"Look at the stars, look how they shine for you. And everything you do, yeah they were all yellow."
It's not the first time he visited this place through Jayce's senses, but this is definitely the first time he ever heard him sing.
"I came along, I wrote a song for you. And all the things you do, and it was called Yellow."
And truthfully, he thinks that Jayce has a really nice voice. He doesn't know how Jayce's voice sounds in comparison to other humans, but Mewtwo really thinks that Jayce really should sing more often.
"So then I took my turn, oh what a thing to have done. And it was all yellow."
They are in front of her grave again, with Jayce sitting in front of her playing a guitar he brought along from his house in Viridian and singing her a song he remembered from his past life. Mewtwo can sense Jayce's pokemon lounging around him, no doubt also silently listening to their trainer singing for Jane and enjoying the simple melody he is singing and the chords his fingers are strumming on the guitar.
Can a pokemon like him learn how to play the guitar too? He only has three fingers instead of five but there's no harm trying, is there? Alright, one more thing to check off his bucket list when he finally frees himself from this accursed M2 Bind. Would Jayce be willing to lend him his guitar if he asked?
"Your skin. Oh yeah, your skin and bones. Turn into something beautiful. You know, you know I love you so."
There was a slight pause, then the singing and strumming continued.
"You know I love you so."
Unlike pokemon, humans place a lot more importance on the concept of 'privacy'. While he is sure Jayce wouldn't say a word even if he rummaged through his more private memories like what he did when they first met, Mewtwo had grown to learn how to respect the privacy of others, something he had learnt while observing the world around them through Jayce's eyes. Even then, even when he purposefully blocked his access to Jayce's private memories unless he really needed to tap on them, Mewtwo doesn't need to be human to understand the complicated mixture of emotions Jayce is feeling when he sings those words just now.
"I swam across, I jumped across for you. Oh what a thing to do, cos you were all yellow."
He had never seen Jayce so relaxed in the short span of time they had known each other. It's funny, how his workload and how the burden on his shoulders decreased exponentially the closer they were to reaching their final goal. You would have thought it would be the other way round. Jayce actually found time to pick the guitar up again and tried singing once again. According to Jayce's pokemon, it's been a very long time since they heard Jayce sing and he usually only does it in private behind closed doors.
"I drew a line, I drew a line for you. Oh what a thing to do. And it was all yellow."
'Nosy, you are recording this, right?'
'Affirmative.'
Jayce would skin them all alive if he ever knew that his singing is being recorded but hey, Jayce's voice is very nice to listen to. It's a pity if nobody else hears it and...
"Your skin. Oh yeah your skin and bones. Turn into something beautiful. And you know."
If Mewtwo has to be truthful to himself, he knows that day will come very soon. As an artificial pokemon created to be on par and even stronger than Legendary Pokemon, he will outlive Jayce even if they are not embarking on this last and suicide mission. It's a selfish thought on his part, but he does want something to remember his friend by.
His first friend.
"For you I'd bleed myself dry... For you I'd bleed myself dry."
Jayce's voice turned a little hoarse at that part. It's true, that Jayce had more than just bled himself dry in his struggle to do the right thing ever since he started out as a double agent at a young age. He sacrificed his time, youth, health, joy, love, all for the sake of trying to do the right thing and making the best out of the crappy hand he had been dealt with.
"It's true."
A Legendary Pokemon is supposed to be a tier of pokemon with strength so powerful that they can achieve the impossible. It is during times like this that he wished he wasn't created for the sole purpose of war. If only he has some sort of skill or ability to heal, or even just halt the illness that is ailing Jayce…
Why must he be created for the sole purpose of destruction? Why couldn't he be created for the purpose of creation?
"Look how they shine for you, look how they shine for you, look how they shine for… Look how they shine for you, look how they shine for you, look how they shine…"
If only his friend could shine in the light just once. Just once. If Jayce had the chance to live his life like any ordinary person would Mewtwo has no doubts that he would shine brighter than anybody else. They probably would have never met since his father is an Unovan, but Jayce would have shine brighter than any star in the dark night sky.
"Look at the stars, look how they shine for you. And all the things that you do…"
Jayce's voice trailed off at the end, his fingers that were strumming the guitar slowly coming to a stop. As if a spell had been lifted, his pokemon that were around him and listening to his voice in silence started to stir again. Jayce simply stared at Jane's grave, lost in his thoughts for a period of time before he put down the guitar and placed it in front of her grave.
'You are leaving it behind?'
'I wouldn't have a chance to play it again after today. Might as well leave it here to accompany her.'
'That guitar was her gift to you, wasn't it?'
'It was. It was the first gift I ever received. Still had no idea how she managed to get one without the other three hundred and fifty plus people finding out. Now that I think about it, she had probably stolen the guitar from somewhere. That made the most sense.'
Jayce got up to his feet and began to recall most of his pokemon, only leaving gengar and houndoom outside to accompany him. Jayce gave Jane's grave one last look before walking off. This is the last time that they would be here to visit her because very likely, after today, Jayce wouldn't be able to do so anymore.
The risks that his self-imposed mission entails leads to a very miniscule chance of him returning back alive. They all know this.
'What are you planning to do after this is all over?'
'Hmm? Me?'
'Who else would I be talking to?'
Mewtwo mentally hummed in thought. Jayce did ask a good question, what will he do after he gains his freedom?
'Probably go out and see the world. I want to explore Kanto, to see the land that I was originally created to protect. And then go out and see many fascinating things and learn as much as I can. Like how the doduo species has more than one heads, how other legendaries look like and fare against me. I'm interested in meeting my so-called progenitor as well, the one known as Mew. I have so many things to do that I am actually at a loss of what to do.'
'Going out to see the world will be nice.' Jayce agreed. 'The world is definitely a huge place, there's a lot to learn.'
'We can go together?'
'I doubt I will live past National Day.'
'What if you did live past National Day?'
'I will cross that bridge if I ever get there.'
'Will you visit your birth father in this world?'
'No. It's more trouble than it's worth for the both of us. Let him think that I'm still dead, it's better for the both of us that way.'
'I still think that he has a right to know.'
'And I have the right to not let him know.' Jayce snarked back before giving a soft sigh.
'But… I would probably go to Unova if I somehow have the chance to live just a little longer, just to pay a visit to my mother and younger brother that I will never meet. That's about it.'
'If you do live past that fateful day, I will do all I can to help you search for a cure.'
'I appreciate the sentiments, but that is not needed. I won't have a purpose to live for after that day. What is the point to living if that is the case?'
'I beg to differ. One can always find a new purpose in life, just like how you taught me. Why aren't you doing what you preach?' Mewtwo replied, but Jayce made no response.
Is that Jayce's answer? A lack of answer? Fine, two can play at this game. Like he said before, he's a psychic in mind, dark type by heart. Jayce can do things his way for all he wants. He, will do things the way he wants. He is Mewtwo, he can do anything once he sets his mind to it.
Starting from trying to find a cure for his first friend.
"Come, why the long face, eh? Cheer up! Smile! Even Olwen is smiling! C'mon, give me a smile~"
Henrik used both his index fingers to poke and push my cheeks upwards the moment I entered the living room of the safehouse where Giovanni and Alice are currently staying at, forcing me to smile.
"Smiling's not my thing." I replied as I gently pushed Henrik's fingers away. Henrik merely laughed out loud before slinging an arm around my shoulder.
"It's simply a matter of habit. Smiling is something everyone should do and enjoy! A smile a day keeps the bad thoughts at bay! Come to think about it, I had never seen you smile before. HEY ARAWN!"
"WHAT?!" Arawn yelled out from where he was in the kitchen, busy preparing… some sort of salad or something.
"HAVE YOU EVER SEEN JACOB SMILE?"
"NO! AND STOP SHOUTING! SILVER IS SLEEPING!"
"YOU ARE SHOUTING TOO!"
"Shut up, both of you. The both of you will wake Silver up at this rate." Olwen hissed from where he was sitting on the couch in the living room, baby Silver in his arms. Thankfully, Silver had always been a heavy sleeper. It takes a bit of effort to wake him up.
"It's fine, it's about time we have to feed Silver anyway."
Alice announced her presence as she came out from her room together with Giovanni, dressed in casual clothes. Tomorrow, we will be enacting our plans. It will be my last act as the Rocket's Exterminator.
Tonight, we, the top echelons of Team Rocket, will be having a feast together. It was Giovanni's suggestion that all of us come together tonight to relax and hang out before we go to war tomorrow. No matter what happens, this will be my last meal with them, the last time all of us will be sitting together at the same table as friends.
I decided to make myself useful in the kitchen while the rest of them are busy fussing over Silver. Archer is still hard at work. We had wanted to just have the chefs prepare a good meal for us but Archer was insistent on doing the cooking himself no matter what anybody else says.
"Do you need some help?"
"Jacob?" Arawn turned around upon hearing my voice, hands still busy cutting something with a knife. "Yeah, why not. See the clams over there? And the big bottle of sake? Pour the sake in the skillet together with some water, bring it to a boil, then add the clams into it. It's pretty easy, can't mess that up."
"Using sake to cook clams?"
"I'm making sake-steamed clams, it's a popular dish back in my hometown."
"Lavender. You are from Lavender and Lavender is known for their sake." I said in realisation.
"That's right. The folks in lavender could make any dish using sake, sake is part of our culture." Arawn nodded in agreement without facing me, his attention still directed to whatever he is trying to prepare. I wordlessly moved to help Arawn in preparing the sake-steamed clams as he had instructed. Now that I thought about it, Arawn had prepared something similar when we Executives had our own little gathering back at Henrik's house the other day.
And huh, from the label on the bottle, this bottle of sake has to be a very fine bottle of sake.
"Henrik's right. You never do smile, do you? I can remember seeing Olwen smiling at least once or twice but I never did remember seeing you smile."
I glanced back towards Arawn, who is still hard at work with his back facing me. Without turning back to face me, he continued.
"Learn to smile, Jacob. In our line of work knowing how to smile is important for our mental health. We will all go crazy otherwise."
"I will keep that in mind." I replied as I poured the required amount of water and sake into the skillet before turning on the heat, waiting for it to boil.
"Nah, you are listening but you are not understanding. I can tell even without looking at your face. I'm serious. It's for your own good. Come, try to smile."
The edge of my lips twitched a little, but that was about it. What's there to smile about? Especially right now?
Nothing.
The water-sake mixture had boiled by now, so I tossed the clams inside as per Arawn's instructions. It only took a few minutes before the clams opened and just like that, the dish was done.
"Oh good, you finished just in time." Arawn said as he peered over my shoulder. He took over the pan and poured its contents into a large bowl and proceeded to top it with a little butter and also garnish the dish with a healthy dash of scallions.
"Food's done!" Arawn yelled out as the both of us brought the dishes to the dining table. Silver had finished his meal by now and from the looks of it, about to doze off once more. Just how much does a baby sleep anyway?
"-and just like that, I fooled the vendor and got myself a senior citizen discount! Do you want to see some magic? Here, one, two, three!"
Dinner was a light-hearted affair, although the conversation was mostly directed and dominated by Henrik due to his chatty personality. True to his moniker as the Toxic Mask, he easily slipped on a lifelike disguise within a single second, making all of us look on in disbelief. Now, he looks exactly like an old man and we wouldn't have known even if we passed by each other on the streets. It's not the first time we had witnessed his skills in disguise but it still amazes us every single time we see it in action. Henrik's skills in disguise really is something else.
"Tada! Not bad, eh?"
"I can already imagine it, you babysitting Silver with your little tricks when he is a few more years older." Olwen said with a snort, eliciting laughs from everyone present. Well, everyone except for me, that is. The most I managed was a very faint smile that's entirely fake.
"I wouldn't be surprised because unlike you, children love me!" Henrik argued back while taking a piece of tofu for himself using his chopsticks.
"Yeah, because you act like a clown."
"Oh, picking a fight now, are you? Me and you, outside, now!"
"Oh sure, let's go!" Arawn said before both he and Henrik took a pause, then laughed out loud at the same time.
"Morons." Olwen muttered while helping himself to another serving of grilled fish, only for Arawn's hand to come down on his head and forcefully ruffled his hair.
"Say what now, iceboy? I think I heard ya say something?"
"Get your hand off me." Olwen half-scowled as he tried to escape Arawn's grasp, only to fail when Arawn got him in a headlock.
"Tickle party!" Henrik whooped as he joined in the fun, ignoring Olwen's shouts of protest. Giovanni and Alice laughed at the sight while I simply watched on.
"Oh hey look, Jacob's smiling! We did it, Arawn!"
I blinked in slight confusion, only to realise in the next second that my lips were indeed curled into a smile. They were doing all of these silly acts, all just to make me smile?
"Oh, I see now, so I'm the sacrifice." Olwen said in mild irritation, although there's no bite in the tone of his voice.
"Who else? You want me to go tickle boss or lady boss?" Henrik said with a roll of his eyes before reaching my side in a second and slung his arm across my shoulders once more, trapping me in a headlock like how Arawn did to Olwen just now.
"You really need to lighten up, Jacob! I know maybe you are getting the heebies jeebies since the big day is tomorrow but there's no use in fretting over it, yea? We already did all we could, everything will go fine tomorrow! Ain't that right, boss?"
"Henrik's right. Everything will be alright. You have never failed us before and I believe you will never fail us." Giovanni nodded as he took a sip of sake from his cup. "Even if things are not alright, Alice and I will ensure that it will be alright, so just relax and do what you always do, Jacob."
"Yeah! If anything goes wrong on your end big bro Henrik will be the first to come to your rescue!" Henrik laughed out loud as he raised his cup into the air. "Cheers!"
"Hmph, with that pace of yours even I would reach Jacob before you do."
"Say again, Arawn?! I'm older than you so respect your elders, geddit?!"
"Har? You certainly don't act like you are the eldest. Right, Olwen?"
"Both of you are equally bad."
"OI!"
Amidst the banter and laughter, Alice had taken out a bottle of red wine from a nearby cupboard and brought it to the table, catching all our attention.
"Giovanni and I were planning on saving this bottle for tonight, when we are all together like this." Alice said with a smile as she easily uncorked the bottle and poured some wine into six empty glasses. When she was done, only half of the bottle's contents remained. Giovanni handed us a glass each the moment Alice was done.
"I firmly believe that victory will be ours tomorrow, but this is war, anything can happen. As your leader, I want all of you to complete your respective missions to the best of your ability as Team Rocket's Executives. As your friend, I have only one wish, and that is to return back alive no matter what. Broken dreams can be rebuilt, but lives lost can never be taken back."
Giovanni said that with a smile, taking a pause before continuing.
"When we finally free our motherland from Johto's tyranny, we will have a greater feast than today. It won't be just us. Every Kantonian will not only have enough to fill their stomachs and have a roof over their heads, they will have enough to have a feast whenever they want to. People will no longer live their lives as the oppressed, the children of our motherland will grow up smiling and be able to achieve their dreams no matter what background they are from. For Kanto's future, this is what we are fighting for.
He raised his glass in our direction and pointed to the now half-empty wine bottle.
"The other half of the wine, Alice and I will keep it for now. Once everything is over and we return victorious, we will finish the remaining half together at the Indigo Plateau when the Indigo is no more. That is our promise to each other, as comrades, and as family."
"Well said, boss! As comrades, as family!" Henrik laughed happily, which the others joined in with either their own laughs or smile. I, on the other hand, had to make a visible effort despite all the spy training drilled in me to ensure that the hand I am using to hold my glass isn't shaking.
As comrades, as family.
Comrades, family.
"H-Hey. Jacob, you alright? Why are you crying?"
"Huh?"
My free hand quickly went up to dab at the area near my eyes. To my surprise, I felt the wetness slowly trickling down my cheeks. My vision is starting to blur.
Why am I suddenly crying? When was the last time that I actually cried?
"S-Sorry. I..." I tried to steady my quivering voice and quickly used the back of my hand to get rid of the needless tears from my eyes. With a deep breath, I succeeded in getting a handle on my emotions and put on my perfect mask as Executive Plague once more.
"It's fine. We understand." Alice said gently with a smile as she used a tissue to personally dab away the remnants of the tears from my face, not giving me a chance to refuse.
"What are you apologising for? Tears are not a sign of weakness, not in front of us." Olwen said to me before releasing a short breath. "Family, huh? Sure brings back memories. It's not just you, I nearly broke my composure too."
"Maybe I should have worded my sentence better." Giovanni admitted. "Jacob grew up not knowing what a family is and Olwen did lose his. I definitely had dragged up certain unpleasant memories for them both."
"Not your fault, boss. Besides, we all like the idea of family, eh? You are definitely old enough to be our dad! Dadvanni, HAH!"
"Oi, I told you many times that the topic of our age is taboo."
"You are… er… lemme count real quick." Henrik's fingers on his free hand made a quick motion of calculating figures before he came to an answer. "Fifty this year, am I right?!"
"... Fifty-one."
"Definitely old enough! I'm the oldest and I'm only thirty-two!"
"Make fun of my age one more time and I will confiscate your entire wine collection. Not only that, I will make sure to put a ban on whoever supplies your wine collection."
"W-Wha? Come on!" Henrik choked on air upon hearing Giovanni's threat. Arawn only laughed even louder, knowing very well just how much Henrik loves his alcohol.
"You had it coming." Olwen replied with a snort.
"I liked the nickname though, Dadvanni." Alice said with a laugh. "I guess that makes me the mother of you rowdy children?"
"Sure, we don't mind! So, Mumlice, Mumriana? I think Mumriana sounds nicer for some reason. Whaddya think, Jacob?" Henrik said with a cheeky grin while nudging me with an elbow.
"Uh, yea." I replied lamely, my mind still not really in working order as of yet.
"See? Even our little brother Jacob says so! Hey, I know I know! We should take a family portrait later to celebrate this moment! How about it?"
"Hmm, I do have a camera in this safehouse that I use to take pictures of Silver. I will get it out later." Alice nodded in agreement.
This time, I felt it, the small smile resting on my face as I watched the ongoing banter in front of me. Family… I never thought I would feel such warmth here of all places, with them of all people.
Although, no matter who succeeded or failed, won or lost, the six of us would never be sharing the same drink together ever again, because I could never be on the same side as them. I could never be a part of this family.
"Alright, before the food really turns cold, let's toast." Giovanni raised his glass once more and we followed.
The glasses clinked against each other. Together, we downed the drink at the same time.
The taste is bittersweet.
Character and Pokemon List:
Name: Jayce
Official Identity: Jacob Myers
Real identity: Oldest son to Grimsley Dandolos
Indigo Government Identity: Operative 2046, Code Name: Gengar
Indigo Government Rank: Special Agent
Team Rocket Identity: Executive Plague
Team Rocket Rank: Executive
Pokemon Team:
1. Ninetales, female
2. Exeggutor, male
3. Weavile, male
4. Honchkrow, female
5. Gengar, female
6. Houndoom, male
7. Umbreon, male
8. Hydreigon, male
9. Drapion, female
10. Zoroark, male
11. Bisharp, male
12. Shiftry, male
13. Porygon-Z, (Nosy), genderless
