Chapter no.325 Interrogation part 2

[ POV Change ]
As Jessie slowly opens her eyes, she realizes that she is in a pitch-black room. She has no idea where she is or how she got here. Panic starts to set in as she tries to sit up, but she realizes that she is tied to a chair. She starts to struggle against her restraints, trying to break free.
As she struggles, she heard a faint sound in the distance. At first, she thought that it might be her imagination, but as the sound gets louder, she realized that it is a scream. It's a blood-curdling cry of terror, and it sends a shiver down Jessie's spine. She starts to feel dizzy and disoriented, and her heart raced with fear.
Despite the terror she is feeling, Jessie tried to stay calm and composed. She told herself that she needed to keep a clear head if she wants to get out of this situation. But as the scream continued, her confidence started to crumble. She can't help but think about all the worst-case scenarios and what might be happening to whoever is making those sounds.
Finally, Jessie can take it no longer. She broke down into tears, her body shaking with fear and despair. She had no idea what is happening or how she is going to get out of this situation. All she can do is pray for help and try to stay strong.
( ~ Cling ~ )
The door opened up as Austin slowly entered the room in his doflamingo disguise.
" Sorry about that, I had to take care of someone before I came here." Austin nonchalantly exclaimed before sitting down as Jessie tried to portray a face of confidence but ultimately failed as she had tears in her eyes as her mouth quivered.
" Awe, don't worry I am not going to hurt you as long as you cooperate." Austin exclaimed while his hand creepily brushed Jessie's cheek, creeping and scaring the magenta haired girl even more as she hurriedly nodded.
Austin had a creepy unassuming smile as he placed a photo in front of Jessie and pushed it towards her.
Jessie's eyes widened as she gazed upon the photo of her mother as Austin asked," Miyamoto, an active team rocket member under the former boss of team rocket, Madame Boss."
Austin's words were like music to Jessie's ears as she after so many years finally got some information about her mother.
With tears in her eyes, Jessie looked Austin straight in the eyes and asked," Can you tell me more about my mother ?"
The look on Jessie's face and the tone in her voice as she said those words, seemingly broke Austin's character of playing the cold and calculative Doflamingo.
To Austin's eyes, he was seeing a fellow struggler who was desperately trying to get some answers but unlike him, she had all those answers in front of her.
Austin took a deep breath to collect his thoughts as he exclaimed in a cold voice," Miss Jessie, answers come at a price. Are you willing to pay said price for the answers you want ?"
Austin's words cut deep into Jessie's heart as she was denied information about her mother.
Jessie wanted to scream out that she was willing to pay the price but seeing the trouble that the man infront of him took for all of this, the price for her mother's information shouldn't be that easy to pay.
" What do you want ?" Jessie asked while maintaining a calm face as Austin simply replied.
" I want you to work for me to destroy Team rocket."
Jessie blinked a few times before bursting out laughing at Austin's ridiculous notion.
Destroy team rocket..... pfft.
" You know taking down Giovanni and his base of operations isn't that hard." Austin simply exclaimed as Jessie's laughter froze when she realized the name of the boss of team rocket coming from this stranger's mouth.
" Y,You." Jessie exclaimed as her eyes were as wide as marbles when she gazed upon Austin's confident look.
" How do you know that name ?"
" Miss Jessie, I know a lot about the world and I want to do a little prediction if you will," Austin exclaimed while pulling out a quarter," If the coin lands on heads, team rocket survives, if the coin lands on tail, team rocket survives."
Austin's words left Jessie at a loss for her own.
Austin stood at the edge of the table, a quarter clutched tightly in his hand. He took a deep breath, then tossed the coin into the air with a flick of his wrist. It spun through the air, glinting in the light.
As the quarter reached its peak, Jessie held her breath. She watched as it started to descend, the edge of the coin catching the light. It seemed to hover there for a moment, suspended in midair.
Then, with a clink, the quarter landed on its edge in the middle of the table as it perfectly stood straight, not landing on either heads or tails.
Jessie looked up to see a smiling Austin in his doflamingo disguise as he exclaimed," Do you believe in fate my dear ?"
" No."
" Maybe the absence of signs is a sign. Don't you think so."
Jessie gulped as she looked at Austin.
" So you want me to betray the most powerful organisation in Kanto and Johto based on something like fate."
" My dear Jessie, there is a fine line between coincidence and fate but don't think of our meeting as just a mere coincidence, think of it as fate or even a sign for the better tomorrow for yourself."
Austin exclaimed before pushing a recorder towards Jessie who looked confused at the object.
" Even if you don't believe in fate, believe that I am the only one who can give you the answers you require. Think about it for a moment, do you want answers or do you want to remain ignorant? It's your choice but don't make the choice that you will regret in the future." Austin exclaimed before leaving the room.
Jessie looked at the recorder and pushed the button.
[ Hello, this is Miyamoto speaking. Boss, you won't believe this, God has children ]
As Jessie listened to her mother's voice, tears started to stream down her face.
At first, she was overwhelmed with emotion. She couldn't believe that she was finally hearing her mother's voice after all these years. She felt a flood of memories wash over her, and she couldn't hold back the sobs that wracked her body.
In the small dark room, a lost child cried over the voice of a woman she could have called mom.
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[ Omake Paragraph ]
It has long been known that Meganium possess the ability to make many plants grow at twice their normal speed. This ability, as many farmers have bemoaned, does not work on grains, vegetables, and other plants domesticated for human consumption. Yet when they are planted in a recently clear-cut forest, or even an abandoned town, they become a powerful demonstration of the healing powers of the environment; no wonder that they have been worshiped for so long as gods of nature!
But unlike gods, Meganium are all too mortal. Even before the Bayleef trade their numbers had been in decline from habitat destruction, and when the former piety of the Orange Islands was replaced by an anti-colonial rage, they were not spared. As time passed and forests were sacrificed to the gods of world trade and industry, it came to be believed that the Orange Islands were being punished by the Meganium for the sin of habitat destruction, and their worship has now become more common than it was in the age when there seemed to be one or two of these pokemon in every forest.
In recent years, efforts have been undertaken to reintroduce Meganium by importing Bayleef from Johto. These efforts have divided the community, with some viewing it as atonement and others as sacrilege, but all the Orange Islands hope it will lead to the forests' welcome return.