*The Price Of Love -Part One: Grave Mistakes*
*By JLJ*
*Warning: Violence, gore, angst, extreme shippyness..you've been warned!:)*
*Summary: When Cassidy and Butch are going to be torn apart forever due to a stupid mistake, can they be saved?
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"Bringggg-!" A shrill buzz sounded from Butch's alarm clock, rudely jolting him out of his restless slumber. His hand quickly shot out to hit the snooze button, then it swiftly moved to the back of the clock where he turned it off.
For a few moments, he only lay there motionless, barely daring to breathe for fear it would rouse his sleeping partner in the room next to his. Cassidy always was a light sleeper.
With the door cracked, Butch could hear her breathing, slow and even. Miraculously enough, the noise had not disturbed her. He breathed a great sigh of relief and turned to gaze at his clock. It was exactly 2:45 am on the dot.
Climbing slowly out of bed, mindful of the creaks, he hurriedly got dressed in his black Team Rocket uniform. He walked in the bathroom and ran a comb through his hair which had been ruffled by sleep.
"Hmmm... vain till the end.." he thought sadly as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. It showed his eyes wide and paranoid, his body tense. But Butch paid no mind to this, as he nervously pocketed the handgun he always kept in his dresser drawer.
Opening the door leading to Cassidy's room very slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible, he began to creep past his partner's bed. If she woke up, his mission would be blown..and ..and..he just couldn't think about what would happen then!
Across the room was the door that led to the dark, deserted main halls of Team Rocket Headquarters. He slowly ventured past Cassidy's bed and her sleeping form nestled comfortably between her warm blankets. She remained completely unaware of the horrible fate that Giovanni held in store for her, the following morning.
Butch knew he had to hurry and complete his mission before it was too late..but Butch could not just leave without gazing at her longer..
"She looks just like an angel..." Butch thought, his eyes resting on her perfect face. Her hair. Her lips..The next thing he knew he had leaned over and was softly kissing her perfect lips with his own. Butch's heart ached with all the "if onlys" that came racing at him at once. He loved her. There was no other explanation for it.
Ever since he had met her, it was like they both shared some unexplainable bond. They'd been through many times together, both good and bad, and he knew he could never hurt her, ever. She is the only one he trusted fully with his life..and heart. What had started out to be a normal teenaged crush had crossed the boundary into true love, but he must now reject the precious gift of her own love to save her....
Butch reluctantly pulled away from the tender kiss they shared and then watched her long and hard. Did he wake her? No, she only rolled on her side in her sleep. He lightly placed one final kiss on her cheek and faced the door, his heart heavy.
"If only I had the chance to say goodbye.." was Butch's final thought, as he silently closed the door behind him, and turned away to meet his fate....
Cassidy quickly sprinted through the halls of Team Rocket Headquarters, stumbling over slow-moving people in her path every few feet. She could hear someone calling her name in a frightened voice, but she only increased her speed. She would let absolutely nothing deter her from the decision she had made. Nothing.
She spotted the doors to Giovanni's chamber and the large crowd quickly gathering in front of it. Cass slowed to a stop. The sea of Rocket personnel parted as the large double doors slowly opened, squeaking and groaning from strain every inch.
A single tear rolled down Cassidy's cheek while she watched in horror as two armed bodyguards walked down the aisle to the door. It wasn't them that touched her soul, but the prisoner between them. It was her partner, her Butch.
"No..." she whispered sadly as she looked on, her heart breaking at the sight of him.
It was truly a pathetic sight indeed. His normally perfect green hair was in disarray as his soulful brown eyes peeked out beneath it. Butch's hair partially covered up his bruised eyes and scraped face, but it was still quite obvious that he had recently received a vicious beating. He had his hands bound tightly in front of him and his head bowed, whether from shame or sorrow, Cassidy couldn't tell. He had his eyes closed tight, shutting out the reactions of the on-lookers.
Most jeered him, shouting obscenities and insults, while others just stood and silently watched him, proud of what he had tried to do, but too afraid for their own lives to admit it. Butch had tried to assassinate Giovanni, head of Team Rocket...but he had failed.
"Cassidy...." A small voice called out from a few feet behind her. Reluctantly turning, she turned to gaze into the frightened eyes of Mondo. Younger than Butch and Cass by a few years and newly recruited, Mondo had not been part of Team Rocket the last time treason had been committed. Cassidy greatly envied his innocence.
"Cassidy, what's going to happen?" Mondo asked in a halting voice, thick with emotion. He knew. Mondo just still desperately clung to some faint, obscure hope that somehow everything would turn out alright, just like in the movies. But he knew in his heart he was wrong. He gazed up at her face, to see it streaked with her tears. He embraced her tightly in an vain attempt to comfort her and himself at the same time.
As Cass looked down at the boy, holding him tight, her thoughts wandered to her own early days at Team Rocket. She had been very naive, and was in no way aware of the vast evil brewing in the heart of Giovanni. The grave seriousness of the situation she had placed herself into was beyond her comprehension, until another Team Rocket member also made the mistake of betraying the Boss.
That woman was stripped of all rank and dignity, then brutally put to death with all of Team Rocket watching. It was then that Cassidy lost her innocence, all sense of what was right and wrong...everything was for the good of the Team. Even if it meant murdering innocent people who had done nothing to deserve it.
"Why..?" Cassidy thought bitterly, "Why did you have to play the hero, Butch?..." She shook her head sadly. She watched as the bodyguards led Butch away inside of Giovanni's chamber, out of her range of vision. The sea of people followed by slowly filing in after them.
By this time, Mondo was sobbing on Cassidy's shoulder, his grief incredible. But Cassidy had it dead-set in her mind what had to be done and pulled away from the broken-hearted boy. At this he hastily wiped his tears on his white Team Rocket uniform, while his pet Ditto sat at his feet, its sad expression mirroring that of its master.
Suddenly, a gloved hand came down on Cassidy's shoulder, causing her to jump. She spun around startled to see that the hand had belonged to James, one of her teammates. Right behind him were his partners, Jessie and Meowth.
"Sorry..." James mumbled with a sheepish look on his face. The trio had much sympathy in their eyes.
"We're so sorry about dis..." Meowth muttered sadly, as the other two nodded their heads in agreement. "We know you guys were really close..." he trailed off, not knowing exactly what else to say. There wasn't exactly anything else TO say.
Cassidy's eyes grew wide and she began to tremble. Meowth had talked about Butch in the past tense, as if he was already dead. She covered her face with shaking hands, as she fought back sobs. Tears were only a sign of weakness, and right now Cassidy needed to be strong...for Butch's sake.
Jessie looked on, her mind racing in a million directions at once. She stared at her rival, now left a broken mess by the events of the last twenty-four hours ....and before the day was over, her partner would be dead, killed by Giovanni's own hand, in front of everyone. Jessie could not even begin to imagine the pain, fear and confusion that Cassidy must be feeling. Even she knew that what Giovanni had asked of them was wrong, and she didn't blame Butch for doing what he had tried to do.
"If I had any guts, I would have pulled the trigger alongside him..." Jessie thought, lamenting to herself. Despite all past disagreements, Jessie drew Cassidy into a warm embrace, and for a few fleeting moments the two former friends felt years of hate and conflict melt away.
Hating to break up the tender moment, James spoke slowly. "Mondo..we are under orders to attend the boss's meeting..."
At hearing these words, Cassidy grew stiff and pulled away from Jessie's hug, then turned about face and walked determinedly toward the two double doors where Rockets were finishing piling in.
"Stop Cass, please!" Cassidy heard Jessie frightened call, but she refused to turn back. She was almost there when she felt Jess's hand clamp down on her arm. "Cass, please....don't do this! There has got to be a better way!" Cassidy slowly turned and looked into Jessie's eyes, to see them large and scared.
Cass only gave her an icy stare and said coldly, "There is no other way....." she started to turn back toward the door when she felt Jessie's tug once more. "Let go of me Jess...I know what must be done!"
Mondo, James, and Meowth raced to where the two girls were bickering. "Please stop arguing you two!" Mondo pleaded, looking like he was going to start crying again. "Please!!!"
Not listening in the slightest, Cass in one motion, yanked her arm out of Jessie's grasp and ran wildly for the door, tuning out the worried pleas from her friends. None of that mattered... only Butch did. 'I can't let him die for me....' she was her only thought as she escaped from them.
Having watched this entire scene unfold in front of it, Mondo's Ditto took this moment to spring to action. Making a flying leap, the little pink pokémon entangled itself around Cassidy's legs, causing her to take a bad spill on the hard wood floor. Together they skidded across the ground, until they stopped a few feet in front of the door. Cass lay there flat on her back as the others quickly gathered around her, looking with expressions of surprise on their faces at Ditto's bold move.
The Ditto slowly climbed up upon Cassidy's stomach as if to say 'You aren't going anywhere!' Her tough facade crumbling before their eyes, Cassidy broke down into incoherent sobs, her thin frame shaking, she heard the sentencing begin in Giovanni's chamber. Unfortunately Cass couldn't get back up even if she tried... right now she was too overwhelmed by her complete feeling of helplessness.....
Giovanni's chamber was a vast auditorium with rows and rows of bleachers on three sides, surrounding a central point of the room. Next to the north wall sat Giovanni's massive chair, where he sat petting his persian with his free hand. The other shoulder was wrapped in a large blood-stained bandage, and it was no real surprise to anyone as to how it was injured.
At his sides stood Jessie and James as his right hand men, a great honor that they would have been delighted to enjoy...any other time. But now both had dismal expressions on their faces, wishing they were ANYWHERE but here.
Mondo sat up in the bleachers near the door, so that he could make a quick escape if this became too much for him, which he knew that it most certainly would. His eyes wobbled as they filled with tears precariously threatening to spill. Even the sober Meowth in his lap could do nothing to comfort him.
A few feet in front of Giovanni's chair, Butch was on his hands and knees, his head drooping lower than ever, the bodyguards ever present beside him. Giovanni motioned to the one on his Butch's right and the guard responded by giving him a swift kick in the ribs.
Butch let out a low moan of pain and slumped forward, writhing in agony. The suffering was written clearly on his face, as he groaned softly, wishing he was already dead. From Giovanni's side, Persian appeared to snicker at Butch, its grin wide on its feline face.
From the stands, Meowth softly growled at Persian, as he clenched his paws in anger. 'He'll get his...dat's for sure...' he thought, then looked back with a horrified expression at his friend as he knew was powerless to do anything... but to watch him slowly die.
With another snap of the Boss's fingers, the other bodyguard followed suit, leaving Butch lying there with his chest heaving, gasping for air in ragged breaths. This exchange continued for several more minutes.
Mondo, Meowth, Jessie and James cringed more and more with every kick administered or cry of pain uttered from Butch. Jessie eyes' grew misty as she never watched him beg or cry out for mercy. Not even once.
Giovanni had an evil smirk pasted on his shadowed face. He was getting much enjoyment out of all the pain and humiliation that Butch was suffering. That would show everyone there to never betray the boss of Team Rocket ever again.
But still.... Butch was not begging for mercy like he had intended him to. He had not learned his lesson yet; Giovanni had not broken his stubborn spirit. Therefore the Boss only kept signaling the guards for more kicks until....
Butch grew still and motionless as he loudly whimpered and collapsed on the floor. Gasping, the crowd leaned forward at the edge of their seats to get a better look at the prisoner. Was the show over already?
A bit unsure himself, Giovanni also leaned forward to get a better look at his captive and then inaudibly sighed with relief. No, his chest was still slowly rising and falling, but Butch was not in too good of shape, that was for sure.
Resigned to the fact that Butch would rather die than acknowledge that Giovanni was superior, he figured he might as well kill him now and get it over with.
"You fool! Did you *really* think that you could protect her from me???" Giovanni hissed at him, as he made another motion to the guards. This time they roughly dragged Butch up by his arms to the Boss' feet, where they pushed him down onto his face. The loud 'smack' of his head hitting the floor echoed through the chamber.
As Butch painfully attempted to raise his head up once more, one of the bodyguards took a strong grip on his neck and forced his head to bow in Giovanni's presence, further humiliating him. The grasp was so tight that Butch could feel his blood flow to the brain begin to be restricted, as the man was purposely pinching his jugular vein.
Sensing Butch about to black out, Giovanni held up a hand to signal him to stop the chokehold. When he did, Butch sputtered and raised his head up to help him breathe, then the other guard yanked down hard on his hair to make him bow it again.
Giovanni chuckled sadistically as he glared down at him, then briefly looked up to see how his audience was taking this. A few cruelly laughed at this display, but the majority was pale with shock at seeing one of their own suffer like this. The Boss smiled to himself. This was all being accepted just like he hoped it would. Everyone would be *much* more careful to appease him in the future...
The only qualm he had about this was that Giovanni wished that Cassidy was here to watch him die..after all, if Butch had left well enough alone, he might have been spared...but by trying to kill the Boss, he had forfeited his own life.
'Idiot..' Giovanni rolled his eyes, then smiled to himself again. 'Heh, she'll receive her punishment later.'
Tired of holding it off any longer, Giovanni turned back to Butch for the final time...
"Well... have you had enough?" Giovanni asked mockingly in his distorted mechanical voice. He sat there for a for a few moments waiting for Butch's reply, and when none came he drew back and struck the young man clear across the face with the back of his hand.
Butch became aware of a warm trickle of blood dripping down from his lower lip, but he still stared back at his boss, his mouth shut in defiance.
"WELL?!?" Giovanni reiterated.
Infuriated when Butch refused to give him the satisfaction of an answer, in one fluid motion, Giovanni ripped off the surcoat of his uniform, leaving only his white t-shirt behind.
After tossing it off into a dark corner of the auditorium, he shouted in Butch's face, "You are not worthy to wear the Rocket uniform!" Again, Butch was silent and his face stoical. The only outward sign he gave that he had even been listening to him was the slight trembling of his body, from fear.
Seething, Giovanni thrust his outstretched hand out to James, signaling him. James stepped back from surprise, then realized what the Boss wanted. Whimpering, James slightly hesitated, not wanting to do it, but he had no choice.
With a shaking hand he reluctantly placed a powerful revolver in the Boss' hand, sealing Butch's fate. James supposed that this was to be his punishment for his group's constant failure.... by helping send his friend to his death.
Watching this happen, suddenly Butch and James' eyes both met and Butch saw only immense sorrow and regret in his emerald eyes. 'I'm so sorry...' James silently mouthed to him, his lower lip trembling as he sniffled, fighting back tears. Butch merely nodded his head slightly, telling him that he knew it wasn't his fault, that he had no choice.
Then he looked at Jessie to see her rapidly blinking back her own tears, but not succeeding as a few hot tears slid down her flawless cheeks. During the whole time that Butch and Jessie had known each other, he had teased her a few times, saying that she was more of a man than James was, because he had never once seen her cry. Butch couldn't help but grimly smile at the irony of it all, that the first time he'd ever see her cry was moments before his death.
The auditorium had fallen completely silent other than the faint sobbing emitted from Mondo, and the cruel, harsh click as Giovanni cocked his gun. All time seemed to stop as he lowered the gun at point blank range to Butch's head.
During that time, so incredibly close to death, Butch became aware of nothing except the feel of the hard, cool metal of the gun barrel as Giovanni pressed it against his forehead. He felt a cold shiver go up his spine as he realized this was it. The Boss held his life in his hands, and because Butch would not let him hurt Cassidy ...he would die.
In a few seconds, the last several years of Butch's life passed quickly before his eyes.. meeting Cassidy for the first time, joining Team Rocket, having their great Breeding Centre scam fail and them ending up being carted off to Jail. He remembered when he realized he had truly fallen in love with Cassidy, right up to tenderly kissing her goodbye on the cheek the other night..
Squeezing his eyes closed to help shut out the impeding terror, a single hot tear trickled down his cheek as he thought of his love for her and how she would never know... "God, I love her...I should have told her..." he softly whispered though he knew no one would hear it.
Giovanni did.
Then Butch stiffened and prepared himself for death as he heard Giovanni's finger tighten on the trigger-
"STOP! HOLD IT!!!!!!" Everyone looked up startled as Cassidy slammed open the double doors causing the audience as well as Butch and Giovanni to blink at the bright light that came streaming in. Despite being blinded as the room became illuminated, they could still hear her determined voice ring out loud and clear.
"No..you're punishing the wrong person. It was me. I put Butch up to it. He only did what I told him to do...because he's my partner."
It was as if the whole auditorium let out a collective gasp. Cassidy had just thrown her life away, and for what? Nothing, other then there would now be two burials tonight rather then just one. If she thought that would appease Giovanni then she is greatly mistaken....
Giovanni leaned forward with an amused expression on his face, then motioned to the guards holding her partner. Butch yelled out as they forced him off the ground and dragged him off to the side, away from Giovanni. Then he helplessly watched on in horror as two more bodyguards descended on Cassidy, like a flock of Spearows circling their helpless prey.
"Cassidy! No!!" Butch screamed in sheer terror as he watched them drag her cruelly in front of Giovanni. "Don't listen to her! She’s--" A bodyguard's hand clamped over Butch's mouth, silencing him. Panicking, he fought back at them with all his strength, but in his weakened state, it wasn't much of a fight. But he still refused to give up.
Cassidy was thrown on her hands and knees in front of Giovanni, in a bowing position, crying out as she landed painfully on the floor. Snickering, the Boss lowered the barrel of the gun to Cassidy's head, roughly jamming it up against her temple.
He gazed over, smiling at Butch, watching him struggle in vain to escape the clutches of the bodyguards to save Cassidy. This day just got better and better for Giovanni. Now Butch would experience the ultimate suffering.... to lose his true love! He could not have planned this better himself..
Giovanni looked in Cassidy's frightened eyes, then said with an emotionless tone, "Consider yourself discharged..."
Butch got his head free for a few split seconds to let out an agonized cry, "No!!! Please!!!!” he wept, then seeing that his pleas would do no good, he screamed out his feelings for her, so that she would not die without knowing... “I LOVE YOU!!!!"
Then the thick silence of the room was shattered as Giovanni ruthlessly pulled the trigger, then threw his head back in maniacal laughter........
