Chapter Ten: Revenge
"How did yous know?" Meowth repeated. Ash's gaze met his own and shrugged.
"It was on the news?" he offered, "I don't know where I heard it Meowth. I was too worried about Pikachu to recall who told me"
"Only Team Rocket members know what happened to Jesse" Meowth said his eyes not breaking contact with Ash's as he spoke. "Maybe James told me" Ash didn't seem to like being questioned by the cat and it was making him uneasy. "Jimmy hasn't been near yous since dat day Pikachu got hurt"
"Look I don't have to stay here and take this from you" Ash snapped.
"It was yous," Meowth said suddenly. "Yous pushed Jesse"
"I did not" Ash defended himself but there was a wavering in his voice and Meowth picked up on it.
"Yous pushed her!" Meowth shouted.
Ash's eyes filled with tears and looked away from Meowth. "Well she deserved it. You and you're damn Team Rocket. You go around stealing not caring whom you hurt in the process! She had it coming, you all do!"
Meowth was shocked by what he was hearing. The twerp was starting to frighten him. Meowth wanted to run away and back to his friends but he felt compelled to stay and hear Ash out. "Is dis because of Pikachu?" Meowth asked quietly.
Ash sniffed and nodded. "He could die"
"So what yous decided ta pay us back," Meowth said.
"No" Ash said sharply "That wasn't it at all"
"Den what was it twerp?"
"When that bomb went off Pikachu took the full impact of the blast. Jesse dropped him and he fell to the ground. I usually catch him but that day I was a few seconds out. He hit the ground so hard and so fast that I was sure he was dead. Brock rushed him to a Pokemon centre. Nurse Joy said it was bad…it still is. There is a chance he may not make it"
Meowth nodded feeling a wave of sympathy for Ash then. James had missed grabbing onto Jesse's hand because he was out by a few seconds. Ash must feel like James did, guilty. Ash looked at Meowth and then continued. "When Nurse Joy told me this I was so frightened. I couldn't loose Pikachu. He was my first Pokemon and the only one who always stands by me. The pain of the possibility of loosing him was almost too much to bear. I sat around in the waiting room for an hour with Misty and Brock but it was no good. I had to get some air. But I also needed to vent my anger. I decided to go back to your cabin and confront you all. When I got there you weren't back yet I found the door unlocked and went inside. I saw one of you had drawn all over pictures of me and Gary. That's what we all are to you isn't it? Pokemon trainers are a joke to thieves. So I trashed the place. Smashed up everything I could find. That made me feel a little better. I walked out and into the woods to think. I somehow ended up near the bridge a few hours later. I didn't notice Jesse until I was almost next to her. She was standing there looking down into the waterfall probably thinking about evil ways to hurt the rest of my Pokemon. Something inside me just snapped. You three get electrocuted, burnt, blown up and yet you still come back for more. Pikachu gets hurt once and he may die. That just isn't fair! Why should you get to live? You only bring pain and misery to everyone who meets you. I guess I wanted to hurt you and make you feel what I was feeling. So I shoved her in the back, not a hard shove but hard enough. She fell and I realised what I had done. Fear over took the anger. This wasn't right. How could killing Jesse make Pikachu better? I felt sick I was a murderer. Panic gripped me and I ran and ran until the waterfall and bridge were out of site. You have no idea how scared I was and still am. I killed a living person and worse someone I knew. Ok I didn't like Jesse that much but that didn't make it right. I knew I should have reported you to Officer Jenny but I was so angry. But anger comes in short bursts and I was left feeling worse than before. I walked back to the Pokemon centre. Pikachu was still in intensive care when I got back. For days I've been feeling so guilty. I wanted to confess but I was scared. If this came out then I would be ruined. My dreams would come to an end. I want to be a Pokemon master but if anyone knew what happened then they would take my Pokemon license away at the least."
Meowth glared angrily at the twerp for a few seconds before answering. "Is dat all yous care about? You're precious Pokemon license? Tink what we have been through! Me and Jimmy have been through hell because of yous!"
"What about what you did to me?" Ash demanded, "You nearly killed my Pikachu"
"And yous nearly killed my friend! And it dat weren't bad enough yous nearly destroyed da friendship Jesse and James have had since dey were kids. Yous tink yous had it bad? Well kiddo deys were on dare own from 8 years old! Dat is two years younger dan yous. Yous tink they want ta be bad? Well deys don't! Dey just had ta make do with what dey were given and da only tink dey had ta keep dem going was each other! And yous nearly destroyed dat. I am sorry about your electric rat but dat was an evil ting yous did da dem! Evil and selfish"
Ash flinched at the cat's wrath and it took him a moment to realise what Meowth was saying. "Jesse's alive?" he asked.
Meowth nodded he'd forgotten that Ash didn't know that Jesse was ok. "Two agents pulled her from da river. Yous know Jimmy dived in after her. I could have lost dem both"
Ash lowered his gaze to the ground and a single tear rolled down his cheek. "I never meant to hurt them like that. I'm sorry"
"Its not me yous hafta apologise too twerp"
Ash's eyes widened "I am not saying sorry to them!"
"What?" Meowth was shocked in the change in Ash. "Yous just said?"
"Yeah but they're evil. They'll ruin me and everything I've worked so hard for! I am not going to tell them anything and nor are you Meowth"
Meowth shot him a dirty look "Yous wanna bet?"
"I won't let you" was the angered reply. Meowth was getting more afraid by the minute. Ash wouldn't hurt him would he? Meowth jumped down off of the railing and started to run back the way he had come. "Meowth come back here!" Ash shouted giving chase. He couldn't let Meowth tell anyone about what he had done. The little cat was fast but Ash was getting desperate and this made his faster. Ash didn't exactly know what he was going to do when he caught up with Meowth but all he could think of was stopping Meowth from telling Jesse and James. The thought of loosing everything brought tears to Ash's eyes. What would his mom say? She had been so proud of him and then there were his friends. Ash had never had real friends before. He couldn't let Meowth ruin everything for him. Ash looked ahead to see how far behind he was. Meowth was running on all fours making him quicker.
"Meowth stop!" Ash shouted. "You have to listen to me. This will just make everything worse"
Meowth glanced over his shoulder and yelled back "Jess and Jimmy are my friends and yous aren't stopping me!"
Ash was loosing ground on the cat he had to catch up no matter what.
"Meowth?" Jesse called for about the 100th time. "James its no good" she said to her friend. "We've looked every where"
"He could still be here Jess" James replied. "These woods stretch on for miles. He could be anywhere"
"We should have asked Mondo to help us," James added. "Maybe we should split up. You can go west and I'll go east or something"
"No" Jesse said a little too quickly and James gave her a surprised look. Jesse kicked at a few twigs on the floor and added humbly "What if we get separated too? It would be better to stick together"
Jesse didn't want to split up from James. Now that she knew he was innocent she wanted to stay as close to him as possible. Maybe he'll try to kiss me again she thought to herself. But why don't I try and kiss him? Jesse glanced at James and felt her face going red. She couldn't she'd be too embarrassed. If he wants me then he's going to have to make the first move she told herself but Jesse wasn't totally convinced.
"James?" she asked after they had been walking for a few minutes. "Do you blame me for thinking that it was you who pushed me?"
"It did hurt" James replied carefully "But I have to admit it did seem as through I was to blame. Anyway what I did was much worse"
"No" Jesse stopped and faced him trying to look as angry as she could. "You couldn't have saved me even if you had been quicker James. You know I'd never blame you for that"
"But you could have died"
Jesse sighed and let her anger die with that reply. "James please don't bring this up again ok?"
James nodded even through Jesse knew it was her who started the conversation. They continued walking through the woods calling for Meowth.
"How did yous know?" Meowth repeated. Ash's gaze met his own and shrugged.
"It was on the news?" he offered, "I don't know where I heard it Meowth. I was too worried about Pikachu to recall who told me"
"Only Team Rocket members know what happened to Jesse" Meowth said his eyes not breaking contact with Ash's as he spoke. "Maybe James told me" Ash didn't seem to like being questioned by the cat and it was making him uneasy. "Jimmy hasn't been near yous since dat day Pikachu got hurt"
"Look I don't have to stay here and take this from you" Ash snapped.
"It was yous," Meowth said suddenly. "Yous pushed Jesse"
"I did not" Ash defended himself but there was a wavering in his voice and Meowth picked up on it.
"Yous pushed her!" Meowth shouted.
Ash's eyes filled with tears and looked away from Meowth. "Well she deserved it. You and you're damn Team Rocket. You go around stealing not caring whom you hurt in the process! She had it coming, you all do!"
Meowth was shocked by what he was hearing. The twerp was starting to frighten him. Meowth wanted to run away and back to his friends but he felt compelled to stay and hear Ash out. "Is dis because of Pikachu?" Meowth asked quietly.
Ash sniffed and nodded. "He could die"
"So what yous decided ta pay us back," Meowth said.
"No" Ash said sharply "That wasn't it at all"
"Den what was it twerp?"
"When that bomb went off Pikachu took the full impact of the blast. Jesse dropped him and he fell to the ground. I usually catch him but that day I was a few seconds out. He hit the ground so hard and so fast that I was sure he was dead. Brock rushed him to a Pokemon centre. Nurse Joy said it was bad…it still is. There is a chance he may not make it"
Meowth nodded feeling a wave of sympathy for Ash then. James had missed grabbing onto Jesse's hand because he was out by a few seconds. Ash must feel like James did, guilty. Ash looked at Meowth and then continued. "When Nurse Joy told me this I was so frightened. I couldn't loose Pikachu. He was my first Pokemon and the only one who always stands by me. The pain of the possibility of loosing him was almost too much to bear. I sat around in the waiting room for an hour with Misty and Brock but it was no good. I had to get some air. But I also needed to vent my anger. I decided to go back to your cabin and confront you all. When I got there you weren't back yet I found the door unlocked and went inside. I saw one of you had drawn all over pictures of me and Gary. That's what we all are to you isn't it? Pokemon trainers are a joke to thieves. So I trashed the place. Smashed up everything I could find. That made me feel a little better. I walked out and into the woods to think. I somehow ended up near the bridge a few hours later. I didn't notice Jesse until I was almost next to her. She was standing there looking down into the waterfall probably thinking about evil ways to hurt the rest of my Pokemon. Something inside me just snapped. You three get electrocuted, burnt, blown up and yet you still come back for more. Pikachu gets hurt once and he may die. That just isn't fair! Why should you get to live? You only bring pain and misery to everyone who meets you. I guess I wanted to hurt you and make you feel what I was feeling. So I shoved her in the back, not a hard shove but hard enough. She fell and I realised what I had done. Fear over took the anger. This wasn't right. How could killing Jesse make Pikachu better? I felt sick I was a murderer. Panic gripped me and I ran and ran until the waterfall and bridge were out of site. You have no idea how scared I was and still am. I killed a living person and worse someone I knew. Ok I didn't like Jesse that much but that didn't make it right. I knew I should have reported you to Officer Jenny but I was so angry. But anger comes in short bursts and I was left feeling worse than before. I walked back to the Pokemon centre. Pikachu was still in intensive care when I got back. For days I've been feeling so guilty. I wanted to confess but I was scared. If this came out then I would be ruined. My dreams would come to an end. I want to be a Pokemon master but if anyone knew what happened then they would take my Pokemon license away at the least."
Meowth glared angrily at the twerp for a few seconds before answering. "Is dat all yous care about? You're precious Pokemon license? Tink what we have been through! Me and Jimmy have been through hell because of yous!"
"What about what you did to me?" Ash demanded, "You nearly killed my Pikachu"
"And yous nearly killed my friend! And it dat weren't bad enough yous nearly destroyed da friendship Jesse and James have had since dey were kids. Yous tink yous had it bad? Well kiddo deys were on dare own from 8 years old! Dat is two years younger dan yous. Yous tink they want ta be bad? Well deys don't! Dey just had ta make do with what dey were given and da only tink dey had ta keep dem going was each other! And yous nearly destroyed dat. I am sorry about your electric rat but dat was an evil ting yous did da dem! Evil and selfish"
Ash flinched at the cat's wrath and it took him a moment to realise what Meowth was saying. "Jesse's alive?" he asked.
Meowth nodded he'd forgotten that Ash didn't know that Jesse was ok. "Two agents pulled her from da river. Yous know Jimmy dived in after her. I could have lost dem both"
Ash lowered his gaze to the ground and a single tear rolled down his cheek. "I never meant to hurt them like that. I'm sorry"
"Its not me yous hafta apologise too twerp"
Ash's eyes widened "I am not saying sorry to them!"
"What?" Meowth was shocked in the change in Ash. "Yous just said?"
"Yeah but they're evil. They'll ruin me and everything I've worked so hard for! I am not going to tell them anything and nor are you Meowth"
Meowth shot him a dirty look "Yous wanna bet?"
"I won't let you" was the angered reply. Meowth was getting more afraid by the minute. Ash wouldn't hurt him would he? Meowth jumped down off of the railing and started to run back the way he had come. "Meowth come back here!" Ash shouted giving chase. He couldn't let Meowth tell anyone about what he had done. The little cat was fast but Ash was getting desperate and this made his faster. Ash didn't exactly know what he was going to do when he caught up with Meowth but all he could think of was stopping Meowth from telling Jesse and James. The thought of loosing everything brought tears to Ash's eyes. What would his mom say? She had been so proud of him and then there were his friends. Ash had never had real friends before. He couldn't let Meowth ruin everything for him. Ash looked ahead to see how far behind he was. Meowth was running on all fours making him quicker.
"Meowth stop!" Ash shouted. "You have to listen to me. This will just make everything worse"
Meowth glanced over his shoulder and yelled back "Jess and Jimmy are my friends and yous aren't stopping me!"
Ash was loosing ground on the cat he had to catch up no matter what.
"Meowth?" Jesse called for about the 100th time. "James its no good" she said to her friend. "We've looked every where"
"He could still be here Jess" James replied. "These woods stretch on for miles. He could be anywhere"
"We should have asked Mondo to help us," James added. "Maybe we should split up. You can go west and I'll go east or something"
"No" Jesse said a little too quickly and James gave her a surprised look. Jesse kicked at a few twigs on the floor and added humbly "What if we get separated too? It would be better to stick together"
Jesse didn't want to split up from James. Now that she knew he was innocent she wanted to stay as close to him as possible. Maybe he'll try to kiss me again she thought to herself. But why don't I try and kiss him? Jesse glanced at James and felt her face going red. She couldn't she'd be too embarrassed. If he wants me then he's going to have to make the first move she told herself but Jesse wasn't totally convinced.
"James?" she asked after they had been walking for a few minutes. "Do you blame me for thinking that it was you who pushed me?"
"It did hurt" James replied carefully "But I have to admit it did seem as through I was to blame. Anyway what I did was much worse"
"No" Jesse stopped and faced him trying to look as angry as she could. "You couldn't have saved me even if you had been quicker James. You know I'd never blame you for that"
"But you could have died"
Jesse sighed and let her anger die with that reply. "James please don't bring this up again ok?"
James nodded even through Jesse knew it was her who started the conversation. They continued walking through the woods calling for Meowth.