Part Thirteen: L'Morte d'Marion
The wild celebrations promised by Captain Thatcher never took place. In their stead was a more quiet, thoughtful, serene recognition of deeds done, a sort of respectful silence for the battles won thus far and a consideration for the road ahead. The crew ate and drank, and slept long hours that they had missed since starting their campaign, and they were all encouraged to get as much rest as possible. It was only Nurse Joyleen who was denied respite, but that was because she was tending to all the injured.
"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow."
"I'm sorry," whispered poor Joyleen as she dabbed Gary's leg with a salve. "I'm trying to be as gentle as possible, but this medicine gives you quite a sting. You really should've listened to my orders instead of standing up again." Gary frowned indignantly.
"Yeah, okay. Next time we're all in danger, I'm just gonna sit and do nothing." Joyleen didn't make a reply, except to stab at his wound with her salve again, drawing out a painful hiss from poor Gary. Elsewhere, the four former members of Team Rocket were in mixed spirits, some reveling over the loss of the fifth machine (and Marion with it), while others were staring quietly into the blue distance, watching leaves blow in the wind.
"Not a bad effort, if I do say so myself!" boasted James, clinking a glass of soda with Jessie's. "All things considered, I think we did pretty well today. We liberated Fuchsia, we destroyed that machine, and we did away with that nasty woman!" Jessie laughed out loud as she added to the boast.
"I told her that we were an unstoppable duo, but I guess she didn't listen! Hahahahahahaha!" The two former Rockets shared a triumphant chuckle, and toasted again and again to "their" success. Butch and Cassidy, however, were lost to their celebration. They stared ahead with opaque, glassy eyes, an unfathomable thought going through their minds as they sat. James and Jessie finally noticed that their comrades were too quiet for their own good, and snapped them awake with a nudge.
"What's bothering you two?" asked the redhead. "You've been out of it ever since we set up camp. Don't tell me you actually feel sorry for that woman!!"
"No, we're both very glad that she's gone," murmured Cassidy, her voice empty and quiet. Jessie was still puzzled.
"Huh? Then why the long face?"
"This is no time for any of us to be celebrating," said Butch seriously, pointing off into the distance. Jessie and James looked over, and saw that Brock was still hunched over the unresponsive body of Lenneth, clasping her hand gently and staring at her, as if he could recover her by his own will. They immediately became grave, as if the warm spirits flowing through their bodies had turned to ice.
"Oh… I'm sorry… But where's Nurse Joyleen? Isn't she supposed to be doing something?"
"She attended to the girl first, but even with her knowledge, she was barely able to do anything," said Cassidy. "As far as I know, she's on a razor's edge. Marion really hit her hard with that last attack. I don't know if she'll pull through…"
"Don't you dare talk like that!" snapped Jessie angrily, her face nearly matching the color of her hair. "That girl saved our lives three times already, and that's all you can say about it? How dare you! What kind of an insensitive--"
"All right, I'm sorry!" snapped Cassidy. Both women's faces were flushed from all the shouting, but it was Brock who was in the most miserable condition of all. He cared for Lenneth; he truly cared for her, and loved her with a strong feeling that he had never truly experienced before. She was far too sweet, loving, and kind to be taken away, especially at such a young age, and he vowed that no matter what it took, he would not allow the woman he was growing to love to be taken away.
"Lenneth… I'm here for you…" He clasped his hand over hers, folding their fingers together as gently as possible, barely feeling the weak pulse that stubbornly refused to die. As long as he could feel that slight vibration of life, Brock still had reason to hope.
"Poor Brock," moaned Misty sadly as she watched him grieve. Her own injuries were minor enough to be treated by her own experience, and a few bandages here and there (plus some nice food made by the Dreadnaught staff) were all that she needed. Ash sat with her, absorbed in watching Brock and wishing that he could help.
"Joyleen, don't you think you should take another look at her?" he suggested. The Nurse, her mouth clamped over a tiny medical bag, mumbled something indistinguishable before spitting it out.
"Mph. It won't be long. She's still surviving by a thread, but she won't be in any real danger for a while. The rest of my team is doing everything they can. It's very hard work, though."
"It's unfortunate that you can't take a break as well," noted Officer Jennifer as she helped with the recovery effort. "I don't mind, but you looked really overworked."
"I'll be okay!" smiled the aptly named Nurse. "I'm used to working longer and harder hours than this. I'm grateful for your help, though. I don't know what I would do without it!"
"I can help too!" volunteered Misty. She hopped from her chair and asked where she was needed, and even though the Nurse and the Officer said that it was okay for her to rest, she insisted on helping. Ash joined her, and soon even Butch, Cassidy, James, and Jessie were pitching in. Joyleen thanked every single one of them, and devoted her skills to healing Lenneth. When she finally arrived at the bleeding girl's side, Brock gave her a haunting, pleading look, one burning even brighter with stubborn hope.
"Joyleen, please… can't you do anything?" The Nurse gave him a reassuring smile.
"Yes, of course. I'll get to work right away. Jennifer, would you mind telling the Captain I'm bringing Lenneth inside for treatment?"
"I'm on it!" Jennifer dialed up the Captain and told him what Joyleen was going to do. Meanwhile, Brock held onto Lenneth a little tighter, giving Jolene a look that would've broken any heart.
"Please, Nurse Joyleen… please take care of her. I couldn't bear it if I lost her!"
"Don't worry, she's in good hands!" smiled the Nurse, reassuring him again. She took the bed that Lenneth had been placed on and pushed it towards the Dreadnaught, up the ramp and into the medical ward. Brock followed them all the way, like a puppy with its master.
"Poor guy…!" whispered Misty again. "He's really shaken up about all this! I really can't blame him, though. Lenneth's a really great friend."
"I don't think he's just treating Lenneth as a friend, Misty," remarked Ash slyly. She gave him a puzzled look, and he chuckled. "You didn't see? Brock's in love with Lenneth! And it's not like all those other times, where it was just a temporary fling--he's honestly in love with her!"
"Oh! Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure that out!" The two of them smiled at each other, and perhaps in a very subtle way, they were talking about themselves. It never occurred to them though, so they continued helping the medical staff and prayed for both Brock and Lenneth. They had a feeling that in no time at all, everything was going to be all right again.
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A cloud of murky mist drifted around Fuchsia City, acting as the only remnant of the once-thriving town. Nothing moved except the wind, and not a sound could be heard except for the howling of the breeze, and long-lost ghosts of the past. Deep in the city, situated inside a self-created crater, the twisted remains of a demonic machine laid unmoving, a metallic graveyard that fit inside the city well. A little rumble shook it, sending a tiny bolt skipping down the remains and plunging to the floor, where it stayed.
A powerful thrust from within forced the debris to fly away, and another thrust sent even more machinery flying away. Push by push, shove by relentless shove, something that had been trapped inside was desperately struggling to break itself free. A claw emerged from the wreckage, raking along the ground desperately, digging itself out of its own grave little by little. A second claw joined in, and then finally, with a shout, the body that had been buried in the cemetery of metal was freed.
Marion Jane Burke stood to her full height, her breath ragged and her body nearly destroyed, but the flames of vengeance burned just as strong in her eyes, like a phoenix just woken up from death. She had survived.
Silently, the unstoppable killer studied the area around her, observing every detail of the wasted town. It was dark, probably from the cloud of dust and smog that had belched out from the blasted monster behind her, and lonely, and the warmth was stale. Her eyes shifted from left to right several times, her breath slowing and the pain growing duller and duller. A normal person would have been smashed, burned, slashed, and crushed from such an ordeal, but Marion escaped with her spirit just as strong as before.
"They must think I'm dead," she whispered to herself, noticing her solitude. She snickered cruelly, wondering what it was like for a person to really believe in her own demise. Marion took a wobbly step forward, growling hatefully at the way some of her body parts were not quite as determined as others, and forced the pain away as she continued to walk.
"The first thing I am going to do once I'm out of this stinking hamlet," she swore, "will be to finish what I started. Nobody tries to kill the Hunter of Death without making sure of it! Those rebellious little upstarts will wish that they had never defied Team Rocket. Once I'm done with them, there won't be a forensics expert in the world who could identify their mangled bodies!!"
Little by little, bit by bit, Marion limped away from Fuchsia, her body blackened and scarred but still very much alive, her stride slow but strong, her vision blurry yet in flames, her face snarling in concentration, her muscles aching yet determined to carry her forward, until she could fight once again. The woman was unstoppable, perhaps in a literal sense, and would not cease or tire until her task was done or else her body was totally annihilated.
With an endurance and a drive to move forward that defied even the strongest human spirits, Marion trudged across the countryside in an attempt to follow the trail of those who dared to challenge her. As barbaric as she could sometimes get, Marion's focus was at a supreme level, as the only thing that was on her mind was the final destruction of the rebels. She would see it done no matter what, even if she had to spill more of her own blood.
As the blonde Rocket wearily made her way through the countryside, down a long path, her breath heaving every now and then, she got the feeling that she was not alone. She had heard several bushes rustling as she walked, and forced her breath to be silent as she waited for the intruder. Standing perfectly still, her lungs aching a bit more than the rest of her body, Marion kept her senses sharp and patiently bided her time.
"Who is there?" she demanded. For a moment, no other sound came out, but just as she was beginning to think it had been a rabbit, a man popped out of the shrubs, aiming a pistol at her. Marion glowered at him, but soon two others emerged, and then more, until there were about twelve surrounding her, each with a visible weapon. The thing that angered Marion the most was that every one of them bore a Team Rocket insignia.
"What are you doing here?!" she demanded sharply. "Are you the survivors of the base attack?"
"You could say that," spoke one of them. He raised his weapon and jabbed it right at Marion, shouting, "We are the members of Team Rocket who were loyal to Giovanni and only Giovanni! His death has thrown the entire organization into turmoil, and we find it very difficult to believe that you and Morrison were so readily available to replace him!"
"Are you actually doing what I think you're doing?" she snarled. "Are you accusing us of anything?"
"All I can say is that we were loyal to Giovanni, and ever since we heard of his tragic death, we have been suffering under your twisted rule. In honor of our boss, and for the glory of the true Team Rocket spirit, we have taken it upon ourselves to kill you, Marion Burke!" The other men raised their guns as well, ready to mow her down with a storm of bullets. But Marion, fearing no creation of mortals, threw her head back in a wild cackle.
"More rebels!" she laughed. "Well, I guess I'll consider this lot the appetizer to what I was going to do next! It's not polite to interrupt a lady's killing spree!!" Without hesitation, Marion sprang into action and leaped high into the air, vaulting over the circle of guns. She slammed her boots into the faces of as many agents as she could, and touched down to the ground with four others falling after her. With a chuckle, she performed a quick backflip, barely avoiding a spew of fire as she returned inside the circle of death. Her clawed gauntlets found their first victim, digging deep into their bodies and ending their lives.
She tossed the man into the thick of the others, flattening them with her superior strength. With a cackle still ringing out of her mouth, Marion whirled into a frenzy and slashed at everything in range, mutilating and clawing with the ferocity of a tiger--or perhaps a demon. Even the guns could not stand up to her maniacal charge, and many were sliced apart or slapped away as the woman continued her frenzy.
Suddenly, the heavens thundered and the skies became dark as a flock of ravens flew into the air screaming. A bullet had burrowed itself straight into her body while she was still fighting.
Marion froze, her face stunned as she felt the burning pain of the metal and shrapnel inside her body. Slowly, gradually, she forced herself to ignore the pain--but more disturbingly, she forced herself to enjoy it. Eventually the pain subsided completely, and she was standing and laughing again.
"You just don't get it, do you?" she said hoarsely, amidst a crowd of petrified Rocket agents. Before they could even hear the rest of her sentence, she had thrust herself into the fight again, tearing apart her enemies like a truly unstoppable force of nature. The woman was absolutely demonic, screaming and thrashing around as if possessed, and the body count totaled well over the original dozen that had first appeared. It seemed as if they had brought friends.
A powerful clap of thunder erupted in the heavens, and Marion was thrown back as two more bullets stabbed inside her body, one in each shoulder. The woman was absolutely feral at that point, no longer seeming human--just a literal machine who only knew how to kill, and nothing else. She took a single step, still defiant, but was stopped as a final wave of "rebels" leveled their guns at her.
"For Team Rocket!!!" they shouted, before blasting at her mercilessly. A hailstorm of deadly bullets ripped apart at her body, digging deep into her flesh and bone, striking her and scarring her and filling her entire body with poisonous lead. It was a ghastly, bloody scene, and all Marion could do was stand as she was being torn apart by the guns. Eventually, the agents ran out of bullets, wherein Marion finally fell to the ground in a bloody, mutilated, destroyed heap. A sickening pillar of smoke slowly rose up from her motionless body, but even then, everyone held their breath.
"…I think we got her," said one of the men after an uncomfortable pause. He took a daring step forward, still fearing the worst, but Marion did not move. He sighed and smiled, beckoning for his friends to follow. "Hey, come on! We really did it! We got her! The boss' death has been avenged! Their reign of terror is over!"
"HOORAY!!!!!"
"Not so fast!" shouted one of the older men. "This was just one of them! We have to get the other, the one called Morrison! He's still in power!"
"Aw, don't worry! With this one gone, and with the machines all destroyed, I'd be surprised if he had any power left! We'll reclaim our beloved Team Rocket in no time!"
"Yeah!!! Hooray!!!" The men laughed and cheered as they skipped down the dirt road, but suddenly, something rose up from behind them.
"You… really are… fools…"
"No!" screamed one of them. "It can't be!! It's IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!" Fearfully, the quivering men gradually turned around, their faces as white as milk as they dared to imagine the impossible. Their fear faded a bit as they saw Marion's body still there, but came back in full absolute force as her body wiggled. Like an undead corpse returning from the dead, the woman slowly rose up from her heap, spurts of blood trickling down her body and collecting in a pool below.
The men screamed as Marion rose once again, her body almost completely destroyed, but the fire in her eyes glowing even hotter than before. The woman snarled at them, breathing in long, loud, heaving gasps, her entire physical form ripped to shreds from the bullets. Yet somehow, even after suffering from countless shots, the woman was still alive, and even angrier before.
"…Don't you realize that you cannot kill me?" she asked them, her voice as dead as she should have been. The men gawked at her for a few seconds more, and as she screamed after them with her crimson-tipped claws, they would soon know no more…
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After about two hours, Misty and Ash breathed out big sighs of relief, the last injured person having recently been taken care of. Nurse Joyleen, who had taken a well-deserved break, smiled empathetically at them, and offered them something to drink.
"You weren't kidding at all when you said that medicine was hard work," said Cassidy. "But… well… now that I've actually helped a person instead of trying to hurt them, it feels…… pretty good." Jessie, suddenly confused by the words of her one-time friend, gave her a puzzled gaze.
"Huh? Cassie, are you feeling well?"
"I'm perfectly all right," muttered the other woman. Jessie shrugged and went about relaxing from her own work. They had all chipped in an helped, but it was surprising seeing Butch and Cassidy working as well. The two almost seemed to enjoy helping Nurse Joyleen treat her patients, and certainly didn't resemble the enemies they had once been. Personally, Ash was glad that they had been given a second chance, just like Jessie and James before them. He had a feeling that they could end up as being very good people, if they kept up the hospitable act.
"So… what about Lenneth and Brock?" asked Gary, who was now lying on a bed (his leg was broken, but it wasn't a bad fracture). "Any news on them?"
"They seemed to be doing okay when I checked up on them," replied Joyleen with a smile. "Lenneth was always a fast healer, and I don't think even this will keep her down for long. Brock's still in a depression, but that's to be expected. Even Jennifer and I weren't feeling too good about the whole thing, and we keep our relationship with her on a strictly business level."
"Usually," added Jennifer with a playful smile. Gary smiled and nodded at her.
"That's good. I'm glad she's okay."
"HEY!!" screamed Jennifer suddenly, bolting up so fast that she tipped her chair over. "What's that?!"
"What? What is it?" Everyone scrambled to see what Jennifer had spied, and noticed that a severely-wounded person was slowly limping their way. Ash gasped in surprise, and quickly ran over to help with everyone else following. He skidded to a vicious halt as he saw that it had been one of their most powerful enemies who had been wounded.
"Aah! It's Marion!" Everyone gawked in surprise as they saw a heavily-bleeding Marion crawl their way, almost crumbling under the weight of her wounds. She was trailing blood as she walked, a sight that few could stand to watch.
"How in the world did she survive all that?" wondered Cassidy, too surprised to even move. Butch shook his head.
"I don't know. She can't be human…"
"We need to help her!" stated Jennifer to the surprise of everyone around her. The police officer ran towards Marion, but Butch and James barred her way. "Get out of my way! If you don't move, I'll have you arrested for obstructing an officer's duties!"
"Duties?!" they spat. "What kind of duty could possibly make you want to help this woman?! She's our enemy! She's tried to have us killed at least half a dozen times! And now you want to help her??"
"Stop it!!" shouted the Officer firmly. "Now that's enough!!! If you don't let me help her, you'll be no better than she is! She may be our enemy, but that doesn't excuse us from just standing here and watching her die! We have to try!" Butch and James glared at Jennifer as if she had truly gone mad, and didn't part until she forced them to. Joyleen followed her, her pretty face marked heavily with scars of concern, and knelt down to help Marion up. They were both rewarded with a vicious slap.
"Get away from me!" barked the woman, her voice amazingly strong. "I don't need your help! Just leave me alone!"
"But you'll die!"
"Don't you think I know that?!" she argued, her face as enraged as ever. Marion actually had the strength and the nerve to stand up to her full height, despite the multitude of bullet wounds and other injuries that had been dealt to her. Nurse Joyleen was forced into speechlessness as the woman, who should have been dead, gazed at them calmly.
"I will die, but not by any tool of a mortal," she said. Marion grimaced suddenly, and even her power and pride faltered as she tumbled to the floor in a heap. Grunting painfully, the woman let out a soft moan, something she had never done before in her life. But even then, she refused the help of others, though her voice was now hoarse and soft.
"I… I never thought that it would all end like this," she whispered. "You see, I meant it when I said that I wanted a world of peace. I meant every word. I've been wanting to live in a peaceful world of order for as long as I can remember, but it's always been denied to me. I… I was abandoned by my own parents, and sold into slavery, where I lived with the dangers of every kind of abuse, every day of my life. I was so miserable that the only thing I could hope for was the chance to become… stronger!
"And so I did, and rose to become the fearsome woman that has been terrorizing you and the entire world for years--years that none of you are even aware of. I have killed more people than you could possibly imagine… the first of whom were my very own parents. I didn't even flinch as I ended their lives. I was glad, and enjoyed the new power I had gotten. But it made me sick: the entire thing made me so ill that I became green, and vomited out every last shred of humanity I had. From that moment on, every person that I was forced to kill would echo in my mind forever, their screams piling up until I was overwhelmed by the sound.
"But I never wanted any of that… All I really wanted was a life where I wouldn't have to kill in order to survive. I am not called the Death Hunter for any psychological means--it has always been my wish… to imitate Heaven itself, and to be among their most beautiful of angels… That is why, I feel, this white cloak of mine never got a single drop of blood on it, not one. Deep down inside this maniac, there was a woman who still clung to her pure ways.
"But as you can see, I've paid the price for my violent ways. Please, listen to what I have to say!!! Violence only begets violence! Hate breeds more hate! A life full of misery will one day lead to more misery, and Death smiles broadest when humans do not realize their own folly. I…… am just… its latest victim, that's all. You know… Giovanni really was right, that old fool. His last words… 'The pursuit of power only leads to destruction'… I have to wonder, though, were we really doing the right thing? Can peace ever really be attained through peaceful means, or must it be fought for and killed for? I don't know, and I never will know.
"Oh, Morrison……… I wish you were here right now… In my pitiful life, you were my only friend. Perhaps… someday… we'll meet again. Hey… kid…"
"Huh? Me?" Ash timidly stepped forward, and was amazed to see that Marion was smiling. It wasn't a scowl, a sneer, a snarl, or anything belligerent, but an actual smile, one brimming with a strange sense of fulfillment.
"Yeah… I never got to see my wish fulfilled… but now it's up to you. Who's right, your ideals or ours? You'd better pray that yours are right, because… my dear partner… is even deadlier… than I am…" Marion became still after that, and rested her head on the path, staring blankly into the blue heavens, a smile still on her peaceful face. Ash stood there dumbly, a bit overcome from her final speech, not quite knowing what to say. Marion said it all with her final words.
"You know… I've always wondered what Death would feel like. I guess… I'm gonna find out now, heh. Heh. Hahahahahaha…" And with that last, freeing chuckle, her flame was finally blown out, and one of the greatest killers the world had ever known could finally be at peace.
One hour passed.
"So that's what happened…" Amazed, Brock shook his head, his heart feeling a little heavier after hearing the story from everyone's account. Even Captain Thatcher seemed speechless. "Well… I really don't know what to say. I know it sounds odd, but… I kind of feel a little bad…"
"That's just your humane sympathy talking," noted James quietly. "Inside all of us, regardless of how bad we are, there's a spark of humanity that yearns to help others, or to at least grieve for their losses. I hated her just as much as anyone, but… I admit, she certainly does have a way with words."
"I'm sure she'll be happy to know that we all took the courtesy to give her a proper burial," replied Butch, giving his archrival a gentle smile. "It's the least we could do. We may have been enemies, but… we'd never just leave a body out like that. We're… all human, in the end. The least we could do is act like it."
"True," agreed Cassidy, giving her partner a smile. Lenneth stirred briefly, moaning softly as she slept, and was still again just as quickly. Brock gave her a tender smile and touched her cheek.
"Well, what now?"
"Rest, by Poseidon; we rest!" stated Captain Thatcher, speaking at long last. "Heaven knows we need it. I don't feel it's appropriate to talk about what we're gonna do next until Lenneth's up an' running again. By that time, we'll all have recovered our injuries, inward and outward, and we'll be ready to kick some Team Rocket tail again. Okay?"
"Of course." Thatcher gave everyone a scoundrel's smile, and waddled off to his quarters as he sang a quiet sea shanty. Only Brock stayed behind once everyone left, keeping watch over Lenneth and thinking about what everyone had told him.
To be continued…
