Updated as of 2 April, 2016

"The first step to correcting a mistake is patience." – Star Wars: The Clone Wars, episode 2.3

The gang drives along in silence back to the city of Goldenrod with Gary at the wheel, Misty and Pikachu next to him, and Tracey and Brock tending to the injured blitzle in the back seat. The three parted with Team Rocket shortly after their call with the boss ended. The two groups eyed each other, unsure of the other's motives. They may have spilled secrets to the twerps, but they were still part of Team Rocket. All they can hope for now is that it is not traced back to them and that they can escape the consequences if it is. Just as they turned to leave, so did Gary, Misty, Tracey, and Pikachu.

Once they reached their still working jeep and Brock, they told him what had happened- about Ash apparently being alive and Professor Oak going missing. Brock asked them the important question of how did they know he was missing and not just lost? Tracey was quick to answer, stating that he tried calling his cell various times along with Gary and got no answer. They used Venonat to see if she could make out the professor's form the way she tracked down Team Rocket. There was no success so the only conclusion they came to was that whoever else was in the woods looking for Ash could have run into the older man and saw a golden opportunity. He would elicit quite a ransom or be forced to provide information on the creatures he studies. No one likes to imagine that he would do such a thing, but when someone is tortured, often do they cave.

Now, as they drive back, only one thing dominates their thoughts. They need to find both Ash and Professor Oak, but they have no back up and no clue about where to start. Getting law enforcement involved will not be easy as they have no proof of anything. Yes, they were dispatched to check out the chaos near Mount Quena as the gang heard the sirens and saw the lights on the way back, but they will likely not find anything out. Professor Oak is an adult who would have to be missing for forty-eight hours before anyone could declare him missing. That is just the way it is. For all his grandson and the others know, the professor saw it as a way to leave his life behind, even though that is very unlikely. Still, that route is a dead end.

No one says a word as they enter the city and get closer to the hotel they were going to stay at should the need arise. The professor booked them all rooms to share so they have no worries about that. Their first stop, however, will be the Pokémon Center so Brock can get the blitzle the help it needs. After they are dropped off, the others head back to the hotel, which they passed once already. Aside from finding out Ash could very well be alive and so close, the other's thoughts have gone to his mother. This is something she should be made aware of. At least, that's what Gary thinks.

"We should call Delia," he announces.

"No," Misty says.

"Why not? She needs to know."

"And what would we say?" He doesn't answer. "Besides, Team Rocket might have been wrong. We couldn't do that to her."

"You really think they might have been lying?"-Tracey

"Not lying, just...wrong. They were never the brightest ones around."

"That's true, but you heard them. They were convinced."

"She's right," Gary says. "Until we know anything more, we need to keep this between us and whoever we can find to help. Unlike my lame parents who never cared what happened to me, she couldn't have Ash taken from her again."

"Gary-" Misty starts.

"I don't need any sympathy points from you about my parents, Red." She glares at him.

"Like I care."

From the backseat, Tracey watches them and thinks about how much these two arguing resembles her and Ash, just with more anger and sometimes curse words. Pikachu glares at Gary as well, not liking the way he always treats Misty. He never could stand his old master's rival.

Somewhere else in Goldenrod...

Bound with their hands behind their backs and blinded with a hood over their heads, Professor Oak and Max are roughly dragged from the back of a dark van by men in equally dark clothes. Neo watches the younger one struggle and call out insults, but he only smirks. In the back alley of a block owned by the same woman, there will be no one to help them.

He directs the men to take the two in through the back door and orders the driver to get lost, which he promptly does. There may be no average citizens around, but that does not mean that there are no Team Rocket spies. The last thing he wants is for this operation to fall apart before it even begins, especially after all of the work and the sacrifices he has had to make. The thought of his dead brother is fleeting, and he pushes the left over emotions from his childhood away. His brother could never understand why he needs to do this. After he checks to make sure no one is watching, he slips in the door behind them and locks it tightly.

The men bring them to an elevator at the end of what seems to be a normal-looking hallway in an office building. The fake plants and impressionist art pieces line it neatly, and the lighting is neither too bright nor too dim. What makes it odd is the fact that there are no workers buzzing about. But neither Samuel or Max are keen on this as all they see is darkness with some faint pins of light coming through tiny gaps in the fabric. A brief stop and then a ding lets them know they are about to get on an elevator, but rather then step normally, they are once again shoved. The four lackeys, Samuel, Max, and Neo take the ride below ground two floors.

Despite being blindfolded, the prisoners can tell they are going down, which is not a good sign. People hide things in the ground. Max even wants to lash out and blindly try to attack the ones taking them who knows where, but he is aware that this is pointless. They will quickly smack down his attempts, and even when he can see clearly, he is not good at hand to hand combat (despite his father's multiple attempts to get him to learn). They took his Pokémon so that option is out (he overheard them talking how they had found his missing team just as they found him and the unexpected prize that is the Pokémon professor). He resigns himself then to just cooperate for his own safety. His father will find him and punish those responsible. Of that he has no doubt.

Samuel, meanwhile, is not as much concerned with what is happening to him as he is with the young man. As soon as he saw him in the forest, he knew instantly who he was. That brought so many questions that he barely had time to process before he was knocked unconscious. Now, though, his mind is free to wander. If only they hold them in the same area, then maybe he can try and find some of the answers.

Luckily for him, this is their exact plan. The group walks down another, darker hallway and stops at a door. It looks like a normal room on the outside, but inside there are bars and a sturdy lock on the sliding door to keep prisoners in. The hoods are finally removed as Neo opens the cell, and the four men shove them inside before he shuts it and quickly locks the door. Their eyes take a few seconds to readjust, and the unnamed lackeys leave the room. Samuel keeps his focus on Max, growing more certain by the second that this is his former student's only child, the little boy he came to view as a grandson of sorts. Only now he is not little but almost an adult male, hardened by something he does not yet know. The only reason Max's hands are not gripped tightly around the bars is because they are still bound like the professor's. His glare, though, is full strength.

"I don't know what you want with me, but I suggest you let me go." That does not sound like Ash, Sam notes to himself. Then again, so much has changed.

"And why would I do that after going to so much trouble to find you?"

"My father will come for me, you know. You can't just kidnap the Team Rocket heir and expect no retaliation." Inwardly, Samuel gasps. He was taken by Giovanni that day five and a half years ago. That has to be it. The man lied when Delia came to him pleading for help. How could he, especially after their past together?

"I do. But that's why my boss has taken every precaution. She knows well how to outwit her son." Samuel and Max instantly know who that is though the former has much more information on her as well as memories and a past. All Max has heard from his father on this subject was that his despicable mother never allowed him freedom, but that ended up backfiring on her as he took over Team Rocket and did so much more with it than she ever did. He also briefly alluded to her hating everything he ever wanted, one thing being Persian and the other being a girl. But that's all he said and why he is not as restrictive with his son though he does warn him on relationships. They only lead to weakness in the end, and the leader of Team Rocket does not need weaknesses.

"Why does that woman want me?" Neo only smirks.

"You'll find that out soon. Until then, I have to report back and let her know that her dearest grandson is here along with an old friend. Stay comfortable." He mocks waves and leaves through the door. They hear him lock it from the outside and his footsteps fade down the hall.

Angrily, Max kicks the bars in frustration and immediately regrets it as pain shoots through his foot and ankle. Samuel watches him try to shake it off and mumble bad words under his breath, unable to believe the conjectures going through his head. Finding he needs to sit down, he uses one of two small plastic chairs, but his joints yell at him on the way down. Obviously she was not expecting him to be captured as well, but that does leave the question of who the other chair might have been intended for. She never was the caring type anyway.

Max glances at his fellow cellmate and decides he might as well sit down, too, especially with his now aching foot. Without a word, he comes over and sits down. The two are about four feet apart, but he won't look at the professor. He knows who he is for certain the same way he knows all of the regional professors and any other important public figure. Why he is here as well is a mystery to him, though. Neo's comment about him being an old friend is also curious, but he doesn't get the chance to ask anything before Samuel speaks.

"So your Giovanni's son then?"

"What's it to you?"

"Nothing, I guess." The young man continues to not sound like the boy he watched grow up. "What's your name then?"

"Not that it matters, but it's Max." Samuel takes that in, trying to remember if that name has any significance for Giovanni or his mother. Nothing rings a bell, however. Max's tone changes then when he decides to ask something. "How do you know my grandmother?"

"It was a long time ago. I'd rather not go into it." That irritates Max.

"I can see why. A renowned Pokémon professor being associated with a criminal of her standing wouldn't look very good, would it?"

"She's still up to her old tricks, is she?" He almost laughs at that. Max shrugs.

"Don't know. Don't care. I've never met her, but my father's admins have told me some things that he wouldn't."

"She's always been a selfish woman. I wouldn't be surprised by anything she's done."

He closes his eyes and lets his head drop near his chest. The past was something he stopped thinking so much about, but now it won't stay where he put it when his wife died. It came back briefly when he took in his student, who had become like a daughter to him and helped her with her situation, but he put it back away. He didn't need the guilt and the heartache of younger, happier days when he wanted to take care of her and then Ash. Not only did he meet his wife in university but he met his old best friend and the woman who has taken them hostage. Max can sense that he does not want to talk anymore, and he lets his head drop, too and stares at his lap, wondering what is going to happen.

Throngs of students cross the quad, some in a hurry and some not caring if they get to their class on time. It's a beautiful autumn day, about half way through the fall term so the end of October is on the near horizon. With clear skies and only a slight breeze, it is the perfect weather for two friends who happen to have a large gap between lectures to hang out in the quad. A nineteen year old Samuel Oak, who entered this university at only fifteen and is already working on his doctorate, sits next to his newest companion. Marcellus Hakubi, a transfer student from Sinnoh who is as old as Samuel but still only a sophomore working on his first undergraduate degree, leans back onto the grass that is behind the short wall they are sitting on. Though they've only been friends since summer, the two are close. It's why Marcellus can get away with teasing Samuel every chance he gets, like now as the PhD student has his nose buried in his notebook while Marcellus stares at the clouds.

"You know how much of a nerd you are, Sammy?" he asks airily. Sam doesn't even look up.

"I'm dedicated, that's all."

"Yeah, I forget you've been here four and a half years already and we're only nineteen. You gonna be a big shot researcher or what?"

"I hope so. My father already has two sons he's proud of."

"You shouldn't do anything for other people, Sam."

"It's not just for him." A hint of annoyance is in his voice, and Marcellus picks up on it.

"I know. Besides, I think it's really interesting to study how humans and Pokémon interact. No one else has really delved too deeply into that. All they care about is where we all came from, how they evolve and how we can use them. It's sad, really."

"That's not true." Marcellus sits up and looks at him.

"What do you mean? Our entire culture is based around battling and using Pokémon to further our own interests. I'm not saying trainers don't genuinely love their Pokémon, but you can't tell me it's all selfless."

"So you've never heard of places like Almia, Oblivia, and Fiore then?" He says this with sarcasm, knowing full well that his friend has heard of those regions. There, Rangers work with Pokémon to problem solve, and they do not capture them in balls and engage in battles for show, prestige, or power. A boy a few years older than Samuel left Pallet Town a while ago with his family to live in Almia, and he has corresponded with Sam on occasion as, even with a three year age difference, the two were friends until he left at age fourteen. In fact, in his latest letter, Devon Ketchum announced he would soon return to Kanto and probably go back to Pallet Town for a while.

"But we're not living there, are we?" he says with a small laugh. It's pointless to keep on with this subject because he knows that Sam is only half listening in between his reading.

Instead, he decides to stand up and stretch his limbs a bit. They have been sitting here for half an hour already, and Marcellus never was one to like sitting down for too long. As he begins to do some stretches he learned from his personal yoga instructor, Sam takes a break to rest his eyes and spies him in the odd poses. A rich boy is always a rich boy no matter how far from home he is. He chuckles lightly, and Marcellus looks over, only to grin a little.

Standing up normally, he folds his right arm over his chest, his left one holding it in place to stretch out his shoulder. He switches and starts counting to thirty again, but his train of thought is drowned out by a loud, female voice calling for everyone to get out of the way. Marcellus lets his stretch loosen and stares at the young woman making her stomping way through the quad, shoving anyone and everyone out of her way. Apparently she thinks she is more important than her fellow students, which is odd because she looks just as average as them. He and Sam have come across a young man and woman who think their family's prestige entitles them to act in such a manner just because they have donated lots of money to the university, but they always are dressed in the most expensive clothes money can buy.

She, however, sports an ordinary full length dark skirt and white button shirt, and he would hardly notice her save for her loudness at the moment. He does, though, have to give her props for moving so fast in heels and a skirt while still clutching a textbook and bound notepad. Her hair, something between a deep lavender and gray, he thinks is unusual, however. It is the first time he has really noticed that shade on someone. If only her attitude was as mute as her hair and he might be inclined to hoping to see her around again. But still, there's something about her...

"Stare harder and maybe she'll notice." This snaps him back to reality, and he looks back to Samuel, letting his arm down.

"I wasn't staring. I just don't get some people thinking they're better than the rest of us."

"Look who's talking, rich boy from Sinnoh whose father is internationally known."

"I could say the same for you, Sammy, hailing from a prestigious trainer family with two important brothers." For a few seconds, they stare at each other, knowing the other is kidding.

"What do you think her story is then?"

"I'd say...entitlement issues."

"And that's your official diagnosis after taking one class on human psychology?"

"Yep," he confirms. "Now why don't we head over and get some lunch? That stretching made me hungry." Sam, with another small laugh, agrees and stands up. The girl is long gone by now from the quad, but for a reason Marcellus cannot pinpoint, she is not so far from his thoughts. He plays this off with more nerd jokes as the two walk to the school's hub for food, drinks, and stores. It's unlikely he'll ever see her again, anyway.

Still looking through the bushes, Jessie, James, and Meowth continue the search for their boss. At the end of the call, Giovanni ordered them to return to the spot they landed at as new intel came in to him from some other agents. Max is no longer in the forest, they posited. Someone shot their planes down for a reason, and with so many other field agents on the hunt, there was no sign of him. The two events were no happy accident. According to Petrel, who has been working steadfastly on this from Viridian along with others, the sightings of Mewtwo were lies. Madame Boss planted a mole in her son's organization in an attempt to draw Max out of protection. Somehow she knew the young man would be curious and sneak away, even if he was banned by his father. She even left enough of a trail for them to figure this out so quickly, obviously wanting them to know. Now she has him and is taking him who knows where. (At this point, Giovanni yelled at the admin that he better find out where and fast lest he lose his broken foot permanently.) The agents who responded from their positions near Mount Quena were ordered to withdraw and head back to the Team Rocket's base in Goldenrod City, which is where they are all headed to once they regroup.

Their boss' voice can suddenly be heard, the anger very much present. As they get closer, they can tell he is on the phone again, probably yelling at someone for not getting here fast enough to pick them up. When the trio finally emerges, Giovanni simply looks at them to acknowledge their arrival. Domino stays silent, and Persian continues rubbing on his leg in attempts to be comforting. Although he was jealous of Max at first for taking away some of his master's attention, he came to accept the boy and knows what he means to Giovanni.

The other three, meanwhile, stand there in silence and simply observe their boss, the recent realization about who Max really is refusing to leave their thoughts. Never have they questioned his motives before on anything, instead opting to suck up and try to do their best. Now, though, they cannot see a way to justify what he forcibly did to his son despite their loyalties. Yes, they themselves have committed many a criminal act before and have taken Pokémon from their trainers in the name of Team Rocket. Even still, that somehow pales in comparison. Not only was the twerp taken against his will and fundamentally changed but his mother and friends were left grieving for someone who was never gone, just hidden away under everyone's noses.

Interrupting any more thoughts is the loud sound of helicopter blades cutting through the air. The boss hangs up his phone, and the trio moves closer to him and Domino, waiting for it to land and take them back to either the main base in Viridian or to Goldenrod, where Team Rocket conducts much of its Johto business. By now the rain has been gone for a good half an hour, and the clouds are starting to part, revealing the night sky once more. Still, deep down, the trio feels that this is not the end of the storm…

TBC...

Alright, so I answered some questions but posed even more, I hope. I adjusted the age of Professor Oak just a bit as he was supposed to be fifty at the beginning of the anime. I made him a few years older to fit with my back story. Once again I used some info from the novelizations, this time about the Oak family. Gary's comments about his "lame" parents stem from my headcanon that they were just more interested in their jobs than raising him, so he was left with his grandpa. It obviously became a sore spot and is one reason he was such a snot in the beginning with his giant ego, trying to prove he was worthy and all of that.

Thanks for reading.