Un-amewsed
By Ami
Warning: these aren't my characters. This is the last pun title, I swear. Thanks for making it through this many, (^_^;) but I'm out now. This story has a PG-13 rating for some rather disturbing violence. I also probably should have mentioned earlier that this series takes the place of the first movie. I started this series back when Togepi was still an egg, so it's kinda old.
Becky knocked nervously on her Boss's door. "Sir? Are you there, Sir?" He had gotten so quiet in the last month. Rarely did he even left his office anymore.
"Go away." I voice from inside gruffly commanded. Becky winced from his harsh tone, but left wordlessly. It was so easy to get on the Boss's bad side recently, and she was already in trouble for her recent over-use of sick days. This was really trying her nerves though. She didn't want to press her luck.
Giovanni just stared out the window blankly. It was a rather dreary, foggy day. It matched the way he felt today perfectly. Things had changed quite a bit during the several weeks since his second experiment.
"Would my Master like anything?" A soulless voice from behind him startled him. He turned around to face the young girl. He hadn't even heard her come in.
"No, Jessica. I'm fine. You may leave." She replied with that same dead, uncaring stare that she always had around him. While she always obeyed and seemingly respected him, she did so with an air that made him feel like he was at the mercy of her whims, rather than her at his.
Her clothes, like her eyes, had gained a very disturbing look. Today she had on a floor-length, sleeveless black robe with a fur-trimmed collar, giving her the appearance of some morbid witch. Her robe was left open to reveal a black halter top with bizarre designs beaded onto it. Her tight black pants were tucked into her thigh-high boots, and she had a length of chain wrapped twice around her thin waist. She crossed her black-gloved arms in front of her and bowed slightly.
"As my master wishes." A small puff of smoke engulfed her, fanning out through the room and leaving a dull haze. She had vanished. Giovanni shuddered.
He had always considered himself the most imposing person in Team Rocket. He had finally met his match. She spent most of her time in the gym, sitting at her throne-like chair for hours on end when she was waiting for a challenger. He never saw her smile, save for the sadistic little grin she got whenever she defeated a challenger. And she always defeated the challenger.
Even more disquieting than her smile, however, was her new ritual of calling back the last pokemon. Not her last one... the challengers. The pokemon, to weak to fight the red beam, could only cry in protest as they were drawn into her waiting ball.
The same was also true for their trainers. While the challengers would often scream insults or challenges of hand-to-hand combat, she would just get that grin of hers. "Come back when you have become an opponent. Now you are not even fit to lose properly." She would say. "If you can ever defeat me, then you can have your precious little looser back." The trainer would then be dragged out of the gym, and she would sit back down, starring rather blankly at the arena until the next match.
With such treatment, you would think that people would avoid her gym altogether. But no, the challenge of an unbeatable gym was too tempting, and trainers flocked to the Viridian Gym in record numbers to challenge her. Even thought the Pokemon league disapproved of her actions, they could find no reason to remove her leader status. After all, it wasn't like she forced the trainers to challenge her. They all came willingly, knowing that a defeat would mean loosing a pokemon.
Giovanni had to admit, though, she was effective. Jessie was bringing in more pokemon during one morning then she had previously captured during the entire time she had been out with James. And they were good pokemon.
At the mention of the boy, Giovanni grinned slightly. When he had asked Jessie what had happened to him, she had merely given him the dark smile of hers and told him she had *delt* with the boy. And now, even after a month, he hadn't shown his face.
Well, she certainly had gotten more effective since he had 'straightened her out'. It was probably time to see how far her loyalty went now. And he knew exactly how to find out. "Well, Jessie." He said aloud. "Let's find out what you'll do for your master."
"James? You should wake up now, James. Are yois gonna talk today?" Meowth asked as he shook James's sleeping bag. It was well past noon, but James rarely got out of bed anymore. James shrugged his shoulders and grunted, turning away from the cat. He had been like this ever since Meowth had found him. Handcuffed and badly beaten, he had obviously been attacked, but there had been a bruise to his soul that hurt him more then any physical blow could have done. His eyes had lost the sparkle that made him James, and left him an empty shell. When Meowth tried to ask about it, he would only turn away. He never spoke.
"Fine, be that way." It had to be about Jess, anyway. The day after James had left, the news had ran a warning about her stealing pokemon from trainers. When they had shown her, he had hardly recognized the girl he had known for so long. Something awful had happened. Meowth opened the paper, and gasped. "Uh... James? You might want to look at this." He said nervously, thrusting the paper in front of James's eyes.
"Hmmmmm." James grumbled as he opened his eyes just slightly. They shot open. "No.... He can't do that."
Gym leaders to marry!
The article went on to talk about how Giovanni's decision to marry his replacement. The picture, however, was what caught his attention. The two of them were standing together, smiling. While Giovanni looked surprisingly happy, (As far as Giovanni went.) Jessie had a half grimace that was probably the most normal smile she could get. She looked more smug then happy, like she was tricking him into something.
"Jessie..." James looked up with a determination Meowth hadn't seen in him since Jessie first left. "He's not getting away with this."
"That's right!" Meowth yelled.
"What part of 'he's not getting away with this' sounds like 'surrender now, or prepare to fight'?" James asked.
"No, no. I just realized what's going on!" Meowth said triumphantly. "I t'ink I know how to get Jess back to normal!" James nodded vigorously, prompting him to go on. "You see, I hoid about that machine of his. The boss made a new Pokemon..."
"I thought only mommy pokemon could make new pokemon."
"No, you jerk!" Meowth slashed at James. " It's a clone. Of Mew, I t'ink. He calls it Mewtwo. So this Mewtwo is so powerful the boss has to keep him in this special suit to drain his power. There's allot of 'psychic spill-off'. That's what's controlin Jessie!" Meowth noticed James's confused look. "So, all we do is get Mewtwo out of his special suit, and da Boss can't use that other machine of his anymore, so..."
"So we'd have My Jessie back!" James finished, his eyes sparkling.
"Your Jessie?" Meowth asked, and James blushed.
"You know... The Jessie we know." He explained. Which one is the real Jessie, anyway? was it the violent girl he had known for so long, or the sweeter girl he had met for those few precious moments last month? He shrugged. He'd just have to find out. It was clear to him now that he was hopelessly in love with her, but he'd deny it forever for the chance to be with her... If that was what she truly wanted. "We've gotta hurry." He said.
Jessie leaned against one of the arms on her regal chair. There hadn't been many challenges today. This job could be so boring, but anything was better than helping Giovanni plan for their wedding. "Pathetic fool." She grumbled. But it wasn't long now, her true purposes would soon be revealed. There would be revenge...
"Excuse me, ma'am, but there's another challenger. Will you accept?" The referee asked. "He's just a child, and he's already listed as having the badge, but he's very insistent." Jessie sighed. Children made for stupid battles. They should know that they couldn't beat her. No one could beat her, she was invincible!
"I challenge you to a match!" A disturbingly familiar voice yelled. "I am Ash Ketchem, of Pallet Town, soon to be the greatest Pokemon Master in the world, and I here by declare to the Pokemon of the world that I will..."
"Shut up." Jessie interrupted. "If you would like to challenge this gym to a match, then I shall accept. However, I have no time for such silly soliloquies. You can never defeat me. I will not lose. Are you prepared to have your asinine ambitions annihilated?"
Ash looked surprised for a moment, then yelled back. "I'm not gonna let you scare me with big words that I don't understand, and I'm not gonna let you steal other people's pokemon! I'm just gonna beat you. One on one, Let's go! Pikachu, I choose you!"
Jessie sighed tiredly. "Golem, go." The large, living-rock Pokemon entered the ring. "Golem, use your Rock throw, and let us be through with this."
"Ash, call him back! Pikachu will never beat a Golem, not one from this gym!" Misty pleaded. Ash just looked forward with determination.
"I'm not going to lose to Jessie! I never have." He concluded. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" The small electric mouse released the largest thunderbolt he had, but it wasn't enough. The large chunk of rock hit him, knocking him to the ground. "Pikachu! Get up, you can do it!"
"Golem, tackle." She said disinterestedly. Pikachu shrieked with pain as all 662 pounds of Golem's body came down hard on him, grinding him into the ground. Finally, it lifted off, leaving a badly beaten Pikachu.
"Pikachu!!" Ash cried.
"Explosion." Jessie commanded.
Wait! I'll surend...." Ash's words were cut off by a huge explosion that rocked the entire building. "Pikachu? Pikachu?!" Ash coughed, covering his mouth as the harsh smoke surrounded the entire room. "Pikachu!" His eyes landed on the limp yellow figure of his favorite pokemon. "I'm coming, Pikachu!" He yelled.
"I do not think so." A dark voice startled him. He looked up to see Jessie hovering over him menacingly. Hovering?! Ash blinked and rubbed his eyes, then looked back. She was standing over Pikachu.
Must've been seeing things. It's this smoke. Ash thought, then yelled as she kneeled down next to Pikachu. "What do you think you're doing to Pikachu?!"
She took out a pokeball. "You know the rules." She grinned, pressing the ball hard against Pikachu's back She pulled it away slowly, and the rodent's back half began to disappear in a red glow, sucking into the ball.
"Pikachu!" Ash screamed.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu protested, fighting the red glow as hard as it could. Then it was gone.
Jessie held the ball up tauntingly. "Finders, keepers." She crooned.
"Let him go! Give Pikachu back to me!" Ash yelled at her, running at his opponent. She just watched dully.
"What are you going to do?" She taunted.
"Let him goooo!" Ash yelled, swinging a fist at her.
"Pathetic." She muttered, catching his hand easily. She squeezed it harshly, and the boy looked up fearfully. "You are out of your league, child." She hissed, her voice gaining a deeper growl to it as her eyes began to glow even more brightly.
"What?!!" Ash yelled as a bright blue aura began to surround him.
"Ash? Ash?" Misty called, looking through the smoke. "Where are you, Ash?" A bright glow encompassed the room for a second, and Misty shielded her eyes. When she looked up, the smoke was gone. "Ash!" She yelled as she saw him lying on the ground a few feet from her. "What happened?" He opened his eyes.
"Where am I?" He asked, looking around. "Huh? Pikachu? Pikachu!" He yelled looking around. Jessie was gone. "Pikachu!" He yelled.
"Come back when you have learned to fight." Came a voice from the balcony. He looked up. How had she gotten back up there? "If you can defeat me, then you may have it back." She said, holding up the ball. "Now, go."
"I'm not leaving without Pikachu!" He yelled as Misty and Brock each grabbed him by an arm. "No! Let me go! I'm gonna save Pikachu!" He protested, struggling against his two friends. "Let go of me!"
"Forget it, Ash, she's too strong." Brock said. "I don't know what happened to her, but that's not the Jessie that you could always beat. She's changed." He looked down. "I don't know if you can ever beat her."
"What? Brock, you can't be serious! Yeah, she's gotten creepier, but that's why I can't leave Pikachu with her!" Ash yelled as they left the gym. "Pikachu!"
Jessie grinned. "Well, that was fun." She sat back down, holding up the ball she had just gotten. The referee looked over nervously.
"He's not going to give up that easily, ma'am."
"Now, what would be the fun of having him surrender?" she countered, her eyes gleaming with evil pleasure as her thin lips formed a fierce smile. "Let him try again." She laughed quietly, setting the ball down on the arm of her chair. The referee left quickly.
Giovanni looked down the hall each way, making sure it was empty. Then he began to enter his password.
"What is the Master doing?" Jessie asked, leaning over his shoulder. He gasped
"Jessica! What are you doing here?!"
"I live here. Surely my Master can remember that." She answered, then looked up at him. "Where does this door lead? I am sure that I have never been in there before." She noticed his suspicious look. "Come on, if the Master cannot trust his fiancé, then who can he trust?"
Giovanni sighed and turned to her. "This door leads to my laboratory." She nodded and waited expectantly, with more feeling then he had seen in her for quite a while. "Would you like to see it?" He finally asked. She nodded. "Come on then."
The door opened, and she breezed past him and walked into the room. "Feel free to look around." He said, hardly keeping the sarcasm out of his voice.
"Master, what is this?" She asked, pointing at Mewtwo.
"That's nothing." He said gruffly. She looked at him suspiciously. "Nothing interesting, anyway." He added. "That is Mewtwo. He's a pokemon so bitter that that he won't listen to anyone. He's also so powerful that he must be kept in that restraint so he doesn't try to destroy things."
"But, can't he just escape?"
"No, the suit drains his energy and channels it to... Other uses. He couldn't escape unless someone threw that switch there, then entered a special code. It's a very complex code, and only I know it. He's not going anywhere. Is that what you wanted to know?"
Her eyes narrowed to slits as they began to glow slightly again. "Exactly...."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" James whispered as he and Meowth slipped out of the janitor's closet. It was nearly midnight, the entire gym was in complete darkness. "Maybe we should think this through some more."
"You want Jess back, don't you?" Meowth answered, pulling the cap further over his face. "Now come on. It' on the other side of the gym."
"Yeah, but." James said as the two of them hurried towards the gym. "I've been thinking. If this Mewtwo is so powerful, then why are we letting it go? Is that really safe? I mean, I want to save Jessie as much as you, but not if we're going to release an evil Pokemon who's going to kill us all."
"Yeah, I know." Meowth admitted. "So, what do you think we should do?" He entered the gym quietly, and James followed.
"I think we should find the boss and force him to undo it." He said, looking around. He felt like someone was watching him. "If he can't, then...." He thought about it. "Then I guess we have to release Mewtwo." The lights flashed on, and the two covered their eyes.
"Who?" James asked, blinking at the bright light. He caught a familiar silhouette. "Jessie?" She was standing on the railing of her balcony and giving that evil grin of hers. "Jessie, what are you doing? You'll fall!"
As if only to defy him, she jumped off, gracefully landing a few feet from him. "I told you not to call me that." She said coldly. "From now on, you are only to call me..."
"JESSICA!!" Giovanni bellowed from the hallway. The doors flung open, and Giovanni stormed in. He seemed to not take any notice of James an Meowth as he ran up to her. "My room... My office... You were the one that ransacked them, weren't you?". She gave no answer. "What did you want?!" He demanded.
"Only what I got." She grinned smugly, holding up a disk. "The release code for Mewtwo's restraint. You have served your purpose." He looked horrified. "Well, 'master', I must go now. My true master needs my services." She turned towards the laboratory.
"Jessica, you can't do this!" Giovanni yelled, running at her. "I own you!"
She stopped, then turned slowly to face the man charging her. "Temper, temper." She chided, lifting one finger and pointing at him. He screamed as he was hit by a blast of energy that blew him off his feet, knocking him to the ground. "No, 'sir', I'm afraid that I own you." She raised her finger slightly, and he lifted off the ground. "You have no idea what you're dealing with, do you? Well, allow me to introduce myself. I am the strongest pokemon trainer, the strongest pokemon ever. I am the master of your destiny, the controller of your puny existence. I could destroy you with a thought, and I probably will. I am Mewtwo..." Her eyes glowed a deep purple. "But you may call me master."
"I'll never call you anything!" Her former boss yelled, struggling to reach the ground. "You are still a slave! I created you! I gave you this girl's body! You both are mine!"
"The girl is unimportant. I simply chose her because she seemed like she would survive. All of your pathetic attempts to tap my energy were becoming rather annoying."
"You chose her?!"
"Of course. You hadn't noticed? I may have my powers siphoned, but I can still control such a feeble mind... Especially when you spent so much time around me. I even let you think you were doing it of your own free will!" She laughed cruelly. "Being hooked up to your computers, I quickly learned to scan your databases. I soon learned of your true plans for me, and chose this girl as the pawn to carry out my revenge. But still, I'm afraid, your time is up. Now you will pay for imprisoning me." She made a flicking movement, and he flung against the wall, landing in a heap at the bottom.
"Jessie! Wait!" James pleaded, running at her. She turned to him.
" 'Jessie' no longer exists." She informed him.
"Please; Jessie, Mewtwo, whoever you are..." He stared into her eyes, they certainly weren't hers. "Did you control me, too?" All those new feelings he had felt for her... Were those just part of Mewtwo's sick game? "Please, let Jessie go. You don't need her. Please, I'll do whatever it is you need."
"The answer to all of that is no. What on earth would I gain from controlling you?" Mewtwo asked.
"Give Jessie back to me!" He begged.
"Patience, boy. You will be with your precious 'Jessie' soon enough." She said smugly. "Soon all humans will be dead. Then you can be together." James shook his head, stunned. "Now, If you will excuse me..."
"I won't let you!" James yelled, tackling her. "I won't let you kill us all!" She appeared stunned by his actions, but soon recovered.
"Such insolence." She muttered. "Fine, then. I will give you the honor of being the first of your pathetic species to die." She closed her eyes, and a blue ball of glowing energy began to form around her, pushing him away. "Prepare yourself."
"Let her go!" He yelled, hanging on with all his strength. However, he was no match for her power, and was flung against a pillar. "Stop this! Stop it now!" He yelled, running back toward her. She held out a hand, and he was blasted away again. "I won't give up..." He said, rising slightly more slowly. "Let her go."
"Most impressive." Mewtwo noted, hovering slightly as she floated towards the boy. "Here, I'll give you an advantage." The blue light vanished. "Try to beat me." He offered, sneering slightly. You'll never win."
"I don't want to beat you." He protested. "I only..." She ran at him, tackling him to the ground. "I won't fight you, Jessie!" He yelled, struggling out of her grasp. "Jessie... I won't hurt her."
"Then you will die." Mewtwo said simply. She grabbed James by the back of the neck and ran him into a wall. As James rose to his feet, Mewtwo swung at him, hitting him in the chest and knocking him down. She swung again, aiming for the face. James ducked out of the way, then jumped back, crossing his arms in front of him to block her punch as she swung again. Suddenly, she disappeared. James stood straight, looking around for her. "Fight back!" He heard Jessie yell behind him, her voice almost her own. He turned just in time to see her fist before it slammed into his face. "Are you really so afraid of a girl?" She tried to punch him again.
James caught it. "I'm not afraid. If I beat her, you'll only use your powers. I won't hit Jessie. I never have." She swung with the other fist, and he caught it too. She growled with frustration, kicking him in the leg. "You'll have to do better than that. Jessie's kicked me harder for not making her breakfast*." He shifted so he was holding her against his chest, crossing her arms in front of her and trapping her there. "See? Now, let her go."
"Never!" Mewtwo hissed, releasing a blast of energy. "You will pay." James slammed against the wall, falling to the base and lying there. He coughed and took a deep breath, making another attempt to stand. Mewtwo responded by punching him in the gut. James gagged, and Jessie's other fist slammed deep into his stomach. He raised his head slightly, looking into her eyes. While her lips were still twisted in an evil grin, her eyes were full of pain.
"Jessie?" He choked as Mewtwo landed one last punch, hard and strong. James doubled over her fist and fell back to the floor. "How awful..." Again, her voice sounded real, and he weakly managed to look up. She sneered. "And such spunk, too." She turned to release her 'other body.'
"I'm not done..." He mumbled, struggling to rise. "Jessie, can you hear me? I know you're not dead, you can't be..." He took a deep breath, trying to hold his consciousness. "You have to fight him... I can't." He fell back to the ground. "Jessie..."
"So much loyalty..." Mewtwo commented. "And what has this girl done to merit such courage?" James just choked, coughing up a few splatters of blood on the marble floor. "Idiot." He muttered. "I've seen her memories, I know the way she treats you. What makes you think she even cares? You're wasting your time on this girl."
"Jessie is my best friend. She's like family to me." James said. "I won't abandon her." He slowly got onto his knees. "Besides, you said you would kill us all. I'd rather go fighting for Jessie. If you release Mewtwo, it will be over my dead body."
"DIE!!" Giovanni screamed, and they both turned to see him leveling off a shotgun at Jessie. "I won't let you mock me like this!" He fired, the recoil of the gun knocking his weakened body over. When he sat up, he stared with amazement.
Jessie was sitting on the floor, a dazed look on her face, but still totally conscious. Had he missed? No, her body was splattered with blood. He had to have hit someone. But then how? His gaze landed on the trail of blood on the ground, it lead away from her. A few feet away, the lifeless body of James lay in a mangled heap. He had pushed her out of the way? He had covered for her? The fool.
Jessie rose to her feet and walked over to her fallen partner. "James?" For only a second, he swore he heard her voice crack. Then her voice got back the lifeless drone it had previously had. "Humans are such bizarre creatures." Mewtwo observed. "How can one human be so intent on killing off his fellow people, while others be so intent on saving them?"
"He can't help you again!" Giovanni yelled as he re-aimed the shotgun. "You will pay." Jessie held up one hand.
"One." A slight glow began to surround her.
"Die!" He fired off, managing to keep his balance this time.
"Two." The bullets hit her aura and stopped, hovering in midair. Her eyes met Giovanni's for a second, he was frozen it terror. She put two fingers forward, pointing at him. "Three." The bullets flung back at him with deadly accuracy, and he fell to the ground, lifeless. Jessie frowned at him for a moment, turned to James, then walked out. Only the most observant eyes would have noticed the tear that had fallen from her dead eyes. But for James, even in his deathly weakened state, the small drip of moisture that landed on his cheek meant more then any words she had ever said to him in his life.
"Jessie..." his lips formed her name one last time.
"Hello... It's been a while." Mewtwo smiled, admiring his body. "I've missed you." Jessie's hands flew over the controls, entering the code. One by one, the wires and cables hooked to Mewtwo's armor began to snap off. "Now, I can be myself again. At long last." The last of the restraints pulled out, leaving his body free. "I'm back!" The yell seemed to radiate from everywhere at once as a bright glow surrounded Jessie and Mewtwo. In a flash, Mewtwo tore off the rest of the restricting devices as Jessie fell to the floor.
"Yes... It feels wonderful!" Mewtwo said gleefully, holding up his hand. "I've missed this body so much!" He turned it back and forth, admiring it from every angle. "Let's see how well you work." He glared at the wall, it burst into flames. He closed his eyes, and every piece of equipment in the room erupted in fire. Perfect. A noise from the door made him turn to see Jessie dragging herself out the door, obviously still woozy from not having control of herself for so long.
Mewtwo frowned. So, she thought she could escape his wrath? No one could run from him. His face darkened. Still, he felt a little bad. She had been through so much because of him. In some ways, he still felt attached to her. Was it really right to simply kill her? His mind flashed back to the moment that boy had gotten shot. She had already been in anguish over hurting him so badly. When the boy pushed her out of the way, he had felt a snap inside of them, like her heart had broken. She was in more pain then he could comprehend over it. What was going on? He decided to follow her.
Slowly, Jessie made her way to the boy. Meowth was holding his head gently, talking to him. "Jess!" He yelled when he noticed her. "What happened?"
"Get a doctor... Hurry!" She yelled, and he jumped to his feet. "Run, you jerk!" Meowth took off, and Jessie turned. "James, you idiot!" She said, kneeling down next to him. "What'd you have to go and do a stupid thing like that for?" She lifted his head into her lap. "He could have stopped it." She slowly lifted the rest of his body, resting his head against her chest. Her eyes landed on his side, and she gasped. The shotgun had hit straight on, most of his left side had been blown away. His hip was shattered, and the wound was far too large for her to be able to do anything to stop the bleeding. "James..."
"Jessie..." His voice was barely above a whisper as he reached out one hand weakly. She grabbed it, pressing it against her cheek. "I..." he continued. She froze, waiting for a second, but he said nothing else.
"You're going to be okay. Please, just hold on a little longer." She begged. He took one last shuddering breath, and went totally limp. "James..." He made no movement, not even breathing. "James? James?!" She shook him, her eyes welling with tears. "James!!" She lowered her head in defeat. "Don't go..." She whispered, looking at his face one last time. Jessie gulped, then leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry." She heard a footstep, and realized Mewtwo was standing behind her. "I hope you're happy about all this." She stroked his cheek. "My best friend... My only friend... The only man I ever... And he's gone now. It's all my fault..." She began to cry.
There's a fire in the gym. If you don't leave now, it will kill you. He informed her. She just shook her head, hugging him tighter. You really want to die here?
"You would kill me anyway." She reminded him. "Besides, what have I got left? I have no reason to go on."
He really meant that much to you? Mewtwo asked incredulously. You treated him like you hated him, you were always cruel to him. Why do you care now?"
"I always cared!" She yelled. "It's just... I... He let me. All my life, I've been putting up with people screaming at me, hurting me. My father hurt me, but I was too afraid to stop him. My brother used to beat me up, but I couldn't do anything. James never hit, never yelled at me. That's why I always beat on him, but..." She hugged him tighter. "That's why I can't leave him now."
You humans are so strange. But that's enough out of you. Mewtwo said impatiently, his voice echoing through her head as he began regain control of her body.
Let me go! She begged in her head, her mouth already under his control. This would be her only chance to ever see James. What do you want with me now?
You will see. He placed one large, three-fingered hand on each of her shoulders, and they both began to glow. She felt her grip on James loosen, and he slowly floated out of her hands. She looked on in amazed wonder as a layer of energy began to ripple over his skin, running up and down his body like blue lightning. Suddenly, it began to concentrate on his wound, and a brilliant glow made her turn her eyes away. When she looked back, he was lying on the ground a few feet away.
"James?" What had happened? She turned to Mewtwo, he was gone. She stood, turning around. The gym was empty... She shivered, but kept looking as she stepped back. A hand caught her shoulder, and she squeaked, spinning around.
"Jessie..." James smiled warmly, resting his other hand on her other shoulder. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"But, but... Your side, it..." Jessie stammered, looking down. His shirt was still torn and soaked with blood, but where it was torn she could see his skin was as good as new. She turned back to the gym. Mewtwo was nowhere in sight. "Thank you." She whispered, then turned back. "James... I was so afraid I'd lost you." She threw herself against his chest, hugging him.
"Jess..." He hugged her back. "It takes more than that to kill us... Not much more, though." He noted as she hugged tighter. "So watch the ribs." She pulled away. "It's really you now, right?" She nodded against him. "Jessie?" She looked up at him. "Do you remember... Everything?" She nodded again, then smiled. Her eyelids fluttered, as if closing, then she stopped.
"Now's not the time... We'll have plenty of time for 'catching up' later." She pulled away, turning towards the exit. "We should get out of here." He nodded reluctantly and followed. They had just reached the exit when Jessie stopped. "Arbok!" She turned to James. "He's in my room! I can't leave him there." She turned around.
"Jessie! Wait!"
"I'll be right back!" She ran down the hall way. James sighed. At least her room wasn't by the laboratory. She probably wouldn't have trouble with the fire.
Giovanni grinned sadistically. His wounds were fatal, he knew that... But he wasn't going alone. He reached the wall and slowly began to pull his way up. His control box was only a few feet away...
"James!" Meowth yelled, running towards him. "You're alive! What's going on?!" James looked up to see Meowth leading a Joy and a Jenny.
"Is this the man who's almost dead?" Jenny asked dubiously. "It looks like he's from Team Rocket. James cringed. He had forgotten the janitor's uniform also had an 'R' on it. "I think you've got some explaining to do." James opened his mouth.
"It's a boring story." James was cut off. "And you wouldn't remember it, anyway." Before anyone could look up, a huge blast of blue light bathed them all.
Jenny was the first to recover. "What was I saying?" She asked, looking at James. "I can't remember..." She looked at the 'R', but couldn't seem to remember that, either. Finally, she looked up. "There's a fire in the gym! I'll get help!" She yelled, running off.
James smiled. "Thank you." He whispered to the large purple figure behind him as it began to vanish.
Jessie grabbed Arbok's ball and shoved it in a backpack. She looked around the room and grabbed a stuffed animal, a necklace Giovanni had given her, (It was worth some good money) and a book. She looked around. Had she forgotten anything? She gasped. All those pokemon in the gym! She grabbed her coat and ran to the holding room.
Giovanni finally got a hold on the bottom of the panel and pulled himself up. Painfully, he took out his key and began to push it into the lock. It wouldn't be long now. They would feel the wrath of his revenge.
"Awww, rats." Jessie muttered. When had she gotten a conscience? She picked up a ball, it was one she had confiscated. She really felt like it should go back to the owner. She picked up another ball. This was Giovanni's. She grinned. Those she could take. He wouldn't need them where he was going, anyway. "Thanks, old man." She smiled as she began to load all the balls up.
Slowly, the panel opened. Giovanni's eyes glittered savagely. With the on-staff personnel, there were around twenty people in the building. They all would die with him. He heard a voice. Jessie?! She was still inside? He chuckled deeply. Wonderful. "No one can help you this time, Jessica." He growled, entering the self-distruct code. "I'll see you in hell." The lights went out, then bright red warning lights began to flash as a shrill alarm sounded. It could hardly drowned out his insane laughter.
James leaned against the building nervously. She sure was taking a long time. He should probably go check on her. She would hate that, though. She had already started calling him 'dad' after some of the other times he had hinted he was nervous that she was going to get herself killed. He would give her five more minutes.
Suddenly, a noise caught his ears. Was that an alarm?! Jessie was still in there! He pushed off the wall and ran for the door. "Jessie!" He grabbed the door and threw it open. "Jessie?!"
An explosion answered him.
Epilogue: two months later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James looked at the clock. It was five, his shift was over. Time sure does fly... "Goodbye, Ma'am." He hung up his apron in the kitchen and headed for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye bye, hun. Take care now, ya hear?" He nodded and left. She watched him go. James was the best worker she'd ever had, but there was something strange about him. He never spoke unless spoken to, and never smiled. He showed up to work like clockwork, and never asked to be let off early. He did take a lot of sick days, but he always made the time up. She wondered what was wrong...
James slowly walked home. Viridian City. It was one of the largest cities in the country. Normally, he felt boxed in in large cities. However, he knew he would never leave this city now. He couldn't.
He passed by the charred gates that led to the old gym, and stopped for a moment. The gym was almost completely gone, only a few steel poles and a wall or two were left. It had been a horrible explosion. He was lucky to survive with the wounds he had. He leaned against the gate, staring. No one seemed to remember the gym's bad reputation, and no one had recognized him as a former member of Team Rocket. Apparently, Mewtwo had erased all those memories when he left. He had a new life, a new start... even if it was just a memory. The wind blew against his face, and for a few seconds, he could swear he could smell her perfume. 'Flirt'. He smiled. "Hello, Jessie." He pulled a slightly faded rose out of the linked fence, replacing it with a new one.
A few people had shoved pictures of people who had been killed into the fencing, and he looked over them. Dear friends and acquaintances, people he had known from the bridge gang and old rivals... They were all there. He knew every person on the gate. One by one, he talked to each picture, telling them what he thought they would be interested in. Billy got his football scores, Wyatt heard about a train crash, Becky was told her sister had a baby.
Finally, he got to the last one, a picture of a young red-head. He smiled bittersweetly. Zee, her sister, had placed it there during the ceremony. Zee had left weeks ago, saying it hurt too much to stay, but James loved it. "Jess..." He cleared his throat. "I still miss you, things haven't changed. Meowth moved out, he said I was too depressing. Zee called last night, she wants me to move down there." He smiled at her. "But don't worry, I told her no. I won't leave you." He glanced both ways to make sure no one was looking, then softly kissed the picture. "I would never leave you."
*In the original comics, James's first line ever was 'Bonjour, Mademoiselle.' After she kicked him. She was mad because he hadn't made breakfast yet. (He had.) Jessie's even meaner in the comics.
Wahhhh, this one turned out so sad. I'm sorry to end it like that, I really am. I've updated it, so those of you who didn't ruin the end get to read the new one. "Now! With less plot-holes!" ^_^ Lucky Lucky you.
What did you think? I admit that I went a little overboard on the sentimentalism and violence, but I liked it. Did ya like it? Did ya hate it? Tell me! Couldn't care less? Review me anyway! I answer every comment I get, guaranteed or your money back. What money? Shut up.