The Boat That Rocked (Rocketshipping Fanfic)
Part Eighteen
The apartment door was open. Jessie's handbag and its contents scattered across the floor, the kitchen chairs moved, one on its side. A few drops of vivid crimson contrasted against the pale tiles in the kitchen. Signs of a struggle were clearly visible in the apartment.
The fear rising in Meowth was choking, suffocating panic in his throat, a terrifying pain in his chest, his heart pounding hard against his ribcage. She's gone. Jessie's gone. They've taken her.
Meowth stood alone in the apartment, his entire body shaking.
"So we were too late."
Meowth spun around, fangs bared and claws unsheathed, to see Jaime standing in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest.
Meowth relaxed and looked down at his feet. What do I do? For his whole life Meowth had coped, no matter what happened he would get through, and when it seemed impossible, Jessie and James were there. They were his strength. And now I've lost 'em both.
"Alphonse won't kill her yet," Jaime said quietly, stepping across the threshold. "He'll contact James soon enough. Then again, maybe we're the contact."
Meowth's head snapped up. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"We tell James that Alphonse has taken Jessie, James looks for her, ultimately finds her, Alphonse gets James." Jaime was speaking matter-of-factly, monotone, her eyes lifeless and glazed over. She didn't look afraid, as if she was long accustomed to it, as if she had seen this all before, had seen even worse things. It's like she's cutting herself off.
"Where's James?" Meowth asked, his voice low and steely calm.
There was a flicker of something in her eyes and she half-turned, her hand stretching out to point outside. "He's downstairs." Her finger than pointed straight down, her face remaining expressionless.
"Downstairs?"
#
James was sat at the kitchen table, his hands cupped around a steaming mug of coffee, when the key turned in the lock.
He expected the slow ease of the front door opening and he expected the muted tap of Jaime's footsteps as she stepped inside. What he didn't expect was the hurried clicking against tiles rushing towards the kitchen, and he certainly didn't expected Meowth to appear, leaping high and flying right at him, with a wild cry of "JAMES!"
With no time to react, James got a mouthful of cat fur and he spluttered, pulling the Pokémon away, holding it at arm's length. To his surprise, he saw tears in its eyes.
"James, James, you're really 'ere." The Pokémon whimpered, paws reaching out almost desperately towards him.
Jaime walked into the kitchen and sat opposite him at the table. She reached across and took the mug for herself and took a sip, apparently unbothered by the searing heat of the liquid. He watched her, a frown forming on his brow at her expression. I haven't seen that look since we left the city.
"What's happened?" James asked, settling Meowth on the floor, only to have him jumping up and curling on top of his lap, purring happily.
James sighed and looked back at Jaime, preparing to repeat his question when her expression stopped him.
"Is that all Jessie meant to you? As soon as James is here, she doesn't matter?"
Her tone chilled James to the bone while Meowth sat up, looking angry, dismayed, distraught. "Both of 'em mean everythin' to me." His voice was strained, his small body tense.
"Stop it, you two," James hit the table with an open palm to attract their attention. "Tell me what's going on."
"Alphonse is here, looking for you and-"
"- he took Jessie."
James stared at them as thoughts formed and vanished, as emotions stirred, like broken cogs in a machine trying to function.
"He took Jessie…?" he repeated, letting the words linger.
"We need to save her, James," Meowth placed a paw on James' wrist. "We need to get her back."
Alphonse has Jessie. He's taken her, so he knows who she is and how she connects to me. It's a trap. He has her to get to me.
James leaned forwards, turning his head away, resting a finger against his temple. His head hurt and his heart felt like it was being squeezed, grabbed tight by invisible hands. He has Jessie.
He looked up at Jaime, praying she would have the answer.
"He killed your doctor," she said, her voice emotionless. "And he's willing – and perfectly capable – of killing others to get to you."
A pang of anguish and regret hit him but it was quickly replaced with a sense of panic and desperation. He stood up, Meowth jumping away and landing silently at his feet. I need to go.
"Sit down, James."
He looked at her.
"Sit down."
Her eyes were soulless, her voice terrifying calm and empty, her expression blank.
James sat back down and waited.
"If you go blindly running, Alphonse will kill you. If you go to save Jessie, you will die. I didn't come here to see you killed." She paused. "I'm not going to lose you."
James reached across the table and took her hand, squeezing it. It was still warm from holding the hot coffee mug. "You won't," he whispered. And I mean it. You won't lose me, Jaime. You are all I have, and I'm all you have.
"I won't help you, James."
He froze, his grip on her hand loosening. "Jaime-"
"I won't help you mindlessly save Jessie. I will not help you die."
Meowth was suddenly on the table, claws drawn and close to Jaime's face, the Pokémon's eyes burning with fury. "So you'll let Jessie die?"
Jaime kept her eyes on James, ignoring the angry Meowth that was openly threatening to blind her at any moment.
"You're underestimatin' James," Meowth growled. "I've always relied on 'em two, and no matter what, we've been able to get out of the worst of situations – Jessie is the dreamer, James is the one who turns 'em into reality. Even when he knows it's impossible, he does it. James' plans always work. Always."
There was an odd taste in James' mouth and he swallowed, licking his dry lips as he did so. "I got the idea we were weak – failures. Dreamers aren't going to go far." He mumbled.
Meowth turned to face him, a flash of something in its eyes causing his anger and confidence to slip for a second. "We tried everythin' and yeah, we followed wild dreams. We had to. We had nothin' else. But without you, we would all be dead. I don't lie or exaggerate when I say you are the reason we survived everythin' – your plans work."
James knew what Meowth wanted – he wanted James to formulate a plan there and then, a plan that would save Jessie and bring her back. A plan where everyone would live happily ever after. Fairy tales don't exist.
"I can't remember any of that. I can't remember any of those plans or how I made them. I can't remember – I can't do it."
Meowth fully turned, its eyes wide, and exclaimed, "But you're the same person!"
Stunned, James' mouth dropped open and closed. It felt like everything was suddenly slotting into place. He was a lost jigsaw piece, forgotten and left aside, so broken that he would never fit into the whole, never belong.
But now, with those words, he realized that maybe he had missed something, something important.
"I'm not the same person." He said, glancing away, unsure what to do with the overwhelming feelings starting to well up in his chest.
"You're James!"
"But I had to be told that."
Meowth moved closer, placing a paw on his chest, on top of where James' heart would be. "You're James in here," the Pokémon smiled, revealing sharp fangs. "You've always been James."
I can't remember. I can't remember who I am. I can't remember the feelings I had before. Everything is gone. But they haven't.
Meowth and Jessie had stayed throughout it all. They had waited, and even now they waited. Meowth had been happy to see him, even though he wasn't the same person he had known.
I'm not the old James, but they trust. They trust that one day I will remember, and even if I don't, I will always be welcome by their sides. They will never leave. How did I miss this?
James was the lost jigsaw piece that had finally been found. He had always belonged. He was always wanted. They had, and would, always wait for him. Always.
A/N
Here's another chapter than I wrote on the hotel writing pad on holiday so I'd have something for you for the end of the week! In fact, this chapter was a lot longer than this and I haven't finished writing it, but as I was typing it out I realized that I'd actually written quite a lot and also that THIS ^^ is quite a good ending point.
So I've decided to cut part 18 into two. Thing it will work out better that way, and let you focus on one thing at a time, as the next part focuses on Jaime's POV.
Anyway, I'm starting University on Monday - ahhhh - so am gonna try and finish part 19 before I go during this weekend. Then the updates will be a lot slower as I mentioned before ( Also, thank you guys for your reviews since then - and thank you for understanding and loving the story so much! Can't tell you how much that means to me and makes me happy!).
See you next time!