Jessica and myself, James of the illustrious Team Rocket,
pressed our backs against the walls of the Viridian Pokemon Center in a weak
attempt of staying out of trouble. I bit my lip nervously as we slid down the
halls cautiously.
"Why are we here again, Jessie?" I asked my partner dumbly.
"Keep your voice down, James!" Jessie snapped. "We're
here
to swipe some rare pokemon for the Boss! This is only the about the 10th time
I've told you! Now shut up!"
I curled my lips into a pout, but said nothing. I had learned
the hard way when to be silent. We continued onward to our goal at the end of
the hallway. Meowth stayed right at our heels, succeeding in staying out of
sight, but failed tremendously at not getting under foot.
"Meowth, get out of my way! Ouch! Stop it!" Jessie growled.
"Watch it, Meowth! You almost made me fall!" I whined.
"Quit your complaining!" Meowth quipped. "You don't wanna
wake da woikers, do ya?" We were immediately silenced. Once we reached the
target, Jessie pushed me ahead roughly to make sure the coast was clear. As
soon as I gave the signal, all of us moved in quietly. "Search the place. I know they're here somewhere," Jessie
whispered.
"And if they're not?" I questioned. Jessie whacked me
in
response to that stupid remark. "
They're here," she assured us. "I'm sure of it."
We
rummaged through the heap of garbage and after a thorough investigation, we
found our objective- the pokeballs.
"Now we have them. Now let's get out of here before we
get caught! I don't want to go to prison!" I complained.
"I don't tink they'll catch us! At least, I hope
not!"
Meowth replied. Jessie shoved all of the pokeballs into her knapsack. I gazed
at her, dreamily. Were we meant to be? Is she my one true soulmate?
I still had mixed feelings about her. Through past trials
and tribulations I had learned of our secret love for each other, but…was it
really meant to be? Even after the incident with Raquel, she still seemed
very distant to me. As though none of that ever happened. As if it meant
nothing to her.
Meowth glanced at a control panel curiously hovering over
the dials.
"Hmm... I wonder what dis button does" âHe leaned in
closer
to the button, his paw directly hovering over it "Meowth, no!" I ordered. My sudden outburst startled him
and he stumbled onto the button, causing a series of alarms to sound.
"Now look what you've done, you idiotic feline!" Jessie
yelled.
"No time to argue! We gotta go!" Meowth cried as we
gathered our stolen goods and rushed to the nearest exit. We could already
hear the pounding of footsteps echoing behind us as we ran.
"Faster, Jessie! Faster!" I shrieked.
"I'm going as fast as I can! Besides I have a cramp in my
left leg! " she responded.
"Well, we can't have everything!" We stumbled toward the
front door, our gateway to freedom, but a gang of Officer Jennys blocked our
path.
"Hold it right there, you criminals!" they shouted, guns
raised. I gasped in horror as we all screeched to a halt. We reluctantly
raised our hands into the air.
"This looks bad!" Meowth gasped.
"That's the way it always looks for Team Rocket,â" I groaned.
"Now hand over those stolen pokemon!"
"Certainly, officers," Jessie complied smoothly. She
reached into her knapsack for the pokeballs... and any useful weapons she could
find...
"Keep your hands where we can see them!" Jenny snapped,
tightening her grip on the trigger.
"Of course, Officer Jenny, but then how will I deliver the
pokeballs to you?" Jessie replied calmly. Jenny hesitated, then slightly
lowered her gun.
Jessie pulled out the pokeballs, but what Officer Jenny
didn't notice was that tiny smokebombs had been cleverly hidden amidst the
pokemon.
"Here you are, Officer!" Jessie yelled as she threw the
pokeballs in her direction. Once the smokebombs came in contact with the
floor, smoke was sent in every direction, choking all present. While they
were all distracted by the diversion, we disappeared into the mist.
"Come back here!" Jenny commanded as she pointed her gun
into the smoke aimlessly.
"Sorry we couldn't stay for the party, Officer Jenny, but we
really have to bolt! We'll have to take a raincheck on it," I cackled.
I released my faithful pokemon, Wheezing, and ordered him to
smash open a window for our escape. Wheezing complied and we leaped outside.
Home free at last.
After we had gotten a good distance between the Pokemon
Center and us we paused to catch our breath.
"It was your fault this time, James!" Jessie accused once
she was able to breathe.
"My fault? How is everything my fault? It was your plan!" I protested.
"Yes, but you went along with it!"
"Youse two were the ones who screwed up in dere!" Meowth
defended.
"I suggest you stay out of this, Meowth! It was your fault
the police came after us!" I pointed out.
"Was not!"
"Was too! You're the one who triggered the alarm!"
"Well, if you hadn't been daydreaming about Jess, we
would've gotten outta dere faster!" I blushed slightly at the comment. "So
it's all your fault!"
Everything was all James, James, James. Why couldn't
somebody else share the blame for once? For the first time in my life, their
hurtful words suddenly penetrated through my cheerful nature.
"Aren't you guys tired of dealing with failure? Of always
losing out?" I sighed after a few moments of silence. Jessie glanced at me,
surprised at my suddenly serious tone.
"Yeah... so?" I took a deep breath. Now I had to make the
most
difficult decision in my life- whether to leave the life I had known or not.
"I really didn't want to do this, but I've had enough. I
can't cope anymore. Team Rocket has taken everything away from me- I'm
tired
of failure. I'm tired of defeat. I'm tired of Team Rocket."
Jessie's face suddenly fell, all of what I had just said
sinking in.
"You can't mean you're..."
"Yes, Jessie. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you will be
losing
something as well, Jessica. Me." -
"Uh, Boss? Sir? I'd like to speak with you for a
moment... please," I queried timidly as I peered into his office. Documents
were stacked neatly on top of the desk, with Giovanni seated in a nearby
swivel chair, scowling at me. He seemed as though he was in one of his more
pleasant moods so I decided to inform him of my decision.
"Boss," I began. "I know that this may be hard,
especially since I've been a member for so long and, well, I've thought it
over and..." I took one quick glance out the door back at my best friend, who
was waiting patiently with Meowth outside. She would look in once in a while,
only to turn away in anger. Or frustration. With Jessie I could never tell.
"James, I don't have time for your insignificant
problems," Giovanni snapped as he took a sip from his glass of water. Not
listening, I continued.
"I need to leave Team Rocket." The glass slipped from
Giovanni's hand, causing it to shatter upon hitting the ground. I suddenly
wished I could reverse time and prevent myself from saying that right then. I
took a step back and watched as Giovanni tensely placed a shaky, clenched
fist upon the desk as though trying to control his rage.
"You're *what?*" he demanded, daring me to repeat myself.
I stuttered. "...Boss, I just need to
move on.
I can't stay in Team Rocket forever and... hope you'll understand, o wise
and esteemed Boss. By the way, that is a lovely tie you're wearing. It
matches wonderfully with the bright red tomato sauce stain." I bit my lip
nervously. "Boss?"
"I understand perfectly, James. That you are a traitor to
Team Rocket."
A traitor? What was he talking about?
"Are you even aware of
what happens to those who try to leave Team Rocket?"
"Uh,...no."
Giovanni snapped his fingers and his
henchmen
apprehended me. My eyes frantically darted to Jessie in the doorway. My heart
screamed out for her to help me, but she just pretended that she never saw me
and glanced away.
"Jess, we gotta help him! Who knows what dey'll do ta
him!" Meowth shouted.
"Why should we help him? He's deserting us, remember?
He doesn't care so why should I care about him?" Jessie retorted.
"You know dat ain't true, Jess," Meowth stated. Jessie
simply turned away. Why Jess? Why? Even though you know I love you, you still
treat me so. Why?
The sudden ring of the telephone startled us all.
Giovanni reached for it reluctantly. "Yes?"
"We found it, Boss," came the reply from the other end.
His expression immediately changed from anger to shock in a matter of
moments.
"What? You found it? Where? Where is it being
delivered?"
"It's being shipped in a green pokeball to the Pokemon
Lab in Pewter, but send an expendable member to retrieve it. The security
will be very tight, as it is in any lab. The member may not return, but
that's a chance you'll have to take."
"And I have the perfect member for the job... " Giovanni
sent me a wry smile. Or sneer. It was difficult to decipher. “James, I will
grant you your last request if you do a little favor for me."
"Favor?" I asked suspiciously. The Boss placed an arm
around my shoulders slyly, trying to convince me to fall into his newly
formed trap. At first I wanted nothing to do with it, but after I took one
last look at Jessie, I decided to make the worst decision of my life-to go
along with it. Anything to get myself out of this pit. What I didn't know was
that I was digging myself a deeper ditch.
"James, I want you to retrieve a pokeball for me." " A pokeball?"
"Yes, James. A pokeball. A very special pokeball. It is
absolutely essential for my newest plan.
"Which is?"
"I shall fill you in on further details at a later date.
For your own safety, of course."
"Of course," I repeated dryly.
"The green pokeball of which I speak is at the Pewter
Laboratory. Do you think you can handle your last mission?"
"Yes, sir! You can count on me!"
"Then go and don't fail me." I raced out the door and
crashed into Jess and Meowth.
"James, watch where you're goin'" Jessie snapped as
she shoved me aside.
"So what did he say?" Meowth asked.
"He sent me off to find some pokeball. But I may
need... help." Jessie crossed her arms and cast a cruel glance at me.
"Don't look at us. We're not your friends,
remember?" I
frowned.
"I never said that, Jess. Don't put words into my
mouth."
"Stop arguin'! " Meowth ordered as he clawed both of
our
faces. We yelped in pain.
"Meowth!" we cried.
"Why'd you do that?" I demanded.
"Because I don't like to hear youse two fight." A
moment
of silence passed between us as we just gazed at each other, reflecting on
Meowth's statement.
Giovanni leaned back in his seat, hands folded across
his stomach as he listened intently to our argument, pondering to himself of
his decision.
After a few moments went by and our voices were out of
earshot, he called into the intercom, "Bring in Cassidy and Butch."
Immediately after, the two loyal members obediently
stepped in.
"You called, sir?" Butch questioned.
"Yes. I have a job for you two." They smirked at the
response and grinned evilly at each other.
"And we are happy to oblige," Cassidy replied smugly.
