The Dark Side of Innocence
-PART SEVEN-

by: Anna Sartin

.

It hadn't taken James long to fall asleep, which surprised Jessie considering the amount of pain he seemed to be in. His expression seemed to bear only peace and contentment, as though he didn't have a care in the world. Jessie smiled wistfully, knowing it was only an illusion that sleep created.

"We're going to be all right," she whispered to him, letting her fingers sift through the strands of his hair, and travel down to rest lightly on his chest. "From now on everything's going to be fine; I promise you, James. I'll make sure of it..."

A hint of a smile appeared on his face, and he gripped the bedclothes suddenly.

"Oh Jessie, please..." he moaned in his sleep. "Harder... Love me harder..."

Jessie blinked, and then turned bright red. She was immensely thankful that none of the others were in the room. She could already hear Mondo and Lana's laughter in her mind; and when Mondo told Meowth, the Pokémon would take great enjoyment in constantly embarrassing her about it. Still, an erotic dream was better than him suffering through another nightmare. The nightmare of their reality was more than enough for both of them to handle.

She had never really thought about having a physical relationship with him. Her pulse quickened and her blush deepened when she suddenly realized how much it appealed to her. She had come so close to losing this man, and now... nothing would make her happier then to get as close to him as she possibly could. She imagined them being lost in a happiness that was all their own, where no one could threaten to take it away from them.

Finally, she got up and began looking around the room. Everything, including the beautiful king-sized bed, was far better than the cheap, standard issued furniture they used at HQ. She wondered who lived here, and why they would let a bunch of thieves occupy their property. She examined everything, looking for anything that might give her a clue as to the cottage's true owners. The drawers of all the furniture were empty, except for the nightstand on James' side of the bed. Either Mondo or Lana had filled the top drawer with medical supplies, and the bottom drawer contained a TR first aid kit, like the one in their apartment at HQ. Lana must have brought one from the labs.

After checking once more to make sure James was all right, Jessie began exploring the rest of the house. She had no luck finding Lana or Mondo, and began wondering if they had gotten aggravated with her and left. Don't be stupid! Mondo would never abandon you! one half of her mind chided, but the other half wasn't so sure. She had always taken Mondo's loyalty for granted, and her conscience told her that it would be her own fault if he had chosen this time to say "the hell with it" and leave. But unwilling to cope with the possibility, Jessie habitually resorted back to her Rocket nature and handled her moral dilemma the way she usually did any time her conscience told her something she didn't want to hear: she told it to shut up.

Jessie wandered into the kitchen and found it dismally free of food. The refrigerator wasn't even plugged in. She found a set of dishes and cups in one cupboard, and her spirits brightened when she found some canned goods in another. They sank back to the ground, however, when she failed to find a can-opener. There were a few empty cardboard containers in the trash, and Jessie's stomach growled as she noticed for the first time that a faint aroma of Chinese food still hung in the air. Her companions at least had eaten at since their arrival. Where the hell had they gotten Chinese food, anyway?

After pouring herself a cup of water, she next examined the room she had woken up in. Supplies and clean laundry were scattered around the room, but no food. Jessie set her cup down on the coffee table and opened a set of wooden doors. They opened up to an entertainment center consisting of a dusty TV, radio, and old video game system. She tried to turn on the television, until she saw that it wasn't plugged in. Her stomach growled again. She mentally noted that she needed to either find something edible or at least find a can-opener to use on the canned goods in the kitchen. Her body was still weak and tired, and being hungry only made her feel worse. The search continued.

She soon found the bedroom Mondo and Lana had slept in the previous night. It was smaller than the room James was using, with a set of bunk beds that looked like they were built into the wall. Again Jessie caught the faint smell of Chinese food. She didn't know where the smell was coming from, but she was bound determined to find out! Chinese certainly wasn't her first choice to eat on a weak and empty stomach, but it was better than nothing!

She opened the closet door and found it totally empty except for a small (and rather dusty) chest-of-drawers pushed to the back of the closet. It was also empty. Next she tried the nightstand. The top drawer only contained the uniform Mondo had saved for the "return trip" everyone was being so secretive about, but the contents of the bottom drawer puzzled her. It was filled with sketchbooks, like one might find at an art supply store. A few had sketches of Pokémon in them, but most were unused. As she set them back in the drawer, Jessie suddenly realized Lana definitely wasn't kidding about how hot it was in the room. The heat was almost suffocating. She closed the drawer and decided to have a go at opening the window herself.

"No luck, I see," Lana said, coming into the room a few minutes later.

"It won't budge," Jessie said, setting the crow bar she had been using back down on the table she had found it. "How could you possibly SLEEP in here?"

"Now you see why we left you on the couch!" was Lana's reply.

"Why does in smell like Chinese food in here?" Jessie asked.

Lana pointed to the trash can in the corner, which contained a few of the same empty cardboard containers Jessie had discovered in the kitchen. Jessie nearly smacked herself. Why hadn't she thought to look there first? Lana handed her an apple as they left the room.

"Where'd this come from?" Jessie asked her, taking a bite out of it.

"One of the trees out back," Lana replied. "There are lots of them around the cabin." She led Jessie back to the sofa and motioned for her to sit down, before sitting down in a nearby chair.

"So where's Mondo?" asked Jessie, propping her feet up and munching her apple.

"He went into town," Lana responded. "He went to see Meowth and to buy some food."

"Do we have any MONEY?" Jessie asked.

"Plenty."

"Just where did we get "plenty" of money all of a sudden?" Jessie questioned her.

"You probably don't want to know," Lana said, yawning. "And from this point on, the less you know about anything going on at Team Rocket, the better off you'll be."

Jessie stared at her curiously, wondering what that was supposed to mean. Unsure of what to say, she dropped the subject. "You shouldn't be walking around too much on that ankle," she told Lana.

Lana sighed and propped her feet up on a small ottoman. "Doesn't matter. There's still so much to do... Once Mondo and Meowth are both back we have to prepare..."

"For what?" asked Jessie. She reached for her cup off the coffee table and took a gulp of the water.

Lana closed her eyes. "Nevermind... Anyway, things will be easier for James now that we've gotten him hooked up to the IV. Any medication that he needs can be administered to him through it."

"I'm glad..." Jessie sighed, setting the empty cup and the core of the apple on the coffee table, next to a pair of cheap wooden chopsticks that was also sitting there. "Hey, where'd all the Chinese food come from, anyway?"

"Those children brought it for us before they left yesterday," Lana said. "Such nice kids... we should all be grateful for all they've done to help us."

Jessie resisted the urge to grumble something unbecoming. This wasn't the first time the "twerps" had helped her, James and Meowth in a pinch... but this was the first time she had felt guilty because of it. Her team's long-term mistreatment of Ash and his friends, along with the recent tantrum she had thrown at poor Mondo, was causing uncomfortable pangs of guilt to rise up in her.

"Hey, did they tell you who owns this cabin?" Jessie asked Lana, hoping a change of subject would shut her conscience up. "I wonder who would let members of Team Rocket stay on their property?"

"Former members of Team Rocket," Lana corrected her. "And I think they said this cottage belongs to somebody named Tracey."

"TRACEY?" Jessie exclaimed in disbelief. The kid that wanted to be a Pokémon watcher? At least that explained the sketchbooks.

"Yes, apparently his family owns numerous cabins like this throughout the Orange Islands," said Lana.

"Is his family rich or something?" asked Jessie.

Lana shrugged. "Who knows? But this place obviously hasn't been used in some time. The refrigerator wasn't even plugged in when we got here."

"It still isn't," Jessie replied sourly as she curled up on the sofa. So much for shutting her conscience up. Now she had ANOTHER twerp to be grateful for!

. . . . . .

"We're home!" a cheerful voice echoed through the cabin a few hours later. It was followed by a sneeze.

"Mondo, we're back here!" Lana called back, as she and Jessie finished taking down the last of the clothes still hanging out back. She heard his footsteps as he ran through the house.

Mondo soon peeked out the back door, with a large bag in hand. "We brought food!"

"Thank goodness!" was Jessie's reply. "Wait a minute... what does he mean by "we"?

As they gathered the laundry and entered the cabin, the two women were thrilled to see the answer to Jessie's question. Jessie was overjoyed.

"Meowth!"

"Dat's right!" Meowth held two smaller bags in his arms. "We brought hamboigers!" He was soon swept into a hug by Jessie.

"Hamburgers? I hope you bought more than just fast food!" Lana smiled, watching Jessie pick up Meowth and his bags and carry all three into the kitchen. She followed them.

"Of course we did!" Mondo replied. He set his bag down on the counter next to where Jessie had seated Meowth and their bags from "Buddy's Burger Barn". Meowth had already swiped a burger out of one of the bags and was chowing down.

"What did you get?" Jessie asked, getting a hamburger for herself and taking a bite out of it.

"Some groceries, an inhaler for James, and..." He sneezed before he could finish what he was going to say, but he reached into the bag and pulled out a new pair of high-heels for Lana.

"Are you goin' ta be able ta WALK in those?" Meowth asked her. He would never understand why human females wanted to abuse their feet by wearing those things. This pair looked even higher than the last. Silly humans.

"Of course!" Lana laughed.

"But I thought the twerps... I mean, Ash and his friends, weren't they going to bring Meowth back?" Jessie asked, digging into the bag for the inhaler as she continued to devour her burger.

"They were, but Nurse Joy said Meowth was fully healed when I got there, so she let me take him home with me!" Mondo hugged Meowth tightly. "I was so glad!"

"Can't a Meowth EAT around here?" came the Pokémon's annoyed response. Lana and Jessie both laughed as Meowth grumbled about his now-squished hamburger.

"I plugged in the refrigerator an hour or two ago, so hopefully we can put the food in there," Lana said, as she helped Mondo put the groceries away. She turned around and was about to ask Jessie to hand her what was left on the counter, but Jessie had already disappeared with James' inhaler. She nearly dropped the carton of milk she was holding at the sound of Jessie screaming her name.

"LANA! Lana, get in here, now!"

Mondo shot Lana a quick glance and then dashed off to James' room. Lana limped behind. They found Jessie a state of hysteria, and James lying on the bed having what appeared to be some kind of epileptic episode. His body was convulsing uncontrollably, and his unfocused eyes were wide open, reflecting a state of panic. Lana waved her hand is front of his face. No response.

"DO SOMETHING!" Jessie demanded hysterically. "What's WRONG with him?"

"He's having a seizure," Lana replied, getting some kind of medicine and putting it into James' IV. "This is a common symptom of the withdrawal, all the Pokémon I took off the drug experienced them. It should pass."

Jessie collapsed into Mondo's arms, feeling tired and ill as she wept into the boy's shirt. Mondo wrapped his arms around her consolingly.

"There, you're all right," Lana told James gently after the seizure subsided. She rubbed his forehead in a soothing fashion. He only stared at her in confusion, as though he had no understanding of what was going on or what had just happened. Lana looked over at Jessie, who was still crying into Mondo's chest.

"It... it's gonna be okay, Miss Jessie..." Mondo was trying to reassure her. A week ago Jessie would have beaten them all unconscious before letting them see her cry like this. What had happened to the tough, strong woman that never let any defeat bring her down? Mondo wished he had some magical incantation to bring that person back. Her tears were tearing his heart in half.

Lana could also see the strain this whole ordeal had taken on Jessie. She was both physically and mentally exhausted, and Lana could only hope that the psychological damage done to both Jessie and her partner wouldn't have permanent repercussions that would affect them for the rest of their lives. Still, she HAD to leave soon with Mondo and Meowth if they were going to accomplish their mission and that meant Jessie had to be ready to care for James on her own. Lana sighed. She could teach Jessie everything she needed to know, but she could not repair the young woman's frail mental state. But traumatized or not, Jessie was simply going to have to be able to deal with it.

"Jessie, come over here," Lana said in a professional manner, sounding rather like a doctor instructing a medical trainee.

"What?" Jessie asked, resting her head on Mondo's shoulder tiredly, but not moving from her spot.

Lana ignored the weariness in Jessie's voice. "Come here!" she said again, almost impatiently. They were all tired, and there was no more time to coddle Jessie. Their mission depended on Jessie being able to care for James alone, otherwise they wouldn't be able leave the cabin and execute their plan. Everything she and Meowth had planned for the return trip would be lost.

Jessie finally removed herself from Mondo's embrace. Mondo stared at Lana, slightly confused by the sudden coldness in her manner.

"Mondo, go eat your lunch," Lana told him. "When you're done, you and Meowth get to work on repairing the balloon." Mondo nodded and left the room.

"What is it?" Jessie asked, coming over to her.

"You need to learn how to take of him," Lana informed the younger woman. She gently stroked James' hair. "I'm going to teach you what you need to know..."

. . .

When Jessie emerged from the bedroom sometime later, she found her half-eaten hamburger still on the kitchen counter where she had left it. It was cold. Disappointed, but still hungry, Jessie took a bite out of it anyway. There was no microwave here, and no Mondo or Meowth to tell her what they had done with the rest of the hamburgers. Damn.

Lana had gone to the other bedroom to rest, after spending the better part of the hour explaining to Jessie various things she needed to know. James had remained docile the whole time they were there, looking tired and confused. When they tried to explain what had happened to him, he only replied that he didn't remember. If he paid any attention to anything they said afterward, neither of the two women could tell.

After explaining James' medication schedule, how his condition was expected to change over the next few days, and what to do if this or that happened, Lana had pointblank told Jessie that she would be returning to Team Rocket Headquarters with Mondo and Meowth. They had a plan to "take care of Giovanni", and they were going to accomplish it or die trying. She wouldn't say anything specific, and after explaining one or two more things about James' condition, Lana had retired to the other room to get some sleep.

Jessie hoped to get more information out of Mondo. She wandered out of the cottage, and found him repairing the giant head of Meowth, while the real Meowth was reattaching it to the basket. The bags from "Buddy's Burger Barn" were sitting on a nearby rock.

"Are there any hamburgers left?" Jessie asked, pointing to the bags.

"Yeah, we saved some for you, Miss Jessie," Mondo replied. "And for Miss Lana and James, too.

Jessie grabbed one out of the bag, along with a container of cold french fries, and sat down next to Mondo. "Need any help?" she asked, unwrapping her burger.

"No, that's okay."

After a moment or two of silence, Jessie spoke up again.

"Mondo, I'm... sorry for the way I yelled at you this morning."

She stared at her food, trying to find the right words. What excuse do you offer for throwing a child's tantrum? For treating someone so loyal and kind to you like dirt?

"I didn't mean it..." she continued. "You've been so wonderful to me and James, and I... I don't know why I treat people the way I do. I'm always taking my frustration out on my friends. There have been times I've treated James like garbage these past few years, ever since we met Ash Ketchum. Most of the time he never really deserved it, and... I guess I turned on you when I didn't have him to yell at anymore."

Mondo laughed. "That's okay, Miss Jessie!" he replied cheerfully. He let go of the balloon and hugged her. "I forgive you!" The fact was he had forgiven her the moment she had latched onto him in James' bedroom and began to cry. His teenage heart had melted completely, dissolving any remaining feelings of anger or bitterness. He loved her. Even if he could not have her, he still yearned to be near her, happy that she still needed him.

Jessie returned his hug. "I'm glad... I wouldn't be able to stand it if we lost you!"

"I'll always be here for you, Miss Jessie!" he smiled.

Jessie took the opportunity to bring up the subject she most wanted to question him about. "Even when you go back to HQ?"

"She told ya, huh?" Meowth said, speaking for the first time since Jessie had come out with them. "We was tryin' not to worry yous."

Mondo sighed and let go of Jessie. "It won't be for long, I promise! We'll be back as soon as we make sure that horrible man can never hurt us again!"

Jessie suddenly felt dizzy as she stared at Mondo, suddenly realizing how young he truly was. This boy, and a Meowth who shared her own track record of failure, were going to help Lana do... what? These three were really going to take on their former boss?

Mondo went back to help Meowth work on the balloon. As Jessie sat there and watched them, she was struck by the sudden fear that she might never see either of them again. She wanted to kill Giovanni too, but what chance did any of them really have? She, James, and Meowth couldn't even succeed in stealing a Pikachu from a group of little kids. What could one woman, a teenage boy, and a Meowth hope to do against a man who had all of Team Rocket at his command?

Jessie was no longer sure if she wanted to know what they were planning to do. She was feeling sick at the thought. Getting up, she took her food and one of bags and decided to go see if James was hungry. She could always ask Mondo more later.

. . .

Jessie was left alone with James for the rest of the afternoon. Whether it took that long for Mondo and Meowth to finish repairing the balloon, or they found something else to do afterwards, Jessie did not see them again until Lana called everyone to supper. James claimed he was not hungry but Jessie intended to bring him some dinner after she had finished hers. Sick or not, she doubted James could ever stay "not hungry" for very long.

She heard Lana talking as she approached the kitchen, telling Mondo that he needed to change his clothes. Mondo started to say something in reply but fell silent as Jessie entered the room. He sat down quickly, avoiding Jessie's gaze. Meowth was already stuffing his face.

"Is James hungry?" Lana asked. She was wearing her own clothes again, and part of her long green hair was pulled back with a rubber band.

"No," Jessie answered curtly.

Maybe she wasn't sure if she wanted to know what the three of them were going to do, but she was getting damn tired of feeling left out of their plans. Jessie stared at her plate to avoid looking at her companions and noticed that their dinner included peas. She wondered how in the world Lana had managed to open the can without a can-opener, until she noticed it lying on the counter. Lana opened a drawer with no handle and put the can opener in it. The drawer blended so well into the woodwork that Jessie had overlooked it entirely.

"Did he eat lunch?" Lana asked as she sat down at the table.

"Yes," answered Jessie, still not looking up. "But when I offered to bring him some dinner he said he wasn't hungry. I'll try taking him something later."

Dinner was a mostly silent affair, no one attempted conversation after that. Jessie picked at the food on her plate, wondering if she was more annoyed with the people sitting across from her or worried about them. It amazed her to think that at the moment she was more concerned about Mondo, Meowth and Lana than she was about James. At least James wasn't going to purposely attempt something that could result in his death.

Meowth and Mondo wolfed down their food, eating as though their lives depended on it. Lana attempted to eat with a bit more class and only barely succeeded. Jessie eyed each one of them closely. Meowth always ate like a pig, but Mondo usually had better manners than this, especially in front of her. She had no idea about Lana but she found it hard to believe that this was normal behavior for the woman. What was their hurry? Meowth was licking his now-empty plate as though he would never taste food again. As Mondo took another piece of chicken, Jessie was annoyed to see that the serving plate in the middle of the table was empty. They hadn't left any chicken for James.

"What's the big RUSH?" Jessie finally shouted, slamming her fork down on the table when Mondo stuffed the whole piece of chicken in his mouth and wound up choking on it. Lana slapped his back and the half-chewed meat went flying out of his mouth and onto his plate. What little appetite Jessie had had was now gone.

"What the hell is going ON?" Jessie asked. "Why are the three of you eating like someone's going to take the food away from you?"

"We're in a hurry, Miss Jessie," said Mondo, after an awkward silence. "We have to get ready to go."

"NOW?" Jessie practically screamed. "You're going TONIGHT?"

"That's right," Lana said, finishing the last few bites of food left on her plate.

"You can't be serious!" Jessie cried. She had expected them to remain at the cabin with her for a few more days at least. Preferably a few weeks. It had never occurred to her that they would abandon her so soon.

"Yes, we are," Lana replied simply, beginning to clear the dishes from the table. Mondo grabbed his chicken back as Lana took his plate.

Jessie grabbed her plate protectively before Lana could take it. At least James could have her chicken, she had only taken one bite out of it. "Have you all gone CRAZY?" she yelled. "You're really going off on some crackpot mission that you've had less than two days to plan out?"

Nobody responded. Mondo continued gnawing on his chicken while Lana set the plates in the sink. Neither looked at her. Jessie stared at Meowth, but he wouldn't meet her gaze either. What was WRONG with these people? Did they WANT to die? And who was going to help her and James if they did? Finally, Jessie rose from the table with her plate in hand and stormed out of the room.

"Miss Jessie, please don't be mad at us!" Mondo begged as he ran after her, following her into James' room. Jessie slammed her plate on the nightstand, with a force that sent her remaining peas bouncing off the plate and onto the floor. James watched the scene with interest.

"What am I going to do if you all DIE?" shouted Jessie.

Mondo tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Die? He had tried to push all thoughts of death to the back of his mind. He didn't want to think of the terrible possibility that he or his friends might get hurt, or worse. Now that fear had resurfaced and formed a lump in his throat that no amount of swallowing would make go away. He didn't want to die, the very thought terrified him, but he didn't want Giovanni to be able to come back and hurt any of them either. Hard to believe that less than two weeks ago he had idolized the man.

"I... we... we aren't going to die, Miss Jessie," he whispered, hoping that his voice didn't shake.

"You IDIOT!" Jessie shouted, repeatedly slamming her fist into the top of poor Mondo's head. As usual, venting her frustration out on the nearest available convenience as she had often done to both James and Meowth during their years of working for Team Rocket.

James was watching both of them carefully, even though his brain was only processing about half the information it was receiving at the moment. What he perceived from their exchange was unknown.

Jessie stopped suddenly. Mondo cowered, holding his hands over his head. Where had she seen that look before? That lost, miserable look of terror that pleaded with her to stop being so aggressive?

In James.

How many times had he given her that look, which she continually ignored, as she constantly blamed him for their failure? And now she was getting that same look from Mondo, who she had just apologized to earlier in the day for mistreating him. What in the hell was she DOING?

As she pondered these thoughts, Jessie suddenly realized that she was hearing a strange sound. Laughter. Nobody in that room would have expected to hear such a thing, and now it was coming from the most unlikely source of all.

It was coming from James.

Mondo was already staring at him, his hands rubbing his sore head as he did so. Jessie also turned to stare, completely dumbfounded, wondering what a man in his condition could find so humorous.

James stared right back at them and continued to laugh. This was a familiar scene; Jessie whacking some guy over the head while he cowered helplessly. Like Jessie, he recognized the familiarity of the situation even though he had no idea what was going on. All he knew was that Jessie had just beaten the brains out of somebody, and for once it wasn't him! His suffering, confused mind had found that simple concept so hilarious he just had to laugh; and laugh he did.

Mondo suddenly realized what James had found so amusing, and began laughing himself. Jessie was right about what she had said earlier; in some odd, twisted way he had taken James' place since Jessie was no longer able to use her partner as a scapegoat. He also knew that the reason Jessie had just bashed his skull in was because she cared about him, and genuinely feared for his safety.

Jessie continued to watch them laugh, still not seeing how the two of them could find the situation funny.

Finally James gently took one of Jessie's hands in his, and when the laugher had finally died down Mondo took her other hand with both of his. They both squeezed her hands affectionately, as if silently trying to convey their love and acceptance to her. So what if she was loud, violent and pushy? They both loved her the way she was.

Jessie squeezed back, overwhelmed by how connected that squeeze made her feel to her two companions. She wished that she could build a wall around this moment, around these two people, so that she would never again have to fear losing them. She opened her mouth, meaning to apologize to Mondo for losing control, but instead she lost it completely.

She wept.

. . . . . .

"Are you sure you have everything you need?" Mondo heard Jessie ask for the third time, as he prepared to leave with Lana.

"Yes, Miss Jessie!" he replied a third time. "Miss Lana says we don't need to bring ANYTHING."

He had changed back into his Team Rocket costume, and he realized that for the first time in his life wearing these clothes made him feel dirty. He remembered how the red R on the front of his shirt had felt like a badge of honor the day he first tried it on. It now felt like a malevolent scarlet letter, making him stand out as an evil and corrupt person.

"How long are you going to be gone?" Jessie asked Lana, who had just come out of the cottage from checking on James one last time.

"Probably only a few days," Lana said, as Mondo helped her into the hot-air balloon. "We won't be long if everything goes according to plan," she added, trying to sound reassuring.

Jessie was NOT reassured. She watched as Meowth jumped into the balloon, and Mondo fired it up. Only a few days was going to feel like a few years.

"See ya, Jess!" Meowth called, as they flew away. "Take care 'a James!" He and Mondo watched Jessie stare after them helplessly.

"Come back SOON!" they heard Jessie yell, before they lost sight of her completely.

"We will," Mondo whispered, as if Jessie were still able to hear him. He wiped his eyes, trying to fight back his tears. The harsh reality of the situation was completely sinking in and it filled him with dread. If they failed in what they were trying to accomplish then they would never return. Jessie would never know what had happened to them. They must NOT fail.

As he stared out over the horizon, he took a deep breath and tried draw upon every ounce of strength he possessed. There was no going back.

It was about to begin.

-CONTINUED IN PART 8-