.
Mission Shopping
James was fast asleep when the door to his room burst open the next morning and Mondo leapt onto the bed, shaking him. "James, get up!" the teen shouted.
James let out a high-pitched scream of terror, falling out of bed. "Mondo!" he managed to say with a gasp once his heart rate slowed. "Don't do that!"
"He gave me the mission! Giovanni gave me the mission!" Mondo cheered, dragging James to his feet and pulling the man out of his bedroom. James, still disoriented, was trying to puzzle things out. Wait. He looked down and noticed he wore only boxers. He tossed the idea of dressing around in his head for a moment before deciding it was too early in the morning to bother. "Jessie, get up!" Mondo insisted, pounding at her door.
James cried out in alarm and seized Mondo, dragging him away from the door just in the nick of time. The next second Jessie was out and had seized James around the neck, tackling him to the ground with eyes on fire as she tried to strangle him while straddling him beneath her. "Do you have any idea how early it is?!" she screeched. James gaped in horror through his furious blushing. At least he'd gotten Mondo out of the way. The poor kid wasn't used to Jessie's uncontrollable rage fits like he was, and even he was taken aback by this.
"J-Jess-Jessie," he choked. Mondo was gawking in horror, realizing right away that if not for James, he would be the one suffering Jessie's wrath. She seemed to snap back to herself and finally let her partner go, satisfied she'd made her point.
James gasped for breath and held his throat, massaging it. Jessie rose, graceful as ever, and harrumphed, combing her fingers through her messy hair. It was down, James noted. It was gorgeous like that, though he quite liked it up or styled too. "Now, let's try this again. What made you decide to wake me up at six?!"
"I-i-it wa-was m-me, Miss Jessie, n-not him," Mondo stammered, taken aback by the display.
Jessie blinked blankly at Mondo then looked down at James, who still looked a bit dazed. She winced, feeling a little guilty. "Oops," she said.
"Better me than him," James said with a groan, staggering up.
"What's wit' all de racket?" Meowth demanded, coming onto the scene and joining his teammates and Mondo. He blinked up at James blankly. "What happened ta Jim?"
"A wild Jessie," James wryly said. Jessie shot him a look. He bit his tongue with a squeak, and shut up immediately.
"I'm-I'm sorry, I didn't know you two planned to sleep in," Mondo said, deeply apologetic for the incident he'd brought about.
"We really should get a do not disturb sign," Jessie said with an exasperated sigh.
"But don't those usually mean…?" Mondo began.
Jessie and James blushed deeply at the insinuation. "Mondo!" James said sharply. What was a boy his age doing talking about such things? The world was a sorry place indeed. Granted Mondo was a teenager, but still he thought it was too young!
"Given Jimbo's state of dress, it wouldn't be hard to fake it," Meowth remarked. Jessie glanced over at James and noticed he was wearing nothing but underwear. She blushed once more and glared dangerously at her partner. He blinked cluelessly before catching on and grinning innocently, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck as he sweat-dropped. Quickly he shuffled away into his room to get changed.
"Wait here, Mondo. We'll be back in a moment," Jessie said. She might as well get dressed too. She turned on her heel and stormed towards her room.
"What's with her?" Mondo asked Meowth.
"Eh, bad day. Or bad few days," Meowth replied, shrugging.
"Huh?" Mondo asked, confused.
"Never you mind," Meowth said, rolling his eyes hopelessly.
PKMN
"All right, let's take this from the top. Why did you come in so early?" Jessie asked with a groan, blinking sleepily. James yawned.
"I couldn't sleep last night so I got up early and went to talk to Giovanni about the mission, and you guys were right. He gave it to me! He told me to choose the mentors I wanted to take along to watch my back if something went wrong, then sent me off," Mondo excitedly said. "Jessie, James, you can come with me and be my mentors. This'll be so great!"
"What about Meowth?" Meowth demanded, offended at being left out.
"Of course you, Meowth," Mondo said, smiling.
"Mentors? Why Mondo, what an honor," Jessie said, flattered.
"Especially given the fact we possess the highest failure rate in all Team Rocket," James dryly said. Jessie scowled at him, a vein throbbing in her head. James swallowed and backed down.
"We'd be delighted, darling," Jessie said, pinching Mondo's cheek. Mondo frowned, rubbing it, then shrugged it off. It was Jessie, after all. Anyone else, though, would regret pinching his cheek like that. He wasn't a kid. Well, he was, but he wasn't a little kid! He was a teenager. "First things first, let's go shopping," Jessie said.
"Shopping? Why?" Mondo asked.
"Mondo, if you're going to infiltrate a high society ball, you need a high society look," Jessie replied. "First lesson of the day: When going undercover, really go undercover." With that she seized his arm, and James's, and ushered them both out.
"Hey, wait for Meowth!" Meowth insisted, pursuing them.
PKMN
Mondo glanced over at James, who looked less than enthused about going to a Society Ball. "Um, James, if you don't want to be one of my mentors you don't have to be," Mondo awkwardly said, unsure of what was bothering his friend.
"Oh, I'm tickled pink to be your selection for a mentor. I just…" James began before hesitating.
"Jim's got some deeply rooted and seriously disturbin' issues wit' high society," Meowth said, scanning a rack of clothes that would fit him.
"Issues?" Mondo asked.
James shuddered as he heard Jessebelle's voice in his head. "Where, exactly, is this Society Ball?" he asked. Don't let it be near home, don't let it be near home, don't let it be near home…
"I don't know yet," Mondo replied. "Giovanni said the coordinates would be transmitted to me ASAP."
"Here we go," Jessie sang, appearing from behind a rack of clothes with a grin on her face as she held out a suit about Mondo's size. She reached out, seizing him and dragging him towards the change rooms. "Try this and this and this and this," she said, grabbing up outfit after outfit and piling them in Mondo's arms. Mondo shot a desperate look at James. James just shrugged. The kid was on his own, as far as he was concerned. The next second Mondo was in the change rooms, and they were waiting for him to show them the outfits Jessie had selected, Jessie watching with sparkling eyes.
"What's wit' Jess?" Meowth asked. "I know she likes ta shop, but dis? She's all but pamperin' the kid."
James was busy trying to figure it out himself. "I'm not sure," he answered.
"How's this?" Mondo asked, coming out.
"Oh Mondo, you look simply adorable!" Jessie squealed, leaping up and going to him.
"I'm not going for adorable, I'm going for handsome," Mondo said, raising an eyebrow at her as she came and began adjusting his bowtie. She frowned at his hair and pushed it back.
"Hmm, the effect is there but it's not quite perfect yet," she said. "Back inside." She shooed him away then returned to sit by James and Meowth.
"Hey, I t'ink I got an idea what's goin' on," Meowth said. "I'll bet Jess is workin' off some sort of big sister complex! Well, dat or a motherin' one."
"Jessie wants to be a mother?" James incredulously asked.
"No, ya big dope, dis whole situation is just bringin' out her nurturin' side," Meowth replied. "Mondo happens ta be de kid she's set on nurturin' right now. You twos have done it before, remember? Wit' de twerp when ya posed as his parents ta get him inta some gym? You've posed as his parents a few times, once on dat radio show where you was actin' de parts. Not to mention all dem times Jessie starts gushin' over adorable pokémon or baby ones, plus de way she brought up her Dustox, plus all dat dere kind of stuff. I mean it's gotta tell ya somethin'. Probably a good t'ing too. Goodness knows you dopes need de outlet."
"Are you implying I have a parenting instinct as well?" James demanded.
"Let's see, Growlie, Chimecho, Mime Junior, Cacnea, Wheezing, need I go on?" Meowth retorted. "If anyt'ing, you're more de parentin' sort den Jess. Seriously, Jimmy, you need a kid."
"I'm perfectly content with my pokémon, thank you very much," James replied.
"Chime, chime, chime!" Chimecho said, floating up to James with its best miserable expression.
"Chime, what's wrong?" James asked, picking the little guy up.
"Chime, chime," Chimecho replied, rubbing its stomach with its tail and looking pleadingly up at James.
"You're hungry? Oh Chime, just hold on a little longer my dear. As soon as we've found a suit for Mondo we'll go eat," James promised, tickling it. Chimecho giggled happily.
James grinned then noticed Meowth glaring dubiously at him. He blinked blankly at the Scratch-Cat. "Seriously, Jim, go marry some nice girl and start a family or somethin'. Jess and I'll be just fine wit'out ya." James sweat-dropped.
PKMN
Jessie adjusted the fifth suit of the six she'd chosen. "Jessie, I'm tired. Can't we just pick one already?" Mondo impatiently asked. He decided he hated shopping.
"We're almost there, dear. One more suit and then we'll decide," Jessie said.
"Finally," Mondo said, rolling his eyes and going back into the change room.
"Oh James, our little Mondo's growing up," she said with sparkling eyes, clasping her hands like she did whenever she had caught sight of an adorable pokémon. Meowth smirked boastfully at James. James blinked at him, catching on, then grimaced. All right, so maybe Meowth made a point.
"Um, Jessie, you do know he's not ours, right?" James asked.
"Of course he isn't, idiot!" Jessie snapped. She sighed. "But I always wondered what it would be like to be a big sister."
"You're actin' more like his mudda," Meowth said, determined to drive his points to James home. Jessie blinked blankly at Meowth then looked at James for clarification.
"Don't ask," James said with a grimace, not even attempting to tell her what it was Meowth was trying to emphasize.
"Jessie, James, Meowth, is this good?" Mondo asked, coming out of the change room. They turned to look at him and gasped.
"Wow kid, you clean up nice," Meowth said.
"It's perfect!" Jessie said excitedly. "Look no farther, we have a winner!"
"Do you have any idea how expensive this is?" Mondo asked, checking the price tag. "I mean I like it, but the price is wow."
"Nonsense, darling, no price too high. You're going to be presented to high society, after all. A debutante ball of sorts," Jessie said.
"Those are mainly for young girls, Jess," James corrected.
"Well in this case it's both young girls and young boys!" Jessie snapped sharply. James backed instantly off. "Besides, a society ball is different entirely. Now, let's charge this to Team Rocket's disguise account and get out of here."
"Yes. Chimecho is absolutely famished," James said.
"Chime!" Chimecho happily sang from James's arms.
"So am I," Mondo agreed.
"Of course, pumpkin, of course," Jessie said.
"Pumpkin?" Mondo confusedly asked James.
"Oh, never mind her," James replied, grinning innocently and waving it off. "Let's go eat!"
"Okay," Mondo agreed.
"Chime, chime!" Mime Junior chimed.
PKMN
Mondo sighed in relief, returning home with the things they'd bought for him and a full stomach. "There you are. Tyson and I were getting worried," Drill Sergeant Viper said, looking over as Mondo opened the door.
"Where is Tyson anyway?" Mondo asked.
"Doing as much research as he can on this mission of yours so that he knows the property better than its owners do. Just in case he needs to mount a rescue, no doubt," Viper said.
"I'll be fine. Did you tell him that?" Mondo incredulously asked.
"Multiple times. He responded with better safe than sorry," Viper said. "Supper's on the counter. I assume you picked out a good suit?"
"Yeah, my mentors helped me," Mondo said. "They do the disguise thing all the time."
"After you eat, put it on and show us," Viper said.
"Yeah, sure thing. I've already eaten, my mentors took me out, so I'll do that right now," Mondo replied with a smile.
"Did you thank them?" Viper asked.
"You advocating politeness?" Mondo asked dubiously.
"Do as I say, not as I do," Viper answered, shrugging.
"Yeah, I did," Mondo said, smirking affectionately at the drill sergeant.
"Good boy. Now go on," Viper said, ruffling his hair.
Mondo smiled and started to head out, but just then Tyson entered the dining room and blinked at him in surprise. He frowned right after, folding his arms. "Get things in order?" he asked.
"Yes sir," Mondo replied, eyes big and wide and a bit nervous.
"Good. The big day's coming up fast," Tyson said.
"It's not like I'm getting married," Mondo flatly replied. Tyson gave him a warning glare. Mondo grimaced and quickly backtracked. "Yeah." Now probably wasn't the best time to be smart-mouthed.
"You'd better be prepared for it. It's smart to have backup plans just in case," Tyson said by way of suggestion.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, maybe I should try to figure something out," Mondo replied, flushing. Honestly though, he hadn't even come up with a primary plan yet. At least not a good one. The cut and dry of it was go in, wait for an opening, slip out, take the pokémon, bolt.
"Do," Tyson said, frowning. "You leave what, tomorrow? Day after? You're not working on a lot of time here, shrimp."
"I'll be fine," Mondo insisted, frowning. "I'm heading up to my room to change into the suit me and my mentors just got for the ball. I think it looks pretty good on me and so did they, but I wanna get you and Viper's opinions too!"
"Speaking of your mentors, who are they exactly?" Tyson asked guardedly.
Mondo tensed. "Uh… it's a surprise!"
"No. It's not," Tyson said, frowning.
"Come on Tyson, if I tell you you're just gonna go out and hunt them down and threaten them or something," Mondo said, groaning.
"Damn right. Whoever they are they're backing my baby brother on his first mission, so hell yes I'm gonna be having a talk with them!" Tyson said.
"Quit being overprotective!" Mondo insisted.
"There's overprotective and then there's reasonably cautious," Viper said.
"Thank you, Viper!" Tyson said.
"This is reasonably cautious. Overprotective would be Tyson giving you no choice but to bring him along," Viper continued.
"Which I'm sorely tempted to do the longer you refuse to answer my question," Tyson added, frowning.
"I'll tell you in a bit," Mondo said, agitatedly getting up and leaving the table. "I'm gonna go try on the suit and show you guys it."
"Mondo!" Tyson angrily shot.
"Easy son. Let him go," Viper said. "It'll cool him off, and you too, then maybe the two of you can actually have a decent talk about this." Tyson muttered under his breath, but nonetheless relented.
PKMN
Mondo soon came down the stairs beaming. "Tyson, Viper, check me out!" Mondo said, sliding into the dining room with a big grin. They looked over and started. "Mondo, you wear it very well," Viper said, impressed.
"Oh god, you picked Jessie and James!" Tyson exclaimed in horror, shooting to his feet and slamming his hands on the table, mouth agape in shock and eyes wide.
Mondo started, blushing deeply. "But-but h-how…?" he began.
"Annie's fashion queen around here sure, but Jessie's not far behind, and no one in this whole organization spends more money on disguises than Jessie and James!" Tyson shot. "Annie and Oakley design, and Oakley puts the clothes together for them. Jessie and James buy. I don't even wanna know how much the disguise account is gonna be charged for that."
"However much it gets charged, it'll be worth it. The suit is perfect, Mondo. You look very mature and very well off. You'll blend in perfectly. I'll give Jessie and James this, they have the disguise game perfected," Viper said.
"It's Jessie and James he picked! Is no one else here worried about that?" Tyson demanded.
"I trust Jessie and James will get Mondo through this just fine," Viper said.
"Based on what? Their performance when they were being trained? Newsflash, Viper, they stopped succeeding after that," Tyson said.
"Actually, they did quite well for themselves for a long time until crossing those favorite targets of theirs in Kanto," Viper said. "They showed they hadn't lost their touch in both Unova and Alola. This mission will be simple for all of them, Tyson. It wouldn't kill you to trust them with this."
"Oh, I'd trust them with this if they were bringing anyone else but Mondo," Tyson answered.
"I trust them. That's why I chose them. They aren't gonna let anything bad happen to me, Tyson! Pretty sure they'd die first. Especially if you go to them and threaten them," Mondo said, sitting at the table with his brother and Viper.
"Don't you dare get anything on that suit," Tyson warned. "Now excuse me while I go hunt down Jessie and James."
"You're staying right here. Hunt them down tomorrow before they leave," Viper testily said. "For tonight just let Mondo have this and stop ruining it for him."
Tyson glared at Viper but then sighed. "Fine," he relented against his better judgement.
"Thanks da… I mean Viper," Mondo said. Viper smirked in amusement and nodded.