Heyoooo! FINALLY! Gosh, it's been forever since I've published a chapter to this story! A couple of new faces are going to introduce themselves throughout the entirety of this chapter (and my new and expanding vocabulary!) Hope you guys enjoy! Again, thank you so much for y'alls continued support on this story!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own ANY of the registered/trademarked characters in the Pokemon franchise; they belong to Nintendo

"Yes, she is your granddaughter, but that gives you no right to fucking barge in here and demand to see her." Ash snarled, and defensively walked in front of his wife and newborn Daughter. Giovanni crossed his arms; he knew his son was correct, yet did he have to be rude about it? Giovanni sighed and decided to keep his comments to himself. "You're right, son; I acted out of line. When will you have me see her?" Giovanni asked.

Ash visibly relaxed and turned to face his wife, who wordlessly nodded. "You can see her now." the raven haired Pokemon master picked up his child and walked over to his father. "Her name is Ariel." Said Misty, trying to keep her eyes fixed on both her father in law and her daughter.

"I must say, she's absolutely stunning!" Giovanni marveled at the tiny baby in his son's arms. "You know, when I held you and your sister for the first time, I cried?" Giovanni spoke warmly and fondly at the memories, "Isn't that right, Delia?" he asked, still grinning ear to ear. "Yes, like a baby!" Delia Ketchum giggled sweetly. Ash finally handed over the child, no longer feeling threatened by his father.

Misty panicked slightly; thinking her father in law would drop her daughter. But she noticed how gently he cradled the tiny thing in his arms. Her nerves settled, and her husband rubbed her back soothingly.

N tapped his finger against his desk in contemplative thought, "I know why Father had that traitor killed, but, why the devil did he look so...familiar?" N twisted his mouth and got up; he had to figure it out. The green haired young man searched through the video archives, even the execution file. After having to go through and pause the video at a very precise moment, he gasped, his eyes widened, and he fell into a nearby chair, "Since when did Hilbert join Team Plasma?" N made sure to keep his voice almost to a whisper. He then needed to see someone. Hopefully, she hadn't joined as well.

"Is everything going according to plan, Akira?" Ghetsis asked his right-hand man. The Shadow Triad's leader nodded, "Yes, sir! Your son has been snooping around, but we already corrupted all of the video files." Akira bowed. "Excellent! And what of our star couple and the newest Ketchum?" Ghetsis emphasized. The redhead died as a" Akira was cut off,

"What?" Ghetsis bellowed in utter rage, "Turn on that damn monitor you blundering idiot!" The team plasma leader smashed his desk. Once the screen was on, he could see that Misty was alive and well. "I thought you said she was dead?" Ghetsis snarled through gritted teeth. "She was, and then she came back to life, our sources tell us that he healed her somehow," Akira stated calmly. The team Plasma boss let out a breath of relief and composed himself. "Her time will come, but not yet. I need both that child and husband of hers; once that is accomplished, she and her husband can burn for all I care."

"Sir, if I may; what is the reason you need them specifically? You mentioned something about Master Ketchum's aura, is it because his daughter has it too?" Akira asked reverently

The old Team Plasma boss sat down and collected his thoughts. "You are my most trusted and loyal servant I could have ever asked for." Ghetsis began, a sinister smile etching on to his aging face. "In time I shall regale you with the finer details of this escapade I have been planning, all you need to know right at this very moment is this: when I give the word, you and my informant will kidnap the Pokemon Master, his daughter, and his wife. Kill anyone and everyone who tries to impede my perfect plans, understood?"

"Your will be done, Master Ghetsis." Akira bowed again and left the room. Ghetsis continued to sit in his ebony leather chair, frustrated that he had to keep his plans on hold for a second longer. Twisting his mouth, he hacked into a computer and looked up Ash's phone number, and without a second thought, he dialed. Much to his chagrin, he picked up.

"Hello?" His voice sounded warm and jovial, Ghetsis felt a tinge of regret for what he was about to say, seeing as the man had just become a father,

"Why hello there, Master Ketchum!" The older Team Plasma boss returned the greeting, "Congratulations to you and your wife on this joyous day!" he continued. "Um, thank you, who are again?" Ash answered confusedly. "Oh! How silly of me, where are my manners? My name is Ghetsis" He grinned evilly.

Ash slapped a hand over his mouth and ran out of the room, leaving a worried Misty in his wake. Unable to contain his rage a second longer, "How the fuck did you get this number?" Ash seethed, "Hm? No 'how are you,' 'I missed you'?" Ghetsis sarcastically implied, "shut the fuck up!" Ash barked, "Now, now! Wouldn't want your daughter to hear that kind of language!" Ghetsis scolded lightly, "Oh, and if you hang up, I will call your wife!" he threatened. Ash paused for a moment, "answer me one thing, how did you find out?"

All Ash received was the end call tone. The man turned off his phone and headed to his Wife and newborn daughter's hospital room.

N arrived at his destination under cover of a thick blizzard. The frigid cold winds biting his exposed cheeks. He landed on the precipitous of Mt. Silver and took a moment to recall his legendary electric type, before heading into the mouth of the mighty mountain.

The green haired young man gazed upon his surroundings of the dark cavern; strange drawings littered its walls. Each telling a unique story of all who had called the mountain their home over the millennium. Some appeared to be redone by various Masters and artists, specifically the older ones. But, N wasn't interested in the historicity of the almost primitive cave drawings. He was here to gather intelligence from a source he knew his father would be less than pleased with.

At the end of the dimly lit tunnel, he saw two sentinels guarding the access to what was behind a towering set of metal doors inscribed with the phrase: "Be wary, great challenger; your journey is not over yet."

However this was not N's destination. To the left of those doors was a tunnel, he plodded through and came upon a massive chasm. Looking around to make sure no one had been following him; he uttered a secret phrase into the wall opposite the gulch like formation. The ground moaned and rumbled, a few seconds later, stair-like structures began jutting out of the side of the chasm; spiraling down almost infinitely to the darkness below.

Stealing his resolve he strutted down the steps. He wasn't afraid of who he was going to have this clandestine rendezvous with, quite the contrary. His nerves started to make him feel uneasy when the atmosphere around him felt gelid and empty. N found himself shivering in the complete darkness, with only a flashlight to ensure he didn't fall down the stairs to meet his untimely death. A distant torch crept into his sights. The young man delighted in its effervescence and warmth as he approached. It also illuminated the room he sought after.

His previous enjoyment, however, was cut short when the doors opened and extinguished the flame, granting him ingress to the chamber. "Master Silver; Thank you for agreeing to have an audience with me on such short notice." N extended his hand for the Johto Pokemon Master to shake. "Likewise." Silver repeated the action and firmly gripped the younger man's hand. "I wish we had time for pleasantries, but I'm afraid we haven't got a second to waste." Silver procured a manila folder from his desk drawer, "Now, from what my spies have afforded to me; it seems that your father has been plotting something, and somehow it involves Ash and his new family, but it's unrelated to Ash's aura abilities." Silver finished.

"My apologies Master Silver." N sighed somberly, "No one knows what the hell he's up to. Years ago, I heard him mumble incessantly about 'pokelantis,' does that mean anything to you?"

The redhead man stood up and paced for a moment; "Pokelantis was an ancient city; it was destroyed by Ho-Oh because it's King." Suddenly, Silver bolted towards his desk, and frantically typed something into it. N threw him a quizzical stare, but Silver was not going to leave his friend in the dark. "Around ten years ago; Ash and some friends were traveling the Hoenn region. During that time; they encountered, well, the spirit of the evil dead king possessed Ash. But, supposedly, his friends were able to cast the spirit out of him, could he still have some remains of that darkness inside of him, and how does that involve Ghetsis?"

After a long pause, both men knew the answer but chose not to convey their thoughts to one another. Wordlessly; N bid adieu to his cohort and traversed his way to the exit.

He didn't know how much time he had to both warn Ash and try to stop his father, but there couldn't have been enough even if he had all of eternity.

Now things are getting set in motion! I apologize once again for my extended absence! I've been so busy with work, and work, and more work (snore). But, I'm not giving up on this fic, and dangit, I'm GOING to FINISH it! Stay tuned! The final three chapters are going to be INTENSE!