"I WANT TO UNDERSTAND!!" Wallace picked up his radio communicator. "Boss? It's starting." 100% charged, preparing to fire. James heard the bang from the gun, a loud electrical screech, and he closed his eyes while wincing. But the pain never came. When she'd screamed, the android's body had lurched upward, sending the stream of energy from the gun into the ceiling. Then she collapsed. "Pikachu thunderbolt!" Ash yelled while he had the Rocket's distracted. The lights blew out and five more rockets learned the art of "blasting off" in a matter of seconds. "All right!" Ash shouted happily, he and his mouse giving a victory sign. "We sure showed them, didn't we everybody?" A cascade of pokemon noises agreed with him before returning to their pokeballs. He was feeling quite proud of himself, until Morada and James yelled out "YOU IDIOT!" and with the help of the animators grew fangs and very large heads. "What!? Whadidido?" Ash pouted while pikachu cowered behind his knee. "Didn't you hear that Wallace guy?" James explained. "He'd contacted the Boss. He said 'It's starting' which is obviously some kind of important information if he has a DIRECT line to the head of Team Rocket." Ash straightened up a bit, determined not be afraid of James of all people. "So what's your point?" "You obviously had the upper hand in this fight," Morada stated, although she seemed to be preoccupied with the android who'd collapsed onto the floor. "What are you? The Fruit Basket champion or something? (Ash coughed, but it sounded suspiciously like "Orange League") Those guys were just scouts who were lucky enough to find us. Their pokemon didn't stand a chance, and, well..." she cast a look at the men epporvessing with a purple glow on the floor, "nobody did," she finished. Ash still looked confused. "We could have threatened them for information!" James shouted. "Wallace said 'It's starting'-we could have found out what 'it' is!" Seeing his point, but determined not to have blame focused on him, Ash decided to divert their attention to more pressing matters. "Well it seems pretty obvious," he said, putting his hands on his hips, "that 'it' has something to do with the way that andromometer ("ANDROID!" screeched Morada) flipped out." "Er..." Morada bit her lip, "he's probably right. I mean did you hear what she said?" James whirled around and stared at them-the short, annoying girl and a limp, false replica of his best friend. "It couldn't be her..." he said, voice low. "The Boss must have been trying to trick me so I wouldn't look for the real Jessie-that...that THING can't possibly be her..." Sure the real Jessie would insult him, try to hurt him, et cetera, but she'd never try to kill him-threaten his life, definitely, but never actually try. "O-kaaaaaaaay," Morada said, crossing her arms and looking impatient. "You are totally not seeing my point. No offense James, but I don't give a damn who she is at all. She could be the freaking queen of Prussia for all I know or care-real Jessie or fake one, it makes no difference to me." James looked minorly offended, because it obviously mattered more to him than anything, but she didn't give him time to respond before moving on. "But what we have to focus on people, is that she is NOT real. Okay? We've established that much. Now I'll ask it again: did-you-hear-what-she-said!?" James was still staring at the android. He had to admit, that right now he'd never have seen the difference if he didn't already know. It looked like Jessie-like Jessie would look if she'd fallen down asleep on the floor in hideous clothing (not to mention covered in metal accessories), but Jessie nonetheless. But knowing it wasn't Jessie added to his discomfort-where was the real one? And why did the Boss want him to think that this replica was actually his best friend? There must be something in it for his former employer... "JAMES!" Morada was yelling now, getting rather frustrated. "DID YOU HEAR WHAT SHE SAID?!" He clenched his fists. This wasn't Jessie, this wasn't Jessie, this was NOT his Jessie-he'd convinced himself of that. Now he didn't have to feel any guilt for hating this machine. "Of course I heard her!" he snapped back. "She called me a traitor to Team Rocket and then fired some kinda gun at me!" "No..." the girl pressed. "AFTER that." Ash thought back for a moment. "She yelled out 'I want to understand' and-" "YES!" Morada cried. "Your getting it! Now do you realize what happened back there?" Ash and pikachu exchanged looks. "She missed hitting James and gave you a new skylight?" "NO!-I mean yes, but that's not the point!" Morada yelled, then looked upward at the gaping hole in her ceiling. "Aw man...that's gonna take forever to fix...broke right through the second story..." "Umm..." James tentatively tried to get her attention. He'd learned that although she wasn't as violent as Jessie, when angry Morada's voice went several decibels louder and it was very hard on the ears. "What exactly IS your point?" "Huh? Oh yeah..." she said, coming back to Earth. "She said 'I want'. She never said anything like that before. 'I'. She's referring to herself like a person-and the fact that she wants something...artificial intelligence... What I'm trying to say is that computer's don't want things. Computers need things, but there's nothing they want. Something happened when she tried-and failed-to kill James. Something that made her... I dunno what to say. She referred to herself as 'I' instead of '01' or whatever, then she collapsed without any forewarning of shutting down, there must have been some kind of cascade failure in her systems..." "Um...what?" Ash tried, starting to notice that Morada was going off into her own little world and muttering to herself about repairs. "Get me my laptop," She ordered, standing up and pacing the room as she mumbled things under her breath. When Ash handed her the computer, she seemed rather surprised to see him. "Huh? Oh yeah...I have a theory as to what's wrong. Gimmie a sec..." she began to hook the wires up to the nodes on the android's forehead and neck. James was growing impatient. "We don't have a 'sec'. We have to get out of here-Team Rocket and...those other people know where we are!" "Who, them?" Morada pointed to the glowing bodies. "They're not warning anybody." "But what about Team Rocket!?" "Oh relax, we've got plenty of time till they can show up with enough forces to battle our little psycho killer here," she smiled, patting the android's head and getting some looks from James and Ash. Her laptop suddenly started beeping. "Ah!" Morada looked slightly pleased with herself, and a tad freaked out. "I was...right." "Is that good?" Ash whispered to James, who shrugged in response. "Okay. You remember that firewall?" Morada tried to explain. James thought he know what she was talking about. "The one that won't let us access her memory files? That won't let HER access her own memory files?" "Uh huh," Morada confirmed. "Well it's coming down. When she screamed-that's when it happened. Something from behind the firewall broke free, and now the whole wall is coming down-and it turns out there's more than just memory files behind it." "Well then what IS behind the firewall?" Ash asked. He moved a step closed to look at the computer, but it made no sense to him. "My theory was... and this confirms it," Morada explained. "That the reason she referred to herself as 'I' is that her personality programming was trapped behind the wall. And now...well...it got out." There was silence in the room for a moment, then James asked, "Well what does that mean?" Morada shrugged and closed her laptop. "I dunno...we'll just have to wait for her to start up again. She had to reboot after such a shock to her system...should start up again in a few hours." "Well we should get as big a start as possible," Ash reminded her. James nodded. "I really don't know where to hide from Team Rocket...but we should get to the car and--" "No time for dat, Jimmy!" came a familiar voice from overhead. James, Ash, and Morada looked up to see the faces of two Meowths. One peering down at them from the new "skylight", and the other a hundred times larger and floating in the sky as a hot air balloon. Collin opened his eyes and winced. His companions seemed to still be unconscious, as was his Scyther. That kid's ivysour sure had done a number on them; he felt as if there were twenty broken bones underneath the V on his shirt. He lay face upward on the ground outside the Rocket girl's cabin. Head pounding and eyes blurry, he could only make out the shape of the roof but he remembered what the house looked like well enough. It had been the kind of house he and Doris had planned on living in, after they quit Team Rocket of course. But that would never happen. Doris was dead, and the leader of Team Rocket had killed her. And that man would pay-whoever he was. He would pay when Vicious came to power. Collin couldn't wait to get his revenge on his former employer...and all that needed to be done was get the android. That android...that machine...that monster. He'd use her and all her abilities to destroy the life and establishment of "the Boss". And James... he was furious at James. How dare he defend that thing! Had the man really turned his back on Jessie? Collin had been so sure that James cared for his partner they way he had Doris. He'd expected James's support in this...but he might have to die as well. As his eyes finally began to focus, he couldn't believe what his saw. Straight ahead-right above him that is, since he was laying down-was a hot air balloon. Not just any hot air balloon, but the Meowth balloon-hadn't that gone out of commission years ago? That cat...he must be doing something behind Vicious's back... Grunting, Collin rose to his feet and returned Scyther to its pokeball. His two companions were still unconscious, but he decided not to wake them, for they would only get in his way later on. Wincing with each step, he began to follow the balloon. Professor Oak, Mrs. Ketchum, Brock, and Tracey were all walking up a downtown street in Viridian City, looking like a particularly odd group. Odd took an even bigger standing as Tracey saw sketching everything he saw, saying he wanted to "capture the way Brock gets dumped by every woman he approaches". Meanwhile, Professor Oak was trying to make sense of all the new teen fashions, and Mrs. Ketchum seemed to be the only one keeping their mission in mind-but it was hard to stay focused because she kept getting confused. "If Ash was last seen in Newbark, but Misty is either in Viridian City or Mahogany Town, when and how were they separated?" she asked the professor. "I don't know. Perhaps we should ask officer Jenny if she knows anything," he replied. He turned to the younger boys to tell them they were going to the police station, but as he saw Tracey dragging Brock away from a screaming young lady he figured it would be best if Jenny didn't see him. "Let's split up," he suggested. "That's an excellent idea," Tracey gushed. "Who should go where?" "Brock and Tracey should probably try to find the last known whereabouts of Team Rocket, and Mrs. Ketchum and I will go..." he gave Brock a suspicious look, "somewhere else." When the older members of the party were out of the way, and Brock had sufficiently given up girlfriend hunting, he and Tracey were ready to begin their investigation. "Where should we go first?" Tracey asked. "Should we ask around and see if anybody's seen Team Rocket?" "Let's try the Pokemon Centere," Brock suggested. "Even Team Rocket have to heal their pokemon, maybe Nurse Joy knows something." A half hour and a bad pickup line later... "Team Rocket used to come around Viridian City quite a lot," explained Nurse Joy. "They're were two well known members that always caused a lot of trouble-Jessie and James I think. But they stopped showing up here when a little boy with a Pikachu and an angry red headed child blew them out of the Centre. Destroyed the roof completely." "So Jessie and James hung out in Viridian City before they met Ash..." Brock noted. As interesting as that was, it wasn't relevant to their present situation. "But there were other members of Team Rocket who kept coming even after Jessie and James," Nurse Joy continued. Tracey looked confused. "Other members of Team Rocket?" he asked. "Like Butch and Cassidy?" "No," Joy shook her head. "I don't know any more names, but I'm sure I would have remembered those. Just a few agents here and there, but then the Gym mysteriously exploded..." (Tracey looked perplexed as Brock blushed and sweat dropped) "And they all but disappeared. The last of them left when a building in the forest exploded under mysterious circumstances ("that wasn't us" Brock muttered ) and the strangest thing is, some people say it was a U.F.O. shaped like a strange cat that destroyed the building-one boy even claimed that it was the legendary Mew, but I don't believe that." "Nurse Joy," Tracey pressed on, "could you tell us where this building is?" She shook her head. "I'm not sure. All I know is that it's in the Viridian Forest somewhere." "That's all right," Brock assured her, "We'll find it." "Oh, please be careful then," Nurse Joy warned. "Rumor has it-it used to be a Team Rocket base, but lately trainers have been getting robbed in the forest by men with 'V's on their shirts." She couldn't tell if the boys had heard her, they were already out the door. "Aww he's so cute! Morada gushed, sharing her brother's affinity for cat type pokemon. Meowth wasn't complaining as he sat her lap getting pet, and listening to James and Ash tell the story of what had happened so far. "So some guy told me to pick up a dilevery of some sort, and you should have seen the money he offered for its delivery!" James was saying. "And I was going along all right, until I hit a pothole and something broke. When I went back to the cargo hold, I found princess over there..." he pointed to the android. "James," Meowth interrupted carefully. "Is she...?" "Jessie? No. But the Boss had me thinking it was really her for a while..." he continued, and Meowth settled back down into Morada's lap but continued to eye the motionless android. "So anyway, I called up Mondo and he said to see Morada. But before I got there I ran into the Twerp, so he tagged along looking for his little whiney friend-" "Misty!" Ash interrupted. "Can't you ever say our names?" "No," James and Meowth smiled and Ash sighed, giving up. James went on with his story. "So we found Morada, activated the android, and it turns out that it's no accident that she looks like Jessie-that thing was assigned to BE Jessie." Meowth looked uncomfortable. "But anyway, I talked to the Boss, and he definitely is after something, but I don't know what. He tried to make me think that she," once again, the machine was motioned to, "was the real thing. I'm a bit ashamed to say I actually believed him for a bit..." James trailed off right there, remembering something of importance. The Boss had closed their discussion with "I'll see you soon". That most definitely was not a good sign, but he didn't have time to dwell on the thought before Meowth pressed him to get on with the story. "Well anyway," he continued, regaining his composure, "some guys came to take her-half were from Team Rocket, but I have no idea where the other half came from. They had 'V's on their shirts..." once again, Meowth shifted uncomfortably, but James didn't notice. "Then, while we were fighting, she tried to shoot me but missed because according to Morada some fiurewalll went down and made her flip out." "Uh-oh," Meowth muttered, and that time James noticed. He eyed Meowth carefully as he brought his story to a close. "So Meowth," he urged, "What have you been up to since I quit the Team." Hastily Meowth stood up on Morada's lap and gave an obviously uncomfortable laugh, one paw behind his head and sweatdropping. "Ha ha ha...It's a long story, James, so we probably oughta let da Twerp have his turn before I start." James didn't like this much at all. Meowth was obviously stalling-why else would he care what happened to the Twerp over the years? That cat was hiding something... thoughts like this brought an interesting and important question to mind: where was this balloon headed anyway? But the Twerp had already started off on his own mantra, and James began nodding off just a little with so many stories of how he clobbered all his opponents in pokemon battle. Finally, Ash got to the important part. "So when I woke up, Misty was gone. I searched around a bit, but all I found was a guy who said he'd a van drive off in the middle of the night and the driver was wearing an 'R'," Ash was saying. "It really surprised me, since I hadn't heard from Jessie and James in years, so I went to Officer Jenny to see if she knew anything. She said lots of people had been dieeapearing all over within the past year or so-but according to James it was five years ago when this whole thing started. So I got a list of the names of missing people, and I was in Newbark because that's where the most recent disappearances took place and I thought I oughta ask the families of the victims if they knew anything that could help me find Misty. But I ran into James instead and decided to help out, but I still gotta find Misty. I don't have any more time to deal with this android stuff, so as soon as we land I'm gonna go look for her again." "It seems to me," Morada said, "That if James is looking for Jessie, and Jessie and Misty's disappearances are connected, you two should team up to look for your girlfriends." After the resounding and obvious display of denial from the boys about their love for the girls, Morada continued. "Anyway, When was the last time you guys slept?" she asked James and Ash. Ash stared upward as he thought, and James seemed to be calculating time in his head. All the events went by so fast that time seemed smashed together and he was confused. "Night before last," James finally answered. Morada looked at Ash, who replied he'd had a nap earlier that day, but it hadn't been for very long. "Then everyone oughta go to sleep," she instructed. "Like this cute wittle kitty over here!" she cooed at Meowth who, James could tell, was pretending to nap. "All right..." James muttered, actually very tired but he wasn't planning on sleeping. After everyone else nodded off, he could talk to Meowth. Jessie woke up as she felt the truck suddenly stop moving. The brakes screeched, and without seatbelts, the girls in the back were thrown to one end and landed in a heap. There were voices outside, and they sounded angry. "Agghh... what's going on?" Raquel growled, trying to wriggle free of the mass of tangled bodies she'd been so unlucky as to get underneath. "We couldn't possibly be at the port yet. Are we or are we not going to Seafoam?" Jessie, through crashing experience, was lucky enough to land almost on top of the pile. She was pleased to see that she sat on Cassidy's stomach, but Doris had her legs trapped. "We're going to Seafoam, but we're obviously not there." "Get offa me!" Cassidy finally screeched. "I can't until Doris moves!" "I'm stuck! Tiara move your arm..." "My arms are tied together, moron, that's not me-" "OW! Watch it!" "Raquel-" "SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" Lyn screamed, her patience snapping like a thin rope. She jerked her body and rolled over, kicking Tiara and knocking her off the pile. The whole mess crashed down, and the girls ended up well enough sprawled in various places on the floor of the truck. "Now..." Lyn groaned, trying to sit up straight despite her bonds. "Be quiet-there's something going on outside." The group hushed and listened to the voices. "Hypno, use hypnosis-we'll interrogate 'em later." "Somebody get the keys-I think they're still in the ignition-" "Got em-" "You sure thee girls are in there, Mondo? I don't want a bunch of wild pokemon jumping out at me when I open the door-" Jessie straightened. Mondo? And one of those other voices was obviously Butch... "We're in here!" she shouted. "Mondo! Bot-er, I mean Butch, get us out!" The other girls soon joined in their yelling. It took a few minutes, but the boys outside finally opened the door. "Miss Jessie!" Mondo cried happily, jumping into the cargo hold and eagerly untying her. "Is it the real y-" "It's really me, Mondo," she assured him. "I don't know what happened to 01." Mondo helped her to her feet and turned to the others as she hopped down from the truck. "01?" she heard Cassidy ask. "We'll explain later," Mondo assured her. Jessie looked around. Two Rocket agents who, she guessed, had been driving the truck lay asleep on the ground. She didn't have much time to see more, for the group that rescued her and the others quickly crowded round her. "Is she the real one? Could be that watchacallit..." somebody poked her. "Hey!" Jessie screamed, punching the man who'd pinched her. "I'm the real Jessie!" The man who'd been hit had easily skidded four or five feet, eyes spiraling. "Ah! It's gotta be 01, look what she did to Mason!" somebody yelled. "You imbecile," a girl chided him, "that's how Jessie really punches-can you teach me that, Jess?" But Jessie wasn't paying attention to them. Standing on tiptoe, she watched over the heads of the small crowd as the other girls climbed out of the truck. First came Lyn, she sprang from the cargo hold with a running jump, stood up straight where she landed, and began to frantically look around. Finally somebody's voice caught her attention, and a man ran up and hugged her, swinging her around once and kissing her on the cheek. Jessie smirked. She didn't know the guy but she guessed it was Deija, Lyn's partner who she raved about. Cassidy emerged next, and Butch ran to meet her. Both were casting uncomfortable glances at Lyn and Deija, obviously too embarrassed to mimic the display although it seemed as if they wanted too. Jessie felt the urge to yell at Cassidy to give Butch a kiss, but Elsie beat her to it as she hopped out of the car-pushed an uncomfortable Butch and Cassidy closer together-and began to leer at the first guy she saw. Raquel and Tiara came out together, the latter in a huffy mood and the former smiling shyly at the boy who came to greet her. She had to like him. Raquel was never shy. Doris and Mondo exited the truck at the same time. Doris turned her head from side to side as she searched the small group, but at last she quit the effort looking considerably disappointed. She turned to Mondo said something to which he replied with a shake of his head, and she stalked off away from the others looking put off. "What's wrong with her?" Jessie muttered to herself, but a short girl with shaggy, maroon hair overheard. "Oh I bet she expected Collin to be here," said the girl. She was short, and only came up to Jessie's shoulder. Jessie looked down at the girl. "Collin?" "Her partner. I heard they were gonna get married..." came the reply, and the tone sounded sympathetic. "Poor guy, I think he went nuts." "Collin did?" "Yeah. Felt sure she was dead-Doris that is. He quit the Team, swore revenge on the Boss and all the usual stuff. Haven't heard from him since." Jessie wanted to ask more, but decided to go right to the source instead. She tried to break free from the group, but they impounded her with questions once more. "Where's the Boss keeping the others?" "The Boss IS behind all this, isn't he?" "What's he gonna do with the folks he kidnapped?" "Jessie-did you see my partner? His name's Anthony-" "Mine's name's Mary, didja see her?" "OK! OK!" she heard Butch's obvious voice ring through. "Leave her alone-she's gonna tell us everything at once when we're all together. There's no use in repeating everything a bunch of times, so give her room to breathe!" She saw him trying to push past the small mob, Cassidy trailing close behind. Soon enough, Jessie felt her ex best friend grab her arm roughly and pull her away from the group and over to Butch. "I don't see why everyone's so interested in HER," she muttered bitterly, pointing at Jessie. "I'm here too, ya know." Butch gave an exasperated sigh, but Jessie noticed he hadn't stopped smiling since she'd seen him. "Everyone'll be filled in about everything as soon as we get back to our base. We can't stay out here on the open road too long-you up for storytelling, Jessie?" "No problem," she replied, flashing her trademark grin. Being the center of attention was never a problem for her at all. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Doris, taking up the rear of the odd little caravan. Sending Cassidy a look, she walked away from her rivals. "I'll catch up with you when we get to base or whatever." It took a bit, for Doris turned twice to avoid her, but Jessie finally got next to the woman who was trying to hide her tears. "If this is about Collin, you shouldn't let him get to you," she said, trying her best to be sensitive which was saying a lot. "What about Collin?" she snapped, hunching her shoulders and hiding her face behind frizzy hair. "Ha! Denial," Jessie smirked. "Look, James isn't here and you don't see me crying, do you?" Almost unexpectedly, Doris stopped short and turned to face her. Her face was close, and Jessie could see every last horrible detail that showed the woman's sorrow. "But you want to, don't you?" Jessie felt herself on the spot at that moment. Her face grew almost stern. "Maybe I do-just a little. But I don't and I probably can't. I've faked crying dozens of times when it seemed appropriate, but I honestly don't remember the last time I cried in all seriousness. I doubt it if I could start again." Seeing that this didn't console the woman at all, Jessie continued, "He thinks you're dead. Somebody mentioned it to me-Look, I'm sure if he knew you'd be here Collin would've shown." There was a long pause. "And James?" Doris finally replied. "Does he think you're dead too?" Once again, that pause as Jessie felt something prick behind her eyes. It was almost as if those impossible tears wanted to come, but of course they did not. "No," she finally answered. The graveness of her own voice surprised her. "He thinks I'm something else entirely." Ash couldn't sleep. Due to the cramped quarters of the balloon, he was crammed between an uncomfortably bony doctor and a surprisingly soft android that would make a beeping noise every so often. Despite the discomfort, Ash leaned closer to Morada for he found the machine a bit eerie. Something that looked alive-it even breathed! -but really wasn't...it was so creepy in the dead of night with nowhere to run. "Nn...?" Morada muttered as Ash leaned against her shoulder, waking her. "Missin' cuddlin' with yer girlfriend, sonny?" "What? Gross!" Ash hissed, trying not to wake anyone else. "Misty's not my girlfriend, she..." he wasn't sure what to say next, he was getting too old for the cooties excuse. "I don't cuddle with her," he muttered defiantly. Sighing, Morada leaned back against the wicker basket. "I give it two years-till you change your tune that is." "Huh?" "Nevermind." There was silence for a bit, and Ash thought she'd fallen asleep but then she asked, "Can't sleep, huh?" "Yeah..." he answered. "I usually look at the stars at night, but that big Meowth head's in the way. I'd need to sit up to see over the side, and I think if I left my spot I'd never get comfortable again." "Nn..." she murmured in agreement. "So what do you do? Pokemon training? I assume that's the infamous pikachu," she pointed to his best friend, asleep, curled up in the android's hair. "Infamous? To Jessie and James I suppose it is," Ash chuckled. "Yeah, I'm a pokemon trainer." Then, with more enthusiasm, "I'm gonna be the best pokemon master ever!" Morada laughed out loud. "So says every trainer your age. You're probably an optimist. Good for you-you'll live longer." Ash was confused. "So what are you?" "A realist." He considered this. "Really I'd think you'd be an optimist too. You need a positive attitude to be a doctor-you can't help anybody if you don't believe you can!" She chuckled once more. "Ah Ash, maybe you're actually an idealist," she smiled. "In an ideal world, all the doctors would want to help people and they would. I'm not one of those-it's not why I became a doctor." Now he was really confused. "If you didn't do it to help people, why did you become a doctor?" Morada, whose eyes had been closed, opened one eye to examine him with. "People usually become doctors for three reasons: one, they want to help. A romantic idea, don't you think? Two, the money-I'll admit it, I've got plenty in the bank. And three, a genuine interest in the human body." This seemed to make sense. "Which is you're reason?" Ash asked. "Pure, simple, curiosity," she answered with a defiant smile. "That's why I work for Team Rocket. I don't have the patience to deal with rules and protocol. The Rocket's equipment is way more advanced, and I can study more with it and do what I want. It may not be morally sound, but it keeps my curiosity satisfied." Ash was skeptical. "That doesn't sound like the best reason to become a doctor." Smiling only a little now, but enough, she closed the enquiring eye and seemed ready to settle down to finally sleep. "We don't live in an ideal world, Ash. The good guys don't always win..." it seemed like she would leave him with that fault, but she spoke again only to order him to sleep, which he did, but his rest was uneasy. Finally, James heard the Twerp's and Morada's breathing even out. It was lucky, for if he had to sit still with his eyes closed much longer he'd be sure to fall asleep as well. "Meowth," he hissed at the cat. The pokemon's ears twitched a bit, and he lifted his head. "Interestin reunion, eh James?" he smiled. "Yeah..." James answered. "I haven't seen you since I quit. What have you been up to?" Meowth looked uneasy. "Dis and dat," he replied, obviously hiding something. "I'll fill yuz in later, but dere ain't much time. I reserved a room in a hotel-Meowth's gotta run as soon as we land, but I'll be back. I'll explain everything in da morning, Jim, but for now you have ta keep da prototype hidden." "How did you know about..." he trailed off right there. She'd need a new name, for he was most definitely NOT going to call her Jessie again-he already felt so guilty for doing so before. "I told ya, I'll explain later." "Where are we heading?" "Viridian City." "What's there?" James asked, feeling it had some significance. "Wait a sec...that's where the buyer is-for the android!" He tried to quiet himself down so he wouldn't wake the others. "Are you INSANE, Meowth? Or have you actually gotten so greedy you'd turn in the one link I have to Jessie!?" "No, no!" Meowth insisted, defensively waving his paws. "It's nothing like dat! In fact, if dat buyer gets a hold of her then he'll use it as a template to build more androids. I'm trying to protect dat ting from him!" James's mind was racing too fast for James to keep up. "What would he want with an army of androids?" "Dat's the key word dere-army," replied the cat. "He wants an army of machines because his enemy's got one." James froze. "There's MORE of...of...THOSE?!" he thrust an angry finger at the Jessie replica. James couldn't help but wonder, did the others look like Jessie?" Meowth nodded. "Plenty more, but day need dat one," he signified the motionless one on the floor of the basket, "before anyting can happen." "But why-" "Let Meowth finish!" the cat hissed. "There's something in the program-that defect that you saw back in the cabin--oh I was planning on explaining all dis in da mornin'. Besides, we're here." James looked over the side of the balloon and saw he was right. Below were the nighttime lights of Viridian City, and they were coming ever closer as the balloon descended. "Meowth, how come you know all this stuff?" James asked catiuously. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what the cat had gotten himself into this time, but he was worried. "How could you know about the buyer? I don't even know who it is." There was a long pause. "It's Vicious," Meowth finally replied, head down. "Vicious, formerly elite member of da Team Rocket. Now, he's da traitor to da Boss. He started his own Team. Dose guys with the 'V's on deir shirts..." All the shocks of the evening had accumulated enough that James took this one in with hardly a show of emotion. "How do you know?" The longest pause yet. "He's my new master." Tbc. Author's note: perhaps I should explain something for those who do not yet know the plot of the 4th movie. Vicious is the elite member of TR who is out to get Celebii, and in the movie he comments that he hopes to become future leader of TR. In Japanese, his name is pronounced Bishasu, but it translates to Vicious in Katakana. I chose him because he seemed an appropriate rival for the Boss. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far and please continue to do so! I love your feedback ^_^ Next chapter will, hopefully, be one of those info chapters that clears up a lot of the plot questions-but not all of them of course ^_~ because what fun would it be if you knew everything before the ending? Oh yeah, Misty fans please don't be mad at me. She wasn't important in this chapter but she's a key player in the next chapter. I'm finally getting to the point where I can put in more Jessie so don't worry I didn't forget any of the characters. NEXT *~*~* BACK