Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy

Written by BansheeGirl

A/N: She lives! BansheeGirl returns from the dead to bring you the latest chapter of her regretfully-slow-moving Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy! Be happy! Yay! Read on, and don't forget to review once you've finished!

Disclaimer: See chapter 1 or 2!

Magnetic Forces of Love and Conspiracy

Chapter 10: Some Secrets Revealed

James suddenly found himself in the Lodging House's living room, and distractedly made his way over to slide into an armchair by the fireplace. His head spun with the information that Sam and Olivia had just delivered him, and the image of a certain crimson-haired woman lying unconscious in a bed upstairs. Without another given second to collect his thoughts, Sam and Olivia stumbled into the living room as he had done only moments before.

"James!" Oliva cried, hurrying over to stand before James. "Just what on Earth was that all about!" She said, her tone conveying a mixture of both concern and annoyance.

James looked up at Olivia, but instead of answering the woman's question he stared vaguely as if peering right through her. Olivia shot an anxious look at Sam, who shrugged in reply. Before Olivia could press James again, however, another person made an exasperated entrance.

"What is all this ruckus?" Mary questioned loudly, her eyes searching the three people stationed near the fireplace. Her expression softened as if a thought seemingly only just occurred to her. "Nothing's happened to the girl, has it?"

Olivia placed her hands upon her hips. "No, but James just almost fainted at the sight of our mystery-woman! And then he practically fell over himself to get out of the room!"

"I just needed some air," James quickly interjected, apparently coming out of his daze, "That's all."

Mary, Sam and Olivia looked to James, whom had turned away to stare into the fire. The three exchanged confused looks, and Mary joined the group by the warmth of the flames.

"James… she's going to be fine, if that's what you're worried about. Olivia made sure she wasn't seriously harmed," said Mary in a motherly voice. She gently patted James on the shoulder. "It's okay, James. We were all shocked when Robert and Andrew arrived with her."

James shut his eyes for a few moments, leaving the others to continue to worry about the welfare of their friend. When he opened his eyes there was a sudden clarity about them, and he inhaled a deep breath before looking to Sam.

"When did Robert and Andrew leave for the wreckage?" He asked.

Sam looked to his watch. "About two hours ago. They really should be back any time now…" he said, a look of panic swiftly flickering across his face, "Wait… you're not thinking of going out there to join them, are you?"

James had stood up from his armchair and begun pacing around the room, and quickly turned to Michael with a frown. "No! Of course not. I just… Before – you said she was alone? The woman?"

Sam's brow creased, the auburn-haired man unsure as to where James was leading. "Yeah… that's what Robert and Andrew told us."

James looked deep in thought, and resumed his pacing of the room. After not speaking for several minutes, Olivia jumped to question him again.

"James… what's going on?"

Stopping short, James sighed and ran a hand through his lavender hair.

"It's Jessica Avalon," he said, rather abruptly.

A stunned silence followed; the announcement having caught the others somewhat off-guard. As they took some time to digest the three words James had uttered, the group was suddenly joined by Ian and Cate.

"I've just put the kids to bed, so…" Cate began, but her voice dissolved as both she and Ian noted that Mary, Sam and Olivia were each looking extremely aghast.

"What is it?" Ian said quickly, his gruff voice somehow penetrating the bubble of silence that had encapsulated the others.

"The woman upstairs," James finally said, feeling it his responsibility, "is Jessica Avalon. The CEO of Paramount Corps. of Saunders."

The same wave of shock hit Ian and Cate, and it was another few moments before anyone knew what to say.

"This is… a surprise. To say the least…" Cate said in a half-whisper, drifting over to sit beside Oliva on an oak settee upholstered with red velvet. Upon this everyone seemed to follow suit, falling down into armchairs and couches and wondering just what this revelation meant.

"So, let me get this straight…" Sam began, "The woman who so maliciously wants to destroy our town… is upstairs sleeping in one of our beds? Receiving our hospitality? Does… anyone else have a slight problem with this?"

"We can hardly throw her out in the snow to die, now can we?" Olivia retorted. "But I can't say that I'm… comfortable with the situation."

"I understand you completely," said Cate. "I mean… what do we do when she wakes up? Just let her go? Or hold the woman hostage until she swears to withdraw her plans?"

The howling winds outside suddenly seemed all the more louder as silence fell upon the room again.

"What do you think, James?" said Mary, having noticed that the head councilman of the town had not spoken in some time.

The group all directed their attention to James, who was sitting back in the armchair by the fire. He sighed, feeling the time was somehow fitting to let the Lodging House residents – his friends – in on another piece of information.

"This girl… Jessica Avalon. Last week, when I went to Saunders City – well, it wasn't the first time I've met her." James paused, wondering how to quite word what was left to be said. The group around him waited in anxious anticipation for him to finish. "Jessica Avalon and I used to work together, back when I was in Team Rocket. We were partners. We were actually… quite good friends." James made this last comment with a frown upon his face, as if he himself could not exactly work out how he and the woman upstairs had ever been so close.

"What? You were friends with that madwoman?" Sam cried. His face contorted into an expression of repulsion. "And now what? Don't tell me you want to defend her!" He scowled with a venom that made several people in the room turn their heads to look at Sam in surprise.

"I never said that, Sam!" James replied, a hurt look flickering across his features. "Have I been acting like I'm on her side this past week? I am just as adverse to Jessica Avalon's actions as you are!"

Sam eyed James sceptically, who himself returned a challenging glare. Finally Sam looked away, and James turned back to stare into the fire.

"…Why didn't you tell us this before, James?" came Olivia's voice in a quiet tone.

James picked at a loose thread on the arm of his chair. "Does it make a difference? Our past obviously has no effect on her decision to demolish Fieldsville."

He peered up at the group seated in the living room and while Sam still looked unhappy about Jessie's presence within the Lodging House, the others at least appeared content with allowing her some hospitality. James caught Olivia and Mary exchange a strange look, but before he could try to interpret it the noise of the front doorbell ringing resounded throughout the house.

Robert and Andrew had returned.

Yayness! The completion of the tenth chapter… oh, and there's still so much to go! As you may have guessed I have decided to finish this fic, mostly due to my obsessive compulsiveness to finish everything that I start! I know there's nothing more annoying than finding a fic you're really interested in, only to find it abandoned! But thanks so much to everyone who has taken interest in this fic, and did actually want me to continue! I'm really glad some people are appreciating this! So thanks to craZy18gurl, Tear, Stacey, Nikki-Vixen, Kojiro-san Lover and Eevee, you are all super-awesome (just for you, Tear!)

Am on holidays at the moment, so, while I should be burying myself in revision for exams, it's likely that I'll get another chapter or two out very soon. Keep an eye out!

Till Next Time!

BansheeGirl.