Prepare for Love: A Team Rocket Story

•Chapter 13•

James had gone to bed that night with a sense of anger in his stomach. He was furious at the way his parents and Jessebelle spoke so bitterly of Jessie and Meowth.
They're the closest thing to family I have, thought James, my good for nothing parents never felt like a family to me. James shook these thoughts away and climbed into his enormous four poster bed. The blankets were warm and the mattress was nice and soft.
No no no! I can't enjoy this! I'd much rather be in sleeping bags on the ground with my two best friends. I can't give in to the luxuriousness.
   James tried to fall asleep, but the thought of him being married the next day and worrying if Jessie and Meowth would be able to get him out kept him wide awake. Finally, he got out of bed and went over to the nightstand and opened the window. The warm midsummer's breeze felt wonderful against James's face. It reminded him of being in the hot air balloon, way up high.
   The nightstand had a cushioned seat. James sat down and got somewhat comfortable. He much rather wanted to sleep here than on the bed. This way, he could feel the breeze and look at the moon. James realized that Jessie was probably looking at the moon right now, which made him feel a lot less lonely. He finally drifted off to sleep at the thought of him and Jessie under the same sky.

                                          •••

   It was very early in the morning. Jessie had woken everyone up and they were trudging through the forest to get the balloon. The rising sun cast a gorgeous orange glow over the grass soaked in dew. It was a lovely scene; if only everyone felt lovely at that moment.
"Couldn't we have gotten just a little bit of more sleep, Jessie?" moaned Ash from the rear. Pikachu was asleep in his backpack, all warm and cozy and without aching feet.
"No!" yelled Jessie. She was obviously on edge. "We have to get to the balloon, put on our costumes, and save James from that horrible brat!"
About an hour went by, and the group finally arrived at the balloon. It was by the river where Jessie nearly drowned, or better yet, when this whole mess began.
Meowth hopped in the balloon and returned with a large bag. Inside were all of Team Rocket's previous costumes. The school girl outfits Jessie and James used to trick the twerps on the St. Anne, the kabuki costumes they used to dramatically interrupt Ash's 5th gym battle, and the time they cross-dressed as newlyweds. It almost brought a tear to Jessie's eye; she didn't know if her and James would be able to do these kinds of things anymore.
"Why in the world do you guys keep these costumes?" asked Brock. Meowth chuckled and said, "well, dere just good memories and we can use dem ta trick you twerps again."
Ash, Misty, and Brock rolled their eyes and began digging through the bag to find the wedding caterer costumes. They pulled out lots of ridiculous costumes until Ash found them.
"Here they are!" he exclaimed. He was holding two adult sized outfits and one small outfit. Ash handed one large outfit to Jessie and the small one to Meowth. Suddenly, Misty spoke up and said, "there aren't enough costumes for all of us."
"Good observation, twer- I mean Misty." said Jessie. She took the other large outfit from Ash and tossed it to Brock, who was about James's size. "That's why you and Ash will be dressing up as maids!"
Misty's eyes lit up with excitement but Ash looked horrified. "I'm going to be a maid?! Why don't you guys have a boy servant costume?!"
"They ran out at da store, now shut up and put em on." grumbled Meowth. He threw the costumes at Ash and Misty and they slipped them on over their clothes. Misty's fit like a glove, but Ash's skirt hung all the way down to his knees.
Once everyone was in costume, the group got into the balloon and Jessie started it up. They floated off the ground. Then, Brock said, "wait a second. How do we know where his mansion is?"
"I saw the helicopter that he was taken go north." said Jessie, focused on flying the balloon. "We'll start heading that way. Besides, it's a mansion; it's got to be huge. Now, let's go save James."

•••

The bright morning light shone in James's face. He slowly opened his eyes, forgetting where he was for a moment. Then, it dawned on him that he wasn't with Jessie and Meowth and that he was getting married today. He sighed deeply and got up from the nightstand where he had slept.
Before he opened the door, butlers bursted into his bedroom. James jumped back and they all got busy straightening up the bed and tidying up the room. James's main butler, Mr. Edwards, escorted him out of the room.
   "Good morning, Master James." said Mr. Edwards politely. James nodded his greetings, not wanting to talk to anybody at the moment. "Remember, I promised you that we would go into town and pick you out the finest tuxedo for your wedding tonight." said Mr. Edwards.
Oh wonderful. I'll be picking out my outfit that I'll be wearing when I become a prisoner, thought James, but he didn't say it aloud. Instead, he replied, "I'm thrilled."
   James was still wearing his Team Rocket uniform when he and Mr. Edwards stepped out of the mansion and into a limousine. Mr. Edwards got in the driver's seat and James got in the very back and stared out the window as the car started. They drove off into town to get the tuxedo. They returned about an hour later with a crisp black and white tuxedo. James had to admit, it was very handsome and nice, but then he remembered that this was what he'll be wearing when he gives himself up to Jessebelle.

•••

The group had been riding in the balloon for about two hours now. Ash, Brock and Meowth were slumped against the side of the balloon and were taking a nap. Jessie looked out at the forest, as did Misty.
They had been quiet for awhile now, until Misty said, "I know how you feel about James." Jessie blushed hard and turned away. "Wh-what? What do you mean by that?" she stammered.
Misty chuckled. "I see the way you look at him. And I see the way he looks at you. Jessie met her eyes with Misty's and looked at each other for several seconds, Jessie still blushing.
Finally, she sighed. "I've never told anyone how I feel about him before." she whispered so not to wake up the boys. Jessie looked back out at the forest overhead. "He makes me feel... wanted, you know? Like I'm actually worth something, despite what I've been told by others in the past." Misty nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know that feeling."
"And he and Meowth are the only friends I've ever truly known. Everyone else has betrayed me or left me. They've been by my side. Especially James. He's been there for me even when no one else seemed to care about me. And for that, I'd do anything for him." Tears started to form in Jessie's eyes. Suddenly realizing how stupid she must sound, she quickly blinked them away. "I must seem pretty stupid, don't I?"
Misty shook her head and reached for Jessie's hand, holding it in hers. "Of course not, Jessie. That's wonderful that you have someone like that. I'm lucky enough to have found Ash and he and I are the same way, even if we don't always get along."
Jessie giggled. "Sounds like someone has a crush." she teased. Now it was Misty's turn to blush. "What?! You're crazy. Never in my life would I have a crush on Ash Ketchum!"
"Shh! You'll wake him up and he'll know the truth." whispered Jessie. Misty scowled at Jessie and turned away, still blushing. Suddenly, Jessie could see the rooftop of a glorious mansion.
"Guys, wake up, we're here!" Jessie yelled enthusiastically. Slowly but surely, the boys woke up and stood to look at the mansion. "We're going to save James from that? Looks pretty nice to me." said Ash. But Jessie shook her head. "Trust me," she said, "he'd much rather be with us, where he belongs."