Primary Colors III: The Grey Squadron

Chapter Four

By: Sforzie

Sixteen Years Later

It had been six months ago when Jessie had first gotten sick. It had happened quite suddenly-James had left for work early one morning, and by the time he had come home for lunch she had been taken to the hospital. At first the Doctors believed it was simply a bad cold. But after two weeks with Jessie's condition going relatively unchanged, they were forced to look for some thing else. She was nervy and unable to sleep, and had developed a raspy cough. And now six months into it Jessie wasn't any better and had been suffering from a constant fever for the past week. The Doctors thought it might be an infection, but could find nothing...

"Jessie?" James said softly as he took the seat next to Jessie's hospital bed. Her cheeks were sunken but flushed with fever.

"Mmm?" Jessie stirred and opened her eyes slowly. She smiled. "Good morning."

"It's afternoon," he corrected softly, leaning against the bed.

"You could have gotten me a room with a window," Jessie murmured. James smiled and stroked her cheek. He was still alarmed at how warm she felt.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"This is worse than when I was in labor with Jimmy," Jessie said, wincing.

"You weren't in labor with him for six months," James pointed out.

"It's been that long?" Jessie said, sounding genuinely surprised. James bit his lip.

"Yes, it has been," he said. "I've come to see you twice every day, don't you remember?"

She looked at him for a long moment. "Yes, of course." She sounded uncertain. James sighed-the fever had been playing games with her memory for the past few days.

"Do you remember me being here this morning? When they took another blood sample?" James ran his fingers through her hair.

"They haven't taken my blood today," Jessie said thoughtfully. James' eyes closed and his shoulders sunk as he sighed. Jessie looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry, James."

"It's okay, it isn't your fault," James whispered, his eyes remaining shut.

"Have the Doctors found anything new yet?" Jessie asked. James shook his head. "They will, James. I know they will."

"How can you be so certain?" he asked, looking at her.

"Because I know that you will make them find it," Jessie said. "After all, I'm not dying. Just sick." James looked away, and her back stiffened as if she'd tried to sit up. "What is it? Tell me, James!"

"I..." James turned his face away, unable to speak. His eyes were watering.

"James!" Jessie's voice pleaded. "Please, tell me!"

"I can't..." Tears flowed down his cheeks when he looked at her. Jessie looked frightened for a moment.

She sat up suddenly. "Oh please, have mercy on me, James..." Her face wrenched in pain. She fell against him, crying.

James held Jessie, rubbing her back. "I'm not going to hurt you, Jessie," he promised. "And I won't let anyone else hurt you either."

"I don't want to die, James," Jessie sobbed into his chest. "I don't want to die..."

He rested his face against her hair. "I won't let you, I promise..."

On the rooftop of a ten story building stood a young woman. Her family owned the entire building. Rose Rochester was barely 16, but hers was a well known face in the city. She had the face of her mother, but had inherited the hair of the mayor-her father. Only her father was quick to note that it wasn't his hair color, but his mother's.

Four days had passed since Jessie had broken down in the hospital. She was okay, but even more restless than ever. The Doctors had redoubled their efforts to help Jessie, and earlier this morning news had arrived from California that there might be a way to save Jessie.

"It's called a soul transport," James said again. He was sitting on the roof with his daughter as they watch the sun drop in the sky. James was doing his best to explain what the Doctors had told him. "They think that they can remove the spirit, as it were, from someone's body, move it through time if needed, and place it into another body."

"For the purpose of what?" Rose wondered.

"In this case it would be to get information," James said. "But they're not sure if it'll work. It's never really been tried before, other than in computer simulations."

"Why would the Doctors be considering it then?" Rose asked, puzzled.

"Back a few years after you were born, there was a fire in the town's main medical center. Many of the records were lost, even most of the ones on the computers."

"There weren't any back up files?" Rose said. James drew his brows together.

"We lost a lot of the back up files too," he sighed. "The Doctors are at their wits ends because they can't figure out what's really wrong with your mother. They think that there might be something in the missing records that could tell them what went wrong."

"How will they be able to get the information from the records?" Rose sat down next to her father and propped her chin up on her hands. Her red and black gym uniform was in strange contrast to James' suit (minus the jacket) and tie.

"Someone will go back into the body of a member of Team Rocket, someone that would have been able to get access to the medical records," James said. "But because of something-they didn't really explain to me too well, the person would have to remain in the body until it died."

"Died?" Rose paled. "But wouldn't they die too?"

"The Doctors say that something would cause the spirit to return to its proper place in time," James said. "In the past the spirit would remain for five years, and in the present it would only seem to be gone for five hours."

"Why so long?"

James shrugged, "They didn't say."

"Who will do it?"

"Haven't decided yet," he murmured. "But we do think we've located our target."

"Who?"

James held up a card to the fading sunlight. "Seleca Rocket."

Rose arched a brow. "My namesake?"

He nodded faintly, looking at the card. It showed the image of a young woman with blonde hair and brown eyes, and listed a few stats beside the picture. "She called herself Rose..." He looked away from the card. "It was sort of her code name." Rose nodded, listening although she had heard the story countless times in her youth. James frowned, his eyes reflecting inwards on the past. "She died... just a few months before you were born. Seleca and her partner were valuable members of the team, and we never would have gotten as far as we have without them."

"Seleca died before the records burned?"

James nodded again. "And oddly enough your mother and I met her just a little over five years before she died."

"It's sad," Rose whispered.

"Yes, it is," James agreed. He leaned forward, adopting a similar stance to Rose's. They sat like that for several minutes, until Rose suddenly jumped to her feet.

"I want to do it," she said, turning back to her father. James blinked.

"You can't be serious," he said.

"I am," Rose said evenly.

"I can't let you do this," James said. "I can't let you risk your own safety."

"Please, Dad, you know that I'm the only other person than you who would do this for her," she stared at him imploringly.

"There are others..." he stammered, uncertain of what to say.

"There aren't, and you know it," Rose said softly. She turned away from him. "I'll jump off the roof if you don't let me do it."

"Rose!"

"I will!" she said, starting for the edge of the roof.

"You're always doing this, Rose," James shouted after her as he got to his feet. "You're too impulsive!"

"And who do I get it from?" Rose called back to him as she reached the edge. She leaned over the side, looking ten stories down.

"Your mother," James sighed, chasing after her. This was reminding him of the time when Rose had been only a few years old and jumped off the roof of the tree house. She'd survived the fall with only a broken leg.

But this was no tree house.

"Rose, you stay on this roof right now!" James shouted, breaking into a run as his daughter climbed onto the ledge.

"Will you let me do it?"

James shook his head, "I can't."

"Fine then," Rose whispered. She jumped-stepped rather-off of the ledge.

"Rose? Rose!" James leaned over the side. He couldn't believe she'd actually jumped. But there she was, plummeting downwards with her arms crossed. "Fine, if you want to risk your life so badly you can do it!"

Halfway down the building she looked up at him, a faint smile on her lips. Rose flipped backwards in midair, facing downwards. James covered his eyes.

There was a loud THWANG, accompanied by the shrieking of several birds. James cracked his eyes open and looked down.

Rose was hanging from a flag pole that extended from the front side of the building. She swung her feet and dropped down the last three or four feet without serious injury. James sighed loudly.

"Now I'm glad Jessie made her take those gymnastics classes when she was little."

Rose was still waiting for him when James got down to the ground level. She was rubbed the top of her right arm.

"I think I dislocated my shoulder," Rose said to her father as he approached.

"Are you sure that's not all you dislocated?" James said, worry in his voice. Rose smiled.

"I'm fine, Daddy," she said. James sighed again, rubbing his nose.

"I can't believe you..."

"I knew you'd let me do it," Rose said, kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you."

"Right... right..." James blinked, trying to clear his thoughts. "Come on, lets go down to the Gym and see if Kate can put your shoulder back in place."

A week and a day passed. Behind a locked door in the Rocket City Hospital Rose lay on a metal table. She had a metal collar around her throat, with wires trailing from it and out to the table. Her eyes were open but blank, their blue depths non-reflective and empty.

Several people watched through an observation window.

"The sedative has taken effect," Dr. Kelly said. She smiled, checking her clipboard. "We're almost ready to begin."

James' face was pressed against the glass. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"It will work," the Doctor assured him.

James looked odd with his face squished desolately against the window. "If it doesn't work I'll lose both of them."

"We can stop now if you want to," Dr. Kelly said. James looked at her. Kelly had been a doctor for Team Rocket for over 25 years, and he trusted her.

"I don't want the kids to lose their mother," James said after a moment. His green eyes were large and troubled as he stared through the window at his daughter.

"Well I don't want the Rocket City Gym to lose its leader," a nearly 18 year old woman said. She had brown hair and grey eyes, and was the daughter of Thomas and Kathie. She had an Arbok coiled around her black-uniformed body.

"Kate, drop it," James snapped. The young woman snorted.

"I can't lead the Gym," she said.

"I wouldn't let you," James said slowly. He turned to Dr. Kelly. "Can I see her for a minute?"

"Yes, but you need to hurry," Kelly said. "The sedative will start to wear off and we'll lose our window."

"I just need to be sure," he said. Dr. Kelly nodded. James left the locked room and went down the hall. There was a room marked "Private", and he went inside.

Jessie was laying on a bed, a sheet drawn up to her chin. Today she was almost as pale as the sheet, and James noted this as he sat down next to the bed.

"Jessie?" he whispered, "You awake?"

"Mmm, I am now," Jessie murmured, not opening her eyes. "You don't have to whisper."

"I'm sorry," James said, not speaking much louder.

"What about Rose?" Jessie said.

"They're ready to begin," James said. Jessie's eyes opened slightly.

"Then why haven't they?"

"I just... I just wanted to be sure about this," James said to her. There was a movement of blue underneath Jessie's eyelids. James clasped her hands between his.

"James," Jessie sighed weakly, "She chose to do this. No one else would."

"I know," he whispered. "You know... what Seleca told me before she died makes a lot more sense now."

"What do you mean?"

James looked down at their hands. "She said that she had to die that night, that it was meant to be that way. And now I know why."

Jessie smiled. "It'll work, James. You know the information's lost. Someone has to go back and get it."

"I just wish I knew what they did to you back then," James said, setting Jessie's hands down carefully on the sheet.

"They didn't do anything, James," Jessie made a laughing-like noise. She closed her eyes again. "Now go, the window's shutting."

"Right, I'm going," James said. "I'll see you in a few hours."

James left the room and went back to where Rose was laying. Dr. Kelly was in the room behind the glass, checking the instruments.

"Ready to go," James said. Dr. Kelly nodded. She taped two small wires to Rose's forehead. Another doctor helped her, turning on a series of machines that hummed softly. James leaned against the window.

"Locating source," Dr. Jacob said. Something beeped. "Located."

"Lock on," Dr. Kelly said. On the table, Rose's eyes remained open, but a spark flashed through them. Dr. Kelly checked the heart monitor. It continued to beep, as did the brainwave monitor.

"Locked on, bumping now," Dr. Jacob studied the readout on the computer monitors. The beeping coming from the brain and heart monitors slowed.

"Transferring..."

The beeping slowed even further.

"Window closes in one minute," Jacob said.

The monitors flatlined.

"Transfer complete," Dr. Kelly announced. Both doctors sighed nervously.

"Now what?" James asked through a vent in the glass.

"We wait," Dr. Kelly said. "Five hours, and we'll know."

Five hours in the future became five years in the past. For all her appearances, Rose Rochester was dead. She had no pulse, no breathing, and almost no brain activity. There was just thing she had.

Rose had a mission.

Back somewhere in a waiting room, all James could do was wait and worry. He thought, mostly about the past, until his head began to hurt. So he laid down on one of the hard couches and tried to take a nap. Across the room a pair of shiny black eyes watched him.

Chansey sat on another couch, paging through an old issue of the Pokemon Friend magazine. Curled atop her head was an aged and sleeping Meowth. Chansey blinked, looking away from James to go back to reading the article about evolving Eevee. Reading was a trick that Rose had taught it, or rather Chansey had learned to read when Rose was learning.

With a snort Meowth rolled off Chansey's head and was thumped awake by the floor. He looked around in mild confusion, and then up at James.

"Meowth-leca?" he said curiously.

"Wrong decade," James sighed, not looking at the cat. Meowth stretched and then hopped up next to James on the plastic couch.

"What wrong, James?" Meowth asked.

"I already told you what's happening, don't you remember?"

"Yes," Meowth nodded. "Meowth, why so worry?"

"Because something might go wrong, that's why," James said. Meowth looked pensive.

"Meowth tell you something smart," he said slowly. "Meowth will find no comfort for his pain until Meowth pain becomes his comfort."

James looked down at Meowth, momentarily uncertain as to the meaning of the cat's sentence.

"So if I stopped worrying, everything with be okay?"

"Dat's right, Meowth," Meowth said, flicking his tail.

"Who told you that anyway?" James wondered.

"Fortune cookie," the cat said matter-of-factly.

"Forget I asked," James sighed and rubbed the side of his head.

"Asked what?" Meowth asked.

"Good kitty," James murmured, patting Meowth behind his coin. Meowth purred and fell back asleep. He looked up at the clock. Another hour.

James was too worried to go see Jessie during that last hour. When it was finally over James hurried back to the secret room. Dr. Jacob leaned over a computer, and Dr. Kelly loomed over Rose's still form. The Doctors looked at the monitors. Several minutes passed, and the timers hit 5:00. A fraction of a second later, there was a beep from the brain monitor. As the tread on the brain monitor strengthened, the pulse on the heart monitor restarted.

After two minutes Rose's eyes fluttered open, and the Doctors gave a sounds of relief. James came in as Rose was coughing and coming back to life.

"Did it work?" Rose muttered. Dr. Kelly laughed, helping her off the table.

"You tell us," Dr. Kelly said. She quickly checked Roses vitals. "Well, you seem to have made it back safely."

"Did you find out the information?" Dr. Jacob asked.

"Oh, quit being so impatient," Dr. Kelly scolded her partner.

"Yes, it's a bit unsettling to die and then wake up again," Rose said. She looked at her hands. "Haven't been here in five years, or at least that's the way it feels."

"Well, hopefully it'll be worthwhile," James said. He hugged his daughter, and then looked at her hesitantly. "So was it you or her back then?"

"Her," Rose said slowly. "But I was there. I had my influence."

"So you really were in Seleca's body?" Dr. Jacob asked.

"That was the whole point, wasn't it?" Rose laughed. "Yes, and I did get what you wanted."

"Excellent!"

Rose went over to one of the computers and began looking through medical text.

"About three years before Seleca was introduced into the scene, my parents broke into a medical research lab. They were supposed to steal something, I don't recall what. While they were there, Jessie came in brief contact with something called Aniphidex. She got sick, but there wasn't any sort of vaccine for it at the time." Rose rubbed her forehead.

"Aniphidex..." Dr. Jacob was going through the computer next to her. "Aniphidex is a man-made viral agent. Causes something usually called Aniphides disease. The vaccine for it was developed about four years ago."

Rose gave a half-nod, purple hair spilling into her eyes. "Back 25 years ago though there wasn't anything to combat it. Normal doctors didn't even really know what caused it."

Dr. Jacob squinted at the computer screen. "Aniphides causes the respiratory and circulatory systems to shut down, while causing the nervous system to become hyper-active. Masks itself into looking like a regular cold at first."

"So people would get it and not know it?" James said. Dr. Jacob nodded.

"What does this have to do with Jessie now though?" Dr. Kelly asked.

"Getting there," Rose said. "Can I have something to drink?" James ran off to get something. "Anyhow, the Team Rocket doctors didn't know what to make of it. They ended up giving her something called... beta-syro-something."

"Beta-scyrothine," Dr. Jacob said. "Its an ingredient in the Aniphides vaccine."

"Well, it seemed to work in curing whatever was wrong with Jessie," Rose said. "All the symptoms cleared up and she was only in the hospital for a little over a week total time."

"James, do you remember this happening?" Dr. Kelly asked as he returned.

"I believe so," James said. "I thought she just had a cold, until she collapsed. Meowth and I took her to the doctor back at Headquarters. They gave her something and released her after a few days."

"But she wasn't cured, apparently," Rose said.

"That's all you found out?" Dr. Jacob asked.

"Yes, that's all really. Everything else in her medical records was the normal. Broken bones, concussions, hypothermia-the usual stuff for a Team Rocket agent. Apparently once Jessie got better the whole incident was forgotten."

"It was for the most part," James admitted.

"So did I do well?" Rose asked, looking at Dr. Kelly.

"Yes, I think we know what we need now," Dr. Kelly said.

"So in brief, Jessie got sick from Aniphides, the doctors gave her Beta-scyrothine, and she got better. Now, it looks like the Aniphides came back," Dr. Jacob said.

"But how?" Rose wondered.

"It was the treatment she got," Dr. Jacob said, looking at the computer. "In the vaccine, the Beta-scyrothine causes the Aniphides virus to go dormant, and the other chemicals in the vaccine destroy it."

"So the Beta-scyrothine wore out of her system, and the Aniphides viruses woke up in Jessie's body?" Dr. Kelly said, leaning over Jacob's shoulder.

"I think so," he nodded. "And so she got sick again. But this time no one recognized the disease. Its almost impossible to trace in the blood."

"How did they find it last time?" Dr. Kelly asked.

"Um... they checked the list of the experiments being held at the lab Jessie and James broke into," Rose said. "It was there, and they concluded it was the only thing that would cause what was happening to Jessie."

"Well now we know what it is," Dr. Kelly smiled. "I can call the supply station in Saffron City, and we should be able to get the antiviral agent in by tomorrow."

"That's good to here," James smiled. Then a concerned look crossed his face. "But if the disease was dormant in Jessie's body all this time, couldn't have the kids gotten it?"

"No," Dr. Jacob called up a new page. "Aniphides was designed. The scientists who created it made it to be an assassin virus."

"Assassin?"

"Yes," he nodded. "The virus matches onto a single genetic code, and so it ignores any other genetic codes it comes across. The virus was dormant, and even if it hadn't been it would have avoided anything foreign inside Jessie's body."

"That's a relief," James said.

"Yes," Dr. Kelly nodded. "If you'll excuse me I'll go call the Saffron supply center."

"Good," James fidgeted. "Do you mind if I go talk to Jessie?"

"Go right ahead," Kelly smiled.

"I want to go too," Rose said.

"Can she?"

"Oh, Rose is fine," Dr. Jacob said, still studying the Aniphides information.

"I'm a zombie," Rose said, tugging at the corners of her eyes as she followed James out of the room.

"You're lucky that you're not," James said wryly.

"I guess..." A few paces down the hall and Rose face-faulted.

"You okay?" James smiled as his daughter picked herself up off the floor.

"I guess I'm just not used to my own feet yet," Rose grinned.

"Was it scary?" James asked as they approached Jessie's room.

"A little," Rose scratched her nose.

"Hi Jessie," James called as he and Rose entered the room.

"Hi James," Jessie smiled. "How's my baby?"

"I'm fine Mom," Rose bent down and hugged her mother.

"I hope you guys are bringing me good news," Jessie said, leaning against the back of the bed. "Or painkillers at least."

"Good news," James said. Jessie looked at him hopefully. "Do you remember that time that you got sick after we broke into a medical research facility?"

"Mmm, yes," Jessie nodded after a minute. "But that was a long time ago. Why?"

"Because whatever you had then came back."

"Oh," Jessie blinked. "But I thought I was cured?"

"Apparently not," James said. "Dr. Kelly is sending out for the medicine that will make you better."

"Good..."

"It should be here by tomorrow," Rose piped in. James nodded in agreement.

Jessie looked at Rose, smiling. "Did you have fun on your trip?"

"Most of the time," Rose said. "There were a few times though when I was glad that it wasn't really me going through it."

"Like what?"

"The dying parts," Rose said after a moment. "You know, when I-Seleca- killed the guard, when Haley got killed, when Thomas got killed... when Seleca was dying."

"Those were hard times."

"But I'm glad I did it," Rose said.

"How's that, aside from helping me?" Jessie wondered.

"I feel that now I understand why you two are so weird," Rose grinned.

"Oh, you...!"

"Are you sure you're supposed to be eating all that?"

"Oh shut up," Jessie snapped, stuffing a roll into her mouth. "I haven't had a real decent meal in over half a year!" A week had passed, and Jessie had finally been released from the hospital.

"Dr. Kelly said she could," Rose pointed out.

"I know," James whined. "But if she eats everything, what am I supposed to have?"

"You can go to the grocery store," Jessie said, looking for a fork.

"The grocery store?" James made a face. "Ugh, that's why I've been sending Jimmy and Alex the last six months!"

"No wonder you're getting a little pudgy," Jessie commented, poking him in the side.

"I am not! You're just jealous because you're all gaunt and stuff."

"And that's why I'm eating," Jessie said.

"Stuffing your face is more like it," James sighed.

"Boy, aren't you two mature," Rose said, shaking her head.

"Oh yes, you're certainly mature, Miss 'I'll jump off a building to make Daddy let me do what I want'."

"That's right!" Rose nodded.

"You jumped off a building?" Jessie nearly choked.

"I caught the flag pole," Rose said calmly, taking three riceballs from Jessie's plate. She passed two under the table to where Meowth and Chansey were hiding.

Jessie swallowed and reached for a glass. "I think she gets being crazy from you, James."

"Me?! I tried to stop her!"

"He did," Rose grinned. Jessie sighed.

"I hope your brothers don't grow up to be like you," Jessie said.

"Oh don't worry, I won't let them," Rose said. "I don't need to lose my job at the gym."

"I hardly think either of them will even attempt to overthrow you," James said.

"And I have Kate for defense," Rose added.

"I don't think she counts as a Pokemon," Jessie said.

"Some days you just can't tell..."

"At least you're learning," James sighed.

"Learning what?"

"That in life, you usually can't tell how things are going to happen," James replied.

Meowth jumped up into Rose's lap, and then onto the table. He picked up an egg-roll in his mouth and jumped back off the table.

"Like that?"

James blinked. "Like that."

Rose rested her chin on the tabletop. After a moment something on her hip beeped. Rose stifled a sigh and pulled her beeper off of her belt.

"Challenger," Rose murmured. She looked at her parents, briefly considering staying.

"Go ahead," James said. He glanced at Jessie, who had resumed eating. "We're not going anywhere anytime soon."

"Okay," Rose pushed away from the table. "I won't be too long." She hit her leg as she got up. "Come on Chansey, time for me to go remember what my job entails."

"Chansey!" Chansey bumped the table as she scampered up and after her second trainer. Little bits of rice stuck to its chin, and with a laugh Rose brushed them off.

Jessie and James watched their daughter depart. Rose swayed in time with some unseen beat, and Chansey mimicked the movement. They heard a whoop as the door closed behind Rose and Chansey. Jessie blinked, swallowing her latest bite, and looked over at James.

"She gets being weird from you, you know," Jessie said.

"Does not!"

"It comes from the hair," she grinned. James sighed, shaking his head as Meowth jumped into Rose's empty chair.

"Maybe."

Take hold of life in any direction

And you will find adventure in your hand

Believe in your heart without correction

And you will never doubt where you stand

End Chapter Four

End PC3

The End

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