No Way Out: Part 3
by Euterpe
Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I was beginning to think there wasn't anyone alive out there...I really appreciate hearing your comments on my first Pokémon fic-- your reviews have been very encouraging, and I've decided to continue with the story. So without further ado, here's Part 3:
Disclaimer: Albert's mine, but he's just some guy I made up for the purposes of moving the story along. I'm not particularly attached to him; use him in your works if you feel like it-- hell, write a lemon with him if that's what floats your boat. I don't own any of the characters from Pokémon, though. *pauses for a moment* Although maybe I could try transforming myself into Satoshi Tajiri. *pulls out magical authoress wand* POOF! *checks self* Nope, it didn't work-- I'm still me. Better luck next time...
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That day, realizing that they couldn't continue much further on their own, the pair began to look for a place to stay. They planned to stop in the nearest town, where, according to Jessie's reasoning, the first place they would look for would be a PokéCenter. Why? If the town had no PokéCenter, that meant there were no pokémon. If there were no pokémon, chances were that no one there had heard of Team Rocket, so no one would know who they were.
The sign at the outskirts of the first city they found read "Welcome to Azure City". The name was misleading, however-- although the skies were perfectly blue, the "city" was nothing more than a single street lined by a few shops, and several randomly scattered houses. No PokéCenter in sight. But just to be safe, Jessie and James walked into what appeared to be the town's general store. Jessie approached the manager, and began to speak in her most polite voice: "Excuse me sir, but our pokémon have just had a tough battle and we'd like to buy some potions to heal them. Do you happen to have anything in stock?"
The man looked at her as if she was crazy. " Would ya mind explainin' yourself, missy? I've never heard of these 'pokémon' before. What're they, friends 'a yours or somethin'? I'm sorry, but all I sell here's food and some housewares."
"Oh then. Never mind." Jessie tried to make herself sound disappointed, but in fact she was greatly relieved. It was clear from the man's response that she and James would be safe here. "But maybe there's another way that you could help us. We just had a long trip and we're looking for a place to spend the night. Is there anywhere around here for us to stay?"
"'Fraid not. The town's too small to get many visitors, so we don't have a motel or anythin' like that. But one of the locals, ol' Albert, has been known to take in boarders from time to time, if he has a good feeling about 'em."
"That would be fine," said James. "Could you maybe tell us where to find this Albert?"
"You just did. Nice ta meet ya," the man laughed. He wasn't that old-- maybe in his fifties or sixties-- was a little on the heavy side, and sported a beard. He had a good sense of humor and there was something about him that made him seem understanding. "The feeling I have about you two is that you're a couple of good kids who won't give me any trouble. If ya like, I'll let ya stay the night and we'll see how things go from there. So Whaddya say?"
Jessie and James glanced quickly at each other. "Yes," they answered simulaneously.
********
Albert's shop wouldn't be closing until 5:00, and since there was still some time before he would be leaving, Jessie and James decided to explore the town for a while. Once Albert had closed up for the night, they followed him back to his house.
"I don't mean ta pry or anything, but I was wonderin' what you kids were doin' out here in the middle of nowhere. How'd you wind up in Azure City anyways? No wait, let me guess. You two are in love and you ran away from home because your parents didn't understand how you felt about each other. No that's not it. You're running away from somebody or something, right?" Albert inquired curiously on their way to his home.
"Yes. We are running away from someone, but we really don't want to talk about it. It's something we'd like to put behind us." Jessie closed the subject.
"Right. It's your personal business and I shouldn't be askin'. Forgive me." By this time they had reached the door, and Albert let them in. The house seemed rather large, especially for just one person, but still it was comfortable and quaint. "I'll show you where your room is so you can unpack your things, then you can join me for dinner." He paused to laugh. "Ya know, I just realized, I don't think I even know your names yet."
"Oh, right. Jessie."
"James." Oddly, they still found it difficult not to launch into their team motto after saying their names. Old habits die hard.
"There. Well, that's better now." He shook their hands and then continued on his way, motioning for them to follow him up the stairs. "Now here's the situation. Way back when, I used to live here with my family. But my dear wife passed on a few years ago, and now my kids are all grown up and moved out. That left me with a lot 'a space that I used to rent out, but lately the town doesn't get many tourists, so now I use most of the rooms for storage instead. I still have one bedroom left, with one bed. You two wouldn't mind sharin', would you?"
James blushed at the suggestion. "Why don't you take the bed, Jess? I'll sleep on a couch or the floor or something. I really don't mind."
Jessie rolled her eyes. Here he went again-- did he have to be such a gentleman all the time? "Cut the crap, James. We can handle this like mature adults. Sharing a bed is perfectly all right with me."
"Okay then. Well here's the room." Albert opened the door to reveal a room with a large bed, some chairs, a dresser, and what appeared to be its own bathroom. The windows of the bedroom were large and covered by fine curtains. Much nicer than the tiny cramped cells which had been their rooms back at Team Rocket Headquarters, and easily better than camping out under fickle weather conditions. "I'll give you two a little while to settle in and put down your things while I make us some dinner. Oh, one more thing. If ya need some clean clothes-- and it looks like you will 'cause ya didn't bring much-- I can give you some of the ones that my son and daughter left behind. They're a little old, but they just might fit." Jessie and James thanked him again, and he left, closing the door behind him.
"Right now, all I want to do is take a nice, long, hot shower," James exclaimed, heading towards the bathroom.
"You can't do that yet. We don't have any clean clothes to wear," Jessie reminded him. "You'll have to wait until after dinner." She laid down and stretched out on the bed. So nice and soft…she fell asleep almost instantly, until James gently woke her up and informed her that dinner was ready.
Downstairs, they politely tried their best to enjoy the food, but it was clear that Albert was better at being a host than a cook. "Sorry. I know it's no gourmet meal or anything, but my wife always used ta do all the cooking, and I never really learned how ta cook for myself."
Jessie spoke up. "You know, James is an excellent cook. He can make something for us next time if you'd like."
At this, James looked up from his plate and his face brightened. He didn't mind "volunteering" this time. Even he could not tolerate Albert's poor excuse for Hamburger Helper, and he secretly enjoyed any opportunity to show off his expert cooking skills. "Um, sure. I'll be willing to try it, that is, if you don't mind."
"Okay, James. Then it's settled. You're makin' dinner tomorrow night."
They quickly finished eating, not wishing to prolong the experience any more than necessary. Albert handed them a change of clothes and they went upstairs to get ready for bed. After taking their showers, they settled into the soft, clean sheets.
"Hey Jess? Are you still awake?" James asked, turning toward his partner.
"Mmm?" he heard next to him. "For the moment, yeah. What is it?"
"What do you think? Of this place, I mean? And of Albert. He seems like a pretty nice guy, right?"
"Yeah whatever. Less talk, more sleep."
"I just meant that I think we should stay for a while. I feel really safe. What do you think?" Dead silence. "Jessie? Aw, forget it. We can talk about it tomorrow." James rolled over and closed his eyes.
TBC...
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OK, not much interesting happening in this chapter, I know-- I'm just trying to establish the setting for the parts coming up. There's more action to come, I promise. As long as I've got your attention here, I'd just like to ask you to take the time to review and let me know what you think so far. Is there anything you'd like to see in the story? Drop me a line..
by Euterpe
Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I was beginning to think there wasn't anyone alive out there...I really appreciate hearing your comments on my first Pokémon fic-- your reviews have been very encouraging, and I've decided to continue with the story. So without further ado, here's Part 3:
Disclaimer: Albert's mine, but he's just some guy I made up for the purposes of moving the story along. I'm not particularly attached to him; use him in your works if you feel like it-- hell, write a lemon with him if that's what floats your boat. I don't own any of the characters from Pokémon, though. *pauses for a moment* Although maybe I could try transforming myself into Satoshi Tajiri. *pulls out magical authoress wand* POOF! *checks self* Nope, it didn't work-- I'm still me. Better luck next time...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That day, realizing that they couldn't continue much further on their own, the pair began to look for a place to stay. They planned to stop in the nearest town, where, according to Jessie's reasoning, the first place they would look for would be a PokéCenter. Why? If the town had no PokéCenter, that meant there were no pokémon. If there were no pokémon, chances were that no one there had heard of Team Rocket, so no one would know who they were.
The sign at the outskirts of the first city they found read "Welcome to Azure City". The name was misleading, however-- although the skies were perfectly blue, the "city" was nothing more than a single street lined by a few shops, and several randomly scattered houses. No PokéCenter in sight. But just to be safe, Jessie and James walked into what appeared to be the town's general store. Jessie approached the manager, and began to speak in her most polite voice: "Excuse me sir, but our pokémon have just had a tough battle and we'd like to buy some potions to heal them. Do you happen to have anything in stock?"
The man looked at her as if she was crazy. " Would ya mind explainin' yourself, missy? I've never heard of these 'pokémon' before. What're they, friends 'a yours or somethin'? I'm sorry, but all I sell here's food and some housewares."
"Oh then. Never mind." Jessie tried to make herself sound disappointed, but in fact she was greatly relieved. It was clear from the man's response that she and James would be safe here. "But maybe there's another way that you could help us. We just had a long trip and we're looking for a place to spend the night. Is there anywhere around here for us to stay?"
"'Fraid not. The town's too small to get many visitors, so we don't have a motel or anythin' like that. But one of the locals, ol' Albert, has been known to take in boarders from time to time, if he has a good feeling about 'em."
"That would be fine," said James. "Could you maybe tell us where to find this Albert?"
"You just did. Nice ta meet ya," the man laughed. He wasn't that old-- maybe in his fifties or sixties-- was a little on the heavy side, and sported a beard. He had a good sense of humor and there was something about him that made him seem understanding. "The feeling I have about you two is that you're a couple of good kids who won't give me any trouble. If ya like, I'll let ya stay the night and we'll see how things go from there. So Whaddya say?"
Jessie and James glanced quickly at each other. "Yes," they answered simulaneously.
********
Albert's shop wouldn't be closing until 5:00, and since there was still some time before he would be leaving, Jessie and James decided to explore the town for a while. Once Albert had closed up for the night, they followed him back to his house.
"I don't mean ta pry or anything, but I was wonderin' what you kids were doin' out here in the middle of nowhere. How'd you wind up in Azure City anyways? No wait, let me guess. You two are in love and you ran away from home because your parents didn't understand how you felt about each other. No that's not it. You're running away from somebody or something, right?" Albert inquired curiously on their way to his home.
"Yes. We are running away from someone, but we really don't want to talk about it. It's something we'd like to put behind us." Jessie closed the subject.
"Right. It's your personal business and I shouldn't be askin'. Forgive me." By this time they had reached the door, and Albert let them in. The house seemed rather large, especially for just one person, but still it was comfortable and quaint. "I'll show you where your room is so you can unpack your things, then you can join me for dinner." He paused to laugh. "Ya know, I just realized, I don't think I even know your names yet."
"Oh, right. Jessie."
"James." Oddly, they still found it difficult not to launch into their team motto after saying their names. Old habits die hard.
"There. Well, that's better now." He shook their hands and then continued on his way, motioning for them to follow him up the stairs. "Now here's the situation. Way back when, I used to live here with my family. But my dear wife passed on a few years ago, and now my kids are all grown up and moved out. That left me with a lot 'a space that I used to rent out, but lately the town doesn't get many tourists, so now I use most of the rooms for storage instead. I still have one bedroom left, with one bed. You two wouldn't mind sharin', would you?"
James blushed at the suggestion. "Why don't you take the bed, Jess? I'll sleep on a couch or the floor or something. I really don't mind."
Jessie rolled her eyes. Here he went again-- did he have to be such a gentleman all the time? "Cut the crap, James. We can handle this like mature adults. Sharing a bed is perfectly all right with me."
"Okay then. Well here's the room." Albert opened the door to reveal a room with a large bed, some chairs, a dresser, and what appeared to be its own bathroom. The windows of the bedroom were large and covered by fine curtains. Much nicer than the tiny cramped cells which had been their rooms back at Team Rocket Headquarters, and easily better than camping out under fickle weather conditions. "I'll give you two a little while to settle in and put down your things while I make us some dinner. Oh, one more thing. If ya need some clean clothes-- and it looks like you will 'cause ya didn't bring much-- I can give you some of the ones that my son and daughter left behind. They're a little old, but they just might fit." Jessie and James thanked him again, and he left, closing the door behind him.
"Right now, all I want to do is take a nice, long, hot shower," James exclaimed, heading towards the bathroom.
"You can't do that yet. We don't have any clean clothes to wear," Jessie reminded him. "You'll have to wait until after dinner." She laid down and stretched out on the bed. So nice and soft…she fell asleep almost instantly, until James gently woke her up and informed her that dinner was ready.
Downstairs, they politely tried their best to enjoy the food, but it was clear that Albert was better at being a host than a cook. "Sorry. I know it's no gourmet meal or anything, but my wife always used ta do all the cooking, and I never really learned how ta cook for myself."
Jessie spoke up. "You know, James is an excellent cook. He can make something for us next time if you'd like."
At this, James looked up from his plate and his face brightened. He didn't mind "volunteering" this time. Even he could not tolerate Albert's poor excuse for Hamburger Helper, and he secretly enjoyed any opportunity to show off his expert cooking skills. "Um, sure. I'll be willing to try it, that is, if you don't mind."
"Okay, James. Then it's settled. You're makin' dinner tomorrow night."
They quickly finished eating, not wishing to prolong the experience any more than necessary. Albert handed them a change of clothes and they went upstairs to get ready for bed. After taking their showers, they settled into the soft, clean sheets.
"Hey Jess? Are you still awake?" James asked, turning toward his partner.
"Mmm?" he heard next to him. "For the moment, yeah. What is it?"
"What do you think? Of this place, I mean? And of Albert. He seems like a pretty nice guy, right?"
"Yeah whatever. Less talk, more sleep."
"I just meant that I think we should stay for a while. I feel really safe. What do you think?" Dead silence. "Jessie? Aw, forget it. We can talk about it tomorrow." James rolled over and closed his eyes.
TBC...
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OK, not much interesting happening in this chapter, I know-- I'm just trying to establish the setting for the parts coming up. There's more action to come, I promise. As long as I've got your attention here, I'd just like to ask you to take the time to review and let me know what you think so far. Is there anything you'd like to see in the story? Drop me a line..