Author's notes: (5/28/2016) Greetings readers! If you're here for the first time in several years and just checking out the latest update, I encourage you to please head to chapter 1 first, and read over the new author's notes I've written at the beginning of the story. I have literally rewritten the ENTIRE story, and I strongly encourage you to set some time aside and read everything from the beginning again. I know it's long, but it's worth it! The new and improved story is, in my opinion, much improved from the original.

Apologies for taking a while with this update! I've finally organized my notes for the rest of the story, so I have a pretty good idea of how to get from here to the end. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter-things will only keep getting exciting from here!

Chapter 14: They Will Know Our Names

While Will and Brock were able to make their way inside the warehouse with ease, Lance and Tracey were not so fortunate. As a result, they found themselves circling the complex, looking for any open doors or opportunities they could use to get inside.

Tracey was initially nervous, especially as the two began to see more and more Team Rocket members milling about. But he tried to reassure himself with the knowledge that he was working alongside Lance Scott—the Elite Four Champion, Dragon Master, and leader of the Indigo Plateau Pokémon League. He doubted there was anyone else he'd be safer with while exploring Team Rocket's base.

As they snuck deeper into the warehouse grounds, Lance peered around a corner and held up his hand, indicating for Tracey to stop. Curious, Tracey came up quietly alongside Lance and looked around the corner as well. To his surprise, he saw a large open paved area, nestled in the center of the surrounding warehouses. Two helicopters were parked relatively closely to one another, and it looked like various Team Rocket members were preparing them for an imminent departure.

"Helicopters?" whispered Tracey, surprised. "Here? Wouldn't they draw attention to this place?"

Lance shook his head, never taking his eyes from the scene before them. "To the world, these warehouses are owned by a private company, and it would be easy to attribute the helicopters to their business. Plus, Pokémon League hasn't had any reason up until now to investigate this area ever since we shut down the Viridian Gym," he explained. "I know Sam has always had some suspicion, but… I guess we should have given it more priority." He sounded frustrated, perhaps regretful he had not taken the time to ensure that Team Rocket was cleared from the area for good.

"I'm sure you guys have so much to oversee," Tracey remarked, trying to be encouraging. "Mistakes happen. Don't worry about it."

The Dragon Master didn't seem convinced, but did not dwell on the matter further. He motioned for Tracey to follow him away from the center of activity, and continue alone the outside of the warehouse. They kept moving until they, at length, came to a pair of guards near a door. Despite realizing that the two Rockets were distracted and had not yet noticed them, Tracey couldn't help his heart leaping into his throat with fright.

Lance protectively pushed Tracey back, out of sight behind a nearby stack of crates. He touched his finger to his lips before moving towards the two guards.

Tracey's eyes went wide, realizing that Lance meant to confront the two directly. W-what is he hoping to do? he wondered. Surely he isn't going to—

Oh, but he was.

The two Rocket guards didn't notice Lance rushing them until the last moment, when his flapping cape caught their attention out of the corners of their eyes. They reached for their Pokéballs and began an exclamation, but before they had finished the first syllable, the Dragon Master struck. He grabbed the nearest Rocket by the collar and slammed him hard into the nearby wall; the man crumpled to the ground in a daze. Lance then whirled into a spinning kick that connected with the second Rocket's stomach and knocked the wind out of him. He stumbled backwards over a pile of crates and didn't get back up.

"Ok," Lance spoke up, sounding only mildly out of breath. "They're down."

Tracey peered out cautiously, eyes wide with shock. He shouldn't have been so surprised that Lance was more than capable of holding his own in a fight, but it was still unexpected to see. "Are they… going to be all right?" he asked, as he moved to join Lance. The Dragon Master was already searching the unconscious Rocket grunts for a key.

"I just took them out of commission long enough for us to get what we need," Lance assured, holding up a key card by way of explanation. He got to his feet again and passed the key over a panel next to the door; it beeped and the door clicked open. "And… we're in. Move fast, don't speak unless I indicate it's ok to do so, and don't make a sound."

Tracey briefly considered backing out, telling Lance to go on ahead while he just waited for the police. He didn't want to be a coward or anything like that, but he felt way out of his element here. He was a simple Pokémon Watcher, not a police officer or special agent! But then he remembered Sam and Misty needed help, and his Scyther was still with them. He cared about them too much to back out now.

"Just let me know what I can do," he said, resolutely. Lance nodded, and the two of them swiftly entered the building.

The warehouse felt strangely like a labyrinth. There were a myriad of rooms and hallways, and Will suspected that this ground floor level had originally been intended for administrative duties. Each door led to a relatively small room with the dusty remnants of desks or office supplies. A few appeared to have been retrofitted with holding cells for Pokémon, but otherwise the building seemed to lack the functionality of a warehouse. Taking a quick look around where he and Brock had paused to catch their breaths, Will determined that there was a large freight elevator on one end of the building near some loading docks; the primary storage facilities were likely underground.

"If any Pokémon are going to leave this building, it's going to be in this area," he said, turning to Brock. "Let's stick around to see if we can catch any of them. In here."

Brock grunted his acknowledgment; he was completely exhausted from running through the building with an unconscious Misty in his arms. He summoned the last of his strength and followed Will into a nearby room, where the door had been left ajar. Will shut it quickly behind them and turned the latch on the door to lock it. The two stood quietly, in the dark, listening to the Team Rocket members as they raced past the door.

After a while, Will allowed himself a relieved sigh. "They're gone for now," he announced. He could sense the minds of their pursuers moving away from their location. "Let's get our bearings and tend to Misty. Grumpig, use Flash."

Brock squinted as the bright light of a Pokéball lit up the room. It was quickly replaced by a softer light that slowly filled the room, illuminating it like a candle. Brock studied the purple-and-black Pokémon now standing there, the pearl-like gems on its head glowing with light. Grumpig smiled cutely at him as it swayed back and forth, happy to be out and helping its trainer.

Will briefly stroked the Psychic-type Pokémon's head before peering at the Togepi he was still carrying. He had induced the baby Pokémon to sleep so it would not be so scared, and he thought it'd be best if it stayed that way as long as possible. He gently cradled the little egg, trying not to wake it, while he watched Brock set Misty down in a nearby chair. She was already groaning and shifting a little.

"Uhh… what… what happened…?" she asked, looking around in a daze. Then, as if she suddenly remembered the dangerous situation she had been in, she sat up violently and punched Brock in the jaw. "Togepi! Where's my Togepi?!"

"Oww!" Brock yelped, recoiling in pain.

Will quickly reached out with his hand, allowing his psychic powers to clamp down on Misty's panicked emotions. They didn't need her shouting… or slugging them, for that matter. "Misty, Misty, it's us! Will and Brock," he soothed, trying to calm her. "Your Togepi's right here, sleeping. You're safe for the moment." He approached her and held out the snoozing Pokémon, and Misty seemed to relax and regain her senses.

"Oh thank goodness, my sweet Togepi!" she exclaimed, taking the baby Pokémon into her arms and holding it close. "Thank you, Will. Oh, and… uh… sorry, Brock. I didn't realize it was you at first!"

Grumbling, Brock rubbed his jaw tenderly. Fortunately, she hadn't done any lasting damage. "It's… fine," he sighed. "Glad you're awake, at least."

"Where are we?" Misty asked, looking around at the illuminated room. "Are we still in the Team Rocket warehouse?"

"Yeah. We managed to evade them for the time being, but we're still trapped in here," Brock said. "I saw a door down one of the halls we passed; maybe we could use the opportunity to escape…"

"I'm sorry, Brock, but I'm not done here. Not yet."

Misty and Brock both looked up to see Will standing in front of a desk in the corner, inspecting a computer on it. Compared to some of the other rooms in the building, this room seemed recently used, judging by the shiny computer sitting on the desk. They watched the Elite Four member boot up the computer. When the desktop screen came up, he gave a disbelieving chuckle.

"Learn to lock your computer," he murmured, before reaching for the mouse and clicking on various menus and icons.

Brock and Misty exchanged a look. What exactly was Will looking for? "Um… Will, we found Misty. Hopefully Lance and Tracey will find Sam, Ash, and Latias. Don't we want to get out of here while we can?" Brock asked. "Meet up with the police and bring in backup?"

"You are welcome to do so if you want, but I still have a role to play in this operation," Will replied. He appeared to be attempting to access some program, and a few error windows popped up. "It's not enough we rescue hostages, as important as that is. We need to shut down Team Rocket for good here."

Misty nodded, looking determined. "Fine with me. I'm not going anywhere until I get my Pokémon back," she said. "Those creeps took them when they locked me and Sam up. I also want to make sure she gets out of here ok."

Brock sighed, realizing she was right, and he'd feel the same in her shoes. "Fine, we'll stay… but what's our plan?"

Will pointed at the computer. "Team Rocket is running their computers similarly to the Pokémon Center PCs—every computer in this building is basically a dummy terminal, with a central server somewhere else," he explained. "Might make things easier for Team Rocket to run things… but it also makes things easier for me. I'm pulling a few words from the mental echoes in this room—the leftover psychic thoughts and energy left behind by people who have worked in here very recently. One of those is hopefully the password to this…"

Misty slowly got to her feet and walked over to stand next to Will. He was trying a variety of passwords in a log-in window, each of them failing. "What are you hoping to access…?" she began, before suddenly the log-in window disappeared, accepting the password, and a new window opened.

"Beautiful," Will purred, seeming pleased with himself. "Access to the power controls of this facility."

The computer talk was annoying to Brock. He never really was into the new gadgets and technology coming out all the time. He would never have taken Will as some kind of geeky hacker either, but here he was, brute-forcing Team Rocket's computer admin functions. Then again, did anyone have a hope of keeping Will out of their computers, if he could apparently just psychic the thoughts out of the air and figure out their passwords?

It was then that Brock realized what a staggering degree of psychic power Will really had. Not to mention that he could easily use them in dangerous ways, if he so chose. It was fortunate that Will was a nice guy…

"I'm going to shut down some of the power generators throughout the facility," Will continued, as Misty leaned in close to watch what he was doing. "Not everything, but enough to make them think a generator or two was deliberately sabotaged, and to disorient them. They'll be running around attempting to salvage their operation in the dark, which should give Lance the opportunity he needs to move in and out of the building freely, and hopefully rescue Latias and the others before it's too late."

Misty was surprised at this rather intricate plan. It didn't seem like it was spur-of-the-moment. "Whoa… don't tell me you and Lance planned this out ahead of time!" she exclaimed.

The young psychic merely chuckled, clicking a few more options before hitting the OK button. Immediately they could hear what sounded like the air conditioning turning off, along with faint shouting and cursing from elsewhere in the building. The computer was still on, indicating that indeed, Will hadn't shut down all the power.

"Now we wait," he murmured, tilting his head toward the door. "Let them run around a bit and clear out before we start moving again."

Brock gave the door an uneasy glance, listening to the footsteps of Team Rocket members echoing from behind it. "What if they feel the need to come in here?" he whispered. A locked door surely wouldn't thwart a Rocket member with the appropriate key. "There's a computer in here, after all. What if they want to use it to turn the power on again?"

It was something of a silly question, and he knew it. Will wasn't going to change his plan, even if he did acknowledge the risk. The psychic tilted his head, turning to Brock, and gave him a somewhat-unsettling smile.

"Well," he replied, "that just means they'll have to go through me."

It was both a reassurance to his friends, and a threat to their foes, and Brock was both comforted and intimidated at the same time.

Though it had only been several minutes, Latias felt like she had been in the cage forever. She had given up once again on trying to break free of the cage; the dark energy charged through the metal suppressed her psychic abilities and seemed to sap her strength in general. Even bashing or clawing the bars was ineffective. The Dragon/Psychic-type curled herself on the floor of the cage, closing her eyes and trying not to think about the Rockets grunting and groaning as they slowly carried the heavy cage down the hall.

I'll never see Ash or any of my friends again, will I? she thought miserably. I'm just going to be a pet for some scary man who doesn't care about me…

At length, the cage suddenly stopped moving, and Latias opened her eyes just in time for the Rockets to drop the cage to the floor. She squeaked in surprise as she bounced against the bottom of the cage, and cautiously peered out of the bars to see what was happening. At the end of this hall was a large loading bay, and on the far wall was a freight door. She could see one of the Team Rocket members walk up to a small panel and push a button. A motor whirred and began to slowly crank the door upwards. The sunlight from outside shone into the hallway, making her wince.

Just as she was squeezing her eyes shut, she was startled to hear the motor suddenly grind to a halt, leaving the door only a fourth of the way open. The Rockets around her gave exclamations of confusion, with one even banging on the door in frustration.

"What the hell? Is it stuck?" asked one.

"No… it looks like the power went out. The lights are out too." Another Rocket jabbed at the control panel, with no effect. "How are we supposed to get this Pokémon outside to the helicopter now?"

"I dunno. Find someone to get the generator working again?"

Another Rocket member groaned and took out a Pokéball. "Get out of the way," he snapped, impatiently. "My Machamp will open the door for us."

The other three Rockets stared at him in surprise. "You can't do that! You'll break the door! Giovanni will be pissed," one argued.

"He'll be more pissed if we don't get this Pokémon out right away. There've been some security breaches, and he wants to get out of here pronto."

The Rocket members began to mutter amongst themselves, unsure of what to do. Latias was confused and nervous about what was happening. If only she could take advantage of this…

Oh, Ash… I wish I was stronger… she thought, whimpering softly. I'm supposed to be a Legendary Pokémon, and here I am—useless.

"Fine, just open the door. If the boss gets mad, it's on you," one of the Rockets finally relented. The other member with the Pokéball smirked and was just about to release his Machamp, when…

"Need a little help with that door, gentlemen? Tyranitar can give you a hand!"

Everyone, including Latias, looked to see who had spoken. Out of the darkness loomed a large Tyranitar, snarling fiercely. The four Rocket members backed away, intimidated, as the Rock/Dark-type Pokémon raised a hand. But instead of attacking them, it slashed the door viciously, breaking the rotating mechanism at the top. The door wobbled uselessly; no one would be able to open the door now, unless it was brute-forced with great strength.

Latias craned her neck, trying to see. That voice sounded familiar…

Lance! she thought happily, as the familiar caped silhouette of the Dragon Master suddenly came into view, standing next to his Pokémon. She couldn't see him clearly in the darkness, but she could smell it was him. Hidden behind Lance's more confident form was Tracey, who she recognized as well. Had they really come to help her and Ash? She hoped so!

The Team Rocket members cursed at the sight of Lance. "The Champion! Let's get out of here!" one shouted.

"No way!" Machamp's trainer stepped up, unintimidated at the challenge. "Let's go, Machamp! Karate Chop that Tyranitar!"

"Maaa!" The Fighting-type gave a cry and leaped forward, slamming two arms against Tyranitar in a powerful chopping attack. The Armor Pokémon reeled in pain at the effective move.

Lance did not seem fazed, however. "Don't let him through, Tyranitar!" he shouted, pointing at their opponent. "Thrash attack!"

Filled with battle rage, Tyranitar roared its defiance and charged forward, tackling Machamp and forcing the Fighting-type backwards. The two Pokémon grappled viciously, with Tyranitar landing several wild punches, bites, and slams against its opponent. In return, Machamp used its extra arms to punch the Rock/Dark-type in return, hoping to gain an advantage over its less-dexterous opponent.

"Don't just stand there!" Machamp's trainer shouted, looking at his companions. "Let's overpower him!"

The other Rockets hesitated; it was already nerve-wracking enough being in the same area as a pair of giant, battling Pokémon, no matter how spacious the loading bay was. Attempting to cram in more Pokémon seemed even more dangerous. Not to mention they were already intimidated by the presence of a Pokémon League Champion.

But one of the Rockets finally relented. "Fine! Go, Crobat! Take out those meddlers!" The flash of a Pokéball filled the hallway, and the giant bat Pokémon fluttered into view above them. The Team Rocket member pointed at Lance, unafraid to attack a trainer directly, and the Crobat dutifully obeyed. With four wings, it slashed the air before it, creating powerful shock waves.

"Lance, look out!" Tracey exclaimed, cringing as he watched the Air Cutter attack move towards them.

Lance reacted before Tracey had even finished uttering a warning. He stepped backwards, quickly looped his arm around Tracey, and then leaped aside. The attack hit the floor where they had been standing a moment ago, filling the air with dust and rubble. As everyone coughed and tried to see through the dust cloud, Tracey found himself pushed to one side, against the freight door. He barely had time to orient himself before he saw Lance take a running leap off of Tyranitar's back, flinging himself towards the Team Rocket members. The rattle of metal grated at his ears, and Tracey realized Lance had drawn his sword.

Oh man, I forgot he had a sword… A sword?! Sweet Lugia, what is he going to do?! Tracey thought, terrified, remembering when Lance had nearly attacked Ash under Rayquaza's influence. Would he really…?

Tracey's heart leaped into his throat when Lance struck, but it was not at any Team Rocket members. Instead, he landed heavily on top of Latias's cage, stabbing into the hinges at the top. Latias squeaked in fright as she heard the metal crack. Whatever was conducting the dark energy through the cage immediately ceased as Lance yanked his sword free.

"Latias, get out of here!" Lance commanded. There was a dangerous tone to his voice, and she caught a quick glimpse of gold in his eyes. "Break those bars; you can slip under the door and fly away if you hurry. I'll hold them off!"

Upon hearing that, Machamp's trainer was incensed. "Not a chance! Machamp, Cross Chop now!"

The Fighting-type managed to slam all four of its fists into Tyranitar, knocking the Rock/Dark-type backwards, before using its arms to chop in one focused attack. Tyranitar roared in pain and collapsed backwards. Tracey yelped as he narrowly avoided being smashed by the fainted Pokémon.

"Not bad!" Lance remarked. "My turn now! Dragonite, show them our fury! Hyper Beam!"

Tracey's eyes widened as the flash of a Pokéball revealed Lance's signature Pokémon. The majestic Dragon/Flying-type flexed its wings in the air before opening its mouth and gathering energy. Realizing what was about to happen, he scrabbled away from the direct path of Dragonite's attack.

Machamp's trainer gritted his teeth at the sight. "Dammit! Machamp, attack!" he shouted, desperately.

"You too, Crobat!" the second Rocket commanded.

But it was too late. Before the two Pokémon could make a move, Dragonite unleashed a powerful Hyper Beam, catching them both directly in the path of the move. The Team Rocket members dove for cover, screaming as an explosion rocked the warehouse. The freight door was blown completely off its hinges.

Lance had to shield his eyes against the sudden light, both from the outside and from Dragonite's attack. But when the smoke cleared, he could see that his opponents had been defeated. The Pokémon had fainted, and the four Team Rocket members were either unconscious or groaning in pain. Being so close to a Hyper Beam impact was pretty disorienting; Lance knew that from experience.

"Tracey!" he called, pulling out Tyranitar's Pokéball and recalling his fainted Pokémon. Now that the battle was over, his concern for his friend returned. He wasn't used to having someone around to protect in missions like this. He should have done things more carefully…

"I… I'm fine," Tracey shouted, coughing and dusting himself off. His ears were ringing from the Hyper Beam's impact explosion, but otherwise he felt all right. He got to his feet unsteadily and moved past their fallen opponents to rejoin Lance. But he stopped short at an unexpected sight. "Wait… where's Latias?"

The Dragon Master's eyes widened at the question, and he leaped off the cage to see what Tracey was talking about. Upon close inspection, they could see that the cage was empty; a large jagged hole in the back, looking as if the bars had been sliced apart with sharp claws, was the only evidence they could find of where Latias might have went.

"I did tell her to escape once I cut off the cage's dark energy," Lance said, forcing back the feeling of panic and rage that he knew Rayquaza was feeling in that moment. "Did you see her?"

Tracey shook his head. "I never saw her go through the door or anything," he replied. "She… must have gone deeper into the warehouse."

Lance clenched his fist, frustrated. "But why—wait, no. I know why. Ash." He peered down the dark hallway with narrowed eyes. "She won't leave without him, will she?"

"Probably not…" Tracey briefly wondered where Ash was, and if he was being treated well. Why would Team Rocket capture him, too? Didn't they just want rare Pokémon? He looked up at Lance and touched his arm reassuringly, seeing the anger in the Dragon Master's face. "She'll be ok, Lance. She's free now, and she is a Legendary Pokémon. She can fend for herself."

Lance took a deep breath. "You… you're right," he relented. "Still, we have to—"

"Lance, what in the hell are you doing?!"

The two turned, and saw Will, along with Brock and Misty, standing near the end of the hallway. The psychic's face was the picture of rage, and Lance knew he was in trouble.

"I went through all that trouble to create a stealthy distraction!" Will seethed, stomping down the hallway towards the Dragon Master. His characteristic calmness had dissolved to genuine fury. "I was just waiting for you to take advantage of that. And here you are, Hyper Beaming the place up like usual! We want to make sure we secure all the stolen Pokémon and make sure everyone's ok before we alert the place! Latias, Ash, and Sam are still in here somewhere! Why don't you ever—"

Just before Will could finish his scolding, Lance sighed and reached out, grabbing the psychic's face in both hands and cutting him off. "Will… I'm sorry, I really am," he soothed, squishing Will's face so he wouldn't keep yelling at him. "Don't give yourself a migraine, ok? Your distraction honestly did help. Latias is free. We just have to catch up with her and track down Ash and Sam."

Pouting, Will tugged himself free and shook his head. "You were supposed to find them before blowing stuff up!" he insisted. "Not all the stolen Pokémon are accounted for. Giovanni could use this opportunity to run off with them, even if he doesn't have Latias!"

"I know, I know… I'm sorry…"

In the meantime, Misty and Brock had run over to greet Tracey, happy to see their friend was all right. "You look like you've had a rough time," Misty teased, giving him a relieved hug.

"I could say the same about you two!" Tracey said. "Lance is… challenging to keep up with."

"Likewise with Will," Brock grumbled, giving the two Pokémon League masters an annoyed look. "Have you seen Ash and Latias? Or Sam?"

"Latias was just here." Tracey pointed at the cage. "But she escaped… and probably is looking for Ash."

Misty looked down the hall and nodded. It was reassuring to know that Ash was somewhere around here… they just had to find him! "We should catch up with her and help—" she began.

But unfortunately, what Will had been worried about came true all too soon. They heard several shouts from outside, and they all turned to see a group of Team Rocket members, brandishing Pokéballs and gaping in shock at the new hole in their warehouse. It was hard to not notice a Hyper Beam attack blasting out a freight door.

"Look! Elite Four!"

"Stop them! They're going to interfere with our operation!"

"Someone notify the boss! Get him out of here!"

Will glared at Lance, reaching for a Pokéball on his belt. "I told you," he muttered.

Lance grinned at the challenge. He knew Will was angry, but he couldn't help relishing a challenge. "We'll give Ash, Latias, and Sam all the time they need to get themselves out of this mess," he said confidently, trying to convince his friends at the same time he was trying to convince Rayquaza. "I believe in them. Now, let's give them a battle they won't forget, Dragonite!" The dragon Pokémon gave a bark of acknowledgement, flapping its wings in anticipation.

As the flashes of Pokéballs lit up the hallway, Will sighed and pushed his feelings of anxiety aside. It was time to battle, and there could be no doubt. Besides, he knew their friends were strong, and he believed in them, too. But Team Rocket was devious, of that there was no doubt. Will could only hope that the right side would prevail in the end.

Author's notes: Once again, thank you SO much for reading! Your comments, critique, questions, and thoughts are all appreciated, and it would make me incredibly happy if you left plenty of them today. :)

But again, please—do NOT ask when the story will be updated (I honestly cannot promise anything), demand I post a new chapter soon, or make joking comments about how long it's been. I do not find them amusing. People who decide to pester me will be ignored and/or blocked depending on how rude/irritating they are. I know perfectly well how long it has taken to update the story, and I apologize to those of you who feel they have been kept waiting. I can only hope the updates are worth your patience.

Thank you so much, and I hope to see you again next time!