Disclaimer: Ya'll know the dealio.
James groaned as the trio made their way up the narrow mountain path, the sky darkening with twilight nearing. He was acting as pack mule for the group; everything they owned was stuffed in a enormous backpack balanced precariously on his shoulders. "Are…we……there yet?" He panted heavily, lagging far behind Meowth and Jessie. "We…we have…have…been walking for……HOURS!"
Jessie snorted, strolling nonchalantly ahead, her arms crossed behind her head. "How should I know? Meowth's the one with the map."
Shuffling through the papers he was reviewing, Meowth produced a withered-looking map. He traced a path with a claw, tapping a spot a few times. "Da entrance to da undaground tunnels should be round here somewheres…"
James readjusted the burden on his back, struggling to keep up with the two. "Guys," he wheezed, "can we…we…take a…little…break?"
Jessie spun around, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. "Stop being such a baby! We can't stop now!" Turning back around with a huff, she continued walking ahead.
"Bu…But, Jessie—AUGH!"
"But nothing Ja—" Jessie had turned around again, only to notice she was talking to empty air. "James?" She backtracked a few feet and looked around, puzzled. "James? Where'd you—AH!" She suddenly found herself dropping, the sky swallowed up above her. Crashing to a halt at the bottom, she rubbed her behind, wincing. "What the…Where the hell am I?" She looked up, greeted by two gleaming eyes at the opening of the chasm.
Meowth snickered, looking down into the dim hole. "Well, whaddya know! Ya two found da entrance!"
Jessie paused, confused. "Two…" She recoiled when she felt frantic movement coming from under her. What had broken her fall was James, now flaying under the weight of the backpack. She rushed to help him, hastily lifting the cumbersome bag off of him.
James managed to wiggle his way out from under the enormous pack, collapsing against the wall of the cavity. He gasped painfully for air, holding his sides. "Ouch…I think I broke something."
Jessie looked at him bashfully, laughing nervously. "Eh heh heh…Sorry about that, James."
James opened his mouth to reply, but ended up getting a mouthful of Meowth as he jumped gracefully from the edge of the hole, using James's face as a landing pad. He somersaulted from James to the cavern's floor, washing himself casually with a paw as James spit out clumps of his fur.
Jessie sighed, rummaging though the backpack. Producing a canteen of water, she tossed it to James, who missed it in his hacking fit, the container clonking him on the head. Jessie winced in sympathy. "Oh…Sorry again." She hunted through the bag again. This time she dragged out a first-aid kit, which was much, much larger than the standard first-aid kit. After all the flights and falls they had taken over the years, they had upgraded to something bigger to accommodate their needs. She set the pack down on the ground, popping open the lid. Grabbing a couple ice packs, she scooted over to James's side. Kneeling she handed James the bigger ice pack after he was done washing out his mouth with water from the canteen, then held the smaller one against his head. She nodded to the in James's hands. "Put that one across your ribs."
James obliged, lifting up his shirt and applied the cold pack against his chest. Jessie couldn't help but notice that despite his weak demeanor, James was actually quite built, lean muscles sculpting his body. This baffled Jessie to no end; when did he find time to work out? She snorted, looking away from James. "Can we get a little light in here, Meowth? I can barely see a thing!"
Finished with his washing, Meowth waddled to the massive pack, jumping on top of it. He stuck his head in the bag, dragging out a lantern with teeth. Jumping off the pack, he sat the lantern on the ground, turning it on.
Jessie and James blinked against the sudden brightness, looking around the illuminated cavern. It was bigger than they had originally thought, stretching down deeper and deeper into the mountain.
James sighed, wincing slightly at the movement. "Great…Another long walk."
Jessie looked at his dejected face, then sighed, slumping onto her heels. "I guess we can stop here for the night…" James gave a little shout, cutting his celebration short to yelp in pain. Jessie rolled her eyes at him.
The trio started a small fire in the center of the pit, the smoke drifting lazily to greet the night sky peeking at them through the hole. A pot of soup simmered over the flame, a welcome addition to their poor stock of food from Giovanni, the savory smell filling the hollow. Recovered from his previous injuries, James wolfed down his soup ravenously, happy as can be. Jessie sipped her soup much slower, looking up at the small patch of starry sky over their heads. Meowth was the only one doing anything remotely productive; he had the files on Nebvius in front of him, flipping though the pages absently, leaving his soup untouched. Noticing this, James discarded his own empty bowl, reaching for Meowth's. However, his attempt wasn't unnoticed, and he received multiple scratches on his hand for his efforts.
James whimpered slightly, pouting. Thinking of another idea, he looked at Jessie with big eyes, even adding a bit of waterworks to the mix.
Jessie looked at him from over her own bowl, trying to figure out what was wrong. When she did, she scowled. "Oh, no. No, no, no! You aren't pulling that one on me again! You shouldn't have eaten yours so fast!" She turned away from him, sipping her soup again. But James wasn't going to be ignored. He scooted closer to her, whimpering again.
Jessie shot him a side-long glance, regretting the action immediately. He looked up at her, his face pouty, a few tears trickling down his cheek. His moves put a puppy to shame. Unable to resist, Jessie gave in with a sigh, handing him the bowl. His face immediately brightened, a smug aura surrounding him. Jessie grumbled a few chose words to herself. "You better not get used to it…" James was too busy gulping down his second portion to notice her threat.
The rest of the evening was spent in comfortable silence, everyone absorbed in their own thoughts and fantasies. Finally, everyone snuggled into their sleeping bags, and James doused the fire with a pile of dirt.
However, Meowth stayed awake long after Jessie and James had fallen asleep, still pouring over the files by the light radiating from the moon. A scowl was etched on his face as he read more and more about the Ultimatum Pokèmon, a feeling of unease resting in the pit of his stomach.
Jessie got her answer in the morning. She woke up earlier than usually, unsettling dreams making her restless. She sat up groggily, shielding her eyes against the sunlight coming in directly from above the opening of the hole. Slowly coming to her senses, a low mummer coming from deeper in the cavity reached her ears. She stood slowly, wary. She headed into the premature darkness toward the noise, her body tensed. When she reached the origin of the sound, something hit her in the face. Instinctively, she acted, grabbing the assailant and flipping it over her shoulder, driving it into the ground with an elbow.
A yell Jessie knew too well emerged from her victim; her "assailant" was none other than James, now face down in the dirt, Jessie's arms wrapped around his legs. "James?" She dropped of his feet, helping him get to his knees. "What were you doing back there? You almost gave me a heart attack!" Over her shock, she noticed another important point. "And…why aren't you wearing a shirt?"
James smiled sheepishly, trying to wipe off the dirt that was sticking to him. "I was working out."
Her eyebrows shot up. "Working out? Since when do you work out?"
James frowned slightly. "I've been doing it every morning since I joined Team Rocket! You're usually still asleep though."
He had got her on that one; Jessie wasn't a morning person. Realization slowly donned on her. "But…Why were your feet in the air?"
"I was doing push-ups."
Her shock grew. "Push-ups?"
"Uh-huh."
"Vertically?!"
James looked slightly embarrassed. "Well…yeah."
Jessie cover her mouth with a hand, trying to suppress her giggles, to no avail.
He wasn't pleased about her reaction, a scowl on his face. "Hey, hey, hey! You don't think I can do it!"
Jessie gave up on trying to hide her amusement, erupting in girlish giggles. She wiped a tear from her eye, her giggles subsiding a bit. "Oh please, James! It's you we're talking about—" Before she could take another breath, James had flipped her head over heels. He smiled triumphantly inches from her face, both of her arms pinned against her sides. Jessie's heart began to kick into forth gear, her face growing hot.
His smile grew into a cocky smirk. "See?"
Another voice sounded from the beginning of the tunnel. "What Meowth don't see is breakfast bein started!" The Pokèmon yawned, stretched out in the sun on top of James's shirt.
James released Jessie, helping her to her feet. She sniffed, her pride hurt, and stalked off to start breakfast.
Their bellies full, the trio packed up the make-shift camp, James armed with the death-pack again. Armed with a flashlight and a vague map, the started their track deep into the recesses of the mountain.
A/N Cheetah Goddess, still here(surprisingly...). After the Pokemon comics left me empty inside, I started working on this ol thing again! It would be longer...If I wasn't so impatient.
Don't worry...The action'll start up soon.
Today's Theme: Beat the shit out o James:D