AN- Thank you all the kind words so far, it really means a lot to hear people are as excited for this as I am!

Hope you enjoy :)

"Oh my God," Jessie gasped, slowly lowering the bat. "Cassidy?"

Meowth's face appeared in the open doorway. "Huh? Oh. Oh wow."

Laughing with overwhelming relief, Cassidy picked herself up from the heap she was in. "You absolute idiots," she breathed. "What are you doing here?!"

"Right back at you!" Jessie retorted. "I never thought I'd see you again." She hesitated, then dropped the bat and wrapped her arms around Cassidy.

Pride nowhere to be found, rivalry be damned, Cassidy collapsed into the hug. She was just glad to be held by someone who understood, someone who shared a slice of her fucked-up history. But she soon tensed up again, remembering how much she hadn't told them.

"Team Rocket raided my apartment," she blurted. "I didn't know where else to go."

"Oof," Meowth exclaimed. "Um, not to be rude but, were ya followed?"

"I don't think so."

"Well uh, why don't we catch up inside? Man, dis is wild."

Cassidy nodded, and followed as they awkwardly shuffled back in.

The interior of the shack was more or less how she remembered it, only with some added damp darkening the corners of the walls. There wasn't much space, so only the bedrooms were walled off. Everything else was in one room- it was basically a glorified kitchenette with a sofa in the corner. No luxuries like electricity or plumbing, but that was a small price to pay for safety.

First Cassidy ditched the backpack, wincing at the strain in her shoulders. She didn't wait for an invitation to sink into the sofa.

"So, you er, you know how I killed Carter?"

Jessie blinked. "Well, there- there- there were rumours."

"And… you know me and James left Unova together?"

Both Jessie and Meowth were staring at her now. "No," Jessie said quietly. "We weren't sure if he was-" She swallowed, stunned. "He's alive?"

"Last I checked," Cassidy confirmed. "It's been years since I saw him, and that was back in Johto, but yeah."

There was a quiet as what she'd said sunk in. She could feel their hope ballooning, and wished she could feel the same way.

"I knew it was him!" Meowth said, nudging Jessie excitedly. Cassidy gave them a quizzical look, and Meowth swiped a bit of paper off the table. "Look," he said, handing it to her.

Cassidy turned it over in her hands. It was a grainy printout of someone walking through a shop door.

"We've been keeping an eye on police reports," Meowth explained, "in case dere was anything about Jim. An' dis store reported some guy who'd been stealing designer handbags, with dis picture-"

"Handbags?" Cassidy repeated.

"You can get a real good price resellin' em," Meowth said. "Anyway- look! Dat's him, ain't it?"

Cassidy squinted. "I guess it could be. You can't really see his face."

"But look at his hair," Meowth insisted.

The guy in the picture had bleach blonde hair, but now that Cassidy looked closely she could just about see a few pixels of lavender where his roots were.

"The report came from Celadon, a couple of months ago," Jessie said. "So we figured he might still be in Kanto."

"That's a pretty thin lead," Cassidy said, passing the picture back.

"We know," Jessie replied. "But it's our only one. And we can't give up, as long as he's alive…" She trailed off as she saw a flash of hurt cross Cassidy's face.

In the excitement of their reunion, Jessie had sidelined her guilt, but now there was no avoiding it. Unwelcome memories were already playing in her mind's eye, and Butch was at the centre of all of them.

Maybe if she'd never opened her mouth, he'd still be here.

"I get it," Cassidy said. She wrung her hands. "Look… I've pretty much just poked the hornet's nest. I don't think anyone could've tracked me, but the last thing I want is to drag you guys back into this-"

"You're not dragging us back into anything," Jessie interrupted. "We've never been out of it."

Cassidy grimaced. "But you're safe, and if I stay here you might not be."

"Cassidy…" Jessie sighed, suddenly unable to hold eye contact. "You saved James. And, I…" She couldn't bring herself to admit what had happened with Butch, so changed tracks. "We owe you."

"I'll second dat," Meowth agreed. He tried to meet Jessie's gaze, but she was looking at the floor.

Shrugging, Cassidy heaved herself up from the sofa. "Well I'm way too tired to argue," she said. "Someone show me to my room."

Three shots down, and James was feeling good.

Neon lights pulsed in time to the music. The disco ball spun dizzying patterns across everything and everyone below it; the club was a swirl of colour as James threw his arms in the air.

"I love this sooonnng!" he yelled to no one in particular. The mass of bodies on the dance floor were too busy moving to listen, even if the music hadn't drowned him out.

Deafening, just the way James liked it. Too loud to hear himself speak, let alone think. He could shout and whoop and holler and it would all fade into the noise.

He wiggled his hips. He shimmied his shoulders. He twerked like there was no tomorrow, then spun around, bouncing with the bass. He caught the eye of a very cute guy in a tank top, and winked shamelessly.

By the time the song was winding down to the last few bars, James was breathing hard, and decided to take a break. He'd been dancing for almost an hour, but he still had energy for one last twirl as the song faded out.

He deftly weaved his way through the crowd as the next song started. His fringe was plastered to his forehead with sweat, so he gave it a quick tussle on his way over to the bar.

Most people in the club were dancing, which meant there were plenty of free stools. He pulled one up as the bartender nodded at him, strolling over. She had a buzzcut, and a black lipstick smile that radiated warmth.

"What can I get you?" she asked. It was much quieter over here, but she still had to raise her voice.

James glanced up at the chalkboard cocktail menu. His shoplifting business was going well. He'd sold two bags and four pairs of sunglasses that week- a new personal best. Which meant for the first time since childhood, he had plenty of disposable income.

"Uhhhh… A Summer Sherbert, please," he decided slowly. "Two, actually."

"Yessir." She got to work, grabbing a glass and a bottle from the shelves behind her, then set them down on the counter. She looked at him as she shook the tumbler. "Ooh, I love your hair. Good colour combo."

James' hand went self-consciously to his head. He hadn't dyed his hair in a while, so it was half-blonde, half-lavender. "Oh, thank you," he said. "I've been meaning to dye the roots."

"I wouldn't bother, it's kind of a look," she replied.

"Thanks," he smiled. He couldn't very well tell her he was dyeing it for safety, not fashion. "Your nails are cool."

"Oh thanks!" she said, extending her hand so he could have a better look. A little pokeball was painted on each nail, alternating pink and red. "My friend does them for me. She's so good, I don't know how she does it."

James nodded, about to reply when someone hopped up on the stool next to him.

The cute guy in the tank top.

"Am I intruding?" he asked, eyes flitting between James and the bartender.

"Oh no hun, I'm gay as hell," the bartender laughed. "You shoot your shot."

James shifted on the stool so he could look the guy in the eyes. "Hello there," he said, putting on what he hoped was a sultry tone.

"Did I see you throw me a wink back there?" the guy grinned.

"You might have," James answered coyly.

The guy held his hand out. "Santino."

"J-Andy," James corrected himself, remembering his alias of the week at the last second.

Santino frowned. "Jandy?"

"Yeah. Yes."

"Well hey Jandy," Santino greeted. "Is that drink for me?"

James turned to see the two cocktails ready on the counter. The bartender had tactfully wandered away.

"Um, oh," he said, registering Santino's question. "Those were actually both mine, but-"

"Both yours?!"

"- but you can have one," James finished, sliding the drink over, "if you're so keen." He picked up his remaining drink and took a large sip. Ooh. Nice.

Santino grinned wider. "Thank you," he said, picking up his drink and raising it: "Cheers."

They clinked their glasses messily together.

"I don't think I've seen you here before," Santino continued, "but you look familiar- are you local to Saffron?"

James took another gulp. "Yep," he decided, eager to change the subject as quickly as possible. "Yeah you probably saw me around somewhere- so what about you, what do you do?"

"I'm a nurse," Santino answered. "This is one of my very few nights off."

"Never seen a nurse in leather trousers before," James remarked. "So you're business by day and groovy by night?"

Santino snorted. "I genuinely can't remember the last time I heard someone say 'groovy'."

"I've been told I can be old-fashioned."

The DJ had changed the lights blue, and spun them slower to match the song's tempo. There were a few wordless seconds where James forgot himself; there was only the light sweeping over Santino's face, and the warm feeling of being recognised.

"I swear I know you," Santino said. "I think from TV? Oh, are you an actor or something?"

And just like that the feeling went cold. One strike too many- it was too dangerous to keep this going.

James stood up and took out his wallet. "I've been in a few productions," he said cryptically, laying two notes down on the counter. Enough to cover the drinks and then some. "Santino, it's been so lovely meeting you but I really should go- I've got work in the morning, I guess you know how that goes."

"Ah," Santino said, his face falling a little. "Okay. Well, goodnight- will I see you again?"

"Maybe." James winced. "Sorry, it's um, it's not you. Buy a drink on me, please." With that he headed for the doors, not another glance backwards.

It pained him to think about how many connections he'd had to break off like that, without being able to explain himself. But he didn't want to stick around to find out which televised mugshot Santino knew him from.

He grabbed his bag from the cloakroom, nodding at the bouncer on his way out. He teetered a bit on the steps down to the pavement. His fourth drink was quickly catching up to him. Turning around in a little circle, he tried to remember where he'd come from.

The motel he was currently staying in wasn't far away, but it was enough of a walk for him to chew over his thoughts through the city. There was all the typical bustle of a weekend night, plenty of people much drunker than James stumbling along in groups, hooting down the road.

Now that a hook-up was out of the question, he figured he might as well use the rest of his buzz for something productive. Tonight had only been a little fun. But he hadn't come to Saffron to mingle at clubs.

He'd been taking a lot of risks, he knew that. There'd been more than a couple of close calls as a result, and Santino had been an important reminder to freshen up his disguise ASAP.

Still, he wouldn't waver from his plan. When he'd first been separated from Jessie and Meowth he'd spent so long hiding, terrified to show his face more than once every few weeks lest Team Rocket catch him. After Cassidy had left he'd been more alone than he knew was possible. Passive, for way longer than he'd ever intended.

So fuck risk, fuck fear- he was owed a little fun, and more than that, he owed his team mates a reunion.

He reached the motel, and was in and out of his room in less than a minute- all he needed was his rucksack. He made sure he had all his painting gear, then hit the road again.

Where to go… He stopped by the railing that overlooked the sparkling city.

Nowhere too central, that was just asking to get reported. But somewhere Jessie and Meowth wouldn't miss, somewhere they might think to revisit-

Perhaps…

You couldn't get away with it anymore, but back in the day the Magnet Train Station had been prime squatting estate. During the long stretch when it was still under construction, there had been plenty of parts of the building that the builders left alone, and at night it was completely abandoned. They'd used it as a hideout between multiple missions, after learning the hard way that it wasn't open to the public.

They'd been running from the twerps with a clefairy in tow, and thought the train would be the fastest escape. Little did they know the train wasn't running yet, and they'd ended up making their getaway on a handcar, which needless to say did not go well for them.

He thought it was a pretty good spot. Memorable, and somewhere they might pass through organically.

Plus, he saw as he reached the station, there was plenty of graffiti around already. One more mural would hardly hurt.

First he put his hood up. He ignored the front of the building and went around the side, to the fence that had used to have a gap at the bottom big enough to squeeze through. The security had evidently been amped-up since, as the flimsy wire fence had been replaced with a proper iron job. Luckily he wasn't interested in breaking in. He couldn't see any cameras, that was the main thing.

There was a wall adjacent with a good plot of space for him to work with, and, crucially, a flower bed.

He unzipped his bag and took out a small spade. He pushed it into the flowerbed, staying in the space between the plants. The flowerbed went right into the earth, which was good- it needed to be fairly deep.

Given how many pit traps James had dug in his life, he made short work of it.

He took the tin out of his pocket and placed it at the bottom of the hole. It didn't take long to scoop the dirt back in and flatten the top.

Next he unfolded the big cardboard stencil. A bit worse for wear and crusty with old paint, but it still did the job.

He taped the stencil to the wall and got the can of paint out. Blue this time, he thought. He gave it a good shake, took one last look around to make sure no one was watching, and began to spray.

He'd impressed himself with how many places he'd already tagged. He never would have thought he'd have the nerve to do something like this on his own, but the years had numbed him to the threat of being caught. There would be the threat of being caught for the rest of his life, he'd come to realise that. So he might as well shout as loudly as he could for his friends, even if there was only the slimmest of chances he'd ever get a response.

When he was done tagging Kanto, maybe he'd head back to Unova and look for them there.

Stepping back for a clearer view, he set down the can. He'd finished blocking the rose out- if there was time he'd neaten it up, but that wasn't a priority.

James removed the stencil from the wall, then knelt by his bag to retrieve his paintbrush, and a slightly darker tube of blue. He painted the letters in the middle of the rose, keeping inside the lines so you wouldn't see unless you were looking.

Maybe there was time to add some embellishments after all-

"Oi!"

Never mind.

Scrambling to gather his things into his bag, James took a peek towards the shout, and saw someone striding down from the pavement.

"Don't think I don't see you! You ought to be ashamed, messing up the place-"

James had heard it all before. Still, he preferred the ones that shouted at him to the ones that quietly called the police.

He stuffed the stencil back in the bag just as the person was getting close enough to pick him out of a lineup- James zipped the bag, slung it over his shoulders and took off running.

"Hoodlum!"

Whoever was shouting clearly had no interest in giving chase. James could have outpaced them at a jog, but he kept to a sprint until he was sure he was clear.

First thing tomorrow he was dyeing his hair, and then it was goodbye Saffron.

The woods were a blur of white as they sprinted through the birch trees. They couldn't hear the helicopter anymore.

Butch staggered to a stop, doubled over with his hands on his knees and breathing hard. The others soon followed his lead, all of them ragged from the chase.

"Think we're clear?" Cassidy asked, casting a wary eye at the sky.

Meowth held a paw up for silence so he could listen. "T'ink so."

"We can't relax yet," Jessie said. "Not until we find shelter."

"Just give me a minute," Butch panted, "to catch my breath."

James scoffed. "Maybe if you didn't insist on smoking eight packs of cigarettes every day-"

"Yeah?" Butch challenged, standing up straight. "Well maybe if you hadn't worn that ridiculous disguise-"

"That had nothing to do with the cops showing up! If anything that was because you didn't check the cam-"

"All right, can it the two of you," Cassidy snapped. "We can hash out whose fault it was later. Can we just focus on getting somewhere safe?"

No one argued.

"All right then."

They set off again, at a walk this time. In under an hour they came across the shack, just as the sky was turning red. It was pretty dilapidated, one of the ivy-spotted walls missing a plank, and most of the windows broken, but that meant it was unlikely that they'd be intruding on someone else.

"Could be good," Butch said. He tried the door and found it unlocked. "All we'd need is to patch it up a little, get a decent lock on the door… "

"Well I suppose it's a step above no shelter at all," James muttered.

Cassidy followed Butch inside. He was right- it had potential.

"Y'know, this is a nice spot, actually," Butch went on. "Pretty central, but out of the way." He smiled the way he always did when he'd thought of something good. "If we get a few keys cut we could have our own private safehouse."

Cassidy clapped her hands. "Now that's an idea."

Knock knock.

"We could decorate it however we want…"

"Cassidy?"

"...and we wouldn't have to fight with grunts over spare beds-"

"Cassidy? Do you want something to eat?"

Cassidy startled awake. The bedsheets were a tangled mess around her, and Jessie stood in the doorway.

"Sorry," Jessie said. "We weren't sure whether to wake you or not."

"No, it's fine," Cassidy mumbled, sitting up. "I only wanted a nap."

"Meowth's about to cook dinner, if you want to choose what you want."

"Yeah, thanks- I'll be through in a minute."

Cassidy waited until Jessie was gone, then closed her eyes, trying to settle back into the cosy feeling of her interrupted dream. But it was fading too fast for her to hold. All she was left with was the image of Butch, his hazel eyes creased with joy.

"Shit," she whispered, wiping away her tears before they could even think about falling.

Every time she thought grief couldn't shock her again-

She stood up and headed for the kitchen. She was hungry and still half-asleep, so really, she told herself, it was no wonder her emotions were acting up.

Meowth held up three packets of noodles as she entered the room.

"What'll it be- Chicken Shrimp Explosion, Chunky Cheesy, or Cream of Beef?"

Cassidy examined her choices suspiciously. "Those last two sound horrible- I guess the Chicken Shrimp Catastrophe, whatever it's called."

"Explosion!" Jessie laughed.

"Well whatever, same thing," defended Cassidy. "Give me a break, I've spent the last day running for my life."

On a stool by the stove, Meowth dropped the cube of ramen into the pot. "Yeah, we know how dat goes," he muttered.

The smell of the cooking noodles perked Cassidy up a bit, and by the time Meowth was garnishing the bowl she was ravenous.

Meowth slid her the bowl and some takeout chopsticks. "Not as good as the ones me 'n' Christopher make, but dey're okay."

"Mhmm," Cassidy agreed, slurping up half the noodles in a couple of mouthfuls, not caring she was burning her tongue. "More than okay."

"So… What are you doing in Kanto?" Jessie asked.

"I'm looking," Cassidy said between mouthfuls, "for who killed Giovanni. And the less you know, the better."

Jessie and Meowth looked at each other.

"Um…" Jessie turned back to Cassidy. "Why?"

Slurping back the broth before she got into it, Cassidy set down the bowl and gestured around them. "This right here," she said. "We're in hiding because Team Rocket thinks we're the guilty ones, but it was Giovanni's death that started this whole mess. Carter should never have taken over, and I'm gonna prove he had something to do with it."

Meowth hummed in thought. "A lotta people did suspect him…"

"Right, exactly!"

Jessie looked less convinced. "But… Even if you do prove that Carter had a hand in it, Team Rocket are hardly gonna forgive us."

"Maybe not," Cassidy conceded, "but at least I'll get some justice for everyone who died under Carter's rule." She sighed at the worried way Jessie was looking at her. "Look, I'm not asking you to get involved. You asked why I'm here, that's it."

An awkward silence.

"I'm gonna hit da hay," Meowth said eventually, faking a yawn. He shot Jessie a meaningful look on his way out.

"Thanks for the noodles," Cassidy called after him. She put her bowl on the side, then crashed back on the sofa.

Jessie steeled herself with a deep breath. She'd avoided the topic for long enough.

"Look, Cassidy…" she started, sitting down next to her. "I've been meaning to talk to you about Butch. About- about his death."

Cassidy tensed. Her eyes locked on Jessie's. "I've made my peace," she said. "So unless you've got a lead for me to follow, I really don't need to hear it right now."

Jessie hesitated.

"Can we just not?" Cassidy asked. "Please?"

"Okay," Jessie nodded. "Yeah." She couldn't pretend it wasn't a relief.

Relaxing, Cassidy looked up at the ceiling. All the little patterns in the wood. "It's weird," she said. "We're not insulting each other."

"Yeah," Jessie chuckled. "Yeah, it's kind of nice."

"Reminds me of our training days. Before the boys."

"You mean before we decided we hated each other?"

Cassidy shook her head. "That all seems so stupid now."

"Guess we've matured or something."

They both smiled. Cassidy shuffled closer and laid her head on Jessie's shoulder.

"I've missed you," she whispered.

Jessie leaned into her.

"I've missed you too."