Epilogue
Heart beats fast
Colours and promises
How to be brave?
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?
But watching you stand alone
All of my doubt
Suddenly goes away somehow
One step closer
Jessie was acutely aware of her surroundings, despite the blindfold that covered her eyes.
She was in her room in the newly constructed beach house that now stood amongst the palm trees on Cleopatra Island. The little cabin that she had been taken to a month prior had been expanded upon and then built upwards. It now had two stories with more than enough rooms to accommodate any guests to the island. Jessie's room was on the east side of the second floor. It overlooked the beach where she had once visited with her parents when she was just a child. It was furnished in light greens and blues and had a very airy feel to it. Whoever was leading her had a misstep and Jessie's knee collided with the bed.
"Can I take this thing off now?"
"Nope, not yet, Mom," Teddy replied from her right.
"Wait 'til you see it, Mommy," Rose gushed from the left.
They pulled her towards the window and it was only then that Henry said, "You can take it off now, Momma."
Jessie wasted no time in removing the scarf that had been placed over her eyes, though she was mindful of her hair and make-up as she did so. She was indeed standing at the window, looking down at the beach. White chairs had been set up in rows facing the ocean on the sand. There was a beautiful white carpet that flowed down the aisle to a white archway that had been decorated with brightly coloured flowers.
"It's beautiful," Jessie breathed in awe.
"We've been setting up chairs all morning," Teddy supplied, "And-"
"I helped Daddy with the carpet thingy," Henry said importantly.
"Henry, don't cut Teddy off, Sweetheart," Jessie gently scolded, though she and both boys were still smiling. Teddy and Henry looked quite dashing in their grey tuxedos even if Henry wasn't wearing a tie.
"I helped Aunty Catherine do the flowers," Rose piped up, "and she put flower petals in my basket."
Rose was quite eager about being a flowergirl, even if it meant having to wear a dress. She actually ended up liking the sweet, light dress that they had picked up from a nearby island. She loved her basket.
"That's wonderful," Jessie told her, "You all did a great job."
"Daddy helped a little," Henry said modestly.
"And Aunty Catherine and Grandpa," Rose added.
"I'm glad we got some credit. I thought they forgot about us," a voice from the doorway commented. Jack was there, dressed in a dark suit, leaning on the door frame with Catherine beside him. She wore a pale lilac coloured dress. Jessie smiled at them.
"Thanks for this," she said sincerely, "It's amazing."
There was a time in her life where Jessie would've demanded more than the simple wedding that had been set up along the beach, but that was back when she thought of a wedding as a way to win the approval that she had never had when she was growing up. Now, she knew that approval was the last thing she needed to feel complete. She had a family now, with more members than she could've ever imagined, and she felt whole.
"You deserve it, Jessie," Catherine said, "Your mother would be so proud of you. She and I used to talk about this all of the time. We always wondered about the future husbands you and Cassidy would find. She would've really liked James."
Jessie smiled appreciatively and hugged Catherine. Try as she might, Jessie just couldn't bring herself to dislike Cassidy's mother. Catherine was unfailingly kind and took it upon herself to take care of everybody. She was what Jessie would've imagined her own mother to be like and more and more, Jessie wondered if Cassidy was really so bad or just a victim of circumstance like Jessie had been.
"Thank you," Jessie said again.
Catherine just smiled and then, to the kids, she said, "Alright, let's go downstairs and get ready."
She led them away, leaving Jack and Jessie alone in the bedroom.
"Well, here we are," Jessie said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Here we are," Jack agreed, "It's been a long haul, huh?"
"Very," Jessie agreed.
Jack put his hands in his pockets and said, "I never thought I'd ever get to see this day. It means the world to me that I'm here right now."
"Ditto," Jessie replied, smiling softly at him, "I mean, I never thought I'd actually have my dad walk me down the aisle. I always thought that if anything, I'd be flying solo."
"Not anymore," Jack promised her, "You know that I'm always here if you need me."
"I do," Jessie said slowly, "Which is why I have to ask you about the Rocket Resistance."
Jack was surprised for a moment. The Rocket Resistance had been spawned in a drunken conversation with Motorcycle. It was nothing more than a pair of old fools declaring war on the tyrant that had put them through so much pain.
"Jessie, there's no Rocket Resistance," Jack told her, "It was just drunk talk with Motorcycle the other night-"
"It might have been drunk talk," Jessie allowed, "but I've learnt that words have power...even the drunken ones. There is a Rocket Resistance forming here, Dad. The people here have been forced from their homes; their lives. The Ketchums and the Oaks were forced to leave Pallet Town when the Rockets took over. They want it back and if they try to take it back, Giovanni will see it as an act of war. The twerp's good, but he's not good enough to stand up to the might of Team Rocket. Then there's Silver and Motorcycle. They're both hellbent on revenge. It won't end well for them at all," she predicted, "A lot of people are going to die."
Jack sighed and nodded in agreement. All of what she said was true. He had to wonder, "What are wanting to know, Jessie?"
"Where do you stand?" she asked baldly.
That was the question that Jack had been asking himself since the moment he stepped foot on the island and learned of the horrors that his friends had endured over the years. Heath, Catherine, and Joseph's three friends had spent twenty-one years in Seafoam Prison. Lana was dead due to Giovanni experimenting on her. Motorcycle was a shell of a man. Giovanni had caused the deaths of Amy, Lana, and Motorcycle's brother and sister-in-law, Gary Oak's parents. Delia, as it turned out, suffered the same psychic memory block that had been imposed on Jessie when she was four. Apparently, Delia had been under some sort of delusion that her husband had been on a pokemon journey for all these years. Of course, that perception was challenged now and she was feeling more than a little confused and angry about the situation. James had suffered personally on Giovanni's orders. His father was dead and his mother was lost, only staying on the island because she had nowhere else to go. Her parents were dead too, also killed on Giovanni's orders. And all of this was compounded onto Giovanni's other crimes: murdering Amy, Jade, Joseph, Madame Boss, and Miya. Hurting Jessie.
"I stand against Giovanni," Jack answered back, "So many people have suffered and lost their lives because of him. I want it over. I want the Ketchums to be able to go home. I want Motorcycle to find peace and Silver to pursue a life unburdened by his father. I want Catherine to be reunited with her daughter. Most of all, I want you and James and my grandchildren to be able to live without fear," Jack stated, reaching out to cup her cheek, "I want you to have the life I never got to have with your mother. You're going to have James for the rest of your life and you're gonna hold your kids. I will gladly fight for that."
Jessie's eyes began to well up. A part of her knew that her father would choose to fight against Giovanni with the others, but a small, selfish part of her wanted him to say that he'd be content to simply be a dad and grandpa. That wasn't Jack, though. He had been making sacrifices for Jessie since the day he was born and he wasn't about to stop now.
"Then you know that James and I can't stay here on the island...not while this fight is going on," Jessie reminded him, her voice more wobbly than she would've liked, "It's too risky. If Giovanni ever found this place…"
"I know," Jack said gravely, "and I understand, Sweetheart. But we'll see each other. We'll write letters. I'll be there for you whenever you need me. This is just something I have to do for now. I was the one that...that let him go unchecked. I was the one that let him manipulate me and as a result, he became a monster of a leader. It's time for me to stop him, something I should've been strong enough to do twenty three years ago."
Jessie nodded and hugged him tightly. He held her just as tight.
"Where will you go?" he asked her.
"We've talked about Hoenn. It's far enough away, yet close enough to the Orange Islands to come visit. It's a new start."
Jack pulled back and smiled, "Indeed it is. Now, looking at the clock, I'd say that it's about time for you to get that new start on it's way."
Jessie managed a laugh and glanced to the clock at the side of the bed.
"I think you're right."
0
Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this
One step closer
"Still good?" Meowth asked from where he stood on a stool in front of a mirror, straightening his tie and adjusting his suit jacket.
James chuckled and replied, "Still good, Meowth."
The pair were in one of the watchtowers that had been constructed shortly before the beach house had been constructed. It was in close proximity to the beach where James would soon say 'I do'.
"Just checkin'," Meowth said, "Ain't gonna be no runaway groom on dis meowth's watch."
"I'm not going anywhere, Meowth," James promised.
"Ya can't hold it against me for checkin'," Meowth said with a shrug as he hopped down from his stool, "Ya never were too keen on da whole matrimony ting and with da whole ting a month ago…"
He trailed off, trying to be sensitive. He knew that James was having a tough time adjusting to what had happened to him. More than once, he had been woken up by James having a nightmare or he had seen moments where his human friend seemed to go off far away in his mind.
"I think the whole thing a month ago had the opposite effect on me that they thought it would," James speculated, "I thought I was going to die in that mansion. Hell, there were times when I wanted to die. My only regret was that I never got a chance to...well...be the man that Jessie deserved. I never stepped up. I mean, I loved her and we had two kids together, but I always let my past hold me back from actually getting married. I don't want to hold back anymore. I want to be her husband."
"'Bout time," Meowth said, "Youse guys have practically been married since youse was sixteen."
"Oh yeah?" James questioned, grinning over at his friend, "We were that bad?"
"Horrible," Meowth teased, "Seemed like everyone could see it except youse two. I weren't dat surprised when I found out youse guys had a thing."
James smiled, remembering the lecture he and Jessie had received from the cat the day they had found out that they were expecting. He knelt down to the cat's level and said, "You know, Jessie and I might have been the irresponsible ones getting pregnant, but you...you were really the one that started this whole family off. You laid out our options for us and from then...you've been the best friend we could've ever asked for. You kept the twins safe. You risked your life for us...for both of us. I mean, at my parents place and then on that mountain...you were amazing, Meowth."
The scratch-cat blushed and shrugged, "Hey, it's what we do for each other."
"It's more than that," James told him, "You brought us all back together again and one day, I hope that I'll be able to pay you back for all of this."
"Just keep all blunt objects away from your wife and we're good," Meowth joked, deflecting the praise.
Just then, Growlie began to bark from outside. James frowned and looked down the ladder to the tower. Growlie was at the base, barking at James's mother, who looked contrite. Nervous.
"Oh, boy," Meowth groaned as he peered down, "Ya want me to-"
"I'll go," James said, starting down the ladder. When he hit the ground, he called Growlie off and then he looked expectantly at the woman who had both given him life, and then tried to control said life, "Well? I don't have all day."
Annette Morgan was thin and her light purple hair was starting to show signs of grey. Her eyes were lined with dark circles that she only barely tried to conceal with make-up. Stress. She wore a simple black dress...though James wasn't surprised. Black was all she wore since the deaths of her parents and husband a month prior.
"I wish to congratulate you, my son, and to give you my blessing," she said. Her voice was tired, but genuine. James still frowned down at her.
"You know that I don't-"
"I know. I just wanted to give you this," she said, handing him an envelope.
James took it and asked, "What is this?"
"A present for you and your family," Annette said. Then, she turned to leave. James opened the envelope and found a letter and a slip of paper.
My Son,
You've made your wishes clear and I will not impose on you or your family. I have spent much time thinking of our last conversation and there are a couple of things that I would like to impress upon you.
The first is that you were never a pawn. Your father and I were given a gift the day that you came into this world. We wanted the best for you, yet somehow, we lost sight of what was best for us and what was best for you. We became selfish and, as it turns out, selfish people are easy to manipulate, something which the Rocket Boss took full advantage of. I only wish that we had been stronger and that we had thought about your needs before our own.
The second is that your children are not bastards that will ruin you. I was wrong to have ever said that. They are a credit to you and have had a tremendous role in making you the man that you are today. A man that I am proud of.
On this day of your wedding, I wish to impart this to you: you were fated for so much more than what I had ever planned for you. Do not let the harms of the past prevent you from enjoying the glorious future that you are creating for yourself. Your father, Jessiebelle, and I are nothing but ghosts in your past. Your wife and children are the jewels of your future. Treasure them and let us fade into nonexistence. To help you do that, I've enclosed the bank slip for the trust fund that your grandparents opened for you when you were born. Use it to fund a brighter tomorrow for your family. As for me, please know that I will forever be atoning for the sins that I have committed against you, starting with trust funds for my grandchildren, including the young man you've adopted. I also have plans to fund any organization that will bring your torturers and your father's murderers to justice.
Always,
Your Mother
James swallowed back the lump in his throat and folded the letter back up. He looked at the bank slip and smiled a little. He wasn't really surprised by the sizable balance of the account, but he was surprised by the gesture. He had doubted that he'd ever see a penny of his inheritance. Now, at least, he knew that it was going towards a good cause.
"You okay, Jim?" Meowth asked as he hopped down from the watchtower.
James nodded and tucked the envelope inside his jacket.
"I'm fine, Meowth. Let's go and get the show on the road."
0
And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
One step closer
One step closer
It was a small ceremony, but to be fair, it was larger than Jessie and James ever thought it could be. They really hadn't made that many friends over the years, making the people who attended mean so much more to the couple.
Miki, Seto, and Silver were in the first row. Ash Ketchum, his parents, and the entire twerp squad were in attendance, seated in the second and third rows. Behind them, there were the Oaks and the Lowrey brothers and their friend.
The groom stood up at the altar on the beach with Meowth, Teddy, and Little Henry. Samuel Oak was also there, as he was licenced to perform marriages. He would be officiating.
Music started and the bridesmaids emerged from the treeline. Akira, Catherine, and Little Rose joined the gentlemen at the altar.
Then, after a moment, the wedding march began and the bride and her father walked down the aisle. Jessie couldn't believe that this moment was finally here. She felt like she had waited a thousand years for this moment, It was always meant to be her and James. Fate always brought them together and now, they'd be that way forever.
Vows and rings were exchanged. Jessie said 'I do' first, followed by James.
And then, forever was sealed with a kiss.
I have died every day waiting for you
Darling, don't be afraid
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
0
Giovanni Sakaki glared down at the newspaper in his hands. The smiling faces of his estranged niece and her new husband stared up at him. The announcement underneath read:
Jack Sakaki and the late Miyamoto Lillis are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter, Jessica Musashi Lillis, to James Kojiro Morgan in a private ceremony. The couple was surrounded by family and friends as they were joined in holy matrimony.
Giovanni could feel his blood pressure rising. All of his plans were thwarted on account of his niece's little friends, not to mention the injuries that had been suffered.
"I want the wench dead! James belongs to me!" Giovanni's other niece cried out in anger. Giovanni raised his silver eyes to look at the young woman. In the fire that had destroyed the Morgan estate, Jessiebelle was badly burnt. Even now, more than a month since the incident, she was still wearing bandages over her face and limbs.
"They'll all be dead," Giovanni vowed coldly, "All of them."
"But especially her, right?" Jessiebelle prodded.
"Especially her," Giovanni confirmed with a growl, "Jessica Lillis will pay dearly for what her companions did to my Laurel."
"And me?"
Giovanni rolled his eyes and nodded, "And you."
Laurel Domenica, AKA Domino, was currently in a medically-induced coma in the Team Rocket medical facility. After the avalanche that had buried her, Giovanni had sent a team out to rescue his daughter. She had been barely alive when the grunts found her. Her back was broken and she had suffered the effects of hypothermia and frostbite. The doctors stated that she would survive the ordeal, but with extensive, lasting injuries.
"Fetch Carson and Farrows. I have an assignment for them," Giovanni ordered his niece.
"Yes, Uncle."
Jessiebelle disappeared, leaving Giovanni alone with his thoughts. Someone in Team Rocket had leaked information to the friends of Jessie and James and Giovanni intended to find out who. That individual was the reason that his daughter was in intensive care and that Jessiebelle was disfigured. They would be killed for their treason.
Butch Carson and Cassidy Farrows entered the office and stood obediently in front of the desks, not speaking until they were spoken to. Giovanni threw the newspaper down on the desk as he stood up, causing his persian to jump down from his lap.
"I want them to suffer. I want them to die. I want them to end," he spat.
Butch and Cassidy looked down at the smiling faces of their rivals. Butch clenched his jaw shut and nodded obediently. It took Cassidy a moment to tear her eyes away from the laughing blue ones on the newspaper to look into the cold silver ones of her boss.
"First, however, I have another mission for the two of you," Giovanni said, his voice only slightly more controlled, "I want you to find the rat, the mole who let loose the information that lead to the Seafoam breakouts and the escapes of James Morgan and Jessica Lillis. I would like a personal audience with that individual or individuals involved."
"Yes, Sir," Butch and Cassidy obediently answered. Giovanni's eyes lingered on the blond for a moment. She looked so like her mother.
Her traitorous mother.
Then he turned to look out the large, floor-to-ceiling window behind his desk and said, "They will rue the day that they stood against Team Rocket. Karma will not be kind."
The End
...Christina Perri - A Thousand Years
Final Thoughts:
It has been a long and wild ride. I have learnt so much writing this story and it will always be very near and dear to my heart. This story transitioned me through university, my first job, my first years of marriage, and the birth of my first child. Maybe in part, I was reluctant for it to end, which may be why it took so long for me to finish.
Originally, it was meant to be the first part in a Team Rocket trilogy. Part two was planned to include more of Cassidy and Butch and Part Three was to focus on the next generation. I am unsure at this time if I will be able to complete the story as I originally had envisioned. For this, I am sorry, but if I do find the time to write the next part, I will. As it stands, this is the official end to Fated. It is a happy ending for Jessie's family, but still open for expansion later. I want to say thank you to all of the readers who have patiently waited for my updates and have stuck with this story until the end.