Interlude in the Key of J: Making My Way
Authors Note: This is not, in any way, an epiloge, prologue, or any kind of log from Dragoness' fics, one of which is brilliantly titled "Making My Way". So don't confuse it all up okay!As in the songfics I've put up before, the lyrics will be bolded for ease of knowing what goes where. The lyrics are what she's thinking.
This is my first Rocket-fic and it's all from Jessie's P.O.V. So please, go easy with me 'cause I don't usually write Rocket Fics. If you see that I've written something that no Rocket would say, let me know.
The song is called Makin' My Way (Any Way That I Can) by Billie and it's track 12 from the Pokémon: The First Movie Soundtrack
I stalked down the hall from Giovanni's office, my boots silent on the tile floor. I was lightheaded from the confrontation I just had with my Boss, I had so badly wanted to tell him, That's it!! I quit Team Rocket. But I hadn't and now it was time for things to change.
Nothing's gonna stop me this time
Not you, Giovanni
Nothing's gonna stop me this time
Not the Twerps
Nothing's gonna stop me this time
And not even you, James
Been on the loosing side
This time I'll turn the tide
This time I won't give up!
No baby!
I nodded to the door guard on my way out of the building, to the waiting black Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo and climbed in. I started it up and looked, just looked, at the building for a moment. James and Meowth were still there, waiting for me, in the café inside. I'd left them there, promising to return, but I wasn't gonna be there.
Meowth's plans had failed too many times, too many humiliating defeats. I was amazed, and relieved, that the Boss hadn't fired us all by now. After six years of blundered attempts to get that Twerps' Pikachu...
I sighed as I backed the Jeep out of the spot and down the driveway.
If you want something done right, Jess, you gotta do it yourself.
This time I'm in control
I want the whole world to know
Ain't nothing to slow me down this time
As I drove down the road towards Pewter, I though of the last thing the Boss said to me.
I have faith in you, Jessica. I know that alone, you can accomplish this one, simple task. Get me the Pikachu. That's it.
This weird faith is on my side
And I've giving all I've got
Count every step straight to the top
A few days later I was in Lavender Town, stashing the Jeep with a Team Rocket contact there. I would get a nights rest and then make my way towards the Rock Tunnel. I was told by my contact here that the Twerp was training his Pikachu against some strong level Rock Pokémon there. A perfect place for an ambush.
I was in the middle of getting together my Pokémon, Electric Pokémon "Radar" Locator and other things, when there was a knock on my door.
"Come in," I called out, arranging my pack.
Lilia came in, her purple eyes hooded and cold. "James is on the vidphone for you. Says it's urgent."
I stiffled a groan, "Took him long enough to find me." I got up anyway and followed her downstairs. She left me alone to talk to James. I sat down before the vidphone and hit the Enter key. James' worried face appeared and his expression sent a twinge of guilt through me.
"Jessie! I was so worried about you! Why did you leave us?" His tone was whiney and it reinforced what I had to say to him.
"I left you," I began in a clip, cold tone. "Because the Boss sent me on a special mission. One I have to do alone."
"But you need us! You need me. I thought we were a team, Jess." His eyes grew big and teary, "I though...though we had something special between us."
Deep inside, I was screaming, We do! We are a team, we are special, just you and me!
"Oh, you thought so? How sweet. You're wrong though. I will finish this assignment and I will do it without you and Meowth to screw it up. This time, no one blasts off." I hung up on him and went back to my room.
Chorus:
And if the river's too wide, I'll get through it!
And if the mountains too high, that won't stop this dream of mine!
I'm on my way, I've got a plan!
I'm making my way any way that I can!
All night long, I dreamed that I made it, past rivers wide and mountains high. I was celebrated far and wide as the greatest member of Team Rocket. In my dreams, I defeated Team Twerp and I was gonna make that dream come true. Not just for Team Rocket or myself, but for Meowth and...James.
The next morning I stood outside of the Rock Tunnel, Strong Repel activated, backpack on, and borrowed Jigglypuff at my side. It had taken more than a few strong words from Lilia to get her Jigglypuff, Puff Jiggly, to answer to my commands, but in the end we had a slight understanding going on.
"Ready, Puff? I'll need you to use Flash once we're inside." I looked down at the Balloon Pokémon and it looked up at me with bright green eyes.
"Puff," it said and led me inside, lighting the way without complaint. Lilia must've promised it rare candy or something. I took out the Radar device and turned it on, putting an earpiece in my left ear. It pinged gently as we walked, the more frequently the pings, the closer we were getting. I saw a few Rock Pokémon as we walked through the twisting tunnels. Zubat roosted above and I walked quickly; those flying rats were no better than Rattata with wings. The pinging of the Radar drew me back to the past, memories of failures replaying in my mind.
So many times I've played
In someone else's game
Bad human, bad, bad human! This from Meowth as he scratched us into submission.
Digging holes that we either stumbled into ourselves or that Team Twerp got out of.
Stealing that kids badges and then me stealing them from James and Meowth.
As always, being thrown, spun, kicked, Thunderbolted, Flamethrowed, Gusted, or blasted off again.
This time the game has changed
Oh baby!
I heard voices up ahead and noticed the pinging wasn't the result of us being blasted off, but the Radar locating an Electric Pokémon! I felt something tugging my jacket and looked down.
"Jiggly?"
"So you're ready then?" I whispered and crouched down next to it. It nodded and I smiled. "Good, here's what we're going to do."
This time I make the rules
I won't be nobodies fool!
Ain't no one can hold me down this time
This one's gonna be mine!
We came around a bend, peeked around a boulder, and saw the Twerp and his Pikachu, battling against a Graveler. The little yellow rat looked tired as it powered up for another attack.
The thing looked postively tuckered out and it obeyed the Twerp's order of a Thunderpunch attack. The Graveler flinched and Pikachu Quick Attacked it. The Graveler roared and Pikachu stepped back, not fully dodging a Tackle attack from the Graveler and Pikachu was slammed into a boulder. It got up at the Twerps' urgings and Thunderpunched it again. This time, Graveler was down. From a high corner in the back, not on my side, a red beam of light engulfed the fainted Graveler.
I frowned. That could only mean that the older Twerp, Brock wasn't it? He must be helping the Twerp in training Pikachu. This was going to take all of my cunning skills.
"Ready Puff Jiggly?" I whispered.
It nodded and stepped out into full view.
Immediate response!
"Huh? What's a Jigglypuff doing here?" The Twerp asked.
There's a brand new strength I've found!
Ain't looking back! Ain't backing up!
Puff Jiggly gave them no time to react as it launched into a hard Sing attack. I watched as they dropped to the ground one by one, first the Twerp, then Pikachu and finally Brock. The eldest Twerp had been on a ledge high above the two and he fell asleep, half over the edge. I wasn't worried about him though. I took out the ear plugs and ran over to Pikachu, stashed it in an Electric-proof box and made my way out of the tunnel, Puff Jiggly behind me. We had to dodge several sleeping Pokémon and finally made our way out.
I could only stare down at the box in my hands, containing the sleeping Pikachu. My whole body was tingling with energy, the feeling of success a powerful euphoria throughout my entire being. I'd caught Pikachu!!!!! Resisting the urge to strike a Twerp pose, I made my way quickly down the hill to Lilia's place
Repeat Chorus x2
"Are you going to take it to the Pokémon Center?"
I made a face at Lilia. "Of course not! Do you think I want to be caught by Nurse Joy?" I'd been back for all of five minutes before an alarm had been set off. The Twerp must've had some sort of device on the rat. Once we had been nearing Lavender Town, I began hearing a dull dinging noise, a sound that repeated every ten seconds.
"Pika Pi!!" The rat whined from within its box. It had been calling out the same phrase every so often. I guess that's the name it calls the Twerp.
"You'd better get going, Jessie," Lilia smirked as she peeked out the bedroom window. "I think I can see him coming this way."
My guess was that it wasn't James she was talking about. "Where's the Jeep?"
"Duh, where you left it. I filled the gas tank too, so it's all ready for you..."
I ran off with Pikachu, calling out a "Thank you!" as I ran. I'd just made it to the carport behind the house when I heard an angry voice.
"Jessie!!"
My hand froze, the door to the Jeep open, and turned around to see the Twerp and the older Twerp.
"Give back Pikachu!"
"Why should I? I caught it fair and square."
"You stole it, Jessie." Brock said.
"Stole, caught, what's the difference?"
"It'll make a big difference to Officer Jenny once she gets here." Ash retorted.
I looked up at Lilia's house and realized I'd get no help from her. I sighed and put Pikachu in the front passengers seat of the Jeep. There'd been no response from it, but I knew there was plenty of oxygen in there.
This time around, I'll stand my ground I'll live my dream!
I realize the power lays deep in me!
(Nothing's gonna stop me this time! I'm on my way!)
I stared at the twerp, I could see him gritting his teeth, reaching for a Pokéball. I wasn't going to stick around and find out who's Pokéball it was. I jumped into the waiting Jeep and floored it out of there. Wind whipped through the open windows, snapping my red hair around like a banner. I could hear cries of dismay and I saw a red flare of light.
A quick peek into the rearview mirror and I could see...nothing. A sudden dark shadow, then a quick blast of fire right in the road ahead of me. I swerved to avoid it, nearly hitting a row of bushes and the shower of dirt that followed.
Charizard! That damn lizard finally started to obey him. Of all the rotten luck.
Been on the loosing side
This time I'll turn the tide
I avoided blast after blast. When the Charizard stopped, I had just enough time to throw the decoy box out the open window. Just as I'd planned, the lizard dove down for it, landing on the ground next to it. To my surprise, the Twerp dropped to the ground, he'd been on that things back the whole time!
I saw in the rearview mirror that my little trick had only bought me a little bit of time. He'd found out that the box was empty and had lept back on the lizards' back.
I frowned and put the petal to the metal, the Jeep leaping forward. Faster and faster, I strove to drive faster than that lizard could fly.
This time I won't give up
I want the whole world to know
The Jeep crested a hill top, we were just outside of Celadon City, and the Jeep was airborne for a second, then slammed down roughly, causing Pikachu to cry out in alarm. For the first time, it tried an attack, all in vane because the box was electric proof.
We sped through Celadon, barely avoiding pedestrians and nearly hitting a Jenny waiting with an Arcanine and several other police officers.
I sped past them, miraculously avoiding a Fire Blast attack from the huge dog which slammed into a large tree.
Ain't nothing to slow me down this time!
This weird faith is on my side!
You can do it Jessica.
And I've giving all I've got
Yeah
Then I was out of Celadon, still speeding, faster and faster, my speeds topping 110 m.p.h. Racing towards another hill...
Count every step straight to the top!
I reached the crest of the hill, the Jeep lurching over it just like the last one, and the first thing I saw was the Twerp and his Charizard standing next to each other in the middle of the road. There was no where for me to go, with trees on either side of the road and time seemed to slow down.
Repeat Chorus x2
(I'm on my way)I'll get through it!
Pikachu was screaming from inside the box.
(I'm on my way)
I slammed through a gap between two trees, smashing through the bushes that were in my way.
(I'm on my way)Stop this feeling of mine!
But I lost control, I was going too fast. I tried to hit the brakes, but they weren't responding, I had no brakes! I remembered Lilia's smirking face, she must have done something to them.
(I'm on my way)I've got a plan!
I fought for control of the Jeep, swerving around some trees, heading for a clearing. I'd let the Jeep slow down and then have Arbok fight for me. I risked a quick glance in the rearview mirror, the Twerp was freaking out, running after us. I laughed at him, turned my attention back ahead of me, and screamed when I saw a thick barrelled tree right in front of me.
(I'm on my way)
I jerked the wheel hard to the left, towards a clear section of the forest, Pikachu's shrieks harsh on my ears, and lost control of the Jeep.
Any way that I can!
If I can't have it, no one will, I thought grimly, wishing I'd had a chance to see James one last time.
There was no screeching of tires, only the thud of metal against wood, the breaking of glass, and the sound of liquid falling on the ground.
I lost consciousness the moment the Jeep hit, my last thoughts of finally winning one war with the Twerp.
I'm on my way!
I heard heavy footsteps, the sound of someone picking up something, then the Twerps' voice, "Hang on, Pikachu. I've got you."
I'm on my way!
"We've gotta move, Charizard. This thing might blow up."
I'm on my way!
I groaned, feeling coming back to me and heard a small whump from the front of the Jeep. I forced my eyes open and saw dancing stars, eveything spinning. I blinked and sat up, my head had been on the steering wheel. I looked to the left, saw the Twerp put Pikachu on the lizards back, starting to get up as well.
He wouldn't leave me? He wouldn't leave someone like this?
"Help me!" I choked out, hating to call out for help, but I couldn't move, I was stuck.
I saw him hesitate. "Let's go, Charizard." But the lizard snorted, shook its head.
"Pika pi, pika." Pikachu said weakly.
"Whaaa? You want me to help her?"
Charizard shook the two off in answer and the Twerp walked over to me with a scowl. "You know I wouldn't help you if they didn't ask me to." He gripped the door handle, pulled on it, and frowned. "It's stuck." He pulled some more to no avail. Black smoke began seeping from under the hood.
My eyes widened at the sight and I tugged at my seatbelt, but it had been jammed from the force of the crash. "It won't come off! Get me out of here!" It got hot suddenly, by my feet and I saw smoke come from under the dashboard. I tried to move, but I couldn't. I coudn't feel my legs. I screamed and yanked at the seatbelt.
"Charizard, come here!" The lizard was suddenly there, large and orange, like a living flame. "Bite through the seatbelt!"
The huge, slender head ducked through the window and I shrinked away from it. The sharp teeth snapped through the seatbelt as if it were a potato chip. It ducked lower and bit through the lap belt as well. I was free!
"Come on, slide through the window!"
"I can't!" I cried out, "I can't feel my legs, I don't know what's wrong!"
The twerp froze, the sound of the fire became apparant from beneath the hood. "We have to get you out of there." He paused. "Charizard, help me pull her out of there, carefully." Somehow, they managed to get me out of the Jeep, carrying me away from it, onto the impromptu "road" I'd made. We'd just gotten slightly up the hill when it exploded. Charizard threw up its wings, shielding us from the debris that rained down around us.
I looked up at the Twerp who was looking down at the burning wreckage of the Jeep. He'd grown up from the last time I'd seen him, a half a year ago. Had I really ever seen him? Seen him for the person he was and not just as a source for attempted theivery?
Suddenly, a group of five people in grey outfits slunk out of the trees behind us, the black R on their shirts stood out like a threat.
The Greys.
"You'd better go now, Twerp," I said, my voice husky from the smoke.
"Huh?" He hadn't noticed the newcomers, but saw them now. "Are they here for you?"
"Yeah, they'll...take care of me." I looked up at him, my eyes suddenly tear-filled. "Come here.." I had a precious few seconds to deliver my message and I whispered it in my enemy's ear.
He stood back up, his brown eyes confused, but he lept up onto Charizard's back, Pikachu in his arms.
"Goodbye...Ashura!" I called out, a moment before the Rockets in Grey took me away.
Author's Post-It Note:
My first Rocket fic, like I said all the way at the beginning of this fic. Didja like it?
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That's all folks!!