Fated Chapter 43: Jack's Last Stand, a pokémon fanfic

Chapter 43: Jack's Last Stand

Look into your heart – you will find

There's nothin' there to hide.
Take me as I am, take my life.
I would give it all, I would sacrifice.

There's no love like your love
And no other could give more love.
There's nowhere unless you're there
All the time, all the way, yeah.

Yeah, I would fight for you, I'd lie for you,
Walk the wire for you, yeah, I'd die for you.

You know it's true:
Everything I do, oh, I do it for you.
...Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You

"My sister-in-law, Giovanni's wife, Jade, had died in a rock slide that she herself had predicted would be caused by her husband, who had tried to make it look like an accident," Jack reminded Jessie, "If any death was linked back to him, it would have made Mother suspicious and he couldn't have that..."

I leapt to my feet, startling Catherine. Despair turned to white-hot rage. I took off, the blood pounding in my ears, making me oblivious to Catherine's shouts. I went to Giovanni's rooms first, intending on beating him to death with my bare hands.

I kicked in the door, but found the rooms to be empty.

I stormed to Mother's office, then. Amy saw me approach. Her own eyes were rimmed with tears. She knew as well. She opened her mouth to speak, but I stormed right past her and threw open those heavy oak doors.

Mother was behind her desk. Joseph was sitting in a chair in front of her, his eyes downcast. Giovanni was standing beside him.

"Jack," Mother breathed, getting to her feet, "I'm so sorry-"

I ignored her and zeroed in on my oldest brother, tackling him just as he turned to face me.

"YOU DID THIS!" I screamed as we tumbled to the floor, "YOU KILLED HER! YOU DID IT!"

I hit him over and over until Joe pulled me off of him.

"Jack, calm down!" Joe shouted as I struggled against him.

"Jack!" Mother scolded, moving around the table to Giovanni, who was wiping blood from his chin as he staggered to his feet.

"HE DID IT!" I screamed, "HE KILLED MIYA!"

"Jack, Miya's death was an accident!" Joe tried to placate me as he locked my arms behind me.

"Accident?" I scoffed, "Like Jade's death? Because there were Team Rocket grade explosives on that hill! Or let's talk about the Team Rocket hitmen Giovanni sent last month to kill me and my daughter! Or maybe the gun he pulled on Mother to get me to agree to bargain with him!"

Everyone froze as I revealed everything I had been hiding. I escaped from Joe's slack grip and slammed Giovanni into the wall.

"I should've known!" I screamed into his face, "I should've known that you couldn't be trusted! We were going to leave! We were going to let you do whatever the FUCK you wanted, but you had to do it, didn't you! You had to take EVERYTHING from me!"

The asshole said nothing.

"Jack, come on! Get off him!" Joe shouted, pulling me off again once he regained some sense.

"Let go of me!" I snapped, fighting his grip and backing towards the door, "I'm done!" I screamed at them all, "I'm sick of being a part of this sick competition! I'm sick of YOU all! I'm done! I'm gone!"

I stormed out of the office, slamming the doors behind me, I stormed by Amy, who may have called after me. I'm not sure.

And then I was running out of headquarters to my car. There was only one place left for me to go.

"Viridian Peak," Jessie whispered, "You came for me?"

"I was going to take you and run," Jack admitted, "There was nothing left for me at Team Rocket. You...you were the only thing that mattered…"

I made it to Viridian Peak, but on account of the snow, I couldn't get my vehicle down the streets. It didn't matter. Nothing else mattered but my daughter. My heart was hammering in my chest as I ran down the streets, looking for the address. I skidded to a stop, sliding a little on the ice, when I saw house number 14 on the outskirts of town. It was a little rundown. The front deck was shoddy and looked unstable with missing planks and there was a shutter missing on the window. I didn't care though. All I could focus on was the scene in the window of the little red haired girl sitting at the table. She was alive and well and all I had left in this world. I hated my family for what they did and I would spend my whole life regretting what had happened to Miya. Perhaps if I had done something, she would still be alive. That thought hurt, but at the moment, I had something more important to deal with. I took a step forwards, but as I did, I heard a beating of wings. I paused and looked to the sky.

A dark chopper was hovering over the town. My blood ran cold when I saw the red R. My mother sent someone out here. She knew I would be here. She knew Jessie was here. I had to get my daughter out of here. I turned and nearly had a heart attack.

There, bundled up in a warm fur coat, was my eldest brother.

"Jack," he greeted, smirking down at me. My mouth was dry as I tried to form the words.

"Giovanni," I croaked. He stepped towards me, more confidence in his step than I had ever seen before. It unnerved me and I felt a chill sweep down my spine that had nothing to do with the cold. It didn't matter that his face was bruised or that his lip was cut from our fight earlier. He still looked the epitome of all evil.

"We need to have a conversation, Brother," he said, stopping a couple feet in front of me. I was on guard, very aware that I was the only thing standing between him and my daughter.

"Anything you want, you can have," I said, "Just leave her out this," I begged. He smiled.

"You know, Jack, there's a reason why I like you…there's a reason why a lot of people like you," he said.

"And what's that?" I asked.

"That you're so…dedicated," Giovanni said slowly, "To everything. Mother, Miyamoto, your daughter, Team Rocket…" he listed, "That's why Mother listed you in her will as sole heir to Team Rocket."

My eyebrows shot up and I spat, "I don't want it and you can tell her that when you go back to Viridian."

He chuckled, "Nobody will be telling her anything anymore."

I frowned, noticing the dark glint in his eyes. Dread filled me up.

"What did you do?" I asked, horrified.

"If anyone looks into it, I didn't do anything," he said, "It was YOU that stormed in angry. It was YOUR bullets from the gun that's been stashed in YOUR rooms that killed them-"

"Them?" I asked.

"Mother and Joseph, of course…why'd you do it, little brother?" he taunted, knowing full well that I had nothing to do with their deaths. My blood ran cold. He killed them and framed me.

"You're a murderer," I whispered. He smirked.

"An opportunist," Giovanni corrected, chuckling, "I merely responded to adversity in the best way I knew how. Call it…taking the initiative."

"By killing people!" I said in disgust, "Killing your own family!"

"Hmm, yes, they'll be missed," he said callously, "but we have to move on. There are other things waiting for both of us," he stated, glancing past me at the rundown house.

"What do you want?" I hissed, shifting so I was blocking his view. He smirked and produced papers.

"I want your inheritance," he said, "Sign it."

"Fine," I shrugged, not caring, "It's yours. Give me the papers," I ordered. He hesitated.

"How do I know you're not going to screw me over, Baby Brother?" he questioned. I gritted my teeth.

"Look at our track record, Gio. You're the cold, manipulative bastard," I told him. His grey eyes were harder, colder.

"Oh am I?" he asked, "Then tell me, Jack, where is my son?" he questioned. I connected the dots. He wasn't here for me. He was here for revenge. Over my dead body.

"I don't know," I replied truthfully, "Jade's brother has him."

"Well, given our track record, I think I need a little leverage," he said, raising his arm. I whirled around when I heard a scream.

"NO!" I cried, starting toward the house, but a grunt blocked my path. Giovanni had distracted me while his minions got into place.

"Put me down!" Jessie cried as a muscular man dragged her out of the house and into the cold.

"Jessie!" I shouted. She saw me.

"Uncle Jack!" she cried and struggled harder to get away.

"Please, Viper, let her down," Giovanni said. Viper agreed and Jessie ran barefoot to me. I picked her up and held her protectively in my arms.

"Uncle Jack, what's going on?" she asked, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"You're okay, Jessie. Nothing's going to happen to you. I promise," I vowed. I glared at my brother over her head.

"I'll do whatever you want, just leave Jessie out of this," I growled. Giovanni held out the papers.

"Viper, why don't you take the little one off my brother's hands so he can focus on our little agreement?" he suggested. I stepped away from Viper when he approached.

"Screw you," I spat, holding Jessie closer to me.

"Jack-"

"Give me the damn papers and you bend over!" I growled at the grunt. And then, with the papers on the grunt's back and my daughter in my arms, I signed away my inheritance.

"Thank you, Jack," Giovanni said, a triumphant smile on his face.

"There's your inheritance," I spat, "See you around," I said, turning to walk away. I froze when I heard a gun cock behind me.

"You didn't think I'd just let you walk away, did you, Jack?" Giovanni asked. I turned around slowly only to see my brother pointing a gun at me and my daughter.

"Uncle?" Jessie asked unsurely as she grasped me tighter.

"It's okay," I assured her, my mouth very dry, "What do you want?" I asked Giovanni, ready to do anything.

"You took my son from me, Jack," he reminded me, moving the gun a little so it wasn't aimed at me, but at the little girl in my arms. I felt sick as I clutched her closer to me. I dropped to my knees.

"Please no," I begged, "I'll do anything, just don't hurt her. Please Gio!" He looked down at me, that smug look on his face as I sat on my knees begging him to spare my daughter's life. I would've done anything and everything. I would have moved the mountains or swam across the sea just so he wouldn't take her life the way he took Mother's and Joseph's, and the way I suspected he took Jade and Miya's as well.

"I don't know, Brother," Giovanni mused, training the gun on Jessie's forehead, "It's dangerous, having you around with your little heiress. It could cause an uprising…and thanks to you, I have no son to help me secure my empire."

"She's four-years-old!" I spat, "A CHILD! She's no more harmful to you than a kitten!"

"Kittens grow up, Jack," he said softly.

"I never killed Silver!" I shouted, "He's still alive out there! He'll grow up too!" Giovanni looked thoughtful and I was praying to every god I knew that he was reconsidering.

"That is true, Jack. My boy is out there, but I have no idea if he is alive or dead. It pains me," he said emotionlessly. I suppressed a snort, knowing that he never cared about the boy, not the way Jade did...not the way I loved Jessie.

"Giovanni, please. I never killed Silver. I never laid a finger on him. I never hurt a hair on his head. I'm only begging that you do the same for my daughter," I pleaded.

"I think," he said slowly, "that seeing as how I shall never see my boy again, you should suffer the same I think."

"Please, Brother-"

"I have the perfect place for you, Jack," he continued, "With your beloved Miya."

"Kill me. I don't care. Just don't hurt Jessie," I begged. He shook his head.

"Death is too good for you, Jack," he said, "I want you to suffer."

I looked at him, not understanding, "What?" I asked.

"Why don't we take your little girl inside, Jack? She looks cold," he said, gesturing towards the house. Viper pulled me to my feet and dragged me inside. The inside was nothing fancy. Just a table, a moth-eaten couch, and a kitchenette in the corner. There was a door to a bathroom and a door to a bedroom. A woman with short purple hair, lighter than Miya's, was sitting on the couch, a vacant expression over her face as a drowzee stood in front of her. A grunt was standing in the corner watching the pokemon work. The air was thick with psychic waves. Another grunt was liberating the house of any pokeballs. I could see him stash the one that contained Jessie's vulpix into a bag.

"Aunty?" Jessie called from my arms. The woman didn't even blink.

Jessie frowned. A psychic attack? She knew that if used right, psychic attacks could drive a person out of their mind. Was that what happened to Miki?

"She's okay," I whispered in Jessie's ear.

"Set her down, Jack," Giovanni ordered, the gun still on Jessie. I set her on the floor, but remained kneeling in front of her. She kept her hands on my shoulders.

"Uncle Jack, what's goin' on? Where's Mommy?" she asked. The question broke my heart. She didn't know.

"Why don't you tell her, Jack? You have the experience, after all," Giovanni said coldly. I only had that experience because he killed his wife and left me to explain to their son why his mother was not there. I felt a tear fall from my eyes.

"Why are you cryin', Uncle Jack?" Jessie asked me, wiping away the tear.

"Jessie, Sweetheart, Mommy's not coming back," I whispered. I saw her frown through my blurry eyes.

"Why not?" she asked. I took a shaky breath.

"There was an accident and Mommy had to go away," I said, my lip shaking as I held back more tears.

"And now, Daddy has to go away as well," Giovanni said. Jessie frowned up at him and I suddenly knew that this would be the last time I ever saw my daughter.

"Jessie," I whispered, getting her attention, "Can I tell you something?" I asked.

"What?" she asked.

"I love you," I whispered, "I love you more than anything else in the world, Princess. Never ever forget that."

"I'll never forget," she chirped, "Never, not even when I'm big and live in a castle with Prince Charming and living happily ever after," she vowed. I chuckled. Even after everything that had happened, she still had that childlike innocence. She didn't see the world as scary, but a place that she could be happy in.

"Hold onto that, Jessie. Keep that dream alive. Never stop searching for your prince. You deserve everything in the world and I wish that I could make you happy," I told her, trying not to make a sound as tears streamed down my face.

"But you do make me happy!" she protested. That was nearly too much for me.

"And you make me very happy," I managed to get out, "but there's going to be a time where I'm won't be here to make you happy. That's why you need to find your prince, That's why you need to find your prince, the one that will take care of you and make you happy when I can't be there. Don't stop searching for him. You deserve the very best, so don't stop searching until you find him. You deserve your own happily ever after."

"Yes," Giovanni laughed, disgust in his voice, "Up you get, Jack," he ordered, and then I was hauled to my feet.

"Uncle Jack!" Jessie cried.

"Marshall," Giovanni gestured to the grunt, who then ordered the drowzee to use psychic. Jessie suddenly stopping crying and a vacant look overtook her face.

Jessie suddenly understood why she couldn't remember that night. The psychic attacks had messed with her mind like they had messed with Miki's.

"What did you do? ARGH!" I struggled against Viper and the grunts as they dragged me to the door.

"Come quietly or I reconsider," Giovanni threatened as he followed behind. I immediately complied.

"How do I know you won't hurt her?" I asked. He turned around and smiled.

"You have my word, Jack. I will not kill your daughter. I will send her out into the world alone and let the world decide what to make of her, just like you did with my son," he said.

"Your word?" I asked, looking back at the house to where Jessie stood at the open door, that vacant expression still on her face. Even though I knew his word was garbage, I had to take it.

"My word," he confirmed, forcing me down the streets to where the helicopter had landed, "Checkmate."

"What-" and then it all went black.

"I woke up en route to the Andes. I had already been fitted with my ankle brace and in the weeks that followed, Giovanni delivered the men and materials to build this shack. I've been here ever since," Jack explained quietly.

Jessie stared at her father with tears filling her eyes as she thought about what he did for her all those years ago. He was stuck here, isolated from the rest of humanity, on the same mountain where the love of his life was killed. And he endured it all for Jessie, to protect her from his villainous brother. She looked at him through blurry eyes and saw tears running down his own face as he looked at his hands. He didn't even try to hide it, and for a moment, she wondered how many times he cried for her over the years. In a shaky voice, he answered her unspoken question.

"Every day, I wonder how different life would be if I had got to your aunt's house before Gio and had been able to take you away and leave," he sniffed, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, "It would have been hard. I know that, but it would have been a million times better than this. I missed twenty-two years of your life. Maybe...maybe if I had gotten there, you wouldn't be here now…"

Jessie opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

What could she even say?

He had sacrificed everything on the off-chance that she could grow up happy without him and now here she was, chained to his wall...the last place he had ever wanted her to be. Suddenly, she understood why Giovanni banished her here, to the Andes, and chained her to his brother's cabin. The reason was two-fold: Jack would be tortured knowing that his sacrifice failed her and Jessie would be tortured knowing that she failed her father. When she opened her mouth to finally speak, her voice shook.

"I'm sorry. So sorry."

TBC

And now, we move onto the last part of Jessie's story.