Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon, nor Jessie, James, or any characters associated with the show. So dun sue me ^_^. I do own Shaw, the creature and the campground name. :D

Author note: This is my first attempt at a fic, so I hope it's enjoyable. :D

Summary: Jess and James head out for a weekend of camping, but there's more going on in these woods besides tents and campfires.....

The sun shone through the bedroom window as a somewhat awake Jessie rolled over to avoid further blinding from the morning's rays that seemed to manage to shine directly in her eyes every morning. A smile formed upon her face as her blue eyes rested upon her sleeping partner. Although now they were partners in marriage, not as they were during their days of crime. He always looks so peaceful, she thought as she watched his calm body rise and fall with each breath. She and James had been married for nearly a year now, and they'd been looking to expand their pallet by doing a little travelling.

Jessie had been tossing ideas around in her head for possible activities for this weekend, and seeing as this was Friday, she had very little time to come up with a suitable plan. She used to be, of course, the most devious of the planners during their Team Rocket days, but she was beginning to think that skill didn't extend into everyday activites.

She sat up quietly, so as not to wake James. Let him sleep in, she thought; that way she could get an idea together as a surprise... assuming that were possible. She slid out from under the peach sheets, her slip of a nightgown tracing the floor gently as if it were a Royal garment. She barefooted to the closet, and slid it open, in search of a light robe and a pair of slippers. It may have been the middle of July, but this morning seemed particularly cool.

James had felt Jess' weight disappear from the bed, as he too had been rudely awakened by the bright sun. His emerald eye opened only a slit, as he watched his wife rustle around in the closet. He smiled to himself as he gazed at her slipping on that red robe that went so well with her red nightgown. He loved the way its colour accented her firey hair, and the fabric hugged every curve of her slim body. He wanted to leap out of bed right now and kiss her all over, although instead he revelled at being able to watch her without her knowing. She was so graceful when she didn't know she was being observed.

James rolled over quietly under the sheets, pretending to simply be shifting in his sleep. He would get up soon enough.

Jessie had not noticed her lavender haired man spying on her, and after adding her light robe, she shuffled out the door of the bedroom, her form vanishing down the hall.

Jessie walked to the front door to pick up the morning paper, and feed the pokemon. Upon opening the door, she inhaled a deep breath of the fresh air, and leaned down to retrieve the Friday paper. She was unaware of the shuffling noise that was approaching her from behind, as she turned around, paper in hand. What greeted her was a very large snake, its form towering over its trainer.

Jessie grinned happily upon seeing her arbok, a pokemon who was just as much of a friend as anyone could be. " Hi, Arboky. You hungry?"

Arboky, or so Jessie had affectionately named her, hissed a happy reply that passed as "You bet!"

Jessie headed towards the cupboard, tossing the newspaper upon the kitchen table on her way there, Arboky following close behind. She opened the cupboard, retrieving a box or two of pokefood, (and a couple of treats for Arbok), and headed towards the dishes that sat upon the floor. Arbok followed happily, waiting patiently behind Jessie like a dog waiting for its breakfast. Jessie then dumped the food into a couple of bowls upon the floor, one for Arbok, one for Weezing. Victreebel seemed to eat a derivative of plant food, and well wobbuffet ate... well she didn't really know.

Arbok dug into the food as if she hadn't eaten in ages; and, hearing the sound of food, Weezing appeared silently at the entrance to the kitchen, its purple gaseous form floating several feet above the floor. Weezing then began eating his food too, both heads trying to eat a once. Not an easy thing to do.

Jessie put a pot of coffee on, and sat down at the table. Picking up one of the sections of the paper, she scanned it over. Her sapphire eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning. It was the perfect thing for the weekend, and they could leave tonight.... camping! They camped so much all those years ago, that they had plenty of the right gear for such a trip. She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, ready to begin her list.

James entered the kitchen an hour or so later after finally dragging himself out of bed and showering, only to find Jessie hunkered over the table, pen and coffee in hand, writing away as if she had one day to compose her memoirs. He headed over to her, standing behind her chair, his arms slinking around her neck as he kissed the top of her mane of hair. " What cha' working on?", he said.

Jessie answered without looking up from her page, but she smiled at the scent of James' cologne. He had on her favourite scent. " Our plans for this weekend. We can leave this afternoon! ", she exclaimed excitedly. "We've been wanting something to do, and now I've found it using sheer genious. "

James chuckled as he peered over her shoulder at the paper. " A camping trip, huh? Sounds like fun." He put on that whiny voice he'd so often used long ago, a mild jest at her suggestion. " But I don't wanna sleep on the ground again, Jessie! "

Jessie glared at him for only a moment before softening her expression. "Don't make me hit you," she chided. "Come on, it'll be fun. We can leave the pokemon with Mondo, or someone. Then it'll be just the two of us." She turned around in the chair to face him, and James rested his hand upon her shoulders.

"I know," he said. "Just you and I, the stars and the moon. And no bothersome Meowth to..." He was cut off mid-sentence when their cat pokemon hopped up upon the kitchen table.

"No bothersome meeeowth, what." the cat asked, his claws shining as if to strike James for the mere mention of his being bothersome.

"Well....", James stammered, but Jessie jumped in before James could attempt to speak his next word. "We're going camping." she said. " And you can stay here or with Mondo. Your choice."

" I want ta' go wit you, and dat's dat." Meowth answered. " I'll stay out of youse way, but if I know youse two, you'll need Meowth for sumtin'."

Jessie and James exchanged a silent glance, as if they were about to regret their next decision. " Fine, fine. " James said. " You can come. BUT, stay out of our hair for the weekend. Stay on the same site if you have to, but you can have your little vacation, and we'll have ours." He nodded as if to say And that's that.

"I know youse'd make the right choice," he said as he hopped off the table to go pack, his feline form vanishing down the hall.

Jessie glanced at James, and sighed quietly. "Don't worry, Jess." he said. "I'm sure this weekend will be fine, and we'll have it all to ourselves."

"I hope so." she said, her mood obviously downed from earlier. James kissed her on the cheek before heading towards the bedroom to pack. "Come on, Jessie. Let's get the show on the road. It'll be fun. Just a weekend to relax and be together."

Jessie nodded and got up to follow him. Although little did they know what dark paths lay before them at their destination.......

End Part 1.

(Any good so far? I hope so ^_^)

James drove their metallic blue GMC suburban down the highway, Jessie in the passenger seat, her fiery red tresses blowing in the breeze from the SUV's open window. Its was nearly 4 pm, but they'd gotten everything packed as planned, and had been on the road for a couple hours now. Jessie had tried to pack meowth in one of the suitcases, much to the cat's discontent; hoping to dump him down the street from their home. James had rescued the cat pokemon, promising Jessie that he'd make sure Meowth stayed out of their hair. Reluctantly she'd agreed, which resulted in Meowth's current seat position--the second row in the middle..or the third row.. or in the front row till he was tossed back a chair.

Jessie took in a deep breath of the outdoors scent--that usual mixture of pine needles, dirt, and beach water; the ingredients for the traditional camping aroma. James had begun to slow the vehicle down, preparing to turn left into the campground. Jessie stretched her arms, that excited smile once more upon her face. "Yes! We're here!" she exclaimed.

From the back seat, Meowth grumbled under his breath. "About time. I was beginin' to get tired of bein' thrown around."

James only smirked to himself, hearing the feline's complaining. He pulled the vehicle up to the park office, parking just outside and shutting the engine off. "Well, this is it, Jess." he smiled. "We're here," he said as he unbuckled his seat belt and opened the door. James had chosen to dress for the hot weather as he'd worn a white tank top and a pair of ripped jean shorts. He'd begun to wonder if Jessie had been ripping more holes in this pair, as each time there seemed to be more skin showing. Soon they'd be unwearable in public.. Ah well, he thought, with a grin on his face, I can wear these elsewhere. He leapt out of the truck full of energy, slipping on a pair of sunglasses before heading towards the small registration window that looked a bit like a drive through at a fast food place. Jessie had followed closely behind James, her hair falling loosly against her back; a contrast to her usual style. She'd also dressed for the hot air--well minus their OWN hot air; wearing a light blue cutoff top along with hip hugging white shorts. Her sunglasses sat atop her head, embedded within her hair. Of course they weren't helping much other than letting her hair see better, but she liked the stylish look it gave her. Meowth sat in the suburban, awaiting their return.

What Jessie and James didn't notice however, was the park staff peering at them through the windows as the two were approaching. They'd looked as if they were hiding and watching for something, or someone. One of the owners of a pair of the peering eyes quickly walked to the window, her smile obviously faked over a facade of nervousness."Hi, welcome to Evergreen Tundra Park, I'm Tonya." her eyes shifted between Jessie and James as if waiting for a certain response. Instead, she continued as she handed James a park map with the listed sites. "Here's a map with our sites on it. We've crossed out the ones that are currently occupied, but there's plenty to choose from."

That was an understatement, James thought, as he took the white sheet into his hand, emerald eyes scanning the page. There were only two sites taken, he'd noted, out of a couple hundred. He let his eyes wander up to Tonya, who was still smiling as if she were awaiting the results in a beauty pagent. "This will be fine," he said. "If it's alright, my wife and I would like to have a look at the sites with the map. We'll come back here and let you know which we've chosen." He'd waited for no reply, seeing the staff member nod her head. He gently nudged Jess' arm to gain her attention. She'd been letting James do all the talking as she seemed to be taking note of the other staff watching from rather odd places. Jessie looked at James and nodded, following his lead as he was already walking back to the truck.

James opened the door and got in, followed by Jessie. Meowth had been waiting patiently for them to return, as he'd obviously seen the odd display from the park employees from his distant seat in the truck. Jessie and James exchanged glances as they slammed the doors before James put the truck in gear and headed towards the campsites.

After a moment of silence, Jessie decided to lay her opinions out on the floor. "James..did you find those people a little.. odd?" she queried. "I mean.. they were peering out of the blinds at us. It was a bit freaky."

James nodded his head as he set the map upon the empty seat between them. "I don't know what it was, but they sure seemed nervous about something."

Meowth piped up from the back seat, feeling the need to interject his thoughts into the pool. "Maybe dey knew we was in Team Rocket, and thought we was goin' to swipe from em'." Jessie and James both seemed to simultaneously toss the idea over within their heads before James spoke up.

"I don't think that was it, Meowth. This seems to extend deeper than that. That lady had said there was 'plenty to choose from'. There's nearly the whole grounds to choose from. For the moment though, we've only seen their reaction to us. It could just be a slow camping season for them. There are people here at any rate, even if it is a very small amount." Since they'd gotten married, James had shown a whole new side of his personality. The wimpy, lacking in self-confidence James had vanished only to be replaced by a stronger, more confident man. One who was not afraid to say what he was thinking. Unfortunately, that had hidden his real intelligence from everyone, including his partners, for most of their crime days.

Jessie nodded her head, in agreement. She too had changed over the past year. The prima donna had lowered her guard to the one who loved her, trusting him completely. Once that was achieved, a whole new side of her emerged, a kind, gentler, and more understanding side that had taken James awhile to bring out. She was no longer afraid of being hurt and alone, which in turn brought about a whole other personality aside from her callous side that everyone knew. That's not to say she didn't have that temper still in her repertoire, although that's one of the things James had always loved about her, and still does. "Right now I don't see why we shouldn't stay," she said. "I know those people were odd, but maybe that's just how they are?" she said hopefully.

James just shrugged, as he too wanted to stay. At the moment he thought Jessie was trying to convince herself, although he felt he needed a little convincing too. "Well, let's forget about them for now. This is our weekend," he said, "So let's find ourselves the perfect site." Then he smiled broadly, and rested his hand upon Jess' knee.

They drove around the grounds a few times, noticing the two occupied sites seemed to be around the same area. Somehow with those odd park staff members, Jessie didn't feel comfortable staying in a site too far away from the other campers. That didn't mean she wanted to camp at their doorsteps, simply that she wanted to have the washroom nearby, and some other signs of life not too far away. James had agreed with her on that notion, and Meowth really had no choice in the matter seeing as he was the tag along--although he too shared the same sentiment.

After they'd found the perfect site, number 47, they made Meowth wait there for them to return with the post papers. Reluctantly, the feline agreed, telling them not to leave him alone for too long, or else. He'd flashed his ivory claws to accent his demand, and Jessie and James paid no real heed to the threat, only promising to be back in a flash.

At the park office, Jessie waited in the truck while James spoke to the previous employee about their site pick. Jessie could see the apprehension in the woman, and chose to ponder several scenarios to pass the time. As it happens, the other two picked sites were numbers 55, and 41, none too far away from theirs, but far enough away that the privacy still exsisted.

James took the post papers from Tonya, and handed her the site fees. "Thanks, very much." he said. "Do you have a pamphlet on any activities there are about the grounds and in the area?" Tonya nodded hurriedly, and handed over a couple of slips of paper. "Enjoy your stay," she said, as she handed over a couple of rolled up garbage bags. James smiled once more before gathering up the change, and the papers. "We will, thanks." he said as he was turning to walk back to the truck.

Jessie looked at James as he'd gotten back into the vehicle. "Well?" she asked.

"Well what?" he responded. " We got the site alright, and she gave me some sheets on events." he continued.

"Are they still odd?" she prodded. James just shrugged. "No more than last time, anyway." He leaned over to kiss Jessie gently upon the lips. "Just relax, we'll have a great weekend."

Jess smiled after returning his kiss. "I know we will." She wasn't totally convinced, but James' confidence in the matter put her at ease.

The two drove back to the site, papers in hand ready to begin their set-up. They returned to an impatient Meowth, who was pacing back and forth across the picnic table. "About time." he huffed, as the two stepped out from the truck.

"Shut your meowth." Jessie spat out. It was nearly 5:30, and they needed to get set up before it began to get dark. Meowth responded with a rude sticking-out-of-the-tongue gesture at Jessie, only to earn him an 'if looks could kill' glare.

James broke the two up with a sentence before it got ugly. "Let's just get unpacked, and settle this later, alright?

Reluctantly Meowth and Jessie nodded, and got to work getting all their supplies out, and the camping trip weekend was now officially underway as they began the setting up stage.

Through the thick, green foliage, two eyes peered at the trio, watching their setup on site 47...another group invading the Evergreen Tundra......

End Part 2

( I hope it's been good so far. Who's that mysterious figure? You'll find out soon enough XD )

It was nearly 7pm now, and Jessie and James had just finished getting the last of their stuff sorted out. They weren't used to having actual gear for camping, as they'd always been sleeping on the ground underneath the stars in the old days. Their setup time record just wasn't up to par. On the light side however, they had all that they needed. Food (which was James' main concern), a tent, sleeping bags, dishes and such things. James had thrown in the hibachi in case they needed to use that instead of the traditional campfire supper. Meowth had finished unpacking and setting up his stuff ages ago, as the cat needed little supplies. Clothing wasn't required, and Jessie and James had conceded to allowing Meowth to share their food in return for staying out of their way otherwise for the weekend. The feline simply sat in the doorway of his small pup tent (he'd argued the prejudice of that name several times before being told to shut up), and watched his companions finish their setup. It wasn't beyond him however to make the occasional comment or two about their lack of speed.

James paused to run his arm across his forehead, wiping the sweat away. "There, I think we're about done," he said, as he watched Jessie place the last of their stuff inside the tent.

Meowth just couldn't keep his mouth shut. "It's about time youse finished. I was beginnin' to tink youse was going to spend da whole weekend settin' up." At this, Jessie decided it was time to take action by doing a little more unpacking, by removing things from her suitcase, and throwing them at Meowth.

Jessie nearly growled the words out as everything but the kitchen sink was sent over in Meowth's direction in new record flight time. "Will you SHUT UP!" This sent the cat running for cover behind a very large maple tree, using it as a shield till the attacker had run out of potential ammo.

James decided to intervene before any more belongings, and quite possibly the food, became the next thing in the air. He carefully walked over to Jessie and slid his arms about her waist, his lips closing in on her ear as he whispered to her. Save your energy for later, he said before ending that sentence with a gentle kiss upon her cheek. Jessie had stopped throwing things to turn around in his embrace to gaze into those emerald pools. A smile formed upon her lips as she leaned forward to press her mouth against his, in a gentle, but deep kiss. Meowth took this opportunity to come out from hiding and head back over to his tent. Although on his way there, he'd thought he'd spotted something nearby in the denser foliage, and diverted from his original path to check it out. He poked his head about the leaves, only to find that whatever was there certainly wasn't anymore. He shook his head in slight confusion and turned around to head back to his tent. What he didn't notice however, was the slightly charred forest floor leading away from the area.

Jessie and James parted from their kiss as Meowth plopped down inside his tent. Jessie smiled. "I guess I'd better pick my stuff up," she said. She took a moment to glance at her watch. "We should probably eat now. I wanted to go explore and see who else was here, but I guess we'd better...," she paused mid-sentence as she'd noticed James was already over by the cooler, getting out the food for supper. She laughed to herself. Some things never change, she thought as she began to gather her stuff up.

James had gotten out the traditional camping food of hot dogs, salad, beans and marshmallows for dessert. He set all the condiments out on the picnic table, along with the plastic utensils, buns, salad, and beans. He took out a hot dog and placed it upon the wiener fork. Jessie had gotten the fire going while James had set up the table. It took awhile to find wood, but with the help of Meowth, they'd quickly amassed a tidy pile of kindling and fuel.

James walked over to the two with three cooking forks with hot dogs upon them. "Let's eat!" he said with a childlike grin on his face. Jessie stared at the hot dogs.

"I can't cook, James," Jessie said as she took the fork in her hand, holding it as if it were contaminated.

James chuckled. "Or course you can, Jess. You just extend the fork out and cook the hot dog over the fire's coals. It's easy." Jessie looked skeptical as she cooked the hot dog, her features growing more confident once she was sure she'd gotten the hang of it.

They'd had an excellent supper, all of them eating a couple hot dogs each, minus James, who'd eaten more like usual and never gained a pound. They'd talked about the old days of camping, and how much more exciting this was. They all agreed this was by far better, and would gladly come again. James leaned back, his arms stretching out over his head, a contently full sigh escaping his lips. "I'm game for a walk, how about you, Jess?" he said.

"That is after we clean up. We'll leave Meowth here while we go explore the area."

"Hey!" Meowth yelled. "Why should I have ta stay here?"

Jessie looked at Meowth with a shrug of her shoulders. "Cause you're the excess baggage. Think of it this way, you're not coming with us. It's your choice what you do. Stay here or go explore. Just stay AWAY from us," she said.

Meowth looked at James only to recieve a 'she's the boss' look and a shoulder shrug. James obviously agreed with Jessie, although he usually does. Meowth then shook his head, conceding defeat. "Fine," he said. "But Meowth's not stayin' here by himself. I'll just keep back from youse two."

Jessie nodded her head, obviously satisfied with the plan. The three left the fire unattended as it was nearly burnt out and not likely a posable threat of spreading. Jessie and James linked arms as they walked off the site and onto the gravel road, Meowth in tow.

James and Jessie walked down the gravel road, enjoying the fresh air. At this point the sun was still out anough to provide light, but seeing as it was closing in on 9 o'clock, that light would soon be gone. James had grabbed a small pocket flashlight so the two of them could see on their stroll back to the site. Meowth could see fine in the dark, although he too had brought a small flashlight. Never know when I might need it, he'd thought. They made a mental note of where the washroom was in relation to their site. That wasn't too hard since it was fairly close by, and could be seen from camp. As they approached one of the occupied sites, number 41, Jessie's attention went to the tall, burly man sitting in a lawn chair by his fire, stick in hand as if he were expecting company. Unwanted company.

The man looked up at the trio, spotting their approach. James brought his free hand up to wave a bit in greeting, only the man made quite a different reply to such an action. "Still here, huh," he said, his voice gruff as if he hadn't spoken in years. James and Jessie raised questioning eyebrows, although it was Jessie who responded.

"We actually just got here today," she said. The two of them had paused in front of the man's site. The man twirled the stick upon his leg, his head shaking in dismay.

"Young people," he said. "You kids just don't know that you're not invincible." James opened his mouth to object, about to say they'd done plenty to deem them invincible. He didn't get the words out as Jessie had elbowed him in the ribs in a silencing gesture.

"There's other young people here?" Jessie said with slight question in her voice. "We knew there weren't many people here, but we didn't know there were kids camping." The large man nodded his head as he stood up from his seat, the stick not leaving his hand. He cast a glance over his shoulder at the foliage before walking to them. Meowth had paused a bit of the way back, sitting down on the grass by the road while this conversation went on. Jessie backed up a bit into James, finding the man slightly intimidating due to the way he was walking towards them. James stayed where he was, his arm wrapping a bit more protectively about Jessie's waist.

"Those other kids are asking for trouble," the man said. "Snooping around these parts isn't smart." He'd stopped a few feet away from Jessie, and looked them over, his gaze drifting to Meowth before continuing. "The name's Shaw. Paul Shaw. Most just call me Shaw. If you kids are smart you'll pack up now and leave."

James was the one to speak this time, as he stepped beside Jessie. "Why are you still here, Shaw? If this place is so dangerous," he said. The man chuckled, his voice sounding a bit demented.

"Cause I can protect myself against it," Shaw said. "I know how it behaves."

"It?" James questioned. "Is what you're talking about the reason why the park staff seem a bit jumpy?" Shaw nodded his head, his large body shaking as he laughed once more.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll leave. I plan to stay and help take care of it. And I don't mean take care as in look after," Shaw said.

James only nodded, in a way not truly believing Shaw's odd claims. "We know what take care of means. Used to be in a crime organization," James said. He nudged Jessie to tell her they should probably continue their stroll. "Well, Shaw, have a nice night. We should continue our walk before it gets too late."

Shaw only nodded, that smirk still upon his face. "You youngin's be careful. And don't say I didn't warn you," he said as he walked back to his chair and sat down, that stick being placed upon his lap.

Jessie and James walked on, following the circuit of the sites. Once they were out of earshot, Jessie looked at James, her face full of concern. "James I don't like this," she said. "He was creepy, even for my tolerance. And all those stories. He sounded serious."

James held her tighter, and kissed her cheek, his breath warm against her face. "We'll be fine," he said. "I know the staff might seem to be afraid of what he's talking about, but it could be a coincidence. We haven't seen anything unusual. Let's chat with those other campers. Maybe they can clarify. Sound good?" Jessie said nothing, only held James tighter, her head resting upon his shoulder as they walked. They walked for another 20 min, nearly back to their camp when Meowth spoke up from the back. His voice startled them, as they'd forgotten he was there as he was so quiet. There was also that bit of jumpiness going on after Shaw's words.

"Meowth is going to walk back ta camp. My feet is hurtin'. I'll meet youse two there." He walked past them, and headed back to their site which was just up the way.

James called out after him. "We'll be there in a little bit." The duo kept walking, and as they neared site 55, their mouths nearly dropped to the ground at what they saw. Simultaneously there was an unanimous cry of "Not YOU guys again!!", from everyone present.

Jessie and James stopped at site 55, simply staring at Ash, Brock, and Misty. Ash leapt into his usual line of 'You can't have my pikachu', only to earn a nudge from Brock and a low whisper of "You don't even have your pikachu." Ash's shoulders slumped at the reminder.

"We don't even want your yellow rat," Jessie practically spat out the words, old anger taking over. "We're not even on the Team anymore. We left a year ago, for your info, twerp." James had overheard Brock's comment to Ash, and spoke up.

"What do you mean Ash doesn't have pikachu?" he asked. "Where is it?" Ash was about to launch into another mindless splur of words when Brock spoke up first.

"He went missing," Brock said. "We've been looking for him for a couple days now. That man on site 41 told us to leave, but Ash won't leave without pikachu."

Misty finally piped up from her bout of silence. "This place, and that man, and just everything's creepy. I want to leave before something else happens."

"Briiiiiii!" said her Togepi whom she still carried in her arms, looking just as it did a year ago, fit for breakfast. Ash looked at Misty before stating his opinion, although it was no different than before.

"I'm not leaving without pikachu," Ash said again. He then looked at Jessie and James before asking, "So why are you two here?"

Jessie glared at Ash, then decided to soften her response. "We're here on vacation. We hadn't been camping since we'd gotten married, and we decided it'd be different. I think this is a little too different for me."

Ash and Brock practically yelled "You two are MARRIED????" Misty simply smiled with love hearts in her eyes and a dreamy smile. "I always knew you'd get married," she said. "So romantic."

Brock dropped his head. "There goes another woman I can't have," he said. A hand reached in from the side and grabbed Brock's ear.

"We've got other things to worry about, Cassanova," Misty said as she dragged Brock off to the side.

"Yeah, like where pikachu is," Ask said with a sigh.

Brock looked at the group. "Perhaps we should continue our search when it's daylight, and try and get some rest," he suggested. Ash and Misty nodded before heading towards their tent. Brock nodded to Jessie and James before following, speaking as he left. "You guys might want to leave before something goes wrong for you too. It's not like we'd expect you to help us with our problem." After that he'd gone in the tent, leaving Jess and James alone with the flashlight's beam on the ground.

James and Jessie headed back to the campsite is silence, until Jessie spoke up. "I don't really like them, but that's kinda sad. If I wasn't so nervous, I'd have suggested we help."

James nodded a bit. "I know.. but considering all that's gone on, maybe we should leave while the leaving's good....." he stopped mid-sentence as the two reached the campsite, both staring dumbfounded. They'd reached the site, and there was Meowth's flashlight and chair... but no Meowth. Jessie and James stared for a moment before James spoke. "I don't think we'll be leaving just yet," he said.

The smoke from the now dwindling fire was the only thing active...Meowth was gone.

End Chapter 3

(Spooky, nu? Heh. If this was creepy, it's just going to get better. XD)