Yea, it's 2006! Okay, so chapter 3 was dramatic, but you'll like this next chapter! I don't own Pokemon, enjoy!
Chapter 4: Twerp's Revenge
The next morning, the Rockets were on their way again.
Cassidy and Jessie weren't arguing for once, just narrowing their eyes at each other. If they'd been dogs, they would've been growling and bristling. Cassidy kept close to Butch, James kept close to Jessie, and Angelina was up front carrying the rubber bag holding Pikachu.
The only sounds were the scrunching of boots on the gravel and the muffled protestations of a captured Pikachu in a bag. As the unhappy rocketeers came to the crest of a hill, an unexpected sight awaited them- a hot air balloon and a Meowth!
"Jessie! James! Angel!" Meowth cried, brandishing an ice gun. "Nya! You two stay back or I'll have ta put ya on ice!" he shouted at Butch and Cassidy.
"Meowth! You stupid flea-bag, put that down!" Jessie barked.
"Huh?"
"We've captured Pikachu and we're taking it to the Boss!" James explained with enthusiasm as this meant they wouldn't have to walk no longer.
"Wit' dem!" Meowth pointed a claw at Butch and Cassidy.
Angelina sighed with exasperation. "Yes sweetie, now put that gun down and make some room in the basket!"
They reached Rocket Head Quarters an hour later.
"This doesn't feel right." James said. "I mean, there should've been some sign of the twerps by now- usually that kid goes crazy when anyone takes his Pikachu."
"Well, I tied them pretty tight, they're probably still in that forest." Butch laughed.
They landed on the roof of the fortress-like structure which was the Team Rocket HQ.
"That's weird, I haven't seen a single person since we've landed here." Cassidy was a little nervous as they descended some stone steps and began to walk along a gray corridor which led to Giovanni's office.
"Maybe he's not as paranoid as he use to be." James offered, who was feeling more nervous, due to his natural cowardice and added worry that one Pikachu would not placate the Boss after two years of bungling.
They reached the huge black door of the office and Butch knocked.
"Who's there?" said a voice that was not Giovanni's…. and oddly familiar.
"Uh, Butch and Cassidy, we want to see Giovanni-" Butch said.
Jessie then added, "And Jessie and James! We've brought him a Pikachu."
"Hey guys! Don't forget I helped out, too!" Angelina reminded them.
"Well do come in then." said the stranger again.
Butch slowly opened the door. In the half light, the Rockets could see that Giovanni was sitting at his desk, and sweating more than usual. Around and behind him stood shadowy figures.
"Who are you?" Cassidy demanded.
"Ha ha ha ha!" the original voice rang out. "I've wanted to do this for a very long time." He stepped into the light.
"Oh no!" Angelina gasped in shock. "It's you!"
"ASH!" Team Rocket cried out in unison.
"Yes, but this time you pushed me too far. You see, I thought that Jessie and James would at least have the sense to give up after a while- hell it was even fun frying them all the time. But you, Butch and Cassidy, you just had to get involved!" Ash began to laugh manically and the Rockets noticed that he was holding a shotgun.
"Ash…. What did you do with all the guards? Where did you get the guns? Who are these people?" Jessie was confused; there were more figures than Ash had twerpy traveling companions.
"The guards?... oh, they're locked in the basement. We crawled in through the ventilation and jumped into a room behind some. Then I got my Bulbasaur to hold them with a Vine Whip while we took their weapons…. The rest was easy. And as for my comrades…. I believe you've met them all."
One after the other, the figures stepped into the light. The first was Misty, with fire glinting in her eyes. Then was Tracey who still bore rope burns on his arms and neck. Next was Brock, looking sheepish and obviously struggling with his conscience. Last was Ritchie, Ash's friend from the Indigo Plateau; he knew the love of a trainer for his Pikachu, having one of his own and set out to right the terrible wrong inflicted on his friend.
Jessie and James once again instinctively grabbed each other for reassurance. Butch and Cassidy stood their grounds, as did Meowth and Angelina.
Ash took the safety hatch off the gun and said, "Hand over Pikachu."
Angelina stepped forward, her grip on the bag was tightened and she clutched it. "You sneaky little-! How DARE you take over because of your damn Pikachu! You'll regret this ever happened, Ketchum! I swear to God, I'll-"
Ash aimed the gun right at Angelina, his eyes narrowed. "I said hand over Pikachu NOW!"
Angelina glared at the young trainer. She knelt down and opened the bag, and then got up standing back with the other Rockets.
"Pikachuuu!" the Pokemon cried happily, jumping out the bag and onto Ash's shoulder. However, Ash did not laugh and hug it, like he'd always done before when it was returned. He stared straight at the Rockets, and Angelina had a weird feeling it wasn't just them that he was staring at.
"Take them to the cells." Ash commanded Ritchie.
Ritchie nodded at his ally and poked Cassidy in the back with the end of his rifle, and snarling, "Move!"
Meowth and Angelina went to go with them, but Ash blocked their way, "Pokemon are being kept in another room."
Misty picked Meowth up by the scruff of the neck and taken to another room containing cages filled with Giovanni's stolen Pokemon. The remaining members of Team Rocket were frog-marched out of the room and down endless flights of steps to the basement.
Angelina was the only one left in the room, except for Tracey and Brock lurking in the shadows, she knew Ash was there also.
"Nice disguise, Murakami." Ash sneered. "Didn't think you'd sneak just as low."
"W-what are you going to do to me?" Angelina felt cornered.
"Oh, it's not 'what'," Ash told her nonchalantly. "It's mostly 'how' I'm going to deal with you."
Angelina whimpered. "Please don't-" she then made a run for the door and fled from sight. She was running until she arrived at the air balloon. She panicked to find a place to hide. Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her and felt a hand on her shoulder. She grabbed the person's arm and twisted it, turning swiftly when she heard Brock cry out and saw the pain etched on his face.
"Hey Angel, what're you doing in Team Rocket?" Tracey asked.
"G-guys?! Oh my God!" Angelina bit her lip, "I'm really sorry!" she released her grip on Brock's arm and threw her arms around him, crying. "I'm only in Team Rocket so Marcus and the police can shut down the organization for misuse and cruelty of Pokemon…. p-please, you have to believe me!"
Tracey just stared at the girl in shock while Brock was consoling her with the arm that wasn't in pain. "So you lied back in Viridian City, huh?"
Angelina nodded, wiping away her tears, "Jessie and James didn't really hold me hostage. I found them outside the gym though, and they did have Togepi at the time but Giovanni didn't want it. I followed them into the basement and they wanted to quit, but they really didn't and started planning to change the gym around for the battle with Ash, since they were the new gym leaders." Angelina explained.
"What happened after that?" Tracey asked.
"I wanted to stop them, so I revealed that I was also a member of Team Rocket, and they were convinced that I could help them." Angelina continued. "Inside the gym, and when Ash arrived, I switched around that Jessie and James held me hostage and forced me to help them with the gym."
"Well, I don't know," Brock said unsurely. "How long have you been with Team Rocket?"
"About two years," Angelina replied. "Right after I defeated the Orange League. It's fine if you don't believe me, I don't steal Pokemon, and I really much want to turn in my father."
"Right, I guess that's believable," Brock smiled. "So Tracey and I are going to help you and the other Rockets escape."
"Oh good," Angelina sighed in relief. "Ash is starting to scare me, what's wrong with him anyway?"
"Don't know," Tracey shrugged. "I was just about to release the Rockets…. That's if Ritchie didn't have the key."
"I think there are tools in the air balloon," Angelina motioned behind her. "Knowing Jessie and James, they carry everything."
"I'll check just to be sure," Tracey said, walking over to the balloon and searching inside the basket.
Angelina watched carefully, but she knew she could trust Tracey, he was her close friend two years more than Angelina was friends with Brock.
"If you told me sooner that you worked undercover in Team Rocket, I could've helped out, too." Brock suggested.
"Maybe, but I'm doing fine on my own without assistance." Angelina refused, politely.
"Hey, I found this," Tracey held up a hack-saw. "It might cut through the bars."
"That's great, but we can go back inside only if we take the beautiful Angelina hostage." Brock explained, blushing slightly.
Angelina rolled her eyes while Tracey laughed, "Yeah, I guess that'll work."
So the three teenagers returned back to Giovanni's office.
"Ash, we found the girl." Brock informed.
"Well it's about time," Ash got off the chair and walked in front of Angelina. "Thought you could get away from me? Just wait until later, I have plans for you."
Angelina was no longer scared, but nearly angered that Ash was acting that way.
"Ha! Meowth's got her tongue!" Ash laughed evilly and slapped Angelina across the face.
"So where do we put her?" Tracey asked.
"Hmm, no space in the cells…." Ash thought out loud, and then he grinned. "Chain her to the walls."
Angelina didn't like the idea, Brock and Tracey pulled her toward the door to the cells. They climbed down the long flight of stairs to the basement; Angelina kept hold of Brock's hand.
"Don't worry," Brock whispered. "I'll never let Ash harm you."
There were rows of cells, all with Giovanni's guards inside. Two remained empty at the end. Butch and Cassidy were locked in one, Jessie and James in another.
Jessie paced up and down.
James sat on the bench and put his head in his hands. "What are they going to do to us, Jess?"
"I don't know James, but we're going to get out of here."
"I'm scared, Jessie!"
"Think about that later; right now, think of a way to escape."
"Pssst!" came a hiss from the next cell.
Jessie stood on tip-toe and looked through the small mesh windows between the cells. She came face to face with Cassidy.
"What?"
"We've got a plan."
"Don't you think you've caused enough trouble already?" Jessie rebutted scornfully.
"Look bitch, I don't have time for time…." But before Cassidy could finish the sentence, Jessie jumped away in fright as Brock appeared in front of her.
"What do you want?" Jessie snapped.
"I've come to get you out."
"We're saved!" James leapt up.
"Shhh!" Brock warned with urgency.
"What? But you're one of Ash's friends!"
"I know. He is my friend, but he's totally flipped out. He wants to kill you guys!"
"Okay, so where's-" Jessie paused. "Where's Angel?"
"I'm here, and I escaped from Ash." Angelina replied loud enough for Butch and Cassidy to hear in the next cell.
"Move over!" said Tracey from behind Brock and Angelina.
"Who's that with you?" Jessie demanded, not being use to seeing in the complete darkness of the basement.
Ash had ordered the electricity lines to be cut, so that Giovanni couldn't use any of his gadgets to regain control.
"It's me- Tracey. Listen, Ritchie has the key to the cells, but I've got a hack-saw here that I took from your hot air balloon, I'll see if I can saw the bars off!" he began to do so, and as they were old and rusty, three bars were gone within ten minutes, allowing Jessie and James enough room to squeeze through.
"Okay, this way- I've accessed a map of the building and if I've calculated correctly, it should take us to the trap door under the office." Tracey said.
"Hey, what about us?" Cassidy shouted.
"We don't have time." Brock said.
Butch shook his head, "Just give us the saw, we'll get out on our own."
Tracey nodded and passed the hack-saw to them through the bars.
"Quickly, Misty's due down here to check the cells in five minutes." Tracey advised, and everyone ran after him.
They went past the stairs that led up to the ground floor, and behind them, which Jessie and James nor Angelina had not been able to see in the dark, was a narrow passage way.
Brock took out some matches and lit one. They were in a room which contains a sports car, in front of which were a set of doors. Daylight slipped between the cracks under and between the doors. Above them, there was the outline of a trapdoor.
"It's Giovanni's escape hatch." Tracey explained. "If he's in trouble, he stands over it and presses a button, the trap door opens, he falls into the car and drives away. But because Ash got me to cut the power, it wouldn't function."
Brock held a finger to his lips in a gesture for everyone to be quiet. Through the hatch, everyone could hear voices.
"What do you mean they're GONE!" Ash screamed.
Then hearing Ritchie defend himself. "I…. I did search them before I locked them in. I don't understand where they could've got a hacksaw from!"
"Aghh! You idiot! It was Murakami! She probably had her ways with Brock and Tracey to help her friends escape!"
Angelina clenched her fists tightly, 'How dare he think of me like that!'
"He's starting to sound like Giovanni." James whispered to Jessie.
Jessie nodded in agreement.
"I don't understand it. Ash was sometimes silly and irrational…. But never anything like this!" Brock hung his head.
Tracey nodded, "I haven't known him as long as you have Brock, but I agree. This is very out of character."
"What are we going to do?" Jessie asked.
Tracey explained his plan: "Well, as I see it. The only hope we have is to restore the electricity. The doors are locked electrically, so if we get the power back, we can seal off the office and call the police!"
They all considered this for a moment, before James asked, "But what about the trap-door?"
"We'll just have to hope Ash doesn't know it's there!"
They nodded to ratify their approval for this plan.
Brock took over, "Okay, the fuse box is over the other side of the compound. We can't risk being caught by going to it through the building. So we'll have to push these doors open and skirt around the outside. Do either of you know anything about electrics?"
"I do. I built that special Pokemon battlefield in the gym we destroyed that made the trainer feel all their Pokemon's pain- remember Brock?" James asked.
"Yes." Brock said bitterly, as the memories of Ash getting fried on it came back.
Tracey felt it was time to move. "Okay then, that means we can split into two groups, each one will have someone who can fix the electricity in it. Jessie, come with me. James goes with Brock, because he knows where the fuse box is. We'll go opposite directions and hope that at least one group makes it without getting caught."
"What about me?" Angelina asked, being left out.
"You'll be safer with Tracey and Jessie." Brock told her.
"All right," Angelina nodded. "I don't think it'd be wise to risk distraction, anyway."
They gave each other a look of solidarity and shoved the door until it gave way and creaked open. Tracey poked his head out, and looked around. No one was in sight, so he grabbed Angelina's wrist as they and Jessie ran off to the left. Brock and James waited for a moment before sneaking out and turning to the right.
§To Be Continued§
Thanks for reading, all comments and suggestions welcomed! The last chapter will be up next and very soon! See ya!