Meowth had to set the point straight. He looked at the extraordinarily powerful creature in the front seat and began to stutter his reason for being there. The creature, Pikachu, did not stir; he just sought to hear the excuse.
"Me an' Jess here don't wanna do anyting wrong ta yous guys. Team Rocket's tryin' ta kill us! Dat's why we's all muddy; we was almos' drown'd in da lake. Please, please, could ya give us a ride? We gotta save James!"
Jesse saw that Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu were not convinced by Meowth's speech. She spoke up with the most pitiful tone she could muster.
"Please…. Jezebel is going to kill James. You have to help us save him…. We don't want to hurt you."
Ash crossed his arms. "This is just a plot to catch Pikachu, isn't it?"
"No!" Jesse corrected. "We don't want to catch your pokemon. We really, truly, honestly need your help." She thought to herself as she spoke. "Why does Ash always think that his pikachu is the best pokemon in the world? He acts as if everyone wants the little rat."
Ash's mother leaned back towards where Brock was sitting and whispered to him. Brock, quite stupid with his response, loudly answered her question.
"Yes, it's the infamous Team Rocket, Ms. Ketchum."
Immediately Ash's mother slammed the accelerator down on the car, almost knocking Jesse and Meowth over as it zoomed away. The two Rocket's shoulders immediately drooped as their spirits sunk to an all-time low. They watched the car drive away. The vehicle sped quickly a few hundred yards, then the car stopped dead in its tracks, making a loud skidding sound. Jesse and Meowth looked at each other and smiled, very surprised, for they did not expect Ash and his friends to ever forgive them, let alone help them. The car backed up slowly towards the beat up, muddy remnants of Team Rocket. Ash rolled down the window and smiled slyly at Jesse and Meowth.
"Yeah, we'll help you, but only if you promise never to try to catch Pikachu again."
Jesse looked slightly agitated by his request, then put on a self-pitying look and gave him a reply.
"Okay. We'll agree to the terms."
After
she had agreed to the permanent treaty, Ash's mother pressed a button
that released the trunk. The station wagon's trunk was small, but it
was in the same part of the car as the other passengers and they
could see out the back window. She and Meowth, aside from being
squished, would get plenty of air, at least. They climbed into the
back, Jesse stretching herself out in the width of the car. Meowth
sat on her knees and both prepared for their uncomfortable trip.
Brock climbed out of the car, shut the latch on the trunk, and jumped
back in, and all were on the go once again.
Misty turned around
from her seat and tried to put on her nicest look as she asked Jesse
where the two were to go.
Jesse squirmed to sit up slightly and
knocked off some mud chips as she answered.
"James's estate, by the Lake of Rage."
"Wow," the redhead replied. "We have quite a way to go. Are you going to pay for the gas?"
A slap from Brock shut the girl up. "Misty," the gym leader coaxed, "give Team Rocket a break. They sound like they are telling the truth."
"For once," Misty angrily spat.
Jesse mumbled angrily under her breath as she glared at the back of Misty's head. She beckoned for Meowth to crawl nearer to her face so she could tell him something.
"Hey, Meowth," she whispered in a sneaky tone. "We didn't agree to a treaty with Misty…. Hehehe…" The two exchanged muffled laughter as the kids sitting in front of them turned around.
"What are you two laughing about?" Ash asked. Jesse didn't like his "superior" tone of voice, and hastened a reply.
"None of -I mean, nothing important." She smiled sheepishly at the 12-year-old. It was nice that the little brat was giving her and Meowth a ride, but acting superior to her was not acceptable. She sneered as she calmed down a bit. Of course, nothing could keep the worried expression off her face. It soon surfaced and remained on her face for the remainder of the trip.
James was dragged into the main room of the house where the limousine driver prepared to release his hold on him. Jezebel turned around hastily and signaled "stop" to him. She giggled lightly as she approached him.
"Listen, mister, if ya'll bring James down ta the downstairs room, I'll pay ya lots extra."
The driver nodded and continued his firm hold on James as Jezebel turned around to lead James down to the dungeon. The stairs were dark and treacherous, but the limousine driver was steady and somehow managed to lead James down them without a fall or escape.
The dungeon doors opened with a great creak as the three entered the large room. Jezebel pulled out six hundred-dollar bills as she pulled a lever that re-shut the huge doors that they had came through. Once the doors were shut, the anxious woman nodded for the man to release James, and he did so. Instead of James running as far away from Jezebel as he could in the room, the exhausted man fell face down on the ground. He had lost a lot of blood, his arm and shoulder were broken in countless places, and he was just a total dirty bloody torn-up mess.
Jezebel looked slightly shocked for a few seconds, but the expression was soon replaced by a sly smile. She confidently handed the money to the driver, who then nodded happily and walked out the only unlocked door Jezebel had instructed him to leave through. Once he had left, Jezebel locked the door and walked back to the heap of James on the ground. New blood from James's bound-up hands was seeping all over the cement as he lay partially unconscious. She cautiously made her way towards the man on the floor and glared sternly at the back of his blood-stained head.
"James, get up!" She kicked him indignantly.
"Get up, Ah say!" She yelled again.
With no response to any of her yelling or kicking, Jezebel saw that something was wrong. She knelt down next to James and touched his hair gingerly, seeing that it was covered in caked blood. Her boot heels stepped in a slippery substance that she soon realized was also his blood, but was newly pouring out. She carelessly heaved him over onto his back and saw that his knuckles and hands were bleeding, and his shirt sleeve had been ripped up, as was also the skin underneath. His clothes were in tatters and covered with dirt, etc.
"Well, James, it appears as if ya'll need a bath. Your parents are not gonna see you in this condition. Damn it, we're a-gonna hafta wait for the weddin'."
She spoke as if he was able to understand her in his state of new unconsciousness. She peered at his arm, awkwardly bent and crooked unlike any normal person's range of movement.
"Awww, damn it again, James! Your arm is broken too! Ugh!"
With a look of pure disgust, she stormed off angrily to the bathroom to wash off her hands under the clean water. James regained consciousness as Jezebel stomped back into the center of the dungeon where he lie still on his back. She had a wet washcloth, bucket of water, and bar of soap with her. Slowly she knelt down in her miniskirt and prepared to wipe all the gross blood off. James began to try to sit up as she held the large washcloth over his head. She smiled at him coyly.
"Jesse?" he guessed. His face had a tint of hope. "Oh, never mind," he scoffed, "it's just you."
He tried to turn his face away from the dripping rag but Jezebel practically tried to suffocate him with it. James coughed and attempted to writhe away from her, but his hands were tied so it was impossible for him to get up. The suffocating torture didn't last long. Within a few seconds Jezebel stopped, sat up, and smiled, like she had had a bright idea. Suddenly she wrenched his arm up as she tried to pull him to a stand.
"OWWWW!" James screamed louder than he ever had screamed before.
Jezebel was stopped in the midst of her action by the scream. She gave him an embarrassed look.
"Oh, sorry, hehe…" she chuckled nervously. "That's yer broken arm."
"Yes, as a matter of fact, it is. You blind or something?" he squirmed uncomfortably as he brought himself to a seated position. As he glared at Jezebel, he attempted to rip his tied-up hands apart.
His attempt at escape was answered with a punch in the face, knocking him back over.
"What'd you do that for?" he questioned angrily.
"Ya'll are not gonna start smartin' off ta Jezebel now. You are gonna listen ta me an' take a bath."
"No! I will not!"
Jezebel could not take the defiance. She could not allow him to sit in the middle of the dungeon for much longer. His parents would be down soon, she was sure, and would not accept him looking the way he did at the moment. A bloody, battered gentlemen would be a horrible sight for his parents to see. She had to get him into the bathroom.
"I'll be right back, darlin'," she said as she walked away from him. James watched with terror in his eyes as she pulled a whip out of the box. Smiling evilly, the sinister woman strolled towards him with fire in her gaze and a weapon in her clutch.
"Now, James. Are ya'll gonna listen to Jezebel are do ya'll wanta beatin' like Ah promised you in the limo?"
James was defeated. He probably would not live through the beating. He sat back up as demurely as possible, so as not to make Jezebel think that he was revolting against her. As he sat there with no response from Jezebel, he thought for sure that there would be a beating. To make sure that there was no misunderstanding, James turned a bit towards the impatient woman and bowed his head in defeat.
"Okay, I'll listen," he murmured, almost at a whisper.
She replied hastily with a command. "Alright now, James, stand up!"
James attempted to stand up but his arms were of no use, for they were tied in front of him and could not push his body up to a stand. Jezebel put her whip down a safe distance from James and began to lift his other shoulder, the one not broken. Soon James was standing. Jezebel firmly clutched his elbow as she led him into the bathroom where he would be washed off.
Jesse was almost to the estate. They were just beginning to drive down James's long driveway, and it would be another 15 minutes before they reached the end. Pikachu was now sitting on Ash's lap and talking to Jesse as Meowth translated his language into human tongue. The rodent was not saying anything mean or threatening; he was offering Jesse a hand in her rescue of James.
"Why, that's really nice of you, Pikachu. This is sort of reminding me of last time we were all at the estate."
Ash turned around and added to the conversation.
"Then Growly should be here too then, right?"
Brock looked doubtful.
"Jezebel probably has him locked away so that he can't save James like he did last time."
"Ugh, Brock, why do you always have to state the obvious!" Misty groaned.
She was sick and tired of this journey to help Team Rocket, because last time they had met up, her starmie had to be brought to a pokemon center for treatment. Of course, Team Rocket had been blasted off into the swamp, but it still wasn't fair. Why was Ash suddenly being so nice? On the St. Anne, it was she that was helping Team Rocket escape the sunken ship. "I guess Ash just wants to be the hero of POOR Team Rocket," she thought to herself.
Finally, the group arrived at James's estate. They pulled up to the front door of the gigantic mansion and Ms. Ketchum pressed the button to pop the trunk. Jesse fell out on the gravel with a thud, and Meowth jumped out, careful to avoid Jesse's body.
"You alright, Jess?" he asked nervously as he stood above her.
"Yeah, Meowth, I'm just a little tired, that's all."
"Don't worry, after we rescue James, you'll get all the sleep you lost back."
Misty cut in. "No, Jesse and James are not going to be getting ANY sleep once they're back together." She giggled slyly.
Jesse stood up quickly and towered over Misty as she glared her down. To the surprise of everyone, however, Jesse didn't say anything against the comment. She just glared.
Brock looked to end the tension. "I don't think we can just ring the doorbell and walk in. We'll have to climb onto the roof."
Twitching his tail anxiously, Pikachu began to chatter. "Pi-pika-chu-pika-pika-chu. Pika-pikachu!"
"What's he saying, Meowth?" Misty asked.
The feline translated. "Pikachu says dat we should go get Growly outta his mansion so dat he can help us rescue James an' find a way inta da house."
Ash, Misty, Brock, and Jesse nodded.
"We better do that then," Brock commented. Ash jogged over to his mother's open driver's side window and told her to stay put.
"Once we rescue James, we'll need a getaway car."
Ms. Ketchum looked troubled. "Ash, is what we're doing illegal?"
"No, Mom," the preteen replied. "Jezebel kidnapped James and is holding him captive. He does not want to be with her."
"Yeah," Misty added, "he'd rather be with Jesse."
A look of pure delight came over Jesse's face and her eyes twinkled with happiness. Right when Ash and Misty looked over, though, she wiped the look off her face.
The group then ran over to get Growly out of his house.
Jezebel shoved James roughly into the bathroom and locked the door behind them. "Now, James, Ah'll help ya'll get rid of these filthy clothes!"
She took a pair of scissors and cut off his tattered shirt, but she only had to make a few snips here and there, for the shirt was practically gone already. When she got to cutting off the pants, though, James could not help but pull away.
"I will NOT let you cut off my pants!" he yelled in a whiny tone. "I will NOT let you see me without clothes on!"
James had rebelled in vain. Jezebel cornered him with the scissors and snipped away at his pants until only his boxers remained. The poor man stood there in shock and fright, avoiding the snip of the scissors and the pull of Jezebel's arms. Eventually, after ten minutes of not catching James, Jezebel went to the large bathroom cupboard in the far corner of the room. James sighed, hoping that she was finally done chasing him around. He watched intently as his fiancée pulled a horsewhip out of the cupboard and snapped it treacherously about her head.
"How many of those does she have?" he moaned in thought. Jezebel hastily power-walked her way back over, horsewhip in hand, cracking it every so often. "Oh, no…." James softly groaned. He backed as closely to the wall as he could, in silence of the pain that was to come to him in a few seconds. The horrid woman spoke to him as she continued terrifying him with her threatening cracks of the whip.
"R'memba when Ah said ya'll are gettin' a spankin'? Well, Ah neva break promises!"
James shuddered and began to literally sink to the ground in fear, whilst Jezebel snapped the whip around his ankles, causing him to jump up at the sting. The thin leather strap left gigantic red welts all over the bottom of his legs. He attempted to dodge the weapon, but the ten-foot strap was too quick for him. The stinging burning pain spread from his feet all the way to his head.
The fierce woman spoke as she continued hurting James.
"Now, James, are ya'll gonna listen ta me? Or would ya rather not be able ta sit for a few weeks?"
Jezebel now aimed the whip higher, cracking near his most vulnerable area. The fearful man flinched away from the whip and ran all the way across the room. As he ran past the bathtub, Jezebel flicked the whip around his ankle and he tripped on it and fell on his face. As he attempted to get up, Jezebel unclipped a pokeball from her skirt and threw it at the ground.
"Vileplume, GO!"
Within seconds there was a standoff. James stood beside the tub, clad only in boxers, across from the vileplume, as smelly as ever. Jezebel cleared her throat.
"James, do ya want my vileplume ta put ya asleep again? Won't ya'll evah learn? Will ya jus' listen ta me an' get inta the tub?"
"Jezebel, don't you understand? I don't want to marry you! I don't love you, I love Jesse--"
James immediately stopped speaking as his face turned red with sheer embarrassment. Since his pants and belt were gone, he could move his tied-up hands to his face to rub away the redness he could feel crawling from the skin on his face all the way down to his feet.
"You can't love Jesse anymore, James. Team Rocket's gonna KILL her!"
She burst out in fits of raucous laughter. She laughed so hard that she clutched her stomach and doubled over. Tears were coming out of her eyes.
"B-b-but… why would they want Jesse… killed? She's a better Rocket than I am. I should have… been killed before her…"
A look of disbelief was on his face, mixed with a bit of real deep-down worry.
"Oh, ya silly fool, they already tried ta kill ya!" Jezebel laughed again. Within seconds, however, she suddenly stopped laughing. James could see that she had made a mistake, said too much perhaps.
"What do you mean 'they already tried to kill me'?"
"Hehehe…." Jezebel chuckled nervously. "Well, ya know, that was years ago…."
"Why were you dressed like Jesse today?" James looked angry and was not going to fall for her lies. He suspected that her outfit from today HAD to be from the Team Rocket HQ.
"Ah know that ya love Jesse." She seemed agitated by the thought and spoke with a harsh tone. "Ah dressed up like her so that ya'll'd think that Ah was Jesse."
"And where did you get the uniform?"
"I made it."
James became brave. He decided to make a statement that would enrage Jezebel if it were true.
"How did ol' Butch's stomach taste?"
Jezebel just looked at him, glared him down. Her face turned bright red and her fist clenched around the whip. It was impossible to hide the rage inside her. She began to stutter angrily.
"What… do you mean…Butch?"
"You know what I am talking about, Jezebel."
"NO, AH DON'T!" Jezebel then raised the whip and slashed James's skin to shreds as he fell to the ground, pulling himself into a ball that protected his face and other parts he didn't want hurt. The beating continued.
Suddenly, as fast as it had started, the beating stopped. James lay panting, cut up and bloody on the ground. He could barely move his stiff stinging limbs, so he just remained on the floor, groaning from the intense pain all over his back, legs, backside, and shoulders, the easy places for Jezebel to hit. Jezebel, with whip in one hand, pointed at James with the other.
"Vileplume, put him ta sleep jus' like you've always done!"
Immediately, Vileplume released the sleep powder and stun spore in one large cloud of tranquilizer. Within seconds, James was unconscious.
