"Remind me again why we're in Fuschia?" the orange-haired girl asked for at least the third time. She shifted her little egg-shaped Pokémon from one arm to another, sighing. Ash really was a pain sometimes.

"We were passing by, remember? And there's that really great restaurant over on Third Street... with the killer Chinese food..." Ash grinned.

"Girls are awfully pretty in Fuschia, too..." Brock muttered, looking around appreciatively. Misty sighed again. Pathetic. Both of them.

They continued on their way to the restaurant, but before long Brock's attention was diverted again. "See? Just look at that lucky guy. He's got two girls crawling all over him."

Misty looked where Brock was pointing and saw a strange sight: two girls tackling a guy to the ground? But they were all laughing, even the guy, so he wasn't being mugged or something. She couldn't see much of him except for blue hair in a ponytail; she just shrugged and started to turn away. Strange people.

"Man... I wonder if he'd share... He doesn't need both, does he?" she heard Brock say as he continued watching in obvious envy. Hooking an arm through his, Misty pulled him away.

"C'mon, Brock. Ash is gonna implode if he doesn't eat soon," she groaned. She dragged him off toward the restaurant, following Ash, and forgetting entirely about those two odd girls and the guy.

"Chineeeese food! That's where we're going!"

"I don't know... I saw this cute little sushi bar back there..."

"No! Chinese! You think James is gonna fill up on sushi?!"

"Umm... how about you let James decide?" James cut in on the girls' argument.

"Wellll... good idea," Myrea laughed. "So where are we going James?"

"I'd have to say... err... Chinese."

"Yay!" Emily cheered. "Good choice!"

"Now are you just saying that because she has your arm twisted like that or do you really want Chinese?" Myrea sighed.

"Uh.. heheh... it's kind of both," James replied sheepishly.

It didn't take long to get to the restaurant, since it was only just down the street, and it took them even less time for them to get seated and start poring over their menus. James was totally engrossed in deciding between two things, but something caught his attention, a little, oddly familiar squeaking noise coming from the direction of his feet. Looking down under the table, he saw a Togepi.

James had only seen one Togepi in his entire life. He had doubted he'd ever see another. So that could only mean..

In a flash, he whipped his menu up over his face so that he could just peek over the top to scan the other tables. And there they were.

Ash. Misty. Brock.

The twerps.

James wasn't too sure, but he thought he was about to faint.

"Ohhh, look! What's this little Togepi doing here under our table?" Emily cooed beside him, reaching under to grab the little egg-shaped Pokémon and hold it up.

"What a cutie," Myrea smiled as Togepi waved it's arms and continued squeaking, not shy in the least. "I guess it belongs to someone here in the restaurant..."

"Why yes, it does," James heard Misty announce as she headed their way. Of course, by this time he had his face completely covered by the menu, willing himself to become invisible. "Sorry about that... it likes to run off and sometimes I don't even notice! But thanks for finding it for me, girls, and... and.."

"James, why are you doing that?" he heard Emily ask.

"I... umm..."

"What are you hiding for? You aren't this shy," Myrea sighed, reaching up to pull the menu away from him. James was sure he was as white as the tablecloth. Especially when Misty started staring at him.

"You said... his name is James? You sort of look like... do I know you?"

"No, I don't think so..."

"That voice... It is you! JAMES!" And as she yelled this, she launched herself at him over the table, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and using it to yank him forward. "What kind of game are you trying to play here?! Are you using these poor innocent girls in one of your dumb schemes? Where's Jessie and Meowth??"

By this time the whole restaurant was staring, and Brock and Ash had joined Misty at their table, both scowling at James in disapproval. James wasn't sure how to defend himself at that point, but fortunately Myrea seemed to know what to do.

"Look. I don't know how you know James or what problem you have with him, but I suggest you just sit down quietly here with us now and stop making a scene." The look she had on her face was enough to make Misty let James go and sit down in a chair at their table, though reluctantly. Ash and Brock joined them slowly. The hum of conversation grew back around them as people lost interest in what wasn't turning out to be a fight after all. But their table, however, was dead silent until after the waitress had finally taken their orders and left.

Soon after, Ash blurted out, "We haven't seen you in awhile. Or Jessie or Meowth. For months. We just thought that was a little strange... that you weren't trying to get Pikachu anymore..."

"Get Pikachu?" Emily asked in confusion.

"He means that I was a part of Team Rocket. And that as such, I tried to steal his Pikachu more times than I care to remember," James said dully. Emily had no idea of his involvement with Team Rocket yet, as James and Myrea had kept it to themselves. But now she knew. Surprisingly, she didn't say anything, just reached over to pat his hand gently, as if reassuring him that it was okay now. He acknowledged this with a faint smile, glad that she trusted him so much.

Slowly then, in bits and pieces, he began pouring out his story of the past months, all that time spent apart from him closest friends, the agony of wanting to make them understand, the triumph of winning his badges. He even showed them for proof, but didn't leave them out long, since it didn't matter to him so much beyond that they should believe his story. Emily and Myrea were silent for the most part, adding small comments here and there when they thought it necessary.

When he finished it was quiet again, for what seemed like a very long time. Then the food arrived, and for the most part they chatted over things that were purely mundane. James just ate quietly, knowing they must not believe him, from the way they glanced at him surreptitiously as if making sure he wasn't about to pull something.

Eventually, Misty asked Myrea, "Hey... I need to talk to you for a moment. Is that okay?" As they left, James wished he didn't know they were going to talk about him.

Myrea sighed and settled back against the bathroom wall. The bathroom of a Chinese restaurant was hardly the best place for a conversation, but there wasn't much of a choice at the moment. She studied the person in front of her; Misty, the slight, orange-haired girl who seemed to always carry her Togepi around, but had left it behind for now at the table with her friends. Myrea wasn't quite sure what to think of her yet, but she did realize this girl had a ferocious temper. Which meant using a little caution while talking to her.

"Are you sure about James?" Misty asked suspiciously. "I figured there was no way on earth he could ever change, and--"

"How well do you know him?"

She seemed thrown off a bit by this question, biting her lip as she stopped to think. "Well, I... I know about his family, why he ran away to join Team Rocket... and I know he was a jerk, a conceited loser who cared for no one but himself..." Here she paused again before speaking more slowly. "But you know... there's something different about him now. It's hard to put my finger on it... he's changed slightly physically of course... but I think it's something about his face... something in his eyes. As much as I don't want to, I believe everything he's told us. What I don't understand it... why..."

"Why? Well, that's simple," Myrea smiled. "Love."

"L-love?"

"Yep. See, he loves his friends very much. So much that he'd do all this for them, once he realized that he did love them."

"Oh... then that means that... he must also be in love with J... Je..." Misty couldn't seem to make herself finish, a deep blush spreading over her face.

"Even if he won't admit it fully, I think he does," Myrea said in amusement.

"I... I was wrong to judge him so quickly. It's really great that he's changed so much," Misty finally commented when she'd found her voice again. "And I never noticed this before, but.. he's... oh my god... he's so good-looking to me all of a sudden... I can't believe I just said that about JAMES!" she spluttered. "Could there be something wrong with me...?"

"No," Myrea replied, still smiling as she grabbed the dazed girls' hand to lead her back out of the bathroom. "It's happened to the best of us."

"And you believe it? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I believe it! Why shouldn't you?"

"I don't know.... he is James, after all... but I guess he's a little different..."

Misty sighed. Ash was just being stubborn, as usual. But she didn't expect any less of him. They were walking out of Fuschia again after leaving James and his two new friends behind. Misty had wished James luck in everything, especially Jessie; James had merely blushed and stammered a thank you, which had proven further that he had changed, in a nearly miraculous way.

"Miracles really do happen..." she commented half to herself.

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"No, Ash, I didn't," she groaned, grabbing his arm to drag him along a little faster in order to catch up with Brock, who was walking far ahead by now.

I'm sure we'll see James again someday...

James had been expecting a boring trip, but the boat ride to Cinnabar Island one week later was anything but. But it wasn't too surprising, considering that going anywhere with two sisters like Myrea and Emily was hardly likely to be unentertaining.

Not much was different about Cinnabar, except for Blaine's newly rebuilt gym, which was in a much more convenient place than the first one. James remembered all too well what had happened to that one, although the gym leader didn't seem to remember him at all. Which wasn't a bad thing.

He allowed his own water-type Pokémon to drown out Blaine's fire-type competition, in a remarkably easy win that astonished even the gym leader himself. But James just smiled and accepted his badge humbly, the only thought on his mind of his friends, not himself.

Winter was creeping toward spring now, as the three companions prepared to travel back to Viridian City, where this had all started, in order for James to win his final badge. The only thing that worried him at the moment was exactly who was the gym leader there now..

We're that much closer to the end... woo... everyone's as happy as me, right? :P

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