Chapter 10 – Happily Ever Art-fer
Jessie, James, and Meowth reached Team Rocket Headquarters a little before noon. They all were badly bruised but aside from that, happy to be home. Meowth glowed with radiance, his whole outward appearance seeming to glow. He had never felt so happy in his whole life.
When they approached the door leading to the Boss' office, Jessie took James' hand and gave it a quick squeeze before entering. Meowth noticed this, but did not say a word. He did not mind if they were a couple, for now he knew he would never be left in the dust.
"Greetings, sir!" Jessie saluted. But they were all stopped short. Giovanni was not in his office, nor was Persian. The trio looked questioningly about the room, then to each other.
"What do we do now?" James asked. "I mean, should we leave a note saying Stacey won't be back? Saying that we're sorry about Pikachu?"
Jessie touched his lips slightly to silence him. "We'll worry about that later. Right now, why don't the three of us go get something to eat?"
Meowth smiled. "Tree of us! Yeah!" James also agreed.
"Are you sure you're going back?" Tracey asked, dismayed. "I really wish you'd come with us."
"I don't," Ash muttered. Misty kicked him.
Stacey shook her head. Her hand held tightly on to Tracey's and she smiled. "I'm sorry. Team Rocket is my home."
"But…" Tracey trailed off, remembering Ash and Misty were present.
Misty noticed this. "Come on, Ash! You're hungry."
"No, I'm not!" Ash protested as Misty drug him away. "Where are we going? Stop!"
Tracey made a note of thanking Misty later. He then edged a little closer to Stacey. "But I really like you and I don't want to lose you again."
Stacey was pink and she touched Tracey's cheek. "I like you too, Tracey. Believe me when I say that, but our worlds are different. You're good, I'm bad." Tracey shook his head. "I don't seem bad to you. I know." She pulled away and smiled. "But if I don't go back, they'll come looking for me and will kill me…"
The artist's eyes widened in fear for his new friend. He remembered what Meowth had said – You give your whole life to Team Rocket. He sighed and also pulled away a little farther. "Then… This is goodbye."
Stacey laughed. "As cliché as it my sound, my Tracey, it is not goodbye. We will see each other again!" Then she turned on her heels and ran away so fast that Tracey had any time to blink. She never turned around, never to wave, or blow a kiss.
Later that day, Ash and Misty were packing up to move on. Tracey sat on the beach watching the sun go down. He was lonely.
"Hey, Trace! Let's go!"
But he was not! He turned around to see Misty and Ash smiling at him. He smiled back. That's right… He had Ash and Misty, his two very best friends. They would always be with him.
"I'm ready," Tracey sighed, picking himself up off the ground. As he was walking away from the shore, he heard a squeal. It was a Lapras…
Stacey's Lapras.
He saw it floating toward him and ran to it. "Hello," he said, petting its nose. What do you want?" It smiled and squealed happily. Tracey noticed that in its mouth was a piece of paper. He took it and immediately the Lapras began swimming away. "Hey, wait!" he called, but it did not turn around. It dove down under the water and was gone. Tracey thought this was odd. Then he looked to the wet paper in his hands. It was a note!
Dearest Tracey…
I would like to thank you for everything. You are a darling! You made me realize how worthless my life was without a boyfriend. I really don't know what else to say. But I wanted to tell you that I loved you.
Stacey…
The boy's eyes wobbled heavily as he read the note. He smiled widely and knew it was not over yet.
This would not be the last time he heard from Stacey.
| To Be Continued
More Incisive Rambling: Thanks for reading this dumb little story. I made it end this way on purpose. No you can decide what happens to Ash and Misty, Team Rocket, and our hero and heroine. ^_^ Stupid, yes, but Gakishippy, Rocketshippy, and Sketchyshippy ('shipping for Stacey and Tracey, no da)! YAY! I'm probably not gonna write a sequel to this story, but someone else can. TeeHee!