AN- Holidays were busier than I anticipated, but should be back on schedule now! Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy :D

Songs that inspired this chapter:

- Into The Woods, by Amarante
- The open boat, by Primary, Anda, and Colde
- Names, by Von Sell
- Obstacles, by Koethe
- Sunflower, Are You There?, by Dizzy and Kevin Garrett
- Possibility, by Autoheart

Mondo felt like he was looking at a postcard.

The sun shone down without a cloud to reckon with, shimmering along the river, painting the valley warm. Even though winter had caught up with the trees and left most of them bare, they didn't look gloomy the way they did when it was overcast. Everything made pretty in the sunlight.

"Ready?" came James' voice as he stepped into view, hunched under the weight of his pack.

Mondo uncrossed his legs and stood up. "Ready," he affirmed. The view up here was lovely but apart from anything else, it was too chilly to stay still for much longer.

"I think we can keep following the river," James said. "At least until it hits the coastline."

"Yeah," Mondo replied, checking his compass to make sure they were still going south-ish. He nodded. "Yeah, sounds good."

They headed away from the remains of their campsite at a leisurely pace. It had been about a week since they'd escaped HQ (it was either day six or seven, Mondo had lost count), and they'd spent a good portion of that time walking through the wilds of Kanto. A couple of days back they'd had to make a quick dash across Route 7, but other than that they'd kept to the sanctuary of nature.

"Did you know," James said as they hopped from rock to rock, "some rivers actually run underground?"

"Oh?"

"It's true- there's one that runs for miles under the mountains, up in the north. And even the scientists don't really know what's in there." He smiled, jumping down to the pebble riverbank. "I've always wondered what kind of pokémon might live in places like that. There must be some we just haven't found yet."

"Yeah."

James waited to see if Mondo would say anything else, but he wasn't biting. He'd been looking at the ground most of the time.

For the past few days, James had done his very best to provide Mondo with some kind of normalcy, though it was a complicated task at the best of times. There was a delicate balance to strike between making space for their pain, and moving on from it. James wasn't sure he was succeeding very well.

"Is everything all right?" he asked tentatively, and rolled his eyes at his own question: of course everything wasn't all right, how insensitive could he be-

"Sorry," Mondo said, "I know I'm not talking much, I just… I've got that horrible feeling again."

"Guilt?" James guessed.

"Yeah. It was gone for a couple of days, but then this morning it just- it just hit me really hard." He sighed, leaning down to pick up an almost perfectly round pebble, and turned it over in his hands, feeling how smooth it was. Water-polished.

Having something to hold distracted from the worst of the feeling. But nothing could erase the image of Ravi flung from their bike, hitting the ground-

"I think that's normal," James said, pulling Mondo back to the present, to the trickling water that stopped silence setting in. "When I left Team Rocket it felt like the world was ending. And the guilt, the idea that I could have done something differently- that was the worst bit." He chuckled, exhaling. "I was quite the mess. I don't know how I would have coped if it wasn't for Cassidy."

Mondo perked up a little. "Oh, Cassidy. I've um, I've heard about her, but I don't think we ever met."

"She's easily one of the toughest people I know. Bravest, too- you know, she was the one who helped me escape the first time. And we were sworn rivals, back in the day. Or at least she and Jessie were, I just sort of went along with it."

Nodding along, Mondo tried to weigh what James was saying against what he knew. He'd seen the elevator footage.

"She, er…" Mondo began, hesitating. He was looking for a polite way to say it. He couldn't find one. "She killed the boss, didn't she?"

James pursed his lips. "She killed Carter," he said. Now he was the one looking down. "But only after he killed her partner. And a lot of other people too, sometimes for no good reason."

"Why would the boss- why would Carter do that?" Mondo asked, clearly confused. Carter had never stayed in Kanto for very long, and all Mondo knew about the man was second-hand. He definitely hadn't heard anything about him killing Rockets.

"Well, a lot of agents weren't very happy with him replacing Giovanni. I suppose he thought it would keep people in line." James kissed his teeth. "Though if you ask me, he had a mean streak."

"You really think so?"

"Oh, absolutely. I don't think he cared who he hurt, so long as he profited. That's really what sparked the whole rebellion."

The treeline was creeping closer to the river, the sunlight streaking through the branches overhead.

Mondo took a while to process what James had said. The stone was warm in his hands now; he dropped it, frowning. "We were told Carter was murdered," he said softly, "by traitors who wanted to destroy Team Rocket and kill us all. Of course I knew Meowth and Miss Jessie would never do that, but…"

"None of us were remotely interested in destroying Team Rocket," James told him. "Jessie, Meowth, Cassidy- they were all as loyal as they came. That's why they did what they did- to stop Carter from turning Team Rocket into a horror show."

They walked quietly for a while, the gentle soundscape of the river mismatched with the scenes Mondo was picturing.

Carter killing his own agents. Not at all the blameless victim The Council had made him out to be.

How many lies had Mondo been fed?

How many lies had Ravi believed?

"It must have been scary," he said. "Facing up to the boss in that elevator."

James blinked. "Ah. I didn't realise you knew about that."

"Ravi showed me the CCTV," Mondo replied, shuddering. "I got nervous just watching it. I don't think I could have stood up to him like that."

"I'd hardly call what I did standing up to him," James scoffed. "No, I was… I was never really involved, to tell you the truth. I didn't even know what they were planning until I heard all the noise. And I certainly didn't expect to wind up fighting Carter." He sighed. "No, I'm afraid I wasn't very brave back then."

"You fought the boss!" Mondo protested.

"Well, okay, I suppose that was a little bit brave," James conceded. "But I was never trying to be a hero. Jessie and Meowth wanted to make things right, and all I wanted was for things to go back to the way they were. I never wanted to leave Team Rocket- I never meant to." He blew out a deeper sigh. "I still wonder what might have happened if I hadn't been so afraid. If we all might have left together instead of being split up like this. So I do understand it, Mondo. The guilt, the what ifs…"

"Yeah," Mondo whispered. Tears in his eyes again.

"... but who knows? Maybe it's all for the best." James' frown became a smile. "After all, we're here together. That's not so terrible."

Mondo tried to return the smile. "It's not."

Soon the river curled left, into the woods. It took them downhill, the current rushing stronger and stronger until it collapsed into a waterfall, feeding into a small lake below.

"Whew," James exclaimed, peering over the edge. "I'd say we've found our lunching spot, wouldn't you?"

"Looks good," Mondo agreed. Now that James mentioned it, his stomach was sort of growling.

They zig-zagged their way down the slope to the lake's edge, and dumped their packs, catching their breath.

The soft roar of the waterfall and the circular ripples it sent along the lake gave James the most wonderful kind of deja vu; forgetting himself in the shine of the water, he was filled with a sweet relief. Peace, for a moment.

It was a feeling he had been a stranger to for too many years. There hadn't been much reason to feel it until a few days ago.

As if breaking James out hadn't been enough, Mondo had gone a step further. On their first day on the lam, he'd presented James with a box labelled "SQUAD F062", explaining that he'd taken it from Team Rocket's storage before they'd left. Inside James had found the single greatest gift he'd ever been given.

He put his hands in his pockets, and took out four pokeballs.

In a collective stream of light, out came Seviper, Yanmega, Mime Jr. and Carnivine. They blinked at their surroundings, then let out a mismatched chorus of greetings.

"How's everybody doing?" James asked, and saw the warning signs of a Carnivine about to pounce before he'd got the sentence out; he held his hands up, a useless defence as the grass pokémon tackled him to the ground. "Carnivine!" James laughed as he found himself the recipient of a rather constricting hug. Mime Jr. stretched its arms out and copied Carnivine, piling on like the world's tiniest rugby player. "Ow ow ow!" James complained as Carnivine started to chomp down on his head. "Cherish, don't chew!"

Every time James saw them his eyes welled up a bit. Too good to be true, and yet Mondo had made it so. He always had been thoughtful beyond his years but this took the biscuit.

Yanmega was instantly distracted by the lake and hovered around the perimeter, but Seviper took notice of James and slithered over.

"Ssssuh?"

James wasn't as close to it as Jessie was, but he knew enough to recognise the quizzical tilt of its head. "I'm sorry," he sighed, untangling himself from his pokémon. "Jessie's still not here. I wish I knew where she was, but…"

A disappointed hiss. "Viper." It seemed to understand.

"...But we won't stop looking for her," James promised. "Or Meowth." For himself as much as for the others, he had to keep believing they were out there. Safe with Gourgeist and Inkay.

Mondo took out his own pokeballs and let them roll from his hand- a flash, and there were Ditto and Tauros. Next to James' pokémon they were comparatively calm, although it didn't take Ditto long to transform into Yanmega and go chasing it over the lake.

"They seem to be getting on all right," James noted as he picked himself up. Mime Jr. was following Tauros now, mimicking its slow steps, while Carnivine and Seviper went the other way around the bank.

"Yeah," Mondo said. "It's nice." What with his promotion to security, he hadn't had much downtime in recent months to spend with his pokémon. As much guilt as he felt over Ravi, it was a comfort to know that he was giving Ditto and Tauros a chance at a normal life.

James knelt down by his pack. "Right," he said, unzipping the main compartment. "What rations do we have left?"

After a fair bit of rummaging, they concluded that all they had was half a carton of crackers, and a tin of veggie spam. Still kneeling, they stared down at the "ingredients".

"Hm," Mondo said.

"Not exactly much to work with," James mumbled, "but who knows, a little garnish…" He looked around, and realised there wasn't much on offer garnish-wise in the dead of winter. He ended up settling on some decorative waxy leaves that they removed as soon as they put on their cracker and spam sandwiches.

"Well," James said, holding his sandwich up like he was making a toast, though Mondo wondered if he wasn't just buying more time before they actually had to eat the things. "Bon appetit."

They cheersed their sandwiches together, then took a bite.

"Hm," Mondo said, frowning.

"I've definitely eaten worse," James munched.

"Worse than this?!"

"Oh yes. At least this is somewhat nutritious, if a little lacking in the flavour department." James raised his eyebrows. "Sometimes on the field we'd only have a rice cake to split three ways, or even nothing at all when money was particularly low."

Mondo looked horrified. "That's no good- you've got to eat, Mister James! I would've sent you all packed lunches if I'd known!"

"What, all the way to different regions?"

"I would have figured something out." Mondo shook his head. "A third of a rice cake, that's just awful…"

James shrugged. "Makes you grateful to be eating this, doesn't it?"

"Errrm… Almost."

Despite the taste, they were hungry enough to finish their meal quickly.

"Is there any rainwater left?" James asked, licking his fingertips.

Mondo checked their canister. "Not enough- but we can filter some from the lake."

James' face scrunched in disgust. "Not the sock method again."

"I do wash them first! It's perfectly clean- much cleaner than not filtering it at all."

"If you say so," James said, unconvinced. He began rummaging through his pack, and took out a crumpled bag, shaking it. "Not that much pokémon food left, either. Enough for lunch, but… I think it's time we stopped by a town to replenish our supplies. The one thing we're not short on is money," he noted, flicking through the stacks of every cash bonus Mondo had collected over the years.

Mondo swallowed. "Do you think that's safe?"

"We've hiked halfway across Kanto," James replied. "I think we're as safe as we're going to be while we're still in the region- oh, disguises! Changing our appearance is another must, don't you agree? Then we could check into a motel, take a shower, wouldn't that be nice…"

It was a hard point to argue against; a hot shower sounded like the best thing in the world after a week of freezing rivers and lakes.

"Guess we don't have much choice, do we," Mondo murmured. "We've got to eat."

"Not to mention we're down to one roll of toilet paper."

"You know, leaves can be a pretty good substitute for-"

"Excuse me?" called an unfamiliar voice, throwing Mondo and James into a startled silence as they whipped around to see who it was.

A middle-aged couple in hiking gear were emerging from the woods, each with a pair of walking sticks.

"Oh dear," the woman said, smiling apologetically. "Did we give you a fright?"

"Oh, don't worry," James answered, very worried. Though he didn't think it likely that the couple were sent by Team Rocket, there was still always the chance of being recognised. Mondo was still dressed largely in his uniform, the only saving grace being that the security department didn't wear the logo.

"We didn't mean to interrupt," the man added, "only you're the first people we've seen out here."

"We've gotten ourselves a bit turned around," the woman said as she unfolded the map in her hands. "Do you know if we're going the right way for Route 6?"

Mondo hesitated for a moment, then walked over to get a look at the map. "If you keep walking upstream," he said, pointing up the hill, "and then go right as soon as it turns," he continued, pointing at the map, "you should reach Route 6 before sundown."

The couple deflated with relief. "Bless you boys!" the woman sang. "Here, let me give you something for your time…"

"That's not necessary," James said, but she paid him no attention as she rifled around in her backpack and withdrew a bag of granola.

"Homemade," the man told them. "I put some chocolate in as a little treat."

"Please," the woman insisted, pressing the bag into Mondo's hand. "We've got plenty, really."

"Um, thank you," Mondo blinked.

The man waved as he and his partner began to walk away. "You take care with those tents now, make sure you stay nice and warm!"

"Thank you, will do!" James called back, waving. "Bye now!"

He and Mondo waited for the couple to walk away.

"Do you think it's safe to eat?" Mondo asked, studying the granola through the clear plastic.

"I don't think Team Rocket are sending agents with poison granola," James replied, "unless things have changed very drastically since my day." He took the bag, opened it, and popped a piece in his mouth. "Mmm," he chewed.

"You're right about needing disguises," Mondo said. "We can't keep walking around dressed like this…"

An impish sparkle caught in James' eyes. "Mondo, by the time I'm through with you, you won't recognise yourself."

Cassidy backed through the shack's front door, lugging along a bucket full of sticks and logs.

"Right, that's the firewood sorted," she announced as she set the bucket down in the corner. Getting no response except the dull chatter of the television, she looked properly at what her roommates were doing.

They were, depressingly, doing the same things they'd been doing all day. Meowth was zoned out in front of his tablet watching Judge Jiggly, and Jessie was slouched over her laptop in her pyjamas, hitting refresh over and over like a zombie.

"Oi!" Cassidy snapped, walking over to Jessie and thumping her on the shoulder.

"Ow," Jessie protested half-heartedly. She didn't stop clicking, so Cassidy gave her a harder thump: "Ow! Okay damn, I'm listening!"

"What do you think this is accomplishing? You've been sat here for hours refreshing those stupid reports!"

"They're not stupid," Jessie defended. "They almost took us to James before, we just weren't fast enough-"

"Ugghhh, when are you going to get over that?"

Hurt sprung to Jessie's face. "I'm not going to get over it," she muttered. "And I need to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Cassidy sighed. "Jess, you know you can't keep constant tabs on this stuff, right? It's impossible."

"But I have to check-"

"A few times a day, sure- but this is torturing yourself. You've got notifications on, don't you?"

Jessie gave a reluctant nod.

"That's all you need." Cassidy clicked her tongue. "Look, if you wanna do something productive you can help me figure out this bodyguard business. Meowth's clearly a lost cause, he only started that show this morning and he's already on season two-"

"I ain't no lost cause!" Meowth objected, springing up from the sofa. "Youse'll need my wisdom for… Uh, what are ya tryin' to do?"

"Budge," Cassidy said to Jessie, who shifted her chair to the side so Cassidy could pull up the one next to it. She opened her own laptop, and a few passwords later the database opened up.

"What are we lookin' at?" asked Meowth, leaning over their shoulders.

Cassidy started to scroll. "Jail records," she said distractedly. "One of the only leads I got from Team Rocket… Where is it… Ah!" She double-clicked on a file and tapped the mugshot in the corner.

The photo was of a woman somewhere in her thirties, with straight black hair down to her chin and a glassy expression.

"That's Muranaka Saya," Cassidy explained. "She's the only person awaiting trial for Giovanni's murder- she has to know something about who ordered the hit."

"But she's in jail, right?" Jessie asked.

"Right," Cassidy said, "but get this." She tabbed out to another file titled 'Prisoner Visitation Permissions'. "There's only two names listed on her visitation: Muranaka Yūma- I think that's her sister- and Irvine & Co. Legal, that's the law firm that's representing her. So I'm thinking if I can impersonate one of her lawyers, then-"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Meowth butted in. "You're actually thinkin' of goin'?"

"Yeah."

"To a jail? Ain't that da worst place ta be showin' ya face?!"

Cassidy bit her lip. "It's up there," she admitted. "Obviously I'd be wearing a disguise- I looked up the lawyers at the firm, hold on, let me show you…" She hummed tunelessly as she found the picture in question. "I think I could pass for her."

The lawyer on the screen did have similar facial structure to Cassidy, though they were far from doppelgangers. Most problematic was the lawyer's long brown hair. Still, Jessie thought, with some makeup and a wig, the right clothes…

"Maybe," she said. "Yeah, I can see it."

"All I'd really need is some I.D with her name on," Cassidy continued. "I've got online contacts who can get that mailed that to a P.O box."

"But Saya will know you ain't da lawyer," Meowth pointed out. "What den?"

"It won't matter," Cassidy said. "All I need to do is get in a room with her."

Jessie peered closer at the screen. "Where would you be going?"

"Celadon."

"Then you can't just go running in all cowboy," Jessie warned. "You need to look the part."

"I know that- anyway, you guys have a ton of costumes, don't you?"

Jessie thought about this. "I've got a pantsuit you could use, but I don't think we've got a wig in that colour."

Cassidy slapped the laptop closed. "Then let's go shopping!"

"I don't know, I should probably stay and-"

"Come on Jess," Cassidy groaned. "I can't stand to see you moping around like this, it's a terrible look on you. What about you Meowth, you game?"

"Well…" Meowth caught Jessie's eye. "It would be nice ta get out for a bit…"

Little by little, Jessie's resolve to stay was melting. Her body felt numb from how long she'd been sitting in the same position, mindlessly checking for a new report that didn't seem to be coming. Perhaps it was time to admit that she wasn't getting anywhere.

James was back off their radar, and that was that. Nothing new.

She sighed, closing her laptop and then her eyes. "Okay, fine."

They agreed they shouldn't go anywhere too busy, and Vermillion City seemed like a good place. In the summer months it was absolutely packed, but in the winter it was pretty empty, most tourists opting for warmer shores.

Meowth had found a costume shop on the map, which sat at the outskirts of the city in the suburbs. The bus took them most of the way, and they walked the rest.

They'd changed their appearances before they'd left. Jessie was wearing a corduroy suit, her hair pulled up so it looked short under her hat; Meowth sported a coat and boots that he'd swiped from kidswear; Cassidy had borrowed Jessie's leather jacket, and a blonde wig cut to a bob.

"Do you think we look weird?" Cassidy asked them out of the corner of her mouth as they went down the pavement.

"'Course not," Meowth said. "Youse two are da couple, an' I'm da kid ya so lovin'ly adopted- what's weird about dat?"

Cassidy exchanged an awkward smile with Jessie.

A bell on the door jingled as they entered the shop, looking around at the racks of costumes. Most of them looked like party fodder, but there were a few pricier items.

A frizzy-haired cashier sat idly behind the counter. "Can I help?" he asked as they wandered over.

"We're looking for wigs," Cassidy said.

He pointed towards a narrow doorway. "Through there. Feel free to try anything on- let me know if you need help getting anything off the top shelves."

"Thanks."

They weaved through the rows of clothing and through the doorway, into a smaller room. Two young women were trying on wigs in the corner, giggling.

"See anything?" Cassidy asked, scanning the shelves.

Jessie went for a closer look. "It needs to be quite long… That one looks okay, the texture's a bit cheap though…"

"I don't think it suits me like it suits you," whispered one of the women in the corner.

"Nonsense- you just need a bolder attitude," the other replied, and Jessie felt a flutter in her stomach, like she'd jolted from a dream.

It was as if she was floating. Every colour in the room was brighter, every object more real. She turned around, gasping as tears flooded her eyes.

"The dress looks okay though," Mondo said, turning to look at his profile in the mirror.

James- wearing the same mini dress and a beehive wig- went to the shelves, sidestepping Jessie's way without seeing her. "Let's try a different hairstyle then," he spoke back to Mondo. "Maybe you're more of a plaits girl, let's see here-"

"James," Jessie breathed.

His eyes tracked her way and he froze, mouth agape. "Jessie?"

With a step she crushed him in a hug, holding on like he might disappear. But he remained, solid, though shaking the same way she was.

"No way!" Meowth laughed, as watery-eyed as the others as he rushed over. "Jimmy!"

James scooped him up into their hug. "Meowth," he said, his voice breaking. "Oh, I can't believe it!"

They were a mess of sniffles and disbelieving laughs as they leaned into each other. If it was a dream it was a wonderful one, but they knew it was real by the feeling in the air. The three of them swirling together, brighter than they'd been in years.

Separate no more.