Tuesday, April 3rd 2001

          She walked down a long, bright corridor, wondering why she got there, and how she could get out. Suddenly an explosion shook the very foundations of the building, forcing her into the walls in a violent jolt, making her cry out in pain. The lights began to dim as a result of the quake, filling her with panic as the end of the passage was in the distance, bearing the only exit from that area; the way she came led further into the building and she needed to escape before the edifice crumbled in on her. She ran as fast as she could, limping heavily from the collision with the wall, then she screamed for help with as much force as she could exert when the lighting cut completely. Liquid flowed all over her, undoubtedly from a burst pipe or something, making her flimsy clothing stick to her like batter to a hob. Her screaming wasn't attracting any aid whatsoever, so she stood up and stumbled in the direction she thought the way out was located in.

          The water was now about knee-deep, making the wading a more strenuous process than before, so she screamed one final time, hearing the sound rebound off all the walls like some sort of sinister boomerang. She groped out in front of her for the handle that wasn't anywhere near her as the water closed in on her neck, then her reply came; babies' screams filled the dark hallways, only instead of dying down when they'd reached the end of their duration, they increased in depth and pitch, and when she sank under the water, the sound was more blood-curdling and plentiful than before…

          Jessie awoke as her dream-being drowned, covered in a thick layer of sweat and she was blind from the tears streaming heavily down her tired face. She was a wreck to look at as she opened her stinging eyes, and she was the pure image of physical exhaustion when she tried to sit up. Her eyes were burning from crying so hard the night before, and as a direct result of this she wanted to keep them shut to cease the irritation it caused her. Her sobbing woke her husband, who instantly touched her hand to show he was there for her, wordlessly asking her if she was alright, and whether or not there was anything he could do to help. His dreams had also been invaded by similar torments but this was of the jar, his baby's glass prison, both feeling the terrible aftermath of the nightmares following their own nightmare. She felt her husband slide his fingers around her wrist whilst verbally asking how she was feeling, and greatly to her surprise, she felt both relieved and nauseated by this show of affection from him, regardless of the fact that she was still fully concealed with hospital wear and under blankets. She shook her head and wept her heart out again, still unable to cope with the agonizing grief of losing their first child, especially when she was so close to giving birth to her.

          She'd been seven months to the exact date, and if she'd have been granted with a few more hours of life she'd have died at the same time in the morning when she'd been conceived. Jessie was finding it impossible to cope with the pain from where the doctors had torn her baby from her womb when her death was certain; the throbbing that ensued after a batch of abominable pain was crippling her, made worse whenever she touched herself to relieve it. She felt eternally grateful she hadn't walked out on James upon learning a few nasty truths as it meant she wasn't going through this fiendish trauma in solitude, even though if she had, he'd forever think their child was alive when she wasn't. He hadn't kissed her on the lips, always only her hands or forehead, and she felt like it was her fault he was afraid to commit as fully as he used to. It wasn't that he didn't want to; he just felt like if he did, he'd be acting like this wasn't affecting him, when really it tore him apart time and time again when he visualised Alyssandra in the jar, helpless right to the very end.

      "Bring her back James, I want her so much"

      "I wish I could, you have no idea how badly I'm dealing with this"

      "You didn't feel her kick or carry her around for seven months. She was all I had for six months; I couldn't have gone on without her giving me such an important reason to stay alive for, now s-she's gone"

      "You're not on your own now Jess, I'm here to protect you, and if I ever catch the bastard who did this--"

      "Did what? James what are you saying?"

      "Oh gods they didn't tell you? This wasn't a miscarriage, someone filled you with so much poison and nebulous thyroproxine you nearly needed a hysterectomy. Someone set out to ruin our lives, and I must say they did a very good job of it"

      "Someone murdered our baby? And the hospital failed to mention it to me? Are you sure this isn't something out of a nightmare you dreamt last night?"

      "Positive, they took me to a prison and interrogated me because they thought I'd done it. I'm being made wear this tag too, until death do us part"

      "Why didn't you say anything sooner? Are they legally allowed to do that?"

      "Don't know; I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible to be with you, in case the worst should have happened. Nobody told me of your condition until I got back, so I'm glad I wasn't detained for longer even if it means giving up my freedom for the rest of my life"

      She became lost in a happy memory of when they'd both—to an extent—been young, joyous teenagers who had never faced any particularly great hardships. She still found it hard to believe that the guy who left his inheritance for her had been a drug abuser for a couple of years. If asked, they would both have readily admitted Alyssandra was unplanned (neither liked referring to her as an accident) but they'd both wanted to raise her and had really warmed to the thought their first child was linked to their first time. Now Jessie was willing to do anything to have her back in her womb, safe from the world for another couple of months, then she'd protect her for all the years of her life to make sure she steered clear from the mistakes her parents had made. What disturbed her most was she was willing to sacrifice her relationship with James if she could have her back, as it was his fault from hiding too much from her for too long—would she have loved him if she'd had as much knowledge about him and his disturbingly dark past as she held now?

      The bright glare from a flashlight suddenly appeared in the room, aimed directly at the couple to see whether they winced or remained in slumber. When the result was obvious to the bearer, they snapped on the full lighting system, not caring about what effect the severe contrast would have on either of the humans' eyesight at this hour of the morning. The doctor picked James up rather roughly by his neck, asking him what the hell he thought he was playing at, and shook him severely when he didn't receive a coherent answer. James' phobia of people touching his neck kicked in at full force, his fears heightened by the fact he had yet to wear his glasses that morning, and he couldn't clearly see who his attacker was, though the voice sounded familiar to him.

      "What did you do with the hospital's property? You were supposed to take sedatives to keep you out until tomorrow afternoon, so why were you awake before I entered? Answer me scum"

      "First of all, my name isn't scum, and I haven't got the faintest idea what you mean"

      "You were the only member of the public body to know the location and plans for experiment number LCX 7309, therefore since none of the medical staff would interfere with its fate; it leaves you as the only other person to point the finger at"

      "As I've told you already I don't know what you mean, and whatever happened did not involve any action on my part at any stage, savvy?"
      "How do you expect me to believe that when I saw what you were like earlier? Were you just going to let us go through with it?"

      "James what's he talking about?"

      "I swear I didn't do anything, so please let go of me and go back to wherever the hell you came from and let us be in peace"

      "Since when am I meant to believe the words from the mouth of a junkie? You probably traded it in for another fix"

      "I'm clean but you're obviously not. All the medication in here must have been too tempting for you, how else could you act as cruelly as you did? You put me in there deliberately, didn't you?"

      "Put you in where honey, prison?"

      "No, not that but thanks for giving me an idea Jess. If you go down to the police station, you'll find that they've been tracking me, and you'll be able to hear them verify I haven't moved, let alone gone near that hell room. Have you forgotten you sent it somewhere else while I was there, and I have no idea where that somewhere is, not that I'd want to?"

      "What room James? What went on earlier?"

      "It's okay Jess, you don't need to know. It's bad enough I do, so let me bear the horrific idea for both of us please"

      "Damn it we agreed not to hold information back from each other anymore, so be man enough to tell me, one of you"

      The doctor dropped James with as much consideration as he'd used to pick him up and exited with a couple of gruff remarks, leaving him to pick up the pieces created by the devastation of the bombshell he'd dropped on the frantic woman. It hurt him even more than when he'd told her someone had deliberately set out to do it, as she made him relive it over and over again to make sure he divulged every scrap of knowledge regarding the situation with her. Pale failed to describe what she'd looked like even after her transfusion replacing a portion of that which she'd lost in the miscarriage, and white sounded like a deep golden bronze compared to the colour she went as she learnt of her baby's grave. To both of them, abandoning her in a ditch showed more compassion than sticking her in a glass jar did, James especially thought it since he'd been unfortunate enough to witness it. Suddenly Jessie began crying uncontrollably, knocking back James' hand when he reached out to touch her in consolation, this further rejection making him feel even more like he should never have met her since he'd done nothing but wreck her life at one point or another.

      "Get away from me; you aren't the man I thought I'd lost my virginity to. You don't do anything except hurt me time and time again by bottling up instead of telling me the truth. You were doing it the day I met you and you're continuing to do it now"
      "Jessie you're not in the most stable of conditions, I intended telling you the truth in a couple of months when you're stronger and less likely to break down as you are very prone to doing at the moment. I love you, and believe me when I say I don't want to hurt you"

      "Go away, just get out and come back later, if you absolutely have to. When you're not around I at least know I can trust my thoughts; they're not likely to hurt me"

      "But Jess--"

      "Get out now before I have the staff to make sure you can't come back in here, ever. Remember what six months apart was like, when I was in hospital and you didn't know what had happened? Try the rest of our lives James, because you're continuing to trot down that path with each second you stay here"

      He reluctantly left the room as he knew that in her present state of mind she was liable to go through with it, regardless of whether she really wanted to or not. Having his daughter immobile in a bell jar and being sent off to get chopped up and experimented on was one thing, but for someone to steal her and possibly do the same or worse was an even grislier thought. Even the scientists' macabre ideas were tolerable to an extent as it could stop other women from falling victim to the same suffering in the future if they were faced with the same nightmare, but to even think about a teenager slashing her open for fun made his blood run cold. His marriage hadn't even existed three whole days and he wasn't allowed to speak to his wife; it seemed to just slot in nicely with his history of screwing things up in his life.

      Later that morning…

      Lindsey felt the same pair of blue eyes staring at her as she worked at the coding. It was pretty much the same scenario as every day since the coding dilemma began—or rather since her twisted casual sex-based relationship sprang up that night—and she was getting fed up with the building tension in what could have been a caring boyfriend. Today did contain a difference to every other morning; she was actually working on the code since she'd reduced it to mere rubble from the grand castle it had initially been similar to. She admitted to herself that this code was far beyond anything she could encrypt files with, and it would be a valuable source to the company if she could utilise it for her own purposes. How had he done it so quickly and without going back over it to check each key he'd inputted had been correct? She'd never thought much of him as a worker, but now she knew why; he should have been in charge of computing, as that was where his skills really showed through. She doubted he'd have accepted the position if he'd been offered it, as there was no excuse for sleeping with someone else's partner, which is what Jessie would have been to a secretary. With his cross-dressing history, she suddenly found herself wondering what he'd look like in a black skirt and blouse, finding herself surprisingly pleased with the mental image she conjured, even though she'd never found him all that attractive. She felt quite partial to his personality though; he'd never hurt her with a vicious comment or tried to feel her up if he was told to wait like every other member did, regardless of their sex. Jessie had socked her one in the face on three separate occasions, but that was when she'd been on the most successful team at the time, deciding to be the complete opposite of her partner's pleasant attitude.

      Giovanni went over to the girl of both his dreams and nightmares, forcibly kissing her on her lips, not listening to her protests at the force he applied in the process. She put her hands on the keyboard accidentally as she stood up to fend him off, not even remotely in the mood for such behavioural problems at that hour of the day. Suddenly the computer released another loud beep, similar to the detonation of a bomb which made Giovanni leap a few feet backwards in fright as vivid memories of the explosion filled his head. The screen of the computer went a variety of colours with various boxes containing information flashed up, not lingering long enough for either of them to read more than a couple of words out of a paragraph. Then, the final breakthrough came; the programs open at the time of James' infiltration appeared, undamaged and without any glitch in the basic running of the system. She ran a few tests, then released a whoop of sheer delight at beating the most complex challenge she'd ever faced in an electronic object. Giovanni stood at her side again and kissed her passionately, as if it was his way of congratulating her since he used far more tender techniques than he had moments beforehand.

      This display of affection was more than enough for Anthony, who raced from his spot, smashed the barrel of his gun into Giovanni's skull before running out of the door, uninterrupted by any of the guards. The attack did little more than stun the older man for a second or two, yet it was still a point that he'd let his defences down for a moment and the worst had happened. It offered little help towards his already paranoid way of thinking. He didn't reveal his fear though every member there knew their necks were on the line for allowing such a needless accident to take place when it was their duty to make sure such occurrences failed to exist. He wisely chose to act like nothing had happened and directed his attention back to the now-usable computer, and commanded his sleeping partner to call up the information on how Jessie was getting on. She half-bitterly did it, knowing that no matter how he used her, he still lusted after one girl in particular. She skipped backwards since the camera was on James and there was no sign of her at all, and both of them were horrified when they heard James telling her she'd lost her baby. For the first time in his adult life, Giovanni cried and didn't care about the audience he had at such a weak moment; his angel had been deeply hurt and it wasn't even his doing this time. He grabbed Lindsey by the arm and told her to shut it down and transfer the programs to her laptop, reinstating all of the members to their regular duties until further notice. He forcibly slept with her in the back of the car with tinted windows blocking out their activities to the world, otherwise it would be visible to the world that it was more rape than anything else. It was time for him to pay Jessie a little visit.

      Meowth seethed furiously in the park where he'd buried the jar; how could anybody act as viciously as this? Tears of both panic and sorrow laced his eyes when he remembered the reason why she was capable of being stuffed into a container in the first place. He'd wanted to make them pay, but his hatred had blinded him to the extent he'd given her the wrong formula. Now he wanted more than ever to turn back time to let them have what they loved back, especially since part of James' dreams had included many verbal references to everything dear to him that he was no longer able to see, and his name had come up. Why had he allowed himself to act so viciously to this extent? How was he jealous of an unborn baby? His friends had never forgotten or wanted him gone, so why hadn't he simply gone over to them and helped them with the pregnancy instead of intentionally setting out to sabotage it? He resented his actions less than he resented his rebirth; he deserved to have died back when he'd saved his friends' life, not have fate cruelly alter his ways of thinking and acting like it had. He could have died a martyred hero, now not even a despicable villain came close to describing what he would be whenever he lost the ninth life.

      In Meowth's absence, Butch made the most of his time alone by not spending it alone; he spent the morning with what he thought was Cassidy, thinking that she was pleasing him far more than any previous sexual encounter he'd experienced that he chose to recall. He wasn't sure if it was because he'd thought he'd lost her and had science work its miracles and bring her back , or because she'd always been the forbidden fruit as far as he was concerned, not someone he could make a move on as they were partners. She laughed beautifully as they made love; he thought that was owing to her enjoying the experience as much as he did, and not aware that the ditto thought it would make the atmosphere extremely funny whenever its toy wasn't quite what it seemed. The whole process of the human way of reproducing was vile to it, as it lacked the honesty and elegance pokémon bore; this just seemed to be as casual and thoughtless as a comment on whether it was raining today or not. Butch found complete bliss whenever they slept together, making the creature giggle at the thought of what it would be like when he realised he supported bestiality.

      James returned to Jessie's room as it approached midday. It had killed him to stay away from her for so long when they were both in such fragile states, but he knew to go near her when she requested his absence would be as intelligent as to play with extremely high voltage electricity with no protection considered. She'd caused the six month rift and he didn't want to be the one responsible for disobeying her wishes and causing the rest of their lifetime apart. She was awake and silently watched her husband join her at her bedside, wordlessly thanking him for the astounding bouquet of her favourite flowers he arranged carefully on her bedside table. His eyes motioned equally soundless phrases; the communication would seem absurd to other people but they'd grown up together and were almost always in tune with each others' feelings. He touched her hand and massaged it with his hand until she retracted it and shook her head, with tears spilling out of their caverns due to the sudden, unexpected motion. He didn't sigh or scream; instead he raised his hands in defeat and left the room again, feeling that if he left her for a little longer, she may become more expressive or have an increased sense of toleration.

      He wandered the area and angrily thought about the terrible situations they faced, and how each challenge opposing them was steadily growing more horrific each time. His family was never going to happen; his first child was dead and his marriage was crumbling around him, and if he did make it out of this with a wife, how could he bring himself to have sex with her and create another child? He glowered at the thought of some bastard flooding his wife with enough nebulous thyroproxine to cause almost double homicide, and how they'd successfully done it right under his nose too. She'd hardly been left alone, so how could this have happened?

      It was really only when he'd taken the third pull off his cigarette that he became partially aware he'd resorted to nicotine to make him feel better. His mind partially begged for him to take something stronger; Jessie wouldn't mind all that much as it meant he'd really only catch up on the morphine she was continually being fed intravenously. He was a messed up kid at heart that had dabbled in too many things which caused trouble in his youth, now he was trying to repent for his sins and simply had grown up too fast, hence his childlike actions at times. As he neared the butt of his cigarette, the vein in his left elbow twitched involuntarily as it used to when he was about to inject something into it. He rolled back his sleeve and almost sentimentally looked at the discoloured patch, remembering all the times he'd eagerly polluted his body for an hour's enjoyment, or how he'd done it with tears in his eyes because he needed a brief escape from the hell in which he'd resided. Part of him now wished he'd died that night in the alleyway, if for no other reason than to obliterate the sorrow he'd induced on everyone around him, and how Jessie could have reapplied to other colleges, retaken tests and become the nurse she'd dreamt of becoming as an alternative to hanging around with him and ruining those imaginings. She could be happy with a man she loved, not someone she stayed with for a couple of weeks then argued with him for all she was worth. They hadn't even lasted three weeks as a couple during the first time round, and from the way things were going it looked as though history were set to repeat itself, both of the relationships' demises ultimately being his fault. He heard his name being called gently, and to sate his curiosity rather than to engage in a conversation, he turned around to see who sought his attention.

      Before him stood Violet contrasting him, looking better than when he'd last seen her, whereas he looked infinitely worse from lack of sleep and unendurable manic depression. He offered her a smile that bore as much sincerity as he could muster, self-consciously noting the way she mentally absorbed every detail of how he looked less lively than a decomposing corpse in a city sewer. She said there was a park nearby where they could sit and talk if he would grace her with his presence for a short while, almost surprised when he accepted her invitation. They hardly exchanged words as they walked the distance, one being far too engrossed in their thoughts and the other being considerate and not wishing to disturb them, even though their head buzzed with questions. Surprisingly, the latter was James.

      After the correct amount of waiting time, Jessie felt like she could allow James back in to see her, longing to have his company to soothe her as he always did when she faced difficult circumstances. It had struck her rather suddenly that he must be suffering almost what she was, even though she was the only one capable of offering some shelter to their unborn infant, and now she needed to apologise to her husband in case the unthinkable occurred and she lost him too. The merry chimes of a bell ringing to signify the arrival of the fourteenth hour momentarily vanquished the dull ticking of the grandfather clock down the hall, breaking the heavy, monotonous sound she'd heard for the last fifty nine minutes and fifty eight seconds. Then, after the two chimes, it resumed with as little excitement as it had before. A nurse entered the room to monitor her condition, and in a passing comment she said there was a man there who longed to see her, and had lingered in the area for a couple of hours. Jessie allowed herself a brief smile as she knew it to be her husband responding to her telepathic request, and said to send him in and to hold the medical staff off from entering the room until he'd left, regardless of the circumstances.

      She closed her eyes as she lay back against the pillow in her freshly sedated state, longing for dreamless sleep to replace her eternal nightmares that haunted her living hours as well as during the night. She felt her husband touch her cheek, but she was unable to feel most of the caress from the soporific pumping through her body. She felt lips cover her own and she decided to let James share a kiss with her, as it might help them both remember that not all was unsalvageable from this heartache. She felt his tongue slip into her mouth and she responded with the same passionate urge she received, feeling better as it went on; then she realised something as the kiss lengthened; James always moved his tongue in a certain pattern as he knew she enjoyed it, and this was an entirely different style. She opened her eyes and screamed even though the noise was hardly anything from both narcotics and the mouth of the monster above her: Giovanni.

      She shook her head in disbelief as he held his hand down on her mouth, eyes widened in terror when she realised the first time she'd committed herself to her husband in the last few days was not as it seemed, and instead made an action towards infidelity. His other hand wandered over the contours of her body for his own pleasure, glad the drugs had made her more pacified and made her practically immobile. She tried to bite him but all it came off as was a soft, wanton nibble which worked wonders for her aggressor's sexual needs. He pulled the covers back from her chin and touched her again, this time the only thing separating their skins was the thin layer of material that was her hospital gown. As his hand travelled further down her body, her pain increased as did her disgust, unable to get over the ultimate injustice of helplessly allowing herself to be defiled only a day after her baby's untimely exit.

      He grabbed the tube of her intravenous bag and told her that if he pinched it, it would create an air bubble that would kill her when it travelled through her bloodstream to cause a blockage at her heart. She nodded in terror because as much as she wanted to die to end her misery and be with her child, she couldn't leave James, especially when he'd left in a nasty argument. He didn't care about how frail she was; all he needed was sexual satisfaction from someone other than a harmless woman he was mortally afraid of, and if he hurt her in the process it would be nothing new and so be it. He hiked the fabric up above her waist and savoured the sight before standing up, pinioning her and entering her with force, just to watch her quiver as she wept in fear and humiliation. He sadistically thought to himself that at least this time, she wasn't about to be saved by James like she had been last year (he'd heard the argument on the laptop) nor would she forget it like she probably had done when he'd raped her fully. She didn't care about the danger of death as he came inside her and screamed at the height of her lungs for all she was worth; the semen had forced its way around inside her already-excruciatingly sore womb, and as he pushed himself in the whole way at that moment, something terrible happened to her to cause the screaming. The stitches burst.

      Once Violet's head was cleared, she engaged in a polite and trivial conversation with him, both pretending that their break-up hadn't been all that nasty, and pretending they'd met again on nicer terms. She was finding it hard to tell how he was feeling, so she felt awkward at not knowing something as vital as that when she knew what he'd been through. She light-heartedly apologised for not hanging around for him to say goodbye the morning before, and by saying this she noticed how he went from the chatting individual that had sat before her to a figure of stone, so she instantly knew that she'd said the completely wrong thing.

      "I'm sorry for not coming back. Trust me, I'm forever grateful for your assistance, but my place was with her, not you. Forgive me"

      "It's fine, I know what you faced and in case that was a possibility, I was hardly going to throw a temper tantrum because you were so distracted to be with her and forget about me"

      "We didn't just face it"

      "Sorry?"

      "She lost her, we got help too late"

      "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, why aren't you there with her now?"

      "We had a fight and she told me to give her some space. I don't want to disobey her and throw away everything. Not now"

      "How could you hold an argument, at this time?"

      "I accept responsibility for it, even though I only held back information to save her feelings"

      "What was the argument ab--?"

      "I'd really rather not go into details about it right now, it's hard enough to remember the event itself never mind discuss it. I want to hold her and tell her its not her fault, and that she didn't lose her baby but I can't do it, because no matter what I do I can never rewrite the past. I can't catch the bastard responsible and I can't wake up earlier, take her to hospital and save her. I can't do anything"

      She felt uncomfortable at witnessing his alteration into an abject creature, knowing it was something she'd said that caused the heart-tearing transformation. Of course she'd been bitter that it was someone else he'd married and got pregnant, but not to the extent where she'd want the other woman to suffer such an abominable experience. She wanted to massage his shoulders as she knew from their long-lasting relationship that it was a method of soothing him, yet she was afraid to display any show of affection as it could make her seem inconsiderate to his horror. She wasn't so insensitive that she'd make a move on him when he was so considerably weak, part of her not even able to stomach the idea of what his wife would have gone through.

      Unexpectedly, a pebble sailed through the air and came to a grinding halt as it collided with the earth, after a couple of physics-related bounces on the hard surface. The pair instinctively looked up and saw a bedraggled meowth standing on its hind legs, as if to boldly declare that it had been it that had been so cocky as to disrupt such a moment. Seeing it reminded Violet that it hadn't just been a woman her ex-boyfriend had attacked her Gym with; when she began to voice her epiphany, she noticed hatred burning mercilessly behind his eyes, as if his retinas received not light but evil. Without a second devoted to warning her of what he intended to do, he took off after the stubbly pokémon with the intent of killing his former friend. Violet decided not to follow him, as he was always the faster of the two and besides, she didn't want to get in his way when he was in a mood as foul as this. She sighed as she waited patiently on the bench for his return, feeling slightly dejected as she realised he was making a habit of departing without excusing himself or telling her when he'd return.

                                                         ***

      "What have you done with her?"

      "Keep quiet and I'll tell you"

      "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, YOU VILE EXCUSE FOR A CREATURE?"

      James' cries of lunacy successfully absorbed people's attention but he didn't care; Meowth had used his feral instincts to save his life and had raced up a tall, thick and mainly branchless tree. It didn't take a fool to work out that his gentle-natured former friend would easily tear him limb from limb and manage to keep him alive to retrieve the knowledge then. Part of the guilty creature longed for him to do so in order to clear his conscience, fed up with its everlasting consumption of his thoughts and actions. He jolted out of his inner thoughts on what he'd done when a particularly violent shove from James nearly threw him out of the tree, vibrating from the force exerted. His stubbly coat bristled and he spat as his wilder counterparts often did when faced with a larger, more dangerous opponent where they stood little chance of winning such a battle unless their bravery accounted for something in the outcome. Part of him wondered if attracting James' attention so soon after the accident was as intelligent as it had first seemed in his head. But then again, if he was torn to shreds if he fell out of the tree, wouldn't it be a martyred ending by losing his life to make someone get over inconsiderable amounts of grief?

      "You hit the tree one more time and you'll never know where she is"

      James's fist wavered mid-air for a few moments, contemplating if he could knock the pokémon from the tree, get the information and kill it, and weighing the probability of all three turning out successfully, or at least more than partially in his favour. His fist lowered, in spite of how pathetic he felt at submitting himself to the will of the thing responsible for an innocent unborn child's demise. If looks could kill, Meowth's death would have been longer and more torturous than Jessie's heartbreaking and pointless labour.

      When he realised the danger was eliminated for the present, Meowth showed a sense of manners by stepping very carefully onto the branch below the one on which he'd rested. If James had struck the tree then, he would have undoubtedly fallen to the ground where fate would have begun round one in their battle. His stubble was still thicker and more vertical in nature than usual, but under the circumstances, neither of the former partners cared, if indeed they noticed it at all. He wasn't insulting in any way as he told the young man below him not to worry, and that she was in a safe place. He noticed the youth's fist shook with frustration, anger or depression (perhaps even an evil dosage of all three), his hands already swollen from striking the trunk so vigorously and so frequently. He lowered himself by one more branch before stopping and settling carefully, the tone he selected far from patronising or mocking in nature. In spite of what others may think, he gained no personal enjoyment from this matter whatsoever.

      "She's safe, but I'm not going to ransom her location with you; it will sound almost insane when you hear it, but it's for the best if you don't know where she is"

      "How the hell would it be for the best in any circumstances you demented fool? How can it not be when two parents are denied the opportunity to say goodbye formally?"

      "Because if you return to that hospital with her you'll be arrested, then who would be around to ensure Jessie didn't top herself? There's such a thing as post-natal depression you know, and that applies when the kid lives. Imagine the possibilities of what would happen now"

      James had no snide or angry remark to shoot back at hearing this, and although he still wanted to kill the pokémon, he ruefully admitted to himself that he had a valid, logical point. Losing Jessie was the last thing he needed, especially when he was refraining from killing himself for her. He'd only commit suicide if she died to sever his misery, and not because he believed in an afterlife where they'd be happy together without any threats haunting them like they did in their actual lives. He was not a religious man in the slightest and the latter was not a feasible likelihood in his mind. The trembling increased throughout his body as he suppressed the threatening tears. He would not allow himself to appear that weak in front of the murderer of his child, no matter how painful the words traded could be.

      "I did it when I learnt what would happen to her when the filthy scientists would lay their hands on her and could not permit it. A lifetime ago we were friends--"

      "But now we're enemies. You made her die in the first place. I have no proof but I believe it. There's malice in your eyes that was not there months ago. My vision's terrible, but I can still see the dwelling evil within, created from spite was it? I know you're working with Giovanni, Tyra told me all about your little resurrection. Had you come close to us we'd have been more than delighted to have you back in our company, ecstatic even. Both of us found it difficult to continue when you 'died', but please make no mistake in this matter. You come near us again and I promise with everything I cherish I will personally be the one to listen to your heart give out"

      "Perhaps that is so, but what would Jessie say? Let's do some equations. Jessie plus suicidal attitudes plus visualising her friends rip each other apart plus missing her kid equals what?"
      But when the cat-type looked to the youth, he discovered an empty space on the fading yellow grass where the human had stood moments before. James hadn't heard most of the so-called maths problem, and had run away whilst ignoring the perfect chance for the destruction of his unborn's murderer with deft ease. He'd felt a shudder rippling through him and immediately raced towards the hospital; the last time he'd felt this was when he was in the restroom the morning before at the exact moment she'd lost their daughter. His place was with her, not in a petty squabble that could later be resolved. Little did he know that in a couple of days' time he'd wish he had killed the threat whilst it was but a bud, before he could call in his resources to completely destroy everything salvaged from his broken relationship with Jessie.

      Violet audibly groaned as she watched James run away with a look of panic on his face, knowing that she could possibly wait in the park for sixteen weeks and he would fail to revisit the spot to make his apologies. She couldn't bring herself to hating him, as she knew from their long relationship that he'd never intentionally hurt someone, especially someone he'd loved. But then again, he'd obviously hurt people along his path as a troubled teenager, judging from what little history of his she knew. This was coming from a young woman who once considered herself as the only person who knew everything about him, including his forced betrothal. He'd often joked with her that he'd signed a form that made him legally married to Jessie Belle fifteen days after her eighteenth birthday without the need for a future ceremony confirming it, so that on his wedding day he could just lock himself in his room. With a sigh of disappointment at her former boyfriend's departure, she rose and paced her way along the route back to her own room, deep in thought regarding what she could have had with him if she'd been given an ample opportunity.

      Words failed James as he stood like an icicle, even though he was sweating out of panic, looking at the empty bed where Jessie had been that morning, grey-faced at the news the doctors had just given him. Shock infiltrated his system and he immediately resumed blaming himself, feeling that if he'd been there he could have prevented it. The shiver he'd felt in the park had not been caused by a wind, just as he'd prayed it had been the case. He wished he was wrong more frequently than it was, just anything to turn back the clock and alter fate's cruel decision.