"WHAT?"

        James winced as Meowth found himself assaulted by Jessie's loud infuriated exclamation. The trio had slipped from the vault and into their allocated sleeping quarters shortly after Butch and Cassidy's unexpected ageing, but the news Meowth had for his currently regressed human companions was hardly the kind they wanted to hear.

        "I'm sorry, Jess," the feline Pokemon murmured, scratching the back of his head.

        "I jus' can't find any antidote to dat spring water."

        "You can't have been looking hard enough!" Jessie exclaimed, grasping Meowth by the shoulders as her face became noticeably desperate.

        "There's got to be some way to get my womanhood back, there's got to be!"

        The Pokemon said nothing. Jessie could help but let out a tiny sob at his lack of response. Desperately searching for someone other than herself to blame her glance alighted upon James' stunted form that had been poised silently in the doorway the whole time.

        "And you! How can you be so calm amongst all this?"

       "Ruby may know of places to look for an antidote that Meowth hasn't thought of," James replied with a gentle smile. Jessie's dampened face brightened upon hearing this, but her partner simply waved an arm in silent instruction toward the bunkbed.

        "You two try and get some sleep, okay?

        I'll be back once I've exercised my 'means of persuasion'"

        Once Kim was safely tucked up in bed and her trio of somewhat shaken house guests had been coaxed back to their room, Ruby returned to her location of solitude. But she just couldn't bring herself to go back to sleep. Despite Butch and Cassidy having been arrested and the fossils placed back in their reinforced containers something was deeply bothering her.

        A light tap was heard upon her bedroom door. Ruby looked round, half-expecting to see Kim standing there hopefully awaiting a drink of warm milk. Instead it was James, back to his normal age and clothed in the grey undershirt and white trousers from his Team Rocket uniform. When the woman saw who it was she couldn't bring herself to gaze for long; turning her head away before cradling it in her arms upon the desk.

        "Whatever's the matter?" James inquired, blinking in puzzlement as he approached. Ruby flinched from his gesture of intended comfort. 

        "Why were you really here, James?" she inquired, a cold tone in her voice. The man removed his hand suddenly, feeling his chest starting to tighten.

        "I heard those Rocket agents," Ruby continued, aware of the reaction.

        "They knew your names. Have you met before, by any chance?"

        James heaved a sigh. It was obvious there was no easy way to back out of this situation.

        "Yes," he murmured after a long silence.

        "Truth is I work for Team Rocket too, as do Jessie and Meowth. And I admit, once Jessie had heard of what was inside this mansion she was adamant to steal it just as Butch and Cassidy attempted to. But I persuaded her not to do such a thing; I mean, taking from people who had been so kind to us just wouldn't have been right!"

        "And you think stealing from others would be okay?" Ruby snapped, swinging round and glaring the perturbed man straight in the eyes. James' mouth opened a little way but no words managed to escape. Instead, he lowered his gaze toward the carpet and looked noticeably ashamed. Ruby's visage softened also as she glanced back at James with much disappointment.

        "You seem like such a nice guy. Why on earth would you want to associate yourself with such a corrupt organization?"

        "We all do dumb things in our youth," James responded quietly.

        "Back then I was rebellious and felt I had something to prove to the world. When I signed up to Team Rocket I thought I could simply leave if things didn't go my way. How foolish I was..."

        "So you're bound there by oath?" Ruby asked. The man gave a slight nod.

        "If I tried to escape they would hunt me down and eliminate me, for they could not allow any operatives to side with righteousness and use their knowledge to help shut Team Rocket down.

        And in the meantime I have to keep 'doing my duty', or at least looking as if I am. If word got back to the Boss that I was neglecting it, then the very same fate would befall me."

        "I never realised..." Ruby began, trailing off as she stared sadly into space. Just how many Team Rocket operatives were in James' boots; drafted into the organization out of ignorance or against their will? Preventing himself or his team mates from stealing her father's fossils had in fact been a great risk on all their lives. And yet they had done so out of the kindness of their hearts. Ruby began to smile to herself.

        "James?"

        "Mm-hmm?" came the dispirited grunt.

        "Thank you," the woman said, throwing her arms around the man's shoulders and hugging him tightly. James began to blush deeply at this unexpected affection.

        "I do what I can," he remarked with a nervous chuckle.

        "So... would you still deem me worthy of helping?"

        Confused silence resumed, only broken by the slight rustle as James shifted himself awkwardly on the bed until Ruby retracted her embrace. Her face fell as she realised what James was referring to.

        "Of course I still want to help you," she exclaimed.

        "And I searched all over Prism Town. But everyone I asked whom I figured would know something about the Jyngu Spring told me the same answer.

        That there is no antidote."

        "No...antidote?" James repeated, his body beginning to shake slightly out of a mixture of despair and frustration. This made Ruby's expression all the more miserable.

        "I'm so sorry..." she uttered brokenly, putting her head in her hands. But there was no reply.

        James had already left.  

        Not too far away from the commotion of Prism Town’s early morning shoppers the slightly dampened duo and their feline Pokémon companion sat on a bench and gazed mournfully out at the horizon. Feeling that he had outstayed his welcome James was quick to make his exit without a farewell, prompting Jessie and Meowth to follow. None of the figures were making conversation for various reasons; Jessie was furious at James and Meowth for being unable to find her an antidote, not to mention miserable at the fact she had left without getting to take Kim's Princess Doll doubles with her. James was furious at Jessie for having coaxed him into the dreaded spring in the first place and the thought of continuously having to douse himself in water to maintain his manhood wasn't sounding appealing to him in the slightest. Meowth was just furious that his human companions had yet again denied him a satisfying meal by leaving before breakfast.

“So now what we gonna do?” he muttered, after what seemed like hours of silence.

“We’re still broke, I’m still starvin’, and were still failures – at least in da Boss’ eyes”

Jessie frowned and opened her mouth, about to deliver a harsh retaliation when a small voice was heard across the town square. The trio looked up to see a small figure dashing up the path toward them with a satchel slung over her shoulder and a Ditto atop her head. Upon recognizing it as being Kim, Jessie and James’ faces began looking somewhat worried. They stood up in unison, about to dash from sight.

"Hey, don't go!" Kim called, waving her arm. The trio paused hesitantly as the girl skittered up beside them, panting.

"Ruby told me everything..."

“I see,” James murmured.

"Well, we'll understand if you hate us now."

“And why would I?" Kim blinked, somewhat puzzled.

"Because we weren't the nice playmates you wanted," Jessie sniffed, folding her arms.

"Just big, bad grown-ups."

"I don't care if you're grown-ups," Kim shrugged, reaching into her satchel.

"You still played with me, and stopped those nasty guys stealing my dad's stuff.

You're the bestest friends I could have ever asked for!"

By this time the girl had removed a large plastic bag and handed it to Jessie. She took a look within and her face immediately brightened with happiness at what she saw.

“Are all these for me?”

“Uh-huh” Kim nodded, as Jessie gazed pleasurably at the Princess Dolls, picking them out and examining them by the sunlight, one by one. She felt like she could throw her arms around the girl and give her a hug, but she refrained from it. After all, it was far too risky for a woman such as herself with a cold reputation to maintain to react in such a way.

“Thank you Kim” she simply replied.

Meowth muttered under his breath as his empty stomach gurgled loudly in protest. He soon found himself reeling backwards as Kim grasped him round the waist and squeezed him tightly, before handing the feline a plate Remoraid surprise wrapped in clingfilm.

“You’re the most adorable Pokémon I’ve ever seen!” she gushed. Meowth was quick to slice the film to shreds before delving noisily into his meal. James couldn't help but chuckle at this, if with some noticeable sadness. Kim glanced up at him, a wide smirk upon her face.

"Ruby sent you this," she giggled, handing James a small box before giving a funny little bow as means of farewell and running back toward the mansion.

"I had so much fun... come back soon!"

“Dat kid had good taste,” Meowth grinned, licking his paw as the trio left Prism Town and headed up the dirt track toward their next destination. Jessie put the last of her Princess Dolls into her phasepack for the time being, intrigued by the deeply warm smile James had been aiming at the piece of handwritten paper in his hand for the past few minutes.

Dear James, it said

I apologise for the way I may have judged you last night. Your bravery and self-sacrifice have taught me there is more to Team Rocket than meets the eye. I only hope that you shall manage to free yourself from the organization soon. I cannot thank you enough.

It seems I was mistaken as to ways of preventing you and your friend from returning to children. My dad told me that he had researched into the properties of the Jyngu Spring some time ago. He explained how Jyngu Spring water worked by infusing the bather's cells with rare minerals which would cause age regression.

These minerals will naturally work their way out of the body over a period of weeks, but I shall be able to help speed up the process by means of this formula my dad created to remove such toxins.

Don't forget me.

Ruby

"Please don't tell me that's a love letter," Jessie groaned, casting a glance at the tiny bottle in her partner's opposite hand.

"Not at all, Jess," came the satisfied reply.

"It's something far far better than that."

***~~***~~***~~***~~***

             “Well, that was the weirdest weekend of my life…” Misty remarked bemusedly as she and Ash set out across the lawns of Skyler Mansion and into Prism Town. They had dutifully thanked Ruby for her hospitality and apologised on Brock’s behalf for his rude and sudden disappearance. Such an exit could have only been made by a guy as scatterbrained as he was.

             “Yeah” Ash nodded at the thought.

“The weirdest part was the fact those losers were trying to save Kim from the other Team Rocket members instead of stealing the fossils themselves!”

             “I wonder where Brock got to” Misty sighed, glancing about the town square. There was a definite element of worry in her voice at this point.

             “Wherever he is he’d better hurry up” Ash muttered impatiently.

             “We’ve got to get to Mahogany Town”

             “Ash!” Misty snapped at him. Pikachu rolled its eyes at its owner’s thoughtlessness.

             “Don’t you even care about Brock’s safety? He could be…”

She cut off, as from somewhere close there came the cooing and burbling of several female voices. Ash and Misty turned their heads to see a group of women clustered around something; peering down with overly ecstatic expressions upon their faces.

“What sweet little eyes!” one mused.

“And such an adorable smile” another twittered.

“I wish I could take him home!”

“You can if you want,” a small boy’s voice piped up. Misty stood bolt upright as a chill shot down her spine. Ash glanced at her questioningly.

“What’s up?”

“That kid," Misty began.

"He sounds really familiar.”

With that, she took to her heels and dashed toward the group. Ash followed, at a distance. As she approached Misty’s eyes widened as the sight she had been so afraid to take in was laid out in plain view. In the centre of the group of women, lying comfortably in one of the figure’s arms was a child bearing striking resemblance to Brock. He was wearing a small tracksuit and an expression of pure bliss as one of the females stroked the little spiky points of his hair with motherly tenderness.

“Oh my…”

At the unfinished exclamation the boy, and the women looked up in surprise.

“Misty??”

“Brock! What in Taj's name are you doing?”

The women began to look uneasy at this mutual recognition. As they tentatively edged backwards Brock glanced about him desperately, then back at Misty with a look of annoyance. He took one of the females by the hand and pouted.

“I found my place,” he announced determinedly.

“I’m staying here.”

“Oh no you’re not, mister!” Misty snapped, leaning forward and grasping the boy’s small frame before hoisting it over her shoulder.

“We’ve got a hopeless kid of our own to look after.”

“Hey!” Ash protested, happening to be in earshot at the time. But neither Misty nor Brock cared at this point. He was too busy struggling to get out of Misty’s grip as she heaved a sigh and carried him back toward Skyler Mansion.

“You don’t understand!” he screeched.

“Those ladies liked me!”

“Only because you were a little kid, Brock” Misty remarked in placating tones.

“It wouldn’t work out. Now we'll have to find out how to get you back to normal.”

This caused Brock to wail all the more, while the women exchanged puzzled glances.

“Noooo! This is so unfair!

I’ll be back, girls! Don’t forget meeeeeeee!”