Jessie and Butch burst through the front door of their cabin. They walked in and plopped on the couch.
"I'm tired, I'm dirty, I'm starving, I'm sleepy, my legs hurt, my back hurts, my shoulders hurt, and my feet are killing me!" Jessie complained.
Butch looked at her. "Yeah... and we have all day tomorrow..." he sighed.
Jessie whined. "We have to be there, what time?"
"9:30," Butch answered.
"Until what time?"
"About 8:30," he replied.
Jessie sweatdropped. "That's like... eleven hours..."
"You'll survive," Butch rubbed her shoulders. "All you need is a good night's rest."
"I don't know if I'll be able to rest tonight. With all of this pain..argh!"
Butch chuckled, "Jessie, you work for Team Rocket. How is it any different?"
"Well," she began, "for Team Rocket, I'm not constantly being chased away from changing garbage bags by swarms of bees..."
"But, you are chased by swarms of beedrill for no reason," Butch pointed out.
"Well yeah... but. Okay! Well, I don't have to clean porta potties!" she replied.
"Hmm... I guess... that's true..." he continued pushing onto her shoulders.
"Mmm... Butch... that feels so good..." she moaned.
"Anything for you," he smiled.
"Butch what time is it?"
"9:30. What do you want to eat?" he stood up.
"Do we have the stuff to make rice balls?" she asked, also standing up, stretching.
"Yeah, but what do you want in the center? We got," he walked to the kitchen, "... salmon flakes, celery, tomato, salted plum, tofu... that's all that would be good in rice balls..."
"Take out the salmon flakes, tofu, celery and tomato. We'll make up a bunch with that," she walked to a cabinet and pulled out a bag of rice. "How much rice do I make?" she asked, setting up the rice steamer.
"Make about six cups. Then, we'll have enough for tomorrow, too," he answered, chopping up the celery and tomatoes.
About an hour later, they had finished making their rice balls. They ate them while watching the rest of the Sonic movie. Then, cleaned up and went to bed.
James and Cassidy had fallen asleep. They had been up really late the past night, so it was no wonder why. Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes. Cassidy woke up.
"Eh?" she fluttered her eyes and shook her head. "Darn, I fell asleep," she looked at James and saw him sleeping peacefully. That got her mad. "Wake up!" she whispered loudly, smacking him, hard, across the face. He woke up quickly, clenching his teeth.
"Ow! What?!"
"It's dark now. Let's go! And shut up! Got it?!?" she tried yelling at him through her whisper. James nodded and quickly stood up. "And get your Wheezing ready..." she added. They walked slowly and quietly, trying to hide in the shadows. "Okay, James, throw Wheezing out... n-" they heard a gun click.
"Drop the pokeball," a Rocket Slayers guard, holding a gun to James' head, said angrilly. Six other guards ran around and surrounded them. They all set their guns and aimed at James and Cassidy. The first guard held out his hand. "Give me the pokeball, then both of you, hands in the air!" They did as told. Two newer guards, not holding guns, ran into the circle. They felt around Cassidy's and James' bodies for anymore pokeballs. Because it was dark, neither of the men knew if the Team Rocket members were guys or girls. So, when the one felt around Cassidy's body, you can guess how crazy he got, smoothing his hands over her waist and hips. She got very annoyed with this. She raised her knee, knocking him in the head very hard. He fell down to the ground and whined. More guards appeared out of nowhere, surrounded Cassidy and grabbed her, tying her up. The other six guards that were surrounding them, grabbed James, took his four other pokeballs, handcuffed him, and tied a scarf around his mouth.
"In there!"
The two Rockets were thrown into a small, dark, dirty closet. Then, Chelsea appeared in the doorway.
"Well well... look who's escaped. But, you didn't really think you could get away from me that easily. Did you?" she said sarcastically, talking down to them like they were babies. James began shouted something, though it couldn't be made out clearly. Cassidy looked to the ground and shook her head in shame. Chelsea cackled in delight. "Have a good night..." she slammed the door shut and locked it.
They eventually fell asleep, trying to think of a way out of *this* mess.
Mondo had found his Ditto. He made it transform into a lapras. The three Rockets rode on Ditto to the nearest island and spent the night there. They slept in the Pokemon Center.
They woke up early the next morning. As they gathered their things up, Clint decided to take a little time off to flirt with Officer Jenny, who had just walked in.
Kazuyuki laughed, shaking his head. "Come on, Clint. We gotta go!" Kazuyuki walked over to Clint and pulled him out the door.
After a short stop for breakfast, they continued on their way to Mandarin Island.
In the morning at 7:30, Butch woke Jessie up.
"Hey, Jessie..." Butch gently pushed her.
"Hmm? Wha?" she fluttered her eyes and yawned.
"Time to wake up... take a shower, get ready for work," he sat down beside her and pet her head, softly. She quickly fell back to sleep. Butch shook her a little harder this time. She banged her fist onto the matress.
"What?" she was mad.
"You should get up now. We have to leave in an hour if we want to make it to the maze in time," he replied, sweatdropping.
She growled, grabbed a pillow, and threw it at Butch. "I'm not going."
"But, you have to go. Otherwise, you'll have to pay that guy back with your money," Butch reminded her. Jessie grabbed the blanket with both arms, crinkled it up, and slid off the bed. She threw the blanket at Butch.
"Fine," she sighed. "Is the shower working?"
"Yeah, I just took one," he replied
"I'm going in..." she slowly walked out of the room.
Butch lied down on the bed. "Sheesh... what's her problem...?" he shook his head and relaxed, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.
Jessie walked back in for a second. "Forgot my clothes," she grabbed the maze t-shirt and a pair of old, black, baggy pants, with the racer stripe. She then walked back to the bathroom.
After Jessie took her shower and got dressed, they had breakfast, then left for the maze.
An hour later, they arrived at the maze.
"Ahh... you two are here. Take a radio and go pull the trash cans out. Then, join us over there for our morning meeting. Now, go!" the owner said.
"Yes, sir!" Jessie and Butch took a radio, then ran to the trash cans.
After the meeting, Butch, Jessie, and three other custodians got together.
"Hey hey, lil chicky," one boy grabbed Jessie's shoulder and turned her to face him.
She jumped and glared daggars at him, puffing out her cheeks and stiffening her jaw.
All of the boys laughed.
"I call back and waters," one said.
"I call back and search and rescues," another said.
"Fine, I'll be extra help every section," the other said.
"Hey boy, you got middle and porta potties. And you, cutie, have front and courtyard," the first one said.
Butch sweatdropped. "Great..."
One looked at Butch. "Come on you two, follow me." He led them to a small shed in the employee area. The two other custodians continued walking towards the maze to check which waters needed refilled. "Yo, boy. You got mail boxes six to ten. Do 'em!" he threw at Butch a carrying crate full of tape and the five mailbox pieces he needed. He pulled out another carrying crate full of tape and five different mailbox pieces. He handed it to Jessie. "You have to clean mailboxes one to five. If you need any help, feel free to call me on the radio. When you're finished, put the crate back up here. I'll see you later, beautiful," he said to Jessie, in a nicer tone of voice. Jessie took the crate and walked out the door.
"Whatever. I hope he steps on a nail..." she said under her breath as she walked into the maze.
"Okay! Wake up, now!" A Rocket Slayers guard opened the door to where James and Cassidy were trapped. They woke up right away. Two more huge guards appeared in the doorway. James and Cassidy's eyes got huge in fright. James shrieked. One guard grabbed the ropes on Cassidy and dragged her along. Another picked James up and held him with one arm, carring him along. The third one pulled out two guns and followed.
The guards brought James and Cassidy to a small office room. They took off Cassidy's ropes and replaced them with handcuffs. They also took off the scarves on their mouths. They left the room, leaving Cassidy and James sitting in front of a desk, with no one sitting behind it.
"I wonder why they put us in here..." James said, looking around the room.
"I do, too..." she stared at her lap.
A few minutes later, a very huge, overweight man walked in. He had short greying hair and cold green eyes. He wore a normal business suit.
"Well well well... if it isn't the escaping Rockets," he stared coldly at them with an evil smirk on his face.
"Well, it is us," James responded. "And you won't have us here much longer. We are escaping again!"
Cassidy shook her head in embarrasment at James. "Shut up, James..."
The man laughed. "Do you really think so? You don't realize who I am, do you?" he walked closer to James and put his face in James' face.
"Actually, I do. You're a fat old man who thinks he can control us! I'll tell you what! You're not controlling me! I'm getting back to Jessie!" James shouted in the man's face.
"You little twerp! I happen to be the leader of the Rocket Slayers! Jason!" he punched James' face, hard, but only making his chair skid a little. Cassidy gasped. "I can have you killed this very instant if I wanted to!" he picked James up by his collar, off of the seat and threw him to the ground. He looked at Cassidy. "I suppose you also have some smart mouthed comments to make?" Cassidy's eyes got wide. She shook her head, fast. "Very good..." he looked at James again. "Now, as for you, wimp. You are to be killed. That is of course, unless you decide to join me. I can make it worth your while..."
James glared at him. "Never. I would never join a group of murderers. Not even if you gave me 10 billion dollars!"
Jason went behind his desk and opened a drawer. "Very well..." he pushed a botton. "This was your decision..."
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door
"Ahh... yes, Bobby. Come in, please..."
Bobby walked in. James took one look at him and shrieked.
Bobby laughed, "Guess what, James. My boss gave me permission to do... what I've been wanting to do."
James looked at him, "What is that?"
"Anything I want! For starters, I think I'll," Bobby took out a hammer. He straightened out one of James' legs and banged his knee with the hammer, as hard as he possibly could. "...break your leg," he finished. James started screaming. Bobby and his new boss laughed evily.
"You, sweety... I'll give you a little more time to decide," Jason said to Cassidy. Cassidy was in shock. She felt a deja vu flash come back to her.. back to when her group was attacked only a few days ago.
Bobby forced James to get up and walk out of the room. That was a very, very hard thing to do. One, his hands were stuck behind his back with handcuffs, and two, his leg was broken. So, even hopping was a hard thing to do.
When Bobby and James were out of the room, Chelsea was called to come in.
"You called for me, sir?" Chelsea quickly walked to her boss.
"Yes, Chelsea. I want you to put this young woman in one of our cells. Make sure you lock it, tight," Jason sat down in his huge chair.
"Yes, sir... and... anything else you want me to help out with?"
"Yes, you can join our new member, Bobby, and help him to kill that other young Rocket. That's not an order. Only do that if you feel up to it," he folded his hands and put them behind his head.
"Yes, sir..." she pulled Cassidy to a stand and led her to a cell.
"One second..." Chelsea said as she turned Cassidy's back towards herself to remove Cassidy's hancuffs. "Okay... in!" She pushed Cassidy inside, making her fall. "Better enjoy some of your last moments alive!" Chelsea cackled as she walked away.
Cassidy sighed, "Hmmm... this.... I'm used to..." She sat up against the wall and felt around her wrists. "Stupid hancuffs. Stupid Rocket Slayers. Stupid mission. Stupid mew. Stupid James... I want this all to just end!!! Why can't it be a nightmare!!" she cried. She dug her face into the palms of her hands and let out a flow of tears. "I want Butch..." she sobbed.
Bobby brought James into an old room. Spider webs hung all across the ceiling. The glass on the only window in the room was shattered. Nails were sticking out of the walls and floor. James leaned against the door frame.
"Get in there!" Bobby pushed James inside, making him fall to the floor. James ripped his jacket on a nail. Bobby laughed, "Now that I'm not a Team Rocket member, I can do anything that I've always wanted to do to all of you annoying wimps..."
James tried to turn over. "I bet you didn't think this way when you and Stephany were together." James was out of breath. Bobby froze, and thought for a moment. James just tried to catch his breath. Then, in a sudden rage, Bobby picked James up by his collar and punched him across the face, hard.
"You shut up about her!" He then threw James against the wall. James landed on his broken leg and screamed. He fell onto his back. Bobby punched James' stomach very hard, about ten times, which made James violently cough and throw up blood. Bobby stood up straight and pulled out a small hand gun. He pointed it at James' head. "You... you... I'll be back for you!" he turned and stormed out of the room, loudly slamming the door. James lay on the floor in horrible pain, with blood dripping down his face. He slowly drifted out of conciousness.
As Mondo, Clint, and Kazuyuki sailed along on Ditto, an island came into view.
"Do you think it's... is that..." Mondo pointed to the island.
"It is! It's," Clint continued.
"... Mandarin Island!" all three said in unison. They all sighed in relief.
"Ditto, keep heading to that island! You're doing great!" Mondo instructed to Ditto.
"Hey, since we're coming to the island... can we get something to eat? I'm starving! I haven't eaten anything since like, 6:00 this morning..." Clint whined.
"You'll live," Kazuyuki said, putting on his backpack.
Mondo pulled out a pokeball, "Ditto, you did great! Now, take a nice long rest in your pokeball. Return!" They had landed on Mandarin Island.
"Okay you guys," Kazuyuki pulled out his map. "... according to this map, the Pokemon Center is that way! And not too far!"
"Great! Hurry!" Mondo ran ahead at full speed.
When they reached the Pokemon Center, they were out of breath. Mondo ran to the window that Nurse Joy was behind.
"Excuse me, Nurse Joy!"
Nurse Joy looked up quickly. "Yes?" she said in surprise.
"Has a guy by the name of James been here recently?" Joy looked at him, confused. "Uh... well... he has blue hair, about this long... and he wears this same uniform... and-"
"Oh, yes! That young man... I had him in the emergency room yesterday. He had poisons circulating in his blood. I had gotten most of it out," Joy remembered. Mondo and the others sighed in relief.
"Great... is he still here?" Kazuyuki asked.
"No, I'm sorry. He and his girlfriend left yesterday afternoon," she answered.
"Girlfriend? He wasn't with his girlfriend..." Clint said.
"Cassidy!" Kazuyuki shouted.
"Do you have any idea where they went?" Mondo asked.
"I'm sorry, no I don't," she sat back down. Kazuyuki banged on the counter.
"Now how do we find him..." Clint whined.
"By not giving up," Mondo said as he turned and walked towards the door. "Thanks anyway, Nurse Joy," he finished. Kazuyuki and Clint grabbed their stuff and followed Mondo.
"Mondo, we don't even know where to start looking..." Kazuyuki sat back against a tree.
"Well, he's either on the island or he's not," Clint said.
Kazuyuki raised an eyebrow. "No... duh..."
Mondo sat quietly in thought.
"Any ideas, Mondo?" Kazuyuki asked, also trying to think of something.
An idea suddenly sparked into Mondo's mind. "Yes, actually, I do! Kazuyuki, you have a marril, don't you?!" he asked.
"Yes..." Kazuyuki replied.
"Take it out. Maybe my Ditto, transformed into venonat, and your Marril can track him!" Mondo started getting hyper.
"Okay, calm down. I'll get Marril out..." Kazuyuki reached for the pokeball with his Marril. "Marril! Come out!" Marril appeared.
"Go Ditto!" Ditto appeared. "I know I told you you could rest, but we need you again. So, can you please transform into a venonat!!" Ditto did as told.
"Okay, Marril, you remember James, right?" Kazuyuki asked Marril, unsure this idea would work. Marril shook its head. "Mondo, can Ditto transform into James?" he asked.
"Um, I don't know... Ditto? Can you?" Mondo looked down at Ditto. Ditto nodded.
"Great! Tell it to transform, then say something that he'd say..." Kazuyuki said.
"Okay, Ditto, transform into James!" Mondo called to Ditto. A moment later, Ditto had taken on the full sized form of James. "Okay, say something James would say," Mondo instructed, not exactly sure it would work.
"Well, what exactly does he say?" Ditto asked with James' voice. The three Rockets stared wide eyed at Ditto. "Was that okay? Did I say something wrong?" They dropped their jaws.
"Marril, that's James. Look and listen for that," Kazuyuki explained to his Marril.
"Wow, Ditto... You are so amazing! Okay, well, you can go back to a vanonat. I want you to look for James' image. Got it?" Mondo said to Ditto. Ditto nodded and transformed back into a venonat.
"Okay! Off we go," Kazuyuki began walking. Clint and Mondo followed.
A group of kids were cutting through the corn. Butch walked around the corner and heard the corn moving. He spotted the kids.
"Hey! Get out of the corn! What do you think you're doing? You should be with your parents," Butch yelled. The kids laughed and came out onto the pathway.
"We lost our map," one kid laughed.
"The wind blew it into the corn," another said. The other kids in the group snickered.
"Well then, why are you holding the map?" Butch crossed his arms.
"Well... um... because... because we found it now!" another kid tried to cover.
Butch rolled his eyes. "You kids cause anymore trouble, you're out of the maze. Understand?!"
"Ooooh... I'm sooo scared!" one kid mocked Butch.
"Hey, froggy, you can't take us out. We paid," another kid said.
"I don't care if you paid! You were given rules to follow, and you didn't. You were warned that if you don't follow the rules, someone will remove you from the maze. That's where you're going now, out!" Butch damanded. The kids just kept snickering. "Do you hear me? I said out. Come on!" The kids reluctantly followed, still giggling.
"... as for all you ticket hoders out there, our next mission breifing will be held in about three minutes. That's our 5:40 briefing..." the host maze master announced into the microphone in her tower next to the victory bridge.
"Yeah, that's good for all of them, but more problems for me!" Jessie said to herself as she dragged a huge, heavy trashbag behind her.
Suddenly a message came over the radio.
"Okay, I need a search and rescue. It's the birdhouse flag... it looks like it's... in the sun... about the path to mailbox one. Can someone get that?" Jessie sighed after she threw the trashbag into the pile of other bags.
"Hey, Jessie or Butch, could one of you get that?" one of the other custodians said.
"I'm taking a group out now," Butch replied.
"Jessie? You?" the custodian asked again.
"I have to change, like, two more trash bags..." Jessie spoke into her radio.
"Hey, sorry, sweety. Trash can wait. Just go in and get 'em!" a different custodian yelled at her.
"Why can't one of you guys do that?"
"Uh... we're on break..." one guy said. The transmission of the boys cut off after a tiny bit of laughing and joking could be heard.
Jessie growled and ran into the maze. "I'm going..."
Jessie ran through the maze, as fast as she could. It was a very hot day, so she knew that if she didn't get to these people fast, they'd bark at her when she did get there. She spotted the people holding up the birdhouse flag. She stopped running and walked over to them.
"D... did you need a... a search and... and rescue..." she bent over on her knees and gasped for air. The family looked at her.
"Yes! We need to get out now... it's hot, the kids are starting to whine, and we have to catch a train in twenty minutes," the mother said, sounding desperate. The woman's youngest daughter, who looked to be about four or five, tried to hug her mother's waist. Though, the mother was obviously pregnant. Jessie stared at the woman't stomach for a moment and wondered if she would ever see herself like that. The little girl smiled at Jessie, which made Jessie's day a whole lot better. She smiled a warm smile at the family of six, well, soon to be seven.
"I can help you. Just follow me," Jessie smiled.
"Thank you, miss," the father said, putting his arm around his wife's shoulders. "Kids, what do you say...?"
"Thank you, maze lady," the four kids said.
Jessie smiled, then motioned for them to follow her.
When they reached the end, the mother and father once again thanked Jessie.
"What is your name, miss?" the father asked.
Jessie smiled. "My name is Jessie."
"Well, Jessie. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful evening," the mother said. The father shook Jessie's hand.
"Thanks. You too!" Jessie replied. As Jessie turned around and walked back into the maze, she sighed happily.
A few moments later, she heard a familiar voice in the speakers.
"Hi everyone! I hope you're all having fun in the maze! We sure did!" It was the four kids that were in the family she just helped out.
Then, the mother came on.
"Thank you, everyone who's worked to make such a great maze. Your workers are the best."
Then the father. "But, we'd like to give a special shout out for Jessie. If you need help out of the maze, she's the best help you'll get."
"Thank you, Jessie!" the whole family said. Jessie smiled. Her whole day had been made better when she met that family. She continued walking until she was under the victory bridge. She cut under the bridge and went back out to the couryard.
It was getting dark. Cassidy had been in that jail cell all day. No one passed by or anything. She was starving! Not to mention cold, tired, lonely, and especially scared. She hugged close the flat pillow to her body. Her bed's matress was as hard as a rock. She cried, heavy tears ran down her face, as she knew her end was near. Suddenly, she heard a snap. She sat up quickly. Faint sounds of someone's food steps could be heard. Her heart began beating. Faster, faster! The foot steps were becoming louder and closer. She heard a jail cell door open. Next, a man's scream. And finally, a gunshot, which put the man to his death. A different man let out an evil laugh.
"That's one more Rocket down!" He continued laughing as he walked back and out the door.
Cassidy was in complete shock. She knew her death was coming, but she didn't want to believe it. The killing of the Rocket in a few cells next to her's had made her have to otherwise. But, no. She didn't want to die. All she wanted was to be with Butch. She began crying again, even more than before.
No one had come back for James all day. He was still lying on the floor. He wasn't exactly unconcious, only sleeping. His heart had begun beating at a slower rate. It seemed as though nothing could save him now. He was definately dying, very slowly. And since it was getting late, it was getting less and less likely that anyone would come for him. Most of the Rocket Slayers members had either left for other islands and such, or gone off to bed. Suddenly, a gunshot was heard. James fluttered his eyes and took a deep breath and coughed.
"I... I'm still... a... alive..." he said, smiling weakly. He tried to laugh a little, but coughed instead.
Cassidy had cried herself to sleep. There she lay, with her tear stained face, but she definately looked peaceful, like she was dreaming of something wonderful. Something fell to the floor, instantly waking Cassidy. She almost screamed, but kept quiet. She felt something moving on her bed. She slowly moved her hands, trying to feel for whatever was on the bed. She grapped it. It was a... a backpack? Wha... how did a backpack get onto her bed? She felt around a little more. Pokeballs! And not only her pokeballs, but James' were there, too! It was James' backpack! Maybe she could use his radio to call for help. She opened the backpack and searched for the radio. She found it, turned it on, and begged for something to happen...
Mondo, Clint, and Kazuyuki were exhausted. They had been all over Mandarin Island and found nothing. They had set up camp somewhere in the woods. Kazuyuki and Mondo had fallen asleep, but Clint felt something. He had a feeling he might need to stay awake.
His head bobbed, as he was just about to give up and fall asleep. Then, he heard a noise. Where was it coming from? His backpack. It was his radio. Everyone's radios. He quickly took out his radio.
"...sidy! Can anyone here me?! Please! Someone answer..."
Clint knew who it was.
"Cassidy? Is that you?"
"Oh my god! You heard me! Listen, James and I were caught again by the Rocket Slayers jerks. Where are you?" Cassidy's voice was intense.
"We're somewhere on Mandarin Island..." Clint answered.
"Mandarin Island! That's exactly where we are! In the Rocket Slayers Headquarters. It's located in the woods somewhere... but anyway, I'm in a jail cell. James was taken away to be killed. I don't know what happened to him... I just know you need to get here! Now!" her voice was getting very shaky from fear.
"Don't worry, Cassidy. We're coming!" Clint shut off the radio. "Okay, guys. Let's get moving!" Clint woke up Mondo and Kazuyuki.
"Huh...?" Mondo sighed.
"What?!" Kazuyuki sat up.
"I said, let's go! Cassidy got us on radio. If it could pick her up as clear as it did, she must not be too far off. She and James are in the Rocket Slayers hideout."
Kazuyuki and Mondo stood up quickly and gathered their things. And the three were off, searching for the hideout.
Jessie fell onto her bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.
Butch stretched his back. He took off his shirt and sat on the floor. He layed back and, for the first time of the day, let himself actually relax. He was asleep in less than five minutes.
