly-carved wardrobes, and Jessie understood what this place was the moment she opened one, recognizing the first of many sets of outfits Donovan had dressed his starlets up in. As James opened another closet, though, Jessie heard him give a shocked gasp.
"What is it?" she asked, walking over and seeing nothing but more of the dresses Donovan had made them wear.
"Jessie, look at this!" he breathed, pulling out one flowing dress of maroon velvet and white lace. "The quality of this fabric is the sort of stuff my own mother would consider rich, and the embroidery work is sublime! Do you have any idea how hard we'd have to work to save up to buy this dress alone normally?!"
"I don't really care when I had no choice about wearing it," Jessie huffed. "A gaudy prison is still a prison."
"Huh?" James blinked at her.
Scowling, Jessie gestured around them. "These are all the costumes Donovan forced us to dress up in for our classes," she said bitterly. "Various forms of dance, modeling, theatrical productions, that sort of thing. And if we didn't get dressed in them quickly enough, he'd beat us."
With new, somber eyes, James looked at the dress he held again. "He…really went all-out for this farce, didn't he?" he asked softly.
"To be honest, I'm not sure it was all a farce," Jessie admitted. "I think he really was going to give us what he promised, even if he lied about the cost. Our lives, our freedom, our humanity…as long as we surrendered it all to him, and let him torture us for his own amusement, he really was going to make us stars."
"Do you think he cared about that?" James asked.
"I don't know," Jessie answered, "but I do know that I don't care. We're burning it all down tonight anyway, it doesn't matter."
"Right…" James mumbled.
Noting the longing in his eyes as he stared at the dress, Jessie softened. "Would you like to keep some of these for yourself?" she asked him.
He gasped and looked up. "May I?" he asked. "Are you sure it wouldn't be too hard on you?"
"I wouldn't be able to wear them again personally," Jessie said, "but that doesn't mean they shouldn't go to someone who would appreciate them." She offered him a small smile. "If it would really make you happy, then take your pick."
James clutched the gown and let out a high-pitched squeal of pure delight. "Thank you!" he gushed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Take your time to sort through them all," Jessie told him, and her smile dimmed. "There's…something I have to go do."
In response to her suddenly serious tone, James sobered slightly, and he nodded. "Right," he agreed.
"Have fun," Jessie told him, smiling again, and without thinking, she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. It wasn't until she was walking away that she realized what she'd just done, and she faltered, glancing back at where he stood, stunned as she suddenly was. They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment.
"Y-You too," he stammered at last.
Knowing he was fully aware that those weren't the right words, Jessie nodded and left. Ignoring several closed doors, she strode through the manor for the chamber that she alone had to face.
The door to the Cinder Room was unlocked as always, and Jessie opened it slowly, her whole body shaking in instinctive terror. Inside, it almost seemed like the screams she'd been in too much agony to hear herself make were still echoing off the cold stone, but she forced herself to step inside, almost choking on the smell of disinfectant and pain. Setting her jaw, she turned for the little metal cabinet and opened the doors.
Three shelves stood inside the box. On the top, more than a dozen vials of vibrant purple fluid stood in a neat row; in the middle lay a line of needles with tiny pipette bubbles on the ends (Jessie hadn't even known Donovan had had more than one needle until now); and on the bottom shelf were the crushed velvet gloves he always wore before beginning the torture. For the first time, Jessie wondered if he put on those gloves to protect his own skin from the toxin, or because he just didn't like touching his girls' bare bodies, and it surprised her how much she cared what the answer might be. She knew it shouldn't matter, and yet some part of her still wanted to know.
Staring at the assortment, her grip on the edges of the metal doors tightened, rage rising in her chest. She wanted to shatter those little vials all over the floor, mix them with the accelerant she carried, and burn it all. She wanted to fill several of the needles with the stuff, march right back up to where Donovan was lying bound in chains, and shoot him full of venom until she could do to him what he'd done to her, that he might finally taste his own medicine. But before she could even pry her fingers loose to grab a single bottle, she already knew what really had to be done.
Trembling with fury and trauma, Jessie closed the cabinet carefully, left the room, shut the door, and sprayed a large "X" across it with lighter fluid, marking that it would stay closed. No charges would be planted in the Cinder Room, nor would any of its contents burn; as much as she wanted to destroy the torture chamber, if the authorities were going to be told about Donovan's crimes, then the evidence in that little metal box needed to be kept as intact as possible for when the cops would sort through the heap of rubble this mansion was about to be reduced to.
When she got back to the costume storage, James had filled several large sacks with gaudy fabrics, and was tossing the rest around the room, laying it all to burn.
"Did you get everything you wanted?" she asked him.
"Everything and more!" James grinned at her, flinging a green robe along the ground. "Some of this stuff is actually tacky, but anything not worth keeping will burn splendidly. As for the rest…" He glanced at the bags, then up at Jessie. "…I think I'll break them down for the materials, then use them to make my own pieces," he told her. "It's not every day I get to work with fabric this nice, I'd hate to pass up the opportunity."
"As long as you share," Jessie teased.
"Huh?!" James jolted in surprise. "I thought you said you couldn't wear them!"
"I can't wear them like this," Jessie smirked, "but I would have no problem wearing anything you make from the materials. I'll let you have some pieces to yourself if you like, but I get first pick."
"No fair," he pouted, though his emerald eyes were gleaming.
"It's perfectly fair, since I'm the only one who can say if any of them would be too painful for me," Jessie countered, smiling. "Now, quit dawdling and let's get back to burning!"
Returning her grin, James nodded, and he removed his prizes from the room before the two of them set the charges and doused everything left behind in accelerant. Jessie placed Lila's contract among the kindling.
There were no more locations of any real importance in the mansion, but Jessie put Vivian's contract in a place spaced far enough away from the rest of the burn spots that the whole manor would be engulfed. By the time they were done drenching the place in the staggering amount of fuel James had brought, Jessie was getting lightheaded from the fumes, and James handed her a rebreather as they started dousing the hallways.
"You really thought of everything, didn't you?" Jessie remarked as she clasped the filter over her mouth and nose.
"I haven't thought about anything else in weeks," James responded from behind his own mask. "I only had one shot at this, Jess."
"And all of this…" Jessie trailed off, unsure how to ask.
"I'll explain later," he assured her. "Right now, let's just finish the job."
When they got back, Meowth was waiting to load the last of their spoils and take back the now-empty packs of explosives and lighter fluid, though Jessie set hers aside instead of tossing it up. Two flame-retardant, full-body cloaks got handed down in exchange, and once both humans were covered, Wobbuffet handed James a can of matches. He gave it to Jessie, who picked out ten before giving the canister back to Wobbuffet, then handing five to James.
"You take the five contracts to the west and center of the estate," she told him; "I'll cover the three in the east and the one in the attic."
"Roger," James nodded, not even remarking on the fact that that was only nine of ten contracts, and they dashed into the manor and split up.
Even with fireproof suits, it was dangerous just lighting the matches at this point, entire rooms exploded the moment the lit flames touched down on the contracts Jessie burned, but she'd faced worse fires during her time with Team Rocket, and only felt giddy with each new conflagration she set off. She started far from the bedroom Donovan had set up for his prisoners and worked her way back, knowing James would do the same, and they reached their exit point at the same time.
From outside, Meowth sent a robot arm in to wrap around the Serperior that was still struggling helplessly against its gooey binds; from it, a metal canister unfolded around the cage, leaving only Serperior's leafy head poking out, before dragging the Pokémon out into the night. Rookidee and Morpeko carried in a metal cord attached to the balloon, and after the human duo shed their fire shields, James hooked the cable around the binding that pinned Donovan's wrists to his sides. Meowth turned a winch that dragged the Galarian madman to the edge of the hole in the wall, but before they left, Jessie picked her pack back up, which still contained some accelerant, and started drenching the communal bedroom.
"What are you doing?!" Donovan roared at her.
"Finishing the job I've been working on for the last hour," Jessie answered smugly.
There was one contract left in her hand: her own. Eyeing the name inscribed in black ink, Jessie walked to the middle of the room and set down the paper she'd once thought was offering her all her dreams on a silver platter. For a moment, she allowed herself to reflect on the weight of everything she'd been through. Then, she sprayed the last of the accelerant on the piece of paper until the ink began to blot, lit the last match, and dropped it on the form.
Fire erupted, and she leapt back towards the way out. Donovan was shrieking wordlessly in anger, and James had ahold of the cord that would be used to carry the defeated monster away from his mansion. Grinning, Jessie tossed the empty pack up to the balloon basket, then took her place by James's side and grabbed the same wire, planting her foot on Donovan's back.
"Take us up!" she called to her team.
"Roger dat!" Meowth responded.
The balloon rose, carrying its passengers with it as it floated away from the estate that was by now filled with a raging inferno. Donovan's cries of fury increased in pitch when he saw the flames billowing from windows all along the wall they faced, and Jessie smiled at the way he thrashed under her boot. For a moment, the balloon - which, Jessie could now see, was enhanced with several rocket engines to allow it to carry all the cargo it had come for - stopped, and Meowth slid down another wire to attach the cable to a large metal box sitting outside the estate's outer wall: the transport car holding the other girls, Jessie assumed. Then, Meowth climbed back up, Wobbuffet reeled in the carrying car until it was off the ground, and the balloon began soaring away, rising into the clouds and towards the wild area, away from Motostoke and any other settlement.
Grinning, Jessie grabbed the cable attached to the girls' carrier and slid down a ways so she could be right next to Donovan's head, reaching over and twisting her fingers between his perfect ebony curls as she pointed his head in the direction from which they had come. "Don't look away," she hissed in his ear. "I want you to watch as everything you hold dear slips away from you."
An enraged growl was the only response Donovan seemed capable of giving.
She chuckled. "I did tell you," she murmured to him. "That first day in the Cinder Room, I told you you were making the biggest mistake of your life, that I would make you pay. You laughed at me then…" She leaned in closer and giggled. "But it looks like I'm getting the last laugh now." Snickering, she looked up at her partner where he was holding on just above their captive. "James, would you do the honors?" she asked him.
"With pleasure, my heart," he responded, producing a small metal cylinder and flipping open the cap with his thumb.
Jessie's breath caught at this new term of endearment, their eyes locking for a moment. Then, they shared a single nod, and when James turned to look back at the burning mansion, Jessie followed his gaze. Together, the inseparable pair and Donovan watched as James pressed down on the red button with his thumb, setting off the charges they'd planted.
A rumble louder than thunder shook the air, small explosions sending clouds of debris puffing along the entirety of the enormous building, and then it all began to crumble from the bottom up, smoke and fire and dust pluming into the sky. Jessie watched the incredible destruction and laughed with sheer joy, delighted by the work of art more gorgeous than anything money could buy.
"And that," James said, sliding down a ways to make sure Donovan could hear him, "is what you get for lying to our boss."
His eyes met Jessie's as she gave a soft gasp, and he nodded at her. She nodded back, then turned back to Donovan. "People might cross me and James individually all the time…" she told her former tormentor.
"…but no one crosses Team Rocket and gets to brag about it," James finished with a vicious grin.
"Well played," Donovan growled, his mahogany eyes fixing on Jessie. "So what now? You kill me?"
"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Jessie sneered. "No, you're not getting off that easy. Now, we're going to drop you off in a tree somewhere for the authorities to eventually find."
"And by the time they do, they'll have been fully informed of all your crimes by an anonymous source," James picked up. "Everything you did to your prisoners, your tampering with all their legal records…"
"As well as a recording of your full confession to the murder of your parents," Jessie inserted. Donovan blinked in surprise, and she grinned wickedly at him. "That's right," she said, "I played you. How does it feel to know you lost a game to a pretty girl?" She chuckled. "You should have chosen your victims more carefully. If you'd taken James, he would have cracked within a day, he's about as tough as wet tissue paper."
"Hey now-!" James yelped.
"You would have crumbled like sand after getting hit twice and you know it," Jessie stated, glancing up at him.
James scowled, then sighed and sagged. "You're not wrong," he admitted. Looking down at Donovan, he confessed, "Jessie's always been the tough one, not me."
"Guess that'll teach you to underestimate a girl," Jessie mocked, tugging Donovan's perfect hair. "But if you still need to learn your lesson, I happen to know an excellent teacher." Her grin stretched even further. "If you somehow manage to escape justice, I will find out, and I will personally see to it that you're matched up with James's ex-fiancée…" She leaned closer. "…and then you'll wish the charges had stuck," she hissed.
"Jessie?!" James asked from overhead.
"After all," Jessie went on, "you and Jessebelle have very similar tastes. Too bad only one of you can come out on top…and without Pokémon, I don't like your odds very much," she added nastily.
"Jess!"
But Jessie ignored her partner's protest, pulling Donovan over by his hair so her mouth was right next to his ear. Lowering her voice as far as she could, she whispered a secret she would never allow anyone else to ever hear: "I hope you escape, so you can meet her."
Donovan's dark brown eyes met hers for a long minute, as she glared at him with all her sincerity and all her wrath. Slowly, something behind those mahogany irises cracked, and Jessie finally had the satisfaction of seeing a flicker of fear as it occurred to Donovan that Jessie might actually know someone capable of damaging him far more than Jessie ever could.
Laughing, Jessie looked up at James again. "I think this is a good place to drop off our excess cargo, don't you?" she asked him.
"That works for me," James smiled, and he produced a pair of wire cutters. "Would you like to do the honors this time?"
"I'd be delighted, my heart," Jessie purred, climbing up the cables to reach for the tool.
This time, it was James who blinked at the words, but there was no need to say anything. Glaring down at Donovan one last time, carefully measuring the trees drifting by far below, Jessie maneuvered the wire cutters around the single line holding Donovan up in the air.
"Goodbye, Donovan Star," she said coldly. "And good riddance!"
With that, she cut the cord, and Donovan fell, his cry interrupted when he struck the transport car holding his former victims with a satisfying thunk! on the way down before he disappeared into the thick foliage of a large tree.
Together, Jessie and James laughed, both giddy with the elation of a job well done, as Jessie handed the wire cutters up to where Wobbuffet was waiting to take the tool back. After a minute, the two humans caught their breaths and turned to each other, and without even thinking about it, they each reached out a hand and pressed their palms together, their fingers interlocking.
"…We'll be at camp in an hour," James told her eventually.
"Good," Jessie nodded. "We'll talk there. I'll make sure the others are okay."
"Are you sure?" James asked.
"They're alone and scared," Jessie stated, "and right now, I'm the only one they might trust. As much as I'd love to leave the job to you…it has to be me."
"Understood," James nodded.
Unspoken words passed between their eyes. Then, they unclasped their hands, and Jessie slid down to the transport car while James climbed up to help Meowth man the balloon.
In the distance, the pile of rubble that had been the Star family estate burned. It was so remote that no one from Motostoke would even notice the fire before everything was too badly scorched to save, and by the time authorities got there with water, the entire inferno would have burned itself out on its own.
Starstruck Academy was no more.
"I was waiting in the getaway car, you were stuck in the hotel bar; he was a proper Englishman, he had one last pint before the cops broke in. You poured the gasoline, and I drove into the flames; history will hate us, but they'll never forget our names!" -Hit and Run, LOLO
This story's not quite done yet, FYI.