Bad Moon Rising
Chapter 14/Epilogue
The 'Aerodactyl landed just outside of the Pokemon Center, and slowlt shifted back to its pink form after the others got off. Less than a second later, Jessie burst into the Pokemon Center, screaming for Nurse Joy and holding James in her arms. Meowth was close behind, and Mondo followed, as well as Wendiga, Butch, Cassidy, Ash, Brock, Misty, and the Pikachu. At one look at James, Joy had gasped and ordered a Chansey to bring in a stretched, on which James was placed and rolled into the emergency room while Jessie filled her in about the Belladonna that had been injected in him, and the nurse had replied that she would do the best she could, for, even though this was a Pokémon hospital, they knew how to work on humans, as well. The nurse had disappeared into the emergency room without another word.
Jessie now sat in the waiting room, as Joy wouldn't let her into the emergency room. Her hands were shaking, her eyes were closed, and she was whispering something softly to herself, words of assurance, although, in the depth of her mind, she knew that James might not survive.
This isn't...this isn't happening...I'm gonna lose James...and, Gods, he said he loved...he LOVED me...and he won't know...that I...I...nonono...he'll be fine...
What if he isn't...?
She shook her head and perched her feet on the chair, hugging her legs tightly. Ash, Misty, and Brock stayed away, aware of Jessie's current situation, knowing that she was at a breaking point. Wendiga paused, stared at her for a minute, then took off outside, leaning against the side of the building and letting out a deep sigh. Somewhere in the city, Marilyn Manson music echoed in the air, and she could make out the words, but didn't care.
Meowth padded up to Jessie, placing a paw on her shoulder tenderly and climbing onto her shoulder, where he curled up and leaned against her head, watching her. Cassidy and Butch slinked over slowly, and, despite Meowth's ice cold glares, sat beside her. Cassidy paused, reached a hand out, paused again, and placed a hand on Jessie's shoulder. Jessie didn't even pull away, she was too upset...
"Jess...?" Cassidy whispered softly, and the girl looked up at her softly, eyes narrowed and pulsing with anger.
"What do...you...want...?" she hissed, trying to sound tough, but failing as a tear rolled down her cheek. "You brought him there...you both...you both damn near killed him..."
Cassidy and Butch both recoiled, a look of guilt plastered onto their faces. They looked down at the ground, and Butch looked up at Jessie. "He ordered us to, Jess...," he whispered in a croaky voice. "You...you know what normally happens...if anyone ignored the Bo- I mean...his orders..."
Jessie nodded softly, looking away, remembering. He was right, as Giovanni was known to be murderous if someone ignored him, or didn't do what he or she was told...One of her friends had lost her life because of that...
"Jessie, look...," Cassidy whispered again. "We're here for you...all the way. We're sorry...seriously sorry..."
Butch nodded. "I'm sorry, as well, Jess...Please forgive us...?"
Instead of replying, Jessie looked up at them both, stared for a minute, and suddenly hugged Cassidy, the person who was once her best friend, like James was, like Butch was, and cried into her shoulder. Butch watched, and a small, saddened smile appeared on his lips as he patted her back. Meowth smiled softly and abandonned Jessie's shoulder to sit on a chair and watch, and Mondo sat beside him, staring...
**********
For the hours to come, Jessie would sit in that same chair, not bothering to get up to eat and not falling asleep. Her eyes were wide and they drooped with tiredness, but she wouldn't fall asleep, for she knew that she might wake up to hear that James had died while she napped. She didn't want to hear that, she didn't want to hear anything like that. Meowth, Cassidy, Butch, and Mondo remained at her side the rest of the night, and, while the other three ex-Rockets had fallen asleep from time to time, Meowth stayed awake, his wide cat-eyes bloodshot and tired, but filled with concern and dried tears. The twerps were asleep, and a clock hanging on a wall ahead read 1:30...in the morning.
Nurse Joy finally came out of the emergency room, a solemn look on her face, and looked up at Jessie. Slowly, she reached up and lifted her hat off of her her head and held it over her chest, where the heart was. Jessie froze, eyes wide, and Meowth gawked at the gesture of the nurse. They had seen this happen before...when doctor's would report bad news to the patients' friends and family...when they told them their friend or family member had died...Jessie near fainted from shock and disbelief.
"Miss...Jessie?" the nurse whispered softly, but earned no response. She shook her head and continued. "We administered a vaccine, but there was so much Belladonna in his body...I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he might...not see the break of dawn-"
The rest of Nurse Joy's words were a mystery, because Jessie had ignored her. She instead charged towards the emergency room, and rushed through the doors, pushing her way through the doctors that were now trying to block her way, the doctor's that worked there besides Joy.
She saw one room at the far end of the hall, and caught a glimpse of blue. Taking the hint, she bolted to the room, running in, and nearly jumping back in shock at how James looked.
His face was as pale as death, and he was hooked up to an oxygen machine to help his breathing. The heart rate monitor beeped slowly, and it showed that his pulse was weak, and fighting to grow stronger, trying to survive. His eyes were closed, and his hair was messy and matted...he was unconcious, it seemed...
Despite the doctors' words and commands for her to get out of the room, she stood beside James and looked down at him, eyes softening and brimming with tears. One of the doctors tried to pull her away, but she swung around and slugged him across the face, sending him sprawling back. The other doctors and employees took this as a sign to back off, and they quickly headed away, leaving her alone with him.
Jessie choked back a sob and sat on the chair beside his hospital bed. She reached out with a hand and touched his cheek, which was in between being cold and warm. Slowly, she rubbed away a bit of dried blood that was caked to the lower portion of his cheek. After making sure it was gone, she brushed his hair back, speaking in soft words.
"Hey, James...," she whispered softly and sadly. Her eyes were wet and her cheeks dampened as a small tear rolled off of her cheek and onto his. "It's funny...isn't it? All this time...I thought you hated me...and now...you say you love me...I doubt you can hear me...-"
-I don't know if you ever will be able to...-
"-...but I love you, too...James, you can't leave me...not yet...not now..." She paused. "We've been together for ten years, remember? You, me, and Meowth...I loved you all that time...your jokes, your efforts to cheer me up and keep my spirits up...and now...you...you might not...-"
-...might not make it...-
"-...you know... Don't leave me, James...stay with me...please..."
When she finished, two more tears rolled down her cheeks, and she buried her head into the bed sheets, where she silently cried, silently hoped, silently prayed that, by some stroke of luck, he would make it through the night...
...And Meowth watched from the doorway, staring silently, eyes and face solemn, yet saddened. He stood and began to walk up to the bed, and looked up at Jessie, but she didn't notice him. The cat gave an inaudible sigh and turned away, walking down the hallway, pass the doctors, pass Joy, pass the sleeping group in the living room, and out of the door of the Pokémon Center, where he sat beside Wendiga to ponder.
**********
Am I...dead...?
No...no way...I can't leave yet...not yet...it's too soon...
It's so dark here...so cold...
James found himself staring into nothingness, blackness...a lifeless void where nothing existed...but, at the same time, he could see his entire life, from birth to today...from bike gang to Rocket...everything. His childhood memories, his first meeting with Jessie...first meeting with the angel...
**********
It was the first day of school at Pokémon Tech, and James was running down the halls, desperately trying to make it to his first class, Pokémon History, before the bell rang. He shoved his way through the groups of kids in the middle of the hall, while trying to hold onto the books under his right arm at the same time...
...He had run right into somebody in his rush, and was sent sprawling onto the ground. He heard somebody groan, the person he had run into, and opened his eyes quickly. First day of school, and he hurt somebody! How dumb...
When he looked down at the person he ran into, he blinked in awe. Firey red hair, green earings...charming face. She opened her deep, sapphire eyes, and frowned softly. "Heeey, that hurt, y'know!"
"S-sorry," James managed to spit out before he rushed over to pick up her books while she stood and brushed herself off. He hurried and picked up the last of her books, and handed them to her. The girl smiled and took the books.
"It's alright, it happens a lot here." She looked up, raising a brow. "You new?""Yeah...," James replied, picking up his own books and standing to face her.
"Same here. My name's Jessie, you?"
"Uh, it's James..."
"Wanna come to class with me?"
James blinked, then nodded, a smile upon his face. He followed her to class, and they found themselves talking as if they had always been friends...this would become a great friendship...
**********
"I can't believe we flunked!" Jessie cried out, shaking her head softly while James patted her back, trying to get her to cheer up.
That had happened later in that school, much later. Jessie and James had gotten to be great friends, and had also decided that life should be more exciting than having dull quizes every day. They had had parties almost every single night, and had decided to stay up late watching T.V. or playing games like Monopoly and such, just for kicks...of course, that hadn't been for their grades...
"Hey, don't worry, Jess!" James said softly, a nervous smile on his face. "I'm sure there's something we can do!"
Jessie looked up suddenly, a grin on her face. "Wait...you're right!"
"I...am?"
She laughed and nodded. "Yeah, silly! We can join Team Rocket! My mother...," she whispered, then paused. James could tell that she was uneasy about the subject. She had told her about her mother's, Miyamoto's, journey in the Alps to find the legendary Mew...but the adventure had only resulted in her death. Miyamoto had been a member of Team Rocket... "My mother worked there, remember?" she continued. "Giovanni should let us in!"
A smile appeared on his face, and he nodded, although he disliked the rumors about the boss of Team Rocket. He'd heard rumors that the man was a homicidal maniac, but if Jessie joined, so did he. She became his idol.
"Sounds good! Let's join!"
**********
There was a knock at the door of their cabin, one of their hideouts after they had joined Team Rocket. The knock was small and soft, but James had run up to the door, peered through the hole in it, and saw nobody. He blinked, then opened it slowly, just as Jessie walked up behind him, eyebrows risen and a confused look on her face.
"Who is it?" she asked, blinking.
"I dunno..."
He opened the door, and saw nobody, then rose a brow. He began to close the door when he heard something clear its throat, and his eyes shot down to see a cat Pokémon there. Furry light-brown colored body, a tail that curled up and was tipped with brown fur, two long feet that were also tipped with brown fur, large black ears, six whiskers, and a golden charm on its forehead. A Meowth, that stood on two legs...and, they discovered with surprise, that talked.
"Hiya!" the cat yelled out in a Brooklyn-accented voice, a toothy grin appearing on its face.
"A...Meowth?" James whispered.
"That...talks?" Jessie added.
The Meowth snickered, then nodded. "Well, obviously I am! And yea, I talk! Da Boss sent me to ya, figured you'd need anodda partna'!"
"The...Boss?" James whispered again.
"Sent...you?" Jessie added once again.
"Yes the...Boss sent...me," Meowth grinned, mimicking their voices with wry amusement.
"Uh...okay, come in, I guess..."
"You have a name?"
"Jus' Meowth, that's ma name!" A grin appeared on the feline's face as he bounded in, sitting on top of a chair and yawning. Jessie frowned, crossing her arms.
"Hey hey hey! That's MY chair!" she yelled out, eyes narrowed.
"Oh? I don't see ya name on it!" the Meowth chortled, grinning. James blinked, and watched as Jessie resumed to chase the cat around the house, laughing when they cat jumped on her head and covered her eyes, causing her to walk into a wall. The other two began to laugh...for this seemed to start off a good friendship, as well.
**********
Mondo had now joined up in the group, only showing up a few times when they got into really sticky situations, especially after their foiled attempt to catch Ash's Pikachu, which spawned their long trecks to follow the twerp and his merry gang. At one such time, they had landed in a forest, and their bodies were full of cuts and bruises. Mondo had showed up as usual, and began to patch them up.
"Thanks again, Mondo," Jessie grinned when he was done, and the younger boy looked up and grinned, taking her right hand and kissing it.
"Not a problem, Miss Jessie!" he grinned before walking off, leaving Jessie blushing furiously and staring blankly at the ground. James closed his eyes and looked away, a stern and forlorn look on his face. Meowth, unfortunately, caught it, and padded up to him on all fours, grinning softly, and whispering in such a low voice that Jessie couldn't hear.
"Aww...Jim's jealous!" he chortled, grinning like an idiot. That had caused an immediant reaction, for his eyes opened wide and stared at Meowth in shock and surprise.
"I. Am. Not!" he whispered, growling softly.
"Yea, and I'm a three-headed Growlithe, Jim."
"Don't. Say. A. Word."
"Nobody. Said. I. Would," Meowth mimicked, grinning, and snickering softly. "I. Ain't. Gonna. Say. Nuttin'. Cuz. You. Need. Ta. Say. It. Yourself."
James frowned, then turned away, walking over to the hot-air balloon and helping Mondo repair it...
**********
"James, James, James, James, James!" Jessie snapped, slapping him across the face with each word, eyes narrowed and filled with desperation.
They had been on the ship, the St. Anne, that day, and it had capsized, with them and the twerp's in it. Jessie and James were now on one side of a room with a pit of fire boiling below, and, across the room, Ash, Brock, and Misty stood and watched while Ash's Bulbasaur's vines were stretched across the gap between the Rockets and the twerps. But James was afraid...He didn't want to fall off of the plant Pokémon's vines and into the flames below...
"How long do you think you'll last on this side?!" Jessie screeched again. "Now, come on! We'll cross together."
"Please don't abandon me!" James had cried softly, eyes brimmed with tears and gleaming with the fear of death. He hugged her tightly, and she didn't pull away. She smiled softly and whispered into his ear:
"Don't worry, I won't leave you."
**********
Cold water had splashed around him another day, not so long after St. Anne. This time, it was when they had visited Maiden's Peak, where both he and Brock had fallen for a beautiful ghost that seemed to put him a trance. The ghost had begun to pull him towards her, and, suddenly, there was a blast of light and heat as a bazooka was fired from Jessie and to the ghost...through the ghost, causing her to become sidetracked and drop James into the ocean.
He coughed and choked out for air before managing to find his grip on a rock, the cliff's face, and quickly began to climb up it. Jessie would be in danger, they all would be...that ghost...
"Hey girl! You can't take him! You haven't got a ghost of a chance!"
Jessie's words, and it shocked James to the core. A grin appeared on his face as he scaled up the rocks even quicker, finally grasping onto the ledge and clingin on with a grin, nearly scaring the twerp that had stood there, Misty, out of her skin and causing her to jump back a couple of feet.
"You really DO care!" James yelled out, eyes gleaming, a wide grin on his face. Jessie seemed to smile softly, but her face turned into a frown.
"It's not cuz of you," she said, turning to the ghost. "Girls like her disgust me. Always waiting around for her man, as if she were his faithful pet. She can't stand the thought of losing him, but I say," she waved a hand, "see ya later! There's plenty more fish in the sea!"
James' face fell blank, and his eyes softened. His eyes brimmed with tears, but he forced them away. His heart was ripped apart, and his spirit was crushed. Meowth saw this, and tried to lighten him up by saying, "I could sure go for some fish."
But James didn't hear him.
**********
It was only a little while after that when they had found themselves at James' mansion, and his horrible past, something he wanted to abandonn more than anything. Jessiebelle was there, and he hated her with a passion...for his parents had tried to get the two eloped, and, when James showed bad manners, he was whipped by the Jessie look-alike...
Jessie and Meowth had forced him into the mansion, coming up with the idea that, if he got married, they'd get rich, then ditch the place, bringing James with them. Of course, that plan failed, for Jessiebelle had tried to fight for him with that wretched Vileplume...but Growlithe showed up and fried the plant.
Jessie and Meowth made a getaway, but were depressed, for James wasn't with them. He was with Growlithe, whispering his final goodbyes before racing off towards the place where the Meowth balloon was stashed, and took off in it. After about a minute, he was hovering over the two.
"Prepared for trouble?" he yelled out, and he saw Jessie turn, a girn on her face, eyes softened.
"Make it double!" she laughed, running towards the balloon as James managed to get it to swoop down, and grabbed her by the outstretched hand and hauled her into the balloon. The balloon began to hover in the sky again, and Jessie grinned.
"Guess we're not going to get rich this time, either," she said with a mock grin.
"Guess not. They wouldn't give me inheritance," James grinned, rubbing the back of his head, blushing slightly.
"Oh, there's always next time," Jessie laughed. "We may not have a lot of money, but we sure have got our freedom!"
"Yeah! Double trouble time, right?" James asked, holding out his hand. Jessie clasped it and nodded.
"Sounds great to me, James!"
James found himself staring into her eyes, crystaline blue. He smiled nervously as he saw her stare at him, and blushed slightly, enjoying the moment-
"-Hey, wait! Youse forgot Meowth again!" the cat yelled out, somewhat forlornly, and secretly grinning. Jessie and James tore away their gazes and looked down at the cat, swooping down to pick him up, and James silently cursed to himself, a sigh escaping from his mouth.
**********
Jessie layed her head upon the bed James slept on, eyes softened and brimmed with tears, her eyes wide and bloodshot. She didn't want to believe he was going away, leaving her, joining Miyamoto...he couldn't, he wouldn't...but it wasn't her choice...
He couldn't leave, there was no way...he was only eighteen! He couldn't die! Not so young! Not when she didn't tell him how she felt about him!
The silence that lingered in the room broke apart within a minute, for Jessie heard a sharp gasp of pain in front of her. She shot her head up, and watched with horror as James' body began to convulse, it seemed. His body jerked violently, and he hissed out in pain, gritting his teeth painfully. Something was hurting him...
The poison...oh Gods no...
**********
Gah...! What's...going on?! Belladonna? Poison? It hurts...I can't die...
He tried to fight it, using all of his energy against it. His heart raced and he tried to fight the poison off, but he was already in a weakened state...he didn't last long. The poison began to take over.
No...I won't die...for Jessie, I'll live...I won't leave...I won't abandon her...
Something happened, although he was unsure of what it was. He felt an intense burst of heat, and light...then darkness. He heard voices, somebody whispering above him, and his body trembled. The poison...the poison was...gone?!
Groggily, he opened one eye to stare into two sapphire ones. He blinked, opened the other eye, and gave a weak smile, while Jessie gawked and laughed out.
"James!! You didn't go! You didn't leave!!"
It was then that he noticed that her eyes were bloodshot, and her cheeks were damp. "Jess?" he asked.
"Yeah? I'm here, James, what is it?"
"Were you...crying?"
A pause, and a smile appeared on the woman's face. She nodded, a look of pride gleaming in her eyes, as if she was proud of showing off her emotions. "Yes, I was crying."
"But...why...?"
"Cuz I didn't want to loose you," Jessie replied, placing her head on the bedsheets and smiling softly, staring into his eyes. "Cuz I was thinking about what you said."
James blinked, the her eyes widened. He wasn't mad, was she? She was smiling...that was a good thing, right? Jessie grinned softly, placed a hand under her chin, and smiled widely. "Because I love you, too."
James near fainted from shock and relief. Jessie loved him! Jessie loved him! He paused, blinked, then smiled. This was too good to be true...but what if it wasn't? What if it was a dream? What if-
Jessie answered by kissing him on the lips, then pulling back, giggling at the blank expression on his face. It would still be debated if he fainted right then in the years to come, because he could've sworn that he blacked out for a split second before kissing her back.
Someone cleared their throat, and the two pulled away to look down at the feline figure standing on the foot of the bed, grinning like an idiot. "It's about time, youse two loveboids!" Meowth snickered, grinning as another figure walked in...Wendiga, with a gleam in her eyes.
"Hope I'm not interruptin' anythin'," she said with a grin. "Nurse Joy told us youse woke up...well, because she saw you wake up. I take it dat you're rid of da poison?" She paused, then cleared her throat. "Pardon, Meowth's accent is contagious!"
Jessie and James laughed, as did Meowth, and the blue-haired boy nodded. "I guess so. I feel fine...brand new, in a way!"
"Really?" she grinned. "Well, you two behave 'till Joy comes back to check if you've been cured, okay?"
Meowth howled with laughter, and Jessie and James blushed. The half-wolf grinned and walked out of the room, leaving Meowth and the...'loveboids' there.
**********
After Joy had arrived and took a sample of James' blood to see if he was rid of Belladonna, he was found to be free of it.
Officer Jenny and her fellow officers had gathered at Mount Moon and began scrounging around for Giovanni's mangled body. They found him, and gave him a small closed casket funeral, in which almost no one attended. The Persian was buried, as well, but Butch, Cassidy, Meowth, Jessie, and James showed up then, for the cat had sacrified himself to protect Butch and Cassidy.
In the years to come, Butch and Cassidy developed their own relationship. One never went anywhere without the other, and they became deeply involved...They also managed to get onto Jessie, James, and Meowth's good side, and they had once again become friends.
Ash continued on his journey to become a Pokémon Master, which he achieved a few years later. He and Misty have also spawned a relationship of their own, and, although they were still young, they never parted ways. They were your typical boyfriend and girlfriend, and Brock was still chasing girls...and was shocked when a Jenny had accepted his proposal to go out for a date.
Mondo continued to be like a little brother to Jessie, James, and Meowth. Wendiga and he hung out a lot, becomming very good friends over time...
Meowth also struck love. He'd found Meowsy again...or rather, she found him. The female Meowth had ditched the Persian because of his attitude, and found Meowth, to whom she apologized to for all of her past misjudgments. Meowth had said it was alright, and two have been hitting it off very since.
Jessie and James, in the meanwhile, was another story. After relearning normal human habits again, as the Werewolf incident had left him traumatized, James and Jessie dated for a while. They were married a year later, and now have two children...a boy with short, red hair, and a girl with a long, blue ponytail...Of course, they had plenty of adventures in the future, but that, my friends...that is another story.