Red and Gold – Jessie vs. Cassidy

I hated letting mom and Sabrina out of my sight, but the plan called for moving Articuno out of the cave because we knew Team Rocket had pinpointed its general location. I gave mom a hug before Sabrina teleported out of the cave with her and Kanna. Janine gave me a strange look, "What the heck was that about?"

"Uh, heh, well if you spend the night in a cave with a Pokémon like that you become attached to it. Articuno almost seems human, wouldn't you agree?" I said trying to come up with something plausible.

Janine gave me a skeptical once over, turned away and said, "Sure, I suppose so."

I sighed and looked at my companions, kids really, smart, talented, but still green. I felt an awful sense of responsibility looking at those two. "Well, time's awasting let's get out into the forest and wait for Team Rocket."

Mondo patted his ditto, "You be good, hold onto that shape as long as you can."

We exited the cave and huddled in a vine and shrub-filled ravine, hunkering down in the tumbled rocks at the bottom. It took a good half hour for anything to happen giving me time to notice all the hardest parts of the rocks I was lying on. Down the slope we could hear the whining sound of a machine and occasional loud cracks and rending sounds of trees bending and snapping as it advanced up the hill. Eventually the mecha hove into view – it was a twenty foot tall four-footed affair designed to resemble a cat with fluorescent green eyes, pointed ears with radar dishes within, and a cannon on a swivel mount for a tail. It cast about as if scenting prey. I guessed it had infrared sensors and I flattened myself against the jagged rocks all the more to avoid being picked out. The head stopped swiveling and focused on the mouth of the cave. The machine whined loudly and advanced to the cave.

A hatch at the back of the mecha's head swung open and a lithe Rocket elite slid out and swung easily down from its neck, landing lightly on the balls of her feet. Her two rather frizzy looking ponytails swung across her face as she looked warily around and sunlight flashed on the brassy triangles pinned to her ears. "Cassidy!" I whispered vehemently.

I looked at Janine and noted she had gone pale as she stared at my old rival. Her last encounter with Cassidy had been scary.  I returned my gaze to the cave and saw Cassidy disappear into it. After about ten minutes she reappeared jauntily tossing a Poké Ball up and down in her right hand. I could guess the drill, she had used some kind of device or chemical to stun Articuno and captured it in one of Giovanni's small collection of Master Balls stolen from Silph, Inc. in Saffron City.

I switched my attention to the mecha. What Pokémon could we use to hobble or annoy this sleek metal monster? I considered our array of Pokémon, made my mind up and whispered to Janine, "Call out your tangela."

Out popped the blue animated mop. Cassidy was back inside the mecha. I judged there was at least one other Rocket in there manning the big gun. Was it Butch? I could hear the ignition sequence start with several barely audible clicks then the engine roared to life again.

"Tell tangela to wrap its vine whip around the hind legs, we're gonna tie its shoelaces together!" I whispered urgently to Janine.

Blue spaghetti-like strands shot out from the tangela at Janine's command and wrapped tightly around the heels of the metal cat's back feet. The engine whined louder as the feet started to move and met resistance.

I called out weezing. It looked at me quizzically, "Yeah, I'm not James. Could you see your way clear to giving us a nice blinding, corrosive smog attack?"

"Weezing!" the Pokémon huskily said and it spewed an acrid, choking cloud into the opening at the mouth of the cave.

We had taken away the mecha's feet and its eyes. It was time to try to fully disable the thing. I looked at Mondo and he returned my gaze. "Mondo? Could you perhaps help us out with your tauros?"

"Cassidy is my superior now…but I like you better. We would be much better off with that machine stopped." At this the big gun went off, firing randomly, and a treetop fell to the forest floor with a violent crash. Mondo flipped his Poké Ball into the air and the raging bull emerged, "Tauros, take that machine down!"

The bullock hit the war engine hard with a sound of shrieking metal. The mecha survived the blow, but toppled on its side with a groan. The door in its head swung open and Cassidy emerged into the smoke of battle. "Whoever you are, you must think you're pretty smart! Well, here's something to chew on!" She threw the Master Ball shouting, "Go Articuno!"

Out popped a ditto. Cassidy was speechless for several seconds, then screeched with rage, "You bastards!"

She roughly reached under her jacket producing another ball and throwing it, "Go raticate!"

"Snake food," I chortled, "Go arbok!"

Cassidy saw the violet cobra slithering out of the smog, "Damn! I should've known," she spat, "Quick attack!"

Arbok dodged skillfully in the smoke, it had years of practice partnering with weezing. "Dig!" I yelled.

Raticate missed with super fang and squealed as arbok exploded from beneath with a heavy blow. "Quick attack!" Arbok couldn't get out of the way this time. "Wrap then poison sting!" I countered.

Raticate fainted in arbok's coils. I rushed Cassidy from my hiding place and hit her squarely in her midsection tackling her to the ground. We rolled on the ground scratching and screaming. She was tough and sinewy but I finally got a hold of her wrists and pinned her. She threw her head from side-to-side, "No way! Not possible! I can't lose to you!"

She looked so desperate I almost felt sorry for her. Almost, but not nearly enough not to gloat, "I always knew I could take you!"

Mondo and Janine climbed into the mecha and extracted the hapless Rocket grunt from his smashed gunner's chair. "To tell you the truth, I'm amazed this worked," Janine said looking flushed.

Cassidy hissed like a snake reminding me, "Arbok return!"

"So where's Articuno?" Cassidy asked.

"You think we're telling you? You could still escape, you're pretty slippery," I scoffed. "As a matter of fact we're gonna have to tie your arms and hands. I'd apologize, but I know you'd do the same for me."

She sneered and said something unprintable. After I got her hands and arms immobilized with a wrap around her wrists and another over her upper arms above the elbows I did a quick search and came up with a switchblade in her left boot. "Cute," I said eyeing the lethal cutlery.

I stepped back and surveyed the situation. We had two Team Rocket operatives in hand and a functional but impossible to turn over mecha. "Alright!" I barked, "Let's walk down the hill and leave the scrap metal here."

It wasn't trivial getting up the steep hillside next to the cave, especially with two walkers unable to use their hands. Somehow we gained the ridge and I struck for the cave skylight clearing, it being the best landmark for getting a bearing on Kanna's cabin. It turned out Cassidy was indeed slippery. The instant she felt slack on her rope lead as I mistakenly let it drop to figure out a heading she was off at a dead run. Unfortunately she didn't see the cave opening until it was too late. She disappeared as I desperately grabbed for the lead rope. It burned and blistered my hands as I tried to get a grip on it, then it stopped as tears formed at the corners of my eyes from the pain. I wrapped it around a tree trunk next to me and made my way to the sinkhole.

Cassidy was dangling high above the cave floor. She looked at me with furious defiance. "Cut the rope!" she bellowed, "You'll be rid of me forever and I won't have to face the boss after this!"

"Are you kidding?" I said, "As much as I may have dreamed about this situation I'll do no such thing, especially in front of these kids. I never was a killer and you won't make one of me today."

For the first time since I knew her Cassidy looked forlorn and a tear slid down her cheek, "It's not fair!" she wailed, "I'll hate you forever for this! I owe you nothing!"

"So what's new?" I responded feeling real sympathy for her for once in my life, "I'd never hold it over you." I grunted pulling hard on the rope inching her upward. The pain in my hands made me wince. Mondo and Janine came over with their prisoner and Mondo pitched in.

We got Cassidy back on solid ground and she lay on her side with her eyes closed gasping like a fish out of water. When she opened her eyes the misery in her heart was evident. "Damn you Jessie! Why'd you have to go and do that?"

I looked at her sadly, "Sabrina once told me she had no hatred left in her. At long last I understand what she meant. Get over it Cass, I don't hate you enough to enjoy seeing you die."

We got up and continued quietly down the hill. Cassidy was subdued because she had somehow gotten her emotions beneath the surface. The grunt became an impudent jerk by the time we got halfway to the cabin, but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle; just a little defiance.

 We broke into the clearing by mid-afternoon and found quite a scene. Rocket grunts were littered around the meadow fast asleep with hands and feet bound. A black helicopter with its main rotor shattered stood off to the east. Lorelei Kanna appeared at the door of the hut and waved to us. "Where's my mom…I mean where's Articuno?" I asked. Janine did a double take.

"No need to be secretive my dear. Sabrina and I know your mother's story," Kanna answered. "She was a close friend of mine, but you could not have known that. Your mother is off in the woods. She was considering looking for you, although I advised against it."

We walked to the door and entered following Kanna. The scene indoors was equally stunning. Millie sat on the edge of the table looking a little pale with a crimson stained bandage on her shoulder. "You okay?" I asked. "I'll be fine, but it still hurts now," she answered.

Butch was there too with Sabrina hovering over him. He was a mess covered with deep wounds, his eyes were just…gone. Cassidy went white, "Butch!" she said in a choked voice.

"Hi Cass," Butch said familiarly, "So you finally made it? Sure wish I could see the look on your face."

"Untie me!" Cassidy demanded.

"Sure," I said still looking with horrified fascination at Butch.

She clasped his face in her gloved hands and looked into his sightless eyes, "Why'd you do this to him?" she demanded.

Sabrina looked ill and weakly said, "It was a self defensive reflex. He'd just shot Millie." She looked away, "I…I don't take any satisfaction in this, but it was unavoidable."

"Cassidy?" I said tentatively, "I've got some nursing experience, could you let me have a look at Butch?"

She flared briefly but looked into my eyes and calmed down, "Oh…sure, please help him," she said plaintively.

I looked at Butch and spent the next hour or more tending to him and Millie. Cassidy looked on anxiously; she seemed confused and asked, "Why are you doing this?"

I sighed, "Because I knew you when, because I'm fresh out of hate and anger, and because even a little nursing experience makes helping the sick and injured my duty." I looked sharply at her but softened, "Is that sufficient reason?"

She coloured and looked away, "I suppose so".

I finally was able to get outside for some fresh air and to look for mom. I noticed her soaring high overhead circling ever lower. She landed smartly about fifty feet away. She shrunk, losing feathers, growing arms as fingers appeared and shortened, the beak receded into a face. There she was, the young woman as she appeared when I was born to her. We embraced again for a long time.

"Thanks for showing yourself to me mom. It changes how I feel about everything."

"I understand dear. I had no idea how to reveal myself before. I intend to be with you and Lorelei from now on. When you need me I will be there," she reassured me.

I'm okay now mom, really I am," I sighed happily locked in her warm arms.