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The plane ride was quiet. Oak had hired a private jet so they wouldn't have to deal with anyone and within four hours, they landed. Jesse held James' arm as they exited and there was a limo waiting for them. The driver approached Oak. "Deinoria sends her best and hopes the ride has found you well." Oak nodded and they got in. There was little said until the limo started up the long driveway. They all peered out of the window at the massive gym at the end of the driveway. There was a thick forest on each side and the gym was a bit dark. They got out and the door opened. Two women came down the steps to greet them. One was dressed in a green and brown dress and the other was in black and white. There was something about them that did not seem right. They greeted Oak warmly and ushered them inside. The inside was stark, decorated in black and marble. There was a certain unearthliness about it. Once inside, they were led down two halls until they came to a room with a large table. They were seated and the one in brown left. The one in black offered them a sympathetic smile. "I am Deinoria, one of the four sisters of the Seasons Gym. I'm glad you all agreed to help us. Especially you." She directed this to James, Jesse, and Meowth, who was uncharacteristically quiet as well. James nodded. Deinoria walked over to Jesse and said quietly, "And I'm deeply sorry for your loss of sight." There was a wealth of emotion in that comment and Jesse thanked her softly. The door opened and two women came in with the one in brown. Deinoria went to them and addressed those at the table. "For formal intros, I am Deinoria Mischka Morgaine, the sister of winter. This is Kreistara Delmusa, sister of Autumn. Diesa Chakar, sister of Summer, and Sycha Kalara, sister of Spring." She paused and Kreistara stepped forward. "We want to welcome you here, and thank you for coming. We are glad you will help us." Deinoria sat down and folded her hands in front of her. "As Professor Oak has probably told you, Team Rocket has come to our attention again and we need to bring them down once and for all." There was no movement. Deinoria watched them. "Giovanni has begun more genetic experimentation, and in light of the Mewtwo incident, which could have been much worse than it was, we do not want this to go any further. Worse for our part is that we have had the rare birds stolen from us. We are the keepers of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. They have also napped a Mew again, and are attempting to recreate their Mewtwo experiment to fix the mistakes they made the first time. This is the reason we have not taken care of this matter ourselves. If we even go near, the Pokemon will be destroyed, this we know as Giovanni cares nothing for them. We cannot afford to lose them." James swallowed hard. Deinoria offered a soft smile. "This is where you come in." Jesse shuddered. Diesa sighed and Deinoria continued. "Giovanni knows us and mocks us since we are bound by the rules of the society. We are also bound by other rules not set by the society. We are a joke to him. Since you have the ability to go back, you can get them out. Once they are freed, get out, however you can. There will be no ties to us. You will return the pokeballs to us here." James nodded slightly. Deinoria nodded toward Jesse. "It will be difficult with her, but we will get by. Her blindness will not be looked upon kindly. You must take care." He nodded. Deinoria stood, as did the other sisters. "The sooner this is accomplished, the sooner we can put an end to this. Come, if you are ready, you can call from the other room, it will not look as suspicious from there."
It was very awkward, but James pulled it off. He had called Giovanni, explaining that they wanted to rejoin Team Rocket. Giovanni had extended the invitation, clarifying that it was the three of them. It had required little explaining as Giovanni had simply waved him off. They were to be the day after next, being Friday itself. They would have less than 12 hours to accomplish this. Deinoria had had rooms prepared for all of them, and they retired early. James, Jesse, and Meowth were due to leave the day after the next and James stayed up late, talking to the Season's sisters, getting as much information as he could. He ascended the stairs wearily, rubbing his eyes. The room was dark as Jesse had no reason to turn the lights on. He flipped them on and she was seated in a chair, before the big dressing mirror. She was brushing her hair and stopped when she heard him come in. "James?" He walked toward her. "It's me." He touched her shoulder. She still hadn't changed, and she sat in the Team Rocket uniform, repetitively brushing her hair. James watched her for a moment and turned away, pulling the covers down. "Jess, you should get some rest." He stopped to look out of the window and marvelled at the landscape. "James, I'm scared." He sighed. "I know." He didn't say anymore. He heard her and turned. She shed her boots and top shirt. She took off the earrings and laid them on the dresser. She pulled the black shirt off. He watched, amazed at her. She was still as graceful as any animal could be. As she stepped out of the skirt, she caught herself on the chair, throwing the skirt into a corner. She was visibly frustrated and he felt trapped now that he had dragged her into this. She stopped and shivered. "James, I'm really scared this won't work." He bit down on his lip and went over to her. She felt his hand at the small of her back and felt his other arm wrap around her. She leaned into him and felt him stroke her back. "We'll be fine." She shook her head into his shoulder. "You don't know that. You don't. Sight or no sight, I can't stand to lose you." He tightened his grip on her. "You won't. I'll be fine, and so will you." He let her go and she backed a step. "I'm so tired." He led her to the bed and let her slide in. She reached out for him as he shed the cursed outfit and slid in beside her, holding her as she clutched him until she drifted to sleep.
The four sisters were present at breakfeast, which was quite nice. Nothing was said, and after everyone was finished, Deinoria had Oak take everyone but Jesse for a tour of the estates and the gym. After they had gone by way of the bay doors of the kitchen, Deinoria took Jesse's wrist and led her down the hall to a library, with nothing said between them. She guided her to a chair, and she sat down. Deinoria poured a glass of wine and handed it to her. "Jesse, how are you?" Jesse took a sip and shrugged. "How honest do you want me to be?" Deinoria smiled. "Very." Jesse leaned back and crossed her legs. "Completely scared. For both of us." Deinoria nodded to herself. "I know. I can tell." Deinoria studied her for several seconds before standing. "It's not going to be easy, but hopefully it will be quick. We would much rather handle this ourselves, but we are sworn to protect the Pokemon he holds, and this was the best way we could come up with." Jesse nodded. "There is a way that we can help you while you are there." Jesse felt Deinoria place something in her hand. She fingered the items and felt them to be a pair of earrings. They felt identical to the ones she wore. "They will serve as a camera. Kreistara is our electronical wizard, and she made these that we will be able to see what you would see." Jesse said nothing. Deinoria placed another small item in her hand. "That will go in your left ear. It is so I can guide you. James cannot lead you while you are there and you need to appear that you can go on your own. If you can trust us, we may be able to make this appearance." Jesse was stunned. It sounded plausible, but handing her actions over to someone she didn't know seemed very risky. Deinoria continued. "Giovanni has created underground labs for the experimentations he is doing and I have managed to tap into the computer systems to get an outline of the rooms and where I figure they are being held." Jesse didn't even know what to say. Deinoria knelt beside her. "I know you have no reason to trust us, but I must ask you to. I give you my word that nothing will happen to you as long as you follow to the word what I tell you to do." Jesse could do nothing more than nod.
That night, Jesse could not sleep. James had fallen asleep hours before, and she lay there, thinking about what was to happen. She was frightened more than she could put into words. She slid from the bed and walked softly to the adjoining bathroom. She closed the door and slid to the floor, wrapping her arms around her legs. She was nauseous. She knew that one or both of them could so easily die in this, and she wanted to scream at the thought of it. In less than 14 hours, they would be there, at that place. She fingered the ring on her left ring finger and wanted so badly to go home. She had become quite content with a quiet life with him. She crawled to the sink and leaned her head against the marble. There was a knock and she heard his voice, groggy from sleep. "Jess? You okay?" She nodded to herself. "Yeah…." He opened the door a crack and waved a hand. He still respected her privacy. "Can I come in?" She didn't move. "Yeah." He opened the door and saw her leaning drunkenly against the sink. "Oh god, what's wrong?" He crouched down and held her shoulders, leaning over to look at her. She was so white. "Just nervous, that's all." He calmed and sat down next to her, leaning against the wall. He rubbed her back gently and she eventually leaned back against him. "I never used to be scared, James." He held her and stared at the ceiling. "Things are different now, Jess. They're a lot different." She huddled against him and shuddered. "I don't like being scared." He played with a tendril of her flame colored hair and sighed. "I know….I know. It was much easier when we had nothing to lose." She nodded, realizing that that was the reason she was scared. They had so much to lose, most of all each other. She shuddered at the thought and he looked down at her. His red-haired angel. He helped her to her feet. "Come on, let's get some sleep."
They left early, in the Jeep Professor Oak had provided. Jesse was quiet for the ride while James and Meowth carried a small conversation. The drive was only two hours, and as they approached, James laid a hand on Jesse's leg. He looked over at her and her expression was stone. "We're almost there." It was nearly 10.
The gym appeared as any other….normal. It was a nondescript building behind a grove of trees. A bridge crossed over a set of train tracks and the parked the Jeep next to another car on the grass. They went in the front doors, Deinoria's voice guiding Jesse. It was stark inside, the walls were steel and there was a long desk in front of them. A young woman sat at the desk, typing furiously. She looked up as they approached. She studied them for a moment and picked up the phone. She spoke softly and hung up. She looked up at them and offered the most fake smile James had ever seen. "Just a moment, he's coming out." She went back to typing. James brushed against Jesse, to let her know he was still there as Meowth jumped up to a chair and sat down. Even Meowth had no sarcastic comments now. There was a wooshing sound as the door to the far left swung open and a solid man in a black suit emerged with an elegant Persian at his side. "James…..it's good to have you back." James turned around and shook Giovanni's outstretched hand. "Thank you." Giovanni turned to Jesse and extended the same hand. She faltered, Deinoria's voice in her ear. Jesse, you as well." She slid her hand into his and felt a shiver go down her spine. There was no way to run now. "Thank you, sir." He greeted Meowth and motioned them to follow. Through the door, Giovanni led them down a spiral hall until they passed through the actual gym. It was as stark as the rest of the place. Giovanni's office was past the gym. The door shut behind them and they sat down in the chairs he offered. Persian lay down at Giovanni's feet as he sat down behind the desk. The conversation was somewhat short. Giovanni explained their assignment. As the words came from Giovanni's mouth, James felt his mouth go dry. They were to go to Infine City. There was a Pokemon reserve that held several rare Pokemon needed for an experiment he was conducting. James glanced at Jesse and Meowth and they did a good job of having no emotion. They nodded when he finished, agreeing that it would be an easy job. Giovanni showed no sign of suspecting anything when they left, and as his door closed behind them and they went down the hall, James looked at his watch, not even wanting to mention what they had just been asked to do. It was nearly 12:30 now, and Meowth was the first to speak. "Not to be completely off of the job at hand, but I'm really hungry." James nodded. "Yeah, I know." They were able to find the kitchen, and ate in silence. They were almost afraid to say anything. They finished quickly and wandered about. They needed to pass time until at least six. They found the outside arenas, where Rocket associates were training their various Pokemon. This passed time, and as the sun began to set, James turned and looked at Jesse. She sat quietly, not having said a word since lunch. "You okay?" She only nodded. Meowth got up and started for the door. "We better get going."
As they passed down the corridors, all was quiet. Jesse led as Deinoria was guiding them, following the electronic map she had pilfered through the system. They descended several sets of stairs, eventually coming to a steel wall. "Now what?" Jesse listened to Deinoria. "Jesse, reach forward." She extended an arm and felt nothing. James saw her hand go through the wall. "Damn." They walked through the wall and into a darkened hallway.
At the seasons gym, Deinoria sat in front of the elaborate system, biting her lip. One screen to the left of her reflected where they were on the mapped grid. The screen in front of her showed what Jesse's earrings reflected. The one to her right would occasionally flash pictures from Giovanni's gym. She was able to route her hacking so it was virtually untraceable unless they were searching for her, and therefore able to periodically get a glimpse from the cameras inside and outside of the gym. Kreistara stood behind her, studying the screens as well. Diesa and Sycha wereout in the gym, training. Other trainers had filtered in as well. Ash, Brock, and Misty were with Professor Oak. Deinoria studied the map. "The doors I see don't correspond with the map. This is all an illusion. I also can't find the cameras. Shit." This worried her and Kreistara pointed to the camera screen. "I don't see anyone around either." Deinoria turned her attention to the real picture. "Jesse, turn to your left and reach out." Jesse did as she was told and James watched her hand go through the wall again. They followed and were in one of the labs. The sight almost made James ill. The Articuno was secured to a table, obviously drugged. With a little effort, they were able to cut the binds and James pulled one of the six master balls from his pocket, rescuing the rare bird. They followed suit and found Zapdos and Moltres. They were able to find Mew, kept in a secured cage down 'the hall' and Dratini was in a makeshift pool on the other side. They found no other Pokemon and stopped after they had rescued Dratini. Deinoria studied the map, and shook her head. "They need to get out of there. This is eerily quiet." Kreistara watched the camera screen. "I still don't see anyone." Deinoria lit a cigarette (her only human vice) and looked at the image Jesse gave her. "Ok, time to go." Jesse listened and followed the directions. James and Meowth stayed close, James nervously fingering the Jeep's keys again. They passed through the walls until they came to the illusion serving as the door. They passed through and were back to the entrance of the labs. Meowth looked to James and shrugged. "Could it have been that easy?" James scanned the walls and found nothing that looked like cameras. "I don't know." He touched Jesse's back and she jumped. "Let's go." They made it up the two flights of stairs to the main floor of the gym. They were halfway down the hall that led to the front doors when two associates came out of a room and stopped, looking at them. James smiled at them and they nodded to them, passing by. James let out the breath he had been holding and they maintained pace. They passed through the doors to the entrance hallway and the receptionist was standing there, waiting. "James?" He stopped and looked at her. "Yes?" The receptionist stepped from behind the desk and handed him a paper. "Giovanni has gone out for the night. He left you this." James turned the sheet of paper over, two words were typed. "Game over." He looked up. The receptionist turned around and went back to her desk. As she sat down, he heard the doors lock. Through the glass, he saw two guards turn around. Four Rocket members emerged from the side doors. James stood still for a moment, sizing the situation. Jesse turned at the sound of the doors, and touched her ear. The device in her left ear slipped and fell. She fell to the floor, sliding her hand along the smooth tile. Something had happened. In a fluid motion, James fell to the ground and rolled once, pulling out the gun from his left boot. He came back up and fired two shots at the glass, shattering the window from its frame. "Jess, run!" Jesse sprinted, tripping over the frame of the window. She landed in the pile of glass and scrambled, ripping her legs and hands, scattering glass about her. She screamed and found her footing, sprinting away from the building. James ran behind her, grabbing Meowth. He ducked as a shot was fired in his direction, unable to help Jesse. He was through the window and saw her in front of him. "James duck!" He listened to Meowth and fell to the ground, rolling to his feet again. The bullet cut through his right side and he gasped, rolling back to his feet. They were ¾ of the way to the Jeep when James went for the keys. They weren't in his pocket. "Shit!! Jess, keep running!!" Jess was sprinting as best as she could. They passed the Jeep and were into the trees. Jess made it about fifteen feet into the grove before slamming face first into a tree, and felt James grab her hand. "Come on, run!" He pulled her along, Meowth under his other arm. She tasted blood on her lips. James slid to a stop. They had made it about 200 yards and Jesse clutched at his arm. "What is it?" He took a hold of her arm and pulled. "Slide!" She felt the ground disappear and they were sliding down an incline. She hit hard as the ground levelled out and he dragged her to her feet. "Come on, the train's not far." She barely had time to scream "What?!" when she felt the gravel beneath her feet. She heard the blare of the train horn and screamed again. He stopped short and she slammed into him. He looked back and saw the Rocket members sliding down the incline. "Dammit!" He yanked her and started to run again. "Jess, when I tell you, jump!" "What?!" She heard him throw Meowth and Meowth yelled "okay". He pulled Jesse harder, trying to pull her so she was running with him. "Okay, Jess……Jump!" She jumped forward and felt him pull her to the side. He caught the edge of the boxcar, Meowth helping him in. He had a grip on her arm and she was screaming. He couldn't pull her in without losing his own balance. "God, Jess, hold on." Meowth tried to find something to hold on to. There was nothing. The train bucked, slowing down. As James looked over at Meowth, the sharp buck of the train caused him to lose his grip. Jesse screamed and James almost fell from the car, Meowth clinging to his leg to keep him in. He watched her hit the ground and roll away from the train. "Shit!! God no….!" The train was slowing down and within seconds he could see them surround her. She still hadn't moved. Meowth touched his arm. "James, we need to get back. We can't do anything now." His mouth was still open, and Meowth tugged again. "James, come on." As the train slowed more, they jumped and ran for the trees. They maybe made it thirty five feet into the trees when James stumbled and went down on one knee. Meowth looked around. James crawled to a mass of dense roots and collapsed. "Meowth, keep watch…." He passed out. Meowth looked around, hugging himself tightly and withdrew underneath the brush as well, tending to the wound in James' side.
Meowth stayed with him, finally able to wake him. They crept back to
the gym, and Meowth was able to creep along the ground and find the keys
to the Jeep by the scent of James' blood near them from the gunshot. They
put the Jeep in neutral and managed to push it about 50 yards and start
it without being found out. They were probably still searching the area
near the train. It was nearly 45 minutes before Meowth said anything to
James. At the speed he was driving, they would be there soon. "She'll be
fine. They won't do anything to her without Giovanni's approval." The only
thing James said was, "What if they already have it?" Meowth couldn't answer
and looked at James' side. "How are you doing?" He shook his head. "I'll
be fine." There was something in his voice that made Meowth nervous as
he fished the phone from beneath the seat. "Anna, it's James."