Chapter 20 -"And One Lived On..."
Meowth and Meowthy took up a fast scurry as they headed back towards Team Rocket Headquarters.
"Did'ja see it?" Meowth gasped.
Meowthy nodded. "Yeah! You think it could be true? Could she...?"
"I dunno," The two bolted up the stairs. "At dis point, I believe anything can happen."
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James and his Angel seemed to hear the pitter-patter of tiny footsteps running up the staircase. Soon, there were a few knocks. Jessie looked over at James worriedly.
"I cannot let anyone see me like this." James didn't understand what she meant. She just shook her head sadly, blew a kiss, and disappeared.
"Jessie?" James blinked. "Where did you go?"
"James!" Meowth called. "Are you okay?"
James opened the door and was almost knocked over when Meowth and Meowthy rushed inside. "Hello, Meowth."
"Where is she?"
"Who?"
"Jessie!" Meowthy smiled. "She came up here. We saw her! She's alive."
James sadly lowered his head. "No. She's not." The two Pokémon looked up at him unbelieving. "What you saw was the beautiful Angel of her. Jessie of Team Rocket is no more."
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Serena and Darien stood on the apartment landing, holding each other close. They were silent for a long time, letting the events of the past month sink in. The Vision, the re-encounter with Team Rocket, the fight, and Jessie's death. Although they weren't really crying, they felt great sadness in their hearts. They knew they were both helpless with the matter and did not have the power to do anything. The battle over Bloody Mary may have been won, but no one was really happy.
This was always the hardest part about being a super hero. Having Powers or being overly special always got you mixed into great webs. Many of your friends suffered greatly for it. Serena recalled the times of death and sadness. She was in such a gloomy mood!
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Feeling utterly exhausted and saddened, James fell asleep again. He had another dream about Jessie, however, she was Neo Queen Jessica. The dream was more of a reflection of what had happened earlier. He saw Mary being crushed by the rocks, and then Jessie joining her. She died without uttering a sound.
James' eyes shot opened and he jumped out of the bed with a new explosion of energy. He ran out of the room, down the staircase, and outside to the great rock pile. He started digging through the large boulders near the place Jessie's life had ended. Finally, he found her, bloody and brutally massacred. He gently lifted her out of the pile, trying not to break her up even more so than she already was. There was a great pain that surged through his body. "Jessie, you look terrible," he sobbed. James touched her face. So lifeless. It seemed like just the other day the two were laughing and riding in their big Meowth Balloon. They had a new plan to capture Pikachu this time and would not fail. Pokémon poaching now hardly seemed important.
He took her to the empty cafeteria and lay her on one of the tables. Jessie, the only love of his life, was really gone! The realization was too much to bear. There was still hope, yet. James had the sense that Jessie was magical, in a way. Maybe she could come back.
James knelt down on the ground, lowered his head, and clasped his hands together. He concentrated as much as he could on the Moon Kingdom. "Please, Queen Jessica, mother of Princess Jessica and Neo Queen Jessica of the Star of the Moon Kingdom, I beg you to hear my prayer. Please bring my Jessie back to me!" James waited for over twenty minutes, never moving from his position. Nothing happened. Yes, Jessie was really gone.
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Meowth watched Meowthy as she slept on the soft, green grass spread out in front of them. The two were in a meadow near Headquarters, surrounded by nothing but flowers and blue sky. He felt very peaceful out here. This was the place he could reflect on all that happened. His friend Jessie was no longer here, but he had Meowthy.
Of course, the death was terrible, but it was time to move on. Now that Meowthy knew the truth about him, he felt relieved. Meowth never wanted to leave her. All the past which had been sealed up inside of him was finally free! He didn't care if he was really a human or Pokémon. Meowthy was all that mattered to him. She sat there, by his side, purring and huddled among the daffodils. She made him feel special. He certainly felt like the Top Cat when she was with him.
Soon he would tell James of his past, but right now the boy needed to be left alone. Meowth put himself in James' boots and tried to understand how he would have felt if Meowthy was suddenly...No! He could not bring himself to even dream of such a thing. James needed solitude. That was most certain.
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"Don't cry, dear boy. Please don't! It makes my heart grieve."
James looked up from the cafeteria bench. He had been crying again with his head hiding in his arms on the table. Again, he was surrounded by a golden Light. He squinted his eyes and saw a figure. "Jessie?"
"No, I'm not Jessica. My daughter is not here." James' eyes widened and he recognized the woman. It was Queen Jessica, Jessie's mother. She smiled at him, which James thought a little rare. Queen Jessica, he had thought, did not like him very much. She hadn't even wanted Jessie to marry him. "Right now, she is visiting another."
"What?" James gasped. "Another person other than me?"
Jessica got a sweatdrop. "You're not the only person in her life," she replied sheepishly.
"Why are you here?"
"You called me, didn't you?"
He could not believe this conversation. "That was over an hour ago!" James shouted, with the funny Anime-ish pose of growing big and fire surrounding him.
The Queen grinned and touched her two index fingers together a couple times. "Well...We had traffic..." James fell over Anime-style.
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Darien had taken Serena home. He now was at his own apartment again sitting on his couch and drinking coffee. He was about to turn on the television when he heard a knock on his door. "Who could that be?" he grumbled. Darien really didn't want to be bothered now. As he walked over to the door, a light wind seemed to surround him. This was odd because all the windows and doors were closed. However, the wind was warm and soft. He stopped and turned around.
There, enveloped in gold light and wrapped in large Angel's wings was Jessie. Darien rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not dreaming or seeing things. When he looked again, she was still standing there, serene and calm. Her symbol glowed brightly on her forehead. "Endymion," she said. "Do not be afraid. I am not here to hurt you or steal any of your Pokémon."
Darien wanted to laugh a little at that, but he was too surprised. He got closer to her and walked all the way around her. She was really standing in his apartment! "Princess Jessica!" he smiled, and tried to hug her. Instead, he went straight through and landed on his face.
Jessie laughed. "I'm afraid you can only look and not touch," she said winking. "Being dead is a real drag. I'm bored as Hel...Uhhh...Heaven."
"I'm sorry," Darien said as he got on his feet. "But I'm glad you came to visit me."
"Yeah," Jessie nodded. "It's not the first time."
"What?" he gasped. "You were here before?"
Angel Jessie rolled her eyes. "Think, Tuxedo-brain! Read last chapter!"
"You were the Angel that everyone but me saw..."
"Very good!" Jessie exclaimed giving Darien a golf-clap. "Endy, you figured it out."
Darien laughed and scratched the back of his head. "You'll have to excuse me. I'm kind of upset today."
"Because of me?"
"Yeah. Everyone is." Darien'e eyes wobbled. "We all really miss you."
"I know," she replied. "I've seen you all grieving."
Darien quickly changed the subject. "So, why visit me before anyone else? Wouldn't there be others more important to you than me? After all, I helped Mary..."
Jessie shook her head. "No, you didn't mean to help Mary. I came because I needed you to know there are no hard feelings."
"What?"
"Please do not blame yourself for anything. You must know that I am not mad at you or Serena, or any of the other Sailor Scouts. Is that better?"
Darien half-way nodded. "Uhh...Yeah."
"Good!" Jessie grinned. "Now, I must go for good." Her eyes became heavy. She would have cried, but Ghosts couldn't cry.
Darien did, though. "Good-bye, Jessie-chan. And thank you." Then she was gone. Darien looked at the floor. So, she didn't hate him. That was good to hear.
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Queen Jessica and James sat for a long time talking about many things. They talked of Team Rocket, of James' past, of Jessie's past, the Moon Kingdom. At one point, Jessica even slipped up in telling him of Meowth's past. She sighed and told James to act surprised when Meowth told him.
James felt a little better after talking with her. They had managed to get past their differences and learned to accept each other. Both of them cared about Jessie (In different ways, of course) and had a few other small similarities. All in all, they finally agreed with each other that James was better than Leonardo di Caprio.
Soon Queen Jessica turned away from him. "Ah, my daughter is finished. Now, I must go join her."
James frowned. "So you're both leaving forever?" Jessica nodded sadly. "Then you'd better go before I have time to stop you. I hate good-byes!"
"Alright then, James," Jessica replied. "Good-bye, son-in-law." James looked up at her surprised. She smiled and kissed him on the forehead.
"But Jessie and I are not married..."
"Oh, but you will be!" Jessica laughed and disappeared.
"Wait!" James shouted. "What do you mean?"
"BAKA!" came the very loud voice of Queen Jessica. James looked up towards the sky annoyed.
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In Jessie's room, a small object glowed brightly. It was Jessie's PokéCrystal. It took on a mind of its own and rolled out the door and down the stairs. For its next trick, it needed to be near its Master.
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"Mother? What are you doing?"
"My darling daughter, it's not your time to be with me yet."
"What?"
"No, you still have a long time before you can rejoin me."
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James heard a sound. It sounded like something rolling across the floor. He looked over towards the noise and saw the small Crystal rolling straight to him. He blinked. "What a day!" he groaned. "It makes my head hurt." The Crystal suddenly shot up into the air and floated above the destroyed body of Jessie. "What's going on here?"
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"What's going on here?"
"Give your mommy a hug, Princess. It may be the last time I ever see you."
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The Crystal opened like a regular PokéBall. It poured out a Gold substance onto Jessie.
"What do you think you're doing?" James growled at the Ball. "Stop it!"
The PokéCrystal ignored him and continued to do its job. When James reached out to grab it, it floated away from him and came back down, hitting him on the head.
"Ow! You stupid thing," he said rubbing his head.
When the Crystal was done, it closed again and remained floating above the body. Both objects began to glow. James looked on in awe.
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"Mother..."
"Go to him, Jessica. He needs you more than I do."
"Alright...I will!"
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A finger twitched. An eyebrow quivered. Two eyes opened with new life. She spoke. "James..."
His eyes wobbled and tears streamed down his cheeks. He smiled with delight. "Jessie!"
Jessie sat up on top of the table. She almost sparkled, with no damages or marks on her. She jumped off the table and ran into James' arms. "It wasn't my time to go," she laughed. "Besides, I've still got a Kingdom to rule when I become Queen. I also need a King beside me."
"Taking applications?" James sighed.
They held each other close, not wanting to lose each other ever again. Jessie would 'never let go.'
The End
Epilogue
Team Rocket Head Quarters towered over the small rock pile. The inhabitants underneath were dead...
A few boulders stirred. Suddenly they were pushed upward and out of the way by a white-gloved hand. The rocks continued to be dug away. Two large green eyes were visible. A face poked out of the pile. Then the rest of the body pulled itself out.
The young man stood up and brushed his green hair out of his face. His brothers and sister were gone, but there was still a chance for him.
Yes, he would have his revenge.
Pic: Neoqueen Jessica and a sleeping James
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Author's Notes
Well, how was the sequel? I thought this was very interesting. As you can see, I deepened the relationship of Jessie and James, for this takes place two years after the first story. I also want to say that I hate Bloody Mary with such a passion...The four Rocket Brothers, her brothers, came from the Nintendo game 'Pokemon'. Meowthy was made-up by my cousin Flasher Humor. ^_^ Also, the idea of Neo Queen Jessica's outfit came from her too.
