AN: Here is chapter 2, as promised. I just realized that I forgot to put a disclaimed in the last chapter, so to ensure that no one sues me, I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING POKEMON RELATED!

Fated

Summary: Jessie finds herself in exile, forced into captivity with a mysterious stranger. With nowhere to go and seemingly no hope of escape, they share the stories behind their miserable fates. Hers is filled with questions. His is filled with answers.

Chapter 2: Beginnings

Jack sat on the floor opposite of Jessie, who sat on a blanket, nursing a bowl of soup. He took a deep breath, feeling the pressure of her inquiring gaze. He pulled old memories to the surface, memories he hadn't recalled in years. He had found life was simpler if he didn't dwell on the things that had imprisoned him from the rest of the world. This was going to be an ordeal. He just knew it.

"Well?" the young girl questioned, prodding him along, "We do have a deal."

"That we do, Jessilina," he replied, "I'm just trying to find a place to start."

"The beginning would be nice," she quipped. He chuckled and shook his head. The girl was really quite incorrigible. She was blunt, sarcastic, and rough around the edges, yet she had a certain type of confidence and charisma that made all of the rest tolerable and even enduring. Certainly one of a kind. Such a pity that she was doomed to spend the rest of her days here in this frozen over piece of Hell. With a sudden jolt, he realized who this young girl reminded him of. He could see the familiar face in his mind, the face he thought about every day for twenty-two years. The smile slipped from his face. He knew where he had to start.

"My story starts more than twenty-seven years ago on a warm spring evening. At twenty-two, I was the youngest of three brothers set to inherit our mother's fortune and control of Team Rocket. Back then, all Giovanni, Joseph, and I were concerned with was our inheritance. Every action was designed to propel one of us closer to the inheritance and force the other two back. And when I say every action, I mean EVERY action. On this particular evening, we were at a garden party at our mother's manor celebrating the birth of Giovanni's first son…

The sun was falling in the sky, a red and orange fireball crashing towards earth, as I walked out onto the balcony of my mother's estate and observed everything, from the gaudy patio lights to the finely dressed guests to the silent, obedient servants flitting from table to table. With a heavy sigh, I made my way through the crowd towards a high-backed chair set up like a throne. In it, my mother sat like a queen looking on her subjects. As I came into her line of vision, I saw the rest of my family crowded around her. In a chair to her right, sat my sister-in-law, Isabelle, a prim, proper southern girl with blond hair and sharp, green eyes. My brother, Joseph, stood next to her, a hand on her shoulder as he beamed smugly at the guests. To my mother's right, my other and favourite sister-in-law, Jade, cradled her infant son to her chest, looking weary as her red locks fell out of her elegant bun. Giovanni, the eldest of us three, stood behind her, no hint of a smile on his stone face. You'd think he'd be happy about his son, but if he was, you couldn't tell.

"You're late," Mother barked at me, her shrewd, cold, grey eyes glaring at me.

"My apologies," I said, bowing a little, before I approached Jade, "Where's my little nephew?" I asked, crouching down to look at the baby in her arms. He was a small boy with Giovanni's grey eyes and Jade's red hair. Other than that, he reminded me of every other baby I had ever seen.

"Here he is," Jade said proudly, shifting the baby so I could get a better look at him, "Little Silver," she said.

"A handsome boy, Sister," I complimented, kissing her on the cheek, "Thank goodness he looks like you and not that thug," I said, pointing to her husband, who still managed to look like a statue.

"He is absolutely perfect," Isabelle's southern accent cooed, "I only hope that our little one will be half as lovely," she said placing a hand on her flat stomach.

"Your little one?" I asked in surprise.

"Just found out today!" Joseph exclaimed, throwing an arm over my shoulders, "Gio's not the only one in this family who gets the job done!"

"Congratulations," I said, "Now please never speak of your ability to 'get the job done' to me ever again."

"Oh, Isabelle, I wouldn't worry," Mother simpered, patting the younger woman's hand, "There's no doubt that you and Joseph will be just as blessed as Giovanni, dear. I'm sure your child will be just lovely," she said. Jade, Giovanni, and I all caught the show of favouritism. Jade scowled at Mother when she wasn't looking and Gio's stoic expression was replaced with bitter disappointment. It was no secret Mother disliked Gio's young wife, who he had married only to 'do the right thing'. It was also no secret that Mother loved the prim and proper Isabelle, who introduced the family to many of the wealthy elite folk. Speaking of wealthy…

"Madame Sakaki, an honour," a tall man with deep blue hair and moustache greeted my mother with a bow. His violet-haired wife gave a little curtsey, which seemed a little awkward as her stomach was just beginning to show signs of pregnancy.

"Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, what an honour," Mother said graciously, offering her hand to each of them.

"You must be absolutely thrilled with your new grandson," Annette Morgan said in a southern drawl equivalent to her old childhood friend, Isabelle.

"It's an absolute delight having little Silver in our lives," Mother simpered.

"A fine boy," Thomas Morgan complimented, "And from the way we hear it, young Silver will not be your only grandchild," he said, reaching over to shake mine and my brothers' hands. I faked a smile.

"That is correct," Mother said, "Joseph and Isabelle are expecting as well," she said beaming.

"Once our baby boy arrives, we must schedule a play date, yes?" Annette suggested.

"Most definitely," Mother agreed immediately, watching as Thomas gave another bow and steered his wife away, "Yes, I'm sure both of my grandchildren will me fast friends with the little Morgan boy," she said once the Morgans were out of earshot.

"That is the hope, Mother," Isabelle said, caressing her flat stomach as her eyes gleamed. It was unnerving to see the same hungry look in both my sister-in-law's eyes and my mother's. I suddenly felt very sorry for this Morgan kid and he wasn't even born yet.

"I'm sure Silver will be friends with whoever he chooses," Jade said stiffly. Giovanni glared over at her and glanced at Mother, who seemed to go temporarily deaf. Thankfully all involved were saved a response when three young women were seen descending the stone steps to the garden. They were all dressed in simple black dresses that managed to highlight every curve on their bodies. In the middle of the trio, a tall purple-haired young woman led her blond counterparts. Naturally, my attention peaked. They were not the usual guests.

"Madam Boss, we just wanted to let you know that the…packages you ordered are in your office," the purple-haired woman stated, smiling confidently, "You told us to inform you when we finished."

"Excellent. And they're all there?" Mother questioned.

"Yes, Ma'am," the tall blond nodded, smiling just as confidently as the other woman.

"Wonderful. Fine work, Miyamoto," Mother praised only the purple-headed leader of the group. More favouritism.

"We helped," the shorter blond muttered. She was ignored. The other one had a knowing smirk on her face.

"Miyamoto, Catherine, and Daphne, I'd like you to meet my family, my eldest son, Giovanni and his wife; my middle son, Joseph and his wife, Isabelle; and my youngest son, Jack. Giovanni and his wife recently welcomed a son."

"How lovely," the short blond named Daphne smiled at Giovanni, who had a peculiar smirk on his face when he met her gaze.

"These are my most trusted agents, Miyamoto, Catherine, and Daphne," Mother finished the introductions.

"Pleasure," I said, standing and bowing with my brothers.

"The pleasure is all ours," Miyamoto replied as she, Catherine, and Daphne bowed politely. Then she turned and walked away, smoothly and confidently. Catherine and Daphne followed, the former smirking silently while the latter scowled. As she walked away, Miyamoto threw a brazen smirk over her shoulder that I'm pretty sure that only I saw.

"Miya was my mother's favourite agent. She was confident, brave, and wicked smart. She never failed a mission and quickly rose through the ranks," Jack said, "All through the party, I couldn't help but notice her as she mingled with the guests as if she belonged there."

"Sounds wonderful," Jessie commented, "I can't believe Giovanni had a kid. I don't imagine he was a doting dad."

"Oh, he wasn't," Jack confirmed, "Jade took care of little Silver."

"Your other brother sounds like he was more exited," she prodded.

"Oh, Joey was. Out of us three, Gio was more like Mother and Joseph and I were more like Father," he supplied.

"Well, you mother sounds like…well, she sounds like a bit of a bitch," Jessie said, shrugging a little. Jack chuckled.

"A bit of a bitch? Ha! She was the freakin' devil incarnate," he told her, shaking his head, "She never stopped plotting. She always had a plan to make all of our lives absolutely miserable."

"Speaking of plotting…the Morgan family…" Jessie asked, recognizing the name.

"Ah! Thomas and Annette Morgan," Jack clarified, "They were filthy rich after he inherited his father's companies. As soon as Mother laid eyes on them, she was plotting ways to get a hold of their fortune. At first, she was planning on marrying me off to Thomas Morgan's younger sister, a dreadfully boring woman named Clarisse."

"And you got out of that?" she guessed. Perhaps she could give James some pointers…you know, assuming she ever saw him again.

"Thankfully, she was already arranged to marry some poor schmuck and families like that tend to stick to arranged marriages. Keeps the blood-line "pure", you see," he explained, making a face.

"I know a bit about that," she commented, "So what happened next?" she asked. Jack smiled over at her.

"I'll tell you that as soon as you tell me the beginning of your story, Jessilina," he bargained, "That way, you can't back out of our deal."

"Alright, fine," Jessie said, understanding Jack's reasoning and even respecting him a little for ensuring that he got something in return. She would have done the same thing.

"The beginning is really a hard place to start," she said, trying to pinpoint the moment where things went south, "I suppose it started after a failed mission…not that they were that uncommon for me and my team. I was one of your brother's agents, along with my partner, James, and an oddball meowth who taught himself to walk and talk like a human. For over six years, we tried to catch this pikachu that belonged to some twerpy kid. Every time we tried, we ended up failing. We were at the ends of our ropes, and on this evening, we had to return to Viridian City to face the Boss…

We were walking through Viridian Pass to the new Rocket base. We had followed the twerp and his friends back home and after the usual daily blast off, we were trudging back to headquarters to report to the boss. I could feel the apprehension radiating off of my companions. James was walking a little behind me, his face an odd shade of green. Meowth, the talking cat, was walking between us, wringing his paws nervously.

I hated that I was nervous too, that my stomach felt queasy and my palms were sweaty. I thought about the last time we had to report our lack of success to the boss. He had been so angry. I thought he had been about to off us right there, but he was too preoccupied to do more than yell at us. How angry was he going to be when we once again showed up empty-handed?

I felt queasy as we wordlessly marched up the steps towards our fate. I knew that my friends were like me, nervous, afraid to speak. I thought about saying something, maybe goodbye in case I never saw them again, but the words wouldn't come out. We entered the large, metal building and walked down the hall. The secretary told us to wait. So we sat in the chairs, me in between James and Meowth. I could have reached over and held James's hand, but that wasn't my style. We were just friends and I didn't need to hold anyone's hand. I was tough, strong. I didn't need anyone.

The door opened and a blond girl and a green-haired guy came out into the waiting area. I wished I could knock the knowing, triumphant smirk from her face. I felt James and Meowth vibrating beside me and I knew they felt the same way.

"You can go in now," the secretary directed us. We got to our feet, going from jealous back to nervous in an instant.

The boss sat behind his big mahogany desk, shrouded in darkness, stroking his pampered pet Persian. I heard Meowth mutter under his breath. I nudged him with my foot.

"So, Jessie, James, and Meowth," the boss said, leaning forwards. I felt a shiver run up my spine.

"Y-yes Sir?" we responded instantly.

"Have you brought me anything?" he asked, his voice soft and low. I felt the bile rise to my throat. I think I would have preferred him yelling. Whenever he spoke in low tones, bad things happened.

"Uh, well, Sir…uh…"

"We um…uh…"

"We was very close dis time…"

"So you've brought me nothing," the boss said, his voice still low and measured.

"I promise, Sir, we will get that pikachu…" I trailed off when I felt his eyes on me. I recognized that evil flicker in his black eyes, the one that meant that bad things were in the works.

"We were very close," James added, "And…" like me, his courage failed him, as it frequently did when the boss was involved. The boss's eyes moved from me to James. There was something different about the way he looked at James, something that alerted me, panicked me. There was absolutely nothing in the boss's eyes. They were blank, kind of the way a shark looks as it closes his jaws around the unsuspecting swimmer.

"Very well," the boss sighed, leaning back into the shadows, "You may go. I'm giving you this grace period. Hopefully you will bring me something half-decent," he dismissed us.

"Well, dat wasn't half bad," Meowth said happily as we walked out of headquarters, "He really is a most gracious boss, givin' us a grace period an' all."

"Who'd of thought we'd luck out like this?" James agreed with the cat. They happily ran ahead, chasing each other and fooling around.

I was more reserved. There was something very wrong, that much I knew for sure. The boss just let us go, without an insult or a raised voice. That was not normal. Not at all, and at this point, I had become an expert on all the ways the boss could punish a person. Then there was that look. I knew the evil flicker in the eyes meant torture, but the blank look in his eyes when he looked at James…that concerned me.

So I watched my partners in crime laugh and play with each other, overjoyed by the seemingly generous nature of Giovanni.

"Come on, Jess!" James whined, running back to me, grabbing my hand and dragging me down the dirt path.

"James, let go of me!" I shouted over his laughter, but even so, there was a smile on my lips as he dragged me into a makeshift game of tag. That was the beauty of being partnered with James and Meowth. Everything was exciting and fun for them. I had known James for years and despite the fact that he could be a total dope, he was the best friend I ever had, the one who could always give me a laugh (or a headache) without even trying. We had met Meowth when we joined Team Rocket, and despite being a freak of nature, he was a pretty cool cat. He learned how to walk and talk like a human to impress some female meowth, who later rejected him. Then he joined Team Rocket, aspiring to be the boss's top cat.

Regardless, they were my best friends, my team-mates, my partners in crime. Even if I didn't show it much, I cared about them.

We made it to a clearing a couple miles from headquarters and decided to set up camp. After establishing a pathetic fire, cooking an old can of noodles, and laughing around the fire, we finally settled down into our respective sleeping bags, all thoughts of our visit to headquarters long gone. I closed my eyes and slipped off to dreamland.

It was a couple hours later when I awoke with a start, shaking and drenched in a cold sweat. I shivered as the cool breeze floated over me, and snuggled further into my sleeping bag as if the red fabric would protect me from the wind and the nightmare that left me shaking. It didn't.

"That was the beginning…where this story starts, anyways," Jessie shrugged, staring blankly ahead.

"So…you're 'Jessie' in this story?" Jack questioned, frowning.

"My friends call me 'Jessie,'" she replied hastily, "I suppose you can too if you want," she shrugged.

"I'll stick with Jessilina," he said, an odd look on his face, "Sounds like a lot has changed since I was a part of Team Rocket," he commented in an attempt to cover it up, "However, you and your team…that's not uncommon. Apparently teamwork is one of a few of my mother's cherished ideals that Giovanni kept in tact."

"Your mother valued teamwork?" Jessie asked, raising an eyebrow at this. From what he described, she would have thought Madam Boss would rather pit her agents against each other instead of cooperate.

"Oh, yes. Teams of three were her favourite," Jack shrugged, "She always said that the only way for Team Rocket to truly flourish is to have all of its recruits to be functioning members of a team. Teams of two were out of the question as she generally frowned upon inter-office relationships and teams of four or more seemed too large for the jobs required for the agents."

"How would teams of three get rid of inter-office relationships?" she questioned, seeing several gaping holes in Madam Boss's logic. She knew from experience that one extra person wouldn't stop members who wanted to be together. Jack laughed.

"It didn't," he said simply, "There were still many relationships that went unnoticed by my mother. Being part of a team drew people together, some closer than others, and it made them loyal to each other. I know Miya always said that she'd be lost without Catherine and Daphne."

"I'm the same way without James and Meowth. They made everything worth it. They…they made me better," Jessie admitted.

"What happened to them?" Jack asked. Jessie shrugged and looked at him with blue eyes that held as much sadness as his own.

"I wish I knew. I wish I could see them again. I wish that this was all just a nightmare that I could wake up from," she said.

"You and me both, Jessilina. You and me both," he sighed, getting to his feet to tend the fire.

TBC

AN: So here we have the beginnings of Jack and Jessie's stories. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will have the next one up hopefully by the end of the week!