Everything was black.
From the darkness, a disembodied voice came to us. "I'm waiting for you."
Jessie threw her arms around James and pressed herself against him.
"Come back to me!" the voice called again.
"Yes...yes...." James whispered as he pulled away from Jessie.
"James, what are you doing?!" Jessie cried, grabbing onto the sleeve of his jacket.
An angry light flashed in James's emerald eyes, and he shoved Jessie to the ground. "Don't you dare come between us!" he snapped.
"James...."
He turned away from her.
Suddenly, the pale, wispy figure of a woman materialized before us. "Return to your beloved!" she said, extending her hand to James.
"Yes...I'm coming...." he murmured as he took a step towards her.
"James! No!" Jessie cried.
She jumped to her feet, but as she intercepted James, the strange woman reached over and placed her hand on Jessie's forehead. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and Jessie crumpled to the floor.
"Jess, are you okay?!" I cried, racing to her side.
Jessie looked at me and trembled. "James...." she whimpered as the light faded from her sapphire eyes.
I looked up at the woman. "WHY?!" I screamed.
But the woman gave no reply. She just held out her hand to James again and said, "Come back to me, my love...you're mine forever...."
"I'm yours forever," James echoed as he stepped past Jessie's dead body and reached for the woman.
"Whaddaya' doin', James?!" I cried, grabbing onto his leg and pulling as hard as I could. "She just killed Jessie, for God's sake!!!"
"I don't care," he muttered, kicking me away. "I don't care...."
James and the woman embraced.
"You belong to me," she said.
"Yes...I belong to you...." he repeated.
The woman pressed her lips against his, and there was another flash of light. Then, James fell to the floor next to Jessie.
"No...no...dis can't be happenin'!" I whispered as I looked upon the lifeless bodies of my two best friends, lying at the feet of this monster.
"All who interfere will die," she said, turning to face me. Her eyes were black, empty sockets, and looking into them made my blood run cold! "Now you will join them, cat!"
Not wanting to share their fate, I turned and ran as fast as I could. The woman gave chase, her ethereal form flying after me.
I ran until I reached a cliff by the shore of the sea. Looking down at the jagged rocks and crashing waves hundreds of feet below, I realized that I was trapped! Then, I felt the icy grip of the her hand on my tail....
I awoke in a cold sweat and found myself floating in a small barrel, crammed next to Jessie and James. They were both sound asleep.
"Whew! Whadda nightmare," I said, breathing a sigh of relief.
What a nightmare, indeed! That was the third time in a row! I'd been having the same horrible dream every night since leaving Porta Vista.
What could've been causing it? Maybe it was my encounter with that giant Tentacruel three days ago. My head was still abuzz from him using me as his telepathic communication device!
Of course, there were other things, too. I swear, this had to have been one of the weirdest summers of my life! Ever since the three of us climbed aboard the St. Anne, it's been one misadventure after another! First of all, the ship capsized and sank to the bottom of the sea! Then, to make matters worse, we were attacked by a bunch of Gyrados after we escaped! And if that ain't enough for you, Ekans, Koffing, and I actually had to team up with the Ketchum kid's pokemon after we were all separated from the humans in the wake of that Gyrados attack! Then, once it looked like things were finally getting back to normal, James had to dress like a bikini girl with Jessie and enter some swimsuit competition for cash and prizes! (The scariest part about dat was, he actually looked better den mosta the REAL girls...and dose pump-up breasts still creep Meowth out!)
And then, of course, there was that Tentacruel.
Boy, would I be glad when this summer finally came to an end! I don't know how much more I could take!
Suddenly, I heard mumbling and felt someone stirring beneath me.
"Ugh! Get off my face, you stupid cat!" Jessie growled, shoving me to the side.
"Well, good mornin' ta you, too!" I said sarcastically. (I really wanted to Fury Swipe her, but watchin' her die in dat nightmare made me think better of it.)
James shifted in his sleep and rolled over onto Jessie. "Don't wake him up," she whispered, casting a venomous glare at me.
Now, that was another weird thing I'd noticed. Jessie and James had been inseperable lately! I mean, sure they always hug and stuff, but ever since the St. Anne incident, it's like they'd become siamese twins! That night after we escaped from the ship, I even saw James sleeping on Jessie and using her butt for a pillow...and she didn't mind!
And it was no different now. The three of us had been cramped together in a leaky barrel for the last seventy hours, and the only one who was getting a hard time about it was Meowth! James didn't complain when Jessie was all over him, and she wasn't complaining now while his head was resting on her breasts! But if I even thought about taking an extra inch of space for myself? All hell would break loose!
Jessie closed her eyes again and ran a hand through James's hair. He sighed contentedly, and she smiled. What was going on here? Did I miss something?! Could it be that the two of them had finally wised-up and realized that they belonged together?!
I could only hope.
Slowly, James opened his eyes. And let me tell you, his face turned as red as his roses when he realized where it was buried! "Ooh! Sorry about that, Jess!" he said sheepishly as he scrambled away from her.
"Hey! Ya crushin' Meowth!" I shouted when I felt the heel of his boot come down on my tail.
Well, after several minutes of shuffling about, we finally settled into more comfortable positions. Jessie put her arms behind her head and stretched her legs so that they were draped over the side of the barrel. James crouched next to her, and I just leaned over the edge.
"We've really reached the end of our rope," I remarked.
"No room...no room service...." James moaned.
"Stop whining," Jessie grumbled. "At least it beats swimming."
Well, we certainly couldn't argue that point, so the three of us just sat there in silence until the ship finally made it to port.
@->->-
"Attention, passengers arriving from Porta Vista," a loud voice blared over a PA system as the three of us climbed out of the barrel. "The town of Maiden's Peak welcomes you to the End of Summer Festival!"
"A festival!" I exclaimed.
Jessie chuckled. "People spend a lot of money at these festivals...which means that they drop a lot of change! This is a gold mine!"
Hey! She was right! We'd been outta cash since James wasted all of our money buying that Magikarp, but if we could pick up some loose change in the streets, we'd be back in the black in no time! (Especially since findin' loose change is Meowth's specialty!) Why didn't I think of it?!
"Meowth wanna cotton candy!" I cheered.
"Money is sweeter," James said, giving me a sly smile. But then, his voice trailed off as he gazed at something in the distance. "OOOOH! Sweet!" he cried.
I turned and saw that he was looking at a young woman standing on a pier further down the shore. She was dressed in a long, white gown, and she had a mane of lavender hair that went down to her knees -- it was almost as long as Jessie's!
Sure, this girl was pretty, but I just didn't see why James was suddenly so attracted to her. I mean, why would he be interested in her when he already had a perfectly lovely girl by his side? (Yeah, I've seen a lotta humans in my day, and if ya ask me, Jessie is the most beautiful woman in the world...but don't ya DARE tell her Meowth said dat!) Besides, there was just something about her....
"Stop daydreaming!" Jessie snapped, smacking James upside the head. She had seen the girl, too, and I swear I heard a hint of jealousy in her voice! "I smell money!"
"I smell corn dogs," I joked, trying to relieve the tension I felt growing between them.
James cast one last look at the pier, but the girl was gone. He sighed and hung his head. When Jessie saw this, her normally sparkling eyes clouded, as if she were about to cry.
Yeah, something was definitely going on between those two! Could it be possible that they really had fallen in love? They sure had been acting like a cozy couple lately, but then, how would it explain James and that girl?
I tried to sort out this complicated web of events as I went with Jessie to the festival and a reluctant James followed close behind.
@->->-
"AAAAAUUUUGHHHHH!!!!! I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!!!!!" Jessie screamed after almost an hour of crawling around in the streets. "I haven't found a thing!"
"What kinda' cheap festival is dis?!" I snapped. (Hey, if Meowth couldn't even find the money, ya KNOW it was serious!)
"Not a quarter, nickel, dime...not even a penny!" James whined, holding up his empty hands. Then, as if on cue, he spotted a glint of copper on the dusty road. "OOOOH! A penny!" he cried with delight, snatching it up.
Jessie and I darted to his side and grinned as he held out the tiny copper coin for us to see. (Yeah, we was pretty pathetic if even a penny looked like a treasure!)
"Stop right there! I know exactly what you're doing!" a raspy voice said suddenly.
Jessie, James, and I turned and saw an ugly old woman standing over us. I don't know what it was, but something about her gave me an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"This penny is mine! I dropped it!" James said innocently.
"You're up to no good...and I see trouble in your future!" the old woman said to James.
"Trouble?" James said nervously. "Who? The police? The sheriff? The FBI?"
"I see a beautiful woman who will lead you to a cruel fate," she told him.
Cruel fate. Those words echoed through my mind and brought back unpleasant memories of the dream I'd had last night. The woman who had killed Jessie and James looked beautiful before she came for me...could it have been an omen of some kind?
"I don't need a fortune-teller to tell me that!" James replied sadly. "Some woman is always causing trouble for me!"
Well, let me tell you! When Jessie heard this, it looked as if she'd been slapped across the face! There was only one woman who was always with James, so there was only one woman he could've been referring to! (And hearin' him say dis so soon after catchin' him lookin' at another girl was just like addin' insult to injury!)
"Who do you mean, James?" she demanded, casting him an angry look.
I stepped in front of James before Jessie could whack him one. But as I attempted to defuse the situation....
"Hold it!" another voice said, cutting me off.
The three of us looked up and saw that the old woman was gone. Now, Officer Jenny was standing in her place.
Uh, oh! Busted!
"I know what you're doing," Jenny continued, looking down at James. "You found this penny that somebody dropped!"
The three of us were too stunned to speak, so we just sat there, dumbfounded. She didn't recognize us? Even with our Team Rocket uniforms?
"All missing property, even a penny, has to be reported," Jenny said, taking the coin from James. "Thank you for being such observant citizens! Now, if you'll kindly come down to the station so we can file a report...."
The station? Oh, yeah, sure! Like three wanted criminals like us would ever willingly go to a police station!
And apparently, Jess was thinking the exact same thing that I was.
"Oh...um...sorry! We really don't have time for that right now! I'm sure you can handle it by yourself! Bye!" she said, scooping me and James into her arms and dashing away before Officer Jenny could figure out who we were.
@->->-
"Whew! Dat was close!" I said once we had reached the minimum safe distance from the local police.
"Too close," Jessie agreed, setting us down.
"What are we going to do about finding money now?" James, who was still upset about his penny, whined.
"Shut up!" Jessie growled at him. "Can't you see I'm thinking?!"
"Heh! I thought I smelled smoke!" I joked.
Boy, was THAT a dumb thing to say!
Jessie don't like being made fun of to begin with, so you can imagine just how well she was taking a crack like that now! No sooner than I had said this, a couple of veins popped out on her forehead, and a fire sparked in her eyes.
But before she could grab her trusty mallet and make kitty crepes out of me, a large crowd of people started heading our way.
"Hey! What's goin' on?" I asked, diverting her attention away from me.
Jessie raised an eyebrow. "I don't know."
"Only one way to find out," said James.
With that, he approached one of the passers-by and struck up a conversation with her. (I tell ya, dat guy's got a real gift for gab -- he can turn on the charm and get information like nobody's business!)
"Well, what is it?" Jessie asked, somewhat impatiently, when he returned a few minutes later.
"They're going to the Art Museum," came his reply. "Apparently, one of the biggest attractions at this festival is the unveiling of the painting of the Maiden that the town was named for! Can we go, Jess?! Please?!"
Jessie smiled wickedly. "Big attraction, huh?" she said.
"Meowth! Dat means we can use our 'cat-burglar' skills and pick some pockets!" I exclaimed.
"Exactly!" said Jessie.
"So, we're going?" James asked eagerly.
Jessie nodded.
"Hooray!" he cheered, jumping up and down and clapping his hands like a little boy.
Jessie rolled her eyes. "Come on," she said, supressing the urge to whack him upside the head.
@->->-
"The unveiling of the portrait of the Maiden is a very solemn event," an old man announced as a large crowd amassed on the front steps of the museum. "Every year, the portrait is brought down from the shrine for the public to see...."
And according to the legend that he proceeded to tell us, this Maiden fell in love with a handsome soldier who was called upon to fight in a war. The Maiden promised to wait for her lover until he returned, but he never did. She waited on the cliff for years and years...so long, in fact, that her body was eventually turned to stone!
"So, behold with reverence," the old man said, taking the cover off of the painting.
Jessie, James, and I forgot about snatching wallets for a moment and focused our attention on the painting instead.
And what I saw was a beautiful young woman with long lavender hair standing on the edge of a cliff. "Wow! She's cute!" I remarked.
"It's her!" James gasped.
Huh? What was he talking about?
Looking at the painting again, I realized that something seemed familiar -- it was the exact same girl we had seen on the pier earlier!
Suddenly, James started nudging his way to the front of the crowd in order to get a closer look at the painting...and so did that guy who travels around with the brat!
"She's beautiful," Brock murmured.
"She's the girl of my dreams! Don't wake me up!" James sighed.
When James said this, I heard a tiny sniffling sound. Looking over at Jessie, I saw that her face was red and her eyes were full of tears.
Jessie then noticed that I was looking right at her. "Damned allergies acting up again," she muttered, turning away from me.
But I knew the truth. Jessie wasn't allergic to anything! Who did she think she was fooling? Still, I knew better than to point out how jealous she was, so I just kept my mouth shut.
"Stop!" the old man cried. Looking back, I saw that James and Brock had gotten all the way up the steps and were now right in front of the painting. Both of them were practically drooling! "The woman in this picture perished over 2,000 years ago!"
"2,000 years?!" James said in disbelief.
"Where is she now?!" Brock cried. "Where?"
"Maiden Rock is not far from this place," the old man told them. He then pointed to a large boulder that was sitting atop the high mountain cliffs by the shores of the sea. It bore a striking resemblance to the shape of a woman. (I swear, it's so weird how humans always gotta make up crazy stories about natural phenomena like dat!)
But even weirder was James's reaction.
"I have to go there!" he exclaimed.
"James, what are you talking about?!" Jessie demanded.
"I just HAVE to!" he cried. With that, he turned away from us and started running towards the cliff where Maiden Rock sat.
Jessie and I exchanged glances and followed him. I pretended not to notice as fresh tears welled up in her eyes.
@->->-
"But...I saw her with my own eyes!" we heard James say when we finally caught up to him. He was standing by the railing at the edge of the cliff, staring up at Maiden Rock. "I can't believe it...."
"Believe it, James," Jessie said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're chasing after ghosts! Your precious Maiden is nothing more than a piece of stone...."
"I DON'T CARE IF SHE'S MADE OF STONE!!! I'M STILL IN LOVE WITH HER!!!" he shouted, turning away from Jessie and leaning out over the railing. "I won't let anybody take her away from me! Not even Team Rocket! I'd do anything to keep her safe!!!"
Jessie winced when she heard this. How many times had he insulted her today? I'd lost count!
James leaned out further and reached for the rock, screaming about how much he loved her all the while. To keep him from falling, Jessie grabbed the seat of his pants and tried to pull him back.
"What do you want us to do, James? Steal the rock?!" she said sarcastically.
"No, but I know somethin' else we could steal!" I said, trying to change the subject.
Jessie released her grip on James and turned to me. "What?" she asked.
"Rocks may not be worth much, but art is worth a bundle!" I told her. "Let's swipe the paintin'!"
"That's a brilliant idea, Meowth!" she exclaimed, rubbing her hands together. "We'll make a fortune selling that painting! Why didn't I think of it?"
"Jessie! Jessie!" we suddenly heard James cry. "Before you grab that painting, grab onto meeeee!!!!"
We looked and saw that James had leaned so far across the railing that he had fallen over and was now hanging on for dear life. Quickly, Jessie ran and caught him by the hands. (After all the insults and insensitive remarks he'd subjected her to today, I could hardly believe she was tryin' so hard to rescue him! Dat sure struck me as weird!)
Unfortunately, James was too heavy to pull back over the railing, and he fell, dragging Jessie with him.
"Team Rocket is really slippin'...." I sighed as I watched them both plunge into the water hundreds of feet below.
Well, after Jessie and James climbed back outta the water, we went and set up camp in the forest near the museum so that we could steal the painting later that night.
And I could tell it was gonna be a joyous evening by the campfire -- all James could do was giggle uncontrollably and babble about how much he was in love with that Maiden. And Jessie, whose hairdo and makeup had been mussed by her recent plunge into the sea, was grumbling about how her perfection was ruined.
But that's not what I really noticed about Jessie -- it was how she was reacting to James. When he said that he wouldn't let anybody, not even Team Rocket, hurt the Maiden and how he'd do anything to protect her, Jessie looked as if James had plunged a knife straight into her heart! And now, every time he mentioned the Maiden, it's like he was twisting that knife. So it wasn't just my imagination -- she really did feel something for him! (Cuz I'll be damned if dose ain't feelins of jealousy and betrayal!)
@->->-
Since the only member of our trio who actually knew how to prepare food was incapacitated by idiocy, the cooking was left up to Jessie (and we all know what a great cook she is!). Fortunately, it don't take a culinary genius to add water to instant ramen noodles, so the food actually wasn't that bad.
It didn't look like Jessie wanted to eat anything, but she forced herself to have a bowl of noodles anyway. And even though I wasn't all that hungry (I used my superior "cat-burglar" skills to swipe myself some cotton candy while the two of 'em were combin' the streets for loose change), I helped myself to seconds anyway...just to make her feel better.
James, meanwhile, hadn't taken a bite of his dinner. (And dis was really strange, considerin' the fact dat he's always hungry!) He was just stirring the food around in his bowl with a far-off look on his face.
"These noodles...just like the waves of her lavender hair...." he sighed.
Jessie scowled and threw her bowl to the ground. "I just lost my appetite," she snapped.
James gave no reply, just sighed again and kept picturing the Maiden in his bowl of shrimp-flavored ramen noodles.
Unable to stomach any more of his behavior, Jessie stormed away with a disgusted look on her face.
"What the hell is wrong with ya, James?!" I demanded once she was gone.
"Meowth, I'm in loooooove!" he giggled.
"But, dat Maiden is dead!" I snapped. "She's been dead fer 2,000 years!"
"You don't understand...." he said.
"Yer right! I don't undastand!" I told him. "Yeah, she's cute...I'll give ya dat, but what's the big deal?! Why are ya so infatuated with her when ya got...."
At that moment, Jessie returned. She had changed out of her Team Rocket uniform, and she was now wearing a long, white nightgown. She had also brushed her hair so it hung loose -- all the way past her knees! I swear, she looked like an angel on earth!
But James didn't even notice -- he just pulled a red rose from his pocket and started yanking out the petals one by one. "I love her...I love her a lot...I love her...I love her a lot...."
Jessie seated herself next to James and took the rose away from him. "James, forget about that Maiden," she said softly. "I know you think you're in love with her, but she doesn't exist anymore...she's just a legend...."
James frowned.
Jessie leaned closer to him and reached under his jacket, tracing patterns on his chest with her fingers. "No matter how much you love her, she can never love you in return," she continued. "Not like a real woman can...."
That's when the realization hit me.
Oh, my God! She's comin' onto him! I thought as I watched the way she was caressing him and leaning over, making sure he got a good look at what she had under that nightie. She's tryin' to make him forget about dat Maiden by seducin' him!
Now, this behavior didn't strike me as very Jessie-like, in fact, this was TOTALLY out of character for her! But then, James wasn't his normal self either -- the two of them had been acting weird all day! Something strange was definitely going on, and now more than ever, I was determined to figure out what it was!
Averting my eyes, I crawled into my sleeping-bag and tried to pretend that I didn't notice what she was doing. (After all, if Jess found out dat I knew, it'd be the mallet for Meowth! As strange as she was actin', I still wouldn't put dat past her!)
"NO! Don't you DARE come between us!" I heard James shout.
Peeking out at them, I saw James snatch the rose from Jessie's fingers and shove her to the ground.
"James, what are you doing?!" Jessie cried as she clutched her hand, which the rose's thorns had torn open.
James turned away from her and continued to pull apart the rose. "I love her...I love her a lot...I love her...I love her a lot...."
Tears welled up in Jessie's sapphire eyes as she watched this, and a sob escaped her throat.
James ignored her.
"Bastard!" she whispered as she turned and ran, disappearing into the forest.
But James was so obsessed with the Maiden that he didn't hear her...and he didn't even notice that she was gone.
Well, now I was really worried -- seeing Jessie cry was a rare thing...and seeing James hurt her badly enough to make her cry was unheard of! I really wanted to walk over and give him the Fury Swiping of a lifetime for that, but at the moment, I was more worried about Jessie...and what she might do in such a state! So, I decided to follow her instead.
James didn't notice as I vanished into the night either. He just kept tearing apart that rose and chanting, "I love her...I love her a lot...I love her...I love her a lot...."
@->->-
I'll tell you what, Jessie sure could run fast for someone who was blinded by tears and unable to see in the dark anyway. If it weren't for the sound of her sobbing and the flash of her white nightgown against the blackness of the forest, she would've been impossible to track!
Jessie kept running until she came out of the forest and found herself back at the cliffs by the sea. I kept my distance, not wanting to reveal my presence unless she tried something desperate.
Presently, her feet became entangled in the long train of her nightgown, and she tripped. When she hit the ground, she didn't even bother to get back up -- she just laid where she was and kept crying.
"I should've known this would happen," she said to herself between sobs. "Every time I bother to care about somebody, they always leave me! It's the story of my whole goddamn life...what made me think things would be any different now?!" She laughed bitterly. "No...no, that'd be too much good fortune! Can't have that, now, can we? Yeah, I'm Jessie, and nothing's ever supposed to go right for me!"
Boy did it sound strange to hear her talk like that! Normally, she's so callous and arrogant! In the two years that I'd known her, I never once suspected it was just a facade that protected a broken soul. (Give dat woman an Oscar, folks! Dat's what Meowth calls a world-class performance!)
"How could you do this to me, James?" she continued. "How could you leave me for another woman...especially one who's not even real?! Everything I've done for you...everything I've sacrificed...didn't it mean anything?!"
Jessie got to her feet again and looked down at her hands, which were still bleeding. "What about the St. Anne, James?" she cried. "Shit! I almost died for you...I swore I'd always protect you, and you still see me as nothing more than a nuisance...something to be tossed aside the second a prettier girl comes along...."
She clenched her hands into fists and started crying again. "I thought you were different, James -- I really thought I meant something to you...I guess I was wrong. You're just like all the other men I've ever known! There's always a prettier girl...always someone better than Jessie...."
I hung my head and felt tears stinging my eyes when I heard this. I didn't know anything about Jessie's past, but I suddenly realized that it didn't sound much different from my own! I was born homeless -- abandoned by my parents and rejected by the world of humans. I even had a hard time being accepted by my fellow Meowths! Sure, I joined a gang like she and James did, but all I really wanted was love...something that always seemed to evade my grasp. The one cat I cared most about didn't love me in return because I was a lowly street Meowth, and when I taught myself how to walk on two legs and speak like a human for her sake, she hated me even more because I had become a freak! Even when Giovanni found me, I have the feeling it wasn't me he loved...just the idea of owning a talking pokemon. To tell the truth, I never really knew what true friendship was until I met Jessie and James -- they were the first ones who ever accepted me the way I was.
Jessie. I never realized just how much I had in common with her until now! She knew as much about rejection and betrayal as I did! And like me, she put up a tough exterior to hide just how much she was hurting on the inside. As I watched her standing there, crying her beautiful blue eyes out, I suddenly found myself getting really mad at James! How could he do this to her? I always thought the two of them should be lovers, and I honestly couldn't picture him with any woman but her! Likewise, I couldn't picture Jessie with any man but him.
"No more!" she said suddenly as she began to head towards the cliff. "I'm sick of being chewed up and spit out by everything I love!"
Oh, my God! She was going to jump!
She stood on the edge of the precipice and spread out her arms. The night wind began to blow, rustling her hair and nightgown and making her look more like an angel than ever.
And that's exactly what she was going to become if I didn't do something quick!
No! Don't do it, Jess! my mind screamed as I emerged from the forest and charged towards her. Ya got so much to live for...and what's Meowth gonna do without ya?!
But before taking the plunge, Jessie's gaze drifted to Maiden Rock in the distance.
"You...." she growled. "You did this to him! What's so goddamn special about you anyway?! You're just a rock!"
"You're wrong," a woman's disembodied voice suddenly said.
Quickly, I hid myself behind a nearby outcropping of rocks.
"Who's there?!" Jessie demanded.
Suddenly, the Maiden's ghost materialized in front of her.
"You! What have you done to my friend?!" Jessie cried.
The ghost smiled.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY FRIEND?!" she screamed again.
"James has made his choice. You cannot come between us," the Maiden replied.
"Like hell I can't!" she retorted.
"There will be consequences if you interfere," the ghost warned her.
Jessie snorted. "What's the matter, girl? Couldn't hang on to your man when you were alive, so now you've gotta use your supernatural powers to steal mine?!"
The specter grinned again. "How can I steal something from you when you never had it to begin with?"
A fire sparked in Jessie's eyes, and she clenched her teeth. "You bitch!" she hissed.
The Maiden laughed. "You hate me, don't you, Jessica?"
"More than you could ever imagine!"
"But the truth is...you're just like me!" she continued.
Jessie shook her head. "You're wrong!"
"Hah! Just look at yourself!" the ghost retorted. "You're standing here on this rock, pining for your man, just like I did 2,000 years ago!"
Jessie looked down at herself and realized that the ghost was right -- she had been about to kill herself over James a few minutes ago, and now as she stood there on the edge of the cliff, her long mane of hair and flowing nightgown rustling in the wind, she looked almost exactly like the Maiden herself! (But Jess was WAY prettier, if ya ask Meowth!)
"You're wrong!" Jessie said again. "You didn't have what it took to hold onto the man you love!"
"And you do?"
"You were a weakling and a coward!" Jessie snapped. "Something came between you and your love, and you just let him leave! It's not that simple with me -- I won't let you take my James without a fight!"
The Maiden laughed again. "You talk big, Jessie, but you have no idea what you're up against."
"You think it matters to me?" she shot back.
"Go, woman," the Maiden said coldly. "This is one fight you cannot win."
"I'll do anything to protect James...I'll even die for him if I have to!"
"Then, I hope you're prepared to follow through on that promise!" the ghost said as she began to glow with a pale, eerie light.
"Count on it," Jessie said defiantly.
The ghost held up her hand, and there was a bright flash of light. Suddenly, Jessie was hurled backwards, and she crumpled to the ground.
Now I understood!
This was almost exactly like the nightmare I'd been having! All of those horrifying events -- the mysterious woman, James's betrayal, and Jessie's death -- were unfolding right before my eyes...and that's what the old fortune-teller had been talking about when she warned James that a beautiful woman would lead him to a cruel fate! Oh, why did we have to come to this damned town in the first place? Why didn't I heed those warnings? Now the three of us were going to be killed by this monster, and there was nothing we could do....
"Foolish girl," the ghost chuckled. "I warned you not to interfere. There was nothing you could have done...."
"You're wrong...."
Huh?
I looked and saw that Jessie was still alive!
"You're wrong, wrong, wrong, WRONG, WRONG!!!!!" she cried, her voice growing ever louder as she pounded the ground with her fist.
The ghost's black eyes narrowed to slits. "What makes you think you can ever defeat me?" she demanded.
Jessie slowly got back to her feet and returned the monster's stare. At that moment, the full moon came out from behind a cloud and bathed her in a silver light, making her look like a statue of a majestic Amazon warrior. "Because you don't love James...not the way I do," came her reply.
"Oh? And what does one such as you know of love?" the ghost said smugly. "To DENOUNCE the evils of truth and love. Isn't that what you always say, Jessica?"
"Yes," Jessie told her. "But that's not what it means."
"What else could it mean?"
"Not all love is good," she explained. "I've been burned enough times to know false love when I see it...and I see it now. I won't let you use James the way so many have used me...I'll do anything to make sure nobody ever hurts him like that...."
"You care about him that much? Even after what he's done to you today?" the ghost said dubiously.
"That was more your doing than his, I'll bet," came her reply. "And, yes, I do care about him...."
"But do you love him?"
Jessie closed her eyes and sighed. "Yes."
I fell over when I heard this! Now I understood something else, too! Every time Jessie said that line of the motto, I assumed she was just being rotten, speaking out against truth and love, standing up for falsehoods and hatred. Now I knew I was wrong.
It wasn't truth or love she was denouncing...it was the evils of truth and love! She was right -- not all love is good! There's jealous love (like my rivalry with dat Persian for the boss's affections), unrequited love (like my love for Meowsie...Meowth knows dis one all too well!), and shallow, conditional love (just like all dose boys who used Jess for her good looks and threw her away the second dey lost interest). These were the evils of love, and these were what she stood against!
Opening her eyes again, Jessie looked up at the Maiden. Tears were streaming down her face, but there was a defiant set to her features. "Yes. I love him...I love him more than anything else in this world. He's my best friend, and I won't let anybody or anything come between us...not even you!"
"Even against his wishes?" the ghost retorted. "Didn't I tell you he's already made his choice?"
Jessie shook her head. "No. No, I know James better than that! He's not like all the others -- I doubted for a little while, but now I realize that he'd never do something like that to me. I trust him!"
The Maiden smiled again and grabbed Jessie by the arms. Jessie struggled to break away, but the ghost held her fast. She whispered something into Jessie's ear, and there was another flash of light.
When the light faded, Jessie shivered and fell to the ground. The Maiden was nowhere to be seen, but I could hear her laughter drifting away on the night wind.
"JESSIE!!!" I cried, running to her side.
Jessie gave no reply. She was lying perfectly still, and she wasn't breathing.
I shook her gently. "Come on, Jess! Please don't be dead!"
Still no response.
Finally, I couldn't hold back my tears anymore. Burying my face in her soft, red hair, I began to cry.
"I'm so sorry, Jess! Meowth is so sorry!" I sobbed. "All the times I ever insulted ya, all the times I ever scratched ya...I take it all back! You was such a good friend, and I just wish I coulda' done a better job of showin' it...."
Suddenly, I felt Jessie shudder.
My head snapped up, and I looked at her. She had started breathing again!
I started shaking her once more and rolled her onto her back. "Come on! Wake up, Jess!"
Jessie moaned.
"Yeah! Dat's right! You can do it!"
Slowly, her eyes opened, and she looked up at me with a blank expression on her face.
"Jessie! Are ya okay?"
Jessie shivered and exhaled in a ragged breath. "Cold...." she said weakly.
I didn't doubt her. Her skin looked as white as marble, and when I took her by the hands and pulled her into a kneeling position, her flesh felt colder than the grave!
"So cold...." she whimpered, wrapping her arms around herself and doubling over in an attempt to get warm again.
"We can't stay here, Jess. Can ya move?" I asked.
She looked at me with that blank expression again.
"Ya gotta try," I told her. "Please."
Jessie's lip quivered, and she nodded slowly.
@->->-
It took forever, but I was eventually able to lead Jessie back to camp. She was in shock, and she could barely move, but even so, she willed herself to walk. Sure, she collapsed a few times, but I was there to catch her when she did. Besides, every time she fell, she just got right back up and kept walking. (Jess never was one to lie down and quit...especially not when so much was at stake!)
When we returned, James had already gone to bed. He was sound asleep, but even so, he was still giggling and muttering about the Maiden in his dreams.
Jessie knealt before the campfire and started shivering again.
"Ya want somethin' warm to drink?" I asked.
Too strained to reply, she just nodded.
While she huddled by the fire, I boiled some water and added it to a mug of hot chocolate mix. Once it had reached a comfortable temperature, I pressed the warm mug into her icy hands and helped her bring it to her lips.
"Thank you...." she muttered after taking a sip.
While she was drinking the rest of the hot chocolate, I went into her backpack and dug out her uniform, her make-up kit, her hairbrush, and a can of hairspray.
By the time I returned, Jessie had finished her drink and some of the color had returned to her skin.
"Ya feelin' better?" I asked.
She nodded weakly. "Yes."
"Here," I said, holding up her uniform. "Why don't ya get dressed? Even dis skimpy thing's gotta be warmer den what ya got on now."
Jessie nodded again.
I had to help her out of the nightgown and into the uniform because she was still too uncoordinated to do it herself, but she didn't seem to mind. Once she had her clothes on, I helped her put on her make-up and style her hair -- she finally looked like her old self again, but she still felt cold.
Jessie was still shivering. I had to do something more for her...she had to get warm! So I did something that I NEVER do....
I curled myself into her lap and snuggled against her. Jess responded by pulling me into an embrace and scratching behind my ears. Normally, I hate it when humans do this (dat's the one thing I don't like about Mondo -- he's a good kid, but he makes the mistake of thinkin' dat Meowth is a house-cat!), but I didn't mind now.
Then, I did something else that I rarely do -- I started to purr. It was kind of stop-and-go at first, but before long, it became a low, steady rumble. Jessie smiled and continued to scratch behind my ears. Soon, her eyes closed and the scratching subsided. Looking up at her, I saw that she had fallen asleep. I continued to purr, knowing that she was going to be okay.
@->->-
"Hnnnnnhhhh?"
I looked up at Jessie, who was now awake. She had only slept for a few minutes, but there was a lucid expression on her face.
"Meowth?"
"What is it, Jess?" I asked.
"What time is it?"
I reached over and picked up my alarm-clock. "Ten O'Clock," I told her.
"Aw, geez! I must've dozed-off!" she said, placing a hand on her forehead. "Why'd you let me do that?!"
Huh? What was she talking about?
"Meowth, why did you let me fall asleep in the middle of dinner?" she asked.
Looking into her eyes, I realized that she honestly didn't remember what had just happened -- her memory of the past three hours had been erased by that ghost!
I thought about telling her, but I didn't know whether or not she'd believe me, so I decided against it. Maybe it was better if she didn't remember.
"What time are we planning on breaking into the museum anyway?" Jessie asked as she zipped herself into her sleeping-bag.
"Midnight," I replied. "I'll let ya know when it's time. Meanwhile, just get some rest...."
"So beautiful...I love you...." James muttered in his sleep.
Jessie scowled at him. "Yeah. Fat chance of THAT happening!"
@->->-
I tried to get to sleep, but it just wasn't happening. Jess looked like she was sleeping peacefully enough, but James's giggling was driving me insane!
I tell you, midnight couldn't come fast enough! The sooner we stole that painting, the sooner we could sell it and use the money to get out of town. And believe me, the sooner we got outta town, the better! Maybe if we could get away, the Maiden's hold on James would be released and things would get back to normal....
Suddenly, the alarm clock began to ring. It was midnight.
"Wake up!" I said to the others. "Time to swipe the paintin'!"
"Nnnnnnn...need my beauty sleep...." Jessie mumbled.
Normally, this kind of response would've annoyed me, but tonight it was music to Meowth's ears! If that wasn't a sign that Jessie was her old self again, then nothing was!
"Mmmmmmm...so beautiful...I must meet you!" James muttered again.
But before I could knock some sense into him, a pale green light began to glow. Then, the Maiden's ghost emerged from the museum and looked up at the three of us.
"What's dat?" I said. The ghost looked directly at me and saw that I was awake. "Ahhh...must be dreamin'...back to sleep...." I muttered. With that, I closed my eyes and feigned slumber.
Then, I heard James begin to stir. "It's you!" he gasped.
I peeked over at him and saw that he and the ghost were staring at each other.
"I've been waiting so long for you, my love," said the ghost. "Come with me."
"Yes," James said, climbing out of his sleeping-bag. It looked like he was in a trance!
Well, I wasn't worried about Jessie anymore -- I knew she was going to be okay...but I couldn't say the same for James! Who knows what kind of plans that monster had? Now it was time to follow him!
And follow I did.
The ghost led him through the forest -- the same way that Jessie had gone earlier that evening. Then, she held out her arms and pulled James into an embrace.
Hey! This was just like my nightmare, too!
I regretted not interfering when the ghost attacked Jessie -- I wasn't about to make that mistake again! "NOOOOOOO!!!!! DON'T DO IT, JAMES!!!!!" I screamed, charging towards them before the ghost could do anything. "SHE'S GONNA KILL YA!!!!!"
The ghost scowled, and James didn't even look at me! But before I could tear him away from her grasp, there was another flash of light. When I was finally able to see again, they were gone!
Gone! What was I gonna do now?!
Oh, think, Meowth! Where could she have taken him?! I asked myself as I paced about.
That's when it hit me.
There was only one place they could've gone -- the shrine at the top of the mountain! Looking up at the temple next to Maiden Rock, I became sure of it!
Hang on, James! I said as I charged up the mountain. Meowth ain't gonna let nothin' happen to ya....
@->->-
I was completely out of breath when I reached the shrine a few minutes later, but I was determined to stop that ghost!
Peering through the window, I saw that the Maiden had James in a full liplock. His arms were around her waist, and she was running her fingers through his purple hair.
My stomach turned at the sight of this -- it was just wrong!
"At last, we are together," the Maiden said as she showered him with kisses.
James closed his eyes and giggled again. "Oh, Jessie!" he sighed.
Well, THAT sure got my attention! In a fit of passion, he had called out Jessie's name! Maybe the ghost's hold on him was weakening!
"There is no Jessie," the ghost said in a monotone voice. "There is no Jessie...I am your one true love...."
I felt my eyelids growing heavy as I watched this. She was hypnotizing him!
"No Jessie...." he said softly. "My one true love...."
"There is no Jessie...I am your one true love...." she repeated.
No! Fight it, James! Fight it!! my mind screamed.
"Jessie...my one true love...."
"No Jessie!"
"Jessie...my one true love...."
Suddenly, James's green eyes sparked. "No! I can't do this!" he cried, pushing the Maiden away. "I can't do this! I love Jessie! Jessie is my one true love!"
"Yeah!" I cried out. "You tell her, James!"
James turned and looked towards the window. "Huh? Who said that?" Then, he saw me. "Meowth? What are you doing here?"
While he was looking at me, the ghost came for him again.
"James! Behind you!" I shouted.
But it was too late. Before he could react, the ghost had him trapped in another embrace. Quickly, I tugged at the window and tried to pry it open.
"No! No! Leave me alone!" James cried as he struggled to break free. "I love Jessie! I love Jessie!! I love Jessie!!!"
When I finally got the window open and charged inside, I saw the ghost whisper something into his ear. Then, she kissed him again, and he fell to the floor.
Dammit! Not dis again! I cursed myself as I ran to his side.
But this time, the ghost wasn't going anywhere.
"This is none of your concern, cat," she said sternly.
"Oh, yes it is!" I shot back. "Ya mess with one of us, ya mess with all three of us!"
The ghost just laughed and held up her glowing hand.
"Ya don't scare Meowth!" I snapped, bringing out my claws.
But before I could attack, the ghost placed her hand on top of my head. There was another flash of light, and I knew no more.
I awoke to pink sunlight shining down on my face -- I was back in my sleeping-bag outside the museum! Jessie was still asleep, and James was nowhere to be seen!
"Hey! Wake up, Jess!" I cried.
"Hnnnnnnhhh?"
"Wake up! James is gone!"
Those were the magic words.
"What did you say?" Jessie cried as her eyes popped open.
"James is missin'! Look!" I replied, indicating the empty sleeping-bag next to hers.
She was out of her sleeping-bag and on the ground in a fraction of a second. "We have to find him!"
I nodded and joined her as quickly as I could.
"Oh, where could he be?" she asked. Now that I knew the truth about her feelings for James, it wasn't just my imagination -- I really did hear the worry in her voice!
"Maybe he went back to Maiden Rock," I suggested.
Jessie looked into my eyes. Somehow, she knew that's exactly where he was, too. "Come on, Meowth! We've gotta hurry!"
So, not wasting another second, the two of us headed for the shrine as fast as we could.
@->->-
"Meowth, I had the weirdest dream last night," Jessie told me as we raced up the mountain.
"Really? What was it about?" I asked.
"I was up on these cliffs...and I was fighting with the ghost of that Maiden," came her reply.
So, she was starting to remember! The events of the previous night were nothing more than a dream to her, but at least she hadn't forgotten them completely!
"What happened?" I prompted. "Didja' show dat wimp who's boss?"
Jessie shook her head. "No," she said. "No, she beat me. Bad."
Well, at least she was telling the truth. "Go on," I said.
"Most of it's a blur," she continued. "But I do remember that before the ghost scored the winning hit, she whispered something into my ear...."
My mind flashed back to the fight. Just before knocking Jessie out, the ghost had, indeed, told her something...and she had done the same to James!
"What? What'd she say?" I asked eagerly.
"All I can remember is one word. Congratulations."
Congratulations? Why would she say something like that to Jessie before trying to kill her?
"Pretty weird, huh?"
"You can say dat again!" I agreed.
Congratulations. What did it mean?
@->->-
Once again, we were out of breath when we finally reached the shrine.
"James?! JAMES!!! If you're not here, at least SAY so!!!" Jessie cried as she frantically searched the area. "JAMES!!!!!"
Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice. "Hey, Brock?! BROCK!!!" Then, the Ketchum kid and his little girlfriend came from behind the shrine.
Jessie and the twerps saw each other at the exact same moment.
"Yuck!" Jessie cried.
"Double-yuck!" the brat shot back.
"Hmmmmph! You're not the one I was looking for!" she snapped.
Ash blinked. "Huh? Were you looking for someone, too?"
"Yes," she replied. "But first...Prepare for trouble!"
Silence.
Remembering that James wasn't there to say the motto with her, Jess quickly lowered her voice an octave and added, "And make it double!"
Jessie frowned when she heard herself saying James's line. Somehow, it just wasn't the same. "Doing this by myself is a real drag," she sighed.
Twirling around and flipping her hair dramatically, she continued, "To protect the world from devastation!"
Pulling a rose from out of nowhere and lowering her voice once again, "To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Her voice was straining that time. She really couldn't do this by herself!
Then, a muffled voice replied, "To extend our reach to the stars above...."
Jessie blinked. "Jessie?" she said, as if she were asking where the voice had come from.
"James...." it replied weakly.
"Uh...uh...Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!" Jessie cried out, hoping for another reply. The motto had become a game of Marco Polo!
"Surrender now...." the voice said. Then, the doors of the shrine burst open, and James came flying out. "....or prepare to fight...."
"Oh! He looks awful!" Jessie cried as he hit the ground and started giggling uncontrollably again.
"Worse than usual!" I remarked.
That kid, Brock, came rolling out the door a second later. He was having laughing-fits, too!
James reached up and threw his arms around Jessie's hips. Then, he buried his face in her legs and started mumbling, "Iloveheriloveheriloveheriloveheriloveher...."
Normally, I think Jessie would have enjoyed this, but having him rant about another woman, not to mention those kids watching them, kind of killed the magic of the moment.
"Knock it off!" she shouted, punching him in the head.
James fell to the ground again. Then, he and the other guy threw their arms around each other and continued babbling.
"What's wrong with them?!" one of the twerps cried.
"They've both seen the ghost of the Maiden and fallen under her spell," came the reply.
We all turned and saw the old fortune-teller standing behind us.
"I warned them that a beautiful woman would lead them to a cruel fate!" she continued.
"AUGH! They're posessed!" Ash cried. "Pikachu! Thunder Shock!"
"Piiiiii-kaaaaaaa-chuuuuuuuuu!" the electric mouse replied, zapping the two of them and putting an end to their hysterics.
"Unnnnhhhh...." James said as he sat up. "I'm James...from Team Rocket...."
Then, his expression became lucid. "Wheeeeeee!!!!!" he cried, jumping to his feet and sailing about, thankful to be in his right mind once again.
"He's back," Jessie sighed, placing a hand to her forehead.
"But not to normal," I said only half-jokingly. (He still looked kinda crazy, if ya ask me!)
@->->-
"Every year this happens," the fortune-teller explained as she led all of us into the shrine. "When the ghost comes back to life, all men who see her fall under her spell and think they're in love with her. And they always end up here, babbling incoherently, with all the life sucked out of them...."
"But Pikachu broke the spell!" Ash protested.
"It doesn't matter," she retorted. "Now that they've been under her spell, the ghost of the Maiden will keep coming back for them!"
"I don't care," Brock sighed.
Hearing this made me nervous. He still sounded like he was hypnotized! What if the spell hadn't been broken after all?
"What are we going to do?!" James cried. "I'm scared! I'm really, REALLY SCARED!!!!"
Well, at least the spell on James was broken. (And I think it had everything to do with his feelins for Jessie!)
"I have these," the old woman replied, holding up several booklets. She then proceeded to tear out pages from one of the booklets and stick them on Brock and James.
"What are they?" the girl, Misty, asked.
"These are anti-ghost stickers," she explained as she held out one for us to see. It had strange glyphs embossed on it -- glyphs that would keep evil spirits at bay. "Just stick these stickers everywhere, and you'll be safe!"
"All right!" Ash exclaimed.
"Of course...there's a catch," the old woman continued, whipping out a cash-register.
"Aw, man!" Ash grumbled as he and Misty each pulled a wad of money from their pockets and paid for some sticker books.
Remembering that we were out of cash, Jessie hung her head and sighed. Then, she seated herself in a far corner of the room and buried her face in her hands.
"Don't worry, Jess. We'll think of somethin'," I said, sitting next to her.
Ash and Misty put a few more stickers on Brock. Then, they went outside to stick the rest of them on the walls of the shrine.
Once they were gone, the old woman came over to where Jessie and I were. "What's the matter, young lady?" she asked. "Don't you want to keep the ghost away from your friend?"
"Of course I do," Jessie replied, looking into the old woman's dark eyes. "But I don't have the money for those stickers...."
"Did I mention that they're on sale?" she said. "Two for the price of one!"
"Lady, they could be two hundred for the price of one, and I STILL wouldn't be able to afford it!" Jessie cried. "I don't have ANY money...."
"Ah, but those children didn't take advantage of my special sale," the old woman continued. "The way I figure it, I've got about ten books of stickers that I have to give away...would you be willing to take them?"
Jessie nodded and became wobbly-eyed as the old woman gave her the stickers. "Thank you," she whispered, wiping away her tears.
"Come on, Meowth!" she said, handing me a few of the sticker books. "There's no way we're letting that ghost take our James away!"
"Let's get stickin'!" I cheered.
And that's exactly what we did -- we covered every single inch of James's body with those anti-ghost stickers.
"Are you sure this will work?" James asked.
"Shut your mouth," Jessie growled, placing a sticker over his lips.
James closed his eyes and hung his head as a tear rolled down his cheek. He must've been convinced that Jess hated him after what he'd done to her.
I looked over and saw a sly smile spread across Jessie's face as she smoothed a couple of stickers onto his butt and gave them a nice, firm pat to make sure they'd stay. She didn't hate him -- she was just upset. (Hey! After what I'd seen her do for him last night, there's no way she could possibly hate him!)
@->->-
After that, it was a waiting game.
Before the old woman left, she told us that the ghost would come for them again once it got dark. And once she got a look at all the stickers we'd put up, she'd be scared away!
Once the sun had set, Brock and James seated themselves at the front of the shrine, and the rest of us hid behind a small partition.
"Do you think she'll come?" Jessie whispered nervously as she peeked around the corner to see how James was doing.
"Oh, she'll come," I replied. There was no doubt about that!
Suddenly, all of the lights went out, and the doors blew open. An icy wind began to whip through the shrine, blowing all of the stickers away.
"Why?!" James cried as the ghost appeared outside and a supernatural force began to pull him away. "Why aren't the stickers working?!"
Jessie and I raced to his side as he grabbed onto the railing to keep from being blown out of the shrine. "Maybe because we got them for free," Jessie replied, a hint of guilt in her voice.
"Free?! What do you mean, free?!" James demanded.
"Uh...it was a two-for-one deal," Jess said lamely. "We got one set free for every one they bought...it was a real bargain...."
"You used freebies?!" James said in disbelief.
Jessie blushed and hung her head. "Oops!"
"I can't believe you're letting that ghost get me just because you're both so cheap!" he snapped.
She looked up at him. "You mean you don't want to go?"
"Of course I don't want to go!" James whined as his grip on the railing gave way and the ghost began to drag him out. "I don't wanna go! I don't wanna go! I DON'T WANNA GO!!!!!"
Brock sighed contentedly as the ghost took him, but James kept screaming.
"James!" Jessie cried.
"Looks like he's made his choice! We gotta do somethin'!" I told her.
Jessie's eyes widened when I said this. Almost as if all the memories of her fight with the ghost came flooding back. "Yes...James has made his choice," she said firmly. "He's made his choice, and I'll be damned if I let her take him away from me!" With that, she grabbed her bazooka and raced outside.
The ghost was just about to grab onto James when Jessie took aim and fired. The rocket blasted a hole right through the monster, forcing her to release him.
"Hey, girl! You can't have him!" Jessie shouted. "You don't have a ghost of a chance!"
I couldn't help but laugh at her pun. Yeah! You tell her, Jess! I silently cheered.
Suddenly, James pulled himself back up from the side of the cliff and gazed adoringly at Jessie. "You really do care!" he said, tears welling up in his eyes.
Jessie looked like she was about to cry, too, but quickly stopped herself when she remembered that the ghost and the twerps were all watching her. "It's not you," she sneered. "Girls like her disgust me! Always waiting around for her man, as if she were his faithful pet! She can't stand the thought of losing him! She cries, but I'd say, 'See ya later! There's plenty more fish in the sea!'"
James absolutely withered when he heard her. Oh, boy! Jess really put her foot in her mouth with THAT remark! I could tell from the look in her eyes that she regretted every word of it!
"I could go for some fish right now," I said in an attempt to change the subject.
But by then, it was too late.
"You cannot interfere," the ghost hissed. With that, she transformed into a mass of squiggling skulls and began to dart about.
"Augh!" Ash cried. "Is that thing a pokemon?!"
"So you figured it out," the ghost's disembodied voice said as the skulls formed back into the shape of the Maiden. "Sometimes I'm the ghost of the 2,000-year-old Maiden...." Then, she transformed into the fortune-teller. "Sometimes I'm the mysterious old woman...but no matter what form I take, I'm always...." The ghost then transformed into a gaseous lavender cloud. "....awfully Gastly!"
So that monster was a pokemon the whole time?! That meant I could battle it! (Hey! Nobody hurts Jessie, frightens James, and worries the livin' daylights outta Meowth and gets away with it! Revenge would be mine!)
The kid sent out his Pikachu, but the ghost transformed into a mouse-trap and scared him away.
"Mouse-traps won't hurt Meowth!" I said smugly, unsheathing my claws and charging forth. Finally! Something I could actually beat that little rodent at!
"So, you want to play games, Meowth?" Gastly sneered. With that, he turned himself into a catnip ball.
Aw, man! How could I scratch up something like that? I love catnip toys!
"Ekans, go!" I heard Jessie shout. "Bind it now!"
I looked and saw Ekans coil herself around the ghost and begin to squeeze. But then, Gastly turned himself into a giant mongoose! Ekans screamed in terror and slithered away as fast as she could when the snake-predator tried to take a bite out of her.
And it was the same for all the rest of the pokemon -- Koffing got squished, Charmander was extinguished, and Squirtle and Bulbasaur were vanquished when Gastly transformed into Venustoise -- the Uberpokemon!
Jessie and James threw their arms around each other and pulled into a tight embrace. "What are we going to do?! That thing's unstoppable!" James whimpered.
Jessie gave no reply, but she pulled him closer.
Suddenly, the ghost began to fade away.
What's goin' on? I wondered. Then, looking to the east, I received my answer. "Hey, look! The sun!" I cried, pointing to the pink glow of daylight peeking up from the edge of the sea.
"Yes...I'm powerless before the light of day!" Gastly replied as he vanished from sight. "Don't forget the Maiden and the fortune-teller...they'll be back next year, too...."
Yeah. And we'd be sure to be as far away from this place as possible!
@->->-
"James, are you okay?" Jessie asked once the twerps had returned to town.
"Yeah...I'm fine now," he said.
"Glad to hear it," she said, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder.
"Jess?"
"Hmmm?"
"I...uh...I apologize if I did anything to hurt you these past couple of days," he told her, returning the embrace. "It's just that...my brain was so muddled by that spell, and I didn't know what I was doing...."
"Heh! Yer brain's always muddled, Jimmy!" I laughed.
"Grrr...SHUT UP!!!" James snapped, giving me a swift kick in the rear.
It hurt like hell, but I just laughed even harder -- everything was back to normal!
Not wanting to disturb them anymore, I went off on my own. Still, I needed to hear what they had to say to each other and find out exactly how much they remembered about the events of the past few days. (Like I said, the two of 'em fallin' in love is somethin' I've wanted to happen for a long time!) So, I climbed to the top of a nearby tree and listened in on their conversation.
"Anyways, I'm really sorry, Jessie," James continued. "After all we've been through together, how could I ever let someone come between us like that? You're my best friend, and I'd never do anything to hurt you...."
"It's okay," said Jessie. "I know that wasn't the real you these past couple days. You were under a spell."
James smiled as he gazed into her sapphire eyes and ran a hand through her crimson hair. "Besides," he added. "You're MUCH prettier than that Maiden."
"James...about what I said earlier," Jessie said tentatively. "I hope you know I didn't mean it. I really do care about you. I was just...."
"I know," he said, placing a hand to her lips. "I still remember what you told me after we escaped from the St. Anne. You promised to always protect me...and you haven't let me down yet! You wouldn't have made a promise like that if you didn't care."
"And that won't ever change," Jessie told him as she returned the smile and played with the loose wisp of hair that always hangs in his face.
The two of them looked over at Maiden Rock. "You know, I really don't see what the big deal is," James remarked. "I mean, why would I want a woman who sits around and waits for me when I already have something so much better -- a woman who stands up and fights for me!"
"That reminds me of a dream I had the night before last," Jessie told him. "I was here on these cliffs...and I was fighting the ghost to keep her from taking you away. I...I didn't win the fight, but I remember something that the ghost told me before she finished me off. She said, Congratulations. You passed the test."
"That's so weird!" James exclaimed. "When the ghost had me in her shrine, I was able to break free from the spell for a few minutes. I remember trying to escape, but she caught me again...and just before she knocked me out, she whispered those exact same words into my ear."
Congratulations. You passed the test. Now it all made sense!
Gastly hadn't been trying to hurt them after all -- he was only testing them! Like me, he saw two beautiful young people who belong together...and he put spells on them in order to find out just how much they really cared about each other! He tried to drive Jessie away from James with intimidation, and he tried to draw James away from Jessie with temptation. He failed both times.
But Jessie and James passed.
I always suspected those two were in love, and now, more than ever, I was convinced of it! Gastly's spell forced them to admit their true feelings for each other, and what's more, it forced them to prove their love to each other! Sure, the two of them may not have remembered that any of this really happened, but I sure did!
I smiled as I looked down at Jessie and James, embracing and keeping each other warm as they watched the first sunrise of the fall season together. Yes, this had definitely been the weirdest summer of my life, and it had ended with the weirdest adventure of all!
But somehow, I knew that all the horrors of the past few days would soon be happy memories...for me at least. Hey! It may even be a great story to tell their children one day! I can picture it now -- the story of how mommy's courage and daddy's love broke a magic spell and defeated a ghost!
Yeah, that'll definitely make a great bedtime story for their kids one day!
And Uncle Meowth will be the one to tell it to them!
Oh, yes I will.