1 Chapter 14: Past events and Future hopes
Giovanni looked up from his desk as the duo entered his office. There was something different about those two but he couldn't quite decide what it was until James stepped forward pushing Jesse slightly behind him. "Sir we're sorry we haven't called in before now. We've had some things to sort out"
"So you thought you could do these 'things' in my time did you?" Giovanni demanded. He wasn't really angry but he was the Boss and had a reputation to uphold. He couldn't be seen to be going soft or there would be a riot and he would not allow that. It was obvious that those two had finally seen what everyone else had all along. Giovanni decided that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. If it gave James more backbone then it couldn't all be bad. Giovanni, looking at them now, realised what an error it had been to try and split them up. It just made their loyalty stronger he must have been out of his mind to try it. Together they were strong but they couldn't do without each other. They belonged together and Giovanni would not stand in the way of that. Still he couldn't be seen to be going easy on them. "Well?" Giovanni raised his voice several octaves when there was no reply from them.
"We're sorry about that sir" James said he looked a little annoyed which was not normal. James often reminded Giovanni of a frightened Pokemon caught in a trap, especially if he was being addressed directly. "But if the information on Jesse's condition had been passed on correctly then we wouldn't have had to take leave from our mission would we?" James added.
"That is true" Giovanni could see it in James' eyes that the male didn't believe the communication mess up one bit but his resolve to look after Jesse was making him bolder. "I apologise on behalf of those agents," Giovanni allowed. "You will of course be fully compensated for that mistake" he took his chequebook from his drawer as he spoke. Giovanni scribbled an amount and handed the cheque to James. He looked down at it and gasped. "Sir this is a lot of money" Jesse leaned over his shoulder and also gasped. "Now" Giovanni said briskly eager to get back to business. "You will resume duties in Johto as soon as possible. I want that Pikachu caught understood?"
"Yes sir" they said together trying to look professional but Giovanni could still tell that the amount on the cheque had them shocked. "Good now get out of here. I have more important things to do than waste time with you two".
They left and Giovanni was alone with his thoughts. The money was a ridiculous amount to give for a few days confusion but that was not the reason for giving them it. Giovanni opened the drawer to put the chequebook back and let his gaze rest on the photo in there for a few seconds. He nearly did to them what his own mother did to him. Giovanni took the photo out and held it closing his eyes as he did so. He should have stood up to his mother but she always knew how to make him feel small and insignificant, a trait he possessed and used on his own agents now. He had been only 26 at the time. That may seem old enough to most people but his mother's authority and control over him had been complete. She had been furious when he had, at the age of 18, taken an interest in the pretty purple haired woman who was his mother's top agent. Miyamoto was two years older than him but they had something in common. They were both trapped by Giovanni's mother with no way out. Yet Miyamoto had the courage to stand up to Madame Boss at times and his mother hated Miyamoto for it. They had tried to keep their relationship a secret but in Team Rocket news travelled fast and Madame Boss found out. She forbid Giovanni to see Miyamoto and deliberately cut the young woman's wages. This did not matter to Miyamoto at first. She still earned enough to support herself. It was when she fell pregnant that things got harder. Madame Boss became completely obsessed with the idea that Miyamoto's child, Jessica, was Giovanni's daughter. A result of what Madame Boss called 'An act of rebellion against me and Team Rocket'. Miyamoto had never confirmed to Giovanni either way and he had, with regret never asked her. Madame Boss took her fury out on Miyamoto and Jessica. She cut Miyamoto's wages again and again until Miyamoto had to dress the pretty eight year old in rags and feed her snow of all things. Giovanni wanted to help but he reasoned that Madame Boss was ill and if he behaved himself until she died then Team Rocket would belong to him, he could make it up with Miyamoto and if Jessica was indeed his child then do the right thing by them both. It was one winter when Madame Boss was getting worse and still fantasising about creating her ultimate Pokemon by getting herself a Mew and using its DNA to create a super Pokemon clone. Yet no trace of Mew had ever been found until some agents told her of a Mew being sighted in the Andes. Madame Boss then decided to get rid of Miyamoto once and for all. She knew she was dying and that even if they got a Mew then the chances of cloning her super Pokemon before her death were close to nothing. At this time the Andes had been having a lot of avalanches of late and Madame Boss's advisers warned against sending a team to look for Mew. Miyamoto was so desperate for money to support her daughter that she accepted Madame Boss's mission knowing full well what her employer intended to happen to her. Giovanni had warned her but Miyamoto wanted to show Madame Boss that she could do this despite the dangerousness of the task at hand. Leaving Jessica with a friend Miyamoto set out for the Andes and never returned. When news of her demise reached Viridian City Madame Boss put on a great show of mourning and a memorial was built in the HQ for Miyamoto but Giovanni knew better. Madame Boss was glad that Miyamoto was gone and now there was no one to 'lead her son stray'. Madame Boss thought that with Miyamoto gone Giovanni would lead Team Rocket in the directions that she wanted and died the following spring. Giovanni's first concern was finding Jessica. Madame Boss had sent her away when Miyamoto died. Giovanni learned that she had been in a foster home but had run away shortly afterwards. With no way to find her Giovanni turned his attention to the Mew project once more. He was intrigued by his mother's plans and when his scientists discovered a Mew fossil hair he ordered to go ahead with the cloning of the ultimate Pokemon his mother had wanted so much. (Authors note this is before 'Mewtwo Returns' so Giovanni would still remember Mewtwo). But Giovanni's reasons for wanting an ultimate Pokemon were more complicated. Miyamoto had died on that mission if it was scrapped then she would have died for nothing. Giovanni did not want her death to be in vain and having the ultimate Pokemon had its advantages. But like everything else Giovanni wanted it all went wrong. Mewtwo was a disobedient fool and escaped. He had also concentrated on Team Rocket being about stealing rare Pokemon and over the years the empire grew. Then Jessica returned. She was about 15 when she came back demanding a job but she was not alone. She told Giovanni straight out that she did not want any other partner than the wimpy purple haired boy with her. Wimpy was the first word Giovanni thought to describe James. Not exactly Team Rocket material but granted on who Jessica was he employed them both and sent them out on the field after training camp, which took a year to complete. Jessica and James were as successful as most agents in their line of work but sometimes they came in a little beat up usually Jessica more than James. This concerned Giovanni slightly. From what he'd heard from other teams Jessica protected James. This was no good Giovanni didn't want Jessica, his daughter or not, getting hurt or worse protecting her partner. Giovanni felt he had let Miyamoto and Jessica down and wanted to do whatever he could to make amends. But he saw how attached Jessica was to James and was reluctant to split them up. Instead he sent his newest addition to his vast Pokemon collection out with them. Meowth was pretty rare seeing he could speak English as well as any human could. But he was also pretty annoying as he kept opening his big mouth and generally pissing Giovanni off with his constant chatter. Giovanni instructed Meowth to look after them both no matter what and the cat had been doing a good job until they were put on the Pikachu mission. Jessica and James had called after a simple mission to raid the Viridian City Pokemon centre went wrong. They were babbling about how some kid with a 'super charged Pikachu' had beat them up. Giovanni decided that a super Pikachu would be a valuable addition to his Pokemon team and ordered them to catch it and they had been on its trail ever since. Giovanni had not wanted to split Jessica and James up, he could see that Jessica adored James and vice versa and he remembered what Madame Boss did to him too well. But he was concerned for both of theirs safety. He needed that Pikachu caught and it was obvious that those two were incapable of doing it together. Of course Giovanni would not be as extreme as Madame Boss and have the boy got rid of for good but maybe some time apart would do them good. He gave them a day to catch him any sort of Pokemon knowing that again they would never do this and it would give him the excuse he needed to split them up. Then when Mille and Rich brought Jessica in after her accident Giovanni had a better idea. Tell James that Jessica was dead and there would be no fuss from either of them…well not from James anyway. Giovanni could give James a new partner and keep him on the Pikachu mission whilst Jessica was retrained for the black squad and sent back to Kanto. She might even have thanked him eventually for splitting her and James up. But Giovanni found after speaking with James and Meowth that he could not go through with it. He would be just as bad as Madame Boss if he did. Millie and Rich were easily persuaded to go along with the mess up in communication story. Jessica seemed so unhappy without James and this gave Giovanni reason to think that she more than just adored him that she loved him. And when he saw the two of them just now he realised that James loved Jessica too. Relationships among teams were strictly forbidden but Giovanni was loath to try and keep them apart. He knew they would try to hide it from him anyway and as long as he pretended to remain unaware of the situation then they could carry on their relationship if they wished. James was not exactly what Giovanni had in mind for Jessica's boyfriend but he was the only one of Giovanni's male agents that the boss felt sure would not hurt her. Besides James had a good heart even if it was a bad thing in a criminal gang and if he tried to put a stop to it then he would be no better than his mother. Jessica's father or not, that would most probably remain a mystery. Giovanni had at one point considered a test to find out but he did not want to upset Jessica. She had grown into a strong young woman like her mother and Giovanni saw no reason for him to interfere now. The money was really to try to make up for what his mother did through Jessica would never know that either. Giovanni sighed and put the photo of Miyamoto back in the drawer. There was no point in dragging it all up now. No point at all.
"I must be seeing things," Jesse whispered as she and James left the HQ behind. "Tell me I'm seeing things"
"No I see it too," James said equally as shocked. "But I don't understand. Why would the Boss give the three of us £10,000?"
"Maybe he finally respects us?" Jesse offered "He did seem pretty shocked with you're tone of voice and I have to admit I was too."
James laughed nervously. "That was a once off Jess so don't worry about it. You're still the leader. I was just mad with him for trying to split us up"
"But what should we do with this?" Jesse asked indicating the cheque. "We could use it to build the ultimate Pikachu catching robot and finally defeat that little twerp once and for all"
"Hey yous got our paycheque too?" Meowth asked. They had forgot about him and Mondo waiting outside for them. "Not quite" Jesse said as James showed the cat the cheque.
"Whoa! Dis is unbelievable yous guys! Tink how many traps we can get for da twerps with dat!"
"Hold it cat!" Jesse snapped, "We all get to decide what to do with it"
Mondo who had been quiet up until now spoke up "Just a suggestion but why don't you save it?"
"Save it?" Jesse and Meowth demanded as if they had never heard the word save before.
"It was just a thought," Mondo said nervously.
"That's not a bad idea," James agreed.
"James!" Jesse shouted. She had thought he would be as eager to spend it as she was. They all needed some new clothes and they hadn't had a decent meal in ages. They could buy a faster balloon so when they captured that Pikachu the twerps would never be able to catch up. What the hell did James want to save it for?
"For us" he answered that question for her.
"Well it is for us" Jesse said irritably.
"No, no" James said pulling Jesse to one side. "One day we'll want to get out of Team Rocket and start again. This is more money than we'll ever see again. Do you really want to see it all go down the drain like all our other paycheques on machines and balloons that those twerps will just destroy in about ten minutes? If we put this aside then we would have money to make something of ourselves one day."
James slipped his arms round Jesse's waist as he spoke and pressed his forehead to hers "We could start again together. We could have all the things we don't have now. We could put this in a bank account. Think of the interest that will build up over the years. We'll be able to put a deposit on a house, whatever you want to do Jess."
Jesse paused to think about this. This was more money than she had ever seen. Of course it may be loose change to the amounts James had seen back home but it could be a start for them. James was right about the twerps they would destroy any machines in a matter of minutes and then it would all be gone. They would have nothing to show for it.
"I think Giovanni meant it to be used like this too," James added softly. "He seemed sort of different today. I know he snapped at us but I have a feeling this was more than compensation. It was almost as if he was trying to make it up to us for something"
"I got that feeling too," Jesse admitted. "I wonder what through?"
"If its anything important he'll be sure to tell us one day" James said. "Look Jess its up to you what we do with the money. Just think about the suggestion ok?"
Jesse looked down at the cheque in her hands. Then removing James' arms from her waist she placed the cheque in his hands. "You do that with it James" she said.
"Are you sure?" he looked uncertain now.
"James you know more about bank accounts and stuff" Jesse replied. "I trust you. Just don't spend it on a Magikarp or a treasure detector ok?"
James giggled, "I'll try not too"
"That settles it then" Jesse said. "You can bank it when we get to Azalea Town. That's where the brats are heading for right?"
James nodded "But what about Meowth?" he asked.
"I don't mind" Meowth spoke up. He had been listening in anyway. "Yous can have ya house or whatever ya want"
"You don't mind?" Jesse asked in disbelief
"Nah" Meowth smiled and jumped back in the balloon.
Jesse and James looked at each other. Then the cat added, "Because wherever yous goes I go so it is in Meowth's best interests ta not put up a fuss. And besides a third of dat house will belong to me"
They both groaned, "I knew there was a catch," James wailed. "No we're stuck with him"
"Of course yous are" Meowth said then adding hesitantly "Unless yous don't want me?"
"Oh Meowth!" James cried scooping the Pokemon up in his arms "Of course we want you there. We're a team. We wouldn't have it any other way! Right Jess?"
"James is right" Jesse said throwing her arms round them both. "Just because James and I are in love doesn't mean that we'd leave you Meowth. Your as much a part of my life as James is. We're all a family, me, you, James and Mondo. We'll always stick together"
Meowth sighed happily knowing that they were right.
Epilogue:
Soon they had to leave for Johto once more. Mondo was staying at the HQ to help out there for a while. "If you guys need anything just call me" he shouted as their balloon drifted out of sight.
Jesse and James cuddled up in the bottom of the basket whilst Meowth kept the balloon on course.
"I can't see dose pesky kids anywhere," he moaned looking through his binoculars.
"They can't have gone to far," Jesse said. "That twerp can't find his way out of a cardboard box let alone the way to a town"
"Well dey must have got further dan we thought!" Meowth shouted.
"Oh lets give up for now" Jesse said concentrating more on running her hands through James' hair than on what Meowth was saying. James sighed contentedly and closed his eyes. "Yes lets give up for now Meowth," he said. "I'm too happy to look for that Pikachu and get beat up again"
"WILL YOUS TWOS KNOCK DAT OFF!" Meowth yelled swiping them both across the face.
"What was that for?" Jesse demanded jumping up.
"That ruined everything," James wailed.
"Listen to yous guys" Meowth snapped. "We can't have yous twos acting like a pair of love birds. Da twerps are gonna pick on yous enough as it is! Team Rocket is meant to be heartless now stop acting like dat and let's get back to basics here!"
"Meowth's right" Jesse said. "Those twerps are never going to drop this"
"And there they are" James added.
"I'll get da net" Meowth said. "Dis time we will get dat Pikachu"…
"Don't ever do that again," Jesse groaned getting out from under the wrecked balloon.
"What do yous mean?" Meowth asked rubbing his head.
"You jinxed us by saying we'll get that Pikachu" James complained. "Now we're lost and the balloons broken"
Meowth sighed, "Well at least yous twos were brought back to reality instead of dis disgusting kissing ting yous constantly have going"
He expected to get a whack from either of them any minute. Meowth covered his head in anticipation but when he looked up they were kissing again. Meowth shook his head now he'd have this to deal with maybe it was better when they were fighting. No it wasn't seeing them like this and happy was much better but still…they had been kissing for over a minute now and didn't seem to want to stop until they ran out of air. And they needed someone to keep this team going. That was Meowth's role now as it had been before when Giovanni told him to look after them but it was more than that. If he didn't split them up then they would never get out of here. He may think it nice that they were finally together but at this rate they would stay here forever. "Jesse! James!" Meowth shouted, "Quit dat and help me fix da balloon"
"I am going to kill that cat," Jesse muttered under her breath breaking away from James' embrace.
"Me too" James sighed, "Can't he let us be happy?"
"He is right through" Jesse nodded towards the balloon. "It does need fixing"
James smiled "And we can do that in no time if we work together"
"Good thinking" Jesse said handing her boyfriend the balloon repair kit.
"Me?" he squeaked. "What about you?"
Here we go Meowth thought first fight coming up any minute.
"James do this for me and you will get your reward later" Jesse said seductively.
James frowned not quite getting it "And what is that?" he asked. Jesse sighed and leaned forwards and whispered something in his ear.
James' eyes widened "Really?"
"Really"
"Don't worry Jesse. I'll have this balloon fixed again don't worry"
Jesse saw Meowth staring at her and blushed slightly. "Well it gets him to do all the work" she said a little embarrassed that the cats ears had picked up exactly what she had said to James.
"Just hurry it up" Meowth said wisely not mentioning what had been said for fearing getting a beating from Jesse over it. "We hafta get to dem twerps before yous twos start anything ok?"
"I wonder why they didn't say anything about me and James?" Jesse asked
"Yeah I thought dat was strange," Meowth added
Jesse shrugged, "Maybe they forgot"
"Yeah dey are pretty dumb" Meowth agreed.
Jesse giggled, "Did you see the twerp's face? His jaw had swollen up"
"He didn't as whine as much either" James added from by the balloon.
"Maybe his mouth was too sore to talk" Meowth sniggered. "Why did yous hit him anyway Jimmy?"
"He deserved it" was all James allowed and Meowth didn't press him for a straight answer. What had happened over the last two weeks had taught them all a lot about each other and their enemies. Meowth knew no matter what would happen in the future he; Jesse and James would stick together no matter what. Knowing this seemed to make all the pain they had endured worthwhile. The twerp may have the Pokemon and the badges but did he really have true friends that would come through for him the whole time and supported him every day of his life and not just when it mattered? Meowth smiled to himself when he turned round and saw Jesse and James in each other's arms again. No matter what anyone said Team Rocket were the winning team when it mattered most.
"I don't get it" Ash whined as he, Misty and Brock carried on their journey through Johto. "I could have saved Pikachu a lot of electricity if we had just teased them about their relationship and embarrassed them into leaving. It would have been a lot easier"
"Oh Ash you are unbelievable" Misty snapped. "Love is the most important thing in the world" she repeated what she had told him in the Orange Islands. "No way right Pikachu?" Ash shot back.
The little mouse shook its head and sighed. "Well I still don't see why you couldn't have let me tease them just a little bit?" Ash pouted. "Come on Brock you don't agree with Misty do you?" he turned to the gym leader for support.
"I hate to say it Ash but Misty's right on this one" he replied at last.
"WHAT?" Ash cried wincing as the yelling started his jaw throbbing again. For a wimp James has a pretty mean punch he thought angrily. Today he had been half tempted to set Pikachu on the male alone and pay him back for that as his whole mouth had swollen up and to make matters worse Gary had come along and started jeering at him. But Ash did have enough sense to know that if he tried anything like that then James might rethink their deal and tell everyone what he had done to Jesse.
"Look" Brock said as patiently as he could. "We agreed to forget about what happened and Jesse and James' feelings for each other is included in that ok?"
"Fine" Ash grumbled.
"That's not the way I see it" Misty said. "We did agree but that shouldn't matter. The way they were looking at each other was so romantic. It would be wrong to pick on them for having feelings for each other and having the courage to admit to those feelings"
"Ew that is just gross." Ash said pulling a face.
"When you meet a girl that you would be willing to die with rather than let her go and save yourself you'll understand," Misty said.
"I'll never understand Team Rocket" Ash complained, "They're evil and evil people have no feelings"
"Haven't you been listening to a word I've been saying Ash Ketchum? We both know they're not evil, they're just in a rut with no way out".
Brock sighed and turned to Pikachu "I don't know about you but I'm glad we're going to forget all about this"
"Pika" Pikachu nodded in reply. He too had been touched by the different side to Jesse, James and Meowth. It was a terrible shame that they had to pretend this never happened but Team Rocket had been right. They could never truly be friends but Pikachu wondered if he could ever really call them his enemies.
The End.
Authors Notes: That's it folks all done! This one was a lot harder to write than my last fic but I can't figure out why. Must have been the back plot and the twists in the story. I put the bit in about Giovanni and Miyamoto because…well I'm not really sure. I like the Miyamoto/Giovanni pairing (is there a shipping term for that? If there is can someone tell me?) And Giovanni must have been around when his mother was in charge. He would have had to be in his 20's because otherwise he would be a lot younger in the TV series. Anyway I hope you all liked the ending to this. Until next time see ya ^_^
Giovanni looked up from his desk as the duo entered his office. There was something different about those two but he couldn't quite decide what it was until James stepped forward pushing Jesse slightly behind him. "Sir we're sorry we haven't called in before now. We've had some things to sort out"
"So you thought you could do these 'things' in my time did you?" Giovanni demanded. He wasn't really angry but he was the Boss and had a reputation to uphold. He couldn't be seen to be going soft or there would be a riot and he would not allow that. It was obvious that those two had finally seen what everyone else had all along. Giovanni decided that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. If it gave James more backbone then it couldn't all be bad. Giovanni, looking at them now, realised what an error it had been to try and split them up. It just made their loyalty stronger he must have been out of his mind to try it. Together they were strong but they couldn't do without each other. They belonged together and Giovanni would not stand in the way of that. Still he couldn't be seen to be going easy on them. "Well?" Giovanni raised his voice several octaves when there was no reply from them.
"We're sorry about that sir" James said he looked a little annoyed which was not normal. James often reminded Giovanni of a frightened Pokemon caught in a trap, especially if he was being addressed directly. "But if the information on Jesse's condition had been passed on correctly then we wouldn't have had to take leave from our mission would we?" James added.
"That is true" Giovanni could see it in James' eyes that the male didn't believe the communication mess up one bit but his resolve to look after Jesse was making him bolder. "I apologise on behalf of those agents," Giovanni allowed. "You will of course be fully compensated for that mistake" he took his chequebook from his drawer as he spoke. Giovanni scribbled an amount and handed the cheque to James. He looked down at it and gasped. "Sir this is a lot of money" Jesse leaned over his shoulder and also gasped. "Now" Giovanni said briskly eager to get back to business. "You will resume duties in Johto as soon as possible. I want that Pikachu caught understood?"
"Yes sir" they said together trying to look professional but Giovanni could still tell that the amount on the cheque had them shocked. "Good now get out of here. I have more important things to do than waste time with you two".
They left and Giovanni was alone with his thoughts. The money was a ridiculous amount to give for a few days confusion but that was not the reason for giving them it. Giovanni opened the drawer to put the chequebook back and let his gaze rest on the photo in there for a few seconds. He nearly did to them what his own mother did to him. Giovanni took the photo out and held it closing his eyes as he did so. He should have stood up to his mother but she always knew how to make him feel small and insignificant, a trait he possessed and used on his own agents now. He had been only 26 at the time. That may seem old enough to most people but his mother's authority and control over him had been complete. She had been furious when he had, at the age of 18, taken an interest in the pretty purple haired woman who was his mother's top agent. Miyamoto was two years older than him but they had something in common. They were both trapped by Giovanni's mother with no way out. Yet Miyamoto had the courage to stand up to Madame Boss at times and his mother hated Miyamoto for it. They had tried to keep their relationship a secret but in Team Rocket news travelled fast and Madame Boss found out. She forbid Giovanni to see Miyamoto and deliberately cut the young woman's wages. This did not matter to Miyamoto at first. She still earned enough to support herself. It was when she fell pregnant that things got harder. Madame Boss became completely obsessed with the idea that Miyamoto's child, Jessica, was Giovanni's daughter. A result of what Madame Boss called 'An act of rebellion against me and Team Rocket'. Miyamoto had never confirmed to Giovanni either way and he had, with regret never asked her. Madame Boss took her fury out on Miyamoto and Jessica. She cut Miyamoto's wages again and again until Miyamoto had to dress the pretty eight year old in rags and feed her snow of all things. Giovanni wanted to help but he reasoned that Madame Boss was ill and if he behaved himself until she died then Team Rocket would belong to him, he could make it up with Miyamoto and if Jessica was indeed his child then do the right thing by them both. It was one winter when Madame Boss was getting worse and still fantasising about creating her ultimate Pokemon by getting herself a Mew and using its DNA to create a super Pokemon clone. Yet no trace of Mew had ever been found until some agents told her of a Mew being sighted in the Andes. Madame Boss then decided to get rid of Miyamoto once and for all. She knew she was dying and that even if they got a Mew then the chances of cloning her super Pokemon before her death were close to nothing. At this time the Andes had been having a lot of avalanches of late and Madame Boss's advisers warned against sending a team to look for Mew. Miyamoto was so desperate for money to support her daughter that she accepted Madame Boss's mission knowing full well what her employer intended to happen to her. Giovanni had warned her but Miyamoto wanted to show Madame Boss that she could do this despite the dangerousness of the task at hand. Leaving Jessica with a friend Miyamoto set out for the Andes and never returned. When news of her demise reached Viridian City Madame Boss put on a great show of mourning and a memorial was built in the HQ for Miyamoto but Giovanni knew better. Madame Boss was glad that Miyamoto was gone and now there was no one to 'lead her son stray'. Madame Boss thought that with Miyamoto gone Giovanni would lead Team Rocket in the directions that she wanted and died the following spring. Giovanni's first concern was finding Jessica. Madame Boss had sent her away when Miyamoto died. Giovanni learned that she had been in a foster home but had run away shortly afterwards. With no way to find her Giovanni turned his attention to the Mew project once more. He was intrigued by his mother's plans and when his scientists discovered a Mew fossil hair he ordered to go ahead with the cloning of the ultimate Pokemon his mother had wanted so much. (Authors note this is before 'Mewtwo Returns' so Giovanni would still remember Mewtwo). But Giovanni's reasons for wanting an ultimate Pokemon were more complicated. Miyamoto had died on that mission if it was scrapped then she would have died for nothing. Giovanni did not want her death to be in vain and having the ultimate Pokemon had its advantages. But like everything else Giovanni wanted it all went wrong. Mewtwo was a disobedient fool and escaped. He had also concentrated on Team Rocket being about stealing rare Pokemon and over the years the empire grew. Then Jessica returned. She was about 15 when she came back demanding a job but she was not alone. She told Giovanni straight out that she did not want any other partner than the wimpy purple haired boy with her. Wimpy was the first word Giovanni thought to describe James. Not exactly Team Rocket material but granted on who Jessica was he employed them both and sent them out on the field after training camp, which took a year to complete. Jessica and James were as successful as most agents in their line of work but sometimes they came in a little beat up usually Jessica more than James. This concerned Giovanni slightly. From what he'd heard from other teams Jessica protected James. This was no good Giovanni didn't want Jessica, his daughter or not, getting hurt or worse protecting her partner. Giovanni felt he had let Miyamoto and Jessica down and wanted to do whatever he could to make amends. But he saw how attached Jessica was to James and was reluctant to split them up. Instead he sent his newest addition to his vast Pokemon collection out with them. Meowth was pretty rare seeing he could speak English as well as any human could. But he was also pretty annoying as he kept opening his big mouth and generally pissing Giovanni off with his constant chatter. Giovanni instructed Meowth to look after them both no matter what and the cat had been doing a good job until they were put on the Pikachu mission. Jessica and James had called after a simple mission to raid the Viridian City Pokemon centre went wrong. They were babbling about how some kid with a 'super charged Pikachu' had beat them up. Giovanni decided that a super Pikachu would be a valuable addition to his Pokemon team and ordered them to catch it and they had been on its trail ever since. Giovanni had not wanted to split Jessica and James up, he could see that Jessica adored James and vice versa and he remembered what Madame Boss did to him too well. But he was concerned for both of theirs safety. He needed that Pikachu caught and it was obvious that those two were incapable of doing it together. Of course Giovanni would not be as extreme as Madame Boss and have the boy got rid of for good but maybe some time apart would do them good. He gave them a day to catch him any sort of Pokemon knowing that again they would never do this and it would give him the excuse he needed to split them up. Then when Mille and Rich brought Jessica in after her accident Giovanni had a better idea. Tell James that Jessica was dead and there would be no fuss from either of them…well not from James anyway. Giovanni could give James a new partner and keep him on the Pikachu mission whilst Jessica was retrained for the black squad and sent back to Kanto. She might even have thanked him eventually for splitting her and James up. But Giovanni found after speaking with James and Meowth that he could not go through with it. He would be just as bad as Madame Boss if he did. Millie and Rich were easily persuaded to go along with the mess up in communication story. Jessica seemed so unhappy without James and this gave Giovanni reason to think that she more than just adored him that she loved him. And when he saw the two of them just now he realised that James loved Jessica too. Relationships among teams were strictly forbidden but Giovanni was loath to try and keep them apart. He knew they would try to hide it from him anyway and as long as he pretended to remain unaware of the situation then they could carry on their relationship if they wished. James was not exactly what Giovanni had in mind for Jessica's boyfriend but he was the only one of Giovanni's male agents that the boss felt sure would not hurt her. Besides James had a good heart even if it was a bad thing in a criminal gang and if he tried to put a stop to it then he would be no better than his mother. Jessica's father or not, that would most probably remain a mystery. Giovanni had at one point considered a test to find out but he did not want to upset Jessica. She had grown into a strong young woman like her mother and Giovanni saw no reason for him to interfere now. The money was really to try to make up for what his mother did through Jessica would never know that either. Giovanni sighed and put the photo of Miyamoto back in the drawer. There was no point in dragging it all up now. No point at all.
"I must be seeing things," Jesse whispered as she and James left the HQ behind. "Tell me I'm seeing things"
"No I see it too," James said equally as shocked. "But I don't understand. Why would the Boss give the three of us £10,000?"
"Maybe he finally respects us?" Jesse offered "He did seem pretty shocked with you're tone of voice and I have to admit I was too."
James laughed nervously. "That was a once off Jess so don't worry about it. You're still the leader. I was just mad with him for trying to split us up"
"But what should we do with this?" Jesse asked indicating the cheque. "We could use it to build the ultimate Pikachu catching robot and finally defeat that little twerp once and for all"
"Hey yous got our paycheque too?" Meowth asked. They had forgot about him and Mondo waiting outside for them. "Not quite" Jesse said as James showed the cat the cheque.
"Whoa! Dis is unbelievable yous guys! Tink how many traps we can get for da twerps with dat!"
"Hold it cat!" Jesse snapped, "We all get to decide what to do with it"
Mondo who had been quiet up until now spoke up "Just a suggestion but why don't you save it?"
"Save it?" Jesse and Meowth demanded as if they had never heard the word save before.
"It was just a thought," Mondo said nervously.
"That's not a bad idea," James agreed.
"James!" Jesse shouted. She had thought he would be as eager to spend it as she was. They all needed some new clothes and they hadn't had a decent meal in ages. They could buy a faster balloon so when they captured that Pikachu the twerps would never be able to catch up. What the hell did James want to save it for?
"For us" he answered that question for her.
"Well it is for us" Jesse said irritably.
"No, no" James said pulling Jesse to one side. "One day we'll want to get out of Team Rocket and start again. This is more money than we'll ever see again. Do you really want to see it all go down the drain like all our other paycheques on machines and balloons that those twerps will just destroy in about ten minutes? If we put this aside then we would have money to make something of ourselves one day."
James slipped his arms round Jesse's waist as he spoke and pressed his forehead to hers "We could start again together. We could have all the things we don't have now. We could put this in a bank account. Think of the interest that will build up over the years. We'll be able to put a deposit on a house, whatever you want to do Jess."
Jesse paused to think about this. This was more money than she had ever seen. Of course it may be loose change to the amounts James had seen back home but it could be a start for them. James was right about the twerps they would destroy any machines in a matter of minutes and then it would all be gone. They would have nothing to show for it.
"I think Giovanni meant it to be used like this too," James added softly. "He seemed sort of different today. I know he snapped at us but I have a feeling this was more than compensation. It was almost as if he was trying to make it up to us for something"
"I got that feeling too," Jesse admitted. "I wonder what through?"
"If its anything important he'll be sure to tell us one day" James said. "Look Jess its up to you what we do with the money. Just think about the suggestion ok?"
Jesse looked down at the cheque in her hands. Then removing James' arms from her waist she placed the cheque in his hands. "You do that with it James" she said.
"Are you sure?" he looked uncertain now.
"James you know more about bank accounts and stuff" Jesse replied. "I trust you. Just don't spend it on a Magikarp or a treasure detector ok?"
James giggled, "I'll try not too"
"That settles it then" Jesse said. "You can bank it when we get to Azalea Town. That's where the brats are heading for right?"
James nodded "But what about Meowth?" he asked.
"I don't mind" Meowth spoke up. He had been listening in anyway. "Yous can have ya house or whatever ya want"
"You don't mind?" Jesse asked in disbelief
"Nah" Meowth smiled and jumped back in the balloon.
Jesse and James looked at each other. Then the cat added, "Because wherever yous goes I go so it is in Meowth's best interests ta not put up a fuss. And besides a third of dat house will belong to me"
They both groaned, "I knew there was a catch," James wailed. "No we're stuck with him"
"Of course yous are" Meowth said then adding hesitantly "Unless yous don't want me?"
"Oh Meowth!" James cried scooping the Pokemon up in his arms "Of course we want you there. We're a team. We wouldn't have it any other way! Right Jess?"
"James is right" Jesse said throwing her arms round them both. "Just because James and I are in love doesn't mean that we'd leave you Meowth. Your as much a part of my life as James is. We're all a family, me, you, James and Mondo. We'll always stick together"
Meowth sighed happily knowing that they were right.
Epilogue:
Soon they had to leave for Johto once more. Mondo was staying at the HQ to help out there for a while. "If you guys need anything just call me" he shouted as their balloon drifted out of sight.
Jesse and James cuddled up in the bottom of the basket whilst Meowth kept the balloon on course.
"I can't see dose pesky kids anywhere," he moaned looking through his binoculars.
"They can't have gone to far," Jesse said. "That twerp can't find his way out of a cardboard box let alone the way to a town"
"Well dey must have got further dan we thought!" Meowth shouted.
"Oh lets give up for now" Jesse said concentrating more on running her hands through James' hair than on what Meowth was saying. James sighed contentedly and closed his eyes. "Yes lets give up for now Meowth," he said. "I'm too happy to look for that Pikachu and get beat up again"
"WILL YOUS TWOS KNOCK DAT OFF!" Meowth yelled swiping them both across the face.
"What was that for?" Jesse demanded jumping up.
"That ruined everything," James wailed.
"Listen to yous guys" Meowth snapped. "We can't have yous twos acting like a pair of love birds. Da twerps are gonna pick on yous enough as it is! Team Rocket is meant to be heartless now stop acting like dat and let's get back to basics here!"
"Meowth's right" Jesse said. "Those twerps are never going to drop this"
"And there they are" James added.
"I'll get da net" Meowth said. "Dis time we will get dat Pikachu"…
"Don't ever do that again," Jesse groaned getting out from under the wrecked balloon.
"What do yous mean?" Meowth asked rubbing his head.
"You jinxed us by saying we'll get that Pikachu" James complained. "Now we're lost and the balloons broken"
Meowth sighed, "Well at least yous twos were brought back to reality instead of dis disgusting kissing ting yous constantly have going"
He expected to get a whack from either of them any minute. Meowth covered his head in anticipation but when he looked up they were kissing again. Meowth shook his head now he'd have this to deal with maybe it was better when they were fighting. No it wasn't seeing them like this and happy was much better but still…they had been kissing for over a minute now and didn't seem to want to stop until they ran out of air. And they needed someone to keep this team going. That was Meowth's role now as it had been before when Giovanni told him to look after them but it was more than that. If he didn't split them up then they would never get out of here. He may think it nice that they were finally together but at this rate they would stay here forever. "Jesse! James!" Meowth shouted, "Quit dat and help me fix da balloon"
"I am going to kill that cat," Jesse muttered under her breath breaking away from James' embrace.
"Me too" James sighed, "Can't he let us be happy?"
"He is right through" Jesse nodded towards the balloon. "It does need fixing"
James smiled "And we can do that in no time if we work together"
"Good thinking" Jesse said handing her boyfriend the balloon repair kit.
"Me?" he squeaked. "What about you?"
Here we go Meowth thought first fight coming up any minute.
"James do this for me and you will get your reward later" Jesse said seductively.
James frowned not quite getting it "And what is that?" he asked. Jesse sighed and leaned forwards and whispered something in his ear.
James' eyes widened "Really?"
"Really"
"Don't worry Jesse. I'll have this balloon fixed again don't worry"
Jesse saw Meowth staring at her and blushed slightly. "Well it gets him to do all the work" she said a little embarrassed that the cats ears had picked up exactly what she had said to James.
"Just hurry it up" Meowth said wisely not mentioning what had been said for fearing getting a beating from Jesse over it. "We hafta get to dem twerps before yous twos start anything ok?"
"I wonder why they didn't say anything about me and James?" Jesse asked
"Yeah I thought dat was strange," Meowth added
Jesse shrugged, "Maybe they forgot"
"Yeah dey are pretty dumb" Meowth agreed.
Jesse giggled, "Did you see the twerp's face? His jaw had swollen up"
"He didn't as whine as much either" James added from by the balloon.
"Maybe his mouth was too sore to talk" Meowth sniggered. "Why did yous hit him anyway Jimmy?"
"He deserved it" was all James allowed and Meowth didn't press him for a straight answer. What had happened over the last two weeks had taught them all a lot about each other and their enemies. Meowth knew no matter what would happen in the future he; Jesse and James would stick together no matter what. Knowing this seemed to make all the pain they had endured worthwhile. The twerp may have the Pokemon and the badges but did he really have true friends that would come through for him the whole time and supported him every day of his life and not just when it mattered? Meowth smiled to himself when he turned round and saw Jesse and James in each other's arms again. No matter what anyone said Team Rocket were the winning team when it mattered most.
"I don't get it" Ash whined as he, Misty and Brock carried on their journey through Johto. "I could have saved Pikachu a lot of electricity if we had just teased them about their relationship and embarrassed them into leaving. It would have been a lot easier"
"Oh Ash you are unbelievable" Misty snapped. "Love is the most important thing in the world" she repeated what she had told him in the Orange Islands. "No way right Pikachu?" Ash shot back.
The little mouse shook its head and sighed. "Well I still don't see why you couldn't have let me tease them just a little bit?" Ash pouted. "Come on Brock you don't agree with Misty do you?" he turned to the gym leader for support.
"I hate to say it Ash but Misty's right on this one" he replied at last.
"WHAT?" Ash cried wincing as the yelling started his jaw throbbing again. For a wimp James has a pretty mean punch he thought angrily. Today he had been half tempted to set Pikachu on the male alone and pay him back for that as his whole mouth had swollen up and to make matters worse Gary had come along and started jeering at him. But Ash did have enough sense to know that if he tried anything like that then James might rethink their deal and tell everyone what he had done to Jesse.
"Look" Brock said as patiently as he could. "We agreed to forget about what happened and Jesse and James' feelings for each other is included in that ok?"
"Fine" Ash grumbled.
"That's not the way I see it" Misty said. "We did agree but that shouldn't matter. The way they were looking at each other was so romantic. It would be wrong to pick on them for having feelings for each other and having the courage to admit to those feelings"
"Ew that is just gross." Ash said pulling a face.
"When you meet a girl that you would be willing to die with rather than let her go and save yourself you'll understand," Misty said.
"I'll never understand Team Rocket" Ash complained, "They're evil and evil people have no feelings"
"Haven't you been listening to a word I've been saying Ash Ketchum? We both know they're not evil, they're just in a rut with no way out".
Brock sighed and turned to Pikachu "I don't know about you but I'm glad we're going to forget all about this"
"Pika" Pikachu nodded in reply. He too had been touched by the different side to Jesse, James and Meowth. It was a terrible shame that they had to pretend this never happened but Team Rocket had been right. They could never truly be friends but Pikachu wondered if he could ever really call them his enemies.
The End.
Authors Notes: That's it folks all done! This one was a lot harder to write than my last fic but I can't figure out why. Must have been the back plot and the twists in the story. I put the bit in about Giovanni and Miyamoto because…well I'm not really sure. I like the Miyamoto/Giovanni pairing (is there a shipping term for that? If there is can someone tell me?) And Giovanni must have been around when his mother was in charge. He would have had to be in his 20's because otherwise he would be a lot younger in the TV series. Anyway I hope you all liked the ending to this. Until next time see ya ^_^