At approximately six-thirty in the morning, two days later, the Morgan family caught the first bus to Machu Picchu from their elegant Inkaterra Hotel. Jessie had been astounded by how many tourists were coming and going from the area, even on the late hour train from Cuzco City. She'd expected the trip to be a lonely one, especially given the time. A porter had told her the total number of passengers could reach a thousand just in one day.

Another surprise had been the sight of armed guards all around their hotel. The desk clerk had proudly informed the Morgans that Peru had made great strides in civilization over the last thirty years, including wiping out the local branch of the Shining Path. The guards were a precaution against large, predatory jungle Pokémon, she was told. Jessie suspected the guards might also prove a good defense against more civilized attackers; whether branding themselves terrorist, Pokémon poacher, or merely criminal, as a bonus.

Jessie also felt her partial reassurance at this was why nobody at the travel agency office had mentioned this little tidbit about bodily harm.

Still, as a Pokémon League Gym Leader and well-armed herself, Jessie didn't flinch as she boarded the bus. Naturally, she grabbed the window seat for herself. James, fussing with his new camcorder, was next and then Meowth had the last seat in their row. The scratch cat considered sitting in Jessie's lap for a better view but rejected it. The last time he'd tried that, she'd made too many jokes about Meowth being her child for his dignity to withstand.

James was frowning at his camcorder; the viewscreen remained blank despite his every effort to bring it to life. "Didn't I charge this thing?" he muttered to himself, "Meowth, do you have the spare battery?" Meowth got the requested item out of his khaki jacket's upper pocket. His outfit matched James and Jessie's jungle gear well. Except Meowth had holes in his pith helmet to accommodate his ears and, as always, no pants.

Jessie turned an angry gaze from the other buses loading up outside her window to snap, "Why are you fooling with that? It's too dark to film anything yet!" James was shocked at her irritability for a second, but he quickly recognized why she was so uptight. Smiling reassuringly, he gently added, "We're almost there, dear. Just relax. I'll be ready to document anything we need to by the time the sun comes up."

Reassured despite herself, Jessie checked her Pokénav yet again. After crossing an ocean and a country to get here, she was finally drawing close to her mysterious destination. She smiled, grim and tight. She would get her answers, oh yes.

The tour service had organized its charges by language group; as the last one boarded the bus the pretty young hostess began her spiel in fluent Japanese. "Good morning, everyone!" she chirped, "Welcome to the Hiram Bingham tour of Machu Picchu!"

Pausing for some happy greetings, despite the early hour, the girl sporting the nametag 'Rosa' continued just as cheerfully, "We're starting up the switchback road to the ruins itself. I hope you've got your cameras ready, because you never know what sort of Pokémon you might see in the jungle. In just twenty minutes or so, we'll be at the ruins. Let me tell you a little bit of history about our world-famous site."

Jessie tuned out the boring details, staring out the window into darkness instead. Only the fact that they were so close to the front let her catch some jungle via the headlights. The hostess hadn't been kidding when she'd said the road was a switchback up the mountain. The ruined city, named the same as the mountain itself, was directly atop the sheer rise. Thick jungle clinging tenaciously to the steep mountainside cut off any view of the ruins unless you were directly outside the gates or on a higher mountain surrounding them.

Her husband's movements reclaimed her attention; James was raising his hand to interrupt the hostess with a correction. "Excuse me, miss, I don't mean to intrude," he said with false modesty, "But I do believe I've spotted an error. Shouldn't Machu Picchu have just one letter 'c' in the second word, instead of two?"

Rosa's polite response included a bit of a grin; looked like she got this one a lot. "The two-c word in the Quechua language means 'mountain', sir, not a Pokémon." Her arm moved to point to the Hiram Bingham's company logo emblazoned on the bus' headboard above her. The circular drawing did indeed depict a happy specimen of the Pichu species surrounded by Inti the sun god and the mountains of Peru. Rosa continued, "Of course, the irony wasn't lost on Machu Picchu's founders when the local Pokémon made such a similar noise. This entire evolutionary line is a major factor in ancient Incan culture because of it."

"Oh," was all James could say, "Well, ah, thank you for clearing that up, miss."

Jessie turned her attention back to the window. And immediately spied something that made her gasp. "Look at that, James!" she tugged on his arm, "There's a bunch of Weepinbell hanging from that tree branch! How did local Pokémon get here?"

Her husband, his ego wishing for a quick repair after questioning the hostess, went into lecture mode. "Really, Jessie," he teased, "Don't you know the question should be, 'How did the ancestral Bellsprout get to Japan from South America?' Many species we're familiar with have their origins over here. Lotads and Sandiles got their start locally too."

Meowth chimed in, "Don't fergit, Jimmy, it ain't just South America. Some guys come from Africa, like Hippopotas-uses and Girafarigs."

"Keep quiet, Meowth!" Jessie snapped. But it was too late. Every head on the bus turned to inspect a Pokémon with the power of human speech. Meowth, accustomed to the sudden burst of attention, grinned and played it for laughs. He made a show of wondering, "What? Have I gots sometin' caught in my teeth?"

"Madre dios," Rosa whispered, "Speech would've made you a very big hit back when Machu Picchu was a religious site, my little Pokéfriend."

Meowth preened, "Well, o' course! Why worship a buncha runty electric mouses when ya gots a first-rate cat?"

The hostess had to laugh despite herself. Still grinning, she resumed her tour spiel. "As I was saying, please forgive any inconvenience caused by our preparation for the Noche del Maullar celebration tonight. Speaking of translations, that Spanish phrase is rendered roughly as 'The Night of The Mew.'"

That yanked Jessie's attention back to Rosa. Her mother's final mission had been a search for Mew. Eagerly, Jessie cut in, "Night of The Mew? Please, miss, tell us all about this celebration! When did it start?"

Pleased by Jessie's enthusiasm, Rosa swelled with genuine national pride. She explained, "No one knows exactly when the Noche del Maullar was invented. The Incas had no writing system at all and no records because of it. But they performed this religious ceremony, along with many others, for the Spanish conquistadors that arrived here. Their religion disappeared, along with all pure-blood Incas, during the conquest that followed. It was the Spanish records that allowed for the revival of Incan ceremonies for our education and enlightenment."

Jessie slumped back into her seat, crestfallen. She'd been sure there was more to it than that.

Rosa noticed Jessie's deflation and searched her memory. "Umm, I think the Noche del Maullar itself was revived about thirty-three, thirty-four years ago."

That galvanized Jessie back into action. She shared a wide-eyed, wordless stare with James. To her relief, she saw her own thoughts reflected in his eyes. That had been when Jane had disappeared. It was all really too much to be a coincidence in Jessie's mind; Giovanni must have timed his message's arrival to them appropriately. James' eyes were quickly glazed with a note of caution, however, as Rosa continued.

"Within the city of Machu Picchu lies the Intihuatana, the Hitching Post of the Sun. According to the legend, long ago the Pokémon Mew won a contest against Inti the sun god. She began each day by tying Inti between Machu Picchu and the neighboring mountain of Huayna Picchu; showering the people with Mew's blessing. Then, every evening Mew returned to bring the people and Inti both a restful night by releasing Inti from his fetters. Inti, too honorable to go back on his word, permitted this grudgingly."

"Dat's some story dere, miss, " Meowth piped up, "But not even Mew's dat powerful. An' I should know; she's a purr-sonal friend o' mine. But tell me dis. Da Incas gots dere daylight n' all; but what's Mew's angle? An what's wit da Pichus, anyways?"

The hostess' laugh said she doubted Meowth knew any legendary Pokémon, but she forged on pleasantly enough, "All Mew asked was that the people and Pokémon of Peru join her in peaceful cooperation between all. She even tried to gather Inti's fellow dieties in this new society. When it came to us human beings, Pichus were the facilitators, the translators, of this agreement."

James butted in with a critical comment this time, "I doubt a humanitarian benefactor like Mew approved of the whole human sacrifice angle."

Rosa was quick to point out, "You've just foretold the end of the legend yourself, sir. When the tribes of Inca turned to other Pokémon, such as the bloodthirsty Rayquaza, to lead them and went to such barbaric war with each other as a result, Mew considered the agreement dissolved. She released Inti from his obligation; the sun began to wander as he willed. That was when the fierce rainy seasons began. Even the other worshipped Pokémon eventually turned their backs on the people, one by one, because of Inti's abandonment. The Noche del Maullar is an annual attempt to win Mew's, and then Inti's, hearts back. Oh, have no fear, everyone; the tourist season is also the dry season. Noche del Maullar starts tonight at ten and the weather will be gorgeous as always; guaranteed."

If James and Meowth looked pleased at catching the special celebration, Jessie was nearly ecstatic. Mindful of speaking quietly, she ignored the hostess' further history recital to ask her loved one, "Did you hear her, James? Thirty-five years ago! That's when Mom disappeared! It can't be a coincidence!"

To her surprise, James turned to gently clench her shoulders and force her to look into his sorrowful eyes. "Jessie, my love," he whispered, "You do realize we are here to find her grave…don't you?" Her wide, pleading eyes almost kept him from continuing. Almost. Putting a bit of steel into his voice, he reminded, "The rest of her team was found just a few mountaintops away, yes. But the searchers were barely able to excavate their bodies from the avalanche that claimed them. They just gave up on finding hers."

Hope and fear warred across Jessie's face, forcing her eyes to well up and lips to tremble as she refuted him with, "She could've escaped that avalanche. She was Team Rocket's best agent, ever! She could've come here and…"

"And what?" James broke in as gently as he could, "Love, you know that if she had survived, your mother would've stopped at nothing to come back to Team Rocket. To come back to you."

Her hopes dying almost as quickly as they had formed, Jessie reminded herself they were in public. Fortunately, most of the tour group was listening to Rosa and missed how Jessie straightened, wiped a few tears from her cheeks, and stared steadfastly out the window for the rest of the ride. She ignored the many types of wild Pokémon that skittered, flew, and leapt through the awakening brush before her. James and Meowth let her be.

By the time the bus passed the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge, the one and only hotel atop the mountain and mere meters from the ruins' gates, Jessie had recovered her equilibrium enough to enjoy the wild splendor around her a little. The remainder of her family was positively entranced by the brilliant dawn breaking over the lush mountaintop. "Ooo, my goodness," James gushed, "so many Pokémon I've never even heard of before! My Pokédex is going to short out from the effort of identifying all these creatures for me!"

Jessie had to agree, "It really brings home how big the world is, doesn't it?"

James added, "And how little we've seen, despite all our travels."

Then the stark beauty of Machu Picchu itself appeared before them. The Morgans were surprised to see the terrain wasn't all flat at the very top of the mountain. Terraces, courtyards, and staircases had been carved out of the mountain in tiers. Lines of half-gone walls laid out the lost homes, temples, and chambers of the sprawling ancient necropolis. And while the Incas did not have true writing or even hieroglyphs, they did have art. Every piece of architecture still standing had beautiful carvings etched into its surface.

And everywhere, as befit the name of the site, there were Pichus. Real ones sat right next to statues of their ancestors carved centuries ago, looking like twins save their coloration. There were quite a few of their next evolutionary step, Pikachus, mixed into the crowd as well as myriad small Pokémon such as Chatot and Rattata. All of the Pokémon of Machu Picchu seemed just at home with the humans milling around their ruins as each other. "Hmm," James observed, "looks like a nice little slice of Poképaradise. No big predator Pokémon in sight."

Shortly the bus stopped and the Morgans followed their hostess, along with the rest of the group, up to the main gate. The only obvious concession to modern times, the metal scan booths were guarded by stern-yet-polite security forces. Rosa chirped, "Remember, everyone! Machu Picchu is at the center of a Historical Sanctuary Zone that stretches for hundreds of kilometers around, including the village below. Please do not try to capture any wild Pokémon or take any interesting artifacts home with you. You can purchase your souvenirs back at the village, okay?" She reinforced her point by literally pointing to the scan booths, whose x-rays would soon show the truth about anybody entering or leaving.

If they used the main gate, anyway. Although only a narrow ribbon of land surrounding the gate connected the ruins to the rest of the mountaintop, it certainly looked better to Jessie than the sheer three-hundred foot drop-offs surrounding the rest of Machu Picchu. Especially since the ruins were well above the natural tree line. The only full-fledged trees atop the mountain were artificially planted and expensively maintained around the Sanctuary Lodge behind her. The thick vegetation along the sides of Machu Picchu, although natural, certainly didn't provide anything sturdy to climb, grab for, or land on if she fell overboard.

Rosa paused before the scan booths, considering. After waving her first charges through, she sidled up to the Morgans. "Hey, if you're up to it, let's bend the rules just a teeny-tiny bit," she offered quietly, "The Sanctuary Zone doesn't normally permit trained Pokémon, outside their Pokéballs anyway, inside the ruins. They harass the wild Pokémon. But if you promise to behave, you cute little Meowth, I could use a hand with all these tour speeches I've got. Okay?"

Meowth muttered, "Woik? On my vacation? Furgit ' bout it."

The girl twisted her hands in distress, "Oh, then I'm sorry; you'll have to be in your Pokéball." James, not wanting Meowth to miss out on whatever they might find, remarked, "No problem, miss." He reached for the required Pokéball on his belt.

It wasn't there, of course. A quick and frantic search failed to turn it up and made Jessie remark crossly, "Didn't you pick it up back at the bar, James?"

"It was delivered to you," James responded in kind, "Don't you know where it is?"

A search of her outfit's many pockets failed to turn up any unoccupied Pokéballs either, of course. James sighed, "Oh, dear, I do recall leaving it there, now." Meowth, pleased that James had not seen him throw it away, decided some work was the lesser of two evils next to his humans searching for that blasted Pokéball when they got back home. He pretended to think about it briefly. "Aw, awright, since you're so pretty, toots, I'll do it-just fer ya."

His charm fooled the hostess, who let them into Machu Picchu next. Once her entire group was through the scanners, Rosa laid down the rules. Those who wanted to, including her erstwhile conscription Meowth, could take the guided tour now. The rest could wander at their leisure for an hour and then take the second tour if they wished. Since she mentioned that Meowth would only have to serve in the first tour, most of the group chose that one for the sheer uniqueness of its cohost.

Jessie nodded and started away with the rest of those who were skipping the tour anyway. She was already holding the Pokénav up to her face, checking it constantly. James restrained her with a gentle grip on her elbow. Jessie pulled herself free, reminding him angrily, "We're so close!"

"Meowth will never forgive us if we go on without him," James reminded her in turn, "What's one more little hour, my love?" Jessie chewed on her bottom lip, considering. James sweetened the deal by pointing out, "Besides, we might learn something from the tour about your mother, hmm?" That did it. Grudgingly, Jessie turned back to the tour, James following close behind.

To the couple's mutual joy, it wasn't long before the tour wound its way right toward where Jessie wanted to go anyway. The tour group stepped into Machu Picchu's mammoth Central Plaza. As Rosa had warned earlier, the quiet morning spreading over the ruins was spoiled somewhat by a large group of technicians. They were setting up folding chairs and even stringing electric lights all around the natural amphitheater. Their hostess lead everyone through the chaos, apologizing profusely for the distraction, to the main attraction at the far end. Which lay dead center of the bulls-eye coordinates on Jessie's Pokénav.

Meowth, peering intently at the cue cards Rosa had provided, cleared his throat. "Dis here is da Intihuatana, or in modern language, 'Tie the Sun'. It's one of da oldest known sundials on de Eoith. N' one o' da biggest too." Meowth paused at an insistent chirping from a nearby Pichu. "Hey," he yelled at his heckler, "Whaddya mean, I gots an accent? Let's see ya do dis hostin' gig better n' me, den, Squeaky!"

The first Raichu that Jessie could recall at Machu Picchu stepped in out of nowhere. Raichu cuffed not Meowth but the impudent young Pichu atop the head. The hostess said to all, "Thank you, Raichu. As you can see, it takes mutual cooperation between human and Pokémon to maintain our peaceful coexistence at Machu Picchu. Please return tonight for the Noche del Maullar festival. You never know; this year might be the year when Mew returns to give us her blessing!"

Some of the tourists clapped and cheered at their hostess' theatrics. The Morgans all rolled their eyes, including Meowth, as Rosa waved them on to the next attraction. Meowth cast an imploring look, but Jessie could wait no more. She and James stayed behind as Meowth, not keen on the idea of being thrown out of the ruins completely, reluctantly left.

"Poor Meowth," James was still watching where their fuzzy buddy had disappeared into a half-crumbled corridor, "He's going to be so angry."

"He'll get over it," Jessie assured her love. She glanced around the open courtyard. Technicians were setting up spotlights all around the Intihuatana. Some of the lights were small models marking out stage lines for the show tonight on the cultivated grass. Some were much larger and built to be manned. Holding up her Pokénav, Jessie could only hiss helplessly to her husband, "These bozos are in my way! Right at the exact coordinates!" Her mouth twitched in time to her fingers as Jessie itched to get past the feeble guard rope securing the Intihuatana and get her hands on the ancient sundial.

James was forced to restrain her firmly. "Don't make a scene," he cast a meaningful glance toward not just their fellow humans, but a pair of Pichu and that same Raichu keeping them polite company. He added casually, "Let's just have a look around. She couldn't have been buried right here; obviously there must be another clue to lead us on."

His wife yielded to the logic in that. With a technician's permission, she leaned against the guard rope to study the huge sundial as closely as she could. Either the Intihuatana had never had markings to start with or the centuries of rain had rubbed it smooth. No clues there. The stone sundial itself was about the size of her torso; the base slab of rock beneath it was a rectangle large and flat enough to make a bed for her. She wondered if the base opened; no sign of a seam or joint in the rock however.

The Pichus, still under Raichu's watchful eye, scampered over to her. Young and energetic, they wanted to play with the tall lady. Jessie mollified them by absently petting them, still studying the sundial fruitlessly from every angle for anything to do with her mother. James turned to inspecting the remaining walls a short distance away. Both were careful to avoid the unguarded cliff that came within just a few feet of the Intihuatana's back. Finally, James rejoined his wife. "I'm sorry, my love, but I don't see anything."

She sighed heavily as she confessed, "I don't, either. What could that message have meant? Let me see the picture again, maybe we've got the wrong coordinates."

"No, we both checked them countless times," James countered, but he still pulled out the old photo of Jane with the hand-written message to check it again. It still matched up so he put the picture back.

"Then there's got to be something. Maybe Giovanni planted something around here!" So saying, Jessie went back to the guide rope. Just as she arrived, the lead technician called out to his coworkers. They set their work down and, with polite nods to the Morgans, headed out of the plaza for their coffee break.

Nearly jumping for joy with her good fortune, a giddy Jessie barely waited until they'd all gone before stepping over the guard rope. Her probing hands rubbed every surface; her questing fingers dug into every little nook and niche. The local Pokémon looked harder at her, but since she didn't seem to be trying to break off a piece, much less carry off the huge stone slab, they were content to just watch for the moment.

James was mulling her idea over aloud as he watched her search. "Risky. All these tourists? A message could easily be stolen or lost. Or a Pichu decides to play with it." Suddenly struck by his own idea, James mused, "Maybe Giovanni left a message with the Pichu! Where's Meowth when I need him to translate? Typical."

Their investigation didn't get any further as a humanoid figure flew out of nowhere. All flapping limbs and bright colors, the creature soared over the guard rope and was on Jessie in an instant. Both Pichus scrambled away to safety as Jessie yelped, stepped back, and caught the guard rope behind her thighs. James failed to catch her as Jessie tripped and fell flat on her back. The shrieking form stayed with her, hopping the rope again to keep its face barely an inch from her face.

Through her stunned efforts to catch her breath, Jessie realized she's mistaken somebody in a festive local outfit, adorned with a feathered headband, for an actual Flying-Type Pokémon. The old woman was pushing and prodding Jessie with her feet away from the Intihuatana, all while keeping up a steady stream of Spanish objections. Jessie rolled away and to her own feet, confronting the stranger as James steadied her. The old woman lifted her head from her stooped posture to meet the Morgans' gaze in an aggressive stare, still yelling.

Jessie's jaw dropped in shock; the face beneath the headdress was her own.

Older, of course, and twisted with anger, but hers. Jane Miyamoto's hair, once allowed to hang long and dyed bright purple, was a sun-bleached white bun nearly hidden behind her headband's feathers. Her skin was just as weathered from the elements. Time and a harsh life had replaced some of the soft beauty of her voluptuous figure while keeping her in wiry, excellent condition. She only seemed capable of straightening up from her stoop so far before automatically sagging back down, even in her current enraged state.

Nevertheless it was her; the resemblance so strong that no one could miss it, especially with Jane and Jessie facing each other from such a close range.

No one except Jane herself. Without the slightest sign of recognition, she continued spewing angry Spanish epithets and gesturing violently for the Morgans to back away from the Intihuatana. Neither Jessie nor James could take their eyes off the ghost restored to flesh before them. The Morgans couldn't move either; they just stood there to Jane's evident dismay.

It was Raichu who finally sprang between them, sounding a strong protest at the old woman's overpossessive actions in Jessie's defense. Jane backed up and snapped something back at the intervening Pokémon in Spanish. This was slow enough, compared to the tirade before, that Jessie's translator could make sense of it.

"You let this tourist fondle our work, Raichu?" Jane asked archly, "On Noche del Maullar?" As Raichu argued back, Jessie's shaking hands made sure the translator was ready before she lightly gripped the new arrival's shoulder. Still just as cross, the old woman shook her grip off as she whirled and snarled, "What, gringa?"

Jessie was still astounded, "You…don't you know me? Mother?"

That might have been the only thing Jessie could say that would've shut her accuser up right then. "Mother?" Jane recoiled from Jessie in disgust, "Me? You, gringa? You crazy, that's what you are, you…" The translator couldn't keep up as the woman sped up her invective once more, but Jessie noticed the other female backed up a step from her all the same.

Around both womens' knees, Raichu was comparing their faces and was just as astounded by what he saw. James, fluttering nervously in the background, finally took action. "See here, madam!" he broke into Jane's monologue, "Your name is Jane Miyamoto! Your Team Rocket codename was Agent 13! You came here from Japan! And I'll have you know that if you can't remember any of that, you can at least be civil to my wife!"

Was that a spark of recognition at his words in the old woman's eyes? It was just as quickly extinguished. Jane corrected her stoop momentarily to gain an air of imperious authority. She commanded carefully, "I am Juanita, caretaker of Machu Picchu. Don't mess with me, gringa dos. The Pokémon of Machu Picchu and I go way, way back; you're not gonna spoil Noche del Maullar. I see you touch the Intihuatana again, I tell the clan to get rid of you. For good this time!" Without waiting to see if her threat had the proper effect, Jane whirled and fled into the ruins. The Pichu pair did indeed scamper after her, but their leader Raichu remained to stare at Jessie, who yelled, "No, wait! Come back!"

Jessie and James, the bewildered Raichu hot on their heels, ran after Jane into the twisting pathways of Machu Picchu. But Jane knew Machu Picchu like the back of her weathered hand; she had already vanished into thin air. Jessie wasted no time. "Arbok, Seviper, I choose you!" she roared, "Find her! Track her!"

Within seconds both large snake Pokémon joined the search party filling the small corridor. Their sense of smell, despite being mainly a way of 'tasting' the air with their tongues instead of using their nostrils, was just as keen as any police force's blood-Growlithe. Either Poison-Type Pokémon could easily find Jane, even in this unfamiliar environment. Working together, she didn't have a chance of evading Jessie.

If, that is, they could work together. Arbok had actually been a beloved gift from Jane herself in Jessie's youth. By the time Jessie was chasing Ash around the Johto region's countryside, Arbok and James' Weezing had been voluntarily left behind to guard a group of their wild cousins from Pokémon poachers. During Arbok's absence, Jessie had captured and formed a strong bond with Seviper too. So when Jessie and James had finally tracked down and reclaimed their old friends, the jealous streak that formed between Seviper and Arbok was as big, green, and strong as the Peruvian jungle.

The snakes, casting warning glances at each other, began tasting the air with their long, forked tongues. Both hit on the scent in the same instant. Lunging forward simultaneously, Arbok and Seviper wedged each other to a stop in the corridor's far opening. Hissing and snapping, the battle for Jessie's love quickly turned violent; but their heads were stuck too close together to actually bite each other. Writhing, the snakes settled for beating their tails against each other even as they tried to back up and pull free.

Jessie held her face in her palm for a moment. "I've got to catch more Pokémon," she moaned, "I can't afford having both of them on me at the same time like this."

James was more concerned with the immediate circumstances. "Arbok, watch out! Seviper's Poison Tail move!"

It was the one advantage Seviper could claim over Arbok in this situation; namely having poison glands on both ends and a sharp delivery blade to match. Not that, as a fellow Poison-Type, Arbok could actually be poisoned. But it didn't stop the bladed tail from slicing painfully into his flesh. The jolt inspired Arbok to pull both snakes free. Rearing back and spreading his hood wide, Arbok lunged fang-first at Seviper's throat. Seviper dodged, his own jaws gaping to allow his long saber fangs to slide out in preparation for a counterattack.

Jessie broke it up via the recall beams from their Pokéballs. "As soon as we get back home, you two are going to learn how to work as a team even if it kills you," she promised angrily, "I'm not living with this infighting any longer."

To the humans' great surprise, Raichu jumped into a hole in the wall at their eye level and gestured for their attention. "Rai-raichu!" Jessie lit up, "You know the way! Take me to her!" Careful to make sure the humans were keeping up, Raichu led them through the winding maze of Machu Picchu. Suddenly Raichu stopped at an intersection, button nose twitching. Jessie caught the scent of cherry blossom perfume a second later. It was an eerily familiar smell.

Just then Cassidy followed her perfume, sneering, from around a bend before them. Jessie's old Team Rocket rival, clad in her Lawrence's Army General uniform, snarled, "Well, well, look what the Persian dragged in! No losers allowed in Machu Picchu; sorry!"

While the Morgans stopped, staring in sheer shock at the unexpected and unwelcome sight, the extremely gravelly voice of Cassidy's partner Butch sounded from behind them. "Parasect, Spore Attack, now!" Cassidy threw her own Pokéball into the fray, yelling, "Tentacruel, let's go! Use Wrap to tie them both up nice and tight!"

Before their arms could retrieve their own Pokéballs, Jessie and James found themselves bound in the large jellyfish Pokémon's many strong tentacles. The cloud of bright yellow spores shot around their heads, sending the trainers and all their Pokémon (thanks to the airholes in their Pokéballs) into a deep sleep. Of course, it also made Tentacruel catch some z's, but Cassidy's Pokémon could safely sleep off the nonpoisonous spores just as well as her victims could.

Yet Butch and Cassidy received a surprise as they moved toward the fallen Jessie and James. Raichu stopped holding his breath now that the spores has lost their short-lived potency. Seeing the Morgans crumpled on the ground behind him did not improve his mood. "Raichu!" he challenged, whipping his long, bladed tail back and forth over his head.

Butch was not impressed. "Hey, look at that," he chuckled, "All these years and they're still chasing Raichus!" Although she thought it just as funny, Cassidy took the time to correct, "You mean Pikachus."

"Close enough," Butch replied as he sobered up, "Parasect, let's go! Slash Attack, now!"

Even as Butch's Pokémon scuttled over on spidery legs toward him, Raichu curled his long tail into a spring and backflipped away to gain some distance. Raichu's body crackled with electrical power. "Raiiichuuu!" and a Thunderbolt smashed into Parasect. The Grass- and Bug-Type weathered the electric assault handily. Parasect sprang and swung his large pinchers across the surprised Raichu's body twice in a furious Slash; earning a critical hit. Raichu collapsed against the corridor's wall. Parasect poked him gently, twice; Raichu remained unconscious.

As Parasect moved back to his master, Cassidy recalled her still-unconscious Tentacruel. She didn't want to use any Awakening Smelling Salts on her own Pokémon yet; it might accidentally revive her prisoners at such close range. Cassidy surveyed the scene, tossing back her twin star-tipped ponytails, and had to congratulate herself and her green-haired partner. "Well, that worked out nicely. We've still got it."

"That we do," Butch agreed as he studied the Morgans' sleeping forms also, "Hitmontop, get out here. Sorry to say I've got some trash for you to lug around." With a strength that defied his skinny arms, Butch's humanoid Fighting-Type soon had James slung safely over one shoulder. Meanwhile, Cassidy had called out her Houndoom. Her quadruped canine was easily large and strong enough to bear a single rider, or in this case Jessie's sleeping form, on her back. Once Cassidy lifted Jessie onto Houndoom, anyway.

As she moved to do so, Butch thought Cassidy was putting a sudden sultry spin into the wiggle of her walk. Before he could wonder aloud if that's what she was doing, Cassidy stopped to study Jessie's crumpled form again intently. "You know," she observed, "Jessie did a really good job losing all that pregnancy weight in a hurry. She looks fantastic."

Confused and concerned by her actions, Butch replied crossly, "Yeah, I guess. So what?"

"If she can do so well," Cassidy bragged casually, "Just imagine how much better I could do…if I want to." Still wiggling more than she needed to, Cassidy went out of her way to step around Jessie and pick her up from the side nearest Butch. Which meant Cassidy's sleek back, full rump, and shapely legs were on full display when she bent over. Never mind how that angle strained her back and arms by dead-lifting Jessie up without squatting first. Cassidy even peeked over her shoulder at Butch to make sure he took in the show.

As if a blind Zubat could've missed that shameless maneuver. What concerned Butch far more was the implications, err, behind it. Definitely irritated now, Butch called her out on it. "Cassidy, we've been over this already. What's gotten into you lately? C'mon, Hitmontop, let's get moving."

Cassidy and her Jessie-bearing Houndoom were quick to catch up as Butch and his James-bearing Hitmontop strode angrily along. This time, Cassidy maintained a normal mode of walking. She protested, "And I already told you. We're in the same place we were under Giovanni in Team Rocket. Our lives are just spinning in circles. It's time for a change."

As Lawrence's Army moved away from the ambush site, Jane appeared from a different path with perfect silence. With just as much stealth, she gently gathered up the fallen Raichu and whisked the Pokémon back into the ruins' depths with her. Neither Butch, Cassidy, nor their Pokémon noticed a thing behind them.

Still walking, Butch snorted derisively, "Same place, huh? We weren't even at Executive level as Rockets. We'd be second in command of Lawrence's Army if it wasn't for those sluts, Annie and Oakley, horning in." Now that Cassidy was walking parallel to him, he turned a measuring gaze to her and nearly tripped over a bit of rubble. Regaining his balance and ignoring her smirk, Butch added, "And once the old man kicks the bucket, and we both know that'll be very soon, it'll be easy to get rid of those sisters and we'll be the ones in charge. What's the matter? You forget our plans?"

Cassidy stopped and grabbed his shoulder, turning him to face her. To Butch's evident surprise, she was dead serious when she said, "Why can't I-we have it all? Success and family too? There's nothing wrong with that."

"I can't believe this," Butch groaned, "You've just got to beat Jessie at everything, don't you? You're obsessed with that little nobody!"

"She's somebody now," Cassidy countered, "A Gym Leader. She's forged something out of her life; taken control of her destiny with her own two hands. Isn't that what we're trying to do when we take control of Lawrence's Army?" Turning her seductive mode back on, Cassidy arched her back and folded her arms behind her head before purring, "Don't just throw the possibility away, Butch. You know more than anyone just how much I've got to offer." She leaned her chest against his, gently sliding her arms out and down around his shoulders, holding him close with a quiet grin of anticipation stretching her lovely lips.

For a few seconds Butch pondered the considerable package of beauty, brains, and talent leaning against him. Then, slowly, a wide grin of appreciation spread across his handsome face. Cassidy's lips widened into a similar smile of victory at the sight. Butch gently pulled her a little closer to share a long, passionate kiss.

Although, if Cassidy had been congratulating herself less and paying more attention, she would've realized before their lips met that the look on Butch's face did not quite match his eyes. Deep within his gaze lay a bright point glittering hard and cold as diamond. Although her own eyes closed in the warm kiss, Butch kept his open and continued studying his long-time partner very, very closely.

Text, original characters, and events Copyright © 2011 Keith E. Kimball. This is a fan work and not for profit.

All other characters, events, and trademarks Copyright © their respective holders including but not limited to Nintendo Company Ltd., Tatsunoko Productions, GameFreak, The Pokémon Company, Shogakukan Production Inc., 4Kids Entertainment, etc.