Ow...my hands...

I literally just wrote almost all of this chapter in the past 3 hours. I just got so into it, I couldn't stop! My hands are pretty much numb now, but I don't really care. I'm so excited to get this new chapter out! It has a whole bunch of action and excitement in it!

At the end of last chapter, Ash was able to locate Misty, Aiden, and Michelle, thanks to the aura bond he shares with the unborn baby. As he's helping them to escape, however, someone walks in on them. Who is it? You're about to find out...

"Just what do you think you are doing?"

Ash gasped and whipped his head around. Loki was standing in the doorway, a furious rush of anger flashing through his silver eyes. All of his former composure was beginning to chip away, and the calm façade was quickly disappearing.

Grunting, Misty finally pulled herself into the vent, greatly assisted by the adrenaline that was currently racing through her body.

Pikachu squeaked and jumped up right behind Misty, making sure to squeeze in front of the gym leader so that he could be the second line of protection for the children.

This left only Ash, who was still standing on the bed with a dumbstruck look on his face. Loki began storming towards the Pokémon master, and this is when Ash's brain decided to react. With a sharp breath, Ash clamped onto the bottom edge of the vent and pulled himself up effortlessly, thanks to his great upper body strength.

"Move! Quick!" Ash ordered as he pulled himself up. He felt Loki grab at his ankle, but Ash would have none of that. Throwing his foot back, Ash nearly connected with the devious villain's face. He just grazed the silver haired man's cheek, but it was enough to throw Loki off. Free from his enemy's grip, Ash was able to get both legs into the vent, and he began to crawl quickly after his family, eager to get them to safety.

"Daddy, I don't know where to go!" Michelle cried from the front.

"I'll tell you where to go baby," Ash assured gently. "Just don't stop, okay? We have to move as quickly as we can."

As the four (five if you counted Pikachu) climbed through the empty metal space, Misty glanced over her shoulder and threw Ash a sad smile. "Thank you, Ash."

In response, Ash gave a careful grin but said nothing in response. He knew that they weren't just out of the woods yet.

XXX

Loki groaned quietly, rubbing at the sore patch of skin that had been assaulted by Ash's sneaker.

"That foolish master," Loki muttered under his breath as he got to his feet and dusted off his silver and blue outfit. "He will pay dearly for what he's done."

Reaching to his belt, Loki unclipped one of his poke balls and pressed the center button on the sphere. It unleashed a ray of blue light, which soon materialized into his Dustox.

"Tox!" Dustox called out, waiting for orders from his master.

"Dustox, fly into that vent and find that troublesome family," Loki ground his teeth together. "And make sure to punish them for their deed."

"Tox," Dustox nodded, fluttering into the open space. Loki watched after the dual type, his silver eyes still narrowed in anger.

"You'll all be sorry," Loki swore to no one in particular. "No one is going to deny me of what I want, and rightfully deserve."

XXX

"Daddy, I'm tired!"

Ash hung his head slightly as Michelle cried from the front. He felt so bad for doing this, seeing as he and his family had been crawling around for quite some time now. Misty looked over her shoulder at him, and Ash could see that her cheeks were slightly reddened from the trek. Being nearly six months pregnant, Ash assumed all this crawling around wasn't comfortable for her at all. The guilt was eating him alive, but Ash knew they had no other choice.

"I know, and I'm sorry princess," Ash called back sympathetically. "But it shouldn't be too much longer now. And once we get out, you can sleep in my arms for as long as you'd like."

Michelle grumbled slightly, but resumed her crawling. After only a few seconds, Misty gasped and cried out "oh no!"

"Misty?" Ash began to silently panic as he grabbed onto his wife's shoulder. "What's wrong sweetheart?"

"My Pokémon," Misty closed her eyes as she groaned and threw her head back. "I forgot! He took them from me!"

Ash just kept his hand in its place, his mouth hanging open as his face was frozen into a singular expression. A thousand different thoughts raced through his mind, but before he could even begin to respond, Misty spoke up with the very words Ash was expecting to hear.

"We have to go back."

"No Misty," Ash quickly shook his head. "It's too dangerous."

"Ash, they're my Pokémon!" Misty wailed, turning herself around completely. Her emerald eyes were full of tears, and her cheeks began to grow even more crimson as she tried to suppress her crying fit. "The same ones I've raised and trained and become friends with! They're my strongest Pokémon too! Vaporeon, Azumarill, Corsola…I need them back!"

"Misty…" Ash tried again. He wanted so badly to hold her back; he feared too greatly for her and the baby. At the same time, he felt like a monster for denying Misty her Pokémon. Ash knew that if someone had taken his Pokémon, he'd stop at no mercy to retrieve them.

"I'm a gym leader," Misty broke the silence darkly. "Losing my Pokémon would devastate me. It's like losing my children," Misty glanced over at Aiden and Michelle, who were observing her with sad and curious eyes. Looking back at Ash, Misty shook her head and whimpered, "I can't go through with that. I can't live with myself knowing that I didn't do all I could to get my Pokémon back."

Ash breathed out heavily and looked down towards his hands, which he had now lowered onto the cold metal bottom of the vent. Without raising his head up, Ash bit his lip and countered, "I'll get them back for you."

"But Ash…" Misty began.

"I'm not letting you go back there Misty," Ash's tone was beginning to grow stern. "It's too big of a risk. I'll put myself into the line of danger, but not you or the twins."

"Ash," Misty frowned.

"Don't worry about me," Ash shook his head. "You, Aiden, and Michelle should just keep going. If I manage to get out, I'll meet you on the ground." Reaching to his belt, Ash unclipped Charizard's poke ball and handed it off to Misty. "You can use Charizard to get you down there safely."

"You can't…" Misty's voice was shaking.

"I'm the head of this family," the way Ash said it indicated this was a final matter. "No one is going to take the fall for me."

"But-"

"Just promise me you'll stay safe," Ash interrupted her. Misty drew her shoulders back and nodded slowly. "Thank you," Ash stroked her cheek and pressed a kiss against her forehead before turning around to head back down the vent. It would be a long journey, but he wasn't about to let Misty's whole team get stolen. Her Pokémon were just as important to her as his were to him. Letting them go was out of the question.

"Dus!"

Ash stopped moving and his head snapped up.

"Pika?" Pikachu, who had remained rather quiet during the whole ordeal, piped up in response to the sudden noise.

"Wh…what was that?" Misty began to tremble.

"Dustox!"

The dual type Pokémon was calling out its name as it soared down the vent, heading straight towards the escaping family.

"That's Loki's Dustox!" Ash gasped. "The same one I battled against with Infernape!"

"Ka!" Pikachu spat, jumping right over both Misty and Ash in order to stand defensively in front of them all.

Dustox began to frantically flap his wings, creating a series of silver crescents that shot towards Ash and his family. Pikachu was easily thrown backwards, being that there was nothing for him to grip on to with his little paws. Aiden and Michelle began to slip away as well, earning frightened gasps from their parents.

"Aiden! Michelle!" Ash cried. He lunged for them and was able to gather both children into his arms, allowing them to snuggle deeply into his body.

"Dus," Dustox growled lowly. He floated above Misty so he was behind her, and once again created a powerful silver wind attack, this one with even more strength than before. Now it was Misty's turn to be pushed away, although it was in the opposite direction of her children and Pikachu. Instead, she was heading right back to where she'd just escaped from.

"No, Misty!" Ash yelled.

Misty groaned and held out her arms, trying desperately to grab onto something…anything that would keep her from sliding backwards. But the metal vent was far too smooth, and there was really nothing to hold onto.

Ash tried his best to climb forward with Aiden and Michelle still held in his arms. He knew he had to save Misty, but letting go of Aiden and Michelle was definitely a no go. He tried to guard both children with just one of his arms, and used the now free one to try and grab Misty's hand.

Grunting, Misty threw out her left arm, and stretched it out towards Ash as much as she could. Ash could see the glint of her engagement ring, the center diamond twinkling in the weak light that was shining through the small gaps of the vent. Their fingers brushed together, but as soon as they connected, Dustox unleashed a highly powerful gust attack, and forced Misty all the way down the vent.

"MISTY!" Ash screamed. Aiden and Michelle gasped from his arm and began to cry out for their mother, trying desperately to crawl out of their father's hold. "No, don't move!" Ash begged the children, holding them even more tightly.

"We need to save Mommy!" Aiden yelled tearfully.

"She'll get hurt!" Michelle sobbed.

"I…I can't," Ash stammered. "I can't let go of you two."

"We can all go, Daddy!" Aiden was still shouting at his father. "Come on! Don't leave Mommy!"

"I'm not leaving her Aiden!" Ash cried, trying to hold back tears. He'd never cried in front of his children before, and he wasn't about to start now. "But I've gotta save you two!"

"We need Mommy!" Michelle retorted.

"But we'll get trapped with that bad man again," Ash was trying his hardest to reason with the twins, but they didn't seem to be buying any of it.

"You'll be with us this time," Aiden pouted.

"Ash!"

The Pokémon master's ears perked at this. It certainly sounded like Misty's voice. But hadn't she been blown all the way down the vent?

"Misty?" Ash called tentatively. He began to crawl forward slowly, the twins waiting in his arms with bated breath. They were hoping with all of their might that their mother was okay. Aiden and Michelle loved her dearly, and if it were up to them, she wouldn't have been in any of this trouble in the first place.

After moving forward a little more, Ash saw Misty holding desperately onto a piece of the vent that had come loose. Her face was red and eyes wide in terror. Gasping, Ash reached out his still free arm and grabbed Misty's hand, pulling her over to him. Misty smiled tearfully and hugged Ash, burying her face into his chest.

"Thank you," Misty murmured shakily.

"Yay Mommy," Michelle hummed sweetly, reaching out to stroke her mother's hair.

"Where did Dustox go?" Ash asked hurriedly, lifting Misty's head up by placing his fingers under chin.

"He kept on flying even after I got thrown all the way back here," Misty replied. "I think he went back to Loki, probably to get some more orders."

"We need to get out of here, now," Ash tightly grabbed Misty's upper arm. She whined slightly and her lip quivered.

"Ash, my Pokémon…"

"Misty…" Ash furrowed his brow. He really didn't want it to come to this, but he didn't see any other choice. "At this point, it's either the Pokémon or you. Please, don't endanger yourself, or our baby girl, any further."

"No!" Misty yelled, yanking her arm away. "I already told you I can't choose! It isn't right! You can leave with Aiden and Michelle. I don't care a thing about myself as long as they're safe!"

"And what about our baby?" Ash nearly snapped. Misty drew in a sharp breath and sat there speechless. "What about her? If you're in danger, then so is she."

"I can't do it…" Misty hung her head and began to cry, worrying her two young children. "My poor Pokémon…I feel awful…"

"I know sweetheart, I know," Ash tried to comfort her. "This is the hardest thing I'll ever have to ask you to do. And I don't like it either. But I don't know what this guy is going to do. He could kill you or the twins for all I know. I know he's capable of it, and that scares me way too much to take any chances."

Misty whimpered but eventually nodded and began to follow after her husband. With their backs turned, however, none of them saw the dark green vines traveling up the vent, feeling their way around the smooth metal confines. One eventually brushed up against the bottom of Misty's shoe, causing her to look over her shoulder. She caught sight of the vines and shrieked, which caused the twin trailing plants to shoot up and wrap themselves around her body.

"ASH!" Misty yelped. Ash whipped around and saw Misty being dragged down the vent once again. Growling, he jumped for his wife, but she was being pulled away far too quickly.

"MISTY!" Ash screamed so loud his voice began to grow hoarse.

"Go!" Misty called out urgently to him. "Get Aiden and Michelle out! Leave me!"

"I can't!" Ash wailed.

"You have to!" Misty's voice began to grow more and more faint, until finally, Ash could hear her no longer.

"M…Mommy?" Aiden whispered sadly.

"We…can't stay here," Ash turned around and began crawling as quickly as possible. The twins continued to protest in his arms, but Ash had no other choice but to ignore their desperate pleas to save their mother.

Ash would find a way to get his wife back. He swore to Arceus he would.

XXX

Misty struggled as best as she could to extricate herself from the dark green vines, but it was doing no good. If anything, it was only making their grip more tight, which was beginning to cause Misty some pain. The baby, meanwhile, thrashed in her stomach; a response to Misty's building stress and fear.

"Ow, stop it baby girl!" Misty hissed to her stomach, putting her head down as tears slipped out of her eyes. "Please, stop…"

At this point, Misty was more pleading to the vines that were wrapped around her body, and not so much the unborn child who was twisting around inside of her. She couldn't be upset with the poor thing; it was just so scared. It made sense, since Misty was too. If the vines would just let go of her, then maybe Misty could get the baby to calm down.

After what felt like an eternity, Misty was pulled out of the vent, and found herself back in the room where Loki had kept her and her children as prisoners for the last few days. Glancing down, Misty saw Loki standing with his arms folded, looking up at her with a devious smirk and gently narrowed eyes. To his left floated that pesky Dustox of his, while to his right was the largest Venusaur that Misty had ever seen. Looking towards the giant red flower on his back, Misty noticed that the vines were coming out of the base of the grass type's bloom.

"Did you really think that you could get away?" Loki clicked his tongue as he shook his head. "I see I was right before. You truly are the dumbest girl I've ever seen."

Misty let out a ragged sob as more tears fell down her cheeks. She didn't want to cry in front of Loki, but she felt that she couldn't hold them back anymore either. So she just let the water flow.

"Now now, there's no need to cry my love," Loki soothed. Misty found it odd that he was being so sweet to her. She knew, somewhere in the back of her head, that this evil man had to be up to something. "I see why you tried to escape from me. You wanted love, that's all. You should've just asked for it, darling."

He snapped his fingers, which led Venusaur to put Misty down on the floor. She just sat there, unmoving as she stared down at her hands. Chuckling huskily, Loki approached Misty and stood towering over her. Using his boot covered foot, he pushed Misty towards the bed, until her back hit the metal frame.

"I can sympathize with you, my dearest water trainer," Loki continued softly. "But I can't trust you anymore. No, that I simply cannot do."

He kneeled down in front of the gym leader and roughly grabbed her by the wrist. Misty wanted to pull it back, to strike Loki across the face and go running off somewhere. But she just couldn't. She didn't have the courage nor the energy to do such a thing. Yanking her arm back, which earned a pained little cry from Misty, Loki pulled several strands of rope out of his vest pocket and began to tie her hands together with one of the long, thick strands. He made no effort to do it gently, hurting Misty greatly along the way. The way Loki rubbed the rope against her milky skin caused Misty to cry even harder. The twine was raw and coarse, and as it dug into Misty's skin, it left several scrapes and even a deep cut or two.

"Oh, how you wish I wouldn't have to do this," Loki sighed almost dejectedly as he brushed his hand against Misty's cheek. Since she wasn't able to use her hands, Misty pulled her head away from Loki, growling quietly as she did so. Loki huffed in an un amused fashion, but said nothing more. Instead, he used the same actions on Misty's ankles that he had on her wrists, tying them together roughly and with no remorse.

"Your personality pains me, I'm afraid," Loki stood up once again when he was finished tying Misty's ankles together. She refused to look up at her captor, knowing that he was purposely trying to get an edge on her. Towering over her slumped and miserable figure was a good way to start for him, she supposed. "But it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I can reform you. You're going to become my queen, after all, and my lesser half can't be so flighty as you are."

"I'm not going to be your queen!" Misty finally stormed, snapping her head up. Her face was red and her cheeks tear stained, but she had finally stopped crying. "I have a husband, and I love him! I don't even like you! So there's not a chance in hell of me ever becoming your other half!"

"You should forget about that foolish husband of yours," Loki's tone and expression suddenly grew dark. "He is worthless; nothing but a pest. You can't get a thing out of him. But you and I, together, can create a force to be reckoned with. We'll raise that child as our own; it'll never know about its real father. And then you can give me my own children. The baby will have playmates, and we can raise them all to be aura guardians. Then, we'll unleash them upon the unexpecting, and gain ultimate control."

"Keep dreaming," Misty snarled. "You will get nowhere near my child, and I will never have a child of yours!"

"You're still thinking about your husband, I can see it in your eyes." Loki sighed and shook his head. "The master is causing more trouble than I originally thought. Looks as if I'll have to get him out of your mind by force."

Kneeling once again in front of Misty, Loki reached behind her back towards her hands. When Misty felt him trying to pry her engagement ring off her finger, she gasped and pulled away, nearly falling over onto her side.

"You must learn to cooperate my dear," Loki chastised.

"And you must learn about personal space!" Misty snapped. "Stay the hell away from my engagement ring!"

"Are you never going to learn your lesson?" Loki folded his arms and shook his head.

"Clearly not," Misty bit.

"Well," Loki sighed as he reached into his back pocket, "I suppose that's partially my fault. I'm too lenient with you, I'm afraid. But perhaps this," Loki withdrew a switch blade and held it up to Misty's burgeoning stomach, "will teach you."

"Stop!" Misty shrieked, trying to inch away.

"I can sacrifice this one," Loki warned murkily with an evil glint in his eye. "It's not mine, and a connection has already been established. So, what will it be, my love?"

Misty whimpered and shook her hands until the ring fell to the floor with a clatter. Chuckling, Loki closed the blade and stuck it back in his pocket. Misty kept her eyes closed as Loki picked the ring up and pressed it into his palm.

"Now, you stay right here," Loki ordered as he got to his feet. "Now that you know what I'll do to your child, you should be more complacent."

Misty didn't nod, or move, or say anything. She felt as if she couldn't. She could hear Loki's boots clicking on the floor as he exited the room, and once she was positive he was gone, Misty slowly opened her eyes and looked down tearfully at her engorged stomach. The baby gave her a small kick, and for the first time in a while, Misty allowed her lips to bend up into a gentle smile.

"You're gonna be okay baby girl," Misty assured quietly. "Mommy isn't going to let anyone hurt you."

XXX

Ash sat behind his children on Charizard's back, his eyes set guiltily on the two. Even from the back, Ash could tell they were miserable over leaving their mother behind. Ash felt even worse than they did. Misty meant everything to him, just as their children did, and Ash wasn't about to just leave her behind.

"Aiden, Michelle," Ash gently prodded both of them. They turned around and gave him looks of anger, which actually frightened the Pokémon master. "Hey, don't get upset. I'm going to go back for Mommy. I would never leave her there! I just had to get you two to safety first."

With a rather loud roar, Charizard landed right in front of Brock, who looked slightly alarmed by the fire type's grand entrance.

"Wow, you really know how to make a scene, don't ya Charizard?" Brock chuckled nervously.

"Brock!" Aiden and Michelle cried simultaneously. Brock saw the two and grinned boldly, holding his arms out for the children. They climbed off of Charizard and leapt into his arms, giving the Pokémon doctor a tight and loving embrace.

"I'm so happy to see you two safe and sound!" Brock laughed. Looking up at Ash, Brock frowned when he realized Misty hadn't been brought back with them. "Ash, where's Misty?"

"I have to go back for her Brock," Ash responded. He was still on Charizard's back, preparing to tell the orange dragon to fly back up to the air ship.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Brock asked skeptically.

"I'm getting my wife back," Ash growled. "And while I'm at it, I'll probably kill that jerk who took her." The idea of their father murdering someone caused Aiden and Michelle to become flustered, so Ash smiled sympathetically and apologized to his two young children.

"What about Aiden and Michelle?" Brock practically whispered.

"Watch them," Ash answered slowly.

"Ash…"

"You're their godfather Brock," Ash smiled sadly at his best friend. "I trust you."

"Pika," Pikachu, who had been riding on Ash's shoulder this whole time, agreed with his trainer's sentiments.

"Am I to assume Pikachu is going with you?" Brock motioned towards the electric mouse.

"Of course," Ash smiled at his partner. "He wants to fight for Misty too."

"Not so fast Pokémon master!"

Ash looked up into the sky, as did Brock and the twins. They all gasped at the sight, and before long, Ash was seething and tightening his hands into fists.

Loki was floating in between the group on the ground and the airship, riding on his Salamence. The sight of the flying dragon who had previously crushed him incensed Charizard, who roared forcefully and whipped around, flapping his wings heavily. He raced towards Salamence, preparing to attack, but Loki was quick to move himself and his monstrous Pokémon out of the way.

"I'm not here to fight you," Loki called out to Ash.

"Funny, because I'm planning on killing you," Ash threatened, no trace of a joke in his hard voice. Loki simply chuckled and threw his hair back, narrowing his eyes.

"You have no reason to kill me, dear master. What I once had of yours, I no longer have."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ash stormed. "What did you do to my wife?"

"That's for me to know," Loki answered steadily. "But all you need to know is she's no longer a concern."

"A concern?" Ash blinked before snarling and throwing a fist forward. "She's not a concern! I love her, with all of my heart! That's something you'll never understand! You could never love a single thing!"

"I beg to differ," Loki suddenly sounded highly agitated. His face was contorted, and angry. He looked ready to kill Ash himself. "Either way, your wife is now out of the way. And I have the proof right here."

Reaching into his pocket, Loki retrieved something small and whipped it at Ash. It bounced off of Ash's chest, and began to fall towards the ground. Ash saw it twinkle slightly, and his heart began to race. "Charizard!" He pulled at the fire type, who flew down towards the object, but not before blasting a flamethrower at his mortal enemy.

Zooming down, Ash was able to catch the falling object, holding it tightly in his hand. As Charizard straightened out, Ash opened his hand and observed the small treasure in the middle of his palm. When he saw what it was, his eyes snapped open, and his heart all but stopped.

It was Misty's engagement ring.

Yes, Ash now believes that Misty is dead. Good cliffhanger? I think so :P

So what's going to happen next? Is Ash just going to give up? What is Loki going to do with Misty now that it's just him and her?

I got alot of reviews for last chapter, which was seriously awesome! I'm glad to know everyone liked it, and that everyone hates Loki! I seriously hate him too, and sometimes writing him is actually painful XD I just want him to get what he deserves! Will I do it though? ;)

So, until next time, keep on reading, reviewing, and being awesome!