Disclaimer: I own nothing but the stuff I make up (oh my gosh I�m so deep!).

Author�s Notes: Thank you to all of my reviewers! Half of your praise should go out to AC_Ishida, because this story is partly her idea (I just put in the ghost elements ^_^). Thanks to Mystique Meowth for being a great beta reader, as well. You guys are the best! Now, on to other matters waiting to be discussed� Jessie fans, I�m sorry for what I�m about to do. I have nothing against Jessie, it�s just that, well, she�s got to get it. XD No, really, I think she�s cool, and she�ll be back for my next story. Finally, I got the idea for a scene in here from Laura Joh Rowland�s novel �Shinju.� It�s a really good book, and I suggest everyone read it. ^_^ That being said, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please review!

Remember now�.

� � means thought

� � means words

< > means subconscious speaking



~*Forget Me Not*~ part 3



Jessie sighed and rose to her feet. She decided it was time to get back to her camp and face James, and to most importantly apologize to him. It was pointless for her to sit here brooding any longer. It wouldn�t do her situation any good.

Before she could stand, however, Jessie noticed an odd shadow before her. She could make it out to be that of a young person, but they were standing totally still, faced in her direction. Although she couldn�t see their eyes, she had an eerie feeling as if they were staring right through her. �Who are you?� she demanded. Had they been standing there the whole time?

The person stepped forward out of the darkness and Jessie recognized him immediately. �Twerp!� she said, half angry and half relieved.

Ash glared down at her, sizing her up. Jessie scrambled to her feet and folded her arms. �Well, now that you�re here, I�m leaving,� she snapped at him. Her pokemon were back at the camp and there was no way she could ever win a battle.

She gave an indignant huff when he blocked the door. �Listen,� she hissed. �I don�t want to spend time in the same room as you if I don�t have to.�

Jessie would have continued, but light streaming in from the crack in the door momentarily illuminated Ash, causing her to have second thoughts as to whether this was truly him or not. His body looked the same, but the changes she could see were in his face. His once youthful and determined expression was replaced with one of cold malice, and his eyes were dark and cruel. A horrible mockery of a smile passed over his lips and Jessie felt fear well up within her.

�Tw-twerp�?� she managed, backing up.

�Not today,� said Ash in a much smoother and confident voice.



Lucille broke her eye contact with Jessie. �I�ll do whatever I want. This is my body now.�

Ash cried from within, and she winced.

�Not so loud.�



�I just want to see if I can pull this off, dear. It�ll only take a second.� Lucille thought, fully aware of the wary and fearful look Jessie was giving her. Using Ash�s legs, she stepped forward.

�It�s a shame you had to be here. If you were anywhere else right now, you�d be able to see tomorrow,� said Lucille with mock pity, although it was Ash�s voice who spoke the words.

�What are you talking about?� Jessie asked, voice much smaller than it had been before. The way he was acting was beginning to scare her. He sounded dangerous.

�I just want to see if I can get away with this. If I do, I�ll be able to see where my limitations are. Nothing personal.� Once again he gave her a smile that looked more like a grimace, and Jessie shuddered.

�You�re not� you�re not the twerp I know.�

�Very good!� said Lucille. �You�re quite right. I�m not Ash.� She leaned in closer, until she was face to face with the older girl. �But who�s going to tell the difference?�

Jessie never answered the question. Ash�s hands flew forward and seized her throat. She desperately tried to fight herself free, but she was no match for Lucille�s influence over Ash�s body.

She could hear her blood roaring in her ears as her sight grew murky and hazy. Shapes and colors danced before her eyes and Jessie felt the grip on her neck grow ever tighter. Suddenly a vision materialized in front of her.

James held his face in his hands as he sat on the same log from an eternal hour ago. This gave Jessie a burst of will to live, all in one moment she knew she had to survive for James, so she could go back and tell him that she was sorry for everything. She kicked and clawed at her attacker�s hands, but her attempts were futile.

Sounds became fainter and her movements slower. Everything was fading into black, including the image of James. Soon it was replaced by another.

Her mother. She was radiant, smiling in infinite compassion with tears forming at the edges of her eyes, and holding out a hand to welcome Jessie into death.

~*~

Misty had left Brock a while ago. He hadn�t seemed particularly keen on going with her to find Ash when he could stay with a bunch of pretty beach girls, so she�d left him and taken Pikachu. But after a while even the rodent grew tired of walking in aimless circles, and it had abandoned her as well. She muttered bitterly as her foot ensnared itself in yet another root growing above ground. The forest was as quiet as ever, save for the occasional rustle of leaves or far off bird�s call, which made her feel even more isolated.

A buzzing sound caught Misty off guard. She glanced up just in time to see a beedrill flit through spaces in the leaves. Her heart nearly stopped, and when she could think clearly again, she found she was running at top speed in a random direction.

And then she was on the ground. Had she tripped? Misty looked behind her to see what she had fallen over, and found it was not a what, but a who.

�James!� she said, getting up.

James brushed some leaves off his now dirty uniform. �Somebody get the license plate number�� he mumbled, and then looked up at her. �Twerp!�

�I have a name!� she said angrily. �It�s Misty.�

�Yeah yeah.� James waved her off. �I have to get going.�

�Fine by me!� she shouted. That was the last straw for her, and she headed back to the pokemon center. Whatever was wrong with Ash would just have to wait.

About fifteen minutes later, she realized she was passing the same spot. It dawned on her that she didn�t remember what direction she had run in when she escaped from the beedrill. She sighed and leaned back against a tree trunk, wondering what she should do.

Before she could get too deep into thought, the sound of crunching leaves caught her attention. It was coming closer. She gasped as James walked right past her.

�James!� she said for the second time, and he stopped, turning to face her with a hopeful expression.

�Jessie?� he asked. Then his face fell. �Oh, it�s you.� He looked disappointed and Misty frowned. She didn�t want to spend any time with him, but she also wanted to get back to the center. He seemed like he knew his way around, so she asked him if he would show her the way.

He laughed out loud. �Why would I do that?�

�Maybe you�ll find Jessie there,� Misty offered.

James regarded her quizzically. �How did you know I was looking for Jessie?�

�I figured since you aren�t together.�

He looked up, thinking. �Maybe Jessie got lost like the redheaded twerp here, and she ended up at the pokemon center� maybe she�s waiting there because she has a plan to steal them all!� He grinned.

�Stop making that face!� cried Misty, jolting James out of his pleasant reverie of grand pokemon heists. He glanced down at her.

�Alright, fine. I�ll take you there, but only because I�m going there myself.�

She stood up. �Fine.�

In truth, Misty was James�s favorite out of all the twerps. She was a lot like Jessie in some ways, but in others she was still a good kid. Probably if it had been anyone else he wouldn�t have shown them the way back. James could think of a few times where Misty had helped him out, and this was the least he could do.

�So,� James said, �what brings a twerp like you out here?�

She glared up at him. �My name is Misty. And it�s none of your business.�

�OK, Misty,� James replied, putting extra emphasis on her name. She walked briskly ahead, forgetting it was James who was helping her find her way. He jogged up to her and she looked away.

�We�re almost there,� he said.

�Don�t try to steal anything,� she replied. Soon the building was in sight, and both noticed there was a huge crowd outside. Misty walked forward, and James trailed behind her, wary of the police who were there taking pictures.

�I wonder what happened,� Misty murmured to herself. She looked around and spotted an Officer Jenny, standing and taking notes. Making her way over, she tugged on the woman�s sleeve. �Excuse me,� she said. �What�s happened here?� Misty realized James was also standing behind her and felt peeved. She didn�t want anyone to know she�d had anything to do with him.

Jenny looked down at the younger girl and frowned, obviously not wanting to disclose the details of what had gone on in the center to such an immature audience. But she was also aware that there were no leads or suspects, and she needed all the help she could get. Jenny finally figured she might get lucky and hear a story if she told this girl the facts.

�Someone was found dead in there,� she said, forgetting she should probably be less blunt about things dealing with murders to a girl of Misty�s age. �And it was no accident.� Jenny neglected to give an account of the obvious signs of strangulation. Misty�s eyes were wide and scared, huge cerulean pools of innocence.

�Do you know who it was?� she asked softly and timidly.

�Yes, we do,� said Jenny with authority. �I doubt you know her. We traced her records back to Team Rocket. Her name was Jessica, Jessie for short, and��

Misty stopped listening and abruptly snapped her head back to look at James, who she has forgotten was standing behind her. His eyes were round and wide, and his face had lost all color. Jenny noticed and stepped forward.

�You must be James,� she said indifferently. �Her partner. We did some background checks on you too.�

James said nothing, seeming to stare right through her.

�Do you know what Jessie was doing yesterday? Any unusual behavior?�

Misty felt a spark of anger rise up within her. How could Jenny talk to James like that right after he just found out something like this? He was shaking now, the finality of the situation sinking in at an alarming rate. She knew he wasn�t going to answer any questions.

�I-I don�t k-know�� he said feebly.

�Are you sure? Or are you covering up for her because she�s a member of Team Rocket, like you?� the officer pressed.

�I��

�He doesn�t know anything because he was with me,� Misty said suddenly. Even if this was James, she couldn�t just sit back and watch Jenny relentlessly question him when it was plain he was extremely upset. She grasped his arm and led him out of the crowd. Soon, they were standing at the outskirts of the forest they had just come out of. He faced her and gazed at her with haunted eyes.

�Th-thank you�� he said slowly, as if forming words was a burden. He stepped away and looked over his shoulder. �R-really� thank you�� Then all she heard of him was frenzied footsteps trying to get as far away as possible, and after a time that too was gone.

~*~



�I had to, darling.�



�Because, it was fundamental to my plan.�



Lucille was bored of this. �Yes! All of it was necessary!� She sat down on a rock and enjoyed the way the sun felt, shining down on her living skin for the first time in years. Ash was talking to her in a scared and hysterical voice, but she didn�t care. All his talk about morality and how Jessie will never come back was putting her off. So what if they would all think it was him? Surely by now he must have figured out that was the point.

She used Ash�s mouth to smile. It really worked! No one had walked in on her, no one had suspected her, no one had even looked wary when she had waltzed into that pokemon center, went into a room, and killed someone. �Life is good!� she thought happily. �I should have lived more like this before!�

Ash remained silent, although he had thousands of things to say to her. He just wanted to turn back time, so he would have never gone into that washing room and never been possessed by this crazy killer. He hated her for everything, and Ash had never hated anyone before. But now Jessie was dead, and he�s seen her die. Even though she had always been his enemy, the look on her face was enough to scar anyone, much less a boy his age. If he had had eyes, he would have cried.

Did Jessie die thinking he was her killer? Will someone find out? What would James and Meowth do to him? And Misty and Brock? What if they all thought he was a killer?

�Don�t let it trouble you so much, dear.�

said Ash as coldly as he could, but his voice could never betray the emotions that were running wildly inside of him.

She chuckled. �It doesn�t make a difference to me,� she thought jovially. �You�re mine now.�



�No,� she replied with the same icy edge in her tone. �Things have only just begun.�

~*~

to be continued