The Next Team Rocket - Part Three
by Pika-chan
Chapter Six - The Rocket Raft
"Well!" James exclaimed. "Of course we'd have to leave the balloon
for repairs in Satrudo and of course we'll run into a river while we walk
around waiting......"
Jesse continued his speech. "And of course we'll want to cross that river and
have a picnic on that great patch of grass on the other side and course we
can't......"
"Cause I can't swim and Jesse and James don't wanna get wet and we don't have
a boat!" Meowth wailed.
Team Rocket let out a heavy sigh and hung their heads.
Behind them, with Ryer carrying the picnic basket, Team Rocket Two got a
bright idea.
"I had hoped I'd never have to use this." Ruka said, quietly pulling an
orange oval from her skirt pocket. She held it up in the air and shouted.
"But for the sake of our picnic I will!"
"What's that?" James asked drolely. "A bar of soap for us to float across
the river on?"
"No." Ryer said putting the picnic basket on Mew's head. She fell over.
"Ruka is that what I think it is?"
His sister nodded energetically.
"THE ROCKET RAFT!" they shouted together high fiving one another.
"What's the rocket raft?" Jesse asked.
Ruka set the little oval in the water and pulled on a string. "It's a raft."
she said obviously as an eight foot inflatable boat grew in the water.
It was white with a large red R on the side.
"We'll just paddle over to the far bank, eat and come back." Ryer grinned.
"A boat?" James said fearfully. "Um.. maybe we could just eat over here."
"What's wrong with a boat?" Jesse asked.
"The last three times I was on a boat were disastrous!" James wailed.
"The St. Anne sunk and we just about died, then that kid rigged that boat and
his Farfetche'd stole our Pokemon and the first time I ever took a boat I..."
He stopped short. "Oh I can't even talk about it!"
"Does it involve Jessebell throwing away oars?" Jesse asked.
James screamed and collapsed, holding his head. "Aaaah! Don't say that name!"
"Ooh, old-girlfriend-related anxiety." Ryer said.
"Maybe we could blindfold him and take him across." Ruka suggested. "That's
what they do to a scared Rapidash."
"I'm not an animal!" James screamed indignantly.
"Would you feel better if I held you?" Jesse asked.
James blinked at her. A long moment of scilence passed.
"Would you cover my eyes for me?" he asked finally.
Jesse nodded. Meowth looked at her as though she were insane.
"Okay." James said quietly. "I guess thank might work."
"Are we in the boat yet?" James asked nervously, clinging to Jesse.
"Yes, James?" Jesse said for the thousandth time as Ruka and Ryer slowly
rowed across the river, trying to shake the boat as little as possible. Mew
sat with Meowth on the front seat. Ruk and Ry in the middle, Jesse and the
terrified James in the back.
"I can't see anything." James whined. "I'm scared Jesse!"
"You asked me to cover your eyes." she wheezed as he tightened his grip
around her waist.
"Can I look?" He whimpered. "Just to see how far across we are?"
"Do you promise not to panic?" she asked.
James nodded.
"Okay."
The instant Jesse let go of his eyes James took one look at the tiny ripples
on the calm water, screamed and began jumping around in the boat.
"We're sinking! We're sinking!" he shrieked.
"Mom! Distract him or we really will be sinking!" Ruka yelled, tipping
sideways on her section of the shaking raft. Meowth and Mew were both yowling
like Airodactyls in the front of the boat.
Jesse then angrily grabbed James by the chin and kissed him hard. His body
went slack and he sunk into the seat next to Jesse.
Ruk, Ry, Mew and Meowth all stared for a moment at the two of them, locked
together at the mouth.
"Works for me." Ruka said finally and she and Ryer paddled as fast as
possible to the opposite shore.
As the two Team Rockets climbed onto the shore Jesse let go of James.
"Sorry." James mummbled, curling into a nervous ball.
"It's okay." Jesse sighed, seating herself in the grass. "I shouldn't have
let you look."
"Well we're across at least." Ryer said.
"I told you we should have blindfolded him." Ruka growled
"Guys?" Mew asked, softly. "Would now be a good time to tell you that you
left the picnic basket on the other side?"
Jesse, James, Ruka and Ryer looked across at their picnic, sitting quietly
on the opposite shore.
A unanimous cry went up through the trees.
Chapter Seven - Dinner with Team R
"I'm starving." Ruka complained, hugging her stomach as the two Team
R's walked along the road. "I'm sure I can figure out how to get Ry and me
home but I don't think well on an empty stomach."
"Well the mechanic said he'd be a few more hours fixing the balloon." James
sighed, looking at his watch. "Let's get something to eat."
"I am sort of hungry myself." Jesse said. "Hey what's that sign say?"
"Free all you can eat buffet if you can show the cook his favorite Pokemon."
Ryer read.
"I wonder what his favorite Pokemon is?" Ruka said.
"Well how about you show me what you've got." said a cheerful voice from
behind them.
The two Team R's spun to see a chubby man with a bushy red mustache.
"My brother's a Psyduck fan but I've got a diffrent favorite. We both run a
deal like this at our resturants." he grinned from under his chefs hat.
"Oh yeah. I heard about that deal. Pretty neat." Ryer said.
"I bet your favorite Pokemon likes food." Ruka mused. "And I bet it's cute
and small.
"Yup." the man nodded.
"And I bet it's full of surprises." Ruka said.
"Yes." Said the man. "So what is it?"
"My Ditto!" Ruka cried, holding up her pink blob proudly.
"Nope." said the man.
Ruka sweatdropped. "Yes it is. See. Ditto. Duplicate an Eevee."
The Ditto ducplicated the Pokemon perfectly.
"Wow! Hey that is my favorite Pokemon!" the chef cried.
"Smart girl. Come on in!"
"Wahoo!" James cheered. "Free food!"
"Why don't you two guys find a table." Jesse said, taking Ruka by the
arm as the two Team R's entered the resturant. "Ladies rules, we must freshen
up. You understand." She pulled Ruka along with her toward the washrooms.
"You find us." James called and nodded for Ryer to follow him. They picked
out a secluded table for four on the resturant's upper level and sat down,
ordering water for everyone from the waiter.
As he leafed through the menu and sipped at his water James looked up at Ryer.
"So..." he asked akwardly. "Any girlfriends in the future?"
"I go steady with one of the quads." he replied, shrugging. "Do you like Mom
yet?"
"Well I've always liked her." James said slowly. "She's a great friend."
Ryer raised his eyebrows knowingly from across the table.
"Hell I love her." James groaned. "I'm just trying to think how to say it so
that she won't hit me with her mallet."
"I'm just trying to think how to say it so that he won't go crazy
and pass out on me." Jesse sighed in reply to Ruka's question, twisting up
her tube of lipstick.
"Well I bet if you just told him that you love him he'd understand totally."
Ruka said, hoping up on the edge of the sink counter as she dabbed some
concealer powder over the bridge of her nose. She smiled at her mother.
"Trust me. He'll understand."
"You think?" James asked, leaning hopefully on the table.
"I know." Ryer said, leaning nonchalantly back in his chair and sipping his
water. "Listen. If you never told Mom that you loved her...?"
"...Would I be here?" Ruka asked, pointing to herself with one hand.
"I think not."
"You know, I really can't picture myself as a married mother of two." Jesse
said, putting away her makeup bag.
"It'll come." Ruka grinned. "And sides'wich Dad probably feels the same way."
Jesse and Ruka slid into the seats next to James and Ryer.
"We ordered water." James said quietly, pointing out the glasses.
"Thanks." Ruka said, taking a sip from her glass. She picked up a menu.
"Man, nothing with chicken. Oh well I guess I could have a steak." she said
immediately, her eyes scanning irrationally over the menu.
Jesse looked through her own menu. "Hmmm." she placed her finger on an item.
"I guess I'l have that." she said quietly and put it down.
Ryer and Ruka glanced from their mother to their father with a knowing
expression.
"We'll be right back." They said in unison and quickly distanced themselves
from the table, leaving Jesse and James sitting together alone.
"I wonder where they're going." Jesse said.
"I think I know." James mummbled, looking at his hands.
Jesse looked at him. "You and Ryer weren't ..uh.. talking while we were gone
were you?" she asked.
"Umm...yeah." James mumbled beginning to blush.
"What about?" Jesse asked.
"Just stuff." James replied. "Water, the future....you."
"Oh. Ruka and I talked a bit too. You know, water, the future....you."
James met her eyes. They were quiet for a long moment. Then both of them in
unison said. "So...me, huh?"
James and Jesse both laughed.
Jesse settled her hand on the table, looking at the wall until she felt the
gentle warmth James' hand lying over hers.
She looked back at him, meeting his eyes again.
Neither realized how close they were until they kissed...
A few feet away underneath a table Ruka, Ryer, Mew and Meowth let out
a collective, quiet cheer.
Part Eight - Homeward Bound
The stars twinkled overhead as Jesse and James climbed, hand in hand,
into the repaired Rocket Balloon. Ruka and Ryer stood on the ground next to
the balloon with Mew and Ruka's Ditto.
"So you're going home?" James whined.
"I figured it out over dinner." Ruka said. "Ditto... duplicate Meowth's time
machine."
"Ditto!" The pokemon cried transforming into the time machine which really
was a dead energizer battery and tin can.
"Smart Ruk-chan." Jesse said quietly.
"I'll miss you too." Ruka said, flinging her arms around her mother's neck.
"You only have to wait six years." Ryer smiled, hugging James.
"I don't wanna..." James sniffed.
Jesse stroked Ruka's hair and kissed her cheek. "Be good for us." She said.
"We'll try." Ruka said. "But you have to keep in mind. We are Rockets. It's
in out blood to be naughty."
James laughed, and patted Ryer on the shoulder. "Promise you'll never let me
force you to marry someone like Jessebelle, okay?"
"Dad you wouldn't do that." he replied.
The twins backed away from the balloon waving to their now crying parents.
Mew purred something in Pokemon to Meowth just before the three futures
touched the tin can and disappeared in a colourful shower of light.
Meowth sat down sadly on the floor of the balloon. "I'm gonna miss Mew." he
said, pressing his paws together.
James hugged Jesse around the waist. "I know what you mean." he said.
"Hey cheer up guys." Jesse encouraged. "Six years will fly by if we try not
to think about it."
"In other words this is gonna take forever." Meowth said.
"Okay fine, I'm sad too." Jesse confessed, putting her arms around James'
neck and resting her head on his shoulder. She sighed. "We could always
pretend they're here."
"Or we could just look through the pictures they left." James said.
"Pictures?" Jesse asked. James pulled a thick photo album into view.
"Ryer told me to keep this for when we were missing them." he said.
So as the rocket balloon drifted off into the star scattered sky the
three members of (the first) Team Rocket sat down and leafed through a book
of photos from the future.
"What a weird picture of you Jesse."
"What do you mean weird!?!?!"
Epliouge -
(six years later)
Jesse blinked tiredly at the ceiling, then looked back to the side of
the bed. James lay in a bed next to Jesse, his left foot strung up in a
tangle of suspension equipment.
"Feel okay?" He asked softly.
"My arms are frozen in one position." She replied. "Not that I mind."
James reached over and stroked a finger along Ruka's cheek where she lay in
Jesse's arms. The newborn blinked at him, yawning a bit.
"How's your foot doing?" Jesse asked.
"I wish I'd known I was going to break my ankle before now." he groaned. "But
hey. What were the chances that I would get my foot caught between the
elevator doors?"
"Very many chances considering that we're talking about you." Meowth laughed.
The cat Pokemon was sitting next to Jesse on the bed, holding Ryer.
"I bet you're the only new father in this hospital who's stuck in traction!"
he snickered.
"It's my foot, not my arms." James said. "Can't I hold him yet?" He whined,
holding out his arms toward Meowth and Ryer.
Meowth got a sad look on his face. "But he's so cute..." he whined.
"Here." Jesse passed Ruka to James. "Hold your daughter awhile."
James cuddled Ruka in his arms. "We have something in common you know." he
said to her. "We're both nearly immobile and helpless." Jesse laughed.
"Her more than you." she said.
"Just don't sing any lullabyes and I think these kids will survive you."
Meowth said.
"Well they have to live till they're at least sixteen." James said.
"Yeah." Jesse said. "Or they'll never meet us."
THE END
Authour's Rant-
I hope you all like my story. It's the first fic witten in chapters that I
have which is finished and on the net. I'm happy to recieve any feedback from
readers but please don't flame me, even if you hated it.
And special thanks to Acro who was the first person to post my fic on his
site. Thanx Acro!
I hope you enjoyed it. I'll probably be doing another Team R story soon,
maybe using the Japanese version (Musashi/Kojiro/Nyase etc.) but don't get
your hopes up. I usually write a lot slower than I did this time.
Ja ne! Laters! Luv ~*~Pika-Chan~*~