.
Mission Heart-to-Heart
(A/N: Mentions of animal abuse in this chapter.)
James and Jessie were a bundle of nerves by now. James's parents had all but attached themselves to them by the hip. "I admire yoah struggle t' raise a son when you was hardly moah than a chile yourself," James's mother said to Jessie. "It takes a brave woman."
"Err, thank you," Jessie replied. "Enough about us, what about you two? We hear you once had a son yourselves."
"A little boah, the apple of ma eye," James's mother said. James scoffed, earning himself another painful pinch from Jessie.
"He ran from home when he was a child. We never saw him again until he was full-grown. We went as far as to fake our deaths to try and force him home; and back to the fiancée we'd promised him when he was little," James's father said.
"Perhaps he fled because he didn't want her," James remarked. "He likely saw her for what she really was. Besides, the rules of High Society are quite cumbersome. It's hardly a wonder he was unable to bear it all and decided to flee. What did you two really know about this Lady Jessebelle anyway?"
"She was a perfect dahlin'," James's mother testily replied. "Besides, he was the one who wanted her in the first place."
"Before she showed her true colors!" James retorted, rising swiftly. Jessie dragged him roughly down, scowling darkly at him. James bit his tongue for about the hundredth time that night.
"Perhaps we were wrong, perhaps we weren't, but we'll never know now, will we? He was unwilling to so much as try, so I suppose it will remain a mystery," James's father said.
"Sometimes you don't need to taste a fruit to see it's bad. Perhaps he wasn't the one who was blind," Jessie dryly said. James inwardly thanked his partner a million times for that.
"Maybe so, but t' run away without a word about it? Do y' have any idea how sick I was worryin' foah ma baby?" James's mother said.
"You probably never even noticed I, I mean he, was gone!" James shot. "You probably weren't around much, and when you were you likely sent him off to nannies and nurses and whatnot."
"He was still our chile!" James's mother shouted, making James wither back with wide eyes. He blinked blankly. Were those tears in her eyes? He shifted uncomfortably at the thought that they might be.
"Sit down, love," James's father said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and softly pushing her back down onto her chair.
"You have any idea what it's like not knowin' if yoah baby boah is dead or alive?! We suffered foah him!" James's mother hissed. "What kind of life did he live out there on his own? He had nothin'. How did he care foah himself? Grandparents, shore, but they would not have kept him from me had they been raisin' him."
"He didn't want you. Either of you," James whispered back, because whispering was all he could do to hide the breaking in his voice. Jessie, by now, was feeling incredibly awkward and out of place.
"Did he want all that happened to him out on the streets, I wonder?" James's father demanded, voice hard.
"That was uncalled for!" Jessie immediately defended, noticing the hurt, pain, and fear that had sprung to her friend and partner's eyes.
"Did he want it?" James's father repeated, glaring accusingly at James.
For a long moment James was quiet. Finally, he answered, "No. I'd wager he would have sooner died. No doubt part of him wanted to go back where he would be safe, you must believe that, but a prison is a prison whether one is on the streets or in their own home."
"Touché," James's father said.
"Better he should have died where no one would miss him than died where those who supposedly loved him would mourn him. And he would have died had he been forced to be married to that-that woman," James said.
"Not having the closure can be so much worse," James's father hissed.
"Perhaps if you weren't such awful parents none of it would have happened," James replied, but his voice lacked the punch he wanted it to have.
"Were we so terrible?" James's mother asked. "Guess he nevah got the chance t' figure that one out."
"I didn't, I mean he didn't, need you!" James shot.
"Didn't he?" James's mother asked. James fell silent, because he knew he'd needed them. He'd desperately needed them, but then…
"He wouldn't have had you even if he had stayed," he said. James's mother started, eyes filling with pain at this statement. She saw, you see, the truth in those words all too plainly. Tears glistened in her eyes and she bowed her head, closing them tightly.
"But he would have been safe," James's father said.
"From the world, perhaps, but not from life," James answered.
PKMN
There was silence a long moment as the three stared each other down. "Um, should I go check on Mondo, love?" Jessie asked awkwardly.
"No!" James exclaimed, terror springing to his eyes at the idea she'd leave him in the lurch.
"Darling, I should go," Jessie said through gritted teeth. She had no right to be part of this little conversation.
"He was our only son," James's mother mused softly. James and Jessie turned to her. "Last we saw him wasn't long ago, a family weekend his company was havin'… There was so much I wanted t' know, so much I wanted t' ask him… I didn't… I was too much a cowahd… Did he have any children, I wondah? Foah real, that is. Am I blessed enough to be a grandmothah, or is this all paht of some scheme or othah we don't wanna know about? Did he really marry young as fifteen when he didn't even have a clue 'bout himself? We may have engaged him at seven, but theah was no way we would've endoahsed a weddin' until he was eighteen at the very least."
James was quiet a long moment. Finally, he replied, "His parents hardly produced a complete imbecile if he managed to survive both childhood and his teenage years alone." James's mother let out a shaky breath.
"True. I suppose we didn't," James's father said. "Then the one who stands by his side isn't his wife."
"Probably not," James replied, looking down. Jessie blushed.
"And the boy we've heard has been tagging along with them isn't his child," James's father said.
"Almost certainly a negative I would think," James replied.
"But he's well for now I suppose," his mother asked.
"I would suppose as well as could be expected," James answered.
"And he knows we ain't givin' up on gettin' him back," his mother said.
"Typical," James grumbled.
"He's safe for tonight, at least. That's all that matters. It's been good… To talk about him and to hear his voice from the lips of a stranger," his father said. "Come on, lovey, let's mingle. We've overstayed our welcome." James's mother took her husband's hand and let him draw her to her feet and lead her off into the crowds.
"M-mother, father, wait!" James said, turning quickly. They were gone, though. His shoulders sagged and he whimpered.
"Had enough closure for a while?" Jessie questioned gently, placing a hand on James's shoulder.
James bowed his head low. "For now," he admitted, forcing a weak and tired smile. It fell as soon as it came, though. "What does it say about us, me and them, that the only time we can be open and honest with one another is when… when we can pretend it's not one another we're speaking to…?"
Jessie looked down. "I can't give you that answer, James," she murmured softly. Solemnly he nodded. He knew as much. He wished she could, though. Or that anyone could.
PKMN
Mondo slipped outside and leaned against the balcony railing, looking around for anyone who could be listening in. Meowth jumped from his arms and stretched. "Boy am I glad ta be outta dere. It was crowded," Meowth said.
"Here, here. I'd better contact James and Jess and tell them what I'm planning to do," Mondo said.
"Den Tyson. You're pushin' it now," Meowth said.
"Right," Mondo agreed. He activated the communicator. "James, Jessie, come in."
"We read you loud and clear, Mondo," Jessie's voice replied. No doubt she and James were dancing, given the sounds of fabric swaying and brushing up against other fabric.
"The host mentioned a shelter on the outskirts of his property. I'm on the balcony and plan to slip across the backyard and into the woods to find it," Mondo said.
"Is Meowth still with you?" James asked.
"You bet," Meowth answered for Mondo.
"Very well, but be careful," James said.
"Did your parents know you?" Mondo asked.
James was silent a long moment. "That's a matter up to debate," he finally replied. Mondo assumed that was a yes, but apparently Lord and Lady Kojiro were staying quiet, otherwise James would be fleeing out here to try and get away from Jessebelle.
"Okay. I'm going in. Wish me luck," Mondo said.
"Be careful, Mondo," Jessie said.
"I will," he replied. With that, he cut the transmission and sprang from the balcony with Meowth. Stealthily he started across the yard towards the woods and entered noiselessly.
"Psst, Tyson," Meowth hissed.
Mondo grimaced and activated his com again. "Tyson? Come in Tyson," he said in a whisper.
"About damn time!" Tyson's voice testily snapped. "You're late. By two minutes."
"Sorry, I was busy," Mondo replied. "Just called to update. I slipped out of the party. Now I'm in the private woods. The host said he keeps a shelter out there for the lycanroc, so they'll have a quiet place to be."
"That explains the whispering. How is it out there?" Tyson asked, dropping his voice a bit.
"It's pretty quiet so far," Mondo murmured.
"Careful. He might have guards or guard pokémon," Tyson warned. "Stick low to the ground and don't make a sound if you can help it."
"Right," Mondo replied, crouching low.
PKMN
Silently Mondo and Meowth slipped through the forest, Mondo keeping up a running commentary with his brother if only for something to do. There were growls and other such sounds, but they remained undetected. They peered out from a bush and looked into a clearing. "Dat must be de shelter," Meowth said, pointing at a dingy looking building.
"He keeps them in that?" Mondo asked with a grimace. "Where are the doors and the windows?"
"I don't know, but I don't like it," Meowth replied.
"What's happening?" Tyson asked.
"We found the shack. It doesn't have doors or windows… I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Mondo said, frowning.
Meowth sniffed the air. "It smells dirty," he said.
Mondo, eyes concerned, looked at Meowth worriedly. "You think… do you think he's treating them well?"
Meowth shifted uncomfortably. "Not dat I wanna jump to conclusions, but…" he began.
"Meowth," Mondo insisted.
"Mondo, what's happening?" Tyson demanded, voice getting edged again.
"It's nothing. I've got this. Look, I've gotta go. This is getting a bit dicey," Mondo said.
"Mondo!" Tyson shot.
"Call you in an hour. Bye," Mondo said, cutting his brother off.
Meowth looked towards the building. "Let's just check it out," he said, avoiding Mondo's question. It didn't go escaped by Mondo, but Meowth was already crossing to the building. The boy had no choice but to follow.
"How do we get in?" Mondo asked as he searched for an entrance. He could smell what Meowth meant now, and fear was clutching his heart. It wasn't a scent you'd expect to smell on a well-manicured property. It wasn't a scent you would smell where pokémon were being cared for properly.
"Back up, kid," Meowth said, drawing his claws. "Taste my fury swipes!" Immediately he leapt at the building and began slashing at what seemed to be a weak spot. It was proofed against a lot of things, this place, but he wasn't one of them. Meowth hacked out a small hole and squeezed inside, looking around. He gasped on seeing a litter of little pups scrambling around a female midday lycanroc that was lying on the ground and didn't look like she'd moved for a long time. Her hind legs had been… Meowth gasped, pale. He felt eyes on him and turned. There, in the shadows, was the male midnight, and its gaze was fixed on Meowth. Meowth quickly scrambled back outside. "It ain't pretty in there," he warned.
"What do you mean? What's wrong with them?" Mondo fearfully asked.
"Follow me," Meowth replied, hurrying towards what looked to be an abandoned well. "Dere was an openin' in de floor in de general direction of de well. Maybe it's a tunnel."
"And if you're wrong?" Mondo asked.
"Dat's what Jessie and James is here for," Meowth replied. Quickly the two leapt down into the well. Mondo looked ahead and caught his breath. There really was a tunnel!
"Good call, Meowth," Mondo said, hurrying down it and pulling out a flashlight to light the way.
PKMN
Mondo lock picked the exit of the tunnel, tongue out the side of his mouth as he focused. He'd broken five picks already, but he was determined to get this. Finally, it clicked. He inwardly cheered and grinned at Meowth, who gave him a thumb's up and handed back the flashlight. The two slipped carefully inside. Mondo looked around, shining the beam around, and gasped, paling at what he saw. "Oh Arceus!" he exclaimed in horror, covering his mouth. Weakly the female midday lycanroc looked up from her nursing litter and whined pitifully. "Her hind legs. What's wrong with her hind legs?!" Mondo demanded, hurrying towards her.
"Kid, wait!" Meowth cried out. The midday yelped, and suddenly there was a vicious sound. Mondo gasped, spinning. He cried out in terror as a midnight bounded from the shadows and charged him, ready to either mangle or crush the human! "Mondo!" Meowth exclaimed. He sprang, viciously attacking the lycanroc with night slash. The two tangled on the ground violently before Meowth leapt back to Mondo's side, claws drawn and teeth bared. The male staggered up, snarling viciously.
"Meowth, what do we do?" Mondo asked.
"Prepare ta battle," Meowth replied.
"Try reasoning with him. I want to help her!" Mondo insisted.
"You hoid de kid, he wants ta help. Let us check on her," Meowth insisted. The lycanroc male glared coldly at him, growling dangerously. "He ain't gonna let us near her, but maybe if we can capture him in a pokeball…" Meowth said.
"That would require winning a battle. Can you handle a matchup like that?" Mondo asked.
"Don't underestimate me, kid," Meowth replied. "I'm not a great battler, but I can hold my own when de goin' gets real tough." And he had done some pretty miraculous things in battle before, so yeah.
"Right," Mondo said. The lycanroc raced at them immediately, prepared to attack. "Meowth, dodge it then use fury swipes!" Mondo ordered. Meowth pounced with a meow as the lycanoc leapt with a snarl!
PKMN
"I'm going to go check on our prizes," the Host murmured to one of his guards. "Remember, make sure no one gets too nosy."
Jessie and James, who had been listening to this, exchanged worried looks. "We need to warn Mondo," Jessie said.
"Right," James agreed. "Mondo, come in."
"I'm a little busy, guys! In the middle of a battle, can't talk," Mondo said. He cried out in alarm and they heard a vicious noise. The signal went dead. Jessie and James exchanged alarmed looks.
"That can't be good," James said.
"Hurry, we need to get out there," Jessie said. "If anything happens to Mondo, Tyson will have us stuffed and mounted."
"But how Jessie?" James asked in concern. "We're the belle of the ball!" Jessie blinked, looking around. Sure enough, most eyes were on them.
"Well think of something James," Jessie insisted. James blinked at something behind her. She turned curiously and started. James' parents were nearby and seemed to have overheard them. James's father met Jessie's eyes and subtly nodded. Jessie caught on and grinned, turning back to James. "Never mind. I think we're about to have our distraction."
"My parents?" James asked, confused.
"Lucky us," Jessie said, winking. Lord Kojiro whispered something to his wife and she smirked before nodding. All at once the woman gave a cry, collapsing to the ground in a faint. James jumped and looked alarmed a moment, almost going towards her before Jessie caught his wrist. He looked at her and she shook her head. He caught on. Distraction. Right. But why were his parents so willing to cover for them, he wondered? Oh well, it didn't matter. What mattered was their getting to Mondo.
"Dinah!" Lord Kojiro exclaimed, falling next to his 'fainted' wife. "Dinah, wake up, Dinah!" Nobles began to murmur and crowd around the fallen woman. "Someone call for help, hurry!" Lord Kojiro insisted. "And get me some wet towels and smelling salts. For goodness sakes hurry!"
"Let's go," Jessie said, quickly dragging James—who though he knew it was most likely an act was starting to worry it was genuine—away and out the doors. They slipped into the yard and into the woods without alerting the guards, and silently tailed the host from a distance.
PKMN
"Meowth, scratch!" Mondo desperately called to the almost knocked down Meowth, who was almost out for the count. If Meowth fell, his protection was gone and they were lycanroc food. Meowth gritted his teeth, steeling himself, and lunged with a battle cry. Mondo bit his lip. The two of them clashed in the air, attacks meeting, and both flew back with sounds of pain, rolling across the ground. "Meowth, no!" Mondo exclaimed.
Meowth, body shaking with weakness, lifted himself on his arms and looked up at Mondo, grimacing in pain. "Grab him, Mondo!" Meowth called.
"Pokeball, go!" Mondo exclaimed, throwing it forward. It hit the staggering lycanroc and absorbed it immediately as it howled in desperation. The female and the rockruff whimpered, barked, howled, and snarled as they watched the male vanish. The pokeball shook once, twice… Mondo bit his lower lip in anticipation. Suddenly it broke open and the lycanroc sprang from inside, lunging at him with a snarl that sounded more like a roar. Mondo screamed in fear, throwing his arms up in front of him in a fruitless attempt to ward off the coming mauling.
"Mondo!" Meowth exclaimed. Channelling all his strength, he leapt forward, getting between the two and taking the full force of the attack, shrieking in pain but still managing to dig his claws deep into the male lycanroc's face before it threw him across the room and collapsed again with a groan, exhausted.
"Meowth!" Mondo cried, racing towards his friend and quickly sliding next to him. "Meowth, are you okay? Meowth, please say something, please!" he pled.
"Catch dat lycanroc den worry about me!" Meowth insisted, voice laced with pain and weakness. Mondo scowled, turning to look back at the midnight lycanroc, then grabbed up the pokeball and threw it again with a furious shout. This time when it hit, it caught it inside.
Mondo seized the pokeball, glaring resentfully at it, and shoved it into a pocket. He shouldn't be mad at it he knew, it was just trying to protect its family, but it had hurt Meowth badly, so screw it! At least for the moment. He'd go back to feeling sorry for it once he figured out if Meowth was going to be okay. He returned quickly to Meowth. "Oh man, Meowth, you need help," he said, scooping the scratch-cat up in his arms.
"I've taken worse," Meowth replied, grimacing. "Don't worry 'bout me just yet. Now maybe we can get somewhere wit' helpin' de female," Meowth said, looking worriedly over at the midday lycanroc. The two approached and knelt by her.
"Her-her legs… they're broken," Mondo realized, hurt and pain coming to his eyes.
"And it ain't accidental," Meowth pointed out. "Someone don't want her to leave ever. I t'ink… I t'ink dese guys are bein' used for breedin'. Only breedin'."
Mondo caught his breath. "Y-you mean like-like a pokemill?" he asked in horror.
Meowth didn't answer, focused on the lycanroc and her rockruff offspring. "Hey, what happened to you? We're only tryin' ta help," he said.
The lycanroc was quiet for a minute, but soon answered him with a series of noises and whimpers. Meowth looked upset. Mondo doubted he wanted the whole story. "Well, what did she say?" he asked Meowth.
"Long story short, and cuttin' out most of de gorier details, she was pregnant when de man went after her and de midnight. Dey fought hard, and her bein' a mudda and all she was more dangerous den de male, so dey did dis to her so she couldn't fight no more and dat left de midnight to fight alone. Dey harnessed him, d'ough, and made sure dey couldn't use deir attacks. Dey dragged dem back here and never let her heal so she'd never run or fight dem. Dey kept de midnight chained up so he couldn't maul dem when they came to hurt de midday or take away de babies. Mondo, we was right, dis is a pokémill!" Meowth exclaimed.
"What?!" Mondo demanded in horror. Oh boy, they were playing dangerous now.
"Dat's right. She just wants to be free wit' her babies. Dey ain't treated well, here, and de litter is gonna be taken long before dey're ready to leave," Meowth narrated. "In fact, dey're supposed ta be taken tonight and sold to de aristocracy at de Ball!"
"Wait, that means that the host…" Mondo began.
"Is due to arrive?" a voice asked from behind. Mondo and Meowth gasped, spinning quickly. It was him!