Planes of Existence

Chapter 3

The wall of screens lit up with pictures of Team Rocket on them,

doing all sorts of different things.

"This is what we're doing in every dimension?" Jessi asked, her eyes

wide.

"Come on, sit on my bed. I'll explain them to you, what's going on,

in every one, if you want...." Meiya said, plopping down, cross-legged, on

her bed.

"I-I guess." James mumbled, staring at the screens and kind of

awkwardly sitting on the edge of Meiya's light purple comforter. Jessi sat,

then crossed her legs delicately, and Meowth jumped into her lap.

"Any one in particular that catches your eye?" Meiya asked. Team

Rocket stared up, scanning over the pictures.

"Um...which one would you like to tell us about?" Jessi asked. Meiya

grinned and pointed the remote at the wall.

"This is my favorite one." she said, tapping one button. All the

screens blanked out except one near the middle. On the screen Jessi and

James were standing back-to-back in the middle of a huge stage with

Meowth at their feet and thousands and thousands of people in a crowd

cheering. They wore interesting outfits, Jessi wore a very fashionable

short skirt and a blue sweater that showed off her midriff, her long red

hair loose and flowing around her shoulders, and James wore cargo pants

and a long blue sweater, and Meowth wore the same outfit as James, only

smaller. A Jigglypuff stood in the background, holding a green-capped

marker. Jessi and James held microphones, like they'd just stopped singing.

The crowd chanted, "Rockets, Rockets, Rockets, Rockets......."

Meiya giggled, "You guys captured Jigglypuff, and its song captured

your imaginations. You quit Team Rocket and became famous with your rap

version of Jigglypuff's song." She tapped a button, and the screen changed.

It showed a picture of Ash scrambling with a bunch of other people to grab

a CD from a rack full of them, all displaying a picture of Jessi, James,

Meowth and Jigglypuff. Meiya laughed again, "Ash is your biggest fan."

Jessi looked at James, and they all burst out laughing. Meiya flipped

on all the screens again and grinned at Team Rocket.

"See one you want a closer look at yet?" Meiya asked. Jessi's sharp

blue eyes scanned the wall of screens, trying to find one that looked

interesting. Suddenly she drew her breath in sharply.

"What?" James asked, looking at her. Her face had gone dead white.

"That one..." she gasped. Meiya looked where Jessi was pointing, and

smiled.

"Oh, that one." Meiya said, pointing the remote and tapping keys.

All the screens blanked out except one that was near the bottom, on the

right side.

James looked and he gasped and went red instead of white.

On the screen was a picture of Jessi holding a baby. She smiled and

crooned to it and held it, like it was her own. Obviously it was, because

her stomach was still a bit swollen, and the baby was practically newborn.

She was wearing a loose T-shirt and jeans, and her hair was cut

shoulder-length, with a headband in. Behind her stood James, with one hand

on the baby's head, and the other arm wrapped protectively around Jessi's

back with the hand on her arm. He stared at the baby with a look of tender

caring, and wonder. Obviously, the baby was his too.

Meiya looked at Team Rocket's faces with amusement. Jessi was

wavering between shock and horror, and James just looked embarrassed,

glancing at Jessi, then down at the bed for a few minutes, then a look at

the screen, and Jessi again.

"You know, all of the dimensions where you two get together, those

are the ones you're happiest in." Meiya said softly.

"There's others?" Jessi demanded. James stared at his hands, face

still red.

"Yes. In 40% of the dimensions you two get together somehow." Meiya

said innocently. Jessi looked at James.

"With him?" she said disbelievingly.

"Who else?" Meiya asked, then added, "We can look at this some more

tomorrow. It's getting late, I'll take you down for supper now."

They went downstairs and had dinner, which consisted of soup, steak,

and potatoes, and some excellent chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert.

Meiya sighed, "I love chocolate. Without chocolate I'd die."

"Me too." Jessi said, taking her last bite of cake. James just

nodded. Meowth grinned and looked at his empty boxes of cat food and patted

his stomach.

"Okay. I was wondering, do you want to go to your rooms now, or what?

I mean, there might be some other stuff we could do, but I don't know if

you're tired or whatever." Meiya asked.

James looked at Jessi, who was delicately wiping her lips with a

napkin. She widened her eyes as if to say, I don't know. He sighed.

"I'm a little tired, personally. I don't know about Jessi but I'd

like to go to bed." he said softly, looking at Meiya, kind of hoping he

didn't hurt her feelings.

"Oh, that's good." she said, then covered her mouth, "Not that you

don't want to do stuff with me, just that....never mind, let me pry my foot

out of my mouth, and then I can say that all I meant was that I can't wait

for you to see your rooms. You'll love them!"

Jessi nodded once and stood up, Meowth stood up beside her and then

James stood and they all followed Meiya up the stairs, then down a

different hallway carpeted in royal blue and gold. She stopped before a

set of double-leaved doors and pushed them open.

"First let me go in and see if everything is set." Meiya said softly,

stepping inside the room. Jessi and James stood there, then looked down at

Meowth.

"Do you believe that, about you and me?" Jessi asked.

"Well....." James started, "Well, I guess I can see how it would

happen."

Jessi smiled to herself at the thought of her and James together. It

was an odd thought.

"Before we go to bed, we'll have to have a little huddle." Jessi

suggested. Meowth looked up and grinned at them.

"I can see you two together." he said. Meiya stepped out into the

hall again.

"It's perfect." she smiled, flashing a peace sign at them. She led

them into the room, and they stared in awe for the second time that day.

It was a huge sitting room, with two large chairs that looked like

thrones, and a smaller identical chair in the middle for Meowth. The rug

was deep red, and there was a huge fireplace in one wall. There was a

small bed in one corner, with a comforter with Poké balls printed on it,

with a box of cat food and a ball of yarn beside it. On either side of the

room were doors, and another in the back wall. Meiya walked to the left

and pushed open the door.

"This is Jessi's room." she said, and gestured them in. They stepped

in, and instantly Jessi got stars in her eyes. The room was predominantly

pink. James, who hated pink, stuck out his tongue like he was disgusted.

Meowth nodded.

The canopy bed was king-sized, with a pink comforter and a stuffed

Jigglypuff doll on the pillow. There was a big fireplace at the end of the

bed, and in one corner was a vanity with a huge mirror, and all sorts of

makeup and hairstyling equipment on it. A pink silk nightgown hung on a

hook by the bed.

"Okay, now for James's room." Meiya said softly, she walked over to

the door on the right and pushed it open. There was a trampoline along one

wall, a big bed with a light blue comforter with dark blue trim, and a

fridge and microwave in the corner by the fireplace. On the night table by

the lamp was a single perfect red rose in a crystal vase. Just like in

Jessi's room, a pair of pajamas hung on a hook by the bed. James grinned,

like it was perfect. They walked back into the sitting room.

"The washroom's through there." Meiya said pointing at the third

door in the sitting room, then smiled, "You can look in if you want, but

who wants to see a bathroom? Is there anything else you need?"

James looked at Jessi and then they looked at Meowth and he shook his

head.

"No." Jessi said.

"Well, I'll see you in the morning then." Meiya grinned, "Do you two

like crêpes?"

"Oh, yeah!" James said enthusiastically.

"Cool. I'll call you about....well, 10:00?"

"Okay." Jessi said. Meiya grinned at them.

"Good night." she said, and exited the doors.

"I'll make a snack, you can have a bath and then we can huddle in

your room?" James suggested. Jessi nodded. She was looking forward to the

bath. And they needed a huddle to discuss this thing and try to figure it

out. Three minds were better than one. Well, usually they were.

She walked into her room, James walked into his, and Meowth sat in

his chair and vegged. Jessi scooped up the nightgown on the hook and held

them up. They had spaghetti straps, and were just like one of those whole

slips, mid-thigh length, and silky, like a little dress, almost. She smiled.

She loved stuff like this. A chemise, she thought it was called. Jessi

folded the chemise over her arm and walked to the bathroom. She pushed open

the door, stepped on the black, red and white tiles, and walked to the huge

bathtub. There were soft, big towels laid out, one set pink, one set blue,

with washcloths on top. On the edge of the tub was salon-quality shampoo,

and a bottle of pink bubble bath. Jessi smiled to herself, enjoying this

lap of luxury thing that was going on, started pouring nice hot water and

added bubble bath. When the water was deep enough to cover her almost

completely, she stepped in and sat down. She tilted her head back to get

her hair wet, then ran her hands through it to break apart the hair spray.

She washed her hair, then soaked a bit, and got out, drying herself off and

getting into the nightgown she'd brought with her. She walked into her

room, and, in a minute, there was a polite knock on the door. Two knocks,

then a pause, and a third. Jessi smiled. James, using the old code they'd

had at the Pokémon Tech, so she'd know it was him.

"Come in." she said. He stepped in with Meowth and walked over to the

bed, where Jessi was sitting with a blanket around her shoulders,

cross-legged, and hugging the Jigglypuff doll. James sat down cross-legged

near her pillow, folding his bare feet under him, and setting down the

plate he held. Tortilla chips with cheese melted on them. Meowth lounged

around with his head on a hand. Jessi picked up a chip and nibbled on it.

"So, what do you two think of this girl?" she asked. James looked

over at her.

"I don't know what to think." he said.

"She's cute." Meowth said. James drew his eyebrows together as if he

was considering that, and Jessi just nodded.

"She has good taste in clothes.....but that's not what I'm talking

about..." Jessi said, putting a hand to her forehead. James started

chowing down on chips. Jessi put her chin down on the top of the Jigglypuff

doll's head.

"Do you believe her, that's the thing." James said thoughtfully, his

mouth still full. Jessi made a face.

"I'm not sure, I think I need more proof." Meowth said, he sat up

and looked at the chips, made a face and lay down again. They talked for a

while longer, then James and Meowth went to their beds and Jessi slept.

Chapter 4

Jessi opened her eyes and looked at the clock. The red numbers

glowed, showing 9:28 am. The room was softly flooded with sunlight and she

smiled a little, sitting up and stretching her arms above her head. She

changed into her comfortable Team Rocket uniform and quickly reminded

James to have a bath before she fixed her hair, which was still hanging

down, loose.

Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door to the sitting

room, where Jessi, James and Meowth were having quiet conversation on

their chairs. Jessi opened the door and Meiya stood there.

"Hi. I was wondering if you're ready to come down. I called my

sister, Renée, down too. She's about your age, you're seventeen, right?"

"Yes." James replied, walking up behind Jessi.

"Oh, that's how old she is too."

They walked to the dining room and sat at the table. In a few minutes

a grumpy-looking girl walked in.

"Meiya, you called me too early." she complained, plunking down

beside her sister, across from James.

The girl had short dark brown hair and wore a short T-shirt with a

turtle-neckish top and black sleeves, with a frog (which looked like

Keroppi) on the chest, and blue jean flares. Her large brown eyes fixed on

Jessi, then James, and then widened.

"Renée, these are my new friends, Jessi, James and Meowth. Team

Rocket, this is my grumpy big sister, Renée."

"Meiya, you didn't tell me we had company." she said coldly, then

turned to Team Rocket and smiled very pleasantly, "Welcome to our huge,

empty house. It's nice to have company. Sorry I didn't say hi when you

came, but Meiya here didn't mention you."

"You usually don't care." Meiya said cautiously.

"I usually never get company, either. Come on...." Renée started,

then stopped, closed her eyes, and relaxed, "Sorry, I get grumpy in the

morning."

The butler brought in crêpes then, and they all started to eat.

James kept shooting looks up at Renée as she ate very neatly, cleaning her

mouth with a napkin every once in a while. Jessi looked at James looking at

Renée and looked disturbed.

After breakfast they were all heading back up to Meiya's room to use

her dimensions, when Renée had a brainstorm.

"Hey, do you want to use the dimensions in my room?" she asked.

"Don't you mean your floor?" Meiya asked. Renée rolled her eyes. She

opened a door and they walked into her room.

"Might be a little messy." Renée warned. The room was green. The

walls were light green, the comforter was a beautiful shade of green and

the rims around the screens on her dimensions perfectly matched James's

eyes. Also, there were frogs everywhere. Little pictures of frogs, a table

of assorted frog candles, and a large picture of a blue-and-green tree

frog on a branch painted on the door to her bathroom.

"Interesting." James said.

"It's....green...." Jessi said. Renée grinned widely.

"And I love it. So, you want to use my dimensions?" Renée asked,

plopping down on her half-unmade bed, "Go ahead, make yourself

comfortable." she said, scooping up a stuffed Persian on her pillow. She

tossed a green remote to Meiya.

"You can work the remote, sis. Anyone want some chocolate?"

"No, thanks, I'm stuffed." Jessi said. Meiya nodded.

"Oh, yes, please." James said, grinning. He could never get enough

food. Renée dug in a drawer on her night table, which held a clock, and a

frog lamp, and pulled out a handful of mini chocolate bars. She tossed two

to James, then two to Meiya and started unwrapping one.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Meiya said suddenly, "I have to get

Temporeon." She jumped up and ran to her own room, when she came back,

Renée was showing them a dimension where James was sitting on a throne

stroking a Persian with thousands of dollars in gold stacked behind him,

and Jessi leaning on the arm of his throne grinning.

"Cute." Renée remarked, between bites of chocolate. Meiya set down

Temporeon and settled on the foot of the bed near Jessi and Meowth.

"Ah...ah....ah-ah....." came a soft little delicate sound.

"Oh, no." Meiya said. Renée looked over at Meiya's Temporeon.

"Great." she moaned, "Stop that thing, Meiya, before we end up in the

middle of nowhere!"

Meiya ducked for the little animal, reaching for its mouth, to

stifle the sneeze, but she wasn't fast enough. At the same time, Jessi

jumped from the edge of the bed to try and stop the little thing, but she

was also too slow.

"Nooooo!" Renée shrieked, but it happened anyway.

"Choooooo!!!!" the little Temporeon sneezed delicately, and the

force of it made it jump dimensions.

The mist enveloped Jessi and the Temporeon, and they disappeared in

a puff of smoke.

"Jessi!" James shouted, jumping to his feet. Renée sighed.

"I hope we can find them."