The first flicks of morning light crept through the curtains and with his excellent streak of luck, landed on James's eyes. He groaned and rose, sore but refreshed. Meowth had only been able to discreetly get one room, and Morada had the bed. James, being taller, got the couch but it was too uncomfortable and he'd moved to the floor. In his place, Ash snored loudly on the sofa. Moving over to the window, he stared through crack in the curtains. The Viridian City was still dead at this hour, far too early to be moving off to work. Right now, normal people were having their coffee, taking their showers, and reading their papers. A normal man of his age might be eating breakfast, and his wife would come in and kiss him good morning. James was jealous. He wanted that man to be him, he wanted that wife to be Jessie. Secretly he knew he'd never be completely happy in a normal life. Would he mind living honestly? No, it would be a welcome change. But normal? What a pain. For James, normal would be a vacation to enjoy for a bit, but never to stay. He didn't want an office job, he didn't want a desk, and he certainly didn't want to work nine to five and come home to see some normal woman cleaning the house. No, what James wanted was simple: Jessie. The adventurous Jessie that never took no for answer, who loved to show off, who reveled in her fighting power, and who knew just how beautiful she was. After her, who could possibly settle for normal? No-why settle for normal when you could do so much better? That something better...as soon as he got her back, they would find it, together. "Can you not sleep, James?" her voice, but not her tone. James turned around to see the android sitting on the bed by the snoring Morada, staring at him. He'd forgotten Morada said she'd wake-no, reactivate--in a few hours, and time was up. The android didn't sleep, of course, so who knew how long she'd been there. "No," he answered her, still uneasy. "I had enough rest to last me." He knew he was frowning, but he wasn't sure if she saw the significance of it. His anger was coming back-this thing, this imposter meant to mimic the only person that mattered... he hated it. As soon as he could James resolved to ask Morada to give the thing a new voice, new eyes et cetera. He didn't care what she looked or sounded like, as long as it was nothing at all like Jessie. But still, something had happened to that thing back at the cabin. When she'd tried to kill him... "How are you feeling?" he asked cautiously. "I feel well," came the answer. That was strange, different from before. Morada was right, something had happened to her. She's said 'I', not to mention she said that she ~felt~. "I have complete control over my body now. I must apologize; I was unable to override in time the program that made me kill those men." She...apologized? No...no, no, no...this was just too weird. Jessie's voice, Jessie's person, saying she was sorry... James knew his best friend was not completely devoid of emotion, but the real Jessie had always been a proud woman, difficult to get an apology out of. "F-forget about it," James stuttered. "Deleting file-" "NO!" James yelled to stop her. Morada mumbled something but didn't move, and Ash stirred, rolled off the couch, but did not wake. "It's just an expression. It means you're forgiven." She paused, seeming to be adding the new information to her...well it wasn't a brain. "All right." There was silence, and she continued to stare, as if expecting him to do something. Finally she spoke again, "Do I have instructions?" "Pardon?" James asked, puzzled. "I have been created to serve a purpose," the android informed him. "That purpose is not accessible by any Team Rocket personnel except for the one designated as 'Boss'. However, a machine should not be running with out a use. I'd prefer to remain running, but I require instructions." She wanted a purpose? But how...machines didn't want things, Morada said so and obviously that was true, but this... After that accident in the cabin, when she'd unexplainably shut down after that scream, she seemed as if she was turning into something. Something with a-if it was possible-will of its own. Shaking his head, James felt he needed to clear his mind. A shower might help. "Sit tight," he told...she needed a name. "I'll clean up and then we'll talk about instructions or whatever." "Sit...tightly? How should I do this?" James sighed, grabbing a towel from one of the drawers. He opened the door a notch, and hung the 'Do not disturb' sign in the knob before closing it and locking the thing, chain and all. "I'll have Morada program some expressions into you. Just stay put, okay?" "Very well." Misty hung up the phone, disgusted with her waste of an hour. Ring after ring, number after number-none had worked. James was nowhere to be found, at least not by phone. She took her healed pokemon back from Joy, left the center, and started her long walk back to the Resistance base in the Mahogany forest. "Stupid Team Rocket," she muttered. Of course Misty couldn't know that James left his cell phone in the cabin, since he certainly couldn't keep it with the tracking device. So this was just great. James was running around with an android trying to find the real Jessie-who of course was back at the base but Misty couldn't tell him that. She also couldn't talk to Ash, tell him she was all right, and scream at him for not rescuing her because he too was running around with an android looking for the real Jessie. "Stupid James. Stupid Ash. Stupid stupid STUPID BOYS!!" she yelled the last part. "They're never where they should be. "A damn fine situation. We have one Jessie, they have the other, and everyone seems to want both." On the bright side, everyone in the base seemed convinced that Jessie knew something important about 01, the android. Before she'd left, Mondo had quickly filled her in, but not much. All Misty knew was this: 01 is an android that looks like Jessie, and everyone in Team Rocket and Team Vicious, not to mention the Resistance, wanted this thing. Apparently it could do something...or it had something in its systems... well, nobody knew why this machine in particular was so important, but those were questions Mondo and Butch hoped Jessie could answer. When she reached where she believed the door lay, Misty stomped on the hallow spot in the ground in what she hoped was the right tune. It took a moment, but the door opened a crack. Mondo looked up at her expectantly. "Did you talk to James? Is he coming?" She shook her head. "Didn't answer the phone." Mondo looked worried, and opened the door wider to let her through. "Well we'll deal with that later. Jessie got here safe and she's about to fill is all in on what's been happening." Msity climbed down the ladder and into the crowd of Rockets in the tightly cramped space. Following Mondo, she headed for the front of the group near the big meeting table. Six girls sat in the chairs on one side, and each looked dirty and worn. Jessie and Cassidy were part of the group, sitting as far away from each other as possible, the latter pouting that the former was getting the spotlight. As Mondo separated from Misty he moved over to Jessie, whispered something to her, and the woman stared back at Misty with eyebrows raised, saying nothing. Butch stood up, and everyone in the room slowly began to quiet down. He nodded to Mondo, who touched a button. A display screen appeared on the wall, and somebody behind Misty hissed at her to take out her ponytail so she could see. "This," Butch announced, "Is Tactical Defensive Android Prototype 01." The display flickered. Green lines appeared, forming into a human shape. The shape took color, detail, et cetera. It took only a few seconds to bring the image of Jessie onto the screen, exactly alike except for the metal strips over her body. "It seems obvious that this was manufactured in the likeness of someone here." All eyes turned to Jessie, who looked relaxed in her chair. "Go on," she said, waving her hand. Butch continued. "Thanks to the info that Mondo dug out for us, plus Deija's hacking skills, we found out that James-yes, the one who used to work here-was hired by Vicious to steal 01. But he never showed at the meeting point to give it to Vicious's people. We have to assume James still has the android, but we've been unable to contact him. I'd spoken to James right before he left, and he had no idea what was going on-an interesting coincidence but a beneficial mistake nonetheless." There was a pause as he let this sink into the heads of those in the room. "That's all I know-that's all any of knows. Jessie can pick up where I've left off." Jessie stood up and looked around the room. Everyone looked back silently, intently, waiting with held breath for her to speak. She smirked, satisfied with the attention. Then she looked serious. "01 was the first of many," she said. "Team Rocket has manufactured a android in the image of each person who'd been kidnapped by the Boss over the last five years, using the prototype 01 as a template. Now, the Boss just needs one-the prototype-back so he can activate the others." She scanned the faces of those she could see with strangely piercing blue eyes. "And yes," she said, reading their minds, "it IS an army." "I haven't seen her," said Officer Jenny, "What did you say her name was? Misty? I'll keep an eye out...in fact, I'll add her to the list." "List?" asked Mrs. Ketchum in her usual worried tone. "There are more missing people?" "Pages more" Jenny sighed, slamming a thick binder on the counter. She opened it to the last page and scratched in Misty's name and description with her pen. Professor Oak stood up straight. "Could you also keep an eye out for a woman who's been missing quite some time-she's connected to Team Rocket and I know this city used to be a busy place for that organization." Jenny looked at him with one eye critically, the other eye closed. "We're always on the look out for criminals. Did she steal a pokemon of yours?" "It's really a long story," sighed Mrs. Ketchum. "But her name's Jessica." "Describe her." Professor Oak looked up at the ceiling. "She's attacked my lab enough times I should remember what she looks like... Let me see, she's a tall, er, well endowed woman (Mrs. Ketchum gave him a look. It's up the reader to determine if it's something eldershippy or not.) and she had long, and...well...big red hair." "Eye color." "Blue I think, or were they green?" Mrs. Ketchum interrupted. "No, the boy's hair was blue." "Then her eyes were green?" "I think they were blue..." she thought back and concentrated hard. "Blue. I'm almost positive." Jenny looked disinterested. The officer knew who the two were referring to, and although she was perfectly aware they were flops as criminals, Jessie and James of Team Rocket had disgraced every Jenny they'd run into by escaping. "We'll keep you informed, but right now we're focusing on a crime spree that's been going on from Mahogany Town to here in Viridian City." "That's a lot of ground," the professor pointed out. "Especially if you include the Ilex Forest and the Viridian." Jenny's eyes narrowed just a bit. "We at the police force think some kind of gang war is going on," she paused as Mrs. Ketchum gasped in surprise. "The crimes have taken place as if people are on a direct route-either to Mahogany or here. We think the gangs-Team Rocket and a new one with Vs on their shirts-have their bases in the respective cities. And more and more seem to be coming, but we can't seem to find or stop them. I'm not surprised you're here, Mrs. Ketchum. A lot of the families that had a member who vanished come here, or to Mahogany, to see if the gang has their children. No luck so far." She paused as if she wasn't sure she should tell them. "But a few weeks ago, the kidnappings stopped entirely, and the crime slowed to almost a stop. I think all the gang members have reached their hideouts, and are getting ready to fight." "Fight with each other?" Mrs. Ketchum repeated dismayed. "One gang against another, with cities caught in the middle...oh dear." Professor Oak, being the one who noticed things, spoke up. "If this was all a few weeks ago I wonder what's keeping them from fighting now." Jenny closed her binder with a defiant sounding snap. "They seem to be waiting...for what, I don't know." James, dry after his shower and changed, came back into the main room. The others were still asleep, but the android stared at him silently. "What?" he asked. If the real Jessie stared at him like that, she wanted to say something. "My assigned identity is Miyamoto, Jessica," stated the android. "Programming ordered by the one called 'Boss'. You are not Boss. Do you wish to assign me a new identity or keep the old one?" "New one, definitely!" James said enthusiastically before she'd even finished. He could not and would not call her Jessie...not again...he felt he'd done his friend a terrible wrong by doing so in the first place. "What is my name, then?" asked the android. James opened his mouth then shut it, not knowing what to say. Name her? What would he call someone who looked like Jessie? Jessibelle? Noooooooooooo... another name another name... He looked her up and down, trying to figure what he'd name Jessie if she ever wanted to change her name. No. Nothing came to mind, that face... that face was set on Jessie. Nothing else would work, nothing else would do, and nothing else was worthy. "I have no idea, ask Morada when she wakes up." "Ask me what?" muttered a half-awake scrawny lump in the blankets. She surfaced looking like she could do with a few more hours sleep. "Ask me what?" she repeated. "I require a new name," the android informed her. "James will not give me one. I need Morada Kokuan to give me a name." The doctor eyed her with a tired but critical look. "Can't you name yourself?" "A name is traditionally given by the parents," the android pointed out. "I have none. I require a person to name me." Morada turned her tired eyes on James. "So she's not Jessie?" "No!" "Wo-kaaaay." She heaved a sigh. "I'm not that good at naming things ya know, but how about...Galatea?" The android paused, and a small light behind her eyes flickered. "Designation accepted. My name is Galatea." "Well that was easy enough," Morada said, flopping back down into the covers. James pulled the blanket off the bed ("Hey! I'm cold!" shouted Morada). "Time to get up. Meowth will be here any minute to explain all this, then we're looking for Jessie." "And Misty," added Ash, sitting up on the couch and yawning. "I've been awake for a while. Why Galatea, Morada?" The girl lifted an eyebrow. "Kids," she huffed. "So uneducated these days. It's Greek. Pygmalion carved a statue of Aphrodite, and named it Galatea. The statue was so beautiful he fell in love with it, and Aphrodite turned Galatea into a human." James smiled a bit. It was a cute story, but he couldn't find a way to identify with this Pygmalion. He didn't want the statue, not the replica, no. He wanted the original, and no one else would do. Not even something in her likeness was good enough. Suddenly the group was distracted by a scratching sound at the window. Carefully pulling back the curtains a bit, James peeked through. "It's Meowth," he informed the others, pulling away the screen to let the cat in. Meowth flopped down on the floor, panting as if he'd run all the way there. They gave him a minute to recover, but finally he stood up and looked around. "Nobody attacked during da night, did dey?" "No..." Morada answered suspiciously, "Why would they? Nobody knows we're here, right?" she still eyed Meowth, then... "Oh poor kitty! You look tired, you better rest!" Meowth was once again hoisted onto the young doctor's lap and commenced in being pampered. "Look we don't have time for this," James insisted. "Meowth, you said you'd tell us about the android." James was NOT going to let the cat leave this time, not before he got answers. Meowth gave James a pitiful look, then sighed. "Dis is an extremely sensitive subject. Anyone who ain't acquainted wid Team Rocket would be betta off not hearin dis." As he said this, he faced James but his small slits of eyes were on Ash. Morada was the first to catch on. "Ash," she said sweetly, "Why don't you take Galatea here shopping? She could use some clothes that fit her better." ("Yeah, and clothes that LOOK better too," muttered James under his breath.) Ash looked up. "Why do I have to do it? I wanna hear what Meowth has to say about the android too!" Morada stood up (Meowth fell as she did so "OW!") and hovered ominously over Ash, who was still waiting on that teenage growth spurt. "Look," she said, moving to angry-rocket-girl-mode, "A lot of what he has to say is classified, and it's OUR necks on the line here if you leak anything at all to the police. We'll fill you in on the important stuff later, but for now here's a fifty and make sure she gets a new bra." It wasn't so much the shopping that Ash didn't care for; it was the concept of bra shopping that scared him. "B-b-but she can't go out like that," he tried, pointing to the girl newly christened as Galatea. "Long sleeves and a high collar still won't hide the metal thing on her forehead, or the one by her ear," he persisted, pointing to the nodded and connector ports that coated the android's skin in various places. Galatea looked up. "I shall move to disguise mode then," she said, as if trying to be helpful. One of the metal gizmos sparked something, and then you couldn't see it anymore. She looked completely human, not a scratch on now perfect skin. Morada grinned. "I figured she'd have holo-emitters." "Holo-what?" James and Ash asked at once. "Holographic imaging systems," came the reply. "It uses a trick of the light to make it appear she has skin over the connecter ports. It looks solid, but you'll feel metal if you touch them." Ash twisted his head to get a better look. "It seems so real," he finally said, "How'd you know she'd have those things?" Morada pointed to Galatea. "She's obviously designed to blend into society. For that, she'd have to give the impression that she's completely human." There was a pause, then... "Now get moving! We don't have all day, and you'll have to walk to the mall. Galatea should have a map of the city in her system, so get!" It took ten more minutes of whining and fighting, but Ash finally sulked out the door with Galatea following like a well-trained growlithe. Morada sighed and picked Meowth back up. "Back to business?" James nodded, looking at the cat. "Well it certainly isn't business as usual. Tell us what you know, Meowth." Jessie had been able to say no more since her last sentence-the room had exploded with fearful, angry, frustrated, and wildly loud conversation. "An army?!" "And the faces of our partners on each soldier..." "So the Boss is planning a war-" "Who's he fighting?" "Vicious probably..." "But why doesn't the entire organization know?" "Wouldn't he need every last man to beat Vicious?' "Something's wrong. We should know about this-" "Maybe he'll use the androids to fight us!" "WHAT?!" "You can't be serious-" "Why would the Boss turn on us like that?" "Killer androids? I'm gonna die!" "EVERYBODY SHUT UP!!!" they did, and all eyes were on the girl who'd shouted above the others. "Got something to add, Twerp?" Jessie asked Misty. The younger girl stomped to the front of the room until she was facing her former female rival. "I was kidnapped by Team Rocket too," she stated firmly. "Are you telling me that this Boss of yours made an android that looks like me?" Jessie eyed the girl. Misty had grown in the past five years, but she didn't differ much from the kid she's known. Still a bit too skinny, hair still up high, the only difference was she was taller, her clothes were more stylish, and her voice had gotten ever so slightly less high pitched. Still the same kid-some things never change. It was a comforting thought. "YOU were kidnapped?" she finally repeated, stifling a laugh. "The magical pikachu finally loose one?" Misty glared up at her. "Don't change the subject!" Jessie looked her in the eye. "How long," she asked, and this time she seemed serious, "were you unconscious?" Misty opened her mouth to answer, but it just hung there in silence as she realized she had no idea what day it was. "Cassidy," she finally tried, looking over at the disgruntled rocket, "how long was I asleep in the cell?" Cassidy looked up, eyes to the ceiling as she calculated in her head. "About three days, almost." Jessie frowned. "That's long enough. So yes, Team Rocket most likely made a copy of you." Shocked stiff, Misty couldn't say a thing. Another her...? That was...couldn't...but... Too confusing, dizzy... She flopped down into the chair Jessie had vacated. One of the Rocket girls that had escaped with Jessie patted her shoulder. "Look," she said, "We're going through the same thing." "Elsie's right," Cassidy said, sounding surprised. "Besides, there's nothing to worry about unless the androids get activated which they can't do." Jessie grunted. "I don't know what you're pouting about, Twerp," she said bitterly. "There isn't a copy of YOU just running around with your...partner." "Copy..." Misty repeated, then shot up, pointing an accusing finger at Jessie. "How do we know YOU aren't that prototype?!" Jessie glared back at the girl. Butch walked up and intervened as he sensed a catfight coming. "It's easy to tell, if you have the right equipment," he assured. "This," he held up a small metal cylinder, "is a neutralizer. It sends out a signal that interferes with computers functions and shuts them down." He pressed a button on the cylinder and it hummed, giving off a blue hue. Then, Butch waved it at Jessie. Nothing happened. He went down the line of girls in turn, waving the cylinder near their faces with no results. "All human," he finally announced, tossing the device to Mondo who turned it off. "Oh all right," Misty sighed, sitting back down. "Well then you better tell us about this 01 thing, since it's obvious we have to stop this Boss of yours from getting it." Jessie shot her a glare. "That's exactly what I was about to do," she said. (IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: this next part has Jessie and Meowth saying the same thing, but switching scenes so I don't have to type it twice-this is done on tv and movies a lot, I'm sure you've seen it. Anyway, the scenes change fast and there's no room for descriptions and such so for this part ONLY I will use the script format.) Meowth: Every android is equipped with da programming and weaponry to be a professional assassin. Dey're pretty complacent, and will answer to the highest ranking member of Team Rocket they happen to be with at the time, but the Boss holds all the power of her original programming and has complete authority. Jessie: The Boss wanted these things to be perfect. Before this, nobody's been able to make artificial intelligence before. Scientists have made plenty of robots, sure, but nothing that could think for itself. So the Boss decided to mimic exactly the human brain, hoping that it would give the android a sense of 'self' and the ability to adapt. It worked. The android was completed almost three years ago, and she has perfect artificial intelligence. M: But dere's a catch. 01 could completely think for herself-but how do you control someone with free will who's a hundred times more powerful den your best agents combined? You can't. If da Boss let her keep her free will, she'd realize she was more powerful den Team Rocket and she'd never serve him. She might even try to take over everything herself, and she could probably do it, too. J: And another problem came up. By the time he realized the problem, the Boss had already created hundreds of other androids with the exact same schematics. The Boss could never activate hundreds of androids that can destroy him like that, so he went back to the prototype. M: Da Boss had his scientists create a firewall dat would block da android's non-programmed personality, most of her free will, the memory copied from the host she was made from, and the ability to adapt to emotional circumstances. J: They couldn't find a way to delete her personality, so it got trapped behind the firewall, thinking for itself bit with no control over the body. The firewall was only installed in the prototype, and 01 was kidnapped before the firewall could be copied into the other androids. The schematics were deleted, so now the Boss needs to get 01 or else he can't activate his army. M: And if dat firewall ever comes down, da android will slowly revert back to her original programming. J: She was made to be humanlike, which means she has common sense and things like that, but she also has greed... M: hatred... J: violent tendencies... M: and a thirst for power. J: If she reverts completely there may be no stopping her. M: With or without the Boss she would be incredibly dangerous... J&M: and she'd have to be destroyed. Collin ducked down behind a potted plant in the food court, watching and waiting for the one he was looking for. Finally he heard it: "That was the most embarrassing half hour of my life," Ash wailed, covering his face as he and Galatea exited Victoria Secret. Galatea was looking through her shopping bag, seeming a bit confused. "What did that woman mean when she said I should purchase something with a 'g string'? And what IS a 'thong' exactly?" Ash stared at her horrorstruck. "Those are two questions I absolutely refuse to answer." Underwear shopping aside, they'd come off pretty well. Galatea was wearing far more stylish clothes-a black imitation leather tank top and a miniskirt of the same kind. The outfit was a bit short for the type of weather, but Galatea and Ash had figured that they shouldn't get clothes that would cover up the connecter ports just incase she had to interface with a computer. They exited the mall in silence, for Ash had no idea what to say to her and Galatea didn't speak much unless spoken too-but suddenly she stopped and jerked her head up a bit. "I have detected a weapon." "What?" "Pika?" Clear eyes looked a bit clouded. "Scanning..." Ash looked left and right, seeing many people but none who looked imposing. "I can't find it, why didn't you say something sooner?" She shook her head. "There are too many people, it interferes with my scans." "Fine," Ash growled, "Then we'd better get out of here." He grabbed Galatea's arm and started pulling her down the side streets. Finally they ended up in a secluded alley. "Well?" Ash asked, panting. "One person has followed us," she answered. "I cannot pinpoint his location." Ash grabbed some pokeballs from his belt, and pikachu started throwing sparks. "All right whoever you are!" he shouted, pulling his hat backwards, "come out and face me like an honorable trainer would-battle me!" At first there was silence, then laughing-cruel and short. Galatea jerked her head upward. "The fire escape!" she warned Ash. He turned to look, and saw the tall, blonde agent with the scyther he'd battled back at the cabin. But this time he had a gun. "Some witnesses think they saw the Meowth balloon over the Ilex Forest, heading for Viridian," Domino informed her Boss to end her status report. She had to admit she felt a bit nervous, for her employer had been angry with her since the Mewtwo fiasco. This had been her last chance, or else she'd be demoted, but of course those prisoners who'd escaped and that James were not part of HER jurisdiction. Surely he wouldn't blame HER! But then again, it was the Boss... "We need that android," Giovanni finally answered, talking slowly as he thought. "It's time to call in the trump card I laid a while ago," Giovanni smiled. A wave of relief and confusion swept over Domino, "Sir?" she asked carefully. "James," her employer informed her, "Still believes that 01 is actually Jessica Miyamoto." Domino thought that over. "But Jessie's missing, sir. What if she finds James?" "If she had we would have heard from them," the Boss assured her. "That woman loves to show off, and she wouldn't waist an opportunity to use that android-especially since she's the only one besides you me and the scientists that know what that thing is really capable of." "So what should I do, sir?" Domino asked, hoping to regain the Boss's confidence by completing another mission. "Find James," he said. "Tell him to contact me, understand? Even if you see the android don't take any measures to reclaim it-my plan will assure we get back 01 and get Jessie and James out of our hair, permanently." Tbc. Okay I should take the time to apologize to anyone who has been aggravated by my email server. There's some error in my outbox that sends the same message over and over again, but I think I've fixed the problem-not sure though. ^^;; NEXT *~*~* BACK