#newchapter

Hey my friends, I’m back…with a new chapter of my current fanfiction “Viridian Love Story”.

How’s everyone?

Please, enjoy!


Chapter 6: The necklace

«What’s wrong with her?» James couldn’t understand her reaction. They had been on a razor’s edge, were able to talk their heads off, so that Giovanni merely condemned them to a suspension, no reason for pessimism. Meowth shook his head, landing on James’ shoulder in one bound.
«Yous put all the blame on her, she had to take the rap for the mess all three of us have made. Yous betrayed her trust. If I were her, I’d be miffed, too. Of course our Jessie can be moody, but this time I understand her completely. She’s bailed you out so many times. Saved you from love-struck spirits and spared no effort to accept you as you are, in your very wretched way. Good luck in your attempt to rebuild that trust.»
Meowth jumped off James’ shoulder to leave him alone with his thoughts. James was thunderstruck. Only now did scales fall from his eyes. This woman had saved his life several times. She got him out of his personal prison. She taught him to laugh and feel joy again. She brought him out of the deepest and darkest holes without asking much in return. He had more than lost her trust. He had, so to speak, thrown her to the dogs and laid the burden of guilt on her. His remorse seemed to overwhelm him. James had to save their friendship or what was left of it.

Misty ran through the deserted corridors, desperately looking for Jessie. The Team Rocket member may have answers to her burning questions. Where did Jessie get that necklace? Did she know Misty’s mother? Were Misty’s parents still alive? Ash came towards her. He seemed to be completely agitated, as if he had spent the last few hours trying to sort out his feelings.

«There you are, Misty! I have something important to tell you. I think I’m in love with you. When I was a child I couldn’t imagine being your boyfriend, but now, soon grown up and more mature behind the ears, I would like to ask you to join me, this time as my girlfriend»

He blushed to the roots of his hair, but he had not expected this answer.
«That’s all well and good, Ash. I’m glad you like me. But can we do this another time? I’m in a hurry,» she scurried off, without giving him another glance.

Jessie took a break at a small stream not far from the campus. She tried to swallow all her anger, she tried to hold back tears of disappointment. How could she have been so wrong about James? Through thick and thin from here to eternity? His promise sounded like a tasteless joke. He had betrayed her all along the line. Angrily, she wiped the hot tears from her face. She wanted to shout out her despair into the world, but humiliation stifled her voice. She listened to the quiet murmur of the stream, completely lost in thought and far from a brutal reality.
«Jessie!» A faint voice caught her attention. It wasn’t James who called her.
« Jessie ! Here you are» Jessie could make out the outlines of a young woman in the dark.
«What do you want, twerp?»
Misty approached the Team Rocket member, kneeled down next to her and let a gush of questions rain down on her.
«Jessie! I need to know! Where did you get that necklace? Who gave it to you? What do you know about it ? » Jessie rolled her eyes in annoyance. Was a little privacy too much to ask for?
«That’s none of your business, kid! Besides, since when is a frumpy girl like you interested in jewelry?» She grinned at Misty dismissively.
«Jessie, it’s really important! Listen to me! This necklace belonged to my mother. I need to know where you found it, where you stole it ! » Slowly but surely, Misty got impatient. How could someone be so cold and not show any empathy?
«Don’t you understand? I need to find my family and this necklace is the first clue in years, please, Jessie» Misty desperatley tried to squeeze some words out of Jessie, but she stubbornly resisted. «Family is overrated, kid» Jessie turned to leave, but Misty held her back.
« Don’t you have someone you care about, Jessie? Someone you love and need in your life ? Someone you’d miss if they were gone?» There was a shred of feeling in every person, even in a lunatic woman like Jessie. The Team Rocket member paused and thought about Misty’s words. James had once been everything to her, the faithful man at her side, but this picture was more than shattered.
«No, I don’t!» Jessie tore loose from Misty’s grip and ran further into the thicket of the forest. «Jessie, wait!» Misty followed her into the deep woods. They wandered around aimlessly, got lost in the pitch black night and didn’t realize that they had long since strayed off the marked path. The lurking ghost Pokémon were already looking forward to their new loot.

«I don’t know where she is, Meowth!» Hoping to settle the dispute, James had set out to find his friend. He and Meowth searched every corner of the university, looked in every single room, but found nothing. She dropped off the face of the earth, no trace of Jessie. Shortly thereafter, the Team Rocket agents could hear familiar voices calling through the night. Armed with flashlights, Ash and Brock searched the campus, until they ran into old acquaintances.
«Team Rocket! What are you up to again? Where’s Misty? Tell us, right now!» Ash was beside himself with worry. Who else could be responsible for Misty’s disappearance than this thieving gang up to no good?
«We could ask you the same thing! Have you seen Jessie ? » James took a step towards the young students, but before he could add anything, a shrill scream broke the silence.
« Jessie ! » James exclaimed. « Misty ! » Ash ran for the exit.
« We need to find them, they might be in danger!» James’ heart was beating out of his chest. He did not want to imagine that Jessie had put herself in danger because of his rotten behaviour. All four of them followed the blood curdling screams deep into the forest, stumbling over roots, sinking up to their knees into bog pools. But nothing and nobody could stop them, her friends were in trouble.«Help us!» Misty’s cry for help echoed throught the night. «Somebody, please!» Jessie’s voice broke. Only a short time later, Ash, Brock, James and Meowth reached a clearing at the end of the forest. The sight they saw made their blood freeze in their veins. There were Misty and Jessie, chained together by invisible forces, surrouned by a horde of Gastlys, Haunters and Gengars who danced around their victims in a trance-like state.
« It’s all my fault,» James sank to the floor.
«No time for self-pity, James!» Brock reached out his hand and helped James to his feet. The ghost Pokémon swayed up and down areound their prey, laughing in the face of their fear.
«How can we get them out? Ghost Pokémon are almost invulnerable, we need a diversion» Ash said and looked around in the forest for a way to attract the attention of the spookables. The spirits screamed and mimicked the cries for help of their victims. Jessie tried to free herself from the bonds, but failed miserably. James could no longer watch this grotesque spectacle. He threw himself into the fray without thinking.
« James, no ! » Brock wanted to hold him back, but too late. He waded through the sea of purple lights, struggled to make his way forward and was attacked by the ghost Pokémon. They tried to lick his face, they gave him shadow punches, they wanted to get rid of him by all means, but despite the immense pain James was in, he was completely focused on his goal.
«He won’t survive» Ash and Brock could only stand by and watch James’ rescue attempt. James fought on, soon he would reach the center of the ectoplasm. All he had to do was reach out for Jessie, untie her, and carry her out. The gruesome Pokémon used Destiny Bond to make him faint, but James held out, ducked and dodged their attacks. Ash had to rush to his aid. He ordered Pikachu to send in a massive thunder shock, hoping to at least distract the spirits, if not paralize them. Only a few inches separated James from Misty, he could almost touch her fingers. The thunderclap had thrown the ghost Pokémon out of concentration, the bonds were loosened for a split second. James grabbed Misty and pulled her to him. Ash crawled to them and dragged her out of the crossfire. Jessie was still lying there, surrounded by the ghostly creatures who wanted to harm her, since she had entered their territory unauthorized and disturbed their peace. Gengar formed a big black spookball, ready to fire it at Jessie, but James got in his way. He covered Jessie’s body and intercepted the attack. Another thunderclap cut through the night. The ghost Pokémon felt threatened and slowly fled away. What was left behind were Jessie and James, huddled and staring in fear. James coughed and spluttered. «I’m fine» he whispered. Jessie took a deep breath. They had barely escapted their end.
«What brought your here?» Brock wanted to know. Misty was shaking all over.
«I wanted answers. The necklace that Jessie weares belonged to my mother. So where did you get it?» Jessie looked at James questioningly.
«Tell them, James. You gave it to me years ago in Kalos . » You could tell that James was very uncomfortable talking about it.
« Well, I got it from the treasure trove at Team Rocket Headquarters». Jessie snorted contemptuously. «Is that what I’m worth to you?» Misty interrupted them.
«How did that necklace get into the treasure trove? Why do you keep civilian items in it ? «
James shied away from an answer.
« Well, all belongings and valuables are taken from people who might have information about Mew. Their belongings will be taken away before they’re sent for interrogation and subsequent deportation.» Misty’s eyes widened. «Does that mean my mother could still be alive?»

Hello my friends, here’s a new chapter…

Chapter 8: That was close!

When dawn broke, the ship entered the port. Jessie, James and Meowth felt nervous, knowing that they would soon break into monitored area. They could only guess at the consequences for this breach of taboo, but Giovanni would certainly give them the riot if their double deceit came to light.

“You can do this, Team Rocket!” Misty tried to encourage her long-time opponents, even if the words of support were used for her own profit. “Do you already have an idea on how you’re going to do it?” Brock intervened. He was curious about Team Rocket’ plan, since they had been fooling the kids with their distinctive costumes for years. Jessie and James gave each other a meaningful look. When it came to costumes and metamorphosis, nobody could hold a candle to them. A little smile flitted across James’ face, because Jessie hadn’t given him that intense look for a long time.

“Don’t worry about that! Here’s what we’ve been thinking about: As cleaners we get access to all rooms and halls, including the room where the files of all interviewed people are archived. As soon as we have the bunch of keys in our hands, we will pretend to do our job. A little wiping, a little dusting, and no one will be suspicious anymore” Meowth explained. His friends nodded in agreement.

“Be careful not to attract attention! This could end badly, for you, but also for me, because maybe we are already close to the solution” Misty expressed her concerns.

“Let the professionals do the work! We will hand you the files in no time, trust us!” James winked at the young woman.

The sirens were already sounding. The day had dawned, and the grunts gathered for roll call in the nearby main square of the island. Now Team Rocket had to hurry. Calculations showed that they had less than seven minutes to skilfully bypass the cameras and alarms without falling into the numerous surveillance traps. To do this, they had to get to the back entrance as quickly as possible, wait until someone accidentally opened the door for a short smoke break, then sneak into the main building and find the staff changing room where they would borrow their cleaning uniforms.

No sooner said than done. Jessie, James and Meowth were way ahead in terms of sneaking up on people. It didn’t take them long to avoid all the traps and, thanks to an inattentive employee, they were able to infiltrate the building unnoticed.

“Here, put this on, James!” Jessie handed him a pair of turquoise dungarees, a mop and a bucket. Fully masked and ready to put their plan into action, they grabbed the bunch of keys hanging unattended on the door frame and worked their way through all the rooms. Nobody seemed to be suspicious. Of course, they were sometimes given somewhat irritated looks and someone would claim to have recognized them, but with the right excuse and a big smile they could dismiss any suspicion of fraud.

So far so good. Their idea with the break-in seemed to bear fruit. They could snoop undisturbed in every room, open closets and drawers to search for the documents about Misty’s parents. Unfortunately, they didn’t find what they were looking for right away and the next danger was looming.

“Jessie! James! Let’s get out of here! Butch and Cassidy just turned the corner. They’ll expose us. Don’t lose any time!” Meowth was visibly excited. They had already spent too much time in this oversized library without finding what they were looking for. The files had to be hidden in another place and any further moment could cost them their heads. Jessie and James rummaged through all the files, threw piles of paper on the floor, searched in drawers for documents about the extraordinary interrogation of civilians.
“Just give us a little more time! I think we’re in the right place. I recognize names of families from the Kanto region, they must include Misty’s parents. Stop Butch and Cassidy! Distract them, Meowth!”

Team Rocket worked in lightning speed. They were on the verge of a breakthrough, they were sure of it. There weren’t many stacks left and underneath them they would find answers to the disappearance of the Williams family. “James, I think I found something!” Jessie held up a red envelope marked top priority.

“What are you looking for?” Butch snarled at the cat. “The service personnel has no business being near the library. Get out of here or we’ll call the guards!” Meowth talked his head off, the Grunts were not allowed to discover his friends under any circumstances. “Oh, I just wanted to sort through the papers. Somebody made a real mess of things” Meowth stuttered. Butch pushed him aside and entered the library. “It’s all over”, the cat thought and reckoned the worst, but the room was empty.

Jessie and James just managed to hide in the broom closet. It was terribly cramped, they cowered body to body in a dark corner. Jessie could feel James’ breath on her skin. Just thinking that his lips were very close to hers made her feel a tingling deep inside. They tried not to make a sound, listened intently to whether the steps were moving away. “Sorry, Jess, it’s so tight in here. I almost crush you” James whispered. She had to grin. Knowing him so close, felt familiar and right. Their lips could touch at any moment and maybe that was what Jessie longed for. After all the hardships and misunderstandings, she was ready to forgive James one more time. After all, she hadn’t always been an angel and even now, at the greatest risk, James protected her.

As soon as the voices became quieter, until falling silent completely, Jessie and James squeezed themselves out of the lumber room. Meowth gave them a challenging look. “You’re both turkey red!” He cocked an eyebrow. “Got the document?” They both nodded.

They were able to disappear from the building unnoticed, even though James almost triggered the alarm because he tripped over a wire.

“Here’s the file, Misty! Trust me, it wasn’t fun.” Jessie exhaled theatrically. Misty already snatched the document from her and leafed through the notes for hints about her parents. “It says they were already arrested in 1998. That was shortly after the beginning of our first adventure, Ash. If I only hadn’t followed you because of a stupid bike! I could be with them right now. What else does it say: they are now located on Skull Island. Jessie, James does this ring a bell? Do you know where that island is?”

Team Rocket swallowed hard. “Skull Island is never a good sign. There are the, let’s call them normal prisoners, who are simply sent to jail and locked up in a cell. They are provided with the most necessary things, with water and food. They are pardoned at the end and released as soon as they are no longer a danger to Team Rocket and any information about Mew has been extracted from them. But there are people who receive ‘the wash’ after the interview and your parents are marked as such. We’re sorry…”

Chapter 2:

The whip already raised for use, Jessiebelle reared up in front of James, who was cowering on the floor all intimidated. “Where have you been? Do you realize how worried I was?” She swung the whip and gave James a blow. James cried out in pain, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He knew that this little excursion into freedom would have consequences. Today Jessiebelle carried out the punishment with her favourite tool and throttled her fiancé without batting an eye.

“You have to be chastised, otherwise you might get ideas and leave me, and we both don’t want that, right James?”

The young man was trembling with pain. He grabbed his arm with the gaping wound. Sometimes he wanted to die, sometimes he wanted to leave this world, thoughts that had plagued him since he was a child. But the urge to be free and to be able to live his own life had prevented him from doing anything stupid until then and thinking of the waitress Jessie gave him new hope. Another lash!

“Please, Jessiebelle, stop!” he pleaded. “I’ve learned my lesson, I’ll never sneak away again, but please, have mercy!” Tears streamed down his face. Jessiebelle knelt beside her fiancé and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

“This is the only way you will learn to be obedient and please your future wife. Sometimes you have to take harsher measures to open someone’s eyes to how much love is involved here. I love you, James,” she breathed into his ear. James cried bitter tears. If this is love, what does abysmal hatred feel like?

She left him crouching on the floor, alone in his pain and thick tears of despair. James was breathing heavily, he could barely move, but he had a mission and nothing and no one, certainly not Jessiebelle’s abuse would stop him. With the last of his strength, he tried to get to his feet, left the torture cellar and sank into his pillow, tired and exhausted. Tomorrow night he would see her again, Jessie. He imagined her smile, her sapphire blue eyes, and slipped into a fitful sleep.

The day dragged on endlessly. James counted the hours until he could sneak out through the service exit. When evening came, he waited for the right moment to dismiss the property. The servants covered him, they were on his side and could no longer watch this tragedy of a relationship.

“I hope the wound heals quickly, James. This tincture is a recipe from my grandmother, it is supposed to work wonders. Look how Jessiebelle is ruining you. You are a shadow of your former self.” Maria became quite emotional at the sight of those deep cuts. She had cared for James since he was a little boy every time his parents were traveling the world again. Seeing him like this, abused, beaten and mistreated, broke her heart. James put a hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry about me, Maria. There’s someone worth living for,” he put on a weak smile.
“And I really need to see her,” he pressed on the tourniquet and disappeared into the night.

As James walked along the Strip, he noticed the many carnies and performers. Some were painting portraits of the tourists; others were juggling ten balls at once. Others sang and played music and thrilled the guests with little show acts. It wasn’t long before James spotted Ash, who was holding the crowd spellbound with his Pikachu. He had many tricks up his sleeve and his little Pokémon was exceptionally well trained. They were a welded team and impressed the audience with a fantastic interlude consisting of various electric attacks that Pikachu was capable of. The crowd went wild, applauded and cheered. The coins were already jingling, the bills flowing. James wanted to do more than one good deed today and secretly put a hundred-Pokédollar bill in Ash’s hat. With it, he and his friends could enjoy a delicious dinner at the Diner. Ash could hardly believe his eyes when he fished the large bill out of his hat. His mouth was open, never had he received so much tip before. His gaze wandered through the audience and stuck to James.

“Hey! Aren’t you the guy who was at the Diner last night?” he asked him. James nodded his head. “Wow! What happened to your face? Where did you get that black eye?” Ash wondered. Should James tell him a tall tale or come clean with the truth? He didn’t know this boy at all and honestly, he didn’t want to hang his private life on the big bell.

“Work accident,” James replied. Ash nodded his understanding and stowed the big money in his pocket. He had no idea that his sponsor was standing right in front of him.

“Are you coming by today? Fridays are fish day, you’ll miss out on the tastiest salmon and sea food if you don’t show up later.”

That’s when it slipped out of James’ mouth. “Is Jessie having a night shift tonight?” It was so foolish, he felt pretty stupid. What kind of impression did this make on young Ash? The boy grinned maliciously.

“Jessie is at the Diner every single night, trying to keep herself and that place afloat, it takes hard work, but she’s up to any problem. So yeah, she’ll be there. Why?”

James blushed to the roots of his hair. “Oh nothing, she just served me very well.” James shrugged it off, but one question still burned on his mind. “This man, who works with her at the Diner. Is that her boyfriend?” Ash laughed out loud.

“You mean Eddy? He’s ace. All he wants are close and deep friendships, but nothing more. A hug is still in, but not a step further. You don’t have to worry about him but let me give you some good advice. Give Jessie some space and don’t press her. Life wasn’t always easy for her.” Ash packed up his paraphernalia and disappeared down a dark side street.

Late in the evening, James hardly dared to show up at the Diner. He was visibly nervous and couldn’t quite explain to himself why. Of course, he was happy to see Jessie again and to enjoy her first-class service, to feel her warm smile on his skin. On the other hand, he didn’t want her to see him maltreated like that. But when he entered the restaurant, the atmosphere was really tense. He discovered the large bouquet of flowers that he had secretly sent her, but Jessie seemed to be anything but pleased about it. He approached the waitress and overheard snippets of conversation that made him shudder.

Turning to Eddy, she showed her best friend the small note James had enclosed. “He’s trying to suck up again, that lousy guy! Signs it with a friggin J. Like I wouldn’t guess it’s that assface of Jack’s who’s supposedly trying to make up with me. Throw this bouquet in the trash can right now, Eddy! Get it out of my sight!” she commanded. This action had gone completely wrong. But how could James have known that Jessie’s ex-boyfriend’s name started with a J, too? He put a hand on her shoulder and Jessie immediately winced. “Oh, it’s you. Sorry, I didn’t see anyone enter de Diner. I’ll come right over and take your order.” She heaved a deep sigh, gave way to her anger, and kicked the trash can with all her might.

James had probably hit the wrong nerve. Now he felt all the more pathetic. He wanted to please Jessie with the bouquet and show his gratitude for the nice service, but this action was a shot in the foot.

The waitress was beside herself when she reached James’ table. Her hair was mussed, she rummaged in her apron for her tiny notebook to write down the incoming orders and could not concentrate on her guests. Something had to have happened, and James was trying to figure out how to help Jessie. It was his turn to ask her about her day.

“Miserable, James. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong! But I don’t want to burden you with my stuff, I’m sure you have other things to worry about, judging by your eye…” James’ hand shot up. “I’ll get you cooling pads”, Jessie was overly attentive and James liked that feeling of being cared for by someone. There was no emotion in his relationship with Jessiebelle, except for pain and hatred. There could never be any question of love. It was an arranged engagement, and his parents didn’t care how much James suffered from Jessiebelle’s mannerisms. James wanted to offer Jessie all his attention in return, he wanted to listen to her, ask her how her day had been and talk for hours about trivial things that made him forget for a short time the strains of a botched relation.

“Here’s your coke and a turkey sandwich. Enjoy!” she forced herself to smile, but the day’s toil was gnawing away at her. James had to take the initiative.
“Please, sit down for a minute. There aren’t many guests, you can certainly take a short break”, he offered her the seat next to him. She looked around, nodded wearily, and let herself sink into the chair.
“What a day,” Jessie grabbed the menu card and fanned herself. He turned to her, eyeing her beautiful face, and straining to take in her every word.
“Maybe you’ve already noticed, but the Strip is no place for rich snobs. Drunks and homeless people hang out here. Most of the guys who come to my Diner can’t even pay, so they charge me. Unfortunately, at the end of the month there is barely enough for the rent…and food must also be purchased. We work to the limit, staying open late to make a few Pokédollars, but it just doesn’t pay. Cassidy paid us a visit today. You remember? That broad from the newspaper? She threatened to kick us out, said she was going take the Diner away from us piece by piece. I just don’t know what to do, we barley make ends meet and we have far too few guests. What should I do? Oh, why am I talking to you, you have enough problems,” she buried her face in her hands and sighed.

James stroked her cheek. He could have bought the Diner at the push of a button, but he didn’t want to be liked for his money, he wanted to be liked for who he was, the real him.

“Don’t hang your head, I could help you out after all. I don’t want a salary, a roof over my head and a warm sandwich in the evening is perfectly fine”, he smiled encouragingly at her. ‘And I can be closer to you,’ he didn’t say it out loud. She raised her head and looked at him questioningly.

“What do you want in this shabby place? I’m sure you have better places to stay and besides, I really can’t pay you anything, we’re almost broke…”

James felt embarrassed. If only Jessie knew how much he wanted to escape the shackles of this terrible relationship. He wanted to be free, no matter what the cost. He wanted to have air to breathe, he wanted to laugh and have a zest for life, and that’s what he hoped to find at the Diner. With people who could show compassion, who responded to the needs of others, without batting an eye, were willing to offer a helping hand to even the most down-and-out creatures on the Strip.

“You know, I have some idea about advertising and marketing. With just a piece of cardboard and my loud blabbermouth, I can double your customer base. Trust me,” he held out his hand to her and she took it. What tender, soft skin. So fragile. What have these hands had to endure? Cleaning, washing, cooking, tidying up. Such delicate hands must be protected, and James already knew how. He wished this handshake would never stop. For the first time he felt the perky waitress and it was overwhelming. A slight tug in his heart area told him where this journey would lead, and he hoped Jessie would be the destination. He had never felt so attracted to a woman before. She was different, she was a fighter that not even the worst news could wear out. For a brief moment, they looked at each other, smiling. No words were needed to describe the attraction between these two. They lost themselves in their gazes, even if it was only for a split second. Something blossomed between them, a tiny flame of hope, of forgetting and of new beginnings.

“I’m about to get out my violin and serve them a plate of spaghetti with meatballs,” Eddy murmured to one of their guests. “Yes, yes, our Jessie has sworn off love, but she seems to make a big and fat exception with James…”

“Let there be fish for everyone! Let’s celebrate, my friends!” Ash rumbled into the Diner, followed by his two best mates, Misty and Brock. They immediately destroyed the intimate moment between Jessie and her new co-worker James. They both jumped up and tried to hide their blushes. Jessie cleared her throat. “Get to work, James! We don’t want to keep our guests waiting!”