As expected, the other escapees from Donovan Star's torture prison were all in varying states of panic, clutching each other as the transport cart swung slightly underneath the Rocket balloon. When Jessie dropped down in from a hatch in the roof, they screamed in fright, then immediately lunged for her and clung to her like children to their mother. Even Rose was having a hard time, though she managed to get herself together enough to help Jessie soothe the other girls.

The box was nice enough, cushioned without being lavish like the gilded cage they'd escaped from; Jessie had certainly ridden in far less pleasant arrangements, aside from the eight young women for whom she was apparently the only touchstone. Every minute she had to be gentle and soothing to the poor girls was agonizing - of course, it was preferable to Donovan's torture, but it was still a tremendous relief when the call came from above that they were about to land.

Camp, as it turned out, was a surprisingly well-furnished affair, with sleeping bags and blankets aplenty for all nine innocent escapees, and pots of stew bubbling over warm campfires. Wobbuffet, Meowth, and Morpeko bustled around providing food for everyone, while James made sure each girl was warm enough and felt relatively safe; Jessie was surprised that Morpeko was being given access to the meal at all, but James quickly assured her that he had two backup stashes of rations just in case Morpeko got hungry. Several of the former starlets couldn't stop stroking the grass with wide eyes, having not been allowed to touch natural ground in months, and all of them had a hard time eating from the steaming bowls with the large spoons they were provided.

"Come on, girls, eat up," James coaxed them. "You're not eating enough to keep a Starly alive!"

"You can take big bites now," Jessie huffed at them. "Donovan can't hit you for eating too fast anymore."

James blinked up at her, but she'd already taken a bowl, and with as little grace as possible, fully aware that all eyes were on her, she scarfed and slurped down the entire meal as fast as she could. It wasn't the same sort of high-end delicacy that Donovan had served, but it was warm and delicious - and more importantly, it felt like it had been made by a real person, with a genuine intent to nourish, and that made it far better than those fancy dishes.

All the girls whimpered in terror at the sight of Jessie's uncouth eating, but of course, Donovan wasn't there to mete out punishment, nor were his Indeedee. "Come on," Jessie urged them, "eat up! You're free now, he can't hurt you anymore. Take big bites and enjoy them!"

Everyone stared at their food. To Jessie's surprise, it was Felicity who was the first to scoop up a full spoonful of stew and place it all in her mouth at once. She cringed, waiting, but of course, nothing happened, and after a moment, she mouthed the well-cooked meat and vegetables, her posture relaxing as she realized how good the food was.

Slowly, the other girls started following suit, hesitant at first, and always immediately cringing away the moment any of their Pokémon servers passed by. Still, it was good to see that they weren't mindless dolls, and Jessie couldn't help a small sigh of relief.

"It's over now," she told Donovan's victims, her voice softening. "You're all free."

"I've managed to track down all your nearest families," James spoke up, and Jessie turned to him. His emerald eyes landed on the brunette who had been her closest ally in that wretched place and added, "Except for you, Rose…I couldn't find any family members of yours."

"I know," Rose murmured.

"But…I did manage to find someone who knows you, and offered you a place to stay," James went on. "She said she wasn't family, just an old friend, but that she'd take care of you if you had nowhere else to go. A young woman named Regina."

"You found Reggie?!" Rose gasped, sitting bolt upright, her eyes going wide.

"Um…" James blinked. "Y-Yes?" he answered slowly, though he sounded far from certain.

"Reggie…" Rose's eyes shone with tears in the firelight. "I thought I'd never see her again…"

"What about my mom?" Melody spoke up.

"Already waiting for you, Melody," James assured her with a smile, "and your sister, too. Edna, your brother can't wait to see you again, and says your baby niece has been crying for you. Felicity, your aunt and uncle in Hammerlocke have been frantic trying to find out what happened to you, and Danielle, your father in Wedgehurst has kept your room tidy, praying for your return. Vivian and Tabitha, your respective parents in Motostoke are eager to welcome you home, and Lila, your parents are a little confused about what's going on, but they're looking forward to seeing you again, too. Lacy, your grandparents in Stow-On Side are going to come to Motostoke to pick you up once you're safe."

All the girls started chattering, suddenly lively as they thought of their families for the first time since being trapped in Donovan's mansion. A surge of vivacity filled the clearing as they exclaimed to each other names of loved ones and fond memories attached to their former homes, their faces lighting up and their voices lifting as they hadn't even once while they'd been Jessie's classmates.

"Well done, James," Jessie murmured to her partner.

"It wasn't easy to figure out who they all were," James admitted to her, stepping over to stand at her side, "but once I got the hacking equipment I needed, I was able to restore copies of old erased records, and finding their families wasn't too hard from there; some of them have been arguing with the government about their daughters' existence for months, and most of them nearly cried in relief when I reached out to them with news. Really, making sure everyone here would have someone to go home to was the easy part."

There was something strangely uplifting about seeing the beaten-down group of performers suddenly acting like real people. They were eating with more enthusiasm now, there were smiles and even some titters of laughter here and there, and Jessie felt a smile of her own tug at her lips that she couldn't quite explain. It was almost as if…she was proud to have rescued these young women.

No, that was absurd.

"Girls," Jessie said, raising her voice over the chatter.

Immediately, everyone quieted, their smiles fading.

"By this time tomorrow, Galarian authorities will have found you," she told them all. "They'll have questions, so when they come for you, I need you to tell them the truth, okay? Tell them everything that happened to you in that awful place, and don't be afraid."

"They'll already have been told about what you've all suffered," James added; "you just need to confirm what they'll already know by then. And testify against Donovan Star in court, if you can muster the courage."

"It's up to you now to make sure he answers for his crimes," Jessie said, "and that he never hurts anyone else. Just tell the truth, and he'll never see the light of day again."

"What about you, Jessica?" Edna asked. "Aren't you going to be with us?"

"Unfortunately, I have other places to be," Jessie answered.

An alarmed cry of horror rose around her, filling the camp.

"What?!"

"You're leaving us?!"

"No!"

"You can't go!"

"We need you!"

"Girls, girls!" Jessie shouted over their protests, and they backed off quickly. "I'm not a Galarian citizen," she told them; "in fact, I don't even have a passport. What's more, I'm a wanted criminal in several regions. I'm sorry, but the police and I just don't get along. It's all up to you now."

"Will we ever see you again?" Rose asked in a quavering voice.

"Probably not," Jessie admitted, "and it's for the best if you don't. As law-abiding citizens, if you do see me again, you'll probably be on the wrong end of one my crimes, and I won't back down if I happen to find out that my heists will affect one of you."

"Basically, if you see us again, you should be afraid," James inserted, his gloved hand brushing against Jessie's. "We're not good people."

Everyone stared at them for a long, tense minute.

"I don't care if you're criminals," Felicity said at last. "You're our heroes. You saved us."

The other girls immediately spoke up in agreement, and Jessie felt a strange flutter in her stomach as Donovan Star's victims all proclaimed their appreciation and adoration for her and her partner in crime.

"Well, if you're so grateful, then tell the police the truth when they find you," Jessie huffed at them, folding her arms defensively. "It's the least you can do. We have a backup plan for how to take care of Donovan if he somehow manages to escape justice, but if we have to use it, it'll be because you didn't pull your weight."

"Don't worry," Rose said, "we'll tell them everything. Won't we?" she added to her fellow escapees.

A chorus of agreement immediately met her question.

"Good, then," Jessie said. "In that case, this is goodbye. And remember, girls, the path to stardom is long and arduous, but it's not worth giving up your lives to have someone carry you."

"Take care of yourselves," James told them brightly, "and good luck!"

Many thanks were called after the Rockets as they walked off into the trees and out of the light of the campfires. Meowth, Morpeko, and Wobbuffet split off to check on the captured Pokémon and start packing away the loot that would be sent to the boss, but Rookidee perched in Jessie's hair while James led her away to a small clearing with a flat tree stump, on which sat several small piles of documents and a softly glowing lantern.

"What's all this?" Jessie asked.

"This is what Rookidee is going to bring to the police station in Motostoke," James answered. "I thought you'd want to look over all of it to make sure everything's accurate and nothing was left out."

Surprised, Jessie picked up a stack of papers and started leafing through them, recognizing James's neat, clear handwriting covering the pages front and back. Slowing down a bit, she started reading what he'd written, and was surprised again when she realized that it was all extremely detailed accounts of everything Donovan Star was guilty of, including…

"The Toxapex venom?" Jessie murmured, skimming over a page quickly. "You have a full account of the things he did with that stuff…"

"Rookidee saw it happen, and I wrote it down exactly as Meowth said it described," James told her. "Is it…accurate?"

"Very," Jessie confirmed grimly; indeed, the detail of the account made phantom echoes of pain ripple through her body at the memory of the torture she'd suffered. "Well, I'm glad you have that all written out - I didn't want to have to relive it myself."

"I figured," James nodded. He didn't say anything else, but Jessie could tell from the way the pen strokes turned jagged and nearly ripped the paper in places that he'd struggled to write it all down…and she knew, just by knowing him, that he'd only done it to spare her from having to do it herself.

Setting the papers aside without any further remark, Jessie picked up a small device. "And this is…?"

"His confession, recorded in full," James confirmed. "As well as…his threat to you."

"Hmm…" For a crazy moment, Jessie was tempted to play it back and listen to it, but she resisted the urge. "Well, it looks like you have everything here," she sighed. She hesitated a moment, then added, "We should probably include a map to where we left Donovan, though, or at least directions."

"You don't want to let him cool his feet in a tree in the wild area for a few days?" James smirked.

"I just feel like it would add to our credibility if we direct the authorities on where to find him," Jessie responded as a perfect non-answer. "We need them to believe all of this, James. Give me a pen and some paper, I'll describe where we left him…and then, we'll send it all away with Rookidee, I guess."

James nodded, already holding out what she needed. Jessie jotted down a vague idea of where they'd left the Galarian madman in her messy scrawl, thought a moment, then quickly added a note explaining that there would be no point in trying to find Donovan's Pokémon. With that done, she packaged all the materials into a thick envelope and sealed it.

"Rookidee," she said, handing the bird on her head the package, "take this to the police in Motostoke, won't you?"

"Rookidee!" chirped the tiny bird Pokémon, and it plucked the envelope from her grasp and beat its wings wildly, rising into the air with the message that was several times its size and vanishing into the night.

Jessie let out a long, deep breath as a burden fell away from her shoulders. "It's over," she sighed. "It's really over, isn't it…?"

"It's over," James confirmed, and then he was there, so close they were nearly touching.

Without hesitating, Jessie leaned into him. Their arms wrapped around each other almost by reflex as their bodies met, and they relaxed into each other, their foreheads pressing together.

"I was so worried about you," James murmured, gripping her tightly.

"Me?" Jessie chuckled softly. "We both know you were the one who needed to be worried about. I'm surprised you were coherent at all these last few weeks, let alone enough so to come up with such a good plan."

"Well, Wobbuffet did have to smack me out of a panic attack a few times," James admitted.

"Only a few?" Jessie teased.

"Sometimes I couldn't get ahold of myself," James said, "but most of the time I managed to keep my head…by thinking of you."

Jessie's teasing smirk faded, and she pressed closer to him. "The only thing that got me through Donovan's torture was thinking of you," she told him. "So…I understand."

"I know," he said. "Rookidee told me what you said."

"But I wanted to say it to you myself," Jessie told him, pulling back and straightening up to meet his emerald eyes in the moonlight. "You're the only thing that kept me sane in there."

"Jessie…" He pressed his forehead to hers again, his hands coming up to cup her face.

"…James?" Jessie asked.

"Yes?"

"About…what you said to Donovan," Jessie said slowly. "About lying to our boss."

Pulling back slightly and meeting her gaze with serious eyes, James nodded. "He told the boss that you were pursuing your dreams in that academy, and that I took you away against your will," he said. "Are you really surprised?"

"He probably figured that by the time the boss found out he'd lied, I'd already be in his possession and there wouldn't be anything Team Rocket could do about it," Jessie murmured.

"The boss was furious," James said. "He couldn't send the whole team to rescue you, not when we have no solid presence in Galar, but he did offer me a blank-check assets package to help me rescue you myself. That was why I took so long, and kept asking for more inside information, so I would know what to include in the request. Officially, this mission was unsanctioned, but unofficially…" He offered her a tight smile. "You're a Rocket, Jess. Our boss didn't abandon you."

A whimper stuttered out of Jessie's throat that quickly turned into a cry, and she lunged forward and threw her arms around her partner, hugging him and weeping into his shoulder, struggling and failing not to sob. He hugged her back tightly, trying to still her shaking frame, and couldn't help burying his face in her crimson hair. Whatever shampoo she'd been forced to use in Donovan's prison gave off a foreign scent that jagged at him, but buried underneath it, he could still detect a faint trace of Jessie, a hint of that intoxicating spice that grounded him, drove it home that she was really here, safe in his arms, away from that nightmare at last…

And speaking of nightmares…

James waited until Jessie's crying subsided, then murmured, "Jess, about…what you said to Donovan…"

"Hm?" Sniffling, Jessie wiped her face on her glove and looked up at her partner.

"About what you'll do if he escapes justice," James said slowly.

"I meant every word," Jessie stated tersely, wrath driving back the last of her tears.

"I…hope you know it's not that simple," James told her. "My engagement to her was arranged when we were kids, and besides that, you know she's completely obsessed with me; you can't just drop him off with-"

"I'll find a way!" Jessie snapped. "I don't care what it takes, if he gets out then I will see him in that hag's clutches! He deserves her!"

"Jessie…" James recoiled slightly. "I realize Donovan was a monster, but…I find it hard to believe anyone actually deserves my ex-fiancée…"

"Donovan does," Jessie said, her fists clenching. "Do you know what his endgame for me was?"

"Huh?" James blinked.

Shaking, Jessie ground out, "After he was done breaking me down and molding me into a perfect star, he was going to keep going, and keep breaking me until he could mold me into his perfect bride, because nothing in the world would bring him as much pleasure as breaking my spirit."

James let out a yelp, jolting in horrified shock.

"I swore he'd never break me that far," Jessie growled. "Even before I learned you were going to get me out of there, I vowed that I would never let myself get turned into his trophy wife." Then she softened, placing her hands on James's chest, and added, "But I would have had to spend the rest of my life fighting him if you hadn't come for me…and if I'm honest, I don't know how many years I would have lasted. He probably would have gotten me eventually. That's what you saved me from, James."

"Jess…" James breathed.

"Thank you," Jessie whispered.

For a long minute, they stared into each other's eyes. Both of them felt like there were a million things they wanted to say to each other…and both of them quickly and simultaneously came to the conclusion that words wouldn't suffice for any of it. In a moment of perfect synchronicity, the tension that had been stretching between them all night snapped, and they collided, noses bumping clumsily as they surged together into a desperate, passionate kiss.

Walls and inhibitions that had been straining under the weight of the last few weeks quickly began to buckle and give way. All the emotions that had been eating away at both of them blended together - James's anxiety and desperation, Jessie's rage and grief, their shared longing and confusion about what exactly this partnership really was, and now the euphoria of a perfect triumph and a job well done, plus the exhaustion of having been hard at work all night on top of that, all swirled through them and whipped up into a tempest of white-hot desire that obliterated any capacity either of them could have had for any form of rational thought. There was nothing but the taste of each other's mouths and breaths, the warmth of their bodies pressed together, and their need for each other.

When Jessie's back hit a tree, she didn't feel the pain of her bruises or fading venom injection sites, only the solidness that she was able to brace herself against so she could bring her legs up and wrap them around James's waist, clinging to him with all her limbs now as their kisses grew sloppier, their chests heaving in desperate gasps for breath, lost in each other and this moment, all thoughts of context long gone. James didn't even realize what he was doing when he reached down and unbuckled his belt and unfastened his pants, Jessie thought nothing of shifting her hips or reaching down to tug her panties aside under her skirt, neither of them was aware of what was happening until the moment James buried himself inside her.

Both of them had had expectations about what their first time would be like, of course. James had suffered from years of nightmares of being tortured and dominated without his consent, a cruel obligation that he would have no choice but to endure despite wanting no part of it. Jessie, meanwhile, had long fantasized about tender caresses and showers of rose petals as a prince took her to bed after their fairy-tale wedding, and had also secretly believed that she would have to work hard to hide the fact that she would be nervous, even terrified, about exposing herself to someone else so completely, praying that her husband would at least be experienced enough that it wouldn't be awkward. But as it turned out, neither of those visions could possibly have been further from reality.

It was like coming home, a home neither of them had realized they had until now. It wasn't at all awkward or scary to be together like this - on the contrary, to be so close, united in flesh as they had always been on every other conceivable level, simply felt like the most natural thing in the world. They were each other's other half, they were one soul in two bodies, and in this moment, completely as one at long last, they finally knew what it was to be truly whole.

Moaning against each other as waves of pleasure washed over them, they slowed, kissing softly, breathing each other's names in soft gasps of wonder. James, surprisingly, was the first to move, giving a sharp thrust with his hips that elicited a groan from Jessie's throat as she felt him, all her senses focused on the shocking bliss of his length spearing apart her inner walls, and she arched against him, taking him deeper, desperate for more. An answering surge sent James slamming his hips into hers again, bucking at a pace that quickly grew wild. Their mouths slipped, grazing each other's faces with lips and teeth and tongues, hands clawing mindlessly, pressing into each other again and again as ecstasy shot up through their cores and came out their mouths as cries of euphoria, barely muffled by each other's kisses. Heat rose, pleasure building as they moved faster, a few leaves were shaken from the tree against which they worked as they chased their bliss, their bond, absolute wholeness and unity that had been inevitable for them their whole lives, knowing now that they had been born to complete each other in every way.

Jessie felt herself approaching a threshold, some zenith she'd never known, and she drove herself towards it eagerly, unafraid, her whole body undulating against her partner as she squeezed her inner muscles around him, shuddering and lurching, clutching him until she fractured, sweet bliss blossoming across her being before she exploded, blasting off into the sky to drown in ecstasy among the stars. Moments later, James followed her, erupting inside her as he blasted off to meet her in the heavens, and they danced together on the surface of the sun, burning up in absolute bliss.

When they came back down, they were shaking, panting for air, still pressed against each other, dazed with wonder at everything they had. Without thinking, their mouths met again, sweeter now, but just as hungry; even though James was spent, they couldn't stop caressing and kissing each other. It was as though the whole world was just gone, and they were the only two people in existence.

They weren't, of course.

"Are youse two gonna come and help-?"

Both humans jumped in surprise and quickly turned their heads to see their human-like cat come stomping through the woods, only for the little white creature to stop short, words dying in his open mouth as he saw the position his partners were locked in.

Meowth stared. Jessie and James stared back, jaws open gormlessly, fully aware that there was nothing they could say to fix this situation. The awkwardness was palpable, pressing down on all three of them, freezing them in place for a long, painful minute, as though the air itself had turned to ice.

Then, Meowth slowly closed his mouth and eyes, lips curling into a smirk as he turned his back and folded his arms. "Ya got sumt'in' on yah face dere, Jimmy," he said. "Might wanna clean dat up before we call da boss."

"Huh?" James blinked. "M-My…face…?"

Equally confused, Jessie turned to her partner, only to see something dark smeared all over his face in the moonlight, especially his mouth. It took her a moment to realize it was her lipstick.

A giggle bubbled out of her chest.

"What?" James asked, voice rising in pitch as he began to panic. "What is it?"

"It's fine," Jessie laughed. "I'll help you clean it off."

"Clean what off?!"

"Youse two really loaded us up wid' goods from da job," Meowth continued, already walking away. "We're gonna hafta work all night ta get it sorted out for da boss before we call him. Try not ta take too long cleanin' up before ya come help us out."

"We'll be right there!" Jessie called after their retreating partner, and then she and James were alone again. "Come on," she told him, unwrapping her legs from around his waist to set her feet down on the ground again, finding her knees surprisingly shaky. "Let's go wash off."

Blushing almost hard enough that the smudges of Jessie's lipstick blended with his skin in the moonlight, James frantically tucked himself back into his underwear and fastened his pants. Jessie eyed him for a moment, unpleasantly aware of a sticky goo in the crook of her legs.

"…I'm not sorry," she told him after a moment.

He looked up at her, their eyes meeting, and his anxious expression softened. "Neither am I," he said, offering her a smile.

She smiled back and took his hand. "Come on," she said. "We have work to do."

"Right," he nodded.

Hand in hand, fingers interlaced, they walked into the woods to find a place to clean up before they got back to work.

~R~

It did indeed take the rest of the night to sort, catalog, and pack everything they were sending back to Rocket HQ into the transport ship James had ordered along with all the other supplies. He'd asked for the largest possible container, yet they still had to work hard to fit everything inside. By the time they'd sent everything blasting off towards Kanto and were able to call the boss for a final report, it was already sunrise. Luckily, though it was late at night where Giovanni was, he still accepted their call.

"What news?" the boss barked at his agents as he appeared on their screen.

"Reporting a mission success, sir," James stated.

"Hmm…" Giovanni eyed Jessie. "Jessie," he said. "I see you're back with the team."

Even knowing what had happened, Jessie couldn't suppress a wave of rage. "No thanks to you!" she snapped at him.

"Take it easy, Jess," James murmured, putting a hand on her arm.

"How could you have fallen for that monster's lies and just abandoned me?!" she went on.

"Calm down, Jessie!" James exclaimed, physically pulling her back. "Donovan fooled you, too."

"He offered me the world while showing off all his wealth and power, it makes sense that I'd be tricked, but I would have expected our boss to be more perceptive-!"

"Enough," the Rocket boss stated coldly.

Both Jessie and James flinched, then quickly stood at attention. "W-With all due respect, sir!" Jessie added quickly.

"I take it from your behavior that Donovan Star did in fact lie to me about your willingness to enroll in his academy?" Giovanni asked neutrally.

"If he told you I didn't want out of that place, he absolutely lied!" Jessie snarled. "He tricked me into signing his contract, then locked me up and tortured me for his own sick amusement!"

Giovanni turned his eyes on James. "I see you weren't lying when you answered my question," he stated.

A jolt that was equal parts horror and relief sent James leaping a couple of feet off the ground at the implications of this statement. "N-No sir, I wasn't!" he squeaked.

"Fortunate for you…Now, what exactly was it you wanted to report to me?" Giovanni asked him.

Gathering his wits, James returned to stand at attention. "As per your…erm, wishes, sir, I didn't just remove Jessie from the clutches of Donovan Star," he told his boss; "the man's entire estate has been burned to the ground, his valuables and Pokémon looted, and his reputation soon to be destroyed, as Galarian authorities have been made aware of his many crimes, including murder, tampering with legal records, kidnapping, and everything he did to his victims under the guise of running an academy. It's unlikely he'll ever see the light of day again."

"And we're sending you the spoils," Jessie added. "All of his Pokémon, including a Makuhita and a Hatterene, both trained in the assistance of torture; thirty Indeedee, all also trained in human torture and control, as well as the upkeep of a large, splendid manor, including exceptional culinary skills; and one incredibly powerful Serperior that has killed two people on its trainer's orders and enjoys squeezing the life out of its victims. I'm sure you can put them all to excellent use in the name of Team Rocket."

"In addition, we're also sending a large amount of assets in the form of valuables and cash," James inserted. "The total value is estimated at about…what figure did we come up with, Meowth?"

"About t'irty trillion Pokédollahs," Meowth answered. "All of which are on da way and should be arrivin' at HQ wit'in a day."

"We kept an additional few million Pokédollars and a couple of goodies for ourselves," Jessie admitted, "but our cut was negligible compared to what we're sending you."

"And the best part," James added, "is that the only person who knows Team Rocket was involved in this job is Donovan Star himself, and considering all the legal charges he's facing, it's unlikely that anyone will take him seriously. You can keep the team's connection quiet…"

"…or you can spread the word that this is what happens to anyone who crosses you," Jessie finished, smirking. "I'm sure there's going to be a media frenzy around this whole affair that will last for weeks if not months, but whether or not you want to do anything with it is entirely up to your discretion."

Giovanni stared at them for a long moment. "I see," he said at last. "Is that all?"

Jessie and James blinked; both of them had felt like this had been an incredible job, but their boss seemed entirely nonplussed. "Y-Yes sir," Jessie stammered. "That's…all."

"Hmm…" Giovanni closed his eyes…then smiled and looked up at them again. "I never thought I would say this to your team," he said, "but…impressive work, you three."

"Thank you, sir!" all three agents exclaimed in delight.

"I won't ask where this sudden competence is coming from," the boss went on, stroking his Persian, "or why I don't see this from you more often. Sufficed to say, if every mission you performed for Team Rocket resulted in such astonishing success, you would have far surpassed Butch and Cassidy as our most valuable members long ago."

"You really mean that?" Jessie gasped.

"Absolutely," Giovanni answered calmly. "While Butch and Cassidy have an impressive track record, no individual job they've pulled off has ever presented nearly this much benefit to Team Rocket."

All three Rockets were trembling with the effort of containing themselves in response to this praise.

"Sir," James suddenly blurted out, "on the subject of workplace romance!"

Everyone turned to him, and Giovanni raised his eyebrows. "It's a bit late to be asking about that, isn't it?" he remarked.

"Huh?" Jessie and James both blinked, looking at each other. "Not…really…?"

"I don't want to know, nor do I care," their boss stated tersely. "You're free agents; what you do with your spare time is your business. Just as long as your first priority is always to act in service to Team Rocket."

"Yes, sir!" both humans parroted.

"I will try not to expect such impressive displays from you in the future," Giovanni told them. "However, even if you continue to embarrass me and Team Rocket as a whole, and only manage to do something worthwhile every few years or so…you've proven today that you are in fact valuable assets to me." He met their eyes through the monitor. "I won't ever forget that," he avowed.

"Thank you, sir," they nodded in unison.

"Back to work, then," Giovanni said.

"Sir!" they saluted, and the call ended.

For a moment, they were all still.

"Did…" Jessie swallowed. "Did the boss just say that he won't fire us no matter how many more times we fail him?" she asked breathlessly.

"I think that's what he said," James confirmed, dazed.

"And dat means…"

The moment snapped, and Meowth leapt up to join Jessie and James in a three-way hug.

"WE'RE TEAM ROCKET FOREVER!" they exclaimed in joyous unison, and they began to dance together in a wild circle of celebration, hands clasped, all emitting elated squeals that were some glorious hybrid between laughing and singing.

Their Pokémon looked on, happy for their humans and the strange Meowth that stood as a bridge between the two races. Of them, though, one in particular saw a golden opportunity.

Rookidee quickly flitted over to where Jessie's bag sat beside a nearby boulder, and started tugging at it with its beak and claws until the rucksack opened enough for it to dive inside and start digging through her belongings. By pure chance, while dancing around with her friends, Jessie's eyes opened and happened to catch sight of the bird Pokémon's gambit, and she stopped short.

"Rookid-"

Her companions, who of course were completely unaware of what was going on and still dancing, immediately crashed into her, and the three of them fell to the ground in a heap as Rookidee emerged from Jessie's overturned bag, pushing an empty Pokéball along the ground.

"Rookidee, wait!" Jessie exclaimed, trying to extract herself from underneath her partners.

Ignoring her, the ball of blue and yellow feathers determinedly pecked the button on the capsule, enlarging it to its active form, then pecked the button again. As Jessie finally struggled her way free and lunged for the Pokéball, it opened and sucked Rookidee into its confines in a cloud of red light.

"Rookidee, no!" Jessie yelped, scooping up the device, but it was too late.

For a few moments, the button flashed red.

"Please break out," Jessie whispered, praying for the little creature's freedom. "Please break out…"

A click and a ping! signaled the capture, as Rookidee was permanently sealed inside.

"Rookidee," Jessie whispered, tapping the button on the capsule, and it burst open, releasing the tiny bird Pokémon with a flash.

"Rookidee!" proclaimed the bird, and it immediately settled into Jessie's hair, chattering its name.

"It's sayin' ya got no choice but ta be its trainah now," Meowth informed Jessie.

"Are you really sure?" Jessie asked it.

An angry chirp came from her red hairdo, and Meowth didn't need to translate.

"Well then, I guess…I have a Rookidee now," Jessie said slowly.

"Congratulations, Jess," Meowth told her.

"Yes, congratulations," James agreed, but when she looked over at her partner, she saw him pursing his lips awkwardly. "Though I…guess that makes my present a little redundant."

"Huh?" Everyone turned to stare at James. "Present?" Jessie inquired.

"W-Well, you see," James mumbled, blushing, "I knew you wanted something else besides Wobbuffet, and you didn't want to catch Rookidee, so I, uh…I caught you something myself."

"You caught a Pokémon…for me?" Jessie asked him. When he gave a short, quick nod, she crossed her arms. "Well, let's see, then."

Visibly shaking with nerves, James took a Pokéball from his belt and tapped the button, holding out his other hand so the small creature could materialize on his palm. It appeared to be an apple, but a slimy green tail stuck out the back, and two bulbous bug eyes poked out from where the stem should have been.

"Ap-pl?" squeaked the creature.

"EWWWW!" Jessie shrieked, cringing away. "James, what is that yucky thing?!"

"Who's dat Pokémon, Rotom?" Meowth questioned, pulling out their black Rotom Phone.

"Applin," answered the Rotom. "He got you an Applin."

"W-Why would you get me something so gross?!" Jessie demanded of her partner.

"Pl?" asked the worm in the apple, blinking its oversized eyes at her in confusion.

"Er…" James's blush deepened. "W-Well, you see, uh…there's, um, sort of…I…I heard about this, uh, tradition, in Galar, and, um-"

"He's proposing to you, genius," Rotom spoke up irritatedly.

"Huh?" Jessie blinked.

"I am not!" James yelped, his voice pitched so high it was barely audible.

"In Galar, Applin are a sign of affection," Rotom sighed. "It's said that if you catch an Applin and give it to your special someone, and they accept it, then you'll be together forever. So, you know…good luck with that…"

"…James…?" Jessie breathed, looking back up at her partner.

James's entire head had turned the color of a tamato berry, his rigid body trembling. On his upraised palm, the Applin looked around, as though bewildered by the situation it had found itself in.

"James," Jessie sighed at last, "you didn't have to do that."

A tiny squeak managed to make its way out of James's throat as he blinked.

She offered him a smile. "After everything we've been through, there's no way I'm ever going to leave your side again," she told him, allowing a bit of tenderness to show through her words. Then she smirked, ending the moment, and abruptly added, "But I won't say no to a free Pokémon. Gimme!"

With that, she swiped up the fruit holding the little bug, which squealed its name in surprise. Holding it out at arm's length, Jessie eyed it.

"I guess it's…kind of cute," she said begrudgingly. "In a gross sort of way."

"Ap-pl?" asked the little creature.

"Dat Applin's a grass-dragon type," Meowth spoke up, having suddenly noticed this on Rotom's display. "Dat means it'll be super-duper resistant ta dat Pikachu's electricity."

"Really?" Jessie blinked. "Why didn't you lead with that?!" she furiously demanded of everyone present.

"You didn't ask," Rotom responded grumpily. "How was I supposed to know its typing was so important?"

"Grr…" Jessie growled, but she forced herself to calm down. "Well, I guess I have to keep this slimy thing now…Rotom, please tell me it evolves into something less icky."

"Applin has two possible evolutions, depending on what kind of apple it eats," Rotom answered. "I'm not sure I'd say either of them are less icky…but I guess it's up to personal perference."

"It's okay, Jess," James spoke up, having found his voice, if not his confidence. "You'll find a way to make it shine in contests. I believe in you."

"Making this thing shine is going to be a challenge," Jessie grumbled.

"You can do it," James stated. "If any coordinator can pull it off, it's you."

Jessie sighed, but she couldn't help but smile at him. "Give me the Pokéball," she told him, balancing the apple in one hand so she could extend the other.

"So…you're keeping it?" James asked, his voice rising in pitch again.

"Yes," Jessie nodded at him, "I'm keeping it."

"Applin," Applin squeaked as, trembling, James handed the Pokéball over to Jessie, who took it.

"Applin, return," she told the little Pokémon, and it disappeared in a cloud of red light, sealed in the capsule that Jessie placed at her waist. "Well," she smirked, "two caught Pokémon in one day. You all really know how to welcome a girl back to work."

"Speakin' a' work, let's go hunt down t'ose twerps!" Meowth cheered.

"Let's find a place to rest, first," Jessie groaned. "I'm exhausted. But after that, absolutely."

"It's good to have you back, Jess," James told her, stepping to her side.

"It's good to be back," she responded, and their hands clasped without either of them thinking about it. "Let's rest up, then go hunt down that Pikachu!"

He smiled at her. She smiled back.

They would fail, of course. They were both fully aware that their pursuit of that one lousy Pikachu was ill-fated, and they would only continue to embarrass themselves. Very little was going to change from here on out - they would dress up in costumes, build giant robots, and make elaborate attempts that would end up foiled; they would continue to bicker and argue over every little thing, and Jessie would continue entering in contests throughout the regions, winning and losing in equal measure. For the most part, their lives would stay the same.

But now, instead of punches, there would be kisses. Instead of fear, there would be trust. Nights would hold moments of private intimacy, and never again would Jessie even think of running off into the sunset with someone else. Whatever came next, one thing was absolutely certain: they would be together, in every way.

Was it love? Maybe. Maybe it was something even more powerful and intimate than that. After all, what value did words and labels really have for free spirits like Jessie and James?

All that mattered was that they were only happy when they were truly free, and they were only truly free together.

~THE END~

"Take a step, I will follow, to the end of the Earth. You're the best and the worst, 'cuz you know all my secrets, all my demons, and you keep them in check…If I didn't have you, I'd be better off dead; you're the reason I'm still alive." -Nothing to Lose but You, Three Days Grace

Thank you to everyone who Favorited, Followed, and left such incredible reviews. I might be persuaded to write a three-chapter, plotless trash fic as a follow-up to this at some point, if enough people want it.