They were just standing there, gazing into the dark tunnel as the train sped on. The monochrome conductors were waiting for something, perhaps not even they knew what. And they watched the tracks in silence until the younger brother spoke up.

"Ingo."

"Hmm?"

The silence returned comfortably. Neither minded how quiet and smooth the trains were when they were with the other.

"Hmm."

"Our dream, Emmet?"

"Yes. Is it at hand?"

Ingo remained quiet. He didn't know the answer. Their dream was a foolish one, one that should have been abandoned long ago, but... if it could finally be recognized by this Battle Subway they had built up from the ground and were soon opening, then...

He wasn't sure what would be left to fight for then. And as they thought, the tracks were devoured under the roaring train, and they shot off into the incomprehensible darkness of the tunnels, down to whatever awaited them. Be it failure or success in their goals, the black and white conductors were assured that they would be the ones who won, regardless.

The youngest of the Striaton triplets crossed his arms tightly, curling his hands in the faint warmth of his sleeves. He was freezing. The underground was just what is sounded like- underground. That meant no sunlight, darkness, the chill of stone tunnels. Not to be mistaken, this Gear Station place was very nice, very clean and all, but Chili didn't like it one bit. It was just too cold. And Cilan had told him to come here and learn about trains or whatever crap, and then he'd ditched. Chili was going to have Simisear singe his hair off for this, seriously-

At least it was said there were burning hot battles here. Specifically after winning twenty battles, after which some weird but supposedly great trainers appeared. He'd heard about these weird sideburn guys from sources other than his train-dork of a brother, so they must have been something special. Even if Chili wasn't here willingly, he wanted to meet these guys.

"Please, stand behind the yellow line as the train approaches."

The tin voice rang out over the station, from loudspeakers overhead. Chili really had to wonder how stupid of people he was going to be here with if they couldn't figure out not to stand by a speeding train.

Bright dots appeared down in the darkness of the tunnel as he stared, growing closer and brighter rapidly. A silver train burst from the mouth of the tunnel, leaving streaks of orange in the Striaton sibling's eyes. It slowed immediately, exponentially, whipping the hair of trainers and people standing at the station. The doors opened wide with a pneumatic hiss, shining with newness and brightness. Chili wasn't usually impressed by vehicles, but this one was okay. He reckoned he could do a lot of damage driving that one into the side of a building.

A man dressed in green was ushering the trainers on. Chili didn't see how they were all going to fit into one car, there were two dozen of them -it was the multi-train, and every one person had a partner- but it seemed the weak ones would be weeded out quickly.

It wasn't long until Chili was at the door, and was paired together with he other man who had approached at the same time as him for a battle partner. Chili was on the multi-line to meet both of the subway men at once, even if he hadn't brought anyone he'd known to battle alongside him. The person he was paired with was very pale, with gold eyes and an inscrutable, catty smile. He looked like a tough battler. Chili was getting pumped up for this every second, like he was going to burst.

"I'm Chili," he announced, holding out his hand spontaneously to shake that of his battle partner. Because that was polite, wasn't it? Cress had been insisting that Chili use his manners lately. Not that the youngest of the triplets was rude, he often just wanted to get to the point and brush off niceties.

"I know," the other man returned coolly, an enigmatic smirk turning up the corners of his lips. Chili was a gym leader, after all, so he was known with some esteem. "I am Doctor Colress. Colress works." There was a slight, but distinct curling in the fingers of his gloved hands, and anyone could tell he was not going to offer either to shake Chili's. "I hope you'll do well in battle, I would so love to beat this train on my first try, understood?"

Chili didn't like this guy. He seemed bossy. But he couldn't ask to be paired with anyone else, because suddenly the man in green gestured them on to the train, and Chili was just too fired up to refuse.

A win in the first battle would assure an advance to the second car, and from then on, they'd go through the train, hopefully building a streak of wins. Each car had a win and a lose. Those who lost would wait in the car they'd been defeated in, and would get off the trains when they made a stopover, or remain there to fight the next challengers. By the first stop, there would be one pair who advanced on to the second train, where the last batch of losers, not good enough to get past fourteen, was waiting. There were not twenty battles before reaching the elusive men renowned as "The subway Masters." There were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of battles, and every pair on the multi-train was fighting to be the two that made it past that last battle.

The Battle Subway was not a place, necessarily, for happiness, though many of those who move on are the sort who find joy in battle and the stress. The Battle Subway was a place where trainers had to force back their feelings so as not to be fooled. The pair of unusual twins watched over the entire station as they waited for someone to emerge from the throngs of losers and perhaps, maybe, give them a battle worth the wait.