#Ingo & Emmet must be able to reach each other's mind here!

[choochooboss]

"It's a game night on Pasio! Watch the UNOvan big shots take on each other in the card game number one!" Turn up the fancy factor with some delightful electro swing music~ Would you like to join them for a round or a dozen? Drew these both in August 2022, only finished rendering the 2nd piece today ahah! Relieved to finally get this WIP out of my system!! It's been sitting there since August 2022; it was difficult to juggle the composition, colors & a zillion effects again but I'm happy enough with the result now! Epic UNO videos for inspiration below the cut!

[imfluentinfangirlandgay]

Extended Family - Ch 3

This was started by @zestofthedepths with this post, so make sure to read their chap first! The second half of that first chapter is in the comments, and I've been building on it. Huge thanks to them for this idea!!! I'm having a ton of fun writing it!

[Part 2] [Part 4]

Words: ~1500

When they finally reached the ground, Emmet practically threw himself off the Braviary and simply laid on the dirt for a minute. His legs wouldn’t stop shaking. His heart rate finally returned to normal, the swimming in his head subsiding. He heard footsteps around him and voices. After a few minutes, one in particular came close to him and he felt hands on him. “Emmet, are you sure you’re okay? You look like you’re going to be sick.” Emmet lay there, not acknowledging Elesa for a couple more minutes. Then, when the world stopped slushing back and forth, he groggily sat up.

“I am Emmet. We are taking a boat back to Unova.” Elesa laughed loudly, doubling over while trying to help Emmet up.

“That’s fair, no more heights for you. We can take a train around Sinnoh after getting Ingo, too, if you’d like.” Emmet perked up at that. He immediately began to stim, his hands rubbing against each other and flapping in place.

“Can we investigate the native Pokemon here? Maybe battle some trainers? I’d love to see their strategies. See what safety procedures they have in the train stations-”

“Yes, of course. But first, let’s go find Cynthia and get Ingo back and return these two to where they belong.” Emmet nodded, his hands flapping harder as she led the way towards the station. “We can take a train to Celestic Town, Cynthia said she’d wait for us there.” Emmet’s smile broadened. He loved trains. He knew Elesa was probably just doing it to make up for the long flight here, but he wasn’t going to complain.

The engine pulled up, at which Emmet immediately rattled off the make, model, year, and stats about the train in short, clipped sentences. Elesa let him, not fazed. Adaman and Irida watched him with wide eyes, but still did not say anything. Emmet grinned as they stepped on, getting into a booth. “Well-kept, but could use some work around the base. If they added an extra coat here, there would be much less scuffing of the bottom of the walls and chairs. They must use a different cleaner. I wonder-” he continued on rattling off, filling the unnatural silence. He had never really liked silence, especially after Ingo had disappeared. So he had taken to filling the silence itself, even though it physically hurt. His voice was hoarse from constantly muttering to himself and calling out. He didn’t dare mention it to anyone.

“So this is what a train is?” Irida asked suddenly. “Ingo talks about them all the time, but cannot mention much other than a metal box that moves. And he was right. That’s exactly what this is.”

“Oh, but there is so much more!” Emmet announced. “You see, trains were first invented in…” and he talked and talked about trains, as Ingo would have done. Elesa, who was sitting next to him, produced a bottle of water from her purse and passed it to him without saying anything. His hands flapped incessantly, the excitement in his system not able to be contained currently as he told every single train fact that he knew to these people. They didn’t seem to mind much. In fact, Irida was smiling.

By the time the train came to a stop in Celestica Town, Emmet finally took a breath. “That was more talking than you’ve done to another person in a while, Emmet,” Elesa said quietly. EMmet merely nodded as he took a drink of the water bottle. They exited the station, heading out into the town to look for the building that Elesa had mentioned.

“It’s weird. You and Ingo are so alike, and yet so different,” Irida said absentmindedly. “He talks constantly, but you seem a little awkward talking a lot, even if you enjoy the subject. He always frowns, though his voice says he’s excited. I thought he was severely upset for the first few months I knew him. It took me awhile to realize he just can’t do anything other than frown. He doesn’t move much in general, but you can tell when he’s happy if you look.” She glanced over at Emmet. “Your voice carries nothing but your face and actions speak for you. You share the same face and wear the opposite colors. Yet… I feel like I understand him better now that I’ve met you.” Emmet raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You also don’t seem to be able to do anything other than smile,” she grinned. Emmet’s smile widened in response.

“Neither of us can control our face. Ever since we were kids. Ingo likes words. I do not. I need him back. We don’t make any sense apart.” Adaman nodded.

“I’m not as close to the guy, but he always did throw me for a curveball. A very nice guy, just odd when you first see him.” Emmet didn’t know if he should take offense to that.

“We’re here.” Elesa approached a building and knocked on the door, which quickly opened to reveal a blonde woman wearing all black.

“Ah! Hello! You must be Elesa. And you are Adaman and Irida? And you’re Emmet.” She ticked off the four of them. Adaman and Irida looked at her, stunned. “Come in, come in, don’t mind the mess. Ever since the late Champion disappeared, I’ve had a lot on my plate.” She held open the door and the four of them piled in and looked around. It was a quaint little house, with a TV, a table, a bed, and a kitchen. The table was littered with artifacts and papers, some spilling onto the floor. A Garchomp sat by the TV, watching them with interest. Adaman and Irida paused for a moment at the sight of it before entering the room. “So Elesa tells me you are from ancient Sinnoh - I apologize, Hisui? That’s fascinating, I love learning about the region’s past. I believe I learned about you two in school, in fact!” Cynthia smiled at the two time travelers, gesturing for the four of them to sit down at the table. “Oh, but where are my manners? Tea or coffee for anyone?” Elesa took a coffee, everyone else politely declining. Adaman and Irida had never even heard of coffee.

“Thank you for the hospitality, Cynthia. You see, there is actually a double mission here. Not only have Adaman and Irida here been displaced from the past, but there is someone in the past that does not belong there. Do you remember three years ago when then missing person’s investigation happened? The Subway Master, Ingo?” Cynthia tapped her chin.

“Yes, I do believe I remember that.”

“I am Emmet. Ingo is my brother,” Emmet cut in. “Adaman and Irida say he is in ancient Hisui. I aim to bring him back.” Cynthia knitted her brows.

“Hmm. Hold on, just a moment.” She got up and searched through the papers, rifling through them at an alarming speed. She scuffed through an old journal, yellowed photos, even some old clothing that Elesa watched with hungry eyes. Emmet would have laughed if he wasn’t so strung out. “Here!” she announced, holding up a single piece of paper. She studied it and Emmet, looking back and forth. “I thought I could recognize you from somewhere, but could not remember where.” She showed him the paper.

It was a photograph, taken in sepia and yellowed and cracked with age. The photo depicted a Pokemon that looked something like a Sneasler, as if it had been stretched out against a background of rock. It stood next to a figure, with one clawed hand on their shoulder. The figure was gripping the brim of a familiar cap, wearing a coat that was shredded to bits, but Emmet would recognize blind. The piercing silver eyes gazed directly into Emmet’s. He gasped audibly, unable to tear his eyes from the photo. The goatee was different, but he recognized his brother. Elesa stood behind him suddenly, looking over his shoulder. “Ingo,” he breathed. “It’s true. He’s there. In the past.” Elesa’s breathing hitched behind him.

“Yes, Warden Ingo has been something of a mystery to archeologists for a long time. Sources indicate that one day he simply appeared in Hisui and worked his way up to becoming the Warden of that Noble, a now-extinct species of Pokemon known as Sneasler. Nobody knows where he came from or where he went. One day he just… disappeared. Nobody talked about him after that.”

“How long do the records indicate he was there?” Elesa asked.

“It’s not certain, but only a couple years is the current guess. He disappeared as suddenly as he appeared. And the odd thing is, most of the time, after the passing of a Warden, the Clan that the Warden belonged to would bury them at their Noble’s seat, as a tradition. Never has a grave been found for Warden Ingo.” Emmet snapped his head up. Adaman and Irida glanced at each other uncomfortably. They must not like the idea of burying their Wardens.

“Then we get him back,” he said simply. “How do we begin?”