Disclaimer: Refer to the previous parts of this story for details. And most of this part is Jessie's side of the story.
"The Return of Jessiebelle"
PART FOUR
By: Kawaii Kasumi
Jessie sat in the living room at home, holding a picture of James and letting her tears drop onto it. Meowth sat next to her, sobbing also.
"James......" Jessie sobbed. "Will I ever see you again? I want my James!" She cried, burrying her face in the arm of the chair.
"Jimmy was one of a kind....what's Team Rocket widout him?" Meowth said sadly. Meowth and Jessie had felt nothing but depression for the last few days. Especially Jessie. She hadn't talked to anyone but Meowth..... but there was really no one else to talk to. They didn't really know anyone in their neighborhood very well, and had no Team Rocket friends except Mondo, whom they hadn't seen or heard from in eons. Jessie didn't know how much longer it would be until she went off the deep end. James was like her right arm. She needed him, and couldn't go around by herself without feeling like she had an arrow in her side. Jessie lifted her head and looked to Meowth for comfort.
"Do you think we'll ever see him again, Meowth?" Jessie wondered.
"Of Course! Team Rocket never gives up!" Meowth said, jumping up. He looked Jessie straight in the eye and said : "Jessie, I promise we'll find a way to rescue him, no matter what." said Meowth. Jessie hugged him quickly, then ran into the bedroom and threw herself on the bed, just to be by herself. She rolled over to James' side of the bed and sobbed into his pillow. She could still smell the strong, sweet scent of his shampoo, which made her cry even more. She evntually cried herself to sleep and began to have whimsical dreams.
*********************************************************************
"Jessie? Why are you crying?" asked Jessie's blue-haired lover.
"James!!! Jessie yelled, throwing her arms around him. "But....but you were kidnapped by Jessiebelle! How did you get here?" Jessie asked, pulling away from him momentarily.
"Jessiebelle? Who's that?" James asked with a puzzled look.
"You mean you....don't know?" asked Jessie.
"Nope." said James, shaking his head.
"Well....it doesn't matter. All that matters is that you're here with me." She put her arms around him, and he kissed her forehead lightly.
"I love you, Jessica."
"I love to you, James." They kissed soulfully then, and felt their passion burning inside of them. Suddenly a gentle fire circled around them, and they could not stop. The fire quickly got stronger, and Jessie could smell the burn. James then pulled away, and dissapeared into the flames.
********************************************************************
"JAMES!!!!" Jessie screamed, sitting bolt upright. She then heard a crash in the kitchen, and saw smoke. She scrambled out of bed and ran into the kitchen to find Meowth extinguishing a stove fire.
"MEOWTH?!?! WHAT HAPPENED?!" Jessie yelled, trying to evade the smoke. The last of the flames went out, and a blackened, panting Meowth emerged from the thick cloud of smoke and dropped the fire extinguisher.
"Oh....Jessie....I was.....tryin to cook something and....bwuuh." Meowth passed out and fell off of the small stool he was standing on.
"Meowth!" Jessie yelled, catching him just before he hit the ground. She carried him over the sink and splashed cold water on his face. He slowly opened his eyes as his fur returned to it's natural color.
"Are you ok, Meowth?" Jessie asked, cradling him gently.
"I....tink so...." Meowth whimpered. Jessie carried him over to his little bed and ran to get the first-aid kit. Meowth had a small second-degree burn on his forehead right below his charm, to which Jessie applied pure aloe vera cream and wrapped his head in a bandage, also feeding Meowth a few ice berries. She then took care of his other scrapes and cuts, and then went to clean up the kitchen.
"Tanks, Jess. I'll be ok." Meowth said before he dozed off. Jessie cleaned up for about an hour, and then went to get the mail. She grabbed the keys off the counter and walked outside, being greeted by the warm evening air. Fireflies danced around in the nearby trees and brush, putting on little light shows in their carefree worlds. Jessie sighed at the beautiful sight and wished she could be as happy as someone should be in a great place like this, but she just couldn't feel anything comletely without James. She reached the mailbox and pushed the key into the lock, pulled out the massive amount of mail, and then trudged back to the house.
Jessie sauntered in, causing Meowth to stir a bit, and put the mail down on the counter along with the keys to get herself a drink. She poured herself a glass of warm saki and then sat down at the kitchen table to read the mail, which she began flipping through quickly.
"Advertisement....bill....bill....Rocket Newsletter....." Jessie stopped and dropped her glass in shock, causing it to shatter and the crimson rice whine to spill all over the floor like blood. The letter was from James! She ripped it open, and her eyes darted across the page as she read:
My Dearest Jessie,
It's James! Please help me!! I'm still being held hostage at Jessiebelle's house, and I am writing this to you under very risky circumstances. Jessiebelle is gone at the moment, and I'm not handcuffed to the bed as usual, because my back has been so badly whipped. If I try to escape by myself, I won't succeed; take my word for it. Here is Jessibelle's address incase you loose the envelope; and I have also enclosed a direction sheet which I got from Jessiebelle's "Brand New House" flier:
Jessiebelle Kamen
20365 E. Gomon Lane
Goldenrod City, Johto 85362
I am in so much pain, Jessie. I need you. Please come rescue me!!
Heart and Soul,
James
Jessie clutched the letter tightly an sunk herself to the floor.
"Oh, James....." she said. "I promise I'll come rescue you......" Meowth yawned, rolled over, and sat up to face Jessie sitting on the floor with shattered glass all around her.
"Jessie?? What happened?!" he asked. Jessie opened her tearful eyes and lifted her head, smiling.
"We got a letter from James." she said.
"No way! Let me see!" Meowth exclaimed, jumping off of the bed and running over to the kitchen. Jessie made the letter into a paper airplane and threw it over to Meowth so he wouldn't have to step across the glass. He read it quickly and soon became tearful also.
"I knew Jimmy was holdin on for us...." Meowth said with a smile and a shakey voice. Jessie and Meowth sobbed together and happiness and then danced around the house like hyperactive little kids. The doorbell rang abrubtly, startling them. Jessie ran to answer it, and much to her suprise, came face to face with Mondo.
"Mondo....! What a suprise!" Jessie gasped.
"Hey Jessie!" he said as she opened the door and he revealed a small rose bouqet from behind his back and gave it to Jessie.
"Oh....thank you." Jessie said, hugging him briefly. She invited him in and he asked how she was.
"Not good....no....bad.....ok.....horrible." Jessie said, burrying her face in the roses.
"Why?" Mondo asked.
"Sit down. It will take awhile to explain." Jessie said. And explain, she did. It took nearly an hour for Jessie to express any and every feeling about every detail of the Jessiebelle incident, which in turn informed Mondo about her relationship with James, which he had had no idea about until now.
"Just look what Jimmy's abscence has done ta me." Meowth sighed, pointing to his head.
"Oh....I'm so sorry....I had no idea something like this could happen....." said Mondo tearfully. Jessie showed him James' letter, and Mondo was struck with an idea.
"Jessie... listen to me." Mondo said, lifting Jessie's face up.
"We're going to save James together."
"Yeah....all tree of us." Meowth said, as they stacked their hands and made a solemn vow to rescue their dearest friend James, no matter what it took.
*********
Jessie, Meowth and Mondo pondered and planned long into the evening as
they figured out how to make the best rescue for James. Mondo was mostly the brains of the operation, while Jessie an Meowth were mostly the .....insane. They were very happy to have Mondo helping them, and overjoyed that they would have their wonderful companion back soon, but also very anxious about all of the things that could happen.
"Ok. I'm afraid we'll have to drive to the house, because it's too far to walk. Jessie, do you have any friends in that neighborhood that would let us park in their driveway? It would be dangerous if we parked near Jessiebelle's house." said Mondo.
"Well....there's Butch and Cassidy.....but they're not really our friends...." Jessie sighed. "But I can be aggressive. I'll tell them it's urgent, they'll understand.....most likely." Jessie said.
"Ok. Then after that's straighted out....Jessie, do you think you can find out where Jessiebelle's bedroom window is using the direction flier?" asked Mondo.
"Yes. I know how to be very quiet and sneaky...." Jessie said with a mischievious smile.
Mondo smiled and continued.
"Good. Now, after you find the bedroom, peek into the window and make sure Jessibelle is gone. If the coast is clear, James or no James, carefully climb into the window and hide under the bed. Then wait for the right time to rescue James, preferably when Jessiebelle is gone so you can make a clean getaway. But if that's not possible, you'll have me, Meowth, and our Pokemon to back you up....ok?" Mondo said.
"Sounds like a plan." Jessie said, smiling. "Is that good for you, Meowth?"
"Yep. Purrrfect." said Meowth with a smile. They stacked their hands again, and got ready for what would perhaps be the longest and most dangerous night of their life.
TO BE CONTINUED......
