Author Notes: tell me what you think about this. Although I won't have Ash in this fic right away, he will be one of the main characters. Also, this will be with Ash and Misty, but it may not look like that at first. I just wanted to get that out of the way.

Summary: Years have gone by since Ash Ketchum was last seen. A man who had never been associated with Team Rocket has taken over the world; or at least the area that matters in this fic. His name is Senzei. Many have become poor and desolate. Some have even turned to stealing just to survive. As in stealing a loaf of bread for a week's worth of meals. Jared is just one. He has a Diglett friend that helps him survive. Yet, he is now in the dungeons of Saffron City, which has now become an impregnable walled fortress. This is where the story begins.

Disclaimer: No I do not own Pokemon. I wish I did because then I wouldn't be having a negative cash flow position and I'd actually have a job; well sorta. Also, I don't own any of the rights to Ladyhawke. I know that I'm using quite a bit of the story like although there are the differences which make up for it being a completely different story, but I still need to put this piece in. Although Ladyhawke came out in the 80's I think that the copyrights don't have expiration dates. Anyway, please enjoy. (And don't sue me)

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Footsteps echo down the underground corridor. Giovanni, the captain of Senzei's guard is walking towards the dungeon to execute a certain thief, Jared. Of course Giovanni used to be the leader of Team Rocket, but has now become the captain of Senzei's guard when Senzei went and destroyed much of Team Rocket. In the end, just to survive, Giovanni had made a deal with Senzei. Giovanni could live as well as those who still survived in Team Rocket if he joined him. Giovanni had given in grudgingly and had worked to gain Senzei's trust. Of course Giovanni was planning his revenge, but right now he had pressing matters to do.

As he reached the cells, he looked at all of the prisoners in here. Trainers that Senzei didn't like or had beaten him in a pokemon battle, thieves, or just people who really didn't do anything other than getting Senzei to not like them for some reason. As Giovanni reached the cell where Jared was supposed to be, he didn't see anyone in the cell other than the lunatic in the cell.

"Where the h*** is the other prisoner?" Giovanni demanded of the crazy man.

"The mole has gone down the hole!" the prisoner cried, pointing to the drain in the center of the cell. The drain had merely a half-foot radius. Giovanni looked at it and couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Impossible. No one could make through that."

Giovanni then decided to go report this to Senzei. There really was nothing else he could do.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Jared was doing his best to go through the drain, which his Diglett had widened barely enough, to allow him passage through. Jared grunted and gasped as he did what he could to make it into the more spacious sewer below. "Not like escaping mother's womb," Jared commented to himself, as he was halfway out of the drain. Soon he fell straight into the sewer water. Jared began swimming through the water. It was quite clean although it was in a sewer.

As Jared was nearing the end of the sewer, he noticed something floating towards him. He stared at it not wanting to believe what he thought it was. A Feraligatr that would eat him after all he had done to escape death. Jared began praying to whatever god he could think of even if he didn't believe in it or believe that it existed; he just wanted something to do. As the object came close enough to see what it was, Jared breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a piece of oversized driftwood.

Jared began to continue down the sewer and came to the end of it. He cautiously looked out and saw that there was no one looking and swam out of the city. He figured that he could make his way to Pewter city where no one would recognize him. As he was finding a place to get out of the river, he heard the sirens going off in the city announcing his escape. Jared quickly got out of the river and stole some clothes and ran off into the nearby woods. He then changed out of the prison garb and put on the clothes he stole. Although they didn't fit him perfectly, they fit him well enough to suit him.

* * * * * * * * * * *

On the other side of the city, unnoticed by anyone, a man riding a Rapidash with a Spearow on one shoulder and a Pikachu on the other was watching the city as the sirens went off. "It's time," the man whispered, right before he began to ride off to find the one who escaped from the dungeons of Saffron city, or as the man thought of it, Saffron fortress.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Jared made his way through the forest, stealing what he could only when he had to. He never wanted to draw much attention to himself and sometimes just stealing an apple would bring more attention then he wanted. So, in short he only stole when he knew the he had to eat. Yet, occasionally, he would find a few coins to save for when he wouldn't be able to steal anything.

Day by day Jared made his way to Pewter city. Jared figured that it was far enough away from Saffron city that people wouldn't know him and that it was close enough that he would be able to make it there before winter fully came. As it was, as he was going through mountainous terrain, he was caught in a couple snowstorms. Finally, he made it to Pewter city. When he got there, he was going to try and register himself as a trainer. He knew that with his Diglett, he would be able to pass for a new trainer. Although he was already 18 he figured that with no one knowing who he was, they might think that he wasn't allowed to become a trainer. He just hoped that he wouldn't run into any guards that would recognize him.

Unfortunately, as he was entering Pewter city, Butch, one of the higher officers of the guard that took him into the dungeon because he tried to steal an apple from their supplies, called out to him. He knew that he was recognized, but he still hoped that he might pass unnoticed. If he really wanted to give himself away, he would run. But, he still might be able to get by.

"Halt boy!" Butch called out to Jared.

Jared came over and stopped five feet away. Not too far to be disrespectful, but far enough that Jared could get away easily if he needed to. "Yes?"

"You really are an idiot. If you had any sense, you would have stayed away from any civilization at all. But, being the idiot that you are, you will now return to Saffron city where you will have your execution," Butch replied.

Jared realized that he had been recognized and tried to run for it, but the ground underneath him fell. He realized to his horror that they had set a pit trap where he had been standing. Jared tried to get out of the pit before they surrounded it, but he could tell that they were already surrounding it. If I bring out Diglett, they'll know that I can dig away while they take me there and then I won't be able to use him to escape them.

Suddenly, an electric blast hits the guards. "Stop right there!" a voice calls out.

Jared's heart begins to race. Is this a good thing or much worse? Jared wonders. As Jared watches from ten feet below, he sees different pokemon coming out and battling. Jared begins to climb out of the pit and sees that there's a guy wielding a sword and killing the guards. Jared watches as Butch is the only one left alive.

"Who are you?" Butch demanded.

"I am Ash Ketchum," the man replies.

Butch catches his breath. "You have made a very big mistake in returning. You will die for what you did when Senzei first came to power."

"If you don't leave now, I'll kill you and then you can't tell him what a failure you are still, even after you get better training than you did when you were in Team Rocket," Ash replies.

Butch curses Ash and runs over to where a Ponyta is and rides off. Ash comes over to Jared, and Jared begins to look for ways to escape. "Relax boy," Ash says to Jared. "I'm not one who is trying to kill you."

Jared watches as a Pikachu hops onto Ash's shoulder and a Spearow lands on his other shoulder, trying to speak. "Who are you?" Jared finally manages.

"I am one who is going to kill Senzei," Ash answers bluntly.

Jared can't help but laugh. "What is do d*** funny?" Ash demands.

"You must be as crazy as my cellmate to think that you can kill him!" Jared cries, still laughing.

Ash draws his sword, which had been sheathed, and puts it up to Jared's throat; causing him to stop laughing. "I never said that I'd be doing it alone," Ash tells Jared.

"What? You can't be serious," Jared asks, realizing that Ash was wanting him to help him.

"Why can't I?" Ash replied, pressing the blade of the sword closer to Jared's throat.

"Um, well, uh, it's because, uh, I have, uh, other stuff to, um, be doing," Jared stammers, trying to come up with an excuse to quickly leave.

"If you want to be caught by the guards again and this time die at their hands, be my guest. I'll just find my own way into Saffron fortress," Ash replies, sheathing his sword.

Jared is glad that the sword is no longer up against his throat and asks, "Why are you going to kill him?"

"Because he took away something very precious to me. Now I can never be with her again," Ash answers.

Jared is about to ask who it was that he lost, but decides against it from a look in his eyes. Jared feels a cold pass through him. He then sees no other option, then to accompany him. "So, if you're Ash Ketchum, why did you help me?" Jared asks, not really knowing who Ash was supposed to be, but wanted to seem like he knew more than he did.

"Lying isn't one of your strong points is it?" Ash asked.

"What?" Jared asked, surprised.

"I can tell that you have no idea who I am," Ash replies. "And yet, you seem to try and act like you do."

Jared blushed in embarrassment. "So, you could tell," Jared mutters.

Ash laughed and walked over to a Rapidash. "Come on. We have a ways to go if we want to sleep peacefully," Ash calls to Jared.

Jared runs over to Ash and they begin journeying north. As they travel, Jared learns much about Ash's past, but not any more of why Ash wanted to kill Senzei and Jared didn't want to bring the subject back up. Finally, Jared felt comfortable with him. They came across a farmer's house late in the afternoon. Ash talked with the farmer, who didn't seem to be very friendly and Jared thought that the farmer probably just wanted to kill them and take what they had.

Jared was sent out to gather firewood at dusk, but before he left Ash told him, "Do not disturb me while I'm sleeping. If you do, you may not live to see morning."

Jared didn't want to risk his life and so decided to not go in where Ash was sleeping. However, as he was gathering the firewood, the sun went down and the night crept over him. He began to hear noises. Jared didn't think that these were noises that would be normal. So, he began to talk as if there were more with him and they were heavily armed. As the sounds grew closer, he realized that his ploy wasn't working and dropped what firewood he had and ran back towards the farm. Ash had told him that the farmer had allowed them to stay in the barn and that's where Jared ran to.

Yet, as Jared reached the farm, the farmer was there with a woodcutting axe and swung it at Jared. Jared had no idea why the farmer was attacking him, as Jared had been calling out. He must want us dead, Jared realized. Jared tripped over a root and fell down. The farmer was about to swing the axe down on Jared when a large Arcanine leapt out from where Jared had been and killed the farmer swiftly.

Jared was too scared to do anything, except run for the barn and wake up Ash. When Jared burst into the room where Ash had told him not to disturb, he found it empty. Jared didn't pay much attention to this fact, and picked up a rifle that Ash had. Jared quickly loaded it and ran to a window on the ground floor of the barn. Just as he was about to begin looking for the Arcanine, a woman touched his shoulder. Jared looked at her in awe. She had a blue dress on and had orange hair in a side ponytail. "Please don't," she whispered to him.

Jared was about to ask what she meant, until she began walking out of the barn. "Wait miss!" Jared called after her, but she was gone.

Jared then held the gun out the window again, trying to find the Arcanine so he could shoot it, but he saw the woman greet the Arcanine, who seemed very friendly. "Am I dreaming?" Jared whispered.

Jared then heard the woman whisper, "Yes."

Jared couldn't believe what he saw and decided that he should the go to bed in this dream. He put the gun back so that Ash wouldn't realize that he had been in there and went to where he was to sleep and quickly fell asleep.

*

Author's notes: How's that? Does anyone have any comments about it? Please note that on this fic, I might take suggestions, but remember, I have planned most of this out already. Also, this is and AAML fic and will eventually get there, but for now, please bear with me. Also, if you don't like this then flame me. I would rather know that you don't like it rather than not telling me. I would like it so that way, I could tell if I should really keep going on the fic or not. Anyway, please look forward to the next chapter!