It all started on one of those days. One of those gloriously sunny and beautifully warm days that you would never suspect could spawn such loathsome evil. A day where everything seems to spiral downward on a roller coaster ride to hell.

And all of that before breakfast.

Jessie sat up, stretching and moaning from the effects that sleeping on the hard ground brought. Tangled strands of bright red hair fell in front of her eyes in a most annoying way; she batted at them irritably as she looked to see if anyone else was awake.

Of course not.

James lay curled up nearby on his blanket, grinning in his sleep as he hugged his sheathed sword in his arms like it was a stuffed toy. Jessie scowled, the urge to scream in his ear very tempting. Sleeping like the baby that he is, she thought scornfully. But then she stopped and smiled faintly before her gaze traveled to find Meowth.

It was wrapped in it's cloak a good distance from James and herself, but then, it seemed to like it that way. Right now it only appeared as a lump with no discernable features, but Jessie just assumed it was still asleep.

With a sigh, she flopped back down to stare at the early morning sky, only a few of the brighter stars still resisting the slow creeping of dawn. She might not have been awake yet except for the dream that roused her out of that blissful sleep and into a sort of watchful wariness. The details of the dream had been unclear, yet the overall feeling it left her with was one of danger. Some kind of strange misfortune they were heading toward...

"Or maybe I shouldn't eat so much before bed," she groaned aloud, rolling onto her stomach. It wasn't too long before she noticed that Meowth was awake and watching her as impassively as if it had been totally rock. "And what's your problem?" she muttered at it.

"Nothing. I'm just glad you've stopped screaming and cursing."

"Screaming and cursing?"

"I only assumed you were having a dream," the little cat shrugged, it's cape rippling from the motion. "It was hard to sleep with all that going on."

Jessie blinked, trying a little harder to remember what that dream had been about. "Well, what was I saying?" she demanded at last.

"I'd rather not repeat it."

"Would you rather I reach down your throat and pull your tail out through your mouth?"

"Um. Well. I believe you said something to the effect of..." Here it paused a moment to clear it's throat. "'I'm the best! Not you! Me!' ...oh God... that was so embarrassing... I have my dignity to think of here..."

Jessie wasn't really listening, but was musing thoughtfully over what she had supposedly said. "Hmm... why didn't you wake me up?" she questioned the still muttering Meowth.

"It didn't seem like anyone else was disturbed by it," it replied, rolling it's eyes over at James. "And besides that, do you really think I'd be stupid enough to wake you up?"

"True..." She sighed again, still not remembering much of anything. "Oh well. Guess I'll just wake up James and we can be on our way. No big deal."

"Are you sure about that? It could be a portent... an evil omen... ill fortune could be headed your way... or maybe even..."

"Look, is this your autobiography? No. All I say it is was that fifth serving of Jigglypuff I had last night. That stuff can do things to you," she shuddered at the memory. Forgetting for a moment about the doubtful Meowth, she rose and strode over to James, who was still sleeping quite peacefully, at least for the time being. She bent down to scream as loudly as she could manage in his ear.

"INJUSTICE!"

"Where?! Where's injustice? I must..." James, now on his feet with sword in hand, blinked dazedly at Jessie beneath his shock of early morning hair. "Heyyy... don't tease me like that," he grumbled at her.

"It works, doesn't it? There is a certain art to waking James up, and I, Jessie Inverse, have mastered it," she intoned proudly, turning around to bow to no one in particular.

"Great," Meowth yawned in boredom. "Can we get going now?"

Not to long later, after packing up and eating a meager breakfast of cold Jigglypuff, they were on their way, traveling down a well-worn dirt road under a clear blue sky.

"Hey," Jessie called out to Meowth, who was walking quite far ahead of James and herself as they walked side by side. "Do you know where we're going today?"

"No. As usual, I guess we'll just wander, drifting aimlessly from one place to the next, with no clear reason or purpose."

"Kinda like the plot?"

"Highly similar."

Jessie stretched her arms out behind her head, casting a sidelong glance at James as he studied the ground before his feet in an effort not to trip on anything. "How'd you sleep last night?" she asked when she could think of nothing better to say.

"Oh, pretty good," he replied after a time, apparently still intent on literally watching his step. "But I thought I heard you and Meowth talking about something once."

"I thought you were asleep," she responded with a shrug.

"Were you talking about me?" he asked slowly, turning his head aside to finally look at her. He had stuck his face so close to hers that she could have turned and bumped into it. She pretended to be unaware of that.

"No... I had a dream last night, and I guess it woke Meowth up."

"Oh..." was all he could seem to come up with before he moved away and looked down again. She couldn't tell if he was disappointed that they weren't talking about him or not. "So what was it about?" she heard him ask.

"I don't really remember. It just made me feel like... well, that something is headed for us. I'm not worried about it, though. I don't put much stock in dreams, do you?" A noncommittal grunt was his only reply, and she wondered what could be occupying his mind so much that he didn't answer. There wasn't much time to ponder the matter, however.

"Jessie," Meowth's voice came from the direction of her feet. She stopped, seeing that they had caught up to the cat Monster without noticing. "There's someone coming," it simply said, extending a paw to point at the road ahead. Indeed there was - three dim shapes slowly approached amid the haze of dust that the wind was picking up off the road.

"Could be just travelers... or bandits... or worse," Jessie said quietly. "Let's just be careful." In silent agreement, the three continued to walk toward the figures, unhurried and casual as if there was no one there at all. Several minutes later, the three shapes came more fully into view, the dust clouds abating enough for them to be seen more distinctively.

In the lead was a girl, her orange hair tied up to the side of her head in a ridiculous little pigtail. She wore a complete Summoner's outfit, similar to Jessie's right down to the boots and cape. She also wore a haughty and overly confident expression that altogether just made Jessie intensely dislike her. It was too much like her own, in other words.

Walking slightly behind the girl were two boys, one a little shorter and one taller. The shorter boy was dressed quite plainly and overall was fairly nondescript, with black hair and eyes. The only thing out of the ordinary about him was the Pikachu perched on his shoulder.

As for the taller boy, he was wearing armor and a sword at his waist, but Jessie wondered whether he could really be a swordsman, with the way his eyes seemed to be squeezed tightly shut beneath his spiky brown hair. Maybe he was blind... but that would be too weird.

As the two groups came within ten feet of each other, the orange-haired girl stopped abruptly, almost causing the boys to run into her. She stared at Jessie, James, and Meowth as they stopped and stared right back. "Who goes there? All that pass by the Terrifying Three must undergo the Challenges if they wish to continue! Are you ready?"

The girl's sudden screeching was making Jessie wish she could stick her fingers in her ears. "Who the hell are you?" she yelled back.

"Who are... who are we?" The girl seemed to be truly dumbfounded by this question. "You're never... heard of us? The Terrifying Three...? Guardians of this road?"

"Hell no."

"Well then, we must introduce ourselves!" the girl shouted again, posing dramatically. "I, of course, am Misty the Magnificent, the most beautiful and talented sorceress in all the world!" This statement made Jessie grind her teeth audibly; everyone should know that that wasn't true.

"And these are my companions! Ash the Awe-Inspiring! He is just my acolyte, but his Pikachu's powers are truly amazing!" The black-haired boy bowed briefly at this introduction, but didn't speak.

"And last, but not least, Brock the Blind! His sword technique is second to none!" Jessie heard James mutter something that she couldn't quite catch. "Now! Are you ready to face... the Challenges?" Misty concluded.

"Will you hold on a minute?!" Jessie exploded angrily, hands on her hips and glaring venomously. "I don't know what the hell you've been talking about up until now, but it seems to me that the only one of you with a name that fits is that blind guy. Can you explain what is going on here? What are these challenges? And why do we have to take them?"

"There's no need to be so rude," the Misty sniffed haughtily. "You must not be from around here. For your information, this is a road sacred to the most holy Order of Pikachu. And according to the most holy law of the most holy Order, all who pass down this road shall undergo the challenges given them by the chosen trio of guardians. Those who fail or refuse those challenges must go back the way they came. Simple enough, isn't it?"

Jessie sighed, rubbing her forehead in great irritation. "No wonder there's no one traveling this road. It's guarded by stark raving idiots," she groaned, more to herself than to anyone else. "If you'll excuse me a moment," she began a little louder, "I just need to talk to my companions first." She turned around to huddle close and whisper to her two friends. "So what do you think about this? We can probably just go back and around this road entirely and save ourselves the trouble."

"I don't know..." James began slowly. "I kind of want to see if this 'Brock the Blind' is really all that great. He can't be better than me."

"Yes... What makes Ash the Awe-Inspiring's Pikachu so awe-inspiring? I wouldn't mind knowing that myself," Meowth spoke up next.

"I guess... I kinda just want to beat that carrot-topped trollop into the ground with my superior skills as a Summoner... Well, I guess we've made up our minds, then." With that, the three turned back around to face their challengers.

"We're taking your stupid Challenges," Jessie stated calmly. "So what are they and what are the rules?"

"Hmph. There are three Challenges you must face. And since there are three of you, each of you must take one. Fail at all of them, and you must leave. If you somehow manage to even complete one, you may continue."

"So if someone wins at the first one, we don't have to do the others?" James asked.

"No."

"Well, that makes a lot of sense," Jessie retorted sarcastically. "Come on already. What's the first challenge?"

"I was getting to that," Misty snapped. "The first challenge is for one of you to defeat Ash the Awe-Inspiring's Pikachu in battle. I guess your little trained... pet there is going to have to do it."

"I am not a pet," Meowth said scornfully.

"It... it... it talked..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's just get on with it."

"R... right..." Still a little dazed, Misty beckoned Ash forward.

"Are you ready for this? My Pikachu is the best!" he announced proudly.

"Says you," the unworried Meowth replied. The little yellow creature hopped down from Ash's shoulder, and the two Monsters faced each other in the center of the road, staring at each other silently. All of a sudden, the Pikachu launched a powerful electric attack directly at Meowth; it simply stood there and weathered the blast, to the amazement of everyone watching. When it was over, Meowth still stood, smirking openly.

"Ha. As you may not have noticed, I am part Go... lem..." It reeled around several times before landing face down in the dirt.

"Yeah! Pikachu, you won!" Ash cried ecstatically.

"Pika pika!" it agreed.

"How did it..." Jessie began in shock as James ran over to see if Meowth was alright.

"My Pikachu just used a high level Thundershock, is all," Ash replied with a shrug. He walked back to his apparent "place" behind Misty, Pikachu jumping back up on his shoulder. Meanwhile, James had carried Meowth over to Jessie, where she could see that the cat Monster was merely dazed, staring up at the sky as James held it.

"So how was it?" she questioned dryly.

"Awe... inspiring..." it croaked.

"Oh brother. So what's the next Challenge?" she asked, turning back in Misty's direction. "It can't be any more stupid than the last, so let's get on with it already."

Misty was looking a bit too smug for her own good. "Next is a test of swordsmanship against Brock the Blind. That boy with you looks like a swordsman. Although not much of one, I'd wager. I'm correct?"

"His name is James," Jessie answered angrily, feeling defensive of her friend for some inexplicable reason. "And he's a lot better than some blind idiot who probably can't even swing his sword in the right direction."

"Do you mean that... Jessie?" she heard James whisper hopefully in her ear. She ignored him for the moment.

"What are the terms?"

"Well, for this Challenge, Brock the Blind's opponent must be blindfolded."

"What? Blindfolded? You've got to be kidding!"

"It's only fair," Misty stated matter-of-factly. "Brock is the best swordsman in the world."

"Yeah, as long as the person he fights in blind too," Jessie muttered. "James, do you think you can..." The way his eyes seemed suddenly full of stars was, quite frankly, scaring her.

"Yes! I must persevere... Whatever it takes, I must win this battle, for the sake of all--"

"James, we're just trying to go down a road. This isn't life or death."

"R... right," he stuttered sheepishly. Jessie sighed.

"Alright. Let's get this over with. We're burning daylight." She stepped around behind him, reaching up to untie the strip of cloth that kept his hair from falling into his face. She shifted it down a little so that it covered his eyes, then re-tied it tightly. "Can you see anything?"

"No... I think it might be a little too tight."

"Perfect!" Misty cut in, pushing the two of them apart rather roughly.

"Hey, watch who you're--"

"And now, let the Challenge begin!" Misty cheered as Brock stepped forward, drawing his sword.

"Are you ready to be defeated?" he spoke at last. After watching James clumsily draw his own sword, Jessie shook her head.

"Can I at least turn James around in the right direction?" she asked in exasperation. Misty smirked.

"Be my guest." Sighing yet again, Jessie went back over to James, grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to face Brock, standing on tiptoe briefly to whisper, "I'm sure you'll do fine." Then she gave him a small push as if to get him started. Which was probably a mistake, seeing as how his natural tendency was to be fairly clumsy, and this small push had the otherwise unnatural affect of toppling him flat on his face.

A moment of strained silence later, Misty raised a hand in the air. "The match is decided. Brock wins!"

"Wins? What in the hell do you mean, wins?!" Jessie screamed irately.

"Obviously, it's because Brock is the only one left standing. Obviously, that boy can't get up and is in no condition to fight. And so, obviously, Brock wins."

"The only thing obvious about any of this is that you're all bigger freakin' idiots that I thought!" Jessie continued ranting.

"Oh well," Misty sniffed. "Take it or leave it, but you still have one more chance."

Jessie didn't feel too much better until after she had finished screaming and swearing for several more minutes. Then she kicked James in the backside, since he was still laying there with it sticking up so high. "Get out of the way!" she yelled, pointing to the side of the road. "I'm about to cream this little witch in the last Challenge to show you how it's done!"

"But Jessieee..."

"'But Jessie', nothing! Go!"

Still whimpering, the "defeated" and dusty swordsman pulled his blindfold off and crawled off to the roadside to join Meowth, who was already there. Looking at the two of them, James looking tearful and mumbling about not getting a chance, and Meowth still staring up at the sky in a daze, Jessie realized it was up to her now to prove the worth of their little team.

"Oh boy," she muttered.

"And now..." Misty said dramatically, "You will face the third and final Challenge. Fail this, and you may not pass. That challenge is... Monster Calling!"

"Monster... Calling?" Jessie asked weakly from where she had fallen over on the ground.

"Yes," Misty continued defensively. "Haven't you ever heard of Monster Calling before?"

"Can't say... that I have..."

"Huh. And you call yourself a Summoner? Well, Monster Calling simply involves the Summoning of a Monster. Whoever can call out one the fastest, wins."

"Oh. Then why don't you just call it Monster Summoning?"

"Monster Calling sounds cooler."

"Right..." Jessie groaned, feeling extremely tired, for some reason.

"I'm going to prove to you that I'm the best. I know you can't be much of a Summoner, seeing how awful your friends have done."

Misty's bold statements and cocky attitude were enough to push Jessie to the very brink of fury. "I...is that so? I'll have you know that I'm the best! Not you! Me!" Those words seemed awfully familiar... Then she remembered what Meowth had said she had been screaming in her sleep. "That dream... it was warning me... warning me about all this junk that's been happening today..."

"I don't know what you're mumbling about, but you'd better get ready," Misty's voice cut through Jessie's thoughts.

"Oh, I've been ready for a long time," she replied with a cruel grin.

"Whatever. Just take out a Monster Orb and hold it ready." Jessie did as instructed, a plan already forming in the back of her mind. Perhaps it would work, if...

"Now, I'll have Ash call out when to go. You're ready, right?" Jessie nodded slightly, not taking her eyes off the Monster Orb that Misty held in her own hand. Just a few more seconds...

"Go!"

She wasn't certain, but Jessie was mostly sure that her Raichu materialized the split second before Misty's pathetic-looking Staryu. The two females glared at each other, unsure of what their next move should be.

"Um..." Brock spoke up nervously. "It seems to me that they both came out at the same time."

"You're blind!" they both screamed at him.

"Er... right."

"Oh great, this is no good. We'll just have to do it again," Misty growled.

"That's where you're wrong," Jessie said, that cruel smile creeping up on her face again. "Thundershock!"

"Jessie? Are you sure that was... just?"

"Of course it was just," Jessie snorted at James' question as they picked their way through the twitching bodies of Raichu's latest victims. Even the Pikachu had passed out from the high voltage. "Just great! Who's the best now?" she yelled back at Misty, who didn't bother to answer. Or maybe it was just that she couldn't.

"I don't know..." James was continuing, "It didn't seem very fair."

"Fair? When was this ever a question of fair? Do you think those stunts they pulled on us back there were fair?"

"Not... not really... But taking their money seemed a little... dirty."

Oh, be quiet! It's just... recompense for all the trouble they gave us. Yeah. So quit worrying about it. How's Meowth doing?"

"I think he's alright," James replied, looking down at the resting Monster he still held in his arms. "He should be fine again before too long."

"That's good. Say, James...?"

"Hm?"

"Promise me something." She stopped to look up at him while he returned her gaze uncertainly.

"What's that?" He almost looked worried, although about what, Jessie had now idea.

"Next time I have a dream... Make sure I listen to it."

"Oh. Oh, sure! I can do that," he said. Now he looked almost relieved.

"Good." They continued walking, enjoying that aforementioned glorious sun and beautiful warmth of the day. But something kept bothering Jessie.

"James? What did you think I was going to make you promise?"

"Uh... Oh, well, it was nothing," he replied hastily, blushing furiously at the same time.

"Right..." she said disbelievingly, but didn't press him any further. So they just continued walking down that long and winding road to their next destination.

Wherever that was.

Heh... Whoa, my hands hurt. Can I interest anyone in being my personal typist? Anyone? .....Dang. :p

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