Seven Days of Terror

Author's Note: Wow, no reviews? Man. I thought I might get at least one comment, but... oh well. Perhaps when there's a little more.

Now includes better title lolololol

Anyway, here's the second chapter. Enjoy, and please review/comment/whatever. Just leave something. D:

Seven Days of Terror

by Perfect Purity

Chapter Two: Split Views


Operation Ketchum, Day 2

Today we are to leave on what will probably be the last mission Jessie and I will do as members of Team Rocket, which I have dubbed “Operation Ketchum.” I can’t believe that Giovanni would want to frame us. I’m afraid to go ask him myself, because he’s a scary guy. I’ve been on his bad side far too many times in my career. I still haven’t told Jessie about what I think yet. She’s been in a fairly good mood ever since we played Twister the other day. We haven’t decided what we’re going to do with Meowth if our first plan somehow fails, but I’ve got an idea. Meowth is a Pokemon, after all… heh heh. I hope I will be able to conquer my fears and complete this mission without incident. Until next time.

As James closed the small leather book and placed his pencil in the binding, there was a knock at the door. “Yes?” he asked. “Who’s there?”

“It’s Meowth! Let me in!”

James placed his book on his bed, walked to the door, and opened it. “What’s up, Meowth? You’re up pretty early, aren’t you?”

Meowth tried to hold back a yawn, but could not. “Jessie… sent me to make sure you were ready. Said something about leaving first thing in the morning.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right, we are supposed to leave early so we can learn the layout of the boss’s mansion,” James remembered. “Thanks, pal. Tell her I’ll be right there.”

“James, what about me? What should I do?”

“Don’t worry about it. Jess an’ me have this all figured out.”

“Whatever you say, man. Jessie says that she wants you to meet her in her bedroom in five minutes. ‘Tell him he had better not keep me waiting, or else!’” Meowth said, feigning a girl’s voice.

James laughed. “Yeah, yeah, sure. I’ll be right there. I just need to grab a couple things.”

Meowth nodded, and left. James looked around, making sure he wasn’t missing anything he would want to bring. "Definitely going to want this…" James thought to himself, picking his journal up from the bed. "I got stuff yesterday, so… I think that’ll do it." As he exited his room and shut the door, he continued his thoughts. "I wonder if they’ll leave our rooms alone while we’re rotting in prison." He whistled to himself as he walked to Jessie’s room. As he neared it, the door opened and a young male Rocket Grunt greeted him.

“Sir! Giovanni has sent me to escort the two of you to his vehicle. Administrator Jessie is also here,” he said, moving out of the way. “Please, come in.”

“Well, this is her bedroom, I would assume that she would be here,” James said, entering. “Why are you here, soldier? We are more than capable of escorting ourselves to our destination.”

“This is Giovanni’s strict order, sir. I’m not to let either of you two out of my sight until we board.”

“I see,” James said, rubbing his chin. “And what will you do when Jessie here needs to change her clothes? Do you intend to stay and watch?”

“That won’t be necessary; Jessie was told before I came to change her clothes into what she would be wearing on the trip. She will wear what she is wearing when I arrive. That is also Giovanni’s strict order. She is not to change clothes until we reach our destination at the earliest.”

“Very well,” James said, casting a glance at Jessie, who nodded slightly. “My belongings are in that blue suitcase. I am putting this book with them.” The grunt nodded, and watched as James opened the suitcase and placed his journal inside. When he tried to shut it, he noted that he could not. “Gosh, Jessie, you sure do have a lot of clothes in here.”

“Oh, come on, it isn’t that much,” Jessie complained. She cast a look at the grunt. “Just hold it tight when you carry it so they don’t fall out everywhere.”

“Well then,” James said, clapping his hands together. “Shall we go?” He extended he hand towards the door.

The grunt nodded again, and exited Jessie’s quarters, waiting outside for the others. “The Meowth stays,” he said. “It is Giovanni’s strict order that—”

“…all Pokemon are to stay behind,” Jessie finished. “Yes, yes, we know. We have been briefed about this mission already. There’s no need to go through everything a second time.” She followed James out of the room, flashing Meowth a thumbs-up from behind her back while closing the door. Jessie and James began to walk towards the elevator that would take them to the roof where Giovanni’s aircraft was waiting, but the grunt looked at them, confused.

“Ma’am, aren’t you forgetting something?” he asked.

“Hmm? Why, whatever do you mean? I don’t believe I’ve forgotten anything,” Jessie said, hands clasped. She then inhaled sharply and slapped her forehead. “Oh! Gosh. Silly me, I’ve forgotten my suitcase! I’ll be right back, just let—”

But the grunt held his hand in front of Jessie, barring her path. “I will fetch it. You two stay here.” Jessie let out a barely audible gasp and stared wide-eyed at the grunt, who gave a suspicious look at his superior. She quickly regained composure and placed her hands on her hips.

“You know, you’ve got a lot of nerve to boss around your own bosses,” she said.

“I am following Giovanni’s direct orders, and unless there’s been a memo I’m not aware of, Giovanni outranks the two of you.”

“Oh, a wise guy, huh?” James chimed in.

“No, not at all,” the grunt began. “Please, I don’t mean any disrespect, really. It’s just that if Giovanni were to find out that I disobeyed his orders, he’d fire me for sure. I may need to report to the two of you on occasion, but Giovanni’s the one that pays me. I need to be sure I stay on his good side. I’ll get your suitcase, ma’am.” He opened the door, picked up the suitcase, and began to carry it out. One could tell he was straining to carry the suitcase in one hand. “Pardon me for saying, ma’am, but you certainly do have a lot of clothes in here.”

“Well, it’s not just clothes, and they’re not even all my clothes,” Jessie said. “There are things in there that every girl needs. The bare essentials, I tell you! Tell him, James!”

“Um… y-yeah, I have some clothes… and my journal… and one or two hygiene items. Yes… essentials. My journal isn’t really an essential, but I want to write about my experiences in it. I hope that—”

“Thank you, James,” Jessie interrupted. “Now, you, don’t be afraid to use two hands! Let’s go!”

The grunt heaved the case into both hands, and began to walk. “To the elevator, now,” he instructed.

James nudged at Jessie, and looked at her, as if to say, “What about Meowth?”

But Jessie simply winked and continued to walk. "What’s she planning?" James thought as the two of them got in the elevator and ascended to the rooftop. In front of them was a helicopter.

“Hey, what gives?” James protested. “I thought we were getting to ride in the boss’s private jet!”

“Giovanni felt that there was no reason to use his own personal jet to, quote, ‘ship those two numbskulls to Orre.’”

Jessie, unusually chipper, jumped up and down excitedly. “Wow! I’ve always wanted to ride in the boss’s helicopter!”

James and the grunt looked at each other. James shrugged. “Yeah, sure, whatever. Let’s get inside. I can tell this guy’s arms are about to fall off from carrying our stuff.”

The three walked to the helicopter, and Jessie climbed in first. A very tired Rocket Grunt lugged the suitcase into the helicopter, which Jessie pulled to her and set on her lap. James then climbed in, and the grunt tossed a device to James. “Take this radio. You are to contact Giovanni upon arriving at the location. Understood?”

“Right. Thank you, soldier,” James said, and gave a quick salute.

The grunt did not salute back, but gave James an odd look. “S-sure. Best of luck to you two.” He shut the door, made sure it was shut, and gave a thumbs-up to the pilot, signaling all was well. He quickly ran back to the building, entered the elevator, and was gone.

The helicopter’s motor started, and the giant propellers began to spin. James looked around and found two sets of headphones. He put one on his head and handed one to Jessie. “Here, Jess, wear this. It’s going to be loud once we take off, so we need to wear these so we can talk to each other and the pilot.”

“Okay,” was all Jessie said before taking the headphones James had offered her. She put them on, closed her eyes, and rested.

James continued to look at his partner for a few seconds, then decided to test out his headgear. He pointed the microphone towards his mouth and spoke. “Jessie, can you hear me?”

She did not open her eyes nor look towards him. “Yes, James, what is it?”

“Jessie, what was with you earlier? You were acting very…”

“Very what, out of character? Good. Ugh, I hated acting like such an idiot back there, but it was necessary. I think that grunt’s got a soft spot for me." She let out a sigh. "But then again, most men do... anything else?”

“Yeah, what about Meowth?”

Jessie put a finger to her lips, then pointed towards the pilot. “Meowth’s fine… I think. I’ll tell you later. Just relax and enjoy the flight, like me.” She clasped her hands together and rested them in her lap, and began to rest again.

“Right. Okay, Jessie.” James tried to mimic Jessie’s position, and was successful, but could not achieve the feeling of serenity she seemed to have. He sat for a moment, but did not stay still for long. “Say, Jessie, could you get me my journal out of your suitcase? I think some writing would help me relax.”

At this, Jessie opened her eyes, but did not look directly at James. “Um… sure, just a second. But… could you look the other way? My… underwear is on the top, and… I would rather you didn’t see them, even if I’m not wearing them.”

“Oh. Yeah, sure,” James said, and looked out the window on his side. He saw an airplane flying below them. "That looks an awful lot like the boss’s plane," James thought. "That’s odd… I don’t remember him saying anything about him joining us. Is he going to Orre to spy on us? No, that’s not it. He wouldn’t waste his time, and I don’t think he’d risk being there when we do the job. Well, there’s still no guarantee that that is the boss’s plane. Maybe I’m overreacting. I need to write…" “Jessie, did you get—”

Jessie quickly closed the suitcase and extended the hand that contained James’s book. “Here you go!”

“Thanks… Jessie,” James said, taking the book. “What took you so long? I could have sworn I put it on top of our clothes.”

“Ah! Well… um… I was sidetracked. I was arguing with myself about what ones I’ll wear to bed tonight.”

James processed this information, and decided it was a valid reason. That, and it wouldn’t be very wise to argue with her. “Oh.” He turned his attention to his notebook, opened up to an empty page, and began to write.

Operation Ketchum, Day 2 (cont.)

We’re en route to the boss’s private getaway as I write this. I still haven’t told her my suspicions. It’s nerve-wracking, because I want to tell someone. Should I tell Jessie? She looks so calm and peaceful. I think I’ll tell her after we land. I wish Meowth were here. I don’t know, for moral support or something. It would be hard to talk to him about it with Jessie sitting next to him, though. Oh! I saw an airplane a few minutes ago. I would almost be willing to bet money that it belonged to Giovanni. Of course, it was below us, so I couldn’t see it very well. I’m still uneasy about this mission, and I will probably feel that way until the end. I really hope Jessie’s got a plan, because I couldn’t even begin to think of what I’d do. The pilot just told us that we’re arriving, so I guess this is it. Until next time.

“Please make sure you both are buckled properly, to prevent premature accidents,” the pilot said. James closed his book and returned the pencil to the binding.

"Premature… accidents?" James thought. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

The helicopter landed on a small patch of asphalt near a wide beach. There was another message from the pilot. “We have arrived at Giovanni’s private island retreat. You two should consider yourselves lucky that you get to spend any time here.” He turned around and extended a hand holding a small radio. “Use this to contact Giovanni. He will be expecting a call from you shortly.”

“Thank you,” Jessie said, accepting the radio and opening the door. She stepped out of the helicopter, then dragged her suitcase to the ground. James hopped to the ground as well, then tried to pick up the suitcase. Overestimating his own strength, he used one hand and found it terribly hard to lift. He set it back on the ground, shut the helicopter door, and then dragged the suitcase away so the pilot would have room to take off. He flashed the pilot a thumbs-up to signal all was clear. The pilot did the same, raised the helicopter into the air, and was gone.

“So, Jessie, this is it,” James said, gazing upon Giovanni’s mansion. “I didn’t even know the boss had an island retreat.”

“He’s mentioned it a couple times in the past,” Jessie said, looking around. “Talk about secluded. I can’t even see any land from here, and it’s clear as day.”

"Secluded… no one will even notice we’re dead." “The sunlight is strong. We should call Giovanni to let him know we’ve arrived, then get inside before we get burned.” James said. “You want to call him?”

“Eh, I think you’d better do it. He was happier with you when we left,” Jessie said, tossing James the radio.

“Oh, yeah, you’re probably right. Okay, here goes.” He turned the radio on and turned a dial, trying to find Giovanni’s radio frequency. Upon finding it, he pressed and held a button, then spoke into it. “S-sir? This is James. Do you read me? Over.” He released the button and waited for a response. There was none. “Do you think his radio isn’t turned on?” he asked. He pressed the button and tried again. “This is James, contacting Giovanni of Team Rocket, come in, please. Over.”

“James!” the radio bellowed. “It’s about time you two got there. Listen up. I sent my courier to Ash Ketchum’s home an hour ago. The mansion is yours to explore. Don’t fuck around! Remember, you have a job to do! After the deed is done, you may do as you wish. Don’t contact me until Ash Ketchum is dead. Got it?!”

“Y-yes, sir,” James replied.

“Good. If you two succeed in this mission, I’ll give each of you a 300 percent increase in pay! Hear me?”

James looked at Jessie, wide-eyed. “Yes, sir!”

“That’s the spirit. One more thing: mess up the dungeon a little. Make it looked like you escaped from your holding cells, understand? I haven’t been there in quite some time, so it may be a little dusty around the house. Deal with it. Giovanni out.”

James turned off the radio and put it into his pocket. “Jessie, did you hear that? He said a 300 percent increase in pay! My goodness…”

“Are you serious? Think of all the things I’ll be able to buy!” Jessie said, hands clasped and teary-eyed.

“Let’s go inside. We can think of all the things we want in there.”

Jessie went over to her suitcase and began to drag it along the sand to the front doors. She knocked on the door, half expecting to be let in, but James simply opened them. “Jess, no one’s here. Who do you think is going to answer?”

“Oh. I guess you’re right,” Jessie concluded. She dragged the suitcase inside, shut the doors, and then opened the suitcase. “All right, it’s safe.”

Almost immediately, a pile of clothes burst from the suitcase. It was still at first, but then seemed to spit up a small animal.

James looked with wide eyes at what he had just seen. “Meowth! What the… how? But you – and she – but he – okay, start talking, please.”

“Me first,” Meowth said, still heavily breathing. “Man, it is hot in there! I seriously thought I was going to die in there. No food in there, either… I’m so hungry…”

“I meant start talking about why I’m standing here looking at you!” James said.

“Oh, yeah, that. Jessie woke me up really early this morning and told me she was going to stuff me in that suitcase and use it to take me with you guys. I can fit in there no problem if it’s empty, but Jessie had to stuff all those clothes in there and make it impossible for me to fit and close the suitcase. At least there was a little room for air to get in, otherwise I woulda died for sure.”

“Somehow, I doubt that,” Jessie interjected. “That grunt would have been suspicious if he hadn’t seen Meowth there, so we had to find a way to let him see Meowth and the suitcase so he wouldn’t think something was up. When we left the room, I shut the door so Meowth could take out all that junk and stuff himself under the clothes and shut the suitcase before that grunt realized what was up. And what do you know? It worked.”

“Yeah, who’d have thought one of our plans would actually succeed?” Meowth said.

“So then when we were in the helicopter, when you took forever getting my book, you were…” James trailed off.

“I was giving Meowth some air.” Jessie explained.

“Yeah, about that, Jessie… you didn’t have to shut it so hard, you know! That hurt…”

“Well, you know what they say… pain is weakness leaving the body.”

“That can’t be true,” James added. “If it were, we would never continuously lose to Ash.”

“Not to mention everyone else we challenge,” Meowth chimed in.

“Oh. Well, I don’t care, it’s just a saying I saw on a poster somewhere.” Jessie said. After this statement, all was relatively quiet in the house, which was to be expected. The three of them stood there for a moment, taking into consideration the immense size of this palace-like house.

James turned toward his two friends and burst out, “Hey, let’s go explore the house, you guys!” The other two, a bit taken aback by James’s sudden statement, did not say anything. James went on, “We have an entire week to do whatever we want before we have to do the… thing… so why not take this time to live it up for a while?” He turned away from his partners, his smile fading. "This may be our last chance."

“Sounds good, but…” Jessie began. “There are three floors in this house – the upper floor, where the bedrooms are… the bottom floor, where the kitchen, dining room, library, and other storage rooms are… and in the basement is…”

“The dungeon,” the other two finished.

“That’s right. Seeing as how I am the prettiest of the three of us, I am automatically exempt from going there. Now, James, I don’t know if you brought a flashlight, but I’m sure that there are lights down there. You can’t be too careful, though, and—”

“Fuck that! I don’t want to go down there, either! Just being on the first floor gives me the creeps. You couldn’t pay me enough to go down there by myself!”

At this, Meowth spoke up. “Why don’t you both go? You guys have to learn the layout of the house anyway, don’t you? This way, James, you don’t have to be such a wuss, and Jessie, you’ll have James to keep you company and protect you from anything that may or may not be living down there. How’s that?”

“Sounds good to me,” James said. He looked to Jessie. “How about you, Jess?”

Jessie looked back. “Oh, yes, I agree. Wonderful idea, Meowth.”

“Well, then, glad that’s settled! You guys be quick about it and we’ll get to exploring the rest of the house, okay? I’ll be waiting right here for ya.”

“Not so fast, buddy,” James said, grabbing Meowth by the back of his neck. “You’re coming, too.”

“Whaaaaaat?” Meowth wailed, frantically trying to free himself from James’s grasp. “No! Jessie, stop him!”

“Nope,” Jessie said, pointing thumbs down at Meowth. “You’re coming with us, and that’s that. You’re part of the team, Meowth, and as such are to be included in any and all activities we undertake.”

“All right, all right, I’ll go,” Meowth said, defeated. “Let’s just hurry up and get this over with, okay? … Where’s the basement door?”

“I’m… not sure,” Jessie said, beginning to wander aimlessly. She took a few steps forward and found a large piece of paper sitting on a coffee table of sorts. “What’s this?” She picked it up and looked it over. “It looks like… a blueprint? James, come here.”

James and Meowth walked over to where Jessie was standing. She held the paper so James could see it, and Meowth climbed up onto James’ shoulders so he could see, too. “It does look like a blueprint,” James said. “It’s crudely made, though. It looks like someone just took a pencil and paper and outlined the house’s rooms.”

“Yeah, but who could have done it? No one’s here but us!” Meowth added. “…Right?”

“Well… yeah,” James said. “The boss didn’t say anyone would be here. He would have told us, don’t you think, Jessie?”

Jessie sat down on the small couch and crossed her arms. “You’d think so. But he never said there wouldn’t be anyone here, so you have to keep that in mind. However…” she trailed off. “I… don’t… think… he would leave something like that out. If we’re the only ones who are to leave this island alive, and there really is someone else here, then I guess we’ll have to kill them, too.”

James gasped, clearly shocked at his companion’s response. “Jessie! How can you say that? Don’t you have any conscience at all? How can you mindlessly go along with this plan?”

“Whoa, slow down, James. One question at a time, okay? First of all, I do have a conscience, and a part of it is telling me to not go through with this mission.”

“You should listen to it, then.”

“Ah, no. You see, that part is just a small part. The overwhelming majority of my conscience is now being blinded by the obscene amount of money we’re being offered in exchange for completing this mission. I don’t know about the two of you, but I personally don’t mind if the twerp dies. He won’t be in our hair any more, and that will leave us to pursue more important matters.”

James cast a glance over at Meowth, who shrugged his shoulders, and then looked back at Jessie. “Well… Jessie… Meowth and I have reason to believe that the boss may want us out of the way, too.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Think about it. Whenever we try to do something, we always royally fail. We haven’t truly succeeded in a single mission since we joined Team Rocket. I don’t know why Giovanni would trust us with this mission if it’s so important to him, since there are other officers, though below us in rank, would be more suited for the job. Why would Giovanni tell us to kill the one who time and again beats us? Don’t you think he would want to send someone who at least hasn’t had an opportunity to lose to Ash?” James reasoned.

“Well, you do have a point, I’ll give you that,” Jessie began. “But if the boss truly didn’t mind us trying to capture Pikachu all these years, don’t you think he would have told us to lay off?”

“It’s because he likes to see us suffer,” James pointed out. At this, Jessie started to say something, but could not, realizing this new possibility. “I was talking to Meowth about it earlier. We think Giovanni will try to frame us once the deed is done.”

“But – that can’t be… in all the time we’ve been with Team Rocket, I’ve never heard of the boss framing one of his own agents. If he wanted us gone, he would have fired us. There, see? He has no reason to want us dead, too.”

“Uh, Jessie, wake up!” Meowth said, jumping onto the couch where Jessie sat. “He has every reason in the world to want you guys dead! It’s a miracle he’s continued to let you work for him, but sometimes enough is enough! Can’t you even consider the fact that he’s just been waiting for the right time to do ya in, and this just so happens to be it? He’s killing two birds with one stone!”

“I can’t believe it. I won’t believe it. The boss has given us a home - given me a home - by making us members of Team Rocket. The team is like family to me… there’s no way I will simply throw away everything because you two are paranoid!”

“Jessie…” James started.

“No. I will complete this mission, with or without your help. And if you get in my way, then—”

“Just stop,” James cut her off. “You’re wrong, Jessie. I’ll prove it to you… somehow. I will. Jessie, if I can prove to you that Giovanni is out to get us, will you believe us then?”

There was no answer at first. The girl looked down, away from her partner, unable to shake away the doubts he had put into her head, despite her best efforts. "If I betray the boss, he will fire me for sure. I don’t have anywhere to go. I don’t want to live on the street! But… what if James is right? I don’t want him to get hurt, but if he’s wrong, he’ll be fired not only for disobeying the boss’s orders, but treason as well."

“Jessie?” a voice was heard. James was now in front of Jessie, on his knees. He took one of her hands and held it in his own. “Jessie, I promise you right now, if Giovanni is up to something, I’ll personally see to it that he pays for it. I won’t let you be killed.”

“Okay,” Jessie whispered, barely audible. She looked to her associate, cleared her throat, and spoke up. “But James, I’m serious. I want proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wants to kill us.”

“I’ll call him and ask him myself,” James said, standing up, reaching for the radio in his pocket.

“Oh yeah, that’ll be brilliant, Einstein,” Meowth said. “Great plan. I can hear it now; ‘Hey, boss, are you trying to kill us?’ ‘No, of course not, you’re two of my best agents! Now get going!’ Blah blah blah. He ain’t gonna tell ya straight out if he’s going to kill ya!”

“I suppose you're right. I want to get to the bottom of this as soon as I can, though. And besides, I don’t hear you spouting out any ideas,” James said, sitting next to Meowth on the couch.

“I can’t think on an empty stomach,” Meowth complained, holding his stomach. “I’m starving! Can’t we eat first?”

“Fine,” James said. “Jessie, where does it say the kitchen is?”

Jessie picked the paper up and searched it. “It looks like there are two kitchens. On this paper, they are labeled as ‘Kitchen 1’ and ‘Kitchen 2.’ Whoever made this drew a happy face by Kitchen 1. There’s a sad face by Kitchen 2.”

“Who cares? Where’s the closest one?” Meowth whined.

“Be patient! Let’s see… this is the first floor entrance. We are here. And… it doesn’t look like it’s drawn to scale, but Kitchen 2 is the closest to this location.”

“Great! Which way?” Meowth jumped to the floor, awaiting directions.

“It’s through that door right over there. Go down the stairs, and you’ll be in Kitchen 2.”

“Yes! That’s what I want to hear!” Meowth exclaimed, making a dash for the door Jessie pointed out, but before opening the door, he stopped short. “Hey, wait a minute,” he said, turning around. “‘Go down the stairs?’ That means…”

“Kitchen 2 is in the basement,” Jessie finished.

“Oh no, no way! I’m not going down there!” Meowth yelled, frantically running back to the humans. “Where is the other kitchen?”

“Down the hall that way. Through those doors is the dining room; past that is Kitchen 1.”

“Okay. Good. No creepy dungeons that way,” Meowth said to himself, slowly moving towards the dining room. After a few seconds, he realized he was not being followed. “Aren’t you guys coming?”

“We’re going to check out the basement,” James said. We have to go down there anyway to make it look like we busted out. What’s down there, Jessie?”

“Kitchen 2 leads directly into the dungeon. There’s a bathroom that connects to the dungeon, but there isn’t anything else.”

“Oh. Well, that makes it easy, doesn’t it? It’ll be quick and painless,” James said, walking towards the door that led into the basement. “We’ll be back as soon as we’re finished down there, okay? You just eat to your heart’s content.”

Meowth was quick to agree. “Okay! See ya!” He ran as fast as he can, went through the dining room doors, and was gone.

“I thought you were going to make him come with us,” Jessie said, joining her comrade.

“Well, sure, but I figure we’ll be finished long before he’s finished eating. Let’s go.”

“I thought you were scared.”

“It might not be that bad. People have transformed their basements into rec rooms or extra bedrooms. Maybe Giovanni’s done the same. And… you’re with me, so I feel a little safer.”

“I feel the same way,” Jessie said, smiling. “I hope you’re right…” She took the hand of her partner and opened the door. “Is there a light switch?”

James released Jessie’s hand and felt the walls for anything, but found nothing. “Doesn’t look like it. Did you bring a flashlight?”

Jessie shook her head. “I didn’t have any room in my suitcase for a flashlight.”

“Seriously? Man. Well, let’s just take it slow. Maybe there’s a light down there.”

The two friends crept slowly down the stairs, being careful not to fall into the darkness. “I can’t see anything, James,” Jessie said. “It was a bad idea to come down here without a light.”

“Just feel around the walls. There has to be a switch somewhere down here. How is anyone supposed to see?” James continued moving his hands up and down the walls near the stairs, and ran into something small and hard. “Aha! I found it!” James flipped the switch, and light filled the room. It was a simple kitchen, with a sink, a stove, a few cupboards, a refrigerator, and a freezer. The two of them began looking around, getting acquainted with their temporary home. No dishes were in the sink, with the exception of a single plastic cup. James picked up the cup, inspecting it. When he turned it upside down, a small trickle of water spilled into the sink. ‘That’s odd…’ James thought as he replaced it. Jessie took it upon herself to look in the cupboards, seeing what was inside.

“There’s hardly any food in here,” she commented. “Most of these cupboards are completely bare!” She went to the fridge and opened it, and found it, too, to be nearly barren. “This kitchen is terrible!” She gave the rest of the room the once-over. “At least it’s clean. I’m not too keen on getting dirty any more than I have to…”

“Let’s get this over and done with,” James said, pointing behind him to where the dungeon was located. “The sooner we do, the sooner we can slack off.”

“R-right,” Jessie said. “I see a switch. I hope it’s the dungeon light switch.”

“Only one way to find out,” James noted, and proceeded to flip the switch. As predicted, the second room was filled with light. It was small, with only a single cell. Surprisingly enough, it, too, was clean. The bed inside was made neatly, and a plate with some remains of food was on the floor next to it. James opened the door, picked up the plate, and began to inspect it. “Pizza,” he said. “This is starting to creep me out, Jessie.”

“What are you talking about? Afraid of a little leftover pizza?”

“No, Jessie, smell it! It’s fresh.”

“So? Maybe they used really fresh ingredients when they made it.”

“That can’t be. Don’t you remember? Giovanni said he hadn’t been here in quite some time. Seeing that blueprint upstairs was giving me suspicions. When I found that cup in the sink just now, water was inside it. It poured out when I tipped it over.”

“Maybe the faucet dripped water in it.”

Now it was James’s turn to shake his head. “Again, no. The cup was on its side. There’s no way the faucet could have dripped water into the back of a cup on its side.”

“I guess you could be right, but what’s that got to do with the pizza?”

“Don’t you get it? Meowth could be in danger!”

“James, calm down! What are you saying?”

“Jessie, someone else is in this house!”

- End of Chapter Two -