~by Silver Vaporeon~
disclamer: I don't own Pokèmon, but this is my story. Enjoy.
-Part I- Dispute
It was just after the first rains of spring when it happened. Another lousy day, another argument between Jessie and James in their hideout cabin in the woods. The pidgies in the tree next to the cabin took to the air in fear as Jessie screamed obscene words at James.
"It was your fault!" Jessie screamed. "If you hadn't forgotten the equipment, we'd had captured Pikachu!"
"Wasn't it you who decided to try to steal that kid's pidgeot when we already had Pikachu?!" James shot back.
Meowth lay on the scratchy beat-up couch, not wanting to get caught in the argument. He soon dozed off as the argument heated up. Suddenly, Meowth found himself embedded in the wall and fell to the floor in a heap. Apparently, James had really upset Jessie and she had grabbed Meowth to throw at him.
"FINE, JAMES! JUST FINE!" Jessie spat in his face and thundered out the door, slamming it behind her. She had slammed it so hard that a picture frame hanging on the wall wobbled a bit before falling. The glass shattered into a million fragments as it hit the ground. James, somewhat calmly mopped his face with his shirt. The nerve of that Jessie! Blaming him for what had happened. And then taking his angry statements so seriously!
"So much for this picture frame…" James threw the broken frame, along with the picture of Jessie in it, into the trashcan. Meowth lay twitching in pain.
******
Jessie leaned forward on the steal railing and tossed a rock far into the rapid river below, following its course till it disappeared under the water.
She angrily wiped away a tear, as if it had betrayed her. She was angry at James still, but more at herself for letting her emotions go.
"You've done it again, Jessie…" she muttered to herself, leaning on the railing.
Out of nowhere, a white-gloved hand clasped around her mouth and another wrapped around her waist, pinning her to whoever was grabbing her. The person started to lift her off the ground and feel her body. Jessie gave a surprised muffled scream and gathered momentum, then heaved herself in the air and flipped over the person who held her captive.
He, as far as Jessie knew, it was a he, let go as his head hit the ground. Jessie ran as fast as she could towards the cabin on the dirt road. But the person had gotten up again and used a retractable whip of some sort and the long black leather strap wrapped around her from just below the shoulders to her wrists, pinning her arms to her sides. The person, in all black attire, pulled Jessie towards him. Jessie stumbled forward and tried to break away. Another leather strip wrapped around her from another direction. A second man in black attire was holding the end opposite of the side the first man was. They held her tightly and she could only struggle.
"Let me go! JAMES! MEOWTH! HELP!" Jessie shouted, struggling to free herself.
Another whip whipped Jessie across the legs. Pain surged through her legs and
she knew they were bleeding. Not able to withstand the attack, she sank to the
ground, still tangled in the two leather strips. Breathing hard, she saw that
a man, the one who had whipped her, had emerged from the woods. He knelt down
to her and she looked at him, not able to tell who he was since his eyes were
hidden behind shades.
"Hello, Jessie. Nice to see you again," the man smirked.
"Who are-" Jessie started.
"You'll find out sooner or later, Jess. But now its nap time," the man took out a syringe. Jessie yelped and kicked it out of his hands. The man backhanded her hard and she fell helplessly to the ground. He picked up the glimmering needle and injected her with a tranquilizer. Everything grew fuzzy and started to spin. The man's quiet laughter echoed in her mind as she lost consciousness within seconds.
*****
"Jessie shoulda have been back by now," Meowth thought out loud. It had been three days and the rain had finally stopped pouring.
"Who cares? She can handle everything herself. Just peachy," James muttered, still angry with her.
"You 'tink she needs us?" Meowth asked.
"I don't wanna," James buried his face into the pillow. All he wanted to do in this weather was to sleep.
"Well, Meowth is gonna look for Jessie by myself," Meowth said.
"Fine…" James flopped around on the bed, wishing that they at least had a heater. Jessie was probably blowing off their hard-earned paychecks at a five-star hotel and eating her caviar or something…
"JAMES!" Meowth ran into the room as if his feet were on fire. "Jessie! She's-she-"
Meowth didn't want to say what he believed had happened to Jessie. He pulled
out Jessie's tattered (once white) jacket and held it up for James. "I found
dis down da river," He muttered. James took the soiled, shredded thing and stared
at it, disbelieving.
Jessie was strong, she wouldn't. She wouldn't…would she? After what he had
said-?
James got up and ran outside in his boxers and tank top. Splashing through puddles
and damp grass, he ran right to the river and looked over the steel railing.
He screamed her name over and over, with only his echoes responding beyond the
trees. He then knew the horrible truth he didn't want to face.
He slumped against the steel railing and buried his face in his arms, feeling
sorrowful, guilty and shameful. Jessie was gone.