-Part VIII-
"James-sempai…" Mondo muttered under his breath as he ran down the dirt path to the cabin. He had left HQ as soon as he could from running a few errands but he worried that he would be too late since his jeep had been in the repair shop. If only James didn't kill himself before he got there. Morbid thoughts raced thorough Mondo's mind as he raced closer: blood splattered on the walls and a gun in hand…an empty bottle of pills…a body found dangling in the bathroom…
No…stop it! He thought to himself, trying to push the gruesome images out of his mind. But he couldn't help it; no one could. "Just hold on, James! I just hope I am in time!"
He opened the door and rested his hands on his knees to catch his breath.
"James-sempai?" he called out. No answer. He walked to the bedroom door.
This time he heard faint sounds emerging from the bedroom. Mondo put his ear to the wooden door and realized it was James crying softly to himself.
"…Jessie…all my fault…my fault…Jessie…my fault," James babbled incoherently in a choking subdued voice. Mondo pulled away from the door.
His fault?! Did James…hurt Jessie?!
Mondo clenched his fist up so tight that he felt the locket dig into his palm and he pounded his fist on the door, alerting James that someone was in the cabin. James sat up in his bed, clutching the photograph of him and Jessie together. He tucked it under a pillow and lifted himself from the bed and walked towards the sound. Mondo backed away from the door.
The door handle turned and James' pitiful and tired face appeared in the doorway.
"Leave me alone," he said, starting to close the door. Mondo jammed his foot in the doorway.
"No. What happened to Jessie?" Mondo demanded, fire in his eyes. James was growing frightened and slightly paranoid. He knew that Mondo had a crush on Jessie. What would Mondo think of him if he told him what he had done?
"I don't want to talk about it," James averted his gaze and attempted to close the door again but Mondo shoved half of himself into the bedroom.
"What happened?" Mondo demanded again, this time getting inside the bedroom. The door slammed shut and James fell to the floor with Mondo's force disappearing from the other side of the door.
"James…I know there's something amiss," Mondo started. James was taken aback and his heart pounded heavily in his chest. He knew…he must have heard! , his crazed mind thought.
James' paranoia went sky-high and something within him snapped. Mondo was surprised to find James suddenly up against his leg and latching onto it like a frightened child, sobbing again.
"Its all my fault! I killed her!" James confessed between sobs, looking up at the younger Rocket in great grief.
Killed her?! James?! How could this be possible?! Mondo couldn't speak nor think. He was transfixed to the spot, staring at the sobbing man whose words echoed through his mind.
"I insulted her and she ran away…went an…an…" James couldn't continue and buried his face in Mondo's white pants. James sobs racked his body so hard that Mondo was sure that hearts did break.
*********
Jessie's ears perked up. She was sure she heard a familiar sound. But who was this?
I know! I know that voice! I must find out! she cried out in her now native tongue.
"What is it, Flareon?" Ash asked. Jessie went crazy. She jumped around, darting about as if chasing a butterfree.
"Flare! Flare!" she cried again. 'Oh please stay! I must find out my past!' Jessie hoped as she ran towards the thick woods.
"No! Flareon, return!" Ash recalled Jessie just before she reached the underbrush. "Aw…that was close."
Inside the pokèball, Jessie mentally growled angry obscene words to Ash. Damn brat….if only she knew who was crying! She knew she knew that voice without a doubt. But who was it?
As if on cue, the image of the angry man flooded her mind. A man with wispy lavender hair and deep emerald green eyes.
"…the locket really special to me. James said it matched my eyes: sapphire blue. As best friends in the whole world; we had made a pact that we would never be separated and we never had."
"James…" Jessie found a name. This time, many more memories flooded her mind, almost too much for her to handle. Her mother, Pokèmon Tech, the Bike Gang, the Nursing School, her old boyfriend Andy, her rival Cassidy, and even Xavier…
Many more spaces of Jessie's uncompleted puzzle of memories were filled.
No wonder she couldn't remember! Many of the memories she had were ones with James or her mother. They were the ones the mechanism had targeted and modified. For if she had forgotten about either one…she would have forgotten everything truly important to her.
But who was James? Was he simply a partner in crime? Already she knew the answer was no. Were they heated lovers or the best friends? Or perhaps both? In any case, his name made her heart pound fast. He was the missing link. But there were many more parts to be filled. And to fill the gaps meant finding James, which meant getting away from the twerps.
*******
James had not calmed down at all during the time Mondo tried to handcuff him to the bedpost so he couldn't run away. It only made him even more panicky when he succeeded in slapping on one end to his wrist. But at least Mondo now knew why James was so upset.
"You have to listen to me!" he cried as James lashed out at him. But James paid no heed, he was positive Mondo would report him to the Boss and murder within Team Rocket was not tolerated unless authorized by Giovanni himself. Mondo finally gave up trying to cuff the other end of the handcuffs to the bedpost so he ran and shut and locked the bedroom door. James was thrown into a full-blown frenzy; cursing, crying, clawing and banging at the door . It was a miracle the wooden thing didn't just fall over. Mondo saw no other way to get James to listen and he punched him right in the jaw.
The momentum carried James across the room, parallel to the door and he slammed against the dresser. He fell to the floor silent. His body ached all over and he looked at Mondo with questioning eyes. For as long as he had known him, Mondo had never even talked back to him. Mondo wiped the sweat off his brow, walked over and lowered himself to James' level.
"I am not reporting you. I just want to talk," he explained, softly. "I am sorry about striking you."
As if his words were a reminder, the pain from the blow struck James like a hammer. Not able to respond, he slowly nodded his head but looked away, rubbing his jaw and neck.
"Do you remember Jessie's promise to you years ago?" Mondo asked. James slowly lifted his head, the tears still flowing from his eyes.
"What promise? What do you know about it?" James whispered vemihmley.
"You two made a pact that you'd never separate. Do you think that she would kill herself with such a vow she made?"
"I insulted her and her mother! What do you think? She hated me! She hated life! Just the other day we were chased by Ursarings and she blamed everything unhappy about her life on me and Meowth!" James got excited again and resumed crying bitterly.
Where IS Meowth, anyways? Mondo wondered. James didn't reply. Mondo shook him. "James! You have to snap out of it! You'll drown in your own sorrow and for the love of God, stop speaking about Jessie in past tense!"
"What does it matter?! I killed her! How can I live knowing that?" James wailed.
"You didn't kill her, James! She wouldn't dare!" Mondo said though gritted teeth, intensifying the grip he held on James' shoulders.
"And why would she even stay on this damned Earth after what she's been through? After what I've said?!"
"Because she loves you!" Mondo shouted in James' face, his patience finally wearing thin. James stopped everything he was doing, including crying although he still choked in-between breaths.
"Love...me?" he echoed.
"Yes, I've known it for a long time. She was so upset after the whole incident with the gym and all and even before that. I felt the strongest bond between you then; even if she doesn't like to show it much." Mondo fished out the locket from his pocket and placed it in James' free hand. James looked at him with amazement.
Jessie had kept his gift all these years?
"She kept the…" James whispered nearly to himself. He opened it up by flipping the tiny, nearly invisible catch. It opened and James gazed at the two photographs in them. He had never seen what pictures Jessie had put in it, nor did he ever expect Jessie to keep it for so long when it had such a high value and they were in desperate need of money, even many years ago when they were pre-teens without a care in the world and without a cent in their pockets.
But now he saw that Jessie had had his faded picture close to her heart for a long time; accompanied by her faded self on the other side; they were like pictures on two separate sheets of transparent paper overlapping the other but never truly touching..but were. It was hard to explain what was going through his head. James expression softened and the tension flowed away from his body.
"I never knew…." He mumbled, lightly fingering the locket. Had this been truly special to her? Not for its money's worth? She had been as serious as he had about their vow?
"She would as soon desert that locket as to desert you. That is a strong promise, nearly as strong as the bond."
"But…how did you get it if she wouldn't part from it?" James tensed up again as he averted his gaze and clenched his fist around the locket.
At that moment, the front door was heard opening and a Houndour burst into the room with Meowth on his back.
Meowth thanked the Houndour who nodded his head in reply and bounded off into the woods again, nervous to be around humans for long.
"Meowth!" Mondo said. "Your leg…"
"Neva mind 'bout dat! We's gots ta move now! Dos twos, Terri and Clark will be here any minute once dey find me gone!"
"Who?" James asked.
"As I said! Neva mind dat now! We's gots ta move out!"
"Those two?" Mondo asked, recognizing the names at once. "If they are coming, we'd better prepare for trouble." Sure enough, Mondo looked out the window and saw two black dots in the distance.
"Oh, fish an' whiskers!" Meowth swore as Mondo told him. "Meow! Mondo, get some food an' stuff and we'll split da joint so I can tell ya 'bout Jess later!"
Mondo nodded but then he shook his head violently.
"There's no time! We got to get out now! Let's go! Meowth, get Jessie's pokèballs from the night table."
"You think I can with dis broken leg?!"
James hastily shoved the locket inside his own pocket and got a paperclip that he found under the bed and started picking at the handcuff lock as Mondo unlocked the bedroom door. What did Meowth want to tell about Jessie? The paperclip snapped inside the keyhole.
"Agh!" he cried. He began to ask Mondo for the key.
"I think I lost it when you lashed out at me. No time! I'll help you later."
They ran out the bedroom door and towards the backdoor.
"HEY! You forgot Meowth again!" Meowth yowled, with Jessie's pokèballs in paw before Mondo remembered him and scooped him up. Together, they fled the cabin through the back way as soon as Terri and Clark were coming up the path.
They ran fast into the deep forest, stumbling over thick vegetation and did not stop before they reached the Vermillion Pokèmon Center a couple of miles away. Since James was in civilian clothing already and Mondo had removed his outer jacket, gloves and replaced his shoes before they went in, they drew no notice from anyone. Meowth(who made sure not to talk) was taken in for mending his leg and the rest of the pokèmon were being healed while James and Mondo sat in the lobby.
James removed his left hand from his pocket and looked stupidly at the handcuffs still dangling there. There was no way he could get it off now that there was a paperclip stuck in it and Officer Jenny would probably be suspicious about him if she spotted him.
"So…" he began. "Who are Terri and Clark?"
"Them? Oh, they are the worst Grunts you could possibly run into. They'd grab any opportunity to be promoted and together, they've got worse attitudes than a wet Meowth stuck in the artic. They've yelled at me before and I don't ever want to be near them again; I'd as soon be painted red and run through a group of electabuzz."
James didn't seem to hear Mondo's response since he was fingering the sapphire locket again. "Why did she leave me?"
"She didn't. I know she wouldn't," Mondo placed a hand on his shoulder. "Meowth seemed to have some information on Jessie…I wonder what Terri and Clark have to do with it."
But Mondo did have an idea, and so did James. They looked at each other. Was the duo hired to kill Jessie?
Nurse Joy interrupted their thoughts. She had a stern look on her face as they sat up straight in their seats.
"Is Meowth ok?" James asked, hiding his handcuffed hand behind his back. Nurse Joy's face softened a bit as Meowth hobbled out of the treatment room with a bandaged leg and supporting himself with a set of crutches.
"He'll be fine but I am surprised that a trainer would be irresponsible. It looked like the poor thing was through more than just a battle."
James just saying "yes ma'am" so Nurse Joy wouldn't prattle on about responsibility and so they left the Pokèmon center and went straight to the lighthouse James and Meowth had stayed in once before going aboard the St. Anne. There, Meowth began to tell what he had heard.
"…and then he said dat Jess was up for experimentn'!" Meowth concluded. "Dey faked her death an' kidnapped her. I told ya it wasn't yer fault, Jimmy-boy."
James had been sitting silently on the bed, drinking a glass of water as Meowth talked. Meowth sweatdropped as he heard a breaking sound and saw water and glass fragments fall to the floor during the moment of silence that followed.
It wasn't his fault after all? And he had wasted all this time… "Giovanni! I swear I am going to wring his neck and kill him! I know he's behind all this! He's ALWAYS behind this! Giovanni?! You hear me, Giovanni?! I am going to kill you, you rotten, greedy bastard!"
"Easy! Easy!" Mondo pushed him back down as James had suddenly leapt up and raved. "We've got to find Jessie first!"
"Which means," Meowth began. "Finding Rocket Labs. Mondo, you've been dere before, meow?"
"Yes I have. I was just there running an errand before I came to the cabin."
"If they've hurt Jessie…If they've hurt her…" James muttered, lying down on the bed, glaring at the ceiling, clenching his fists in bitter hatred.
"Revenge comes later, Jimmy," Meowth said, to James before turning back to Mondo. "What kind of errand?"
"Delivering coffee and science equipment. I heard something about a project, but they always talk about the latest projects and I never listened in. I wish I had this time."
"Not your fault, Mondo, though it could have been to some advantage. We needa head over dere."
"They'd be looking for you and James, I'd bet; after you ran away from Terri and Clark. After all, the first person you'd run to is James."
"But dey'd be lookin' for you too since you'd be the second person I'd run to."
"But they don't know where I was. I was supposed to be in Sapphire City today," Mondo grinned. "All I have to do is get called for another errand in Viridian and sneak in."
"What should we do?" Meowth asked. "Since we can't go near the Labs, nor be seen with you?"
"I'd say, go to the least obvious place you'd head to and stay there for a while," Mondo replied. "I'll-"
But Mondo stopped in mid-sentence and stared at the bed. Meowth turned around and saw James was gone. Jessie's pokèballs were missing from the nightstand as well.
"Oh God…" both muttered.
James looked behind him, already a distance away from the lighthouse. He couldn't keep in hiding, when he knew that Jessie was in danger. After all, he was HER James like Mondo was THEIR Mondo. He started running towards Viridian where the Rocket Labs were located . His breaths came in hard, steady heaves and his thoughts were racing. He already lost a friend once in the past, he wasn't going to let it happen again. And this time, it was more than a friendship he was capable of losing. He could lose his love.