Mr. Stone sat in the kitchen, a cup of coffee in between his hands. He was dressed for work, but did not seem to have the drive to get up and go. Perhaps it would be for the best to not leave the house for today. He doubt he could concentrate on work with his son being out of sorts as of late. The worry was tearing into him, and he wished for answers to his questions. But there was none. He sighed and picked up his coffee, taking a sip. As he did, his phone began to ring. Mr. Stone set the cup down on the table and fished in his breast pocket for his phone. Locating it, he pulled it out and answered. "Hello? Oh hi, Kennedy. No, I'm not out on the streets showing children new products. I won't be coming in today." Mr. Stone pushed his mug about. "He did wake up, yes. But.. There's something wrong with him. I don't know. He's acting differently." He stopped pushing the mug about and sighed. "No, but I should have. Wallace stopped by and took Steven with him so hopefully he will. Thank you, Kennedy." Mr. Stone hung up the phone and set it down on the table.

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted to call the two, or at least Wallace. The Gym Leader would at least give him a straight answer as to Steven's current condition. But the lack of receiving a phone call put him at slight ease. Since his son had someone with him, he was not as worried about the lack of contact. And if Wallace called him, it probably would pertain to Steven. Those types of calls were the last he needed to hear right now. Mr. Stone let his hand drop and opened his eyes. He picked up the mug and finished the contents. He pushed his chair back and got up, walking over to the sink. The man stopped and glanced at the remaining pitcher of coffee in the brewer. Another cup would certainly not hurt right now. As he moved toward it, he heard a knock on the door. "Who could that be?" He wondered aloud as he left the kitchen.

Mr. Stone crossed the living room and stopped at the front door. He looked through the small fish-eye lens in the door before opening it. A Wingull greeted him, flying inside and landing on his shoulder. The Pokemon was small and white; its head making up most of its body. It bore an orange-coloured beak, the tip black. The Seagull Pokemon's tail was shaped much like a fan with three blue-tipped feathers. The Pokemon's wings folded up into an 'M', a single light blue stripe on each one near the tip. The Wingull cooed as she snuggled up to Mr. Stone's cheek. "Y-"

"Peeko! You don't go entering people's homes like that, darling."

Mr. Stone turned his attention to the porch, seeing a very familiar man. "Hello, Mr. Briney. What brings you here?"

The man appeared a bit older than Mr. Stone. He wore a white, collared shirt with a maroon vest over it, and tan pants. He bore a white mustache with a beard and his skin was tanned from the many years out at sea. Mr. Briney smiled broadly at the other. "Just stoppin' by. Peeko and I needed to do a little shopping and we thought we would say hello. Is this a bad time?"

"Not at all! Come on in." Mr. Stone stepped aside so the other could enter before he shut the door. Peeko happily flew about the living room before she disappeared into the kitchen. "Make yourself at home. I still have some coffee left if you would like some."

The man waved his hand. "No thank you. I am over my caffeine days." He laughed to himself, before walking over to the sofa. Mr. Briney sat down, Mr. Stone taking a chair nearby. "I thought you would have been at work today. You always are quite the busy person."

Mr. Stone shook his head. "No.. I have a lot on my mind as of late. I did not want to cloud my work with it." He paused, before looking at his friend. "You see, Steven has not been feeling well lately and it has me worried."

"Not feelin' well, huh? Perhaps the lad should not follow in someone's footsteps, hmm?" Mr. Briney joked before looking at Mr. Stone. It was apparent that his worry was far greater than anticipated. "Is he ill with something?"

"No.. I don't know what's wrong with him. I found him passed out outside of my company's building yesterday. He said he was exhausted but he's not acting like himself. He's being too reserved and it looks like something is bothering him." Mr. Stone sighed to himself and brought a hand to his forehead. "This is all my fault."

Mr. Briney arched an eyebrow at this. "What do you mean this is your fault?"

"I asked Steven to check something out on Mount Pyre after he got back from his trip to Sinnoh. After he went there.. He hasn't been the same. I should not have asked him to go."

"Come now, Joseph. Steven is.. Steven. That boy has some spirit in him to do what he thinks is the right thing to do. The lad was probably eager to be out the door."

"Regardless, I should have taken into account that he was tired from his trip. His judgment could have been off while he was up there and he may have gotten hurt. Did you see the news this afternoon?"

"About that fellow they found in the sea?"

Mr. Stone nodded. "They estimated that he was on Mount Pyre before that storm hit. And that's around the same time that Steven was there."

"But didn't news say that the man could have been killed by the storm? Blown right off the mountain? It is not unheard of." Mr. Stone sighed at this. The man was right in a way. The two incidents could have been completely different. However, the body belonged to a man apart of the Team Rocket and something told him they were related. He needed to find out what exactly happened up on Mount Pyre before the storm hit. The man was broken from his thoughts as a hand was placed on his shoulder. "I know you're worried, Joseph."

Mr. Stone looked from Mr. Briney's hand to his friend. "I'm not just worried. If something happens to him.. I will never forgive myself."

"Don't think like that. I am sure that Steven would not want you too, either. Speaking of which, where exactly did your son get off to?"

"He left this morning with Wallace. He's so dead set on finding this odd stone. It was why he went to Mount Pyre in the first place. I asked him to find it. And I'm afraid for his health. I know Wallace will take care of him, but I just have a bad feeling. Like everything is going to fall apart."

"I doubt it will, Joseph. Don't think so negatively. I'm sure everything will be just fine. Just you watch. He's like you in a lot of ways." Mr. Briney gave the other a reassuring smile. "You'll see."

"I don't think this guy is ever going to show. We've wasted so much time already. And I'm getting hungry." Elliot complained as he slumped against the steering wheel, resting his cheek on the hard rubber arch. "Can't we just say he never showed?"

Bryan let out a pent up sigh and debated on answering the other. The man was bucking to get a reprimand from the boss. Or worse, Rodger. The guy was always doing some weird things in the dark sub-levels of Team Rocket's main base. It made him shiver to think what exactly went on down there. He had heard plenty of horror stories. More than he could count to be deemed sane. He felt a poke to his shoulder and he looked at his partner deadpan. "If you want to be on the short end of the stick with the boss, go ahead. But I'm not about to be Rodger's next experiment. Thanks for the offer though."

The driver pursed his lips before he turned his attention to the windshield. "You brown-nosers are all the same. You're like a sheep." Elliot muttered as he scanned the front of the building, watching people enter. After a moment, a particular person leaving caught his eye. "Hey. Bryan." He looked over to see his teammate reading the paper. "Bry! Look!"

Bryan heaved an annoyed sigh as he slammed his newspaper down on his lap. "What is it this time!? You see a Ratata!?"

"Look up at the landing. Isn't that the President's assistant coming out?"

This captured the man's attention. Bryan sat up straight in his chair and leaned forward, peering out the windshield. He followed Elliot's finger and spotted a man making his way down the steps. He held a small stack of papers in the crook of his arm. In the other, he was fishing for what could be assumed as car keys. Bryan turned his gaze from the man to the side compartment in the van's door. He pulled out a manila envelope and opened the top. He slid out the contents and shuffled through them. Bryan stopped at one particular photo and looked up again. "That's Kennedy, Joseph Stone's assistant. He is usually with the President. So… where is he?"

The driver gave a shrug as he watched Kennedy head toward a car parked nearby the building. "I dunno. Maybe I was right and the guy didn't show after all? We've been watching this place all day. We would have seen an old man sneak out by now. And that dope would have been on his phone or something if he did."

Bryan sat back and shoved all the papers back into the envelope. He slipped it back in the door's compartment and frowned in thought. It was broad daylight. There was no way they could easily break into the President's house at this rate. And he doubt Rodger would wait for the cover of darkness. He really did not care if he or Elliot wound up in jail. He doubt bail for them would be paid either. They were simply pawns to be used and disposed of when the time was right. But. The man watched as Kennedy got into a car and he brought a hand to his chin in thought. "I have an idea."

"What?"

"I'll tell you in a moment. Just follow that car and shut up."

Kennedy let out a sigh as he got into his car and shut the door. Things had become very hectic as of late. There were several things to get done at the corporation, yet the President had taken a personal day. Though, how could he really blame him? Not with what had happened last night. The assistant would have been shocked to see Mr. Stone come in to work. After all, Steven was the only family the man had left. Kennedy set the papers down on the passenger seat and put his seat belt on. He slipped the key into the ignition and started the car. As he waited to pull into traffic, his mind wandered to the conversation he had had with Mr. Stone. Despite his 'cheery' voice, he could tell the man was very worried. And that much worry at his age had its problems. It concerned the assistant.

He spot an opening and eased the car out of its parking spot. Kennedy then began to drive toward an unknown destination. Since Mr. Stone was absent, there was not much else for him to do. Instead, he could check up on the President. He was sure the man could use some company. Especially since Steven had gone off with Wallace somewhere. Another issue that Kennedy had trouble grasping his mind around. Why had he left? If there was any place Steven should have gone, it was a hospital. Not out to who knew where. Only adding more worry to Mr. Stone's already full plate of it. Kennedy let out a sigh and shook his head. Like father like son he supposed. The two were more alike then met the eye.

He came to a halt at a stop sign and made a left down the next street. As he did, he spotted a van in his rear-view mirror, following. Had it been there the whole time? And why was he getting a bad feeling about it? 'Oh stop it, Kennedy. You're just making a big deal out of nothing.' Kennedy looked back toward the road, when he heard an engine rev. Before he had a chance to react, his car lurched forward from a sudden impact from behind. The assistant gripped the wheel tightly, as he grit his teeth, trying to prevent the car from fishtailing. "What in the-" Bang! Another hit sent the car skidding off the road. Kennedy tried his best to control it, but his car jumped the curb. The car careened right into an alleyway, and the assistant braced himself as trashcan slammed against the grill. They popped up the front end and smashed into the windshield, cracking it. Kennedy slammed on the brakes, the car screeching to a stop halfway down the alleyway.

A breath escaped him. One he had not realized he had been holding. His hands still grasped the wheel, his knuckles completely white. He panted, adrenaline from the crash flooding his veins, as he looked out the demolished glass. The hood was wrinkled up and pale smoke rose lazily from the engine. It was luckily not on fire, but he was sure the radiator was busted up. Kennedy finally let go of the wheel, feeling for his seatbelt. Locating it, he removed it and grabbed the door latch. He gave it a strong push and the driver's door opened. Kennedy stepped out, his legs shaking as glass crunched under his feet. 'What in the world happened?' He thought to himself as he turned in the direction he had come. Once he turned, a bright light suddenly flashed in his eyes. Kennedy winced and brought a hand up to shield himself from it. From what he could tell, the source of the light was a van's high beams. Was it the same van as before?

"Hey." He called out, keeping his eyes shadowed with his hand. "What do you think you were doing?!"

The sound of a door opening made his body stiffen. A shadow had moved out from where the passenger's door would be. He tried to follow it, but the light was too bright to dare move his hand away. "Kennedy?"

"Who's asking?" Footsteps approached and the assistant took a step back. He felt his back hit up against the door of his car. "What do you want?"

"That's all we need." Whack! A white hot pain blossomed through the back of Kennedy's skull. Darkness quickly consumed him as he felt his body fall forward onto the ground. Then there was nothing.

Mr. Stone locked the door of the house and slipped the keys into his pocket. He turned away and started down the steps toward his car. Mr. Briney had just left to do some shopping downtown, and he was thankful for the man stopping by. It eased his mind, but only slightly. Part of him wondered if it would have been better for the two to have left tomorrow. Surely the mural was not going anywhere. But he also knew the sense of urgency surrounding it. Mr. Stone reached the car, unlocked it and got in. He shut the door and started up the engine, letting it warm up a little. As he did, he felt his pockets for his phone, and retrieved it from his pocket. Maybe giving Wallace a call would not hurt. Just to ease his mind a little bit. Just as he was about to dial Wallace's number, his phone began to vibrate in his hand. Mr. Stone looked at the caller ID. "Kennedy?" He questioned as he looked at the phone a moment. Perhaps the assistant was reminding him of all the appointments he had neglected today. A sigh escaped his lips as he hit the green button and raised the phone to his ear. "What is it, Kennedy?"

"Kennedy is unable to make it to the phone at the moment." Came a voice from the other. Stone sat erect in his chair, gripping the phone tighter. "Who are you? And what have you done to Kennedy?"

"Now, now. No need to take that tone. He's alive if that's what you're concerned about. But he will wake up with one bad headache." There was a chuckle on the other line. "Unless you want me to kill him? I can always do that, you know."

"What do you want?"

"That's a bit more like it." There was a pause before the man continued. "Two miles just outside this dump of a city. There is the old abandoned warehouse that was once used as a delivery company. I'm sure you remember it at some point. It's a bit hidden in the woods, thanks to good ol' Mother Nature. I want you to drive there and go inside. There, you will surrender yourself to my buddies waiting for you. I'll give you a half an hour. If you're not there, alone, within that time frame, your assistant will be terminated permanently."

"I'll be there."

"Good man. We will await your arrival."

Click. Mr. Stone looked at his phone, clenching the device in his hand. He was about to slip it into his pocket, when it buzzed again. He looked at the screen and spotted a little envelope signifying that he had received a text. Without hesitation, he opened it. Inside was a message and a photo. The photo, was of his assistant on the ground, seemingly unconscious. The words above it read, 'Just in case you doubted us. Remember. A half an hour.' The man grit his teeth, before he tossed the phone at the passenger seat. It bounced off and landed between the said seat and the door. He looked at the spot it fell a moment, before he put his seat belt on. There was no time to be wasting. Kennedy was in danger and he had to get to that warehouse before the time was up. If not… Mr. Stone backed out of the driveway, mindful of any other cars on the road. He then put it into gear and started off toward his destination.

Within twenty minutes, Mr. Stone parked his car before the warehouse entrance. He cut the engine and got out, shutting the door. The sun was still high in the sky, but it seemed more like twilight. The rays were blocked off majority by the overgrown tree tops. He let out a breath and started toward the entrance. Part of him knew he should have called Wallace or Steven. But if he did that, Kennedy's life could very well end. Right now, they needed to find the stone. He could handle this situation himself. After all, he dragged everyone into the situation unwittingly. Steven, Wallace and Kennedy. Their lives were in danger and it was all thanks to him.

He stopped at the door and reached out, grasping the handle. He pulled it open, the door groaning in protest to the action. Mr. Stone stepped inside and looked around. The room would have been rather spacious, if not for the collections of pallets and boxes. He walked further into the room, before he called out. "I'm here."

Several steps echoed off the walls in all directions. Mr. Stone glanced around, several uniformed trainers appearing from their 'hiding' spots. With them, fearsome Dark and Poison Type Pokemon. There was no way of escape, and he knew it. Mr. Stone looked ahead as the sound of slow clapping erupted. "Well, well, well. So you came anyway. I knew you would." The owner of the voice stepped forward, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "You're an intelligent man, Joseph. I admire that, because it reminds me of… well me."

"Kennedy?"

"As promised by my subordinate, he will remain unharmed. Well… more so, less harmed than he has been. Honestly, by now he should be at the hospital following such a nasty car accident and bump to the head. Poor soul." The man laughed at the glare he received. "But enough about him. Welcome, Joseph Stone, to my lovely adobe. We will try to make your stay, as comfortable as possible." A sneer crossed the redhead's face. "Men, take him to his room. I'm sure he will enjoy being our little guest."

And that concludes this chapter! Oh dear, what will happen now? Tune in next chapter to find out. 83 Sorry readers for the delay in this chapter. And sorry, not sorry, Kennedy for your abuse this chapter. As always, thank you for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy this fic. :)