****

"So, how does it feel to be a real man?" Jesse said, staring into his beautiful, dead eyes. She was still on top of him when Cassidy came into the room. Jesse got out from under the blanket and put on her cropped tank and grabbed her boots and gloves.

"He's all yours, Cassidy-sama," she said, backing out of the room with an evil grin on her face. She walked into the main hall adjusting the top of her boots. She couldn't believe that this was all inside a cave. She looked out the cave's entrance.

"Good," she thought out loud. "It's still night...I like the night." She snapped her maroon thong against her hip as she walked over to the table. She looked at Boss's plans.

"Matte - this makes no sense...how come I was never informed of this?"

"A: you're not a part of Team Rocket…" a voice echoed from nowhere. Jesse looked up and saw a rapidly growing swirl of purple smoke coming into existence above her.

"…and B: Giovanni is an incompetent prick who thinks he knows everything but can't even control a single person with his mind. Did you get all of that, there'll be a quiz later," Taiteki said, slowly appearing on her floating cloud of purple smoke.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I'm Taiteki. Conqueror of the mighty Aphrodite and controller of her purple passion. For all the wee ones out there...I'm the really bad, bad guy," she declared as she lay on her cloud and placed her hands behind her head.

Jesse snorted and tossed her hair.

"You've got to be kidding me. *You* are the almighty powerful one? Don't make me laugh," Jesse sneered. Taiteki sat there, eyebrow twitching, her hand itching to trace itself across Jesse's face.

SLAP!

"What the hell was that for?"

"Obviously you're too caught up in yourself to notice that I am indeed far superior to you. I was twisted to rule with an iron fist. I'm the most sophisticated creation you'll ever live to see. And don't forget it!"

"What are you talking about 'I was twisted to rule'. What's that supposed to mean?" Jesse complained, rubbing her face. Taiteki sighed, jumped off her cloud and landed 'gracefully' on the floor.

"Giovanni created me," she started, picking herself up off the ground.
/Some leader. How pathetic. She can't even land on her feet/ Jesse mentally sneered.

"Giovanni had some of Misty's genes in his possession. He liked her. She's feisty, powerful...seductive. You get the picture. He mixed his own power with the blood of Misty and created me. He put a little too much energy into making me though, and I absorbed more than he thought. One day I rebelled. I took control of Cassidy and slowly made my way through the ranks. Unfortunately, my only downfall is Misty. She dies, I die. If you cut her arm open then my arm will burst open and start bleeding. When I'm concentrating on something, she gets the side effects and vice versa. So, I couldn't possess her. Brock slipped between my fingers too..."

"What's this have to with me?" Jesse asked. She wasn't sure what to think of Taiteki.

/She's quite a character, that's for sure/ she thought. Meanwhile, Jesse's question had caught Taiteki off guard and she stumbled to find the right answer.

"Ja...you looked - ah, ah...interested," she said uncertainly.

"You call yourself a leader?! Look at you! You're what 14, 15? You can't possess any kind of power that can defeat me! You think you're all high and mighty because you're a monster. You were created on a cold metal table. Not by two loving people," Jesse yelled. Taiteki listened calmly to everything that was said as she floated up to her purple cloud.

"All you do is hide behind that stupid cloud of yours. What kind of attack do you know?"

"I already told you. I'm the conqueror of Aphrodi-"

"Baka! Are you seriously stupid? Here. Take your best shot," Jesse said, holding her arms out. Taiteki remained cool, calm and collected.

"Do your worst," Jesse growled.

/Aphrodite's Dead Love/ Taiteki thought and Jesse's smirk disappeared instantly. She sunk to her knees and clawed at her heart.

"I told you not to mess with me. Now you know...and knowing is half the battle..." Taiteki grinned as she slowly vanished. When the girl was gone, Jesse returned to her normal state.

"What kind of trick was that? If that's her power...she must be the chosen leader," she murmured to herself. "Who's there?"

She scanned the room, when a movement caught her eye.

"What's that?"

She looked over by the door.

/Two glowing lights? Who are they? *What* are they?/ she thought, confusion echoing off the walls of her brain.

"Iie. This can't be," she said, slowly getting up and backing away.
"You're dead. I left you there to die...why are you here? What do you want from me?" she cried.

James stood there in his blue hue. He was wearing the same white pants and black boots as before. He had lost his jacket on the way and was left with his black shirt and gloves. Brock was next to him, casting silver shadows wherever he stepped. He was still in the same black uniform from earlier, except he had lost the mask at some point. His shirt and pants were ripped in the same places she had cut him. There was even dried blood on them, but he didn't show signs of any kind of blade wound.

"We've come for you," he said, stepping in line with James.

"Iie...you're lying. This is just a trick...ne?" she said in a scared voice. She then grabbed her head again and collapsed.

"Jesse - you are very powerful. Learn to use it. Take over Cassidy's reign and choose a king. I believe in you -" Taiteki's voice tore through Jesse's thoughts and strengthened the redhead's spirit.
When she got up, her eyes seemed to emit blue flames. She was now far more powerful than Cassidy. With Taiteki's words of encouragement fresh in her mind, she felt like she was invincible. Her scared self had run away and her new self stepped forward.

"You can't have me. I'm too fast. Too smart. Too sexy...you can't handle me."

Then she disappeared with a burst of red flames.

"What the hell was that?" Brock asked. James stood there until the small flames finally died.

"She's found her guardian. Red is Athena's color. Red for blood, for death. We better find her before she destroys something or someone," James said quietly.

He missed his Jesse. He didn't like having to be so serious. He liked goofing off and making stupid comments.

Brock and James agreed to split up and search the cave. They could cover more ground that way. Brock left and took the tunnel to the right. James turned for one last glance around the room. He slowly spun around and headed down the left tunnel. A tear fell down his cheek and implanted itself in the ground. A small blue rose immediately grew from that spot.

Taiteki appeared on the floor. She dawdled over to the hallway, pondering several things, but most importantly: Jesse.

"So, she's finally found her true power. She'll come in handy as my second in command. I'll let Cassidy find out for herself that she's been demoted," she said to no one, amused with herself for bringing Jesse's true powers out of hiding.

She glanced down the right hall at the silver specks that had lead a deadly end. She heard whimpering and went translucent.

Jesse knelt by the tiny blue rose and cried.

"What did you do to me? When you're near me I cry," she called to the flower as she palmed it. "I can't fight. All my anger gets flushed away and I become useless. What power do you hold that can do that to a person? Taiteki forgive me." Taiteki jumped when Jesse said that.

/How can she see me!/ she thought, looking down through her hands.

"Wherever you are - I hope you hear my cry," Jesse stood, still holding the flower. Taiteki sighed.

"I have chosen my King. It is the boy, Ash. I made him a man. I felt his power coursing through me."

Taiteki silently giggled, truly the naïve little girl and no the sophisticated ruler she had to be.

"I want him to rule by my side," her voice trailed off when she noticed she was still holding the rose. "I will find you. You do something to me that no words can describe." She brought the rose up to her lips as she whispered those words.

"I will destroy you. Crush you and your good-evil power," she continued to whisper, crushing the flower. It's petals floated down to the floor and blue blood trickled through her clenched fingers. "Good bye love. A real man awaits me somewhere within these halls." Jesse teleported with a burst of red flames.

Taiteki became opaque again, wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

"Mou...not a dry eye in the house," Taiteki said quietly.

She was very proud of Jesse. She knew that James was Jesse's real love. Taiteki had known it the whole time. She also knew that Ash's powers were at the same level as Jesse's. Clearly they would make a better match.

Taiteki peeked at the charred remains of the rose petals before she disappeared in a swirl of purple smoke.

****

"You're quite a koibito...Ashy-boy," Cassidy said, laying on the bed and watching him put on a pair of black pants and a matching button up shirt, which he left open. He decided against putting shoes or socks on as he rolled the long sleeves up above his elbows.

/I should probably get dressed. I hate clothes. They're so...restricting. How could Ashy boy wear something like that?/ she thought as she got out of bed and reached for her robe.

"I think I'll just stay in this," she breathed, tightening the belt of her thick floor length robe. She looked around for her new koibito.

Ash was nowhere.

"Oh well, his loss," she sighed. "If nobody needs me...I'll just take a nap." As she lay down again, Ash came out of hiding. He placed his fingertips gently on her body. He could feel her power soak into him.

"That's my girl," he whispered, gathering all her energy. His fists glowed orange and his eyes flashed with malice.

/I call on thee Hestia. I control your golden rays of death and rebirth now/ he mentally called to Cassidy's protector.

"Now, to make sure everyone is in their place," he growled, entering the main room. He could see that it was still dark outside, but it made no difference to him. He didn't need light to see. He could sense fear. And everyone feared the most powerful person of them all.
And that was he.

He stepped into the shadows when he heard something. Jesse appeared in a burst of red flames.

/So, it's her power that rivals mine. She's so dangerous. I'll have to destroy her/ he growled in his mind. Up for a little competition he stepped out of the darkness and walked up to her. He got right behind her and was about to absorb her energy when she moved.

"Nice try Ash," she sneered. "But you'll have to do better than that. I know that you are the most powerful of us all. Even more so than Giovanni. It kills you that my power is right up there with yours, though. That I can, at any moment, take control and override your strength. Do you know why I'm capable of doing that?" she said, walking rings around him. He stood there and said nothing.

"Because I was, at some point before this, truly evil. You have never had an evil thought in your mind. Until *I* corrupted *you*," she said with a slight smile. "And might I add...I did a damn fine job of it." Ash smiled at that. If he had to agree to anything - it would be exactly that.

She was an excellent koibito. Much better than Cassidy ever was or ever will be.

"So what do you say?" she purred in his ear, placing her hands on his back. "Shall we go for another round." As she nibbled on his ear she focused on his power and did a quick drain on him.

She jumped out of his reach as he gritted his teeth and fell to his knees.

"Oh how nice of you," she sneered. "Kneeling for your Queen. I wouldn't expect anything else from you."

"Why are you waiting? Take my power, drain me now. Get it over and done with," he grunted.

"Tsk, tsk...Now why would I drain my own King's power? Your guardian is Helios, the sun god. You, my dear, control fire. Fire and war are lovers from long ago."

She stopped in front of him.

"Stand."

He stood. They put their hands together and both focused on their combined energy.

"Oh…my..." she moaned as they started to glow a mixture of orange and red.

Ash started to shake. He could feel her power coursing through his veins. She was perfect to rule by his side. If he took all her energy and left her powerless, he would explode. She was far more powerful then he ever was. Then he ever would be. Even with their combined power, he was no match for her.

He opened his eyes and looked at her beautiful, young face. And saw the red flames dance through the evil blue pools of her eyes.

****

tbc...