The Rollercoaster Ride - Part 4
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Brock keeps going, but his head hasn't cleared, he hears a seemingly distant voice.
"Hey Brock." it's Ash, "Cm'on and check this out there's some poké sign here."
He comes to, strides forward and kneels to lookat what Ash is gesturing toward. "Hmmmm, could be rhyhorn, but it's too big, a little too
rounded, and there's an awful lot of it. I'd say
there's bona fide rhydon near here."
"It's fresh too," remarks James.
"Yeah, I can still smell da brute," adds Meowth.
"We'll have to proceed with caution," Jenny says looking around with a pair of binoculars fromher pack. "These guys can be surprisingly well hidden among these rocks."
They move on, staying keenly alert to every sound, movement, and smell. Not 100 metres further a roar splits the crisp mountain air.
Jessie whirls spies the beast and warns theothers as she dives behind a rock, she fumbles futilely for Arbok's pokéball. "Go Golbat!" andBrock releases his flying nightmare, "Try confuse ray!" he orders. The rhydon wheels aboutin its confusion, and smashes a nearby boulder.It turns, somehow spots the batlike pokémon and lashes a hail of rock into the air with its tail. A rock smacks Golbat amidships and it falls to earth in a swoon.
The mighty creature stands high above Jessie's hiding place, Brock waves his arms to distract it. Misty shouts, "Go Starmie!" the whirling star cuts the air, "eeyah!" it cries. "Bubblebeam now!" The concentrated bubble cloud hits the rhydon in the face and it roars, turns tail and retreats.
Jessie rises from her refuge, and smiles at Misty and Brock. "Nice work kids, thanks!" she calls out. Jenny looks around, "That was a
little too close for comfort. I'm going to call out Growlithe to sniff out these guys in advance and roar them off."
Two gravelers, and one rhyhorn later, the crew reaches the foot of the mountain. "I guess this is where we set up our base camp," says Brock. They set up their two largest tents, and assemble a circular stone fireplace. Then they all set to pitching their personal tents, and unrolling their sleeping bags.
They start dinner, Spam with cheese and pineapple rings. Misty wrinkles her nose and goes off by herself. Just as they start to eat the meal, Jessie looks off at the girl, lifts the pineapple ring and cheese off her meat, fishes some bread out of her pack and goes over to Misty. She says "Here's the pineapple ring, I thought you'd also like this." Misty smiles and says, "Thanks Jessie, this will do," but the young woman has already gone back to sit with James.
.......................................
Ash, Misty, Brock, James, Jessie, Jenny, Meowth,
and Pikachu gather around the dieing fire to decide who stays at the base and who heads up the mountain.
"I think older, more responsible people should be on the mountain team," James states.
"Well you take care of older," remarks Misty, "But you leave a lot to be desired on responsible."
"You're just trying to leave me out!" complains Ash.
"You do have difficulty meeting the qualifications," muses Misty.
"If we pick four based on those qualities, I'd say we would have, hmmm, Brock, Jenny, James, and... myself," says Jessie a bit too imperiously.
"Look, we need someone to be in charge down here to hold the fort," Jenny puts in, "If it's all the same I'll stay down here and give someone else a chance."
Brock says, "Well that sets me, Jenny would be happier if I weren't here so I guess I'll head up the hill."
"I don't care what anybody says, I came here to go after Mew, not to sit down here," sulks Ash.
"Look twerp," Jessie says impatiently, "Hand me an ultra ball kid, I'll throw it at Mew first should we get the chance."
"I can't trust you. No way!"
"Look, James can stay here, and Misty and Brock can 'keep me honest' for you."
"Hey!" James shouts, "What's the idea? We've always been a team!"
"Meowth has to come with us to interpret Mew's cries," she says, "Two out of three Rockets is the maximum these guys could trust. Jenny needsyour help down here."
James pulls Jessie aside, "You know what Jenny wants, why take a chance if you really want me?"
"I'll take the chance, if she wants you warts and all she has to see your warts without having me to point them out. Besides the twerps will
feel better about us being split up. There's a pokémon up there that might be a key to my past, it's more my business than your on those heights. If I ...don't come back, well...this Jenny wants you and she's a sweet girl," Jessie says looking calm but wistful.
"Aw c'mon Jess, don't talk like that, it doesn't sound like you," James say sadly.
"Maybe I'm not me anymore. If I don't try to find out about this woman's disappearance I won't ever know who 'me' is," she's subdued, "Ihave to do this one without you."
She turns to the others, "James is OK with this, I guess the advance party is settled, it will be Brock, Misty, Meowth and me. Let's all pray the weather holds, shall we?"
Before heading into his tent Ash looks at Misty about to do the same, "Hey Misty, take this." He hands her his pokédex.
"What's this for?" she says looking at the palm storage device.
"If you guys don't catch Mew, would you please point the 'dex at it? I'd like to have the entry. You're gonna see some things I really wanted to see, have fun," he looks less confident than usual.
"As if it's fun to fight your way up ice, rockand snow into thin air looking for a creature that might just be dangerous. You keep an eye on James and Jenny and I'll watch Meowth and Jessie," Misty half wishes he'd say something else.
He smiles shyly at her, "Night Mist."
"'Night Ash, don't let the zubats bite," she smiles back.
.....................................
They are two hours into the climb, Jessie looks back and smiles smugly, "No surprise here, I'm always the trail breaker," she thinks, "C'mon you eternal drags, destiny beckons!" she urges.
Misty looks up at Jessie already on the move again, "What drives that girl?"
"Spite," says Brock matter-of-factly, "She's never gonna let the world's poor opinion and treatment of her destroy her, it would be crushing to admit to herself she might be less than she believes."
"What makes you such an expert on the Queen of Mean? A few hours with her?" Misty says out of hand.
"Dunno, I just can tell her guard is up all the time. It's the way she looks at you when she talks to you. Most of the time she won't look you in the eye. I can just tell there's a lot of hurt and denial there."
"How much hurt does it take to make a Jessie?" Misty wonders.
"Let's ask Meowth," says Brock looking over his shoulder and slowing his pace.
Meowth is in his own little world of misery, "Man! Da tings I haveta do. I am one pooped kitty," he looks up and sees Brock standing in the track ahead of him.
"Hey Meowth, we want to ask you a couple of questions."
"About what?" the cat asks warily.
"We wondered if you knew a thing or two about Jessie's past," says Misty.
"So what if I do?"
"Well, how's she been hurt? What makes her so angry at, well ...everything?"
"I know she flunked outta da Pokémon Academy wit James, youse guys know about da bike gang, but dat wuz a happy memory. She sez guys have ditched her and nobody can love her, she had no kid friends and never had kids day when she wuz a squirt, and Princess Day made her cry every year."
"I almost feel sorry now," Misty says thoughtfully.
"She told me she washed out of being a pokémon nurse, that takes care of one dream she had," Brock adds, "and I guess she's an orphan, she never knew her mom and dad, and went through seven foster homes."
"Didn't she once say she thought Santa Claus had stolen toys from her?" Misty remembers.
"Yeh, and she wuz sure St. Nick wuz a scam. Nobody gives her a break," Meowth says, "What's wit youse two? Ya think ya can psych out Jess?
Don't count on it! On stuff like dis she thinks six moves ahead," he cackles.
"Naw," Brock sighs, "We were just curious. I guess we'd better catch up some or we'll get chewed out."
.............................................
The blue haired girl with the sad eyes sits down next to him and James shifts uncomfortably.
"Look I'm not going to jump you or say anything stupid, if that's what you think," Jenny sighsraggedly.
"I don't know what to think, the woman I have kept company with for five years has walked off up a dangerous mountain, and left me with someone who she ought to be insanely jealous of if she really loved me," he says distantly.
"Right now I think she may have a higher duty to find some things out. She may never have a love life worth the name if she doesn't straighten some things out for herself." Jenny offers sympathetically.
"Are you rooting for her?" James asks disbelievingly.
"I'm rooting for you, if she's the one, you'll be happy, and that wouldn't hurt my feelings. Just promise to send someone handsome my way after the wedding."
"And you don't want an Eagle Scout? You don't know what's good for you," he laughs. "Jessie said you need to see my bad qualities, I guess trying to protect her from my straying wasn't one of them. Well, I'm a man running very fast from success and I am succeeding at that very nicely thank you."
"I told you that first night when we had the sherry that I'm more interested in a romantic adventure than commitment from you. It's the image of you as a dashing cavalier I like, don't confuse me with real life detail," she rises and walks off a short distance and looks back over her shoulder. "I'm a career woman James, I just want something I can remember on a lonely night." She is gone around a boulder.
He wonders if he should rise and follow, but suppresses it, "Not now, I'm too worried about what's going on up the mountain." He sighs, "Strange Jenny alright."
.....................................
It's cold in the tent, but warm in the sleeping bag. Jessie reflects that Brock picked a good campsite, it was the only concession of leadership she made all day. She notes that they made unexpectedly good progress, they should be high up in the snowfields by late morning and can start looking for the ice cave rumoured to be Mew's hiding place. They ran into a tough customer in the afternoon, a nasty tempered
piloswine, it froze Arbok, damn it! But Brock's Vulpix made it melt away. She spent much of the evening thawing her partner out, but she seemed fine after a burnt berry and some hyper potion, thank goodness.
Brock taps at the tent flap and sticks his head inside after Jessie unzips it. "Hey I've got breakfast started. We ought to be off soon."
She stretches like a cat, and grins at him, "Just when I get all comfy. All right I'll be out in a jiff."
Misty is up already, squatting next to the camp stove sipping coffee. "Great to have you up Fearless Leader," she says, but there's a twinkle in her eye.
Meowth is not happy, "Fur or no fur, dis is too cold fer me!"
"Sorry to bring you here Meowth, but you know your value to this expedition," Jessie allows.
"Hmph! Dese two tink I'm yer biographer. You shoulda heard da questions dey wuz askin' about ya," Meowth is conspiratorial.
Jessie's eyes narrow, "What do you want to know? And why not ask me?"
Misty looks irritated, "I just asked Brock why you act this way all the time."
" What way?"
"Always the boss, angry, dictatorial, pushing your limits and everybody else's emotionally and physically!" Misty spits venomously.
"Hey! Enough! We've got a lot of work to do today!" Brock cries.
"You stay out of this!" the females shout in unison.
"Look twerpette, I don't answer to anyone! Especially with that tone of voice!"
"Not in any tone of voice!" Misty sticks her tongue out.
Jessie starts to speak and almost literally bites her own tongue. She looks at the fuming girl for a few long, quiet seconds and says, "Yes I was like you, and I still am a lot of the time. Look to thyself Misty! It's really not such a big secret who I am, everybody and everything hates me and I kick back as hard as I can because I refuse to give in to that hatred. I am me! Jessie! And I will not be beaten!" She turns away, and bites her lip enjoying the taste of blood and the savagery of her retort.
"If it weren't for Brock and Ash I'd be certain the world was out to get me too," Misty sounds suddenly contrite," I just wanted to know what it takes to become...you. I'm sorry."
Jessie squeezes her eyes tight, "Don't be sorry for me, I don't want your pity. Just help me now."
"Sure Jess," Brock says surprised to hear himself using such a familiar form of address.
They try to tack down their little camp as securely as possible, shoulder their loads, and proceed up a steep slope of hard, crusty snow.
The sky is pale grey, barely different from the expanse of tilted white before them, it's hard to tell up from down. The shadow of a high, icy cornice provides some vague definition. Jessie stops and she can hear a reediness in her gasping in the insufficient oxygen. She looks back, Brock is close, and soon comes up with her.
"I think we could head for that ridge over there," pointing at the cornice, "It's the closest thing to a landmark on this blank sheet, "she adds breathlessly.
He nods, not interested in wasting his own breath. His hand in the middle of her back steadies her. They set off again as soon as they are sure Misty and Meowth are coming along.
They reach the cornice and wait for their companions, leaning into the mountain because the cornice is steep with a wind honed razor's edge. Their eyes meet and Brock smiles at the light headed young woman. Jessie smiles in return, and reflects she feels surprisingly secure at the moment.
Once Meowth and Misty arrive they take stock of where they might be, "Can't say there's any indication of where this notorious ice cave ought to be," Jessie observes.
Meowth looks around in disgust, "I don't get no pokémon scent around here. No surprise there. What sorta pokémon in its right mind would hang out in a place like dis."
"Where do we go from here?" Misty asks the air.
"Don't know," Jessie says seemingly addressing the same element.
"Hey!" Meowth says eyes widening,"I sense somethin'!"
And there it is. Mew.
It is an amazingly beautiful pokémon with deep luminous eyes, its coat is lustrous shining pink. Somehow it floats before them as if gravity were not an issue that it took seriously. "Mew" it cries.
"It sez what're you doin here?" Meowth interprets.
Jessie speaks, "Mew we have sought you, to...to find out about someone who came here 20 years ago, do you remember her?"
The apparition vanishes, Jessie groans, then the mountain seems to groan in sympathy. Brock jumps forward pushing the two girls and Meowth into the snowbank. The cornice has broken free and a chaos of snow, ice and dislodged rock pours down behind them. The snowbank gives way behind them and they tumble onto the floor of a room with an ice floor and a high vault of bright turquoiseice.
The travelers lie still for a few moments, they roll over, get up unsteadily and brush the snow from their clothes and hair. "Whatta ya makea dis?" Meowth says in awe.
.......................................
James is watching Jenny and Ash have a pokémon battle, for practice really. Ash is using Pikachu and Jenny, of course, is using Growlithe.
"Trust me as one who knows, avoid the thundershock attack. I suggest using agility.,"encourages James.
Jenny catches his eye and nods, "Agility now!"
The bolt of electricity narrowly misses the swift brindled dog, "Now use ember!" Jenny commands.
This attack also misses because Pikachu is as hard to nail down as an electron.
The dog corners, and Pikachu hits it with a simple quck attack. "Forgetting your strengths, or strengthening your weaknesses?" taunts James at Ash's expence.
"Flamethrower," intones Jenny, and Pikachu gets caught this time.
"Barbecued electric mouse," says James with satisfaction. "You two are pretty evenly matched. That's three for Ash and two for Jenny."
Ash is busy administering hyper potion to pikachu, "Lucky shot," he grouses.
"At what level did your Growlithe pick up flamethrower?" James asks Jenny.
"I think it was level 45, but I can't remember for sure."
"That seems early, I'm sure my Growlie picked it up much later."
"Maybe you can't admit I'm a better trainer," she says with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
He laughs, she is a winning girl. Self sufficient, strong, just like...Jessie. No problem, he says to himself, he wasn't about to stray anyway. Jenny is just, well, fun to be around after all.
"Pretty good there Jenny," says Ash more generous upon reflection.
"Thanks Ash, it helps having input from a fellow growlithe trainer. You should have gone into law enforcement James."
"No thank you, I prefer the footloose life I have,' James replies.
"You make it sound like fun!" the blue-haired girl says with sparkling eyes.
"Sometimes it is. Ash here should concur."
"Yeah, it's pretty good being on the road, sometimes even when this guy and his friends are bugging us," adds Ash.
"Are you worried about your friends up on the mountain Ash?" Jenny is suddenly serious.
"Well, sure I am but what am I gonna do about it?" he remarks.
"Not a bad attitude," allows James, "I wish I could feel that way."
"To each his own," Ash says, "Maybe your worry will bring 'em back to us. I just can't see the use in it myself. You be yourself James, OK?"
"Sure Ash, thanks for saying that. Put 'er there," James and Ash shake hands, "C'mere Jenny," James says and he throws his arm around her shoulder.
"Here's to the others return," Jenny solemnly says enjoying the warmth of James' arm.
...........................................
Brock, Misty, Jessie and Meowth stare about themselves, arms akimbo, at the cathedral like vault of deep blue ice. Jessie's toe strikes a piece of curled paper with a soft scratchy sound that seems hollow in the enclosed frozen space.
She looks down, sees the scrap, and stoops to pick it up, "What's this?" she asks. It is a photograph, old and yellowed, in it there is a very small girl, a toddler, she has a sweeping mane of red hair arranged in two ponytails tied
with blue bows, she is wearing a yellow jumper, and her little fist is curled at the corner of her eye because she is crying bitterly. Jessie stares at the image, "Oh my God, It's me!" A tear trickles down her cheek in sympathy for the tiny child she once was.
"Let's see," says Misty, "You were a cutie, why are you crying?"
Jessie sadly looks at the photo seeming tired, "Her mommy is leaving her...forever."
"How da heck did dat get in here, someone had ta bring it in fer sure," Meowth says with a genius for the obvious.
"Perhaps Mew collected it," suggests Brock.
"Maybe, but I doubt it, what it says to me is that this Myiamoto was my mom, and she was here 20 years ago," says Jessie.
"Dat's great, guess we can all die happy in here knowin' yer mom kicked da bucket here too. How're we gonna get outta here!" complains Meowth.
"Let's look around, if there's an in there should be an out," Misty says hopefully.
"Oh yeah, sure," says an emotionally drained Jessie.
The foursome work their way around the chamber. Finally Brock says, "There's a solid plug of snow and ice over here," he gets out his compass, "Looks like this is the southeast corner of the chamber."
Brock is cut off by a piercing wail, a high keening sound that extends for nearly half a minute, it's Jessie. Misty and Meowth are already at Jessie's side by the time Brock arrives. Jessie is kneeling and she is in tears. "Look!" she sobs.
Encased in blue ice stands an attractive woman who appears to be in her mid-twenties. She is about 170 centimetres tall, has a generous amount of luxuriant purple hair arranged into two great pony tails on either side of her face,
her eyes are striking, large and aqua green. She wears large gold ball earrings, she wears shoulder length white gloves, and tall white boots, the boots and gloves have red trim, she wears a black one-piece outfit also accented with red and white trim, there is a huge red 'R' emblazoned across the breast. This is certainly the long lost Myiamoto Musashi.
Misty kneels down and trys to console the inconsolable Jessie.
Brock and Meowth are looking at the apparition with consternation, "How dya s'pose dat happened?" Meowth queries, "It's like she hasn't aged a day! Just a popsicle, it's weird I tell ya."
"I guess she has to be dead, but who knows? It looks as if she could walk out of there if you just got rid of the ice," Brock says knitting his brows.
"I remember her!" exclaims Jessie, "This is my mom, she did work for Team Rocket. Oh God, maybe heredity is destiny. Oh, she's beautiful, why...why...why?"
"Hey guys!" Meowth calls out,"It's baaaack!"
Indeed it is, Mew is floating nearby its head cocked quizzically, "Mew, mew, meeew" it utters softly.
"What does it say?" Jessie hisses insistently.
"It sez da lady here came here ta snatch it, It sez she was friendly and showed it Jess's picture here, but it could see her thoughts. It used teleport ta get away, but every time it uses it dere's a distoibance and snow gives way. It dug her out and she wuz very cold, so it decided da only way ta save her was ta flash freeze 'er and keep'er here until someone came along ta find her."
"But why did it keep her here? Why couldn't it somehow tell someone she was here? She's been here for 20 years for Godssake!" cries Jessie.
"Mew," the phantom replies.
"It sez time means nothin' to it, in good time someone would seek her."
"Mew, mew, mew".
"It adds dat those who sent her dis way couldn'ta cared much about her if it took dis long. It's glad it's her daughter dat came fer her."
"Mew."
"It can revive her if ya promise ta take her from here, whatta ya say?"
Jessie goes pale, "I...I, oh my yes! Of course please do!"
The ice around Myiamoto shimmers and vanishes. The young woman buckles at the knees, but somehow catches herself with her hands as she falls forward. She looks up eyes full of intelligence and fear. She tries to speak, it comes out a pinched whisper, "How? Mew is here, I still...can achieve...No!" Mew has vanished again.
She notices the other beings around her, two females, and a male, all young, and a meowth. "Who?" she whispers.
Jessie slowly advances to her, and offers her ahand, she rises looking into her daughter's eyes. "Do I know you?"
"Not really," murmurs Jessie who presses the old photo into her hand. Myiamoto looks at the photo and says "Jessica," almost inaudibly.
"It's been a long time mama," Jessie half whispers with a cracked voice.
The woman looks up slowly and studies Jessie's face, "It is you, how long has it been?"
"Twenty years mama, twenty, awful, long, years," weeps Jessie.
"It's strange I could almost sense that time was passing, it was as if I dreamed it. I remembered my mission, I remembered my duty, I remembered Mew, but I also always thought of you. I knew you were growing, that you needed money for a good school, for a dowry. It was always money when you worked for Team Rocket. Madame Boss couldn't afford to pay much salary, commission was important."
"It's still that way," Jessie says parting her parka to reveal the red 'R' on her white jacket.
"Oh my dear, you work for them too! I had hoped for better."
"Well, there never was any money mama, and I failed at everything else, and now...I'm failing for Team Rocket too," Jessie hangs her head.
"Who are these others, are they also members of Team Rocket?" Myiamoto asks.
"Meowth is a member, but Brock and Misty are, um ... adversaries helping me in a time of need."
"Pleased to meet you," Myiamoto says politely.
"How are we going to get your mom off the mountain? We don't have enough extra clothing to keep her warm," asks Brock.
"I guess we'll have to do the best we can, maybe we can wrap her in sleeping bags or something," Jessie is starting to smile as the realization sinks in.
Meowth pipes up, "Look lively guys, da Mew is back."
"Mew," it cries plaintively.
"It wants us offa da mountain sooner den later. I tink it's gonna teleport us off." "Mew, mew." "It sez ta picture our base camp in our heads and it'll get us all dere even Myiamoto if ya hold onta her Jess."
"OK," Jessie wraps her arms around her mother and looks gratefully into her eyes. The ice cave walls swim before her eyes and suddenly she's standing with the slightly older woman next to James' tent in the base camp. The others are there too. A tear runs down her cheek, and she buries her face in Myiamoto's shoulder feeling the tickle of her mother's purple tresses brushing her face.
..........................................
