Chapter 32

"Confessing to God"

The shock and disgust over Jessie and James' intentions to kill Osama Bin Laden themselves had begun to divide the defendants against Jessie and James. Yes, they were the ones who stalked Ash and his friends the most, but they still had a human side to them. It was like what they said in their testimony; they only joined Team Rocket to make a living, not to become murderers or assassins. In fact, the two of them wanted to avoid the fate of being put to death and wanted the world to know that if they spent the rest of their lives in prison or be found not guilty, they would spend the rest of their lives atoning for their crimes that they committed against humans and Pokemon alike.

In fact, the night after their testimony, they wanted to confess their feelings for what they had done and had asked Captain Hopkins for a priest or a preacher to come and hear them make confessions for their crimes. What Captain Hopkins had brought in was Father Thomas, a priest from my church, St. Mary's Church in Seekonk who was at the Viridian City Palace of Justice on behalf of the government to perform church masses for the defendants on the Sundays during the trial. Still wearing their clothes from the trial, Jessie and James were escorted by a platoon of guards to a small room with a wall between them and Father Thomas, who was on the other side of the wall. Sitting down, Jessie and James did a sign of the cross and began to hear the voice of Father Thomas on the other side.

"My children," he said. "You come seeking to purge your sins, is that right?"

"Yes, Father," said Jessie. "We've come to confess to God of the evils that we have committed against people and Pokemon alike. We have shamed ourselves in carrying out crimes of this nature."

Father Thomas was eager to hear what Jessie and James had to say and listened in keenly to what they had to say. Many of the defendants had already confessed to God that they were sorry for their crimes and begged to him that they'd be accepted into the house of the lord if they end up being put to death.

"We only ask," stuttered James, stopping with each sentence.. "that we want God to accept us as good Catholics and that everything we have done against Ash Ketchum, his friends and his Pikachu were done out of evil and hatred."

"Be plain good son," replied Father Thomas. "God understands fully of your desires, but I cannot help but ask, if you've come to me now confessing to God for your crimes, why didn't you come forward before you faced justice?"

Jessie and James both sat there silently for a second and wondered to themselves why they couldn't save themselves in an earlier manner. In the ten years since 9/11, they had lived in the shadow of Giovanni and his associates and much like Sabrina and Dr. Fuji, Jessie and James had the cloud of shame over their heads and minds. They could have saved themselves from evil and now wished that they had begged for deliverance from damnation when the time was right. Finally, Jessie took a long deep breath and sighed heavily as if she wanted to get the evil out of her body.

"It was because father," she whispered. "It was because we were afraid to face the truth. After the atrocities we helped an evil man cause on a city full of people, it seemed that God came to us and warned us that we would be spending eternity in Hell unless we stopped carrying out crimes against Ash and his friends. Afterwards, we decided in private that we would leave Team Rocket and make a fresh new start for us both. But before we could start our new lives, the Americans moved in and we were captured and brought here to our former headquarters to be tried before the world."

With each word that came out of her mouth, Jessie began to think more and more of Meowth, who was of course killed in the attack on the Bin Laden compound. For both she and James knew deep down that if Meowth was still alive, then he would be feeling the same remorse as them. Like them, Meowth had a heart of gold, despite his nature.

"There is another reason why we were so hesitant," added James. "You see, father, we had a talking Meowth that had been with us for a good many years and he was killed at the hands of the Americans that invaded the compound. We had spoken to him about our intentions and together, we were preparing to make a new life for ourselves, speaking out against joining Team Rocket because you don't get a new life like we always wanted, you are brought into a world where Pokemon are viewed only as weapons used to kill people and blow up buildings. After everything that has happened, I cannot allow us to live like this. You believe us, don't you father?"

"I do believe you son," said Father Thomas. "You have revealed to me the truth of your nature that was hidden under the cloak of darkness. Perhaps if you tell the world of what you think of this trial, then maybe God can spare you from the pain and torment that you have lived with for this very long."

Jessie smiled at this, knowing that there was a chance for them to still atone for their crimes by letting the world know of their innocence. But, they would have their moment when the time would come for them to make their closing arguments with Giovanni, the man who took them in and brainwashed them into becoming what they had initially become and played a massive contribution in the world's worst act of terrorism.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the gauntlet would come down…