Hello everyone! I'm back from my little trip and ready to share more of A New Era with you all! Remember, this is starting to get a bit more intense...and I'm so excited for y'all to read the next installment!

LAST TIME: Having completed their badge and ribbon collections, Aiden and Michelle return to Cerulean City to train. They learn that the Indigo League will occur in two months, and the Kanto Grand Festival in one. As the two are training, Misty is alerted of an emergency in the center of the city. Against her wishes, Aiden, Michelle, and Brandon follow her there, and find Misty stuck in a bad situation with Team Rocket. Aiden gives himself up for her, much to Misty's horror. Just as this happens, Ash and Lance appear, revealing that their mission is in relation to Team Rocket's schemes.

Chapter 57: A Mission No More

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt! On everything and everyone! NOW!"

The electric type flew off of his trainer's shoulder, unleashing thunderbolt after thunderbolt. Pikachu went from shocking Zubat to grunts to Golbat…he didn't care in what order he was attacking them or where his next attack was going to land. Pikachu and Ash were emotionally on the same level, and now Pikachu was acting just as erratic as his trainer.

As Pikachu cleared both grunts and their Pokémon out of the way, Ash marched forward, his eyes darting between Aiden and Misty. Both had a very uneasy feeling as they watched Ash move. Even Misty, who had known Ash for nearly 22 years, had never seen that look in his eyes. It was terrifying. Misty held her breath, hoping that he wouldn't manage to get his hands on a grunt. If he did…Misty didn't expect the grunt to live.

Lance charged after Ash, eyes definitively narrowed. A thunderbolt struck only inches away from the dragon master, leading him to have to dodge it. Another struck at his side, causing Lance to fall to the ground.

"Ash, quit it!" Misty cried, her eyes narrowing.

Her husband was too enraged to even hear her. He just kept charging ahead, Pikachu still shocking everything in sight. Lance managed to scramble back up to his feet, running after Ash. Once he got close enough, Lance wrapped his arm around Ash's shoulders to try and hold the younger man in place. Ash growled and tried to break free, but Lance was clamping down on him. Finally, Ash managed to whip himself around, glaring daggers into his colleague.

"Lance, let go of me!" Ash snarled.

"No, you're jeopardizing everything!" Lance argued. "Including your own family!"

"I know what's best for them, I know how to get them back!" Ash screamed.

"If this is how you think that works, then you're not even close!" Lance barked.

"I have to do this!" Ash shouted back.

"You're scaring the hell out of everyone and making this ten times worse," Lance hissed, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Do you see your daughter over there?"

Through zaps of Pikachu's thunderbolt, Ash was able to see Michelle standing in the distance, untouched by grunts, thank gods. But her entire face pale and her eyes were wide with horror. She looked beyond terrified, and it was in that moment that Ash felt terrible for lashing out.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning rained down from the sky, coming directly between Lance and Ash. The two men jumped apart, turning their attention upwards. Pikachu's incensed and constant thunderbolt brigade was still going on, Ash not yet having called his partner off.

"Ash, get Pikachu under control!" Lance ordered, a Zubat swooping in at him.

The Pokémon Master looked over at the electric mouse, who was just firing off another thunderbolt attack.

"Pikachu, stop!" Ash cried.

Unfortunately, his partner was too absorbed in getting out attack after attack. Not unlike Ash just before, Pikachu couldn't hear anything. He was angry, and he was doing exactly what Ash had told him to do.

"Pikachu, quit it!" Ash barked, his voice getting louder.

That still didn't do any good. Growling, Ash ran forward, grabbing Pikachu just as he launched another thunderbolt. The attack went straight through Ash's body, causing him to cry out in extreme pain.

"Ash!" Misty shrieked.

"Dad!" Aiden and Michelle gasped simultaneously.

When Pikachu heard Ash scream, he immediately stopped what he was doing. Ears bobbing, the electric type glanced up guiltily at his trainer. Ash was now covered in soot from the shock, and scratches on his forearm from where Pikachu had dug his claws in. Wincing, Ash looked down at Pikachu and smirked.

"Good thing I'm used to that, huh, buddy?" Ash chuckled weakly. "It would've hurt a lot more if I wasn't."

"Cha…" Pikachu squeaked sadly, gently licking the scratches he'd given Ash.

"Dragonite, dragon claw!"

Ash looked up and found that Lance's Dragonite was slashing away at Zubat as they flew into his space. From Ash's arms, Pikachu growled, and Ash knew exactly what that meant. Brandon, on the other hand, feared what might happen next, and made it his own mission to get Michelle to safety.

"Michelle, we have to hide," Brandon rushed out.

"What? Why?!" Michelle breathed.

"You're going to be the next person Team Rocket takes hostage," Brandon replied, grabbing Michelle by her shoulders. "I can't let them do that."

"But…Aiden! My mom!" Michelle cried.

"You won't be able to help them if you're stuck in the same position," Brandon reasoned with her. "Let's hide, while Team Rocket is distracted. And once things settle down, you and I will stop at nothing to save Aiden and your mom."

Michelle let out a whimper, but knew she couldn't argue with Brandon. He was right. With one hand still on her shoulder, Brandon guided Michelle off to the side, towards a building they could hide near. As they ran off, Michelle looked over her shoulder, watching as her father prepared to command Pikachu.

"Alright, time to help out," Ash breathed. "But this time, we're not gonna fly off the handle! Pikachu, use electroball!"

The electric type leapt out of his trainer's arms, performing a front flip as a ball of electricity formed on his tail. Once it reached its final state, Pikachu fired it off in the direction of the Zubat who were currently trying to hold their own against Dragonite. The bat Pokémon shrieked and scattered, much to Ash's delight.

"Great job, Pikachu!" Ash cheered.

"Gulpin, yawn!"

Before Ash or Pikachu could react, a large bubble came floating towards Pikachu and popped on the electric mouse, immediately sending him into a deep sleep.

"Pikachu!" Ash gasped. He looked up and snarled, "alright, who did that?!"

"That would be me, Pokémon Master."

Ash growled as he stared back at a young male Team Rocket operative. The boy was smirking at him, and this was only enraging Ash even further.

"What are you going to do now without your precious Pikachu?" Alex taunted.

Ash lifted Pikachu and placed the sleeping Pokémon on his shoulder, grabbing another poke ball off his belt. "Don't you worry, I've got plenty of other Pokémon who can take care of the likes of you!"

Before Ash could toss the ball, a heavy breeze came down on him, blowing his raven hair in all different directions. Looking up towards the sky, Ash was shocked to see a giant airship floating overhead, a staircase emerging from its base.

"What is that?" Ash breathed as Lance ran up to his side.

"We had no information about Team Rocket traveling by air," Lance hissed. "How did they manage to keep that ship hidden?"

Sydney snickered and looked over at Ash and Lance while the handfuls of grunts started running to the middle of the street. "Hate to be rude, but our ride is here."

The grunts who had a hold on Aiden and Misty began dragging them towards the ship, and Ash took a threatening step forward.

"Oh no you don't!" Ash cried. He ran after them, Lance's eyes nearly bugging out of his head.

"Ash! Not again!"

The Pokémon Master whipped around and shook his head. "I've got a hold of myself now, Lance. I'm not going to risk the mission again, I swear."

"I told you during training, Ash: you've got to stick by me," Lance pressed.

"But-"

Ash was cut off as a high tech ring, similar to what had been locked around his son and wife's wrists, was thrown around his upper body, holding his arms against his sides. At the same time, the same ring had been thrown around Lance, leaving him immobile as well.

"What is this?!" Ash gasped, trying to break the ring.

A hand was placed on Ash's free shoulder, firmly grasping him and then spinning him around. He found himself staring into the eyes of a teenage girl, so dark brown they were nearly black.

"Master Ketchum," she sighed. "What a lovely surprise."

"Who are you?" Ash growled.

"The name's Cathy," she murmured. "But there's no reason to get to know each other on a personal level. I've simply come to retrieve you. Boss's orders."

"Boss?" Ash snarled. "What boss?"

"My boss," Cathy replied.

"I'll go see your boss if you let my wife and my son go," Ash growled.

"I won't be doing that," Cathy said. "But don't worry…you'll be reunited with them soon enough."

"You're not taking him anywhere!" Lance seethed, hopping forward as best as he could.

Cathy looked around Ash, letting out a small giggle. "My, how pathetic you are!" Looking over her shoulder, Cathy set her dark eyes on Alex, who had yet to make his way back onto the ship. "Alex, I need your assistance. You know what to do."

Alex let out a soft breath and gave a single nod. "Gulpin, yawn. Again."

Lance started to hop again, assuming the bubble was coming for him. Instead, however, it floated upwards, popping in Dragonite's face. The dragon type let out a loud yawn, his body quickly falling towards the ground. He landed in the street with a heavy thud, creating a large crater in the concrete. Michelle and Brandon, who had been watching from behind a building in the nearby alleyway, stared on in horror. Michelle jumped up, intending to run out and get in the middle of the altercation, but Brandon grabbed onto her and pulled her back down.

"Dragonite…" Lance grumbled.

Obviously pleased with herself, Cathy smirked and tightened her grip on Ash's shoulder, causing the man to wince. "Nothing left to see here. Let's go."

Ash tried to shake Cathy's hand off, but to no avail. She dug her nails into him, causing more pain, and dragged the reluctant man off. Ash looked over his other shoulder, the one Pikachu slept on, and locked eyes with Lance. The Kanto champion, in something Ash had never seen before, looked utterly defeated.

"Don't worry," Ash called out to his friend and colleague. "I won't let them get away with this!"

At this, Cathy's smirk only increased, and she turned to give Ash a dark stare. "That's what you think."

As soon as Cathy dragged Ash aboard the airship, Michelle finally charged out from the alley, Brandon following closely behind her.

"Michelle!" Brandon hissed.

"It's fine," Michelle growled, without so much as looking at Brandon. "They're gone."

The young breeder sighed and looked around Michelle, noticing that Lance had fallen to his knees, scowling. Michelle saw this too and hurried over to the dragon master, bending down in front of him.

"Lance, are you okay?" Michelle asked.

The scarlet haired man looked up, his bitter face dissolving into one of surprise. "Michelle? You're still here!"

"Brandon and I hid in an alley," Michelle explained. "He dragged me back there to try and protect me from Team Rocket."

Lance breathed out and looked towards Brandon. "That was a smart move. You definitely saved Michelle from the same fate as her parents and brother."

"That was the plan," Brandon murmured sadly, obviously regretting the fact he couldn't have done the same for the rest of Michelle's family.

The young redhead was not about to just give up, however. Her eyes narrowing, Michelle continued, "Lance, you have to let us help you get them back."

"What?!" Lance gasped.

"You have to let Brandon and I help you rescue everyone," Michelle reiterated.

"Michelle, I know you're concerned about your family, but I can't allow you to help me," Lance sighed. "If your parents found out, they would kill me. And if anything happened to you-"

"Nothing will happen to me," Michelle cut him off. "I know all about Team Rocket, Lance. This isn't the first time they've come after us! Brandon and I can help stop them."

"Michelle-"

"Look, Team Rocket probably wouldn't even be doing this if it weren't for me and my brother," Michelle argued. "I have to make it up to everyone somehow. I'm going to start by rescuing my family, and then together, we'll take Team Rocket down once and for all!"

Despite himself, Lance smirked and turned his head. "You are quite the combination of your parents. It's almost sickening."

"I didn't hear a no," Michelle teased, smirking back at the champion.

Lance sighed and dropped his shoulders. "Alright, fine. This mission has already gone astray, so we might as well try. But you and Brandon have to listen to everything I say, got it? No going rogue."

"Like my dad?" Michelle quipped.

"Definitely not like your dad," Lance groaned.

Standing up to her full height, Michelle finally turned to lock eyes with her friend. "Brandon, you go and check out Dragonite. I'm going to get Lance free."

"You got it," Brandon replied, hurrying over to the injured Dragonite. With that settled, Michelle turned back towards Lance with a smile on her face as she pulled out one of her poke balls.

"I don't know why, as the Kanto champion and leader of the G-Men, I'm scared of a 10 year old girl," Lance muttered, a mischievous spark gleaming in Michelle's eye. "But I am."

XXX

Ash did not appreciate being thrown against a steel floor.

He groaned in pain as his body went down hard, a barred door slamming behind him. Once they'd boarded the ship, Cathy had handed Ash off to two Rocket grunts, instructing them to take him to the "holding cell." When Ash finally managed to get himself up, he found that those two grunts were staring back at him from the other side of the bars.

"Like that was necessary?" Ash snapped.

"Hey, we were being gentle," one of the grunts quipped.

"But since you're so worked up, we'll do you a favor," the other grunt added. He held out a small remote and pushed a button, causing the electronic ring around Ash's body to disappear. Its metal center clattered to the ground, and Ash was finally free of his restraints. Growling, he jumped forward and grabbed at the bars, both grunts laughing at him.

"Let me out of here!" Ash ordered.

"You're not going anywhere until the boss sees you," the first grunt replied.

"Though if you keep jumping around in there like a Mankey, maybe he'll be entertained enough to go easy on ya!" The second grunt laughed.

The first one joined in, and they both walked towards the door, Ash still tugging at the bars and glowering at their backs.

"So…this is what your mission was about?"

Ash quit tugging at the bars and slowly raised his head. He then realized there was another cell across from him, and in that one were his wife and son.

"Misty?" Ash breathed.

"Very good," Misty hissed, narrowing her eyes.

"Are you okay?!" Ash cried. "Did they hurt you? If they did, I swear-"

"I'm fine," Misty cut him off, still sounding highly agitated.

"What about you, Aiden?" Ash glanced down at his son, who was sitting on the floor. "You okay, bud?"

"I guess," Aiden grumbled, shrugging his shoulders. "I just…hate Team Rocket so much!"

"I know exactly how you feel," Ash sighed, finally releasing his grip on the bars. He kept on staring at Aiden, his heart suddenly speeding up. "Aiden…did you see Michelle before they dragged us up here?! Did they-"

"She and Brandon are safe," Aiden assured his father. "I saw Brandon drag her away while you and Lance were trying to fend off Team Rocket. I don't think there's any way they could've gotten their hands on her."

"Good," Ash sighed. "And where's Elizabeth? Is she okay?!"

"She's back at the house with your mother and Professor Oak," Misty grumbled. "She's totally safe."

"At least there's some good news…"

"You never answered my question, Ash Ketchum."

The Pokémon Master raised an eyebrow and looked over at Misty. "What question?"

The gym leader dramatically rolled her eyes. "Seriously?! I just asked you two minutes ago!"

"Sorry, we're not really in an ideal situation at the moment," Ash sniped.

Growling, Misty bore her eyes into her husband. "Is this what your G-Men mission was? Dealing with Team Rocket?"

Ash sighed and rolled his head around. No use keeping the secret now. "Yes."

"Great," Misty grumbled, resting her forehead against her set of bars.

"You know, I should be asking you a question," Ash breathed, his own eyes narrowing.

"Ask away," Misty drawled, dramatically throwing an arm up in the air. "Not like I'm going anywhere."

"How did you find out about Team Rocket, and what were you doing right in the middle of their attack zone?" Ash demanded.

"Officer Jenny called and told me Team Rocket was planning an attack on downtown," Misty replied. "I'm not going to just sit in our house while Team Rocket destroys my city!"

Ash sighed and shook his head. "Destroying the city was not their intention."

"Kidnapping children counts the same as physical destruction to me," Misty bit.

"Sick, isn't it?"

Misty rolled her eyes up and shook her head. "No sane person would even think of doing something so horrific. Where do they get off? And why are they doing this?"

"That's what Lance and I were trying to figure out," Ash explained. "We know they've been up to it, striking at different orphanages all across the Kanto region. Our main goal was to stop them, but it was also critical to find out why they were doing this. But we haven't cracked that just yet."

"I might have an idea."

Ash raised an eyebrow at his wife's comment. "You do?"

Misty nodded her head. "Did you see those two operatives who were trying to battle Michelle and Brandon?"

"Yeah…"

"Their names are Sydney and Alex," Aiden chimed in. "We've run into them before."

"They're not much older than you and Michelle, are they?" Misty prodded.

"Not really, I don't think so," Aiden replied. "I'd say they're really close to our age."

Ash blinked hard and allowed his eyes to dart between his wife and son. "Does that mean…you think they-"

The door at the end of the hall slid open. Cathy came striding back in, this time along with another blonde girl.

"Yvette," Aiden hissed, recognizing the second girl right away.

It was who came behind the two blonde girls, however, that really caused Aiden to panic. He jumped to his feet and grabbed Misty's hand just like he had when he was a young boy. Misty raised an eyebrow and glanced over at her son, looking highly confused.

"Aiden, what's wrong?"

He didn't even look at his mother. He just kept staring at the one male who had trailed in behind Cathy and Yvette; his blood red hair, two different colored eyes, snow white skin, the large red scar on his face…

"Magnus."

Misty furrowed her brow at her son's frightened whisper. "Who is that?"

Aiden swallowed thickly and glanced back up at his mother. "Mom…I think that's the boss of Team Rocket."

Here comes the confrontation! What will happen now that Magnus is before his prisoners? Hmm...