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"That's the last of them," Ash grunted, carefully placing the final green canister on the table next to the others. It had been hard enough to lug in the tank, but at least then it had been he, Morada, James, and some of their pokemon helping to carry the heavy thing. But since the canisters looked so small, Ash's pride wouldn't let him ask for help. And now he was sore all over.
"Uh huh," James mumbled, but didn't seem to notice Ash. He and Morada were trying to reassemble the computer system they had lugged into the Doctor's basement laboratory piece by piece. "This button, right?"
Morada looked over, "Yeah, that's it," she said. James was pretty good with computers, but he needed Morada's access codes to get into the system in the first place. She turned to Ash. "That stuff is shock-absorbing fluid, well most of it is anyway. Not sure about the others...but oh well, we're almost ready."
Ash shifted from one foot to the other and watched them work. He'd never bothered to learn how to use a computer, and wasn't much of a help at the moment. But he didn't like being useless. "What can I do?" he asked, and pikachu nodded from his shoulder.
"Well we really don't need your help with-" she looked over at the tank with the dormant Jessie-droid. "Look, why don't you go upstairs-second door to the left-and get her something to wear," she looked Ash up and down. "It's a good thing all my clothes are stylish, because I wouldn't trust your fashion sense..."
Ash had a feeling he should have been insulted right then, but then again he'd been wearing the same thing for years, and fashion trends changed as often as his mother told him to change his underwear.
"Anyway," Morada continued, "Make sure it's a baggy shirt and-oh never mind I'll do it, I wouldn't trust you to pick out a bra anyway..." She set down her mini philipshead and disappeared upstairs.
When she was out of earshot, Ash turned to James. "Who IS that girl, anyway?" he asked.
James didn't look up from the small blue screen that faced him. "A friend's sister-dammit, hand me one of the screws in that box...no those are for flathead screwdrivers, I've got a philipshead...the red box."
Ash found the container and handed it to James. "So..." he said, not enjoying the silence. "She just disappeared? You didn't tell me much about what happened..." James visibly stiffened and Ash saw that he still did not want to talk about it at all. "Um...do you think...with Misty...I wonder if she's one of those roboids."
"Androids."
"Yeah, I meant that."
James looked somewhat annoyed that Ash had made a comparison between Jessie and Misty. "What makes you think that the disappearances have anything to do with each other?"
But before he could answer, Morada rushed back in, carrying some clothes over her arm. "She's taller than I am by, like, a LOT, but I had a few things that would work," she said, laying the clothing down on the table. She scanned the room quickly and seemed satisfied.
Clapping her hands together she announced triumphantly, "That should just about do it. We can activate her and worry about the other systems later."
James looked both relieved and nervous, but said nothing.
She stared at them for a moment, then glared at the two. "Ok boys, didn't your mother ever tell you perverts get arrested?" she asked. "Now, shoo, and I'll tell you when to come back in."
The "patient" was lying on an exam table in the middle of the room, wearing one of Morada's more hideous outfits-a greatly oversized pink sweatshirt that looked like it was from the 80's, and a green pleated skirt that would have been long on a girl like Morada, but came up past the knees on the Jessie replica.
The doctor was fumbling around with some odd looking tools and muttering to herself while Ash kept staring at the metal strips on the android, looking for the elusive "red button" that always turns on machines on TV. But all James could do was stare at the thing. Was this Jessie, or something made to look like her? Had the real Jessie been replaced way back when they were still together? Why an android in the first place? And what about his mystery employer...who was he, and why did he want her so badly?
"Ho-ha!" Morada suddenly cried, making him jump. She was holding up a strange metal stick-like thing as if it were the Holy Grail. "It's this one! I figured it out without checking the schematics-I RULE!"
James sighed. "You DO know what you're doing, right?"
She shrugged, "Who does?" she said, waving her hand. "Now come on, let's start pushing buttons and we'll see if anything works."
There was something wrong... She'd been asleep for much longer than she should have, she could feel it, but something else was out of place... the noise...the sounds...they were gone. It was quiet, and it shouldn't have been.
Where were the sounds of the pokemon center? Joy never let trainers sleep in too late; she must have missed breakfast. Stupid Ash, why didn't he wake her?
No. There was something else. The cold...where was her blanket? And her backpack should have been at her feet and...where was... "TOGAPI?"
Misty sat upright, which was apparently a mistake for she was very dizzy. Now she remembered what had happened. Robbers from Team Rocket, they must have knocked her unconscious before she could scream.
"Oh look, the princess woke up," said a faintly familiar voice in a less than stellar tone.
Misty turned around to face the speaker. "Hey! I know you...gimme a sec...Cassidy!" The blonde Rocket girl was leaning against a stone wall in the small but well lit room. It seemed they were in a sort of old-fashioned prison, with rock-made walls and iron bars on the one window. The floor had straw to sleep on.
Cassidy gave three sarcastic claps. "Oh, good for you. You remembered-how flattering."
Misty glared at her. She couldn't believe it! Being stuck in a cell with Jessie would have been better than her...wait...cell... "Where are we?"
Shurg.
"I remember seeing rocket agents, but if they kidnapped me, why are you here?"
Shrug.
"Why would Team Rocket want to lock you up?"
No response.
"What's going to happen to us?"
::Dark. It's very dark, but there are voices.::
"I think that did it, but I'm not sure..." voice designation: unknown.
::More voices. ::
"Is she awake-or is it activated?" Voice designation: unknown.
"She should be, but..." first voice.
"Jessie...?" voice designation: acquired. Accessing... Rocket Personnel File: accessed. Member listing: void. Ex-Rocket member listing: accessed. Voice designation: Morgan, James. "I don't know if she can hear me."
::what's going on?::
"I'll try and bring her visual processors on line." First voice.
"There!" second voice. "She opened her eyes. Hey Jessie, do you know where you are?"
Visual processor: on line. Calibrating... Image file: accessed. Location: unknown.
"Jessie...ca... Jessica. Do you know what's going on?" Morgan, James.
::Who am I?::
Analyzing data. Searching... Access personal file: done.
Team Rocket tactical defensive android 01-Prototype. Assigned identity: Miamoto, Jessica.