Primary Colors III: The Grey Squadron
Chapter Three
By: Sforzie
"So what's your plan?" Jessie wondered.
"I-" Sabrina's reply was cut short as the door burst open.
"James!" Jessie cried in surprised delight.
James came running in, or rather came diving in. He hit the floor as several bullets shot over his back and buried themselves in the far wall. James kicked the door shut and looked around.
"Jessie!" James leapt to his feet. Noticing Sabrina he colored. "Hey, you said you didn't know where she was!"
"I didn't!" Sabrina shouted.
"Well... well leave her alone!"
"James, calm down!" Jessie said, running over to him. "She isn't hurting me."
James squinted. "Are you sure?"
"She's going to help us," Jessie said slowly. He considered this.
"Sorry," he said to Sabrina. She shrugged.
Sabrina put her hands together and they began to glow.
"What are you doing?" Jessie asked, clinging to James.
"Helping you," Sabrina said, closing her eyes. "I promise to deal with Glover."
"What-?" Jessie was silenced as she and James were surrounded by a flash of light. They disappeared. Sabrina sighed and paced back to the middle of the room.
"I'm waiting for you, Glover," Sabrina growled to the door. She put her hands together again and folded all the fingers but her pointers together. The tips of her pointer fingers began to glow a bright yellow.
It was not long before a shower of bullets blew the locks off the door. The door swung open, and behind it stood Glover, Drivel, and several people wearing Pokemon League uniforms and carrying guns.
"I believe I saw Mr. Rochester come in here," Glover said. He looked around the room. "Sabrina, what are you doing? Where's the captive?"
"I... dealt... with them," Sabrina said, a beat of sweat forming on her forehead. She seemed to be having trouble breathing as she concentrated on her hands.
"What the hell are you doing?" Drivel said as he and the others followed Glover into the room.
"You didn't tell me you killed people to get her," Sabrina said with difficulty.
"It isn't important," Glover said.
"No!" Sabrina's eyes flew open again, flashing with yellow light. Her whole body began to glow. "You're not important, Glover."
"Stop whatever you're doing right now and tell me where those Team Rocket people went," Glover commanded the gym leader.
"No," Sabrina said stilly.
"Shoot her," Glover said the other League 'soldiers'. They fired several rounds at Sabrina, but all the bullets were deflected by the weird yellow light that surrounded her body.
"I'm taking control, Glover," Sabrina said. The whole room seemed to resonate with her voice. The glow filtered from her body into a single point above Sabrina's pointer fingers. A ball of swirling golden light formed when the color had faded from her body. Sabrina's gaze shifted to Glover. The ball of light left her fingers and floated toward the League president. Glover stepped back in alarm. The ball finally fixed itself only a few inches from his nose.
"Implosion," Sabrina said dully.
Jessie and James had been teleported by Sabrina to outside the Pokemon Gym. Several Team Rocket members were laying on the ground underneath the trees that were across the street.
"Jessie, are you okay?" James asked once they were safely with the others.
"I'm fine," she assured him.
"What did Sabrina do to you?" James wanted to know.
"Nothing, nothing," Jessie shook her head. "I convinced her that was Glover was doing was wrong."
"What's she going to do?"
"I don't know," Jessie said. They looked toward the Gym.
As they looked on, the Gym erupted in a blaze of golden light. The roof of the Gym seemed to explode at first, but then was sucked inwards. The noise was terrible-they covered their ears but it didn't help. The whole Gym seemed to cave in on itself, but only the main dome of the Gym fully collapsed.
Then, as suddenly as it happened, the light flashed out and the thundering sound ended.
"Oh, no!" Jessie said, her eyes watering. Dust filtered up from the destroyed Gym.
"Sabrina did that?" James said in amazement.
"She did," Jessie said. "Oh, I hope she didn't kill herself."
"There's no way anyone could survive that," James said.
"No one..." Jessie looked around. "James, where's Seleca? Where's Meowth?"
"Shit, they must still be inside," James shouted.
And then, in the entranceway to the Gym (which had somehow remained intact) a figure appeared. She stepped slowly, dust settling around her.
"Sabrina!" Jessie shouted.
Sabrina's pale skin was burned a painful looking shade of red, and there were a few cuts on her. Otherwise she seemed uninjured. Sabrina's eyes were dull and she looked exhausted.
"They're dead," Sabrina said in a calm voice as she approached Jessie and James.
"Interesting way to take charge," James muttered.
"Did you see Seleca or Meowth?" Jessie asked. Sabrina shook her head. Jessie turned to her husband. "You have to go find them."
"Why me?" James paled at the idea of going into the failing building.
"You're the commanding officer," Jessie said, holding him by the elbow.
"Right..." He turned to Jessie and kissed her. "Just in case the building falls in on me while I'm looking for the cat."
"You'll be okay, just go get them," Jessie said. James nodded and went in.
The only part of the Saffron City Gym that was really standing was the main hall way. James covered his mouth to keep from breathing in too much dust. He squinted as he entered the hall, trying to see through the dust. Little bits of debris were still floating in the air, and James had to watch his step. Glass was everywhere, busted out from the gym windows.
James was mildly surprised that there were no visible fires-he was also grateful for it. The dust was bad enough.
"At least there aren't any bodies..." James said nervously. He picked his way past where the door to the fighting field had been. Around the corner and James spotted a small figure.
"Meowth!" James called in a whisper. The Pokemon looked up from where it was standing.
"Meowth! Meowth!" the cat called in return, and bounded over to James. He had a cut on his cheek, and there was blood on his paws. "Jessie-Meowth?"
"She's okay," James said. He picked up Meowth carefully. "Are you okay?"
"Meowth okay," he nodded. After a moment Meowth's ears perked up and he began to struggle in James' arms.
"What's wrong?"
"Meowth-leca," Meowth said. James let him jump down. Meowth paced back over to where he'd be when James found him, and sat again.
"Meowth, what are you doing?" James asked, following.
"Meowth-leca," Meowth said again, looking back at James. He pawed at a pile of rubble that had been a doorway. "Meowth, come out Meowth-leca!"
"Seleca? Where's Seleca?" James crouched down next to Meowth.
"In the pile," Meowth said, pausing. He blinked his big blue eyes at James. "Gonna get her out?"
"Yes, I am," James said. "Thanks."
"Meowth," Meowth moved to a few feet away and sat. James pawed through the rubble, pulling away pieces of door and wall. He caught a glimpse of blue fabric, and in a moment had cleared away the debris.
Seleca's eyes were closed.
"Seleca?" James called uncertainly. Very, very slightly there was movement in her face, and her eyes slid halfway open.
"James?" her voice was weak. Seleca coughed, and she winced in pain.
"Are you alright?" he asked, knowing that she wasn't.
"No," Seleca said. "But don't worry."
"Don't worry?" he sounded disbelieving. "Where are you hurt?"
"In my back I think," Seleca said. "Something doesn't feel right there."
"I'm going to get help," James said. "I'll get you out of here."
"No," her voice was sharp. James stopped and crouched next to her again. "Don't move me. I don't want it to hurt."
"What? What do you mean?"
"I don't want to die with pain, James," Seleca said. She sounded detached.
"Seleca, you're not going to die," James said. "That's why I have to get you out of here."
"Yes, I am going to die," Seleca argued.
"Is this because of Thomas?" James said wonderingly.
Seleca laughed weakly. "No, it isn't." There was a pause where Seleca's eyes closed, but they reopened when James leaned closer. "Is Jessie okay?"
"Yes, she's fine," James said. Seleca was quiet then, staring up at the broken ceiling. "Seleca?"
"Yes?"
"Why won't you let me go get help?"
"I'm not stopping you," Seleca said in a still voice. She took a shuddering breath. "But I want you to stay because I'll be dead before you'd get back."
James sat on the ground next to her. Meowth came back next to them and sat.
"Is this your blood, Seleca?" James asked, trying not to sound hysterical.
"Probably," Seleca replied.
"Meowth-leca?" Meowth licked her cheek. She forced a smile.
"Don't worry, Meowth." After a cough she gestured the feline Pokemon closer, and whispered into his ear so that James couldn't hear. "Someday you will be very old, Meowth, but you will see me again. Not as you know me now, but you will. Thank you for bringing him to me. You may have had a conk on your head, but you'll remember me." Meowth nodded and licked her cheek again. "Never forget Seleca, right?"
"Never forget Seleca," Meowth agreed. For a brief moment James thought he saw a strange flash of intelligence and knowing in Meowth's eyes, but then it passed. Meowth sat next to Seleca's head, and laid his own head down next to her cheek.
"I'm sorry..." James said sadly.
"Why?"
"Because you're going to die," he said. Seleca looked up at him and forced another pained smile.
"I die now because I have to, James," Seleca said.
"What do you mean?"
"If I don't die... something bad will happen someday," Seleca replied softly. "I just have to remember..."
"Remember what?" James asked. Seleca smiled.
"I can't tell you. Not now at least," she said.
"Why not?"
Seleca closed her eyes again. "Because right now it doesn't matter."
"I don't understand."
"You will someday."
"When?"
Her eyes cracked open. "I'm not sure. You'll have to tell me."
"You're delirious," James said. "I'm going to get help."
"You're all the help I need right now," Seleca said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," she said. A minute passed quietly. Then: "Take my pokeballs, James."
"What?"
"Keep my Pokemon for me, take care of them," Seleca said. "Especially Chansey and Pidgeot. I want your daughter to have them."
"Okay..." he pulled the pokeballs from their clips on Seleca's waist. She winced in pain, but kept her eyes shut.
"I know she will take good care of them for me," Seleca said slowly.
"I promise to make sure she gets them," James said. It didn't occur to him then to wonder why she referred to his and Jessie's unborn child as a she.
"Good." Her mouth sloped sideways in a half-smile. "I want to be buried with my gym badges on."
James took Seleca's closer hand in his own. "You will be." There was another painfully quiet pause. Seleca coughed, clearing dust from her weakening throat.
Seleca opened her eyes a last time, studying him. "Want me to tell you something meaningful to ease the pain?"
"Mine or yours?"
"I'm not in pain, James," she replied.
"Well... If you feel that you need to."
"I do."
He leaned forward slightly, as her voice had gotten softer. "Go on."
"In the five years I have known you, you have continued to impress me, James. You have proven yourself worthy of what you have become. I want you to go on after I die and continue being as strong as you always have been. Because someday your children will need your strength. I'm proud right now, even if I am going to die. I'm proud to be a member of Team Rocket. I'm proud to be..." Her voice faded off, and she looked towards Meowth. Her eyes slid shut after another moment.
"Seleca?"
"I'm proud..." her voice came but her lips didn't move.
James swallowed. "Seleca?"
"Tell Chansey to be good for me." The words formed in the air without a source. James bit his lip and leaned his ear down next to her mouth. There was only the slightest movement of air. James felt Seleca's hand go limp, and something pricked his palm. Pulling his hand away James saw that a piece of glass had been buried in Seleca's hand, and it had pierced his skin like... the thorn of a rose.
James wasn't sure when Seleca died. There was no motion to mark the passing. Just quiet.
Then Meowth began to cry, a loud feline howl. Tears streamed down his tan cheeks, and James felt his own eyes watering. After a few loud sobs Meowth's crying died down. He buried his face in the crook of Seleca's neck, and after a minute or two James heard something coming from him.
"Twinkle, twinkle, rosie star, why must you go up so far? Waiting high up in the sky, why must you now have to die?" Meowth was singing, hiccups breaking up the verse. James picked up Meowth and the cat started howling again.
"Shh," James said to Meowth, unable to speak. Wiping the tears from his cheeks with his free hand, James left Seleca's still body and went back outside.
James was crying by the time he reached the steps. Jessie ran up to him, pulling Meowth from his arms and passing the cat to Sabrina. She hugged James.
"James, what happened? Where's Seleca?"
"She's inside," James wailed. "She's dead Jessie."
"What? How?"
"I don't know," James said between sobs. "She said something about her back not feeling right."
Sabrina's burnt face went pale. "I killed her."
"No, no you didn't," Jessie argued, trying to soothe her husband. Her eyes were watering as well.
"I caused the building to implode, I killed her," Sabrina said, sounding dumbfounded. Her grip on Meowth slipped and the cat struggled to stay in her arms.
"No," James shook his head, wiping at the tears flowing down his cheeks, "She didn't want any help. Said something about having to die."
"I feel terrible about this now," Sabrina said, putting a hand up on her forehead.
"Don't, please Sabrina," James said softly. They heard the wail of sirens approaching.
"The police," Jessie said needlessly, looking at James in alarm.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure everything goes okay," Sabrina said. She cleared her throat. "I am, after all, the Pokemon League President..."
Jessie pulled herself away from James and took her Meowth from Sabrina as the first police cars pulled up. Several more cars, ambulances, and a fire truck followed.
Sabrina handled things well, although she was still visibly distraught. At the police's question Sabrina stated that there had been several residents of Rocket Town in the gym, who had been attacked by members of the Pokemon League within the building. She had been with Glover, when the building suddenly caved in on itself. Just before he died Glover stated that he wanted her to take his place. The police believed every word of it, which was okay since most of it wasn't a lie. Sabrina's story was so convincing, in fact, that the police did not question any of the shaken members of Team Rocket that were present.
When asked about Seleca's body, James told the truth about her death. He also asked for the body to be taken to Rocket Town to be buried. The police, slow to recognize the leader of the Rocket Gang, agreed to it.
Seleca's funeral was two days later. The new International Pokemon League president was there, as was nearly every member of Team Rocket. Chansey was incredibly distraught during the ceremony, crying along with Meowth. A Wigglytuff with a bandage on its head was there with Seleca's other Pokemon, and it cried and put flowers on the casket.
The only remainder of the Grey Squadron was buried not far from her partner, wearing the badges she had worked hard to earn. A rose bush was planted near the tombstone.
"We bury here today a woman known to us as Seleca 'Rose' Rocket. She was a dedicated member of our team, and I regret adding her to the list of casualties that we have taken on. But she, like all others who have died recently, died fighting for our freedom. Seleca was strong and smart, and her Pokemon loved her dearly. She and her partner were one of the best teams that we had, and it a sad thing to see them both lost to us now. We can take comfort for them now in knowing that our conflicts with the Pokemon League have finally come to an end. Seleca died after fighting for this to happen. We honor her today for everything that she has given to us, and we will never forget her. There will always be a place for Seleca 'Rose' Rocket in Team Rocket history. And there will always be a place for her in the hearts and minds of those who knew her."
That night after the funeral it was raining. Not hard, and not storming. Just raining a slow steady drive in the dark.
Jessie and James lay in bed together, her head rested on his chest.
"Seleca would be sitting out enjoying the rain on a night like this," James said softly, looking out the window.
"Maybe that's why Chansey is sitting out there waiting for her," Jessie murmured.
Meowth was sitting on the windowsill, watching the pink Pokemon standing on a bench in the rain. He pawed at the window.
"No Meowth, its raining," Jessie said. "You don't want to go outside."
"Yes I do," Meowth said, looking out the window. "Chansey needs company."
"Chansey is just waiting for its trainer," Jessie said, her eyes watering.
"Meowth-leca isn't going to come back," Meowth said sadly. "Chansey shouldn't sit alone in the rain."
Jessie wiped at her eyes and sat up on the bed next to James. "No one should." She stood up, walking over to the closet. Her nightgown pulled ever so slightly over her belly. James noticed this as he sat up, but didn't say anything. Jessie put on her sandals and got her umbrella.
"Come on Meowth," Jessie said, patting her leg. Meowth hopped off the sill and followed his trainer.
"Jessie, where are you going?" James asked.
"To sit out in the rain with Chansey," Jessie stated simply. She picked up several towels and held them under an arm.
"You'll get sick," James said worriedly, rolling off the bed.
"I'll be fine," Jessie said. Meowth sat at her feet, waiting to go.
James looked at his stubborn wife, and smiled softly. He put on his slippers, and took a second umbrella from Jessie as she held it out to him.
Chansey was sitting in the rain. It remembered how much Seleca had liked to sit out in the rain, especially back when Thomas had been still alive and they'd been on the road getting badges. Getting badges had been fun. It had made Seleca happy, and that had made Chansey happy.
"Chansey, Chansey," Chansey sighed to itself. It gave up standing on the bench and sat down instead. Chansey knew that Seleca wasn't coming back, but it couldn't help but hope.
A figure appeared in the rainy shadows.
"Sey?" Chansey looked up in surprise. A rainy figure blurred and flowed in front of Chansey. The apparition's hand reached out and patted Chansey on the head. She recognized the feeling of the touch. Chansey looked up hopefully, but then the figure was gone.
Instead, Chansey heard several sets of footprints approaching.
"Oh, Chansey," Jessie sighed sadly as the Pokemon looked at them. Jessie, James, and Meowth sat (Jessie on a towel) down, sandwiching the Pokemon between them. The group was sheltered by the two umbrellas. Chansey stared out into the darkness. Meowth huddled against Jessie, who held an umbrella with one hand while draping a towel over the pink Pokemon with her free hand.
"Chansey, Chan chan chansey sey," Chansey said after a few minutes.
"What did Chansey say, Meowth?"
"Meowth. Chansey Meowth that Meowth-leca is still out in the rain."
Jessie glanced at James. "What does that mean?"
"Chansey Chan."
"Chansey say that Meowth-leca Meowth goodbye," Meowth said slowly.
"Meowth goodbye?" James echoed.
"Came to say," Meowth added.
"That's good, Chansey," Jessie whispered. James rubbed the Pokemon between the ears.
"I'll take good of you, Chansey," James promised.
"Sey?"
"And then someday I'll give you to my daughter," James said. Chansey nodded happily.
"Chan chansey Chan."
"What was that?"
Meowth blinked uncertainly. "Didn't make any sense," Meowth said, and tucked his head against Jessie's leg. He wasn't going to tell them.
"Oh," James looked down at Chansey. "It's okay."
"Chansey chan," Chansey said, resting its stubby little arms on its egg.
"Morning will be pretty," Meowth translated, murmuring into Jessie's leg. She giggled.
"What's so funny?" James wondered.
"Meowth tickled me!" Jessie laughed, unable to stop giggling.
"Chan!" Chansey said brightly. It reached over and tickled Jessie. She squealed, laughing harder.
"I'll get you!" she said, shaking the umbrella on the Pokemon.
"Aaaah! Meowth wet!" Meowth howled and jumped into Jessie's lap.
"Get off me! Jessie jumped up, sending Meowth rolling to the ground.
"Meowth wet! Meowth wet!" Meowth wailed, digging his claws into Jessie's foot. James was rolling with laughter. Chansey hopped up and down.
"Ow! Quit that!" Jessie kicked Meowth away, sending her sandal flying. Meowth pounced through the wet grass after it.
"Meowth!" Meowth picked up the sandal in his mouth and ran back toward the building.
"Come back here with my shoe!" Jessie shouted, clutching her umbrella. She chased after the feline through the rain.
"Chansey Chan!" Chansey jumped down and ran after the other two. The towel wrapped around her shoulders flapped like a little cape, until it was soaked by the rain.
"Come on James!" Jessie called to him.
"Coming!" James called back, barely able to respond because he was laughing too hard. He picked up the towel Jessie had been sitting on, closed the umbrella, and ran after his wife.
When Jessie woke up early the next morning, the room was quiet. It was still dark out-the sky to the east was just beginning to show some signs of light. Jessie turned on a lamp and looked around the room. James wasn't there, and neither were any of the Pokemon. The only sign that any of them had been there recently was the pile of wet towels by the bathroom door, the tattered remains of a sandal, and about twenty feet of red and white ribbon that was wound around a chair.
"James?" Jessie called sleepily. She sat up, scratching her stomach while yawning. "Meowth? Anybody."
"Dammit, why does he keep running off with my Pokemon?" Jessie got out of bed, got dressed, and went outside.
They weren't out in the courtyard, and they weren't in any of the main rooms of the mansion (which James' parents had surrendered) that Jessie thought James might have went to.
Marlequette and Jaymes were hitting a ping pong ball across the tiled floor of the main entranceway. Jessie came down the stairs and had to duck to avoid being hit in the hair by the ping pong ball. It bounced and plunked into the fountain.
"You're getting it," Jaymes said from the desk.
"You hit it," Marlequette argued.
"You're closer," Jaymes crossed her arms.
"Just get the janitor to get it," Jessie said as she approached.
"He has the day off from janitor duty," Marlequette said, leaning and looking into the fountain.
"You mean we can't even hire a janitor?" Jessie said in surprise. "Who's cleaning this place then?"
"Beats me, I didn't touch the payroll," Jaymes said.
"Oh well. Have either of you seen James?"
"I'm right here," Jaymes raised her hand. Jessie sighed.
"No, I meant the one that I have sex with on a regular basis," Jessie said. Both of the other women scrunched up their faces.
"We don't need that image," Marlequette said.
"But no, he hasn't been by," Jaymes said. "We've been sitting here all night and you're the first person to come by."
"Night duty?" They nodded.
"But that mutt of his has been sitting here for about an hour," Marlequette pointed to the Pokemon sitting on the desk.
"Growwwlithe!" Growly barked, his tongue hanging out as usual.
"What are you doing down here?" Jessie wondered, scratching him between the ears.
"Growl Growl!" Growly jumped down off the desk and trotted over to the door. Jessie sighed.
"Alright, I'm following."
Jessie followed the Growlithe outside and down the road that led away from the Headquarters Buildings. She sniffed the air as she walked. It had quit raining only a few hours before, and the scent was still there. There was still a smattering of clouds in the sky that were beginning to catch the approaching dawn.
Growly jumped around puddles and stopped to sniff other Pokemon a few times, but kept heading in the same general direction.
"Where are we going anyways?" Jessie wondered as they headed down the main-and only real-street of Rocket Town.
"Growll," Growly barked, sniffing the air.
Rocket Town was run by Team Rocket, and was slowly building itself around the road of a driveway that led to the expansive Headquarters. Most residents of the town still lived back in the mansions. But slowly, buildings were creeping up. There was a post office and a bar; a hotel, the cemetery, an impromptu schoolhouse, and a few small stores. The prospect of the growing town had begun to attract people from outside of Team Rocket. Jessie passed the last building, which was only currently half built. After that the road just continued on out to the main gate of what had been the estate, and out to the highway.
"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Jessie called to the Growlithe. He turned back and barked at her.
Another few hundred yards, over a hill, and Jessie figured out where Growly was headed. There was a field that had been fenced in a few weeks before, where a few of the horse Pokemon were kept, and at the end of the field Jessie spotted a human silhouette.
James was sitting on the fence, facing east. Jessie walked through the grass and over the foundation for the as-yet unbuilt stable that was planned.
"James?" Jessie called, knowing that it was impossible to sneak up when she was making as much noise as she was. The wet grass scrunched under her feet.
"Hmm?" he turned, nearly falling off the fence. "Jessie! How'd you end up down here?"
"Growlllithe!" Growly barked, running up and jumped over the fence.
"Growly led me," Jessie said. She leaned on the fence. "Where are Meowth and Chansey?"
"They went down to the cemetery to tie a ribbon the rosebush," James said.
"Was that what that mess was in the room?"
James smiled. "Yeah, they tried to do it without waking you up."
"How considerate," Jessie laughed. "I woke up and had no idea where you all were. What got you up so early?"
"I wanted to see the sunrise," James said.
"Well, you're facing the wrong way," Jessie said, looking slyly at him as she hoisted herself onto the fence. He looked at her but didn't scold her about being so reckless with her health.
"What do you mean? I'm facing east." To make his point he raised his hand and pointed at the horizon. "East."
Jessie grabbed his hand and aimed his arm in a somewhat different direction, more towards Headquarters. "East."
He smiled, wrapping his arm around Jessie's shoulders. "Picky, picky."
"At least I'm not being bitchy," Jessie laughed.
"Saving that for tomorrow?"
"Mm, what's so special about tomorrow?"
"Nothing," James shrugged. They sat, watching the sunrise. The colors of the sky changed and were diffused pleasantly throughout the landscape.
"Thinking about anything?" Jessie said softly as the sun broke free from the horizon.
"Sort of," James said. "Just wondering where to go now."
"What to do you mean?" Jessie asked, tilting her head towards his. "You're not going to start get all thoughtful and philosophical on me, are you?"
He looked at her and smiled. The words rang from somewhere in the past. "May I?"
"As long as were aren't late for breakfast," Jessie said. James looked insulted for a moment.
"I won't take that long."
"Go on, then."
James looked back at the sun creeping up and behind clouds. "The sun has such a set path, it knows where its going. Day after day, the same path, no question. But I... we... our paths are uncertain."
She brushed the hair out of his eyes. "That's why we're alive, James. To have things be uncertain. Life would be boring if we did the same things day after day." Her voice larked in pitch, making her sound mocking. "That's what makes us the bad guys!"
"We aren't the bad guys!" he laughed stubbornly. "We're the good guys now."
"Ah, but the Pokemon League will be straightened out with Sabrina in control. So we have to be bad guys again."
James smiled. "Or perhaps we'll just be allies for now."
"Perhaps." Jessie looked up at the clouds. "Mm, look at that weird cloud."
"Which one?" he looked up.
"The one that looks like a purple and gold swirl of ice cream," Jessie said. James chuckled.
"You're just trying to make me hungry," he said.
"You'll do that well enough on your own," Jessie said.
"True," James agreed. "In fact, didn't you mention something about breakfast?"
"It'll probably be waiting in the cafeteria by the time we get back," Jessie said.
"Good, I'm starving!"
Jessie laughed, squeezing him around the neck. "Let's go then."
James hopped down from the fence, and then helped Jessie down. They walked back down the road, arms crooked together. They were at the top of the little hill when James stopped.
"This is the place," he said.
"Huh?" Jessie looked around. "What place James, we're on a hill."
"Well, not right here," James said. He pointed to the empty spot on the side of the road. "There."
"Where?"
"In the field," James said. Jessie squinted.
"I don't see it." James laughed.
"Well, it isn't there yet!"
Jessie clenched her teeth. "What isn't there yet?"
"The gym!"
She pursed her lips, squinting again. "The gym."
"Yes," James nearly bounced. "The Rocket City Pokemon Gym." He pointed a few dozen yards back down the street. "And the Rocket City Pokemon Center."
"James, we're not even a city yet," Jessie said, somewhat confused. "We're barely a town."
"But we will be a city someday," James said hopefully. "After breakfast at least."
"Your 'path'?"
James smiled. "Yes."
Jessie wrapped her arm around James' waist. "Well, that's wonderful to hear, my fine blue haired dreamer. At least I know we'll have something to keep us busy."
"Very busy," James agreed. "I wonder... if we'll miss being the bad guys."
Jessie tugged on him, and they resumed walking. "We never have been the bad guys."
"Really? What were we doing then?"
"Finding your damned path."
"Oh," James looked thoughtful. "It's good so far, isn't it?"
"In its own way, yes," she agreed.
So, down the path they went.
End Chapter Three
(one more to go!)