Chapter 4: The adventure finally starts

That night Jessie ran desperately.

She ran through Viridian dark forest without stopping. She didn't even care about the branches that scratched her arms and legs and kept on running.

She wasn't cold or tired, she just wanted to run and reach her destination as soon as possible.

She didn't have a light with her so she could see nothing. Only when she stumbled on a leaning root and fell to the ground she felt the painful sensations of cold and tiredness surrounding her body.

Jake had suggested her not to go through the woods during that night but she would not listen to him. She had just realized the whole truth.

Jessie stood up as she began to run again. No matter if she was wearing just her nightgown.

Jessie ran for what was like an eternity for her. She finally got to Viridian city the following morning.

The sun had already risen while the city was slowly awakening. She could smell delicate fragrances of flowers in the air.

She finally stopped running and began to walk.

She had never liked Viridian City that much. It was quite close to the small village where she lived with her mother when she was a little girl. But she had never like it. The Headquarters, Team Rocket, Giovanni… everything had always scared her.

But that was the last time she would have looked at that city as a frightened girl. As a prisoner. From that moment on, it all would have been different. She knew the truth!

Jessie walked in the direction of Team Rocket Headquarters, her head high and her face serious. She didn't even care about the ripped and dirty nightgown she was wearing. Her hair was totally messed up. But she kept on walking.

Once she got to the Headquarters, she went towards the boss office, pretty sure to find him there.

Jessie was almost to knock on his door, when she had her first and only regret. 'What am I doing here? What if it isn't the right thing to do?'. But she took all her courage. 'I've run for all the night to get here and now I have regrets! Calm down, girl, you can do it… you MUST do it!' She said to herself. So she finally found the courage to knock on the boss' office door.

"Yes" came his reply. Jessie opened the door and went inside, facing him.

"Oh Jessica…" He said with a surprised face. "I don't think I've called you. Would you please do me the favour of explaining me what are you doing here?" He said in a calm but also sarcastic tone, almost realizing the real reason Jessie was there for.

Jessie had no idea of what to say or do. She was totally paralyzed but kept her cold stare to Giovanni.

"So, are you going to talk or what? I'm wasting my time with you, go away," Giovanni said. "Oh and Jessie, do me a favor. The next time you come here, do it wearing some decent clothes," He noticed Jessie's nightgown. But she didn't do as she was told.

Somehow, Jessie's cold stare scared Giovanni. Then, she finally spoke.

"You…" was all she could manage to say. "You did it…"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know it… You know what I'm talking about," Jessie's low and sinister voice frightened him.

Giovanni could do nothing but stare at her cold glare without saying anything. He actually knew what she was talking about and why she had come there, but he did nothing and pretended not to suspect anything. He had feared that moment for such a long time. The moment when Jessie would have discovered the truth about Melissa's death. And try to get her revenge on him.

He knew he couldn't let her escape. She was too dangerous for him.

Giovanni remembered everything perfectly.

A little girl stood in front of him in his office at the Headquarters with her big blue eyes and her red hair down to her face. She had a teddy bear in her hands.

"So, little Jessie. How are you today? Did you have sweet dreams?" He asked to the child pretending to sound kind and gentle.

"You did it. Not the snow!" Jessie screamed.

"Jessica, calm down. You know that's a lie! And you know where liars go," he said as he stood up and took Jessie in his arms.

"NOOOO! LET ME GO! YOU DID IT! YOU KILLED HER!" Jessie screamed while she tried with all her strengths to get free from Giovanni's arms.

"You have been a bad child lately, you have to pay for what you did. Has your mom ever told you where liars go? They go to hell, little Jessie! So you will be punished for all the lies you said."

He pulled away from her hands her teddy bear and locked it in a drawer. Jessie began to cry desperately. Then, Giovanni put her in a dark room and locked her inside.

Jessie still had that same look. The same cold glare of when she was that innocent little girl. Even though time had taught Jessie how to control her temper and her reactions, she had not changed her mind at all.

Giovanni, who was unsure of what to do, pressed a button and immediately two Rocket agents burst in the office. They both were Black Agents.

"You called, sir?" one of them said.

"Bring her away, she is totally crazy! Lock her in a room,"

"As you wish, sir"

They did as they were told. Jessie was locked in a room in the undergrounds.

Meanwhile, Jake had already told James and Meowth about Jessie's run during the night.

"Why haven't you informed us before, Jake? We would have gone with her," James asked as he quickly got dressed.

"Jessie wants to do this alone, she would never accept any help from you or me,"

"But what… what if she's in danger now? What is she's hurt or scared or…"

"Calm down James," Jake tried to calm him. "Jessie is a strong girl. She always manage to get out of troubles,"

Finally, Meowth cut in.

"Hey James, Jake is right," he tried to cheer his friend up. "Of course I'm worried about her, but the only thing we can do is waiting for her. She has to get out of this by herself," the cat said.

"But I… I feel like Jessie needs me now… I have to go to save her," James said as he opened the chalet door.

"James, where are you going?"

"Well, I… I don't know. Where do you think she has gone?" James asked to Jake.

"To the Headquarters, of course. I'll drive you there."

Minutes later, James and Jake were driving in the directions of Viridian city. Meowth preferred not to go with them, in case of Jessie decided to go back to Jake's house.

"Fancy car," James commented looking at Jake's black convertible Porsche Boxter.

"Thanks. I stole it from a millionaire when I left Team Rocket and came to live here. My last theft," he said smiling and driving as fast as the car could go.

"Mmmm.. My dad owned a car which was identical to this when I was young. Then it was stolen. Maybe it's just an impression, but…" James said absorbed in his thoughts.

At those words Jake gulped, so he changed the subject.

"So… tell me, how do you feel about Jessie?"

"I don't know, she's my best friend… well, you see, that's… that's not…" James found himself unable to answer the question as he was blushing deeply.

"Hey James, there's no need to deny it, it's so obvious that you are in love with her. You can tell me," he reassured him.

"Is it so evident that I'm in love with her?" he asked laughing. The two of them exchanged a smile. James felt at his comfort with Jake.

"Believe me, James… don't waste your chances. If you don't tell her about your feelings, you'll never know how she feels about you… And you will live with constant fear, until somebody brings her away from you,"

"But what if she is not in love with me? What if I'm nothing more than a friend to her?"

"At least, you'll be aware of what she thinks about you. Trust me, James… if you let your love escape, you'll have regrets forever… Remember these words: CARPE DIEM,"

"What is it?"

"That's Latin. It means 'don't let the moment escape',"

"You sound like an oracle, Jake! It looks like you have been in my situation too,"

"Actually, I have. But that was many years ago,"

"Was it Jessie's mother who you were in love with?"

"That's right. I fell in love with her while we were working together for Team Rocket. She was so beautiful and graced. I never found the courage to admit my true feelings for her… only when she disappeared, I realized I would have never known how she felt about me. It hurts, James, trust me, it hurts,"

"Have you got a picture of her?" James asked.

Jake showed to James some pictures of him and his Team Rocket partner. She had long, purple hair down to her shoulders. Her eyes were of a deep, brilliant blue and her face lines were pretty and graced.

"She was so beautiful… she looked a lot like Jessie," James said in a sad tone.

"She was only 21 when… when it all happened…"

James remained silent while Jake drove towards Viridian.