Chapter 11 - "Digging For Clues"
Mary exited the warehouse. She was very excited at how well her plan was going. Suddenly, she saw her brothers running towards her.
"MARY!"
"What the Hell? Weren't you guys supposed to ambush Jessie?" She held her hand out in front of her, and Jack bumped into it. Then Zack, who was behind him, bumped into Jack. Mack and Tack followed after, respectively.
"We tried," Jack said, gasping for air. "But she used her Powers and knocked us against the wall."
"She almost killed us, Mary!" Tack yelled.
Mary blinked. "So, Jessie DOES have Powers..." The terrified brothers nodded.
Mack grabbed Mary's arm. "And she's following us!"
"She'll find this hideout of ours." Zack said.
"No matter," Mary sighed.
Jack looked at her as if she were crazy. "Whaddaya mean 'No matter'? She'll ruin our plans!"
His sister shook her head. "Nope. I've got all the dirt I need to take Jessie down." She motioned for her brothers to huddle and told them of Jessie's past.
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James sat in the warehouse by himself. He was a pitiful sight to look at - Sitting on the dusty ground with a rope tied around him, tear stains on his cheeks, bloodshot eyes, a big gash from Mary's weapon in the back of his head, and a dirty uniform. He sobbed and moaned, repeating "Jessie..." over and over again.
Meowth, who looked no better than James, dangled by the rope he hung from. He watched James disgustedly. There were reasons for this. For one thing, James was a member of Team Rocket. To see him moping around was not very good for their image. For another, he had betrayed Jessie. "You both disgust me," Meowth finally said to both James and Meowthy. Meowthy looked up at him again. James still didn't meet Meowth's eyes. The two didn't say a word. Meowth continued. "Both of you only care about yourselves. You risk your moronic lives for your own happiness and den expect people to praise you?"
This was a little too much for James. Meowth was usually never the voice of reason. To hear him say things that actually meant well made his heart break. James finally looked up at his Pokémon companion. "I wanted you to live, Meowth. You're my friend."
"And who is Jessie?" Meowth hounded, making James feel more guilty. "Listen to me, James. I used to only think of Meowth. No more. No less. Everything I did was for MY well-being. I wanted to be Top Cat and rule over supreme. But den..." A tear fell from Meowth's eye. "...I found love."
Meowthy nearly jumped out of her skin. She could not hold it in anymore. Her tears flowed like raindrops. "Meowth..."
Meowth ignored her. "At least, I thought I found it." Meowthy looked down. "But, I must say, love is da greatest thing to a Pokémon...And human in da world. You can never find anything more precious. It's not something to waste, James. Dat's why I'm telling you this! True love only comes once, and dat's it. Once Jessie is gone, you won't have anyone. And what's worse, is Mary will have you."
James thought he would die. Everything Meowth said was true. His body trembled and his eyes were glossy. "I'll never find anyone like Jessie..." he whispered.
Alone, in a corner, Meowthy cried hard. "And I'll never find anyone like Meowth..."
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Darien and Serena carefully pushed open the door of the Head Quarters. They tip-toed in, trying not to make any noise.
"Let's hope no one finds us," Darien whispered. "I'd hate to bring out the caravan."
"We have to find Jessie," Serena whispered excitedly. She was finally going to see her friend again. "Is there a directory in here somewhere?" Then she saw a shadow coming toward her. "D-D-Darien..." She said as she shook in her shoes. Her finger trembled as she pointed in the direction of the figure.
"Not now, Serena!" Darien said. "I'm looking up their names in this Team Rocket phone book."
"Eep!" Serena shrieked as the figure came closer.
"What?" Darien said as he turned around. He saw Serena pointing. He looked over, but saw nothing. Then he looked down and saw a little brown creature with a big red nose.
"Diglett!"
"Huh?" Serena said.
"Diglett!"
Darien smiled. "It's one of those Pokémon creatures Jessie and James were talking about."
"Diglett dig!"
Serena gasped. "Whew! That was a close call."
The Diglett poked its head back underground and started burrowing away. "Diglett dig! Diglett dig!" it chanted.
The couple laughed. "That was cute," Serena smiled. "It kind of resembled an Earth mole."
Darien went back to searching for Jessie's name. "Here it is!" he finally said. Serena ran up behind him. "Room 111."
"Let's go then!" Serena exclaimed, grabbing Darien by the arm. He pulled away.
"Umm...Serena..."
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. I just thought that since you two hadn't seen each other in a long time, you'd might want to catch up."
"But Darien, we've never been here before. Don't you think that's a little dangerous?"
Darien shook his head. "I'll be standing here on guard. I'll come and get you when someone comes." Serena nodded happily. Darien then took her chin in his hands. "Has Tuxedo Mask ever let you down?" He then kissed her. When they separated, Serena waved and ran off to find Jessie. Darien smiled and leaned against the doorway. His museum trip would have to wait. Serena was more important.
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Tack sneaked back to Team Rocket Head Quarters. Rumor had it that two intruders had found their hideout. It was a good thing their Boss, Giovanni, had just installed the new Team Rocket Detect-O-Meter. He chuckled to himself, thinking of the horrible tortures he could perform on the guests. After all, teenagers always love to have fun.
He crawled through one of the open windows and silently made his way toward the front door. He heard chanting.
"Diglett dig! Diglett dig!" At Tack's feet was the Diglett Serena and Darien had seen.
"Diglett!" Tack exclaimed, picking it up. "What are you doing out of your Pokéball?" The Diglett started talking to him in its Diglett-voice. "You saw the intruders?"
"Diglett!" Diglett nodded.
Tack put it down. "Okay, you can go now. Thank you, Diglett!"
Diglett marched off again. "Diglett dig! Diglett dig! Diglett dig"
Chapter 12 -"Source #3 - The Thorn of a Poisonous Rose"
Serena approached the door of room 111. This was it! This was where her dear friend was. Serena smiled and knocked on the door. She waited for a while, but no answer came. Serena knocked again, harder this time. Still no answer. " She must be out," Serena thought sadly. "Oh, well. I can wait..." Serena sat outside the doorway, awaiting Jessie's return.
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Jessie ran through every hallway, searching for Mary and her brothers. They had completely vanished. She checked the library, the laboratory, the cafeteria, the gym...No trace of anyone. After running for a long time, Jessie stopped to catch her breath. She leaned against a wall. This search was making her exhausted, and all she wanted to find was James. Heck! She'd even be satisfied if she ran into Meowth along the way.
Once five minutes had passed, Jessie resumed her search. She checked every place she had already been to again, and started looking in less likely places. Nothing. Jessie was ready to cry. It seemed her chase was endless and she hadn't found anything. She decided to go back to her room for a while and strategize a plan.
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Meowth still hung from the rope. His crying was the only sound that could be heard in the empty warehouse. There were the occasional sniffs from James and Meowthy, but Meowth's sobs made them too devastated to even cry. Meowth made a small sigh. "Everything's hopeless..."
That's when James snapped. His face got angrier and his body tightened. James was not too smart, but he was strong. He gathered all his hate for Mary and combined it with his passion for Jessie. With this strength, he managed to break the ropes he was bind with. When Meowth heard the snap he looked up. James walked over to him and grabbed hold of the cord. He yanked it in two, allowing Meowth to go free.
"There is hope yet." the determined Rocketeer said. He began walking to the exit. Meowth followed him.
Suddenly, Meowthy stepped in front of them, attempting to block the door. "Where do you think you're going?" she said in a shaky human-voice. "You can't leave..."
"Dat's what you think!" Meowth said as he slashed her across the face. Meowthy fell to the ground. James kicked open the door and started heading back to Headquarters. Before Meowth left, he looked at Meowthy. "I'm sorry. But it was MY duty..." He then ran off, leaving her alone and sad.
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Darien stood at the entrance of Team Rocket Headquarters waiting for Serena. He found himself reading the directory of names just so he wouldn't get bored. Then, he started to hear a familiar sound that he had heard not so long ago.
"Diglett dig! Diglett dig!"
"Hey, little buddy," Darien said as he knelt in front of Diglett. "Come back to keep me company?"
"Diglett!" it chirped, in the only way a mole can chirp.
Without warning, a hand grabbed Darien around the neck. He tried to fling whoever it was off of him, but another pair of hands grabbed him around his legs. A group of Team Rocket members knocked him down to the floor. One gagged him. Darien struggled as his arms were tied behind his back.
"So...THIS is the famous Prince Endymion." A woman's voice said. Darien looked up and saw a woman Rocketeer. She laughed. "How do you do, Darien? My name is Mary, but mostly everyone around here calls me Bloody Mary."
"You'll soon find out why." Tack grinned. He turned to Diglett. "Thanks, Diglett-chan!"
"Diglett!"
Darien could not believe this. He had been tricked by such a small creature. If only he and Serena hadn't given it their names! Darien tried to say something, but he was muffled by the gag. Mary reached down and pulled it off of him.
"I'm sorry. Did you say something?"
"What I said was..." Darien braced himself. "...You know Jessie, don't you?"
Mary laughed again. "Oh! You mean the substitute Moon Princess? Of course, and I know a lot more, too. I also know you are the super hero Tuxedo Mask and Serena is Sailor Moon."
"And just how did you get this information?" Darien spat out. "No one knows about us!"
"There are a couple," Mary innocently replied. "And I find them and squeeze the juice out."
"But who would be so stupid as to tell you?" Darien thought aloud, to himself and to Mary.
"James..."
"He didn't..."
"He did!"
Darien felt betrayed. "I thought he cared for Jessie."
Mary shook her head. "Nope! He dumped her for..." She smiled at her four brothers. They stared back at her, aghast. "...Me."
"You? He likes you?"
"What's wrong with that?" Mary growled as she kicked Darien in the jaw. "Frankly, I think he has good taste."
"You're lying."
"No, I'm not!" Mary laughed. "He found out what losers you were and decided to join the winners. Speaking of losers, you're going to get aquainted with Jessie again..."
"What do you mean?" Darien asked, his eyes narrowing. But he was re-gagged and lifted off the ground by the brothers. They carried him off to the laboratory.
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"Get it open!"
"I'm trying, Meowth! I'm trying!"
A fist and paw full of claws crashed through the door of the Headquarters. James and Meowth broke it open and ran inside. They scanned the area, looking for clues.
"Looks like dere was a struggle here," Meowth commented. "Da ground is covered with dirty footprints."
"And look what I found!" James exclaimed proudly, holding up a beautiful red rose. "This is a clue!"
Meowth shook his head. "You probably dropped dat a while ago..."
James pulled another rose out of his pocket. "No, I didn't. See..."
The Pokémon took both of the roses in his hand. "Well, if dis one ain't yours, den whose is it?"
James thought, which was a very hard thing for him to do. He grasped the sides of his head with his hands, he sat on the ground, he banged his head on the floor. "Hmmmm..."
"Don't hurt yourself." Meowth groaned.
Suddenly, James sat up. "I've got it! I know who this rose belongs to."
"You do?" Meowth asked excitedly. "Who?"
James looked proud. "It's...The flower salesman's!"
Meowth fell on the floor, Anime-style.
Chapter 13 -"Tuxedo Mirage"
By herself, Serena started to get antsy. By now, she was totally starving and was about to have an accident. She stood up and began to walk around. She didn't care if she was in a dangerous foreign place. She didn't care if she was liable to get caught. All she cared about was finding the restrooms. Then, the cafeteria. So, Serena set off through the halls of Team Rocket Headquarters for a small adventure.
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After Serena left, a tall man walked up to Jessie's door. He put his hand on the knob and gripped it as if he were exhausted. He then opened the door and lazily shuffled in. He then shut it behind him quietly.
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Seconds after, Jessie was walking down the hall to her room. She was devastated for she hadn't found James anywhere and was running out of time. Glad to be back, she opened the door to her room and screamed.
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James' ears perked up. "That was Jessie!" Meowth looked up at him. James started climbing the stairs to Jessie's room. He tried to open the door, but it was locked.
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Bloody Mary grinned. "Game. Set. Match."
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"Prince Endymion!" Jessie gasped. "What are you doing here?"
Darien smiled at her. "Jessie, I'm so glad to see you again. Please, call me Darien."
"How did you find me? How did you get into my room?"
"That doesn't matter," Darien sighed. "What matters is that we are together again." He moved towards her.
"Darien?" Jessie whispered. "What are you talking about?" She started backing up against the wall. Something was not right here.
"I've come to make a confession," he said softly. "I must confess my love for you."
"WHAT?!?"
He took her hands in his. "Jessie, you've been all I wanted. Princess Serena of the Moon Kingdom does not matter anymore. All I want is you."
"Darien..." She could not believe what she was hearing. Darien was in love with her? When did all this happen? "You love me? And, Serena...?"
"I told you. She is no longer my love." Darien smiled sweetly. He knelt down before her. "Please, Jessie, say you will be mine."
This was too scary. Jessie pulled her hands out of Darien's grasp and looked at him sternly. "I can't believe you're throwing Serena away like this! Besides, I'm already taken."
Darien stood up again. "Already taken?" he laughed. "By that loser, James? He's dumped you!"
Jessie's eyes wobbled. "What? He couldn't have..."
"Yes, I'm sorry," Darien said. He stopped laughing and looked at her sadly. "I just saw him with a woman with brown hair and violet eyes. I think she was part of Team Rocket..."
"Mary!" Jessie exclaimed. She was about to collapse when Darien caught her. "No...James..."
"I suppose I should have told you sooner," Darien guiltily sighed. Jessie buried her head in Darien's jacket and sobbed. He gently caressed her and petted her head. "I'm so sorry."
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James was desperately trying to open the door. Meowth tried helping. "She usually never locks her door," James began as he pulled on the knob. "Except at night."
"I told you not to tell Mary anything!" Meowth scolded. "Now she knows just what to do."
"Sorry," James growled. "I didn't know what she had in store..."
"Ummm...Excuse me..."
James and Meowth turned around. They both saw a familiar girl standing behind them. "Do I know you from somewhere?" James asked.
Meowth scratched him across the face. "You idiot! Dat's Serena, da Moon Princess, remember?"
"I forgot..."
Serena smiled. "It's good to see you two again. Where's Jessie?"
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It couldn't be possible. No! Not her James. Not her dear beloved partner that she had known for long. Jessie looked up at Darien with tear-streaked cheeks. "No..."
"Yes," Darien nodded. He then took her by the shoulders and held her out in front of him. "But, you don't deserve him, Jessie! You're a classy girl...Woman..." Jessie hung onto his every word. "You deserve a Prince, worthy of your stature. You deserve a man who can at least count to ten without screwing up." She smiled a little at that. Darien kept going. "You need a hero, one who can fulfill your every need. One who will come to your rescue when you scream. Jessie...You deserve me." He then took her in his arms and kissed her.
Jessie did not know what to do. She was paralyzed by the beautiful words Darien had said. Now, he was kissing her soft and passionately. It didn't seem right. Yet...Isn't this what she had always wanted? On the Moon Kingdom in the Silver Millenium, all Princess Jessie had wanted was to get Prince Endymion to notice her. She was jealous of his love for Princess Serena. Now, she finally got what she had wanted, but why didn't she feel happy?
Suddenly the two stopped. They heard pounding on the door. "What's that?" Jessie asked. Darien looked up worriedly. They were entering!
"I'm sure it's nothing," Darien said hurriedly as he kissed Jessie again.
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"One...Two...Three!" James ran into the door with full force. Serena and Meowth helped him. Finally, it cracked. The three burst in, and were in shock over what they saw.
"DARIEN!"
"JESSIE!"
There were the two in each others' arms, kissing and cuddling. Serena burst into tears while James stood aghast. Meowth hissed. "What's all dis?"
Darien looked up at Serena. "I don't love you anymore!" Serena sobbed and fell to the ground.
James grabbed Jessie away from Darien. He slapped her clear across the face. "You...After all I did for you!"
Jessie fell on the floor in a heap. She touched the part of her face where James had struck her. Tears fell from her eyes.