DISCLAIMER: Only Satoshi Tajiri owns Pokémon, and a couple of other important dudes. Not me though!

A/N: I don't wanna ramble too long, I know it gets boring, so here's my attempt at this chapter!

"Daddy! Mommy! Wake up!" The shrill voice of their daughter woke Ash and Misty up instantly, not only because of its loud tone, but because of the obvious panic in it. It only took another two seconds before Rose burst into the room, looking like she had run a marathon or two.

"Rose sweetie, what's wrong?" Misty asked calmly.

"Cory's not in his room!" Rose yelled.

Misty shot Ash a look that spoke more volumes then words ever could as fear, panic and anger all meshed into one emotion. But he was already out of bed, racing down the hall, praying that this was some kind of joke. But alas, he opened the door to his son's bedroom only to find it depressingly empty.

"Shit, no" Ash whispered. Misty hurriedly came up behind him and instantly broke down in tears at the sight of the messy but empty bed.

"Misty, calm down, he might be in the house somewhere" Ash tried to reassure her.

"Yeah, and he might be being held at gunpoint by Gary Oak!" Misty screamed, her emotions now getting beyond her control.

"Cory!" Ash yelled, frantically opening and scanning every room of the house. "Cory, come on, this is no time to play hide and seek!" The worry in his voice increased and his common sense subsided as he ran into the lounge, totally ignoring the fact that a sleeping Brock lay on the couch. "CORY!" Ash shouted even louder.

"Ash, what's going on?" Brock asked sleepily, Ash's loud voice having torn him away from his pain-induced sleep.

"We can't find Cory" Ash simply explained. With that he ran outside into the backyard, Misty staying behind to try and somehow distract Rose, and maybe herself.

The panic flooding Ash's heart was now overriding every other feeling he could ever experienced. Even anger didn't come into the picture at the moment.

"Cory! Where are you?" Ash asked loudly, but the hopelessness in his voice was undeniable. Gary had taking another victory for himself and, in the process, had weakened Ash to the point where he felt like a complete failure.

He buried his face in his hands and felt his world giving way beneath him. He knew what was happening. It was Cory first, then it would be Rose, and then...God forbid...

"Daddy, you look funny runnin' round in your boxers."

Ash snapped his head up and, after momentarily realising that yes, he was indeed in his boxers, saw the clear vision of his son standing only a few feet away, giving him a puzzled glance.

The relief that washed through Ash was the balm his heart needed to slow down its strenuous pace and to make him believe that Gary had not outdone him yet. That there was still hope. But even Gary took a back seat to his thoughts as he rushed up and embraced Cory in a hug of relief.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Cory asked in concern and bewilderment.

Ash picked Cory up and looked at him sternly. "Don't you EVER do that to us again! Geez, the state you put me through..." Ash shook his head and eyed him again. "What were you doing out here anyway?"

Cory's eyes lit up as he began his story. "I woke up reeeeal early and I saw a frog in my room!"

"A frog?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" Cory nodded frantically. "But it started hopping away, so I followed it and it came out here...I had to be real quiet though, cause Brock was still asleep, and then I got outside and kept on following it but it was picked up by another guy, so I started walking back. I remembered not to talk to strangers!" he boasted proudly. "And then I heard you calling..."

Ash's mind started to drift off halfway through Cory's babbling. He knew that the frog had been no stray, and that in any other situation he would've been scolding Cory for getting so close to the road and leaving the house without his parents permission. But at least he had come back.

"Cory, what did the guy look like?" Ash interrupted.

"Well, he had brown spiky hair, um, and he was kinda tall. He was standing beside a red car...but I can't remember anything else" Cory explained.

Ash discreetly narrowed his eyes. Jessie and James's car was red. How could he have been so close and all of them had missed him? And why didn't he take Cory as he had obviously planned?

"Well you make sure that next time you tell me about any more frogs before you start chasing them, okay?" Ash said mischievously. Cory nodded, a grin still dominating his face, and Ash set him back down. "Go inside and see your mom, no doubt she's worried sick about you." Cory happily obeyed and ran back inside.

For a moment, Ash just stood in his backyard, thinking about what had just happened. Gary was sneakier then they all took him for. This time he hadn't just bombarded the house with men and shot them all dead. He was wrenching at their hearts, causing real torture by knowing how to get to them.

He slowly walked back inside, noticing that Jessie and James were now also up. "Hey guys, sorry about all the noise, little rascal here nearly got himself in trouble" Ash said lightly. He didn't want to talk about Gary or anything of the sort with his kids around, and the others understood this.

"Yeah, well what else is new?" James said, good-naturedly ruffling Cory's hair as he laughed through a protest.

Misty was sitting down in a chair, trying to get her heart rate down. "Okay guys" she said, directing the comment to her children. "I think it's time to get dressed, don't you?"

"Awww, Mommy, can't we go back to bed? It's still early" Rose whined sleepily.

Misty checked her watch, and for a Saturday morning, yes 8 o'clock was early. "Alright, go back and sleep, you've had far too much excitement for ten minutes" she grinned.

The kids slowly trudged back to their rooms and, as the second door clicked shut, the other adults also slumped into chairs.

"That was too close for comfort" Misty whispered.

Ash nodded. "Cory said some frog came into his room and lead him out near the front. But he came round the back again when he saw the frog being picked up by another guy who was standing next to...a red car."

"It all kinda adds up, doesn't it?" Jessie said quietly.

"Afraid so" James said sadly.

"Well guys, we've got a big day ahead of us, what say we get some grub and get a move on" Ash suggested, to which they all obliged.

The next three hours were spent frantically packing things into overnight bags and making plans at breakneck speed.

"I don't wanna go to a sitter!" Cory complained, watching his mother pack away clothes for the next day.

"It'll only be for a day, Cory. We'll come back for you tomorrow" Misty promised. Although she wasn't even sure of that herself. Could they go back tomorrow if they still had to find Gary in the first place?

"Yeah, it'll be fun, a whole new adventure!" Rose said excitedly, bounding into Cory's room. It was at this point the phone rang and while Rose was at the ready to answer it, Misty was already running out of the room to grab it.

"Hello?" she answered breathlessly.

"Misty Ketchum?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Yes?" Misty said cautiously.

"This is Virginia Adams, we spoke yesterday about babysitting your children?"

"Yes! Hi!" Misty suddenly remembered the voice.

"Um, I really hate to do this to you, but I've had a bit of a family crisis and I won't be able to make it as planned" Virginia announced.

"Wha..." Misty trailed off. This couldn't be happening. How was she gonna find a sitter in half an hour? "Well, thankyou for calling anyway."

"I'm really sorry, Misty" Virginia apologised.

"It's okay, don't worry. I'll see ya later." With that Misty solemnly hung up the phone and stared vacantly at the wall. She then shook herself out of her daydreams and walked towards her bedroom. "Ash!" she called out as she walked.

"Yeah?" Ash replied.

"We've got a bit of a problem" Misty stated, walking in and closing the door behind her.

"Oh no" Ash sighed. "What now?"

"Well, the sitter just called, and it seems she can't make it. Family crisis or something" Misty explained. "And I am seriously doubting finding another sitter because she was a last resort in the first place."

Ash paused and turned to his wife with a serious look that sent chills up her spine. He then silently strode by her, opening the door and walking towards the lounge.

"Ash...what are you doing?" Misty asked nervously.

"Guys, change of plan" Ash announced, striding into the lounge where Jessie, James and Brock were somberly waiting. "We can't find a sitter, so we're gonna have to drop the kids off with Misty's sisters in Cerulean."

"WHAT?!" Misty exclaimed, staring at her husband in disbelief. "Are you nuts, Ash? We can't just cruise over to Cerulean and expect my sisters to look after Rose and Cory! We have to start looking for Gary now!"

"Misty, it kinda seems like our last hope. And besides, don't you wanna check on those three and see if they're alright?" Ash asked.

"No, I don't!" Misty said bluntly. "I want to find Jack! A kidnapped three year old son of one of my best friends is more important then my sisters who I already know are alright!"

"Wait a minute, you mean you haven't told her yet?" Jessie asked worriedly.

"No, because I feel like we don't have another choice" Ash explained.

"I wanna start looking for him now, Ash. This can't wait" Misty said desperately.

"It won't be waiting" Ash said. "We'll still be looking for him on the way, and while we're there. All of us can go and if he's not there then, we'll just keep looking in other places."

"It sounds a bit sketchy, Ash" Brock said skeptically. "Are you sure you wanna take your kids en route as you're looking for him? It doesn't seem safe."

"Okay, well...you guys can look here and in Viridian for the next two days. And then we'll meet you in Cerulean on Tuesday. Does that sound good?"

The rest nodded, except for Misty, who slowly walked up beside Ash and looked him squarely in his eyes.

"What if Gary finds out they're at the gym? You can't forget that his old leader went there and kidnapped my sisters" she pointed out.

"He won't find out. I promise." Ash searched her eyes, desperate for her approval. She hesitated, before she finally nodded, yet avoiding her husband's eyes as she did so.

"I hate that place" she whispered.

Ash looked at her with nothing but sympathy and love, and he gently took her in an embrace. "I know, I know" he said soothingly. "And you haven't been back in five years, so this won't be easy for you. But we have to do it for the good of the kids. And your sisters will love having them" he added.

"Yeah." Misty nodded again and broke away from the embrace. "I better go tell them then." She gave him a weak smile before he kissed her softly and she walked out, dreading going back to Cerulean, even if it was just for a day or a couple of hours even.

"So you guys can catch up to us in Cerulean then, is that okay?" Ash confirmed. The others all agreed and a strange silence fell over the room. Each mind was thinking its own thoughts, and they all respected each other's rights to sort things through on their own.

Ash fell into a chair and sighed, not looking forward to going through all this again. For three solid minutes nothing was said, but a vague part of them all could hear Ash's children yelling in delight at the prospect of staying in Cerulean City with their aunts.

It was at this point that everyone in the house was shocked out of their thoughts when an explosion was heard coming from the front of the house. As a first instinct, Ash, Brock, Jessie and James dove for cover in the lounge, the blast still echoing in their ears.

"What the hell was that?" James exclaimed.

Ash slowly stood up with clenched fists and a face that was not to be reckoned with. "Misty! Are you okay?" he called out.

"Y-yeah" Misty replied weakly from Cory's bedroom. The children had gone quiet and now Jessie and James were beginning to stand up hesitantly.

"It was him, wasn't it?" Jessie asked.

Ash nodded, having no proof but knowing anyway. He walked towards the front of the house where the explosion had come from and walked out the front door. There were no immediate signs of damage, however on closer inspection he saw that the letterbox was now no more.

"What does that mean?" Brock asked, a puzzled expression crossing his face. "Why would he blow up your letterbox and scare the shit outta all of us like that?"

"God, I dunno" Ash sighed. "Cause he's a freak? Cause he's mentally deranged? The possibilities are endless" he said sarcastically and bitterly.

"Uh, Ash, you might wanna take a look at this." James was nervously holding a piece of paper and almost instantly Ash's heart plummuted. Notes. The same thing Giovanni and his henchmen had used to strike fear into all their hearts five years ago.

With a shaky hand Ash took the piece of paper from James's hand and read it over at least three times. The words hit home as they were planned to do, and although he tried desperatly to stop the tears in his eyes welling up, he failed.

The words were simple and few - "Consider this a warning."

"What does that mean?" Jessie asked quietly.

Ash knew what the note meant. He scrunched it up and looked back towards his house. The house where his children were growing up, where Misty was probably comforting them right now as they grew anxious about the blast they had heard.

"It means that as long as I'm around, Gary Oak is only gonna get as far as giving us a warning. And that's all." Ash spoke boldly but felt anything but bold inside.

The four of them silently walked back inside, inwardly quaking at the already dangerous prospects of this hunt. The torture was real, the pain was almost too much, and the hunted was, unknowingly, already on the move.

A/N: Things are starting to happen! Yeah, we've already killed Suzie and kidnapped Jack, nothing's happened, lol! Anyways, keep us informed on how we're going through your reviews cos we love receiving them! ^_^