It was dawn, and the first few rays of sunlight were peering over the horizon. In the dim light everything appeared to be a dull gray color. A weary man sighed as he shuffled through papers in a brightly lit conference room. He set the papers down on the long mahogany table, then took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes. He made no sign of acknowledgment at the sound of the door behind him opening. A short woman wearing a gray business suit strode in. Her hair fell down her back in beautiful brown waves and she regarded the man with her green eyes. "Sir, don't tell me you are still up!" she exclaimed. He looked up at her, his expression one of a guilty child caught disobeying his parent. He ran a hand through his brown hair before gesturing at the papers and saying, "I got caught up with this proposition." He grinned sheepishly. "Sir," she said frowning. "You can't keep staying up all night." "May, you sound remarkably like my mother," the man said, his golden brown eyes shining. "Someone has to make sure you take care of yourself Master Hiroshi," May said, pulling off her glasses and cleaning them with a handkerchief. The chair screeched as Richie slid his seat back and stood up, stretching. He adjusted his navy blue suit then walked over to the wall, which was made entirely of glass. He clasped his hands behind his back and silently watched the sun rise. The conference room was on the eighth floor of the Master's Mansion, and the view was spectacular. Unfortunately, most of the city was deserted. The only people that still lived in Indigo were people who didn't have enough money to move, and anyone who lived in the Master's Mansion. No one else stayed because of Team Rocket. They had blocked off Victory Road, making it incredibly difficult to receive supplies. Everyone packed up and left as quickly as they could. Something wasn't right, Richie could feel it. A small nagging feeling near the back of his head. He frowned. May noticed his expression. "What's the matter?" she asked, walking to his side. He continued to stare out the window. "Today's not going to be an ordinary day," he said. "What do you mean?" May asked, obviously confused. He tore his gaze from the window and looked down at her. "Something is going to happen today." "What?" she inquired, raising her eyebrows. He shook his head. "I don't know." ~*~*~ It was a cool night for the month of May, and flying made it colder. Misty and Brock were both shivering when Zapdos landed; neither of them were dressed very warmly. Ash, on the other hand was warm from his trench coat, and Pikachu was snuggled comfortably in his pack, asleep. Misty slid off of Zapdos first. She had been forced to sit behind Ash and Brock because neither of the two men could stand her long red hair whipping in their faces. "Why did we stop here?" Brock asked, looking at the entrance to Victory Road. "The Pokemon Master is well protected. We can't just go land on his roof," Ash explained. "We'd be dead before we hit the ground." "If you were so well protected, how did Team Rocket kidnap you?" Misty muttered. Ash glanced at her before saying, "That's the point. I was well protected, and I'm sure they really upped security once I disappeared." Brock and Misty nodded, seeing his point. Brock looked around. No one was out, it was still early morning. A worn down sign read: subway, and stood next to a set of stairs that led underground. A large gate, much like the gates protecting the cities, blocked the entrance to Victory Road. The gate wasn't the only thing that blocked Victory Road, though. Two large trucks were parked in front of the gate, and small black tents were scattered around them. "I heard that Team Rocket was barricading the entrance to Indigo Plateau, " Misty said, smoothing out her windblown hair. "Why do you think they are still here?" "Gary probably told them to stay put no matter what," Ash explained. Although Misty and Ash hadn't talked about what had happened the previous night, both had been considerably warmer to one another. "So how are we supposed to get into the Plateau?" Brock asked, looking between Ash and Misty. Ash turned and his gaze settled on the subway entrance. "We're taking the ?" Misty asked in disbelief. "No. A tunnel leads to the Master's Mansion; no one knows about it but the master, his assistant, and the head of security," Ash explained. "How do you know?" Misty asked. Ash rolled his eyes saying, "I was master for five years, Misty. I know everything there is to know about the Master's Mansion." As an afterthought he added, "Unless Richie changed something." "You know Richie is Master?" Brock asked, surprised. "Of course I do. Contrary to popular belief, I wasn't these past three years." Ash glanced around. "Ok be quiet, we'll sneak past the guards." No one was out of their tent so they were all most likely asleep. He walked slowly past the tents, then began to descend the stairs, Misty and Brock in tow. They reached the bottom of the steps and found the station deserted. Graffiti decorated the walls and it appeared to have been out of commission for many years. Ash jumped over the turnstile and headed for the edge of the platform. Misty glanced around the dark empty station before climbing over the turnstile herself. "I don't suppose we're taking a train to the secret tunnel are we?" she asked, her voice echoing off of the tiled walls. In answer to the question Ash jumped down onto the tracks, his trench coat fluttering behind him. He looked up at Brock and Misty. "Passenger trains don't run anymore, and even if they did, they didn't have a stop labeled, 'Secret Tunnel'. That would have been a step back on the whole secret thing." Brock leapt down onto the tracks and the two men looked up at Misty, who was looking down the dark tunnel uncertainly. "Misty," Brock said. "Ash said the trains don't run anymore." Misty shot one more apprehensive glance down the tunnel before climbing down to join them. They began walking silently along the train tracks before Ash said, "Actually, I said passenger trains don't run anymore. Cargo trains still go through here every once in a while." Misty and Brock stopped short. "So what do we do if a train comes?" Misty asked, a hint of panic in her voice. "Run," Ash said shrugging. Misty and Brock made no attempt to move, although Ash continued walking. They looked at each other worriedly before running to catch up with him. A muffled "Cha," from Ash's bag announced Pikachu's awakening. The yellow rodent poked his head out of the pack, looking around curiously. *What a big surprise,* he thought. *We're somewhere dark and gloomy.* Ash smiled and thought, *You are way too sarcastic.* Pikachu rolled his eyes before ducking back into the bag. Misty suddenly stopped. "Do you feel that?" she asked. Ash stopped and closed his eyes, listening. After he knelt down and placed his hand on the cold metal tracks he quickly stood up, looking behind Misty and Brock. "Run," he said. Brock and Misty turned in time to see headlights turn a bend. All three of them whirled around and ran. Now matter how fast they were, the train was faster. It was quickly gaining on them. The track shook from the force, and the closer the train got, the brighter the tunnel ahead of them became. "There!" Ash cried, pointing at a tunnel on the left about ten feet ahead of them. Before Misty knew what was happening she was falling forward. She landed hard on the tracks. The train was closing in on them and she tried to get up, but to her dismay, her foot was stuck. "Ash!" Ash turned to see Misty, struggling to free her foot, the train barreling towards her. He sprinted back to Misty thinking, *Pikachu go with Brock.* Ash felt his bag shift as Pikachu leapt out and bounded in the opposite direction. Ash skidded to a stop next to Misty and worked to free her foot. The train drew closer as they frantically clawed at her stuck foot. "Just go, Ash!" Misty cried over the rumbling of the train. Ash looked from Misty to the oncoming train, then back to Misty. "You're going to have to trust me," he said. She looked into his sincere eyes before nodding. They laid down and tried to make themselves as flat as possible. Misty cringed, waiting for the train to run them over, but it never happened. The train rolled right over them, it's speed whipping her hair and his trench coat over their heads. Brock made it to the tunnel before he realized that only Pikachu was with him. He looked at the little pokemon saying, "Where are Ash and Misty?" "Pikachu Pika," he said, pointing towards the train tracks with a little yellow paw. Brock looked out of the tunnel to see the train rolling by, but no sign of Ash or Misty. He watched, panic rising as the train sped by. The last car finally passed and Brock rushed onto the tracks. Relief flooded through him when he saw their silhouettes walking towards him. "What happened?" he asked. "Misty's foot got caught," Ash explained. "We had to let the train go over us." Misty looked at him, apparently in still shock. "H-how did you know it was high enough that it would miss us?" Ash shrugged. "I didn't." He started walking down the tunnel, Pikachu scampering behind him. Brock rushed over to Misty, who looked like she was going to faint. The tunnel to the mansion was long and dark. Pikachu had taken his position on Ash's shoulder and was using flash to light their way. The walls were made of stone and the ceiling came to an arch about five feet above their heads. Their shadows bounced eerily off the walls as they walked. Without warning Ash whirled around, startling Misty and Brock. Pikachu sat attentively, his ears twitching as he listened. *Did you hear it Pikachu?* Ash asked as he looked around the dimly lit tunnel. Out of the corner of his eye Ash saw a flash of red; he whipped around again, his trench coat fluttering from the movement. *It sounds like a charizard,* Pikachu told Ash. Misty and Brock watched him curiously, wondering what he was doing. Misty swore she heard him mutter, "Richie always did trust Zippo with his life." "Ash," Brock whispered. "What's going on?" "Every Master picks a pokemon to guard this entrance," Ash explained, his back still to them. "It looks like Richie used Zippo." "How do you-" Misty began to ask, but was cut off by an earsplitting roar. A large burst of fire was shot at them and all three ducked to avoid the powerful flame-thrower. The attack stopped and a monstrously large charizard stomped out of the shadows, his pointed teeth bared. The pokemon's head was inches from the ceiling and it's immense body effectively blocked their path. Zippo snorted and pawed the ground with his clawed foot as he glared at the intruders. He let out another roar that caused them all to cover their ears. "If he tries a fire spin in here we're all dead," Ash mumbled. "Don't hurt him Pikachu, just use lightning sleep." The little yellow pokemon nodded then leapt off of Ash's shoulder. He cried his name as two thin bolts of lightning emitted from his cheeks. Each lightning bolt struck the charizard on either side of his neck. Zippo roared in rage, then began to teeter. He fell forward and hit the floor with a crash that shook the tunnel walls. His eyes closed and he began to snore, light gray smoke coming from his nostrils. Misty and Brock were becoming used to the surprising things Ash would do, although this had them dumbfounded. "What just happened?" Brock asked, staring at the sleeping charizard. "Lightning sleep. Two lightning bolts hit specific points on a pokemon's neck, causing it to fall asleep," Ash explained as he climbed over the sleeping pokemon. Brock and Misty glanced warily at Zippo before following him. Ash stopped at what appeared to be a dead end. An electric keypad was mounted on the wall. He short circuited it saying, "You would not believe how much this comes in handy." What appeared to be solid rock slid away, revealing a brightly lit hallway. They blinked a few times, allowing their eyes to adjust to the light. The hallway was an amazing sight. The floor was made of marble and mirrors lined the walls. Ash glanced around the empty hallway. "Come on," he said. "We have to find Richie." A/N: Well apparently Richie doesn't have a last name. At least no one knows it if he does. I used his Japanese name, thank you to the person who suggested that. Also, I have never seen May in the anime so I haven't a clue what she looks like, so I took the liberty of making it up. Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, but between field hockey practice and summer work I haven't had much time. Hopefully the next chapter will be out soon but I can't make any promises.