........ “This time we can’t help but capture Pikachu!”
........ Jesse sighed and shifted her gaze to James. “Really?” she asked hopefully. Not optimistically, but hopefully.
........ James smiled triumphantly. “Absolutely. The little twerps are headed this way, and I’ve got a foolproof plan!” He shook his ice-blue hair out of his eyes with a casual toss of his head, and Jesse noticed suddenly how incredibly handsome he was. Whoa, girl, keep your feet on the ground. He’s your teammate. You want world domination. He’s a moron. Gawd, hormones are a pain in the arse. She looked at him wistfully. I wish I could tell him how I feel... and after all we’ve been through, I can’t help but...
........ She jerked her mind away from the line of thought forming and back to the plan. “Okay. What’s the great idea, James?”
........ James beamed. “We dig a big hole in the path, and... Hey! Ow! No! Meowth!” He batted fruitlessly at the spitting feline. “Let go!”
........“Let go?!” Meowth shrieked. “You imbecile! We’ve tried that a hundred times! It doesn’t work!”
........ James detached the creature and held it at arm’s length, looking injured. Jesse hid a smile. “We’re not going anywhere near the path. We’re staying in the woods, so we can’t fall in. And we’ll make sure the hole’s deep enough this time that they’re all unconscious and can’t zap us.” He smiled radiantly, and Jesse couldn’t help but smile back. For all his bad-guy cover, he’s just so innocent.
........ “Okay, then, let’s get started. No more complaints out of you,” she said, leveling a finger at Meowth. She grabbed a pickaxe, threw James a shovel and tossed the grumbling Meowth a trowel. “Get moving. I want to get this finished fast.” She heard her customary bite creeping back into her tone, and mentally berated herself. I don’t want to hurt them, she thought as she worked, but how else can I keep from getting hurt myself? She refused to admit, even to herself, just how deep all those feelings for James ran or how close they were to coming to the surface...
........ In a remarkable amount of time (Well, she reflected, we’ve had lots of practice), the pit was completed. Jesse hissed at them and they all dived into the bushes at the side of the road. She peeked through the foliage as the three children wandered up the path.
........“I’m hungry,” Ash complained, stopping inches from the pit. Jesse fought the urge to keel over in frustration.
........“Come to think of it, I’m hungry, too, Jes--” James shut up, the red stripe from Jesse’s fan marking his forehead.
........“Oh, please, Ash,” Misty said with disdain. “Stop whining. We’ll get to Veridian City soon and then you can pig out all you want.” Brock rolled his eyes as Ash looked like he was going to argue and stepped forward, but stopped mere millimeters from the hole. Jesse gurgled and dropped to the ground, feeling James land beside her.
........“Honestly, you’re impossible!” Misty grabbed Brock with one arm, Ash with the other, and dragged them both forward over the pit.
........ Nothing happened.
........ Before Jesse had time to let loose a royal scream, Pikachu hopped onto Ash’s shoulder. With a startled scream, the children disappeared as the ground beneath their feet became less than solid.
........“It worked!” James grabbed the delighted Jesse and they capered around the hole.
........“We won! We won! HAHAHAHA!!!” Jesse squelched a ridiculous urge to kiss James’ smiling mouth. Get a grip, Jess! He’s just your friend. He’s not interested.
........ There was a moan from the hole. Ash’s voice drifted up. “Hey, Misty? Pikachu? Wake up!” He started sounding desperate. “Is anybody up there?”
........ James grinned at Jesse.
........ Jesse grinned at James.
........ A cloud of swirling gold for erupted. Jesse’s head appeared, haloed in red light. She assumed a haughty expression as the familiar motto began. “Prepare for trouble...”
........ James’ jungle green eyes appeared. “Make it double.”
........ "Oh, no,” Ash said weakly from the pit.
........ "To protect the world from devastation.” Jesse leaped through a fighter’s roll, enjoying the feeling of the air rushing against her.
........ "To unite all peoples within our nation.” James followed up on her roll, adding his own serpentine movements.
........ "To denounce the evils of truth and love.” She completed the roll and came to her feet in a defiant pose.
........ "To extend our reach to the stars above.” James rerouted his roll into an assassin’s crouch, one arm upraised and eyes sparkling.
........"Jesse.” She lifted an eyebrow seductively and undulated.
........ "James.” He narrowed his eyes and smiled evilly.
........ "Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!” Jesse leaped forward, shouting.
........ "Surrender now or prepare to fight!” James was suddenly in front of her, rose clenched in his teeth, ready for action.
........ "Meowth!” hollered Meowth, “that’s right!”
........ Team Rocket grinned down at the less-than-happy children in the pit. Ash was rubbing his head and looked dazed. Brock was on his hands and knees. Misty and Pikachu were out cold.
........ "There’s no way you can weasel out of this one,” Jesse stated with a malicious ring in her voice. “That Pikachu is ours.”
........ Brock moaned and made it into a sitting position. “What happened?”
........ Ash scowled up at Jesse and James. “Team Rocket dug another hole. But worse, I can’t get Misty and Pikachu to wake up!”
........ James stepped up to the very edge of the pit with an imperious gesture. “And you won’t have the chance. By the time they wake up, we’ll be long gone with your Pikachu.” He pointed his fist, rose curled in it. “Throw it up here now and save us the effort.”
........ "No way!” Ash stuck his tongue out at them and Jesse felt her anger rising. How dare he?
........ "It’s hopeless. You might as well give up now,” Meowth smirked. “You don’t stand a chance.”
........ "I’ll show you!” Ash attacked the pit wall, and was halfway up when Jesse’s whip lashed his face. He froze, eyes wide, and then fell on his head.
........ "How amusing,” Jesse chuckled. With a negligent lick of the whip, she coiled its end around Pikachu’s inert form and snapped the pokémon up, where James caught it with surprising gentleness. “You kids should know better than to tangle with superheroes,” she said. “Let’s go, James. We’ve got a fortune to build.”
........ Jesse waited until they were out of sight of the hole. She clenched her teeth, counted to ten, and then whooped with delight and grabbed James.
........ “WE CAPTURED PIKACHU!” James hugged Jesse so hard she thought her ribs might break. She almost felt a tear at the corner of her eye, but blinked it back. Tears had no place in Team Rocket. She linked her arms around his neck and hugged him back. She could hear Meowth squawking, “We did it! We did it!” in the background.
........ “Jesse! We finally did it! It’s kind of weird to look at this Pikachu and know it’s all ours.” He peered anxiously at the mousy creature. “Uh, Jesse... it looks like it’s hurt pretty badly.”
........ Jesse brushed that off. “It’ll be fine. Let’s get going. Veridian City, here we come!” She linked her arm with James’ and got ready to move out.
........ There was a huge burst of flame behind them. Jesse shrieked and jumped for the nearest safe haven--James. She felt better as his strong arms tightened around her, even if he was screaming in her ear. “What is that?” she yelled. The fire died out and something stepped out of the woods.
........ It was Brock’s Vulpix.
........ Jesse snarled. “Damn those kids anyway! Arbok! Go!” She hurled the pokéball and watched with satisfaction as the huge lavender cobra hissed down at the now-dwarfed Vulpix.
........ She felt James shift stance. “Weezing! I choose you!”
........ Jesse jerked her head around to her partner, startled. “That’s Ash’s line, you dolt!” she cried incredulously.
........ James shrugged. “I hate to be blunt, but who usually wins?”
........ Jesse gritted her teeth. “Good point.” She watched suspensefully as Arbok and Weezing faced off against the Vulpix. Arbok hissed and struck, but the lighter fox leaped out of the way and opened its mouth. Weezing had no time to get out of the way. It was fried.
........ Weezing plummeted towards the ground. Jesse felt James tear away and leap to catch it. “James!” she cried, but was blinded by another burst of flame that just missed Arbok. Where is he? she wondered frantically. Then she saw him pounding back, Pikachu cradled in one arm, Weezing in the other. She realized she’d been holding her breath and let it out. Then, with a gasp, her attention shifted back to the fight.
........ Arbok tried to strike again, but was eluded. Jesse had never seen it this mad before. It swirled around, but missed again, and hissed its outrage. And began to glow a darkly.
........ James gasped beside her. “It’s evolving!” he whispered, eyes wide with disbelief.
........ “But that’s impossible!” Jesse protested. “Arbok doesn’t evolve! No Arbok ever has before!”
........ “Well, it’s evolving now!”
........ Arbok’s body swelled, becoming more massive and hardened. Huge talons burst from the sides of its coils and gleamed dully. Its eyes became huge and burned with a thick, black red rage, and it opened its fanged mouth and screamed its anger.
........ Jesse promptly dived behind a large rock, James a step behind.
........ The Vulpix stepped back, and with a little yip of terror, bolted. The thing that had been Arbok seemed to consider pursuing it, but turned its attention to a more juicy meal: Team Rocket.
........ “We’re gonna die!” Meowth took off into the trees in the direction Brock’s Vulpix had gone.
........ “You cowardly traitor!” Jesse barked after him. “Come back here!” Meowth ignored her. She clenched her fist, half in fear, half in rage, and searched desperately for cover. There was none. Oh, god, what do we do?
........ Beside her, James quickly returned Weezing to his pokéball. He looked up and froze, staring at the nightmare that loomed above them. Jesse threw him a frantic glance, and he grabbed her elbow. “RUN, Jesse!”
........ They ran.
........ The thing came after them, moving impossibly fast. Jesse felt as if her heart would burst. James stumbled beside her and almost fell, but recovered and ran on. His harsh, ragged breathing sounded in her ear. There was still no cover, and Jesse skidded along a narrow ledge, hoping for a cave or overhang. She rounded a corner in the cliff-face and stopped dead. Before her was a sheer drop-off. James shot around the corner and crashed into her, but they miraculously maintained both of their balances. Jesse stifled a scream and turned to face the thing. There was no way out.
........ They were trapped.
........ The thing’s eyes glowed malevolently, sensing its prey was defeated. Her heart pounding, Jesse threw her remaining pokéball. “Go, Lickitung!”
........ The Lickitung looked up at the creature it was supposed to battle, squalled, and hid behind Jesse. “No, you thick-headed fool! Get out there and fight!” She kicked it towards what had once been Arbok.
........ The thing looked at the pitiful pink creature before it, and almost casually swept it off the ledge. Jesse panicked. The scream that had been trying to claw its way out of her throat built up and broke free as one huge talon sheared towards her.
........ And then James was there.
........ Jesse cried out in horror as the talon shredded the back of his uniform like butter and came away gleaming with blood. James staggered and fell. Jesse felt her heart stop as he toppled over the edge of the cliff.
........ “JAMES!”
........ One gray-black glove was still gripping the cliff’s edge. Jesse rushed over, heedless of the monster behind her. James hung there, one arm still cradling Pikachu. “Here!” he cried. “Take it!” He shoved the Pikachu at her and she barely deposited it back on the ledge before she was back with him. “James!” Jesse strove not to freak out. “Give me your other hand!” James looked up at her, and then behind her, and his eyes widened. He reached behind him instead and hurled something Jesse had never known he had.
........ A master’s pokéball.
........ It hit the thing straight on and it dissolved into a flare of red light, feeding back into the black ball. The light faded and Jesse and James were alone on the cliff.
........ And then the cliff gave way. With a shout of alarm, James lost his handhold. Jesse dived for him, knowing she was too late, praying...
........ She caught his hand.
........ They hung there at the world’s edge, Jesse on her stomach, pulling with all her might at James.
........ At the man she loved.
........ And she realized, for the first time, that she truly did love him.
........ James looked up at her with pain in his beautiful emerald eyes. “Jesse... I’m too heavy. You can’t pull me up.”
........ “Oh, yes, I can!” she told him, straining, but making no headway.
........ “No, you can’t,” James said softly. “Jesse?”
........ “What? I’m a little busy here, you know.”
........ She’d never seen him look so sad. “I know it probably doesn’t mean much to you... and I never knew how to tell you before... but... I love you.” His head drooped.
........ Jesse froze, stunned. “You... what?” He didn’t answer.
........ “James.” He didn’t respond. “James! Look at me!” Slowly, he obeyed. Jesse took a deep breath. “I love you, too, you airhead. Now get up here!”
........ He just looked at her for a moment. Then his face broke into the most dazzling grin he had ever worn. Jesse smiled back, but felt herself sliding forward towards the edge, pulled by James’ weight. She started to fight it again, desperately. From the look on his face, James realized what was happening. “Jesse...”
........ “Don’t you start!”
........ “You can’t hold me.” It was a statement of fact, not a question. “You’ll be pulled off, too.”
........ “I will not!” Jesse tried to inch backwards, but gravity was not on her side.
........ “Jesse.” The seriousness of his rich, velvet voice stopped her. “You’re going to fall. You have to let me go.”
........ “No!” Jesse felt her hands slipping, slick with his blood.
........ James looked up at her, tears glimmering in his eyes. “Jesse, I don’t want to die.” He drew a deep, shuddering breath. “But I don’t want you to die, either.” He closed his eyes. “Remember, always, that I love you.”
........ He let go.
........ “NO!” Jesse couldn’t catch his hand again. The darkness swallowed him up.
........ She sank to her knees on the cold stone and cried. She stayed there for what felt like forever, shaking like a leaf. He’s gone. He’s gone. She covered her face with her hands. For me...
........ When she opened her eyes and took her hands away from her tear-streaked face, a single blood-red rose was lying forlorn on the rock where he’d dropped it. She picked it up, and looked out into space over the spot where he had fallen.
........ “Prepare for trouble,” she whispered.
........ Only the wind answered her.
........