Chapter Seven: The Beginning. (Of the end?)

Jaycee had made ten dollars so far this morning. She flexed her fingers. It was pretty hard work, drawing non stop for most of the day. It was her dream job though. And that morning she had earned enough to buy some clothes for herself, so that she would have more than just the blue dress. She suddenly had a feeling. Like impending doom or something, right in her stomach. She glanced around nervously. Everything seemed quiet, way too quiet. The people in the streets seemed to notice it too, looking around in dread. There were no Spearow or Pidgey calls. Usually the sky was full of flying Pokémon, but at the moment there was nothing. Like the calm before a storm, Jaycee reflected. She told herself to stop being silly, and turned back to her sketch. But a shadow fell over the page. Something, or someone was above her. She looked up cautiously to see what had cast the shadow.

"Jaycee, we gotta get out of here!" James cried, "Something very bad is about to happen."

He was in the Meowth Balloon™, with Jessie and Meowth. Jessie steered the balloon closer to the ground, and James pulled Jaycee in. She smiled dreamily, just like in ‘Holy Matrimony!’ she thought. Suddenly she was brought back to reality as she heard a chorus of cries on the ground below. The party in the balloon all rushed to the walls of the basket, looking down. Jaycee still held tightly to the sketch pad, not willing to leave it behind.

"That’s them!" Meowth cried.

A huge precession of Pokémon entered the city, led by Ninetails. Jessie and James grabbed hold of each other, shaking. Jaycee snarled slightly, and kept her attention on the Pokémon below.

"What’s happening?" she asked, trying to ignore the agony of seeing Jessie and James hugging each other right in front of her, for the second time since she had been with them.

James stepped away from the embrace, "Meowth said the Ninetails is commanding them or something. It’s something to do with the curse Ninetails have been said to put on people."

Suddenly there was a loud bang, as Team Rocket’s balloon was popped by a Pidgeot. More flying Pokémon attacked the balloon. The Articuno blew gusts of icy wind at the three humans and Meowth. Spearows pecked with their sharp beaks, as the balloon slammed into the ground. Now all the Pokémon were attacking people in the streets. Jessie, James, Jaycee and Meowth cowered in the basket. The flying Pokémon left the balloon alone to pursue a group of people who had come running out of a building, as a group of Vulpix and Ninetails torched the interior. Jaycee snuck a glance over the edge of the balloon basket. She spotted Ash and his companions, being attacked by a swarm of Beedrill. Pikachu was fending them off with its thunder shock attack.

"You have to use your Pokémon!" Jaycee cried to Jessie and James, "Get them to fight the wild Pokémon, it’s the only way."

Brock had the same idea, sending out his Onix and Zubat. Onix shielded Brock and his friends from the Hyper beams of a couple of Dragonite, while at the same time snapping at the swarm of Beedrill. Zubat used it’s high pitched screech to confuse the Beedrill, and they stopped attacking Ash and the others, and began to attack each other.

Jessie and James sent out their Pokémon, which began battling with various wild Pokémon. Trainers all began sending out their Pokémon to fight the others. Ninetails grinned a wolf-like grin. She glowed bright blue, and gave a howl. All the trainer’s Pokémon stopped attacking the wild Pokémon. Arbok and Weezing both turned to Jessie and James, along with Victreebell and Likitung.

"Attack the Pokémon!" Jessie yelled.

Weezing let out a cloud of thick toxic gas towards its master and Jessie. James coughed, his eyes watering, "Weezing, what are you doing?" he cried.

Jessie shielded herself from the poisonous gas, as her Arbok wrapped its long body around her, "Arbok, let go of meee!" she wailed, as she was lifted into the air, and the snake began to constrict her, crushing the breath from her lungs.

James knocked back Weezing, and threw himself at Arbok, trying to free Jessie from it’s hold. Jaycee was wrestling his Victreebell, which was trying to get to its master. Likitung extended its long tongue, paralyzing Jaycee.

Jessie felt dizzy. She had lost feeling in much of her body, "Arbok, it’s me Jessie! Let go!" she pleaded.

James managed to get Arbok’s grip to weaken, struggling to free his partner. Meowth leapt from the balloon basket at James, Meowthing.

"Meowth?!" James yelled in horror, as the cat began attacking him. Ninetails watched the goings on in satisfaction. Everywhere trainer’s Pokémon were turning on them. Ash struggled to escape his Pikachu’s electricity. Brock’s Zubat began biting him fiercely. Misty was pinned down by her Starmie, as her Psyduck administered its powerful psychic powers, "Psyduck!" yelled Misty, "Why did you choose now to remember your attacks?!" her arms were covered with tiny teeth marks, where Togepi had attacked her quite pathetically, and was now ambling in circles from the exertion.

Jessie managed to wriggle free of her Arbok’s death grip, as it loosened a little as Arbok turned on Jaycee, who was struggling to stand. Jessie grabbed James’s arm, "James, let’s get to some shelter!" she yelled, to be heard over the chaos around her. Jaycee raced after the two, being pursued by Arbok , and James’s surprisingly agile Victreebell.

It was deathly silent in the deserted building. James shivered. This place was giving out bad, bad vibes. It was just like in his nightmares. The desks, the chairs, the black board, the books…He hadn’t thought he’d ever have to come back to a place like this. A classroom.

"I don’t like it here." James whimpered, sitting nervously in one of the seats behind a desk.

Jessie rolled her eyes, "I can’t say I have many memories of my school days to haunt me. I never spent much time in the place."

The threesome walked out of the classroom and down the hall. They decided it would be safe here. Jaycee used a long ruler to wedge the doors shut. They went into another classroom, one they could clearly see the doors from.

James settled down, and sat at a desk, resting his head on the back of his hand. Jessie had always found this habit of his strange. Most people rested their heads on the palms of their hands, not on the back. But he looked so innocent when he did it. He got out of a lot of trouble with it. Not from her, she could see through his big green eyes and little pouting mouth…Grr, he always used his stupid eyes on her. She glanced over at Jaycee, who was daydreaming, obviously, staring at the wall with her head resting on the back of her hand. Wait a minute, that was James’s trait! How dare she! That little…wait a minute Jessie, get a grip. Jessie reminded herself. This whole business was making her edgy. She wasn’t scared. No, not at all. Not shaken up either. Sure, her own Pokémon had attempted to constrict her, but Jessie was above being shaken up or scared. She cast a hot glance at Jaycee again. She was drumming her fingers on the desk, looking at the wall. Wait a minute. That was James’s too! Or was it?

Jessie exhaled loudly, "HAS THE WORLD GONE MAD?!" she shrieked.

Jaycee and James both jumped about a mile into the air, "W-what?" James asked.

Jessie laughed nervously, "Oh, nothing." She said, waving her hand nonchalantly, "I was just thinking…"

James looked at her strangely, "Could you think a little less noisily?" he asked, "There are rabid, or something, Pokémon outside! It they hear you we’re all done for!"

It was too late, the doors were being rammed. Jaycee and James shrank back as the door’s hinges creaked. Jessie stomped angrily over to the door, and held it shut, "Help me out here!" she called.

Before Jaycee and James could move, the door had broken down. Jessie was flung backwards, and she screamed at the horror before them. Ash! Brock! and Misty! Jaycee noticed how close James was to her, and smiled a little. He moved over to Jessie, and clamped his hand over her mouth. Jaycee frowned. Brock helped Misty put the door back onto its hinges.

"Why didn’t you let us in?" Ash asked

"You didn’t even say who it was!" Jessie retorted, although, she reflected, she wouldn’t have let them in if she had known who it was.

"Yeah Ash!" Misty added, "You told me and Brock to let you do the talking! I was the one who spotted them run in here!"

"Yeah, and you just started charging at the door!" Brock said.

Ash looked at the ground, "Well, I get hit in the head a lot…"

Misty hit him over the head, "Will you shut up?"

"See?" Ash said.

"Not as much as me!" James said proudly, as Jessie delivered him a large mallet strike.

The door was put back together, and Misty jammed another ruler back across the handles to hold it shut, the precious one having been broken.

"Why are all the Pokémon going crazy?" Ash asked, sitting down at a desk behind Misty, and suddenly wishing he had some paper to make spit balls to launch at her.

"That weird blue Ninetails howled, and they all went insane." Brock said thoughtfully, wincing as he touched a small cut on his face incurred from his own Zubat.

Misty was sitting in a desk beside Jaycee. She turned to her, "So, looks like we’re gonna be here a while, huh?"

Jaycee wasn’t sure whether she should talk to this girl. She was Team Rocket’s enemy, after all. She decided it couldn’t really hurt though, "Yeah, looks like it." She said quickly.

Misty let her blue green eyes settle on the sketch pad Jaycee was carrying, "What’s that?" she asked

"Just drawings of Pokémon." Jaycee said.

Ash stood up and walked over to where Jaycee sat, "Let me see." He said, grabbing the pad.

"Actually, I’d rather you didn’t look at…" began Jaycee.

Ash was already flipping through it, and Misty peered over his shoulder.

"Hey! A Dragonite!" Ash remarked, "Oh, and a Clefable!"

he was nearing the back of the pad. Jaycee stood up, "Can I have it back?" she asked.

Ash and Misty were both looking in bewilderment at a double page spread, "I don’t get it." Ash said, "Why isn’t James wearing a shirt?"

Jaycee yelped, and tried to grab the pad, but now Brock had it, "Who’d wanna look at James looking like that?"

Jessie snatched the book off Brock, and after looking at the picture, handed the sketch pad back to Jaycee, "I’m sure she has a reason." Jessie said.

Jaycee knew she must have been bright red. Her cheeks felt hot. And she wondered why on earth Jessie was being nice. That opinion was promptly shattered.

"I mean, it’s not her fault that she has a little school girl crush on him." Jessie continued, in a Sickeningly Sweet But Sarcastic Voice™ "I’m sure he’d return her feelings, if she were older. And looked more like me. And had a more developed figure."

Jaycee looked at the desk. She couldn’t bear to sneak a glance at James, who was in the desk to the left of her. Jaycee suddenly stood up and ran out of the room, and down the hallway.

"Let her go." Jessie said, "If she gets eaten by insane Pokémon it’s her fault."

James felt angry suddenly, he stood up and faced Jessie, "No Jessie, it’ll be your fault." He said, sounding more confident than he felt. He left the classroom.

Jessie smirked, who needed him anyway?