Chapter 45: Under Fire
Well I'm terrified of these four walls
These iron bars can't hold my soul in
All I need is you
Come please I'm callin'
And all I scream for you
Hurry I'm fallin', I'm fallin'
Show me what it's like
To be the last one standing
And teach me wrong from right
And I'll show you what I can be
And say it for me
Say it to me
And I'll leave this life behind me
Say it if it's worth saving me
...Nickelback - Savin' Me
Meowth was currently glaring at the ocean from the stern of a boat that was headed to Kanto. The goal was to land at a small coastal town that was about an hour away from a huge, towering mansion.
Even now, he wasn't sure if their information was correct. It did, after all, come to them on a small note tied to a pidgey's leg. Hardly a reliable source. Still, it was the only information that they had. Besides, the last note they had received had ended up being fruitful to their cause.
Upon James and Jessie's capture two and a half weeks prior, Meowth knew that he had to get the kids to a safe place. He had Teddy and the other pokemon to help him with the twins. Plus, they had a little bit of emergency cash that Jessie had thought to stash in her socks. They had been able to take the bus from Cherrgrove town back to Tojo Falls. The little group had got too much attention in the village. It was uncommon to see two almost-four-year-olds with an eleven-year-old. The little group had decided to attempt to walk to Seto and Miki's and then enlist their help in getting to Pallet Town. Their, Meowth would appeal to Delia and the Twerp.
Thankfully, they hadn't had to walk. A red-haired woman with a green-haired three-year-old had offered to drive them wherever they needed. She even offered to take them all the way to Viridian City. Meowth had refused on account of the city being a hotbed for Team Rocket and because there was something about the woman that he didn't entirely trust. She smelt familiar and it was obvious that she was wearing a wig. So, he had her drop them off at the Suicune statue and then they walked to Seto's. They stayed two days there and then Silver took them the rest of the way to Pallet Town, where they met Motorcycle Oak, an old friend of Delia's. While there, she phoned the twerp and got him to come home.
Then, they had received a mysterious letter tied to a pidgey's leg from an apparent prisoner of a secret Team Rocket prison in the Seafoam Islands saying that they were going to be killed along with whoever was in the Andes. Meowth had been sceptical until Motorcycle declared it to be true, that twenty one years ago, Catherine Farrows, Heath Ketchum, and three other men had been captured by Giovanni and imprisoned on Seafoam. The twerp was all too willing to help after learning that his father was in danger. They had ended up rescuing five prisoners from Seafoam. Then they went back to Pallet to move the kids to a safe location. They had discovered something strange once they were settled: no one from Seafoam had wrote the note.
It seemed that they had a sort of spy in Team Rocket leaking information to them. That spy sent them another pidgey message just that day. Meowth looked down at the little scrap of paper in his paws.
James Morgan is at his parents' home in Kanto. He is being forced to marry for the benefit of Team Rocket. He has refused to do so. The Rocket Boss has killed his father and has threatened his mother and children. Hurry.
The note had sparked a fury of activity. A boat was commandeered and a plan was hastily thrown together to rescue James. A small army accompanied Meowth in this mission. Ash, Misty, Brock, and Dawn opted to go with them solely to help James. The other three...well, Meowth wasn't so sure that their intentions were that noble. Motorcycle Oak and Silver had gotten strangely excited and eager once they had heard that the Rocket Boss was at the mansion. Catherine Farrows was more reserved, quiet. Meowth had a hard time getting a read on her.
"We'll find your friend."
Her voice nearly made Meowth jump out of his skin. When he turned around, he found that the woman in question, Catherine Farrows, was there, standing just behind him with her arms wrapped around her thin frame. The Seafoam prison had not been kind to the woman. She was too-thin and her face and body were lined with deep scars. Torture, Meowth guessed. A shower and a few hot meals had helped, though. She was stronger and her skin and hair looked healthier.
"Ya scared da crap outta me," Meowth told her indignantly. Catherine gave him a small half-smile in response.
"Sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to startle you. You just looked like you needed some assurance."
Meowth frowned at this. He did need assurance...from her.
"Listen, da goal of dis here mission is to rescue James," he stated clearly. Catherine looked a little surprised.
"I'm very much aware of that, Meowth."
"Good," Meowth said, "'Cause Silver and Motorcycle seem more amped to go after da Boss."
Understanding dawned on her face. She shook her head and said, "They have reasons to want to go after him. They want revenge. I just want it over."
"What d'ya mean?" Meowth wondered.
"We've all been harmed by Giovanni," Catherine explained, "Motorcycle...well, he's suffered a lot. His girlfriend was murdered by Giovanni. His best friend was captured and tortured with me in Seafoam. His other friend was killed by Giovanni's medical experiments. His brother was killed in a search for Motorcycle in Pallet Town. His arm was amputated in an attempt to keep dangerous drugs from coming to Seafoam and harming us. He deserves a little revenge."
"And Silver?" Meowth asked in a bid to keep the woman talking. It was the most she talked since her liberation.
"Silver...if he's who I think he is, then his mother was killed by Giovanni long ago," Catherine said.
"And you?"
He received a sad smile and she revealed, "He tortured me. He took me from my daughter...he threatened her. He orchestrated the murder of my best friend...it's true that I have as much to hate him for as Motorcycle and Silver," she allowed, "but all I want is to do right by two little girls that I failed miserably. They're grown women now...trapped in different ways. I may not know where they are in Giovanni's web, but I do know that if we rescue James Morgan, information on Jessie will follow. I feel it."
Meowth considered that it was possible. After all, stranger things had happened.
Besides, it was nice knowing that he had another person invested in his friends' fates.
0
Cassidy stood at the large, ornate window, watching as snowflakes fell to the earth against a starless night sky. Fitting.
"Cassidy," Butch said her name. She didn't look at him. She didn't speak.
She felt his hands on her shoulders and he said her name again, "Cassidy."
She spoke then, "I want out, Butch."
He said nothing for a moment. She hoped that maybe, he wanted it as badly as she did. Then he said, "We're in too deep."
He was right, of course. They were in way too deep and Cassidy wondered if there was even a way for them to crawl out of the hole that they had dug for themselves.
"We'll be able to go back to Viridian soon," Butch was saying, "Then it won't be so bad and-"
"It'll still be bad, Butch," Cassidy refuted, "We still have to live with ourselves."
He was silent again. Still. Then he asked, "You hate who we are that much?"
"I love you," Cassidy told him, turning around, "That'll never change, Butch, but all I want is for us to be who we were before Team Rocket. I don't know if it's even possible, but I've got to try to hold onto that…" she trailed off as tears filled her eyes. She looked away, but his hand was beneath her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his.
"Then hold on," Butch said, "Don't let go. I promise you that someday, somehow, we'll make it out of Team Rocket and when we do, we can put all of this behind us and be those two naive people who thought they could rule the world. For now...we just have to come out on the other side of this shit storm."
Cassidy couldn't help burying her head into Butch's chest and letting her tears fall. As always, he was her rock when she needed him to be. She longed for that day he described. She longed to forget it all.
Cassidy hadn't had any problem with being a member of Team Rocket until she had been asked to kill her former childhood friend. Then she began to question it. When Butch was sent away following the announcement of her pregnancy, she had really questioned it. His successful return from the Andes with proof of Mew had restored her faith...especially when the Boss promoted them to executives and they could enjoy the perks. They had been seduced by the life they could have. That was over, now. Nothing, no amount of money or gifts could restore her shattered faith in Team Rocket.
In that little hotel in Cherrygrove, Cassidy had been the first to realize that Jessie and James hadn't been alone in that room. She had kept it to herself, not knowing what could happen if she spilled the beans. She had made an excuse to leave once they had returned to Viridian City. She said that she was taking her son on a mother-son day. That turned into a drive to Tojo Village where she managed to find Meowth and his charges. The twins, Henry and Rose, were just a couple of months older than her boy. Much too young to be without their parents. Cassidy had disguised herself to trick Meowth into accepting her ride. She had even clipped a transmitter to one of their bags to keep track of them once she left them. That was how she had known where to send her pidgey messages. She had thought it was cruel to take the parents away from their children.
That was nothing compared to the next assignment: forcing James to comply to Team Rocket's demands. She had to hand it to James; he did put up a good fight...at least until Domino and Jessiebelle started drugging him. He still fought. He suffered through the pain and endured it to keep his children a secret. It had been his parents who had spilled the beans about James's family...inadvertently. During one of the "taming sessions", where James endured even more torture, James's parents had asked Giovanni if they could buy James's freedom. They said that after seeing how their son was suffering, they wanted to see him happy. They revealed that James had two children with Jessie in a bid to put Jessiebelle and Giovanni off. It didn't work. Giovanni pulled a gun and killed Thomas Morgan right there.
Cassidy would never forget the horrified screams of mother and son. She would never forget the blood that spilled onto the cement.
After that, Domino had been sent away to the Andes in hopes of pulling information out of Jessie. More than likely, Domino would end up torturing and killing Jessie and then they'd use that to destroy James.
"What is that?" Butch suddenly said. Cassidy pulled away and looked out the window. In the black night sky, there was an orange glow that was barrelling towards the mansion. She squinted. It almost looked like-
"A charizard?"
Butch let her go to grab a pair of binoculars from his bag. He swore, "Oh, shit."
Cassidy grabbed the binoculars from his grasp. It was a charizard and on its back, there was a young man with a pikachu on his shoulder. Though he was eighteen, Cassidy still recognized Ash Ketchum. He looked determined and his pokemon looked pissed. Charizard fired a jet of fire at the mansion, lighting up the grounds. In the lake by the house, there was an orange-haired trainer sitting on top of her gyarados.
Suddenly, the mansion shook with a tremor.
"Fuck!" Butch cursed, "The hell is that?"
"A rock or a ground type pokemon," Cassidy answered softly, "We're under attack."
Another tremor had some of the larger windows breaking. Charizard was firing more flames at the mansion.
"We have to get out of here!" Butch exclaimed, reaching over to grab her hand. She resisted. She knew why Ash Ketchum and his friends were here. She had called for them.
"We have to get James!" she told him.
"James? What about him?" Butch asked, almost losing his footing as the house shook again.
"That's who they want!" Cassidy replied, "Why else would Ketchum and crew attack this place?"
"Then let them take him!" Butch shot back, flinching back as charizard's flame caught on the curtains.
Cassidy shook her head, "This place is falling apart and he's tied to a bed! He won't last long enough for them to find!"
"Some fucking plan of theirs," Butch muttered before arguing, "If we go untie him and get caught, we're in deep, deep shit!"
"Domino could kill Jessie tomorrow!" Cassidy shot at him, running for the door, "If James dies tonight, then his children will grow up like we did: without a single loving parent in their lives! Would you want that for BJ?" she demanded. She knew she had him there. Butch would do just about anything for their son.
"Shit!" he swore. Then he was running after her into the hallway. It was pandemonium. Rocket grunts and servants were running and screaming as fire caught and as the ground shook. Cassidy had to admit that when she had send the letter to Meowth, she had thought they'd opt for sneaking into the mansion. She hadn't considered that they'd attempt a blitz attack. It was ballsy.
Butch and Cassidy fought their way through the crowd towards James's room. Cassidy quickly realized that they weren't the only ones.
"You there! Hutch and Cassidy!" Jessiebelle shouted at them, "Won't ya'll help me rescue my beloved James?"
Cassidy swore under her breath and imagined Jessiebelle's hair catching on fire. Butch looked equally as annoyed with the woman. They kept moving with Jessiebelle on their heels. Cassidy was wracking her brain to find a way to get rid of the red-head when they rounded a corner just as a growlithe leapt through a window.
Meowth was on its back wearing some weird shoulder holster like she had seen in old cop movies. He looked positively murderous and the growlithe was growling at them.
"YOU!" he pointed to the three of them.
"Grow!" the growlithe snarled before it let out an ember attack.
"Vileplume, go! Stun spore!" Jessiebelle commanded. Growlithe leapt out of the way of the attack and fired again.
"Come on!" Cassidy hissed as the ground shook, grabbing Butch's hand. Meowth and Growlithe were the perfect distraction for Jessiebelle.
"Not so fast!" Meowth cried, reaching for a pokeball on his holster, "Victoreebell, go!"
Cassidy almost commented on the irony of a pokemon ordering a pokemon, but then the plant pokemon had Butch by the knees and out of her grasp. The mansion shook again and this time, the walls started to crack and crumble.
"Go!" Butch called to her, "I'll be fine!"
Cassidy ran for the door, managing to avoid the seviper that Meowth called upon next, and slammed it behind her. James as struggling weakly against his bonds as the mansion shook. He looked awful. Pale, thin, and badly beaten. His eyes were wide on account of the drugs he was given. Cassidy ran to the bed and started undoing the restraints. James paused.
"Huh?" he asked, hjs eyes glazed over. There was a good chance that he wouldn't even remember this. Still, Cassidy had to try.
"Listen, James, Jessie is in danger," she told him as she worked, "In the Andes. Domino. Can you repeat that for me?"
James looked horribly confused. His mind was sluggish. Cassidy repeated herself two more times before he finally said, "Jessie. Danger. Andes. Domino."
"Keep saying it," Cassidy told him. He managed to do just that as Cassidy started working on the bonds on his other hand.
The door suddenly disintegrated and Meowth and his pokemon entered the room.
"Step away from my partner!" the scratch-cat demanded with a snarl. Cassidy threw up her hands and stepped away from James. He must have had all a Jessie and James's pokemon out of their balls. Cassidy's three pokemon wouldn't make a difference. Victoreebell quickly finished what Cassidy had started with a razor leaf attack.
"Not gonna stop us," Meowth asked defiantly as Mime Jr. used a psychic attack to levitate James away.
"Couldn't possibly," Cassidy countered, "Where's Butch?"
"Out dere," Meowth pointed to the hallway, "Where's Jessie?"
At this, the seviper and wobbuffett made disgruntled noises.
"The Andes. That's all I know," Cassidy replied, moving back towards the wall. She was growing concerned about Butch. If he was able, he would've been in that room already. The little pokemon rescue squad backed out of the room and then they took off out of the nearest window. Cassidy wasted no time in running out to find Butch. He was there against a wall, tied up by vines. Jessiebelle was a few feet away, unconscious. Cassidy quickly untied him.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Meowth and that Victoreebell weren't exactly gentle when they were throwing me around," Butch griped, "Gonna be bruised-"
A chunk of roof suddenly fell from the ceiling and all Cassidy registered was Butch on top of her, shielding her from the debris.
0
Silver stopped suddenly as he rounded a corner, causing Motorcycle to collide into the back of him. Silver didn't care, for he had just spotted the person he had been searching for all night.
There, at the end of the hallway, forcing an older woman to act as his shield, was Silver's father.
"STOP!" Silver commanded, moving down the hall with purpose with Motorcycle at his heels. Giovanni turned swiftly and put the woman in between himself and the approaching men. Silver didn't bother with a pokeball. Instead he pulled a gun. He thought it a good choice, considering his father also had a gun pressed to the woman's temple.
Giovanni had the gall to laugh, "Well, well. Motorcycle Oak. You look to be missing a few appendages, my old friend."
"Fuck you!" Motorcycle snarled, producing his own gun. The woman let out a whimper.
"Let the woman go!" Silver ordered firmly.
"I really don't want to do that," Giovanni countered, "Who's your demanding little friend, Motorcycle?"
Silver scoffed, "Don't recognize me? I'm not surprised. The last time you saw me was shortly after you murdered my mother."
Giovanni smirked and said, "I've killed a lot of people to get where I am, Boy."
Silver aimed. He figured that if he shot the woman through the shoulder, he'd at least hit one of his father's lungs. Maybe even a heart, if the man had one.
"Her name was Jade," Silver stated boldly, putting his finger on the trigger. He saw Giovanni's eyes widen.
"S-Silver."
Silver pulled the trigger then. He wanted his name to be the last one his father ever spoke. As he did, the mansion shifted and shook. Ceiling and walls crumbled. He heard two sharp cries, one from the woman and one from Giovanni.
"Fuck!" Giovanni cried out in pain. Through the dust, Silver could see Giovanni on the ground, clutching his arm. The woman had fallen forward. Motorcycle shot once, but falling debris blocked his shot. The building was caving in around them. Silver saw Giovanni attempt to run. He took aim.
Pain shot through his arm as the teeth of a persian dug into his arm. It knocked him into Motorcycle and then it took off, following Giovanni into the dust.
"Help me!" the woman gasped, stumbling and staggering in the chaos. Her arm was bleeding so Silver's shot wasn't far off the mark.
"I got her!" Motorcycle shouted, grabbing her hand and pulling her along, "We gotta go, Kid! This place is coming down!"
Silver didn't like it, but he knew that Motorcycle was right. His father would live another day because Silver wasn't ready to forfeit his life for revenge.
0
Meowth was pissed, and that was putting it lightly. The scratch-cat paced in front of the minivan that the group had acquired for their little heist. It was time to make their getaway and Motorcycle and Silver were nowhere to be found.
"Where da hell are dey?" he demanded as Catherine, Misty, Dawn, and Brock looked in on James. Ash was overhead on Charizard, battling any grunts that had the wherewithal to actually battle. He was buying them precious time.
"They went into the house, same as you," Misty told him. Meowth had half a mind to leave those two idiots. James was in bad shape. Thin, pale, and hurt. He had bruises, burns, and whip marks. He was high, which was probably a good thing if the drugs he was on numbed the pain. He kept saying the same thing: "Jessie. Danger. Andes. Domino."
"Dammit!" Meowth spat, his eyes scanning the crumbling mansion. He noticed two figures falling out of the window that Meowth and crew had made their escape from. The blond haired woman got up first and was supporting her injured partner. They were both moving slow, trying to get out of range of the house.
"Horrible," Catherine said, coming up behind Meowth.
"Dey deserve it," Meowth snapped, "Butch and Cassidy was da ones dat helped capture Jessie and James!"
Catherine started and her eyes grew wide as she watched the injured Rockets call out a houndoom and a mightyena.
"Cassidy," Catherine whispered, horrified.
The two dog pokemon carried their trainers away from the crumbling mansion, presumably to the nearest Rocket base.
"No," Catherine whispered, dropping to her knees. Meowth frowned.
"Am I missin' somethin'?"
"My daughter…"
Meowth's eyes widened in surprise, "Cassidy's your...but…"
He had no time to dwell on that fact as Motorcycle, Silver, and Mrs. Morgan came running towards them. It was time to go. They had to get James to safety and they had to figure out how to help Jessie.
If James was right and Domino was going to the Andes, then Meowth knew that Jessie was indeed in terrible danger.
TBC
So Butch and Cassidy aren't all bad, which is something I wanted to touch upon here. Meowth had his bad-ass moment, which he thoroughly deserved. Now for Jessie...