"Ice Blue Eyes"- by Julia Rocket

Authors notes: I had been meaning to write a story like this for a long time, 
but this is for that certain someone who totally hated my Julia character in 
"The Greatest Trial". I have a special message for them if you're reading this… 
SO DID I! Woo! It isn't just me! So, it is for your sake, and my sanity, that I 
fix this little problem by making a much better story that shows a completely 
different Julia. Thank you, and eat your heart out. For all the rest of you, I 
hope you enjoy my slightly darker-than-normal Team Rocket fanfiction.


	A teenage girl, about 5'6" in height, with cold blue eyes like ice, and 
wavy green hair that hung in a ponytail that ended somewhere near her knee, 
entered a dark room. Of course it was dark. That's the way she liked it. She was 
19 years old, and was a member in well standings of Team Rocket. She lacked 
emotions; she was like a beautiful statue. Cold as the ice Pokémon she trained, 
and as unforgiving as a storm. Her boss, Giovanni, admired her for her 
intelligence, and lack of conscience for the destruction she so easily created. 
And she had Jessie and James to thank for her life here. When she was 17, they 
had saved her life, and in turn she saved their lives. But she didn't care for 
them now. They were idiots. They had once been wonderful, until they decided to 
capture a kid's Pikachu, and since then been demoted over and over again until 
they were now near the bottom. Unlike them, she had risen to the top and to 
power.

	Her eyes swept the area, and she walked in silently. She remembered this 
place. This was her old apartment, given to her after a few good turns in Team 
Rocket. Since she never used it, Giovanni asked if someone else could have it. 
She had agreed, of course. She could get along just fine without it. It served 
more like an old attic that held the only remaining scraps of her past held in 
dusty boxes and photographs. She requesting only that she had a chance to clean 
it out, and her wish was granted. That was what she was here to do now.

	She turned on a dull lamp, and took off her gloves. Her hands moved slowly 
over her old desk, which had once been made of wood, complete with a large 
mirror at the head that she could use when fixing her hair, or other such 
nonsense. How it was covered in shadows and spider webs. 

	She opened a drawer, which opened with a squeak, and found a box. It 
looked black in the dark room, but it was far from just black. She had been 
looking for something else. She thought it over, and thought that this would do. 
As a matter of fact, it would do better. Why she wanted to remember the 
foolishness of her past was hard for her to understand, but something in the 
back of her mind would pester her that it was something that, for whatever 
reason, she had to do.

	She took the box, and tucked it under her arm. She put her gloves back on, 
and searched for another light. She drummed her fingers on the wall, as the 
other hand found the light switch. She clicked it on, and the room was suddenly 
bathed in light.

	She sat on the couch, and looked at the box for a moment before opening 
it. It wasn't black; it was made of a soft wood. In the middle of the top was a 
picture of her and her first partner. The picture was taken the first day in 
their Team Rocket uniforms. The right side of her mouth twitched, as a memory 
came to her.


~*~

	The shy 17 year-old, with her hair in many braids, and her eyes the color 
of the sea, had finally made well on her promise. 

	"I'll never leave your side!" she said just a month earlier. "If I have to 
join Team Rocket then I will!"

	And here she was now about to meet her new partner. A shiver went down her 
spine in excitement. She didn't know much about who her partner would be, except 
that she was a girl one year older than her, and that she was also a new 
recruit.

	She leaned against the wall, trying to act tough, like the other new 
recruits were.

	A rocket member in a black uniform walked in front of her, clipboard in 
hand. "Welcome new recruits to Team Rocket. You are among the ones who requested 
to be with a partner. A selection has been made based on how well you would be 
able to work together… a warning. If you don't like your partner, it's tough 
luck. If you want out, tough luck! If you want a break, tough luck! You are at 
the bottom of the Team Rocket chain, and dirt under my feet. When you meet your 
partner, you and he or she will be sent on a demanding training session to 
evaluate you. You will also each be given a pokémon. Don't expect it to be easy. 
Your last names are now nonexistent, you will be known only by your first name, 
followed by the word Rocket. If there's another someone here who happens to 
share your name, you will report by your name, squad, and if necessary, your 
squad number."
	
	Julia smiled to herself, and glanced at the slip of paper that said her 
number on it: 29. 

	One by one, the rocket in charge called out numbers, and the rockets were 
sent to meet their new partners in the other room. When finally he came to 29, 
he read, "Squad 50, gray team, number 29, Julia Rocket. Your new partner is 
Squad 50, gray team, number 27, Jackie Rocket."

	Julia took a deep breath, and prepared to meet her partner, and receive 
such things as her Team Rocket uniform, and her new Pokémon. She had come with 
nothing but a magikarp she had taken from her father before leaving her island 
home to become a member of Team Rocket. She walked with her head held high out 
the door and into a hallway. From the other side of the hallway, from an 
opposite room, came a girl with the same expression as Julia had.

	She was tall, unlike Julia, and had black hair with purple highlights that 
was about chin length, and curled under her chin. She had dark green eyes and 
bright red lipstick. This must be Jackie.

	Without saying a word, they each took a turn in the' T' shaped hallway. 
They walked down the long side together, side-by-side, into the first room where 
they would select their costumes.

	The next room was split down the middle, for guys, and for girls. All 
along the top of the wall were the choices for an outfit. Silently, the girls 
chose the last thing they would ever wear.

	Julia's costume had thin baggy pants that flared out, a crop top black 
shirt, and a light, short jacket that split in the middle of the famous red 'R'. 
Her boots weren't that tall, but they had a good heel on them, making her appear 
a little taller. Her gloves were simple and short. Jackie's costume, except for 
the top jacket and the black shirt, was different in every way. She chose a 
skirt that was short to begin with, but also had a short slit that went up about 
three inches of her right leg. Her boots were long, passing her knee, and her 
gloves were long, and covered almost her entire arm. After changing, the girls 
glanced at each other, and gave each other weak smiles, before proceeding into 
the next room.

	This was really the part they were waiting for. Team Rocket had selected 
pokémon for them. Pokémon that best fit their personalities, and would do them 
good on the battlefield. Two uniformed stood on either side of them, and read 
their names, and then handed them a pokéball and a note that would tell a little 
about them. They could not yet find out what they were, and the whole ordeal was 
done in strict silence, and mystery.

	Finally, another rocket lead them to their new home, a tiny apartment.

~*~

	Julia's memory disappeared for a second, as she glanced around the room, 
and shivered. Even well lit, this place held memories. More good memories than 
bad memories, but it still gave her a very creepy feeling to be in this room.

	The memory returned.

~*~

	Finally alone together in the room, Julia and Jackie were allowed to 
speak.

	"Nice to meet you," Jackie said, and offered her gloved hand. 

	Julia shook it. "Likewise."

	Julia was impatient, and couldn't wait to find what her Pokémon was, and 
instinctively reached for the pokéball.

	"Wait!" Jackie said. "Before we do that… I'm thinking maybe we should… 
personalize."

	Julia blinked. "What do you mean?"

	"I mean… add to our uniforms. Accessories. To make sure people will 
remember us," she gave Julia a warm smile.

	"Oh! Of course!"

	After searching the apartment, and finding everything that was provided 
for them, they found what they were each looking for. Jackie had found a plain 
black baseball cap, and Julia had found some wire. They spent the day playing 
with these, until they presented each other their gifts. 

	Jackie had removed the visor from the cap, and sewed around the brim 
another layer of black material, and also a red 'R' in the front. It was unlike 
any hat ever made, and quite unique. Almost selfishly, Julia took it, and put it 
on, and thanked Jackie.

	Julia's gift was a pair of dangly 'R' earrings, painted red with nail 
polish. Jackie reacted the same way as Julia, and quickly put them on.

	The girls grinned and shook hands again. These items served another 
purpose in the long run. They gave a little piece of themselves to each other. 
They could never fight when wearing them, and they never took them off. They 
were a symbol of their friendship that could never be taken away.

~*~

	Julia glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She still wore that black 
hat. And on her ears dangled Jackie's earrings.

	She almost smiled looking at them. They were the only things now that 
would show any sign of humanity, if one new the story behind them. She would 
never throw them away. Her friendship with Jackie was too much to throw away 
like garbage. They had become her trademark. 

~*~

	Then came the moment that both girls were waiting for. What would be their 
new pokémon? What type? Would it be poison, normal, psychic?

	Julia's lip trembled, as she pressed the round white button on the 
pokéball, and it grew in her hand. She threw it to the ground, and out spilled 
blue light that formed into the shape of a pokémon…

	It was a psyduck.

	Julia's jaw dropped. "A psyduck? Why in the world?"

	She glanced at Jackie, who lacked her perplexed expression. "I got what I 
wanted!" she announced. "What I've always wanted!" she pet her new Growlithe, 
and laughed. "Isn't it cute? What… what is that?"

	Julia blinked, and looked at the duck pokémon again. "I don't know… a 
psyduck…"

	Jackie frowned. "Why would they give you a psyduck? Those things have to 
get a headache to use any good attacks anyway…" and then shrugged, changing the 
subject back to her new pokémon. "The note said that this Growlithe doesn't like 
pokéballs, and…" 

	"The note!" Julia exclaimed. She opened it, and read its contents…

This is no ordinary psyduck. Unlike most, it can use psychic moves at command. 
It is extremely strong. We give this Pokémon to you because through are tests we 
can see that you have a talent for water pokémon. You are also intelligent. It 
will take that to control this pokémon properly. Do not under estimate it.

	Julia smiled. "Wow… they think I deserve…" she handed it to Jackie to 
read. Jackie nodded. "That's really nice, Julia."

	Julia looked at Psyduck fondly. "Between you, me, Jackie, and Growlithe, 
we're going right to the top of this team!"

~*~

	The memory vanished again. Julia scowled. She was so naive then, and so 
ignorant. 

	She glanced out the window. It was getting late, and it was time to return 
to her real home. She would finish looking through that box later.