An Unusual Turn of Events
Chapter 9: Old Rivals, New Friends
by Kenshin

"I think you were saying something about Ash and Misty not admitting their feelings?" said Brock helpfully. "Oh, right. Hehehe, I uh..." James looked extremely embarassed. He was nervous about this part of his speech anyway, but he was even more nervous since his feelings for Jessie had just been revealed in front of the entire wedding party. "*ahem*...I couldn't stand by and watch those two go on fighting day after day, not realizing that they were just hiding their true feelings...I guess that makes me a procrastinator, huh? Well, anyway, I decided I had to do something. I...I kidnapped Ash and made Misty rescue him. That was when they admitted their love. They figured out my plan after Ash was rescued and invited me to be here..." James trailed off, tears filling his eyes, "It's so romantic..."

James sat down, putting his head on the table and crying. 'It's so beautiful...' he thought. He felt an arm slip around his back and looked over to see Jessie sitting beside him, a smile gracing her face. "Jessie..." She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "We'll talk after dinner," she whispered to him. He nodded in agreement.

After the rehearsal dinner, Jessie and James talked about their relationship. They decided they would take it slow and see how things went. So, naturally, when Ash went to find them they were making out.

"Hey James, I...oh, sorry..." he said, quickly turning to leave. "No, I'm sorry Ash. We were just...umm...Jessie can you give us a few minutes?" James stammered. "Sure, sweetie," she teased. James blushed slightly, but shook it off and turned to Ash. "You needed to talk about something?" "Well, nothing really important. I was just discussing with Misty which of you...that is you or Brock...would hold the ring," he said. "Oh, Brock can do it."

Ash was a little surprised at how easily James had given up the ring priveleges. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Yeah...but can I ask you a question?" James asked. "Go ahead, shoot," said Ash. "Could...could Jessie be a bridesmaid?" "Hmmmm, you'd have to talk to Misty about that." James thought for a moment. "Okay, I'll ask her later," he said.

"Get ready for trouble." "Make that double trouble." "To protect our nation from devastation." "To unite all peoples within the...damn, we messed it up again!" "Just keep going...love and truth." "To extend our reach...my lines don't rhyme with yours!"

James and Ash looked at each other in confusion. "Who?" "What the?" Suddenly, there was a flash and a large cloud of smoke appeared. As the smoke disappated, a pair of figures could be seen standing a few yards from where James and Ash were standing.

"Butch and Cassidy, I should have know," said James, voice full of contempt. "You never could get that motto of ours right," he mused. "Grrr...shut your trap, you traitor!" yelled Butch. "Traitor?" asked Ash. "Well...Jessie and I...we quit," he said, shrugging. "Nobody quits Team Rocket!" said Cassidy. "Oh, go suck an egg," taunted James. "We'll teach you to walk out on Team Rocket! Raticate Go!" Cassidy yelled, calling out her Raticate. "Umm..Ash do you have your pokemon?" asked James nervously. "No..." he said, edging away from the angry TR members. "RUN!" yelled James.

Ash and James made a break for it, but the Raticate tackled Ash. He went down, hitting his head on a tree, which knocked him cold. "Grab the traitor, we're getting out of here," said Cassidy. "Okay, okay," said Butch. He didn't like it when Cassidy got testy, and she seemed very mad tonight.

They quickly drug Ash off to their waiting balloon, not knowing that they had captured the wrong tuxedo-wearing youth.

Meanwhile, at Ash's house. "That was the best dinner I've had in weeks!" said Jessie. "Yes, those caterers outdid themselves," agreed Delia. She had finally gotten over the fact that two members of Team Rocket were staying in her house. Misty wasn't paying much attention to the conversation, however. "Brock, where's Ash?" she asked, looking around frantically. "I don't know...I thought he was still outside." "He's out there talking to James about something," said Jessie.

"Oh, good," said Misty, relieved. As soon as those words escaped her mouth, James stumbled through the door. "Jessie...rockets...found us!" he panted. Jessie was on her feet in an instant. "Where?" she asked. She looked ready for battle. "Outside...Ash and I barely got away..." he said, still catching his breath.

"Ash!" Misty yelled, grabbing James and shaking him, "Where is he!" James looked horrified. "He...he was right behind me!" James said. "Great job, James. You just let the groom get captured," said Jessie. "I...I..." "Let's go, loverboy," she said, taking him out of Misty's clutches and heading for the door.

"Where do you two think you're going?" yelled Brock. "Where else? To find her fiance," said Jessie, pointing at Misty. "I'm going with you," Misty said, running after them. "Wait for me!" yelled Brock, sprinting for the door. "Oh, dear, I better call Jenny," muttered Delia.

"Butch, you incompetent son of a...!" Cassidy was more than angry. She was furious. "Hey! I'm not the one who knocked him out, you were!" retorted her partner in crime. "I don't want to hear it! We've got a hostage, so let's just figure out how to use him to our advantage," said Cassidy, sitting down to think. "I know how! We've threaten to kill him if Jessie and James don't turn themselves over!" Butch said, pulling out a combat knife as if to kill Ash right then and there.

Ash was watching the argument unfold. His eyes were wide, and he was struggling against the restraints that held him in place. 'Jessie's ropes were tight, but these are cutting me!' Ash thought, 'I have to get out of here!' He tried to break the restraints again, but they wouldn't budge. He then tried to somehow move the chair he was tied to, but only succeeded in knocking it over with a *CRASH!*.

"So, you're awake," said Cassidy as she stood and walked over to him. She righted his chair by grabbing his hair and using it to haul his head upwards, dragging the chair with it. "MMMMMMFFF!" Ash screamed in pain through his gag. "Hmm, that sounded interesting," said Butch, brandishing his knife, "Maybe I can make him scream louder." "No, you idiot, we want a healthy hostage or those idiots won't turn themselves over!" Cassidy yelled at him. He quickly backed away, holstering his knife. "Never any fun..." he mumbled.

"What was that?!" Cassidy asked angrily as she turned to face him. "N-nothing." "That's what I thought," she said. She crossed her arms and continued staring at him. "What?" he asked warily. "What are you doing?" she said testily. "Nothing!" he answered, which was true. "Write the ransom note, you IDIOT!" she screamed.

He jumped three feet into the air, spun around, and ran for the desk. He quickly sat and began scribbling frantically on a piece of paper. "Finished!" he declared. "I'll be the judge of that," remarked Cassidy.

She walked over to the desk and grabbed the note away from him. She read aloud:

"Jessie/James,

We have your little wimpy friend. If
you don't want him to die, meet us at
the edge of Pallet Forrest tommorrow
at noon. Come alone and unarmed or the
hostage will suffer.

Butch and Cassidy"

She looked at him. "Sufficient," she finally said after letting him sweat a few seconds. He let out a sigh of relief. "Now, as for him..." she began, pointing at Ash.

"So, they left a note at the scene of the crime. I should have known something like this would happen," said Jessie. She had apologized to Misty several times about the situation, but she still didn't know how she and James were going to get out of turning themselves in without getting Ash hurt in the process. "Why are they after you? I thought you were both Team Rocket field agents," said Misty. Jessie sighed. "We were members of Team Rocket until about a month ago. The day before we got your letter, we had decided to quit. We were seriously fed up with always getting dangerous assignments with little pay or perks. We were always used as scapegoats for more serious crimes, too. That's the main reason we left. The last stretch of time we spent in jail was for a crime we didn't even commit. In fact, since we've met up with you and Ash most of the crimes we've been accused of were commited by other, higher ranking Rockets."

Misty's eyes widened. "All this time, I thought you and James were such bad people. I never realized that you two had it so bad. I'm sorry..." she said, hugging Jessie. 'She's sorry?' "I...I don't know what to say, Misty. I'm sorry for always treat you and your friends so badly, but it was one of the few ways James and I could vent our anger. There was also the fact that Pikachu was the best chance for promotion we had, but that doesn't matter now. James and I are out for good. We're not going back... but I don't know how we can get Ash back without turning ourselves over."

"Oh, don't worry about that. We know where they'll be now, thanks to the ransom note, and you and James have something that will take them completely by surprise," said Misty, snickering. "What's that?" asked James, confused. "James, what are you doing? We were having girl talk!" Jessie said, standing up and shaking in anger. "Wah!" James yelped, turning to run. "It's okay, he should hear this, too," said Misty. "Well..." Jessie said, wavering, "okay. Sit down James!" she finished with a snap. "Yes, ma'am!" he said, sitting down next to her.

"As I was saying, you two have something that will take Butch and Cassidy completely by surprise!" said Misty. "What?" said Jessie/James. "Friends," said Misty, smiling. "Friends?" Jessie said, confused. "You consider us ...*sob*...friends?!" James said, tears filling his eyes. "Of course. You're not part of Team Rocket anymore, and you've helped Ash and me out so many times, I've lost count. Not to mention the fact that both of you are in my wedding," continued Misty. "You mean...I get to be a Bridesmaid!" exclaimed Jessie happily. "Yes, but we need to rescue my fiance first." "Right!" Jessie and James yelled together, standing as they prepared to clash with their archrivals, Butch and Cassidy, one final time.

"They're late," commented Butch. He was getting edgy. He hadn't killed anything in a few days, and it was starting to bug him. "Be patient, they'll be here," said Cassidy in a cold, calculating voice. "Who's late?" someone asked behind them. "Wha?! How did you get there?" yelled Butch, turning to face James. "Oh, we've been here a while. We watched you two walk up and set up your little ambush. I must admit, I was slightly impressed by the creativity you put into the snares, but give us some credit. The pitfall trap was our staple. There was no way we would fall for one of those things," said Jessie, who was standing about three yards to the left of James.

"Grrr...I'll show you! Raticate, go!" screamed Cassidy as she threw a pokeball. "Testy, aren't we? Is it that time of the month?" teased Jessie. She too had pulled out a pokeball, which she threw. Lickitung sprang out of the ball, ready to attack. "Don't underestimate me!" Cassidy said warningly. "Funny, I was about to say the same thing," Jessie replied.

"Victreebell, go!" yelled James, throwing a pokeball and ducking behind a tree. "BELL!" said Victreebell. It looked around, but didn't see its master...or anything else it could swallow, so it just sat, waiting for something to appear. Butch smirked and threw a pokeball. "Golbat, I choose you!" Golbat appeared in the air, only a few feet from Victreebell. That was all the provocation it needed. Victreebell sprung into the air, swallowing Golbat whole. It held him for several seconds, then spit the bat pokemon out. It had fainted. "Rrrrr...come on, is that the best you've got?" yelled Butch. "Actually, no," James answered nonchalantly, cleaned some dirt from under a fingernail. "Ohhh! I'll get you James!"

Meanwhile, Raticate and Lickitung had tackled each other. Raticate came out ahead, and Lickitung fainted. "No, Lickitung, return!" said Jessie. "Ha! Face it, you can't win!" said Cassidy. "We'll see! Arbok, get out there!" Jessie threw her second and only remaining pokeball. "SsssARBOK!" "RATICATE!" "Arbok, constrict that overgrown gerbil!" Before Raticate could react, it was being squeazed in Arbok's coils. It fainted. "Raticate, return! Go, Charmeleon!" "What?! Since when do you have a Charmeleon?" "A gift from the boss...it pays to finish your assignments," she said. "Why you! Arbok, Take Down!" yelled Jessie. "Charmeleon, Flamethrower!" Charmeleon opened its mouth and spat out a rolling wave of red-hot flames. Arbok got hurt and collapsed. "Arbok!" yelled Jessie. She was out of pokemon.

Jessie looked over to see how James was doing. His Victreebell and Wheezing were nowhere to be seen, so she assumed that he, too, had been defeated. Cassidy had a smug look on her face. "So, are you gonna come along quietly, or would you rather have Butch rough you up a little first?" she sneared. Jessie started laughing. "What? What's so funny?" snapped Cassidy. "You are. You don't even realize how stupid you are, do you?" "What do you mean?" demanded Cassidy. "Have you even stopped to think why the hell we would come after Ash? Have you?" Jessie demanded. "Well..." "I'll tell you why! Because he's our friend, that's why! And you know what friends do? They help each other!" said Jessie triumphantly.

"So what?" asked Cassidy, "You still lost! You couldn't help your little friend, could you?" "Oh, I wasn't talking about us helping him! I was talking about them helping us!" Jessie said, pointing over Cassidy's shoulder. "Wha..?!" Cassidy said as she began to turn around. She and Charmeleon were immediately knocked to the ground by a strong Hydro Pump. "Yeah, give it to 'em Starmie!" Misty yelled triumphantly. Cassidy clawed her way to her feet. Charmeleon had fainted. "Grrr...who the hell are you?" she demanded. "I'm Misty. You're holding my fiance hostage and I WANT HIM BACK!" she yelled as she ran up to Cassidy and slapped her silly. "Ooo! Nice shot!" commented Jessie. "Thanks, teehee!" Misty giggled.

"So, do you give up, you little prick?" asked Butch. "well, no. I don't give up, since my side is winning," James said simply. "WHAT?!" Butch yelled as he looked over to see Jessie and another girl standing over an unconscious Cassidy. "What those...! I'll show them!" he yelled, preparing to call his last pokemon out again. James had put up a tougher fight than he had thought, but his Furret wasn't out of fight yet. "Oh no you don't! Onix, bind that guy, but don't hurt him too much," said a voice from behind Butch. Suddenly, Butch was wrapped tightly in the massive coils of a huge rock pokemon. "Grrr...I'll get you for this!" yelled Butch. "Onix, see if you can shut him up," said Brock. Onix swung the end of its tail up over its coils to smack Butch over the head. Butch was knocked out. "That's...uhh...not quite what I meant," said Brock, sweatdropping.

Ash's friends had done it! They defeated the nefarious Butch and Cassidy of Team Rocket. "Well, that was fun," said James, holding his pokeballs, "I just wish we could have taken them out by ourselves." "Stop complaining James! We won, and that's all that counts! These two are going to jail for a very long time!" said Jessie. "Yeah, but where's Ash?" asked Brock. Jessie pointed to where Misty was standing. "We'll know soon enough."

Misty was pummeling Cassidy over and over, yelling, "Where's Ash? What have you done with him?" Cassidy had regained consciousness and was screaming for Misty to stop. When Misty finally relented, Cassidy panted, "He's in the old cabin...about a mile from here..." Cassidy then collapsed again, exhausted from the interrogation that Misty had administered.

"Come on, let's go!" yelled Misty. "You two go ahead. James and I will take these losers to the police station," said Jessie, This should finally prove to those jerks that we've quit Team Rocket." She and James began dragging their archnemeses (that's the plural of nemesis ^_~) back toward Pallet Town.

TO BE CONTINUED?

Okay, here we are again. I may continue this series, but then again I may not. Tell me if you think I should or not. jon_schug@yahoo.com Email me with comments. Email me with questions. Email me asking me to read/review your fics. Just email me!!!

Sayonara,
Kenshin