#Reflective Ingo and Lady Sneasler... | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mynamesaplant · 2 years ago

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Great Risk, Great Reward

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PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS FIC CONTAINS: VIOLENCE TOWARDS ANIMALS AND CHILDREN, BLOOD, INJURY, AND ANIMAL DEATH - IF ANY OF THOSE THINGS MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE, PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION!

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I want to thank my pal Mons for being a constant inspiration for the PLA Mer AU and for beta reading this fic for me. Summary: Gaeric finds out that Dawn likes penguins, but their bonding times goes a little awry.

Don't want to read it on Tumblr? You can read it on AO3!

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“Hey-” Dawn began to scramble across the ground faster, very familiar with the voice and deathly terrified to have yet another bad encounter. “Hey, squirt! I’m talking to you.”

“Oh no, no, no, no-”

Dawn was almost across the room, almost to the same pool that Ingo had disappeared into with Calaba and Irida – where had Gaeric even come from and why hadn’t she heard him? He was so big and, mer or no, seals were not exactly graceful on land. A hand snatched her up with her fingertip’s inches from the frigid water. Enclosed in his warm palm, Dawn felt herself moving through space and mentally preparing for the worst. What was he going to yell at her for today?

To her surprise upon meeting Gaeric eye-to-considerably-larger-eye, he was beaming, looking genuinely excited about… Well, something. Dawn had only even seen him grumpy and tired, and he usually wasn’t awake at this hour.

“I thought we learned from last time,” his tone was chiding, and his expression momentarily reflected the voice, but clearly, he was too excited to permit the disapproving scowl to grace his face. “Stay out of the deeper water without an adult.”

Dawn cringed and shrank in his outstretched palm, edging as far away as she could because her heart was positively slamming against her ribcage with a barely contained anxiety. She was less afraid of Gaeric after that last time Ingo dumped her with the warden. Despite how intimidating she still found him, his coat was very soft and fluffy, which was one point in his favor. It was practically irresistible, many other pups running their fingers through it with a reverent fascination. (And he had been pretty nice to her since then, doubly so after she quelled his noble with her flute.)

Still, this level of excitement for Gaeric was not in character. So, Dawn remained wary even as he propelled himself across the ice toward a different hole. She recognized it. It was a tunnel that led to the outside. A fresh wave of panic swarmed in her head like a cloud of wasps, buzzing irrational thoughts into her ears. She swallowed an anxious whine as it became abundantly clear that Gaeric intended to take her from the settlement. Dawn fiddled with her scarf, keeping her eyes low, and hardly listening as Gaeric chatted at her in amicable tones.

“Ga-Gaeric?” She interrupted him hesitantly. He was just about to set her down so she could follow him, in his excitement, he had even noticed how she was acting. “Wh-Where are you tak-taking me?”

“Hm?”

Oh, he supposed he hadn’t told her just yet. He was just so thrilled, so excited about the news. All the wardens were. Loathe as he was to tell the Diamond clan anything, he also shared the good news with Sabi, who he was sure would find some way to relay that to the rest of her clan.

Now, however, Gaeric was turning vaguely pink. He hadn’t meant to overhear. Honest! People just presumed that he, under his nice, warm stitched walrus skins, was asleep, and often he was dozing off, but it was a catnap like he had seen Lady Sneasler do. Half-conscious but ready to leap into action at a moment’s notice, especially given the strange changes in the sea recently and the encroaching of those humans into their territory.

“I, uh – I heard that you like penguins.”

Dawn’s jaw slackened in disbelief. She had only recently told Ingo of her travels to the northern shores of Hisui, an ice encrusted and ethereally silent snowscape, and witnessed several penguins waddling around. Either Ingo told his fellow wardens, and considering how close to the vest he kept most information concerning Dawn that seemed unlikely, or Gaeric had overheard, which made her nervous about what else he might have inexplicably overheard. Mentally scolding herself for being so careless of her surroundings and tongue so loose as to talk of her secret double-life on the surface.

“Er, yeah! I do.”

A gleeful glint came into Gaeric’s blue eyes, his next sentence actually made her perk up.

“Fantastic! Let’s go look for some penguins then.”

Dawn should have known that it was too good to be true.

The swim to the north shore was actually pretty nice. Gaeric was chatting with her amiably, grinning toothily while she swam around him, his eyes watchful for any potential predators, but they seemed to be getting along famously. That was, until they made it to the frozen tundra, and Gaeric threw out an arm to make her halt.

“Alright kid,” he said, flashing her a broad smile.

He did not notice her decidedly confused expression as he launched into an in-depth explanation of penguins.

“These guys are speedy in the water, but you probably know that already.”

The warden gently nudged her toward the distant penguins torpedoing through the water, zipping after silvery fish.

“If you need air, the clan has already made a few airholes in the ice. Just be cautious of any predators that might be on the ice if you stick your head out to get a look, alright? I’ll be right here if anything happens.”

“Uh, okay?”

Dawn replied, unsure why Gaeric of all mers would be so excited to show her something like this. Lian loved to show and share things with Dawn, but Gaeric? This was extremely out of character. That was when she started to realize things were not exactly as they seemed.

“This is my first time watching you, so don’t be worried about making any mistakes. We all know Ingo’s not the greatest of hunters.”

Hunters?

Did Gaeric… Oh, no.

Dawn felt another insistent little nudge to the small of her back. That’s why he was excited. He was excited to teach her to hunt because she had said she liked penguins. Gaeric was providing her helpful tricks and hints for her imminent hunt and Dawn could feel her insides roiling. Why did he have to suddenly be so encouraging? Her brain was screaming with panic, clutching her hands in front of her and nervously fussing with the edges of her scarf.

Sensing unease, he stopped pushing – some pups had performance anxiety, they wanted to impress or do well on their first hunt, but they got inside their own heads. Maybe that’s what she was feeling with his incessant chatter.

“Hey kid?” She twisted around to glance at him, and he gave her two thumbs up. “You’ve got this.”

With that final encouragement, Dawn swam forward, the warden unaware of the deep grimace etched into her cheeks. He wanted her to – what? Chase a penguin? He knew how bad she was at swimming. Yes, she had been getting better since she learned to dodge the frenzied nobles, but she was not fast, just better coordinated. She was trying to think fast. Gaeric expected her to try, and she had to do something to maintain her façade, so she would at least chase after some penguins. He would eventually get fed up with her failed attempts… but then what?

Gaeric genuinely enjoyed hunting. Not because he was a bloodthirsty maniac or anything (like Dawn seemed to think), he just felt more in his element chasing prey down, when building his sophisticated traps, when launching a spear into the hide of a seal – he said that it tickled the predatory part of his brain that few other activities seemed to even scrape. Teaching pups to hunt was always an exciting prospect. Pups had so much untapped potential that Gaeric loved to nurture. The next generation of Pearl clan hunters was a serious source of pride for the warden and, although Dawn could be a little weird at times, he was just as invested in teaching her as he was with any pup.

Dawn drifted, penguins and fish danced erratically in the water before her like it was some absurd ballet. Maybe if she had been here with Ingo, it would have been amusing, but not under her current circumstances. How could she make this look convincing? She thought about her excursions with Laventon and his advice on how to get closer to their target. A target was basically prey right?

‘Stay low and move slow. Don’t make any sudden movements or noises that might scare them.’

Maintain the illusion. She knew just enough about penguins to know they would quickly scatter once she started chasing them, probably hop back onto the icepack the moment they saw her advance. She dove down where the sunlight couldn’t reach and the water became even colder, watching the white bellies of the penguins flitting around overhead. Without realizing it, Dawn’s body was responding to an instinct she did not think she possessed as a human who transformed into a mer; muscles coiling, pupils blown wide in anticipation, hands curling and uncurling.

The warden watched with an ember of pride burning brightly in his chest. He waited with great anticipation for her to make her first catch.

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Gaeric watched her for about twenty minutes as penguin after penguin slipped through her clutches with startling regularity. He knew she wasn’t experienced, but even the most novice of pups was able to grab a penguin after a couple of tries. Now all the birds were making a beeline for the shore and there was no point for the pup to follow. If she was this bad in the water, she would have no chance hunting anything on the land.

Dawn actually snarled at him when he shifted himself between her and her quarry, the noise frustrated as she tried to dart around him.

“Pup, stop. You’re going to overheat. Go up and take a breath. Clear your head.”

The surveyor didn’t even realize how much heat she was radiating from physical exertion. Her slim chest heaving and muscles quivering – she didn’t realize how much her focus had consumed her. The large mer guided her to the surface, already giving her pointers as she tried to catch her breath. How long was she chasing the Adélies? She was able to recognize the brush tails and distinct two-toned coats from her previous excursions with the professor. She was genuinely trying to catch one… to do what with? She didn’t want to dwell on it, the mere thought made her shudder with a mix of disgust and horror.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” The warden murmured sympathetically, completely misinterpreting her expression as disappointment. “Catching them gets easier with practice. You stay here.”

No argument from Dawn, she felt exhausted as she watched Gaeric disappear into the gloom. The blood pounded in her ears, otherwise she would have noticed how quiet the surrounding water had become as a predator trawled through the sea.

He was gone for a little while, Dawn waiting idly for the warden to return, but making sure to practice scanning around like Ingo had taught her. She was very small and there were a lot of would-be predators like orcas, leopard seals, and polar bears patrolling for a tasty snack like her.

She smelled Gaeric before she saw him, or rather, she smelled the blood. Thankfully it wasn’t his, but it was putrid, clouding the water in a fine pink mist as he approached, which was when she heard the shrieks that sent a cold shiver up her spine. The warden had a woven net over his shoulder that was chock full of dead Adélie penguins, all except one, which was making those horrific noises.

Dawn covered her mouth, feeling saliva pooling beneath her tongue, but it had nothing to do with hunger. No, the penguin looked far from appetizing. A wave of nausea rolled through her, making her skin feel prickly hot and stomach roil when he came to a stop in front of her.

The smell of blood was all around her, sticking to the inside of her nose, bitter and metallic, while Gaeric rummaged through his catch of the day, seizing the sole penguin left alive, and dropped it before her with an encouraging smile. He had the realization that she would not only be hungry after all that swimming around, but she would also want a chance to prove herself to him. He had done a similar tactic with other pups, the younger ones especially; catch something of an appropriate size for them and injure it, then allow the pup to make the final blow. It was a good boost of confidence after a long string of failures.

The penguin flopped around, plumes of blood misting the water darker and darker pink with each flap of the poor creature’s unbroken wing, wailing in fear and agony. The scene was ghastly.

“Alright pup. Now, what you’re going to want to do is-”

The audible gag over the sounds of the penguin made Gaeric stop midsentence and he looked more closely at the tears collecting in her dark eyes.

“Ga-Gaeric, I c-can’t…”

A frown settled on his face. A new predicament. Dawn probably liked to eat penguins, but she had never been hunting before, certainly not with him and presumably not Ingo. This would be her first kill and, occasionally, pups would get squeamish. It didn’t happen often, but they would suddenly get cold fins, and just couldn’t follow through with a kill. He should have guessed that Dawn would be similar. Ingo had had a similar reaction, but he quickly got over it out of necessity. So, he told her the same thing that he had told all the others in the past.

“Dawn, I know it’s hard, but this is something you have to learn to be comfortable with.”

Gaeric gestured to the flightless bird flopping around. When she didn’t look, he lifted her head with a knuckle placed under her chin. Dawn wouldn’t have expected him to be so gentle. Ingo treated her like glass, which was not within the norm with mers. They bit and scratched and roughhoused. This was completely unexpected of Gaeric.

Dawn emitted a sickened gurgle, averting her eyes away from Gaeric, away from the bird – there was nowhere else to look. Gaeric took up most of her field of vision and the penguin took up what remained. Her eyes snapped closed.

“I can’t,” she moaned, more to herself than the warden, “I can’t do it.” Her hands moved to cover her mouth and nose, trying to block out the assault to her senses.

In her head, she was trying to calculate how badly this would make her look in Gaeric’s eyes. Just because she was able to quell his lord and he was treating her with less suspicion than he usually did, Dawn knew he did not trust her. That was when a thought came to her.

She was alone with Gaeric. Completely alone. He could have been grilling her the whole time about her deal, which he had done in the past, but he was so caught up with hunting that he hadn’t. Without that distraction, without that ounce of “goodwill,” Gaeric had her in a very precarious position.

A palpable wave of anxiety rolled through her, her eyes widening and her nearly hidden ear pinning back, whole body eerily still – and the warden didn’t even seem to notice, already steamrolling into a lecture about the necessity of hunting because it was about survival in this dog-eat-dog world. If Dawn wasn’t feeling so sick to her stomach with fear, she would have found a way to tease him about how he sounded very similar to a certain someone in his clan.

“Do you really want this poor bird to wriggle around in the water until a different predator comes around and does the exact same thing? Because that’s what’s going to happen.”

He watched her wince, cowering to avoid looking at the penguin. He sighed. This might require a little more persuasion. What to do… He considered for a moment. By this point most pups would have gotten over their initial reaction and kill their prey, but Dawn was still resistant. He knew she was picky, but this was something she needed to grow out of for survival purposes. It was all well and good that Palina and Iscan and some of the others were trying to accommodate her picky habits, but Gaeric was trying to look at this realistically.

Food was calories and calories kept you alive. Hunting was what kept you alive and, well… death was a part of life. It wasn’t pretty, but it was necessary.

And she needed to learn for her own good.

Gaeric sighed. A deep, weary sigh that made Dawn peek at him through her fingers.

“We aren’t going anywhere until you kill this penguin.”

“B-But-”

“We have all day. If this one dies, then I’m going to get another until you do what I’m asking you to do.”

The horror in her dark eyes was enough to solidify Gaeric’s resolve. If she didn’t want to be seen as a baby by the older mers, then this was the first step, so he wasn’t going to let her wiggle her way out of this with that silver tongue of hers.

He could have predicted the quick dart to his flank, trying to outmaneuver him with her speed, but he was used to pups. She smacked into his palm at full force and reeled back with a dazed oof! No amount of pleading and crying would sway him, and she could tell he meant what he said, they weren’t going anywhere until Dawn killed it.

On a fundamental level, she knew this was a teaching moment that was meant to strengthen the bond between her and the warden and to hone her hunting skills, but Dawn was also Laventon’s research assistant! She had spent nearly two weeks alongside the professor studying all the animals that the mers ate! She couldn’t do it. Not in good conscious to her researcher nature.

She tried anyway. Grimacing at the bird with a tightness in her throat as she turned her gaze to Gaeric, mouth open only to be cut off.

“No.” He said preemptively. “You’re going to do this. I know you can do it – so do it.”

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There was a long stretch where Dawn just couldn’t move, unable to look at the writhing Adélie and trying to ignore it as it made the more horrible screeching noises. She was hoping that a different predator would swoop in and snag the bleeding penguin by now, but Gaeric was an active deterrent.

The warden seemed to possess infinite patience, preventing her escape with such ease that Dawn found it frustrating. Even when she thought she was being slick when she tried to clamber onto one of the chunks of ice when she was permitted to take another lungful of air, he instantly scooped her up and plopped her back in front of the bird.

In a test of wills, Dawn knew who the winner would be; Gaeric could and would throw his weight around to make her commit the gruesome act. She actually started yelling at him when her frustration at the situation boiled over and, still, he remained resolute, nudging her back toward the penguin indifferently even as she tried to push back against his hand with every ounce of strength in her small body.

“Kid, you have to do this. That bird is suffering, you need to put it out of its misery.”

“You’re the one who hurt it!”

Dawn wriggled, squirming between his fingers, but he held her tail fast between his middle and pointer finger. He swung her back around and that’s when she started baring her teeth at her in a poor attempt to assert herself. Gaeric didn’t let that stand. A low growl resonated in his throat, leaning into Dawn’s space, and narrowing his eyes with a snarl on his lips. She wasn’t intimidating him, and she was quick to cower at his display.

When Gaeric didn’t release her tail and held her in front of the penguin, Dawn knew she was out of options and that frightened her. Her chest and throat grew tighter.

“I can’t – please don’t make me.”

“It’s for your own good, Dawn. Trust me.”

He sensed the change in her demeanor, his perseverance had worn her down, and, although she was trying to stifle her sobs, she was trying to reach for the penguin.

“It’s going to try to snap at you, but you need to take it with your hands by its beak and twist its neck until it snaps. It’s going to seem like a lot more, but also somehow less, pressure than you think you’ll need, but that’s something you get used to.”

She sobbed as she clamped the bird’s beak shut, scooping up the Adélie’s body in up against hers. She nearly vomited as the penguin writhed desperately, its heart pounding so fast and hard that it almost made her drop it in fear. The encouragement over her shoulder was not helping, even if it was meant to be.

Her hands shook violently, unable to perform the motion Gaeric described and unable to open her mouth to beg him to let her go. It was pointless, he wouldn’t, she had to do this. Dawn whispered an apology to the struggling bird and was about to jerk her limbs to get it over with, but that’s when she noticed Gaeric’s grip had loosened.

She cautiously turned her head only to see a look on Gaeric’s face that shook her to the very core. Dawn only saw him in profile, but his ears were pressed nearly flat against his head, his eyes opened wide with dark pupils shrunk to three-quarters of their size, and – she had never seen so many sharp teeth.

Without a word, Gaeric scooped her and the bird up, and moved fast. Dawn barely had time to ask what was happening, he unceremoniously shoved them into a niche in the blue white of the glacial ice.

“What’s-”

“Stay here. Don’t come out until I come get you.”

“But what’s-”

Dawn tried to say, deliberately ignoring what Gaeric had said by trying to slide out, but he was quick to push her back in the crevasse.

“Stay put.” He growled and, this time, Dawn obeyed, fear rooting her to the spot. She did catch Gaeric hissing something under his breath just before he darted out of sight. “Those damn ships…”

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Gaeric was sufficiently deep that the ship sitting atop the wave would have no idea what lurked beneath them. A fury was burning inside him, his eyes narrowing as the ship moved closer in the direction of the settlement. He had been too distracted by Dawn to notice the ship sooner and it was far too close for comfort, just beyond the sheet of ice like they had been following the coastline from their settlement.

The humans weren’t paying attention.

So, he would make them pay attention.

Irida had asked him to deploy nonviolent methods and, thus far, he had obeyed his mentee out of respect for her and for her title as leader. He had dragged many ships to their doom against sharp, rock outcrops and glaciers, some he had capsized with the motions of his massive tail, and other times just used his immense strength to snap off vital pieces to stop their forward progress.

The ships kept coming though. It’s like the humans never ran out of the damn things! He knew Mai had handled one or two that got too close to the Diamond clan and he had disabled or destroyed more than he could count on his fingers, and they still didn’t stop coming.

Gaeric thought it was high time to be proactive about the human situation.

Even at this depth, Gaeric could hear the crew moving along the creaking wood, he could identify each one by the pitch and timbre of their voices. The crew wasn’t large. The water was absolutely silent and eerily still, nothing but he and the ship in the vicinity. The warden edged closer, remaining right beneath the craft, or at least, as much as he could manage. As much as he wanted to bust through the hull and give those arrogant humans a really good scare, he pushed down those instincts.

This ship was going to be demolished, smashed into smithereens to make a point – one that was jagged and razor sharp. His lips were pulled back over his teeth as he watched the prow cut through the glass-like surface of the water. It was a good day to be sailing, or it would have been if the ship had been anywhere else.

He was poised and ready to strike. Every muscle in his body coiled as he went over his plan again in his head. Gaeric would strike with his heavily muscled tail, using it like a battering ram to shatter the ship in two. What about the crew? A voice that sounded suspiciously like Ingo whispered in the back of his head (sort of an oxymoron in itself which helped Gaeric ignore the impending ramifications of his actions). The warden growled under his breath, shaking his head as if to loosen the thought’s hold on him.

Nothing was going to stop him. He would accept whatever punishment Irida dished out because he was doing this for the continued protection of his people. It would be worth it if his clan could survive another day. This ship and every other one that came into their territory – he would break each and every vessel until the humans had nothing but logs lashed together with hemp to take on the rough seas.

Gaeric surged forward with a blinding speed, ready to make his steep descent back into the depths to maximize the damage on the clueless vessel. The silence of the water would have felt deafening, had his ears not picked up a noise that made him stop dead in his tracks. A panic struck the warden like lightning as he heard the noise again. Instantly, his attack on the ship was forgotten, the crew none the wiser of the near miss as Gaeric tore off in the direction he had come from as another scream reached his ears.

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Dawn hadn’t exactly meant for this scenario to be playing out as it was. The second she heard Gaeric saying something about ships, she knew that it had to be one of the Galaxy Team’s, a research vessel or fishing boat. The Ginkgo Guild didn’t head toward the northern shores for much of anything, it didn’t intersect with their trade routes, so it was extremely unlikely to be one of their trade ships.

She panicked.

Gaeric would no doubt be pissed, but Dawn needed to stop him. He had already done a lot of damage and that only made Kamado double down on his efforts to map out the icelands so fewer ships would be lost. It was a never-ending cycle.

She was peeking out of the crevasse that Gaeric had unceremoniously stuffed her into for her own protection. Nothing to see, nothing to hear – the ocean around her was lifeless. It was creepy. Even the penguin behind her was silent, but she was afraid to look around at it. Dawn didn’t want to see if it had finally succumbed to its wounds.

The idea of sharing a small space with a dead animal made her almost as sick as she had been as Gaeric had been encouraging her to snap the penguin’s neck. Blindly reaching behind her, Dawn flapped around to find the carcass to shove it out of there. Over her internal mental anguish, she did not realize there was one sound she was hearing, ears flicking in the direction of it but listening passively.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

She mumbled, nearly in tears as she managed to get a hand on the Adélie and was about to push it out of the crevasse when she heard the noises that she had subconsciously been hearing but not registering. Dawn jerked her head, a clicking that sounded familiar but also sent a chill down her spine. Ingo made those sounds sometimes. The sharp squeaks when he attempted to communicate with someone (or ones) no longer at his side. If she could hear it, then it was already too late.

All her disgust was instantly replaced with terror, and she wasted no time, grabbing the Adélie and shoving it out of there just as a massive shadow blotted out the light. Dawn slapped her hands over her mouth, squelching the scream that was pressing against her lower ribs. From her vantage, she could see the penguin floating in the water, its form lifeless and slowly sinking. A dark snout nudged it curiously, a second snout appearing on the other side and nudging it in confirmation.

There was a voice in her head screaming at her that was a mix of her own, Ingo’s, Laventon’s, and every other mer she had ever spoken to get out of there. Not safe. Danger. Predator. Move. Escape!

What had Gaeric said earlier? If she needed to breathe, the clan had made air holes.

Dawn raised her eyes to the top of the crevasse and, true to the warden’s word, there was a small shaft of light. Thank Sinnoh for the foresight of the clans. She moved quietly, not that the orcas could do a whole lot if she was up on the ice, but she didn’t want to attract any attention whatsoever. She reached the hole, a smaller one that had partially frozen over but was clearly made for a mers smaller than Gaeric, Ingo, or even Mai and Adaman, and poked her head out, taking a deep breath of cold air.

She was about to put her hands on the ice to clamber out when she felt her whiskers twitch and something deep in her gut told her to stay low. The sheet of ice seemed barren, but something was setting off a danger alarm in her brain.

Time slowed, all other sounds fell away, even the sounds of the orcas in the water, and Dawn heard something crunching the snow under its feet. The crunching got louder, the sound blurring into one as it got closer, and Dawn did scream this time, ducking back into the water and getting as far away from the air hole as an enormous paw reached through to swipe at nothing. A furry paw as pale as the ice around it fumbled for the prey it knew was down there and Dawn couldn’t stop screaming, alerting all the predators around her.

The polar bear was just able to shove its head through the hole, thank the gods it had shrunk from its previous size, and it blinked at her, beady black eyes following her movements as she tried to get further away. The orcas, now quite alert of one prey in the water, and most likely the bear on the ice, were crowding around the crevasse, squeaking and pushing their snouts into the crack. The bear must have also registered their presence, but seemed to hesitate, weighing its options before two-inch long claws began to tear through the ice. The promise of an easy meal that had nowhere to run just below the ice – if it could make a hole big enough for it to get through.

The orcas were of no consequence to the large land mammal, they couldn’t move tons of ice to force their way into the crevasse, but it did make Dawn a sitting duck. All she could do was scream. Trapped between a rock and a hard place, so Laventon was wont to say. Stuck between two mouth loads (possibly more since orcas moved in pods) of conical teeth and four paws decked with razor sharp claws and a mouth big enough and strong enough to crush her skull.

She was going to die.

Ice crunched all around her, the bear’s paw slapping the water as it excavated the ice piece by piece. Behind her, the orcas squealed and kept throwing her into darkness. Fear was tightening around her lungs and heart, making it hard to think about anything due to lack of oxygen. Everything had finally been going so well! She had quelled the frenzied nobles and the seas had stopped slowly rising. Jubilife was safe for a little longer. People had stopped looking at her with suspicion and she finally felt comfortable in the mer communities that had opened their arms to her.

Now it was all about to come to an end because she couldn’t kill an already doomed penguin.

Dawn didn’t realize she was crying, her tears just mixed with the cold water while she sank lower into the crevasse, as far away from either party as she could get from, but it wouldn’t matter. Gaeric was going to destroy a ship in broad daylight and Dawn was going –

Outside, the orcas were squeaking in agitation as she picked up something with her sensitive ears. Something massive tearing through the water at a breakneck pace.

“Gaeric!”

Dawn had never screamed so loud in her life. The sounds of the bear and the cetaceans were drowned out by her deafening cries.

The fear in her voice only spurred Gaeric to go even faster until – there! Two orcas were poised and waiting in the exact place he had left Dawn, the ignored remains of the penguin he had caught drifting into the abyss with their attention focused on the alive and panicked prey hiding within.

Orcas, like all their cetacea cousins, were intelligent. Orcas in particular are adept hunters and they enjoyed playing with their food before they ate it. Gaeric wasn’t exactly sure why. He wasn’t sure if animals were capable of cruelty like mers and humans were, but he knew that they acted beyond what was necessary to acquire prey. This wasn’t a particularly favorable match up, Gaeric was big, but orcas weren’t exactly small, and they had numbers on their side. Admittedly less numbers than would be normal for the species, but Gaeric wasn’t about to question it, and he hoped, in the back of his head, that that didn’t come back to bite him.

He launched himself like a missile through the water, leading with his shoulder to slam into the unprotected flank of the closer orca. By this point, the warden wasn’t even speaking intelligibly, just hissing and spitting and roaring – because how dare they. How dare they attack his little protégé when she was already going through her own emotional turmoil. He had been so caught up with the creaking and sloshing of the ship in the distance, Gaeric hadn’t noticed the threat around him, and by extension, Dawn.

Without even looking, he knew the other orca was coming toward him. They were faster, but Gaeric was smarter. Just a few well-placed hits - claws digging into sensitive spots like eyes and enough whacks with his heavily muscled tail, then the pair would be on their way.

“Gaeric!”

He could hear her yelling, but he didn’t understand why. He was managing the threat. The whales would be gone soon and then he would take her back to the settlement. This and the penguin were enough trauma for one day.

His claws raked into the underside of the orca, tinging the blood pink as it wailed. What he didn’t need was for them to attract others, he needed just enough time to get Dawn and hightail it out of there because taking on a pod was out of the question. Even if he had Ingo by his side, orcas were meticulous and savage when they chose to be.

“Gaeric! Help!”

Can’t divert his attention now! The orcas were falling back, fleeing into the gloom with high pitch whines that were sure to draw in others in their pod.

“BEAR!”

Bear?

That’s when Gaeric heard the low grumbles and huffs, something big splashing into the water. Like it was in slow motion, he saw Dawn dart towards him as the whales fled, only to see her get jerked back violently.

A polar bear.

An old and all too familiar dread suffocated him. His body was moving even before the electrical impulses raced from his brain to his limbs. His fury blinded him, only allowed to because his thoughts weren’t there. Gaeric was lost to time. Frozen in the memory of another young protégé in mortal peril because he acted stupidly.

Gaeric had promised himself – promised himself – that this wouldn’t happen again.

And yet.

No more blood. No more traumatized pups. No more mistakes.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dawn was too busy trying not to get mauled to see exactly what Gaeric was doing, but the polar bear was alternatively swiping at her and ripping up chunks of ice to get better access to her. The surveyor just kept screaming for the warden with each swipe that came closer, with every scoop of ice that provided a bigger hole for the arctic predator.

It was getting dangerously close now, its head and shoulders almost squeezing through –

There was an agitated squeaking that only grew more distant. Gaeric must have run the orcas off. She just needed to get to him. Dawn darted for the crevasse, even spotting the blue haired warden beyond, looking uninjured, but quite agitated himself.

“BEAR!”

She shrieked at the top of her lungs, but it was too late. The sheet of ice that had been protecting her finally caved in and the polar bear was in the water with her paddling toward her with urgency. A massive paw slammed into her side, knocking the wind out of her and five claws bit through her uniform and into her abdomen.

The last thing she really saw before a flurry of colors was Gaeric’s expression. She had never seen him look scared before. He prided himself on being strong and brave for the sake of the clan, but that heartbeat before he was on top of the pair, Dawn had never seen that look on his face. A haunted look in those blue eyes.

It was a flurry of limbs, the water churning, and the bellowing that almost deafened her, but she saw it all. Her head might have been spinning because of how much she had been flung around (and blood loss), but she watched Gaeric take the bear’s neck and, exactly as he explained to her with the penguin, twisted it sharply.

The snap was the most sickening thing Dawn had ever heard. It made each individual hair on her body stand up and she did actually vomit this time (although, that also might have been her body’s reaction to the severe trauma). Things were moving much too fast. Gaeric was quick to drag her and the bear away, grab his net load of penguins that was swaying in the current at the bottom, and hightailed it out of there before anything else could happen.

So, Dawn saved a ship, at the cost of having a nasty gash through her uniform, unaware just how bad the injury beneath was.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gaeric physically cringed as Ingo got in his face. It was the first and only time the larger warden had ever gotten confrontational with any member of Pearl clan, and it was downright frightening. It was easy to forget just how dangerous Ingo could be if he only chose to. It was easy to grow complacent with that knowledge in mind, that Ingo chose kindness and patience when he didn’t have to be.

Right now, Ingo was not choosing to be anything other than pure rage. A deep, foreign growl resonated in his chest as he demanded to know what happened because his pup was hurt and Gaeric looked remarkably unharmed.

To his credit, Gaeric was willing to take whatever Ingo had to dish out at him on the chin. He failed as a guardian. He failed to keep a pup under his watch safe and now she was getting treatment for wounds inflicted by the polar bear. So, he was willing to accept whatever punishment Ingo was inevitably building toward. In all his years of knowing Ingo, he had never seen him so angry, but before this last year, he never had anything he cared so deeply for. Yes, Ingo was loyal to the clan and devoted to his ward, but Dawn was different. For him, Dawn was family, and for Gaeric to be so careless - it was tantamount to something happening to Irida on Ingo’s watch.

Ingo listened to the story, his hands curled into tight fists as Irida watched on, cautioning him by repeating his name because she didn’t want nor need infighting between her wardens, not with how the sea was so intent on swallowing up the region – humans and nobles included. With a shaking hand, Ingo jabbed a finger into Gaeric’s chest, right in the center of his clan crest, and rumbled dangerously low,

“You had better pray to Sinnoh that she recovers.”

They all knew that Dawn would be just fine, Ingo was just veiling his threat – if anything like this happens again, I will not be so forgiving. Gaeric had narrowly avoided Ingo’s considerable wrath. The cavern was silent in the wake of Ingo’s departure, everyone collectively holding their breath until Irida exhaled slowly. Her wardens followed suit. Catastrophe avoided, they all waited for the medic to be done tending to Dawn so Ingo could see her and start to calm down.

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vssocialanxiety · 3 years ago

Text

How I write each Noble & the relationship with their Warden.

• Lord Wyrdeer: he likes to appear all Wise and Dignified, but is secretly very silly. He would like to appear as a grandfatherly figure for Mai, but she can see right through him.

• Lord Kleavor: Big softie with resting bitch face, I headcanon him as one of the youngest Nobles. He loves Lian, that’s his baby brother right there!

• Lord Ursaluna: Personally, I headcanon him as almost as old as Calaba. He has seen everything; nothing can face Lord Ursaluna anymore. He and Calaba are old buddies that have gone together though the best and worst of each other lives, they are as thick as thieves.

• Lady Lilligant: She seems like a very serious and respectable Noble, but she is actually very mischievous and generally does whatever she wants. Similar to Lord Kleavor, she really loves her warden, and sees Arezu as a little sister.

• Lord Basculegion: He is very patient and a bit shy, Lord Arcanine’s new dad. He is very close to Iscan, as they have similar personalities and understand each other better than anyone else.

• Lord Arcanine: The best of boys! He wants to be a good Noble but he is still struggling with his sudden evolution, and the responsibilities that came with it. Palina is his mom, and he really loves his mom!

• Lady Sneasler: A mean girl, she does her job responsibly, but she has no interest to act like a proper sacred Noble. She treats Ingo as one of her cubs, but tends swing between seen him as either, a baby cub, in need of her protection and care, or an older one, capable enough to do babysitting duty.

• Lord Electrode: As haughty and proud as his warden, the annoyed frown on his face may actually reflect his true mood. He loves Melli, he loves having someone around that is so similar to him!

• Lord Braviary: The unassuming type, Lord Braviary acts in mysterious ways. He is Sabi’s cool big bro, and he likes to spoil her a little.

• Lord Avalugg: The gentlest of giant pokemon, he is a very caring and protective Noble. He is also Gaeric’s "mom friend", trying his best to temper some of his wildest ideas.

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waywardstation · 3 years ago

Text

Gone Fishing

Ingo’s just trying to help Akari catch a rather rare Pokémon for her fieldwork - an alternate-color basculin who also happens to be an alpha. It’s hard to do when Melli keeps pestering Ingo to help him with a problem, though.

I wrote this using a prompt asking for Ingo to take Akari fishing, as well as using a request to include Melli. And I used basculin, as they always give me the hardest time when I try and catch them! I spotted a shiny basculin in a mass outbreak the other day, and it took me four resets to finally catch it! Those things are slippery!

OR read it here on AO3!

Enjoy!

————

“Ingo, look!”

Ingo awoke with a start at the sensation of being gently nudged in the ribs by an elbow. He readjusted himself, sitting up against the tree’s trunk as he blinked the sleep away.

“Hmm?” The warden pushed the brim of his cap out of his eyes. He glanced first at Akari sitting rigid beside him, then followed the shine of the fishing line leading from the pole in her hands, into the Fabled Spring’s calm waters.

There was slow, careful movement a ways off but approaching the line, small waves stirring with every hesitant push forward. Something under the surface almost sparkled amongst the wiry basculin, reflecting the light in an odd way as it cut through the Pokémons’ paths.

“It is here! You were right!” Akari leaned closer to Ingo to whisper, holding the fishing rod tight in her hands.

While watching over Lady Sneasler and her kits during a highlands excursion the day before, Ingo had thought he had seen something peculiar catching the light in the shallows of one of the highlands’ lower bodies of water - the basculin pool in the Fabled Springs.

Akari’s many rambles to him about alternate color Pokémon on slow days at the dojo had sprung up in his mind, and he had allowed himself to investigate close enough to see if this might be that rare phenomenon (but not so close as to catch Lady Sneasler’s attention, lest she and her kits catch sight of the sparkles, and be drawn to hunt it). When he had been sure it was indeed an alternate-color Pokémon, he had informed Akari that evening, and she had insisted they immediately go out and catch it early the next morning - alternate-color pokemon were as noticeable as they were scarce, and she was afraid it would be snatched up for a quick meal before they could reach it.

Though it was no easy task to catch one specific basculin. The fearful fish were prone to darting away into the depths of the waters they inhabited at the slightest sound or movement above water, even if it was incredibly far away. The depths of many of the pools scattered in the highlands were unknown, but it was known that a system of underwater tunnels connected many of them to each other, and they were often used by the highlands’ underwater inhabitants for both travel, and escape. Because of this, Akari always struggled to catch any Basculin within a school, let alone a specific one.

If this alternate-color basculin was around, and they managed to frighten it off, Akari was worried they wouldn’t see it again for days… if they’d ever happen to see it again at all, that is. So Akari and Ingo had decided to play it as safe as possible, staying as still and quiet as they could from the shore, while enticing the pool’s inhabitants with cake lures on a line.

Akari was not nearly as accustomed to fishing as Ingo was, but even with the warden’s help, it was tedious and incredibly dragging (and they had managed to fish out a rather discouraging amount of non-sparkling basculin, as well as even a few magikarp). Though it was also… quite pleasantly mundane and relaxing. Ingo couldn’t remember the last time he could have just laid back like this in the highlands’ shade, without energetic little sneaslets roughly jumping all over him - those tiny monsters were lovable, but they certainly were mischievous.

He supposed that’s mostly why he had drifted off without entirely meaning to.

“Steady now, Miss Akari,” Ingo kept still as he preemptively moved a hand closer to the fishing pole held tightly between the teen’s fingers, ready to help in case she needed any. The alternate-color looked even larger in person…much, much larger.

Traces of red glowed under the surface, two dots trailing up from the depths as they locked onto the cake lure base bobbing under the water. A low burble rumbled from the depths. Ingo couldn’t get a good look at the beast, but he gauged it was almost around the length of Akari herself.

Oh, this was a special catch indeed.

Finally, hours of waiting were about to pay off. The two sat frozen through strained silence with bated breath, waiting to spring into action as the two red dots drifted closer, and closer, and-

“Ingo!”

The call was a distance from the Fabled Spring, but the tone was just as whiny and recognizable as when it was shouted right in front of Ingo.

The roselia and burmy fled into the surrounding bushes, their process of photosynthesizing being interrupted. The buzzing wings of a crowd of yanma immediately started up somewhere beyond the spring. And within a split second, the water thrashed; the overgrown basculin turned tail towards the depths with a splash, its shiny scales and glowing red eyes trailing off into the murky deep of the spring.

“Aw!” Akari slumped forward, visibly dejected as the pole went slack in her grip. “It was so close!”

“Melli...” Akari could hear something akin to exhaustion bubble up in Ingo’s voice, tugging his cap down over his eyes with a sigh. His tone made his silent question clear; what did he think I did now? Ingo turned to look over his shoulder back at the Fabled Spring’s entrance, where he heard the voice of Lord Electrode’s warden.

Sure enough, Melli entered into the clearing, Skuntank trailing behind closely.

“There you are, shirking your duties as warden with the Galaxy grunt again!” Melli huffed as he stormed over to the two of them. “Honestly, it took me so long to find you, I had thought you were finally mauled by-“

With a grunt, Ingo picked himself up from his spot under the tree, moving a finger to his mouth in a gesture of silence as he moved to keep Melli from getting too close to the water’s edge. With how loud he was being, Ingo didn’t want Melli to drive the specimen of interest even further into the depths. When they were a considerable ways away, Ingo finally spoke in a much more hushed tone, hoping Melli had caught on.

“Is there something I can be of assistance with, Melli?” The deadpan contrast to the otherwise genuine question was not acknowledged by Melli, if he even picked up on it at all.

“Yes!” Lord Electrode’s warden hissed a whisper through closed teeth - thankfully, he had at least caught on. “How about, do your duty as a warden, maybe?”

That was the second time he had said that without elaborating, but Ingo already knew what he meant.

“I’m afraid I’ve told you before Melli, my expectations as warden do not extend to that. Just as you are with Lord Electrode, I am Lady Sneasler’s caretaker, not her controller. She is a noble, and I am her warden; I have no authority to command what she does and does not do.”

“Her awful fuzzballs aren’t your nobles, though, are they!” Melli interjected, crossing his arms. “She just lets those little runts run all over the place, doing as they please! They won’t let Lord Electrode have any peace! Can’t you do something about that?”

Ingo inwardly groaned; that’s what this was about?

“I seem to recall their relationship was rather amiable… is Lord Electrode truly bothered by them?” Ingo asked, knowing perfectly well that the electric noble could have simultaneously zapped every single kit with a warning charge if he really was irritated by them. By contrast, Ingo had observed Lord Electrode’s disposition was rather happy with them around, the first few times he had responded to Melli’s pleas to remove them.

He remembered that the very first time, he was very embarrassed, having believed they really were terrorizing the electric noble - the newly hatched kits were a handful, after all, and he didn’t want to have to subject others to their antics. He had moved with haste to elevate the situation, before he realized the ‘situation’ was simply Lord Electrode rolling around at a pace slow enough for the kits to chase him. The Pokémon were having fun!

“Look at what they’re doing to my poor Lord!” Melli had lamented. “He can’t find a moment’s rest!”

Every visit after that where he had to hear Melli come up with similar varieties of the same excuse, Ingo had started to express less and less urgency with the issue.

“…Yes!” The hesitance in Melli’s voice told Ingo that no, Lord Electrode was perfectly fine with having them there; Melli just didn’t want them around, and have Pokémon of the Pearl Clan mingling with his noble. All he was doing by separating them was splitting up friends, really. “Of course he is!”

Ingo sighed, putting one hand on his hip while the other moved to rub the back of his neck. “And are they still stationed with Lord Electrode?”

“Obviously not, I wouldn’t have left my mighty Lord alone with those bothersome pests! I had Skuntank send them off before I went through the grueling task of finding you!”

A weak, passing stab of irritation prickled inside Ingo’s ribcage. Not only did Melli mistreat his Lady and her kits, he knew they would all smell distinctly of skuntank for the next few days… which meant he’d have to give a tamato berry bath for all of them tonight. He didn’t care much for how the berries always stained his hands red. “…Alright, just… do not antagonize them again, they’re only kits. I’ll talk to Lady Sneasler when our tracks next cross.”

“Talk? No, can’t you go find her, or call her down with that flute of yours? This has happened too many times to-“ Melli was already busily listing off a variety of alternatives. He was so immersed in his solutions, that he almost missed Ingo’s interruptive clearing of his throat.

“Well, as you can see, I’m spending time with Miss Akari right now.” Ingo folded his arms behind him, taking on a more assertive stance. Melli suddenly realized how unnerved he felt under Ingo’s gaze, which led his eyes to automatically drift over Ingo’s shoulder, to Akari. She was still sitting by the edge of the spring, fishing pole in hand, but her own curious stare was glued intently on himself and Ingo.

“What exactly are you doing down here with the Galaxy grunt that could be more important than assisting me?” Ingo’s answer was not what Melli had been hoping to hear at all.

“I am attempting to assist Miss Akari in conducting some research, and capturing a rather unique specimen within this station’s waters.”

And we would have caught it by now, if you had not interrupted us.

“So… you’re fishing?” Ingo noted how Melli looked over his shoulder, most likely at Akari. “That’s more important? Sitting around with the noodle and swinging perfectly good food around on a string all day, just to catch much less appetizing food with it? Oh Sinnoh, I knew the Pearl Clan’s standards were low, but this-“

Ingo wanted to shake his head and sigh a deep sigh to relieve some of his building irritation, but he thought better of it, lest Melli’s disposition become even more unpleasant. He instead stuck his hands in his pants pockets, so that he wouldn’t start doing his usual fidgets in front of the purple-haired warden.

“This is for Miss Akari’s fieldwork, Melli, not lunch. And it is simply more urgent, with its limited timeframe. I promise, I will do my best to manage the situation as soon as I can - just do not antagonize them until then, and you’ll be fine.” Ingo tried to begin wrapping the conversation up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get back on track. I’d appreciate it if we could continue; it requires a generous amount of silence, and just as much patience.”

It seemed Melli began to realize on his own that he had barged into the middle of something he shouldn’t have. He stalled for a moment as he kept his gaze on a suddenly-interesting cloud in the sky, before uncrossing his arms.

“Well, just make sure those runts don’t torment my Lord again.” Melli made a show of turning to leave, Skuntank trotting ahead for the trail leading away from the spring.

Once Melli had finally left, Ingo allowed himself to slump again, and returned back to Akari’s side. He dropped back down in the shade with a grunt, and leaned back against the trunk as the teenager reeled the line back in, to change the lure base.

“What did he want?” Akari feinted obliviousness. She kept her eyes on the line, watching the ripples it made as it dragged the bait through the water.

“I assume you overheard it,” Ingo’s frown didn’t hide the amusement in his voice; he had his back to her, but seeing Melli’s expression as he looked over his shoulder had tipped him off that she was listening the whole time… as she often did. “It’s the same line as yesterday, and the day before that, and so on.”

“Yeah, I thought so,” Akari laughed, admitting to her eavesdropping. The line clicked as the cake lure emerged from the waters, and Akari reached out to pluck it from the hook, and replace it - too much time in the water would leave it soggy, prone to falling apart before long. “But doesn’t he see how much Lord Electrode likes their company?”

Ever since the sneaslets had been old enough to venture outside the cave, they followed Lady Sneasler everywhere. And she often took them to Lord Electrode. The electric noble clearly enjoyed their company, having fun with them and playfully sticking their fur up with sparks of static. The kits loved it just as much as Lord Electrode, and Akari thought it was obvious - she had seen it herself a few times, but it only took one glance to notice, really. Ingo thought it was obvious too, but apparently, some people were blind to it.

“I suspect Melli is simply not yet fully able to switch tracks to the idea that inter-clan interactions are encouraged now.” Seeing the teenager moving to replace the bait, Ingo automatically reached for a handful of cake lure base, and began mashing plump beans into it - basculin were particular to this ingredient, as were other water-dwelling pokemon. He handed it to Akari, so she could attach it to the line. “He has been rather bristly with me lately, and I believe he wants his noble to follow in his tracks. He still has a few stops to reach, but I believe he will reach his destination in due time.”

“Well he better hurry up,” Akari pushed the hook into the cake lure and flicked the rod, sending the bait back into the water with a small splash. “I don’t want him to keep bothering you about things like that. And he cost me an alternate-color alpha.”

“I’m sure it is still here,” Ingo settled further against the base of the tree, clasping his hands together and resting them against his belt. “We’ll just have to be patient for a bit longer, is all.”

————

Ingo sat up as a low rumble reverberated through him, the fishing pole grasped in his hands - he could feel it more than hear it, and it was faint from where it emanated, but it was unmistakable.

“Ah, Miss Akari, I believe it’s finally returned to the station.”

Akari, who was a short distance away in a patch of tallgrass, looked up from the pokedex in her hands at Ingo’s whispering.

Several hours had passed, and the cold morning sky had since gradated to a warmer afternoon tone. Bites on the line had been incredibly scarce since Melli’s visit, and Akari had begun to express interest in taking the chance to fill up her pokedex with more info on the surrounding roselia. So, Ingo had encouraged her to do so while he kept an eye on the fishing line, promising to let her know if anything else bit.

Another bout of low rumbling sent rings of movement rippling across the surface of the waters. Bubbles gurgled up, close to the bait. Akari was beside Ingo in a second, as silent as possible with both her movements and her words. “I felt it that time - thank Arceus! I was beginning to worry it had disappeared into one of the tunnels!”

Ingo carefully offered the fishing rod to her so as not to jostle the line, and she took it in her hands, holding on tightly.

The glow of the red eyes under the water returned, as did the odd sparkling of its scales. The bait had caught its attention, just as much as it had caught Ingo and Akari’s attention.

“Alright, when it bites down, try and haul it onto the shore.” Ingo whispered to Akari, both their eyes locked on the bait bobbing beneath the water’s surface. “I can offer assistance if needed. It will not be able to depart so easily once we remove it from the water, and you will be able to-”

“Ingo!”

Once again, the familiar voice somewhere in the distance rang out. The burmy tucked themselves away, the roselia rushed for shelter… and the alpha basculin’s tail thrashed out of the water as it whipped around and dove back into the deep, several other basculin following suit.

“Oh come on!” Akari could barely maintain a lower volume as she stood up and shook the fishing rod in her hands, visibly indignant. “Melli!”

Once again, Ingo looked over his shoulder to spot Melli entering the Fabled Springs, Skuntank rushing down to the waters. To both Ingo and Akari’s horror, the purple-furred Pokémon stuck its face in the pool and began vigorously rubbing its muzzle into it, disrupting the waters and all its inhabitants.

“No no no- hold on!” Ingo pushed himself up onto his feet and hurried over, dragging Skuntank out of the spring. Its entire front was saturated with water, its fur dripping, but it didn’t seem bothered at all to be dragged out. “Please, refrain from doing that!”

“Of course you’re still here with the noodle, not doing anything about the problem!” Melli approached the warden and the teen; he seemed to be tediously picking something from off his clothes and hair. “No wonder the little runts had returned to torment my mighty Lord once again! You know what they did to myself and Skuntank?”

Too loud. He was being too loud. Between Skuntank’s disturbance of the water, and Melli’s noisy, passionate ranting, he wouldn’t be surprised if the subject of his and Akari’s attention had swam off for good, likely never to be seen again. Hours of patience absolutely wasted in a single moment-

“Melli, if I may have a word with you,” Ingo’s features gained a miffed quality, expressing what he tried to refrain from bleeding into his voice. He let go of Skuntank, and moved to take Melli off to the side quickly, away from the waters. If by some minuscule chance that the alternate-color alpha was not entirely gone, he did not want to have Melli change that percentage to zero.

Ingo was not one for unprompted physical contact outside of very close loved ones, and Melli knew this very well. So Ingo could tell it startled the purple-haired warden a little when he took him by the shoulder to lead him away.

“Melli, I don’t believe you grasp just how much-” a deep sigh escaped Ingo’s lungs as he halted himself, seeing Melli’s expression, and forced a track change. “…What did they do now.”

It was a question (albeit an irritated one), but it was phrased much more like a disappointing statement. However, it seemed to ease Melli slightly, seeing Ingo was asking for his side of things instead of blowing up at him.

“Well, look at me! And Skuntank too! Isn’t it obvious what those monsters did?” Melli gestured to himself and his companion, as if the answer was glaringly evident.

Ingo glanced over Lord Electrode’s warden. He supposed he hadn’t noticed it in his hurry to keep him away from the pool, but numerous purple and white tufts littered Melli’s clothes. It was in his hair as well, though it was a little harder to see it there, with the purple against purple.

Skuntank huffed, planting itself on the ground beside Melli as it rubbed at its snout with its paw. Ingo could see the same purple and white fluff amongst its darker fur.

“They attacked me-!”

Surely, they were simply saying hello to him.

“-Shed all over us both-”

They couldn’t exactly help that natural process, especially as their second coats were starting to come in, and replace their baby fur.

“-And they scratched poor Skuntank! He’s surely reeling from the poison right now!”

Alright, the first half of that sentence caught Ingo a little off guard.

A quick glance down at the purple-furred Pokémon, and Ingo could see there were a few small scratches across its muzzle - but it certainly wasn’t poisoned. There was no red irritation around the scrapes, or purple discoloration that would have been expected. Even its face was one of unbothered indifference. It probably only itched or burned slightly at most, which at least explained why it tried to wash its face in the water earlier.

“While I apologize for the incident on behalf of my Noble’s kits, Skuntank shares its poison typing with them. I am sure they’re quite alright.” Ingo suspected Melli knew this just as well as he did though; he believed Melli was simply looking for excuses at this point to make it sound worse than it was, so Ingo would gain some incentive to do something. “You didn’t attempt to drive them off again, did you? They do not lash out like this unless provoked, and I specifically warned you not to provoke them.”

“Of course not, they started it!” Melli placed a hand on his chest, appearing a little offended if anything. “You know, when Lord Electrode had little sprouts last spring, they were never out of control like these, gremlins of yours.”

“Melli, they consider your noble to be a friend, and I’ve observed Lord Electrode feels this mutually. I don’t mean to imply anything, but forced separation appears to upset him just as much as the kits.” “Do you want this separation for the well-being of your noble? Or for your own, well… personal reasons?”

With another huff, Skuntank stood up to leave and trotted over to Akari, much more calm and quiet compared to its earlier disposition. Ingo figured it was as sick of this conversation as he was.

Or, it knew Melli’s true motives had been called out right in his face.

“Well, I-“ Melli stumbled over his words for a moment, looking like a scared-stiff stantler, until he crossed his arms, forcing an indignant look as if Ingo owed him something. “-Never mind that! Are you going to come remove those pests from my poor Lord Electrode’s arena now? You said you’d take care of it!”

“I expressed I would bring it up next time our tracks crossed.” Ingo corrected him, stern. He was growing tired of this conversation very fast. “But as I stated before, my schedule is currently full with assisting Akari. The faster we reach our destination, the faster I can get to your request. But for now, I’d appreciate it if I could focus on my task with her, uninterrupted.”

Ingo moved to return to Akari, expressing that the conversation was now over.

But Melli did not want it to be over.

“Wait! Can’t you just keep those little monsters down here with you or something, and far away from my Lord?” Melli followed after him, stuck to his side like a teddiursa harassing a combee.

The thought of trying to manage nine hyperactive sneasles and trying to maintain a calm, quiet atmosphere while simultaneously fishing sounded like a nightmare to Ingo. But thankfully, he had a legitimate reason not to agree to that.

“It is best for them to stay where they are close by their mother, as they do not fare well around bodies of water at this age. Lady Sneasler and I find it’s best to keep them away from areas like this.” Ingo didn’t stop, but he had the decency to at least talk over his shoulder.

“Well, I’d find it better to keep them away from me.”

“I am aware.” Ingo was glad he had his back to Melli, so that he could not see his current expression.

“So what, is that it? I just have to defend myself against your out-of-control sneasels until you finish your nonsense down here?” Melli sounded entirely indignant at this point.

“I have no issue with you traveling down here to discuss your concerns.” Ingo suddenly stopped in his tracks to keep the man and his loud complaints from getting any closer to the water. Melli almost walked right into his back. “I just ask that you please not do so in such a way that disturbs the surrounding Pokémon, and Miss Akari’s efforts to capture them. Simply arrive in a composed manner, and I would be more than happy to step away and advise you further.”

He really wouldn’t be, but Ingo just wanted Melli to leave at the moment, with as few hurt feelings as possible.

The purple-haired warden seemed to at least appreciate that Ingo wasn’t shutting him out, though it was far from what he wanted to hear, judging by the displeased look on his face. He crossed his arms and huffed in a stubborn manner, but relented to defeat.

“Hmph… fine! Skuntank, let’s go. We should return to Lord Electrode before those monsters come back, and torment him while he’s defenseless.” He called over to his companion.

Skuntank, who had wandered over to Akari and was currently receiving chin scratches, perked up and trotted back over to Melli’s side.

“I’m sure I’ll be back,” Melli warned Ingo as he turned rather dramatically to leave. The two headed back for the hills with no further comment, finally out of their hair.

Once again, Ingo slumped his shoulders, feeling like he was finally able to relax a little. Not completely, though; Melli might have been staved off for a little longer, but he had left him with quite the aftermath to deal with. The warden turned to finally face Akari, and smooth over what he felt he had allowed to happen.

“Miss Akari, I deeply apologize for the interruption,” Ingo walked back over to the teen, who was currently hugging her knees. Her fishing pole was in the grass beside her, disregarded amongst some smaller chunks of berries - she had been kind enough to feel Skuntank a few, it seemed. “That should not have happened a second time.”

“It’s not your fault,” Akari’s frown was deeper-set than Ingo’s as she stared out at the spring, discouraged at how still the waters now were. “But yeah, that was the second time that’s happened. And it’s getting later...”

“I told him not to interrupt us in such a way again.” The warden tried to reassure her. “We should have no further interruptions like that.”

Ingo picked the abandoned fishing rod up out of the grass, and held it out for Akari to receive, patting her reassuringly on the shoulder. Her gaze first fell on the pole held out to her, then up at Ingo’s face.

“Come on Miss Akari, let’s give it another try.”

————

The sun was beginning to lower towards the mountain line, staining the sky a bright orange that was starting to fade to purple. A cluster of yanma from over the hills had drifted to the waters of the Fabled Spring, hovering over the surface lazily as they congregated.

Ingo sipped from a flask of water and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, keeping his eyes on the sunset waters. There was barely any movement aside from the ripples an occasional breeze stirred up. Vacant, just like it had been for the last two hours.

Time was running out; they would have to be out of here once the sun set, to get Akari back to Jubilife at a reasonable time.

Akari reeled the line in, and a soggy lump of cake lure was dragged out of the water, dripping onto the grass below. It was entirely untouched, just like the last lump of bait they had used.

“Do you think we need different bait?” Akari questioned as she unfastened the loose cake lure and tossed it aside. “They’re not really um, biting anymore.”

Not even the more average sized basculin were coming up to inspect the line at this point. Where were they?

“It couldn’t hurt to try,” Ingo offered. Though, it was more hopeful optimism than anything; he knew the growing scarcity was more likely due to Melli’s repeated interruptions than anything. He was certain that Akari was stressing over the same thing, even if she wasn’t saying anything about it.

Akari reached into her satchel in search of more cake lure base. There were a couple bundles left, but they had blown through most of it at this point - she could really only make one or two more lumps of bait with what was still there.

“We don’t have very much lure base left,” Akari commented as she set the rice cake down, splitting open a few plump bean pods to mash into it. Popping the empty pods into her mouth when she was done, Akari noted that they didn’t have many of those left either. “What should I add to it?”

“Hmm… try some crunchy salt.” Ingo briefly browsed what they had available. “I recall a few members of Pearl Clan often mentioning how they use it when they go fishing in the icelands.”

Akari did as he suggested, and ground a handful of the pink salt into the sticky rice and mashed beans.

“Alright, hopefully this helps!” Akari pushed the lump of cake lure onto the hook, and reeled the pole back to cast it. With a flick, the line was whipped into the water. The lure base hit the surface with a plunk, and then silence followed as the lump bobbed under the waters.

All they could do now was wait, and hope something would bite.

Akari moved to sit back down, adjusting herself into a comfortable position in the grass by Ingo’s side. She brought up her knees to rest the fishing rod against them, which she held close to her chest. Ingo stretched, and again settled back down against the base of the tree, reaching back to rest his arms behind his head - a variance of the same position he had taken to the most over the day.

With half-closed eyes, Ingo kept watch over the water, and the bobbing lure base with the ambience of the yanma around them. He might have been able to drift off to sleep right then and there, if his mind wasn’t still stressing over the hypotheticals of leaving this place empty handed - he dearly wanted Akari to come away from this with something to show for it - and how it might not be a hypothetical for much longer.

Apparently, Akari was thinking the same exact thing.

“What if we don’t end up catching them?” The movements of the pole clicked gently as the teen readjusted her grip on it. “I have to catch it today; I can’t do this again tomorrow. I’m leaving early in the morning on a trip to the coastlands with Rei, and I know I’m going to be out there all day. I have to help him document a big herd of sealeo.”

Ingo sighed through his nose as he momentarily closed his eyes to think. That was a difficult question to give a satisfying answer to.

“Well, I’m not leaving my station here in the highlands tomorrow. I can station myself here and attempt to catch it for you, if you’d like. And when you arrive back, I would be happy to release it into your care.”

He could tell Akari wanted to catch it for herself, though… intently so. And he didn’t blame her; there was a certain pride about that.

“Or, I can simply keep watch over it here in the spring, and make sure it doesn’t depart, until your return to the station.”

He knew neither were optimal options though; he could not ensure it wouldn’t dart away into the network of tunnels, or somewhere else as obviously inaccessible to him. Or that some Pokémon wouldn’t be cunning and sneaky enough to snatch it up as a meal before he could stop it. But if these were their only options, he would do his best.

“But I have to catch it today.” Akari reiterated. There was some new urgency creeping into her voice. “Because if I don’t, Kana’s going to catch it when I’m gone.”

Kana. Ingo’s frown deepened at the troublesome woman’s name. It seemed she was bent on giving grief to just about everyone in the Galaxy Team that she thought was better than her - from pestering Zisu about how she deserved the position of Security Corps Captain more, to purposely trying to outdo Rei and Akari at their own jobs just to prove she should be more appreciated with a better position. The woman was even an enigma with himself from time to time, trying to hint that he should vouch for her to replace Zisu’s spot at the dojo. Like that would ever work. He knew she didn’t exactly approve of him, regarding how Kamado basically created a new position just for him at the dojo, working alongside Zisu instead of de-ranking her.

Kana may have been in her 20’s, but he swore she acted more like she was Lian’s age… and even then, Kleavor’s warden was leagues more mature than her.

Ingo could see this was about more than just the pride in catching something herself now; Ingo realized Akari’s threatened pride extended towards a social aspect now as well.

Had Akari silently been stressing about this all day? He hated the thought of that.

“And why would uh, Miss Kana attempt that?” Ingo suspected he already knew the answer though - he was aware of how much Akari confided in her good friend Rei.

“Well, I kind of, sort of told Rei about how you saw this alternate-color basculin out here. And she kind of, sort of… overheard everything.” Akari winced at her own admission, keeping her eyes on the ground. “I didn’t know she was listening or I wouldn’t have said anything! She said when I come back empty-handed tonight, she’s going to catch it while I’m off with Rei tomorrow, and shove it in my face forever, and never let it go that she caught an alternate-color Pokémon, and I didn’t! And she doesn’t even know it’s also an alpha yet!”

Akari huffed through her nose harshly, expelling some building steam in her system.

“Of course, she didn’t say it like that though, she said it in the grossly-sweet way she always words things. You know, the outwardly-passive, inwardly-aggressive way.”

“Ah, I am familiar.”

It was a very familiar tactic to Ingo. Kana always worded things just right, so that she could always argue that her words were misunderstood, and taken the wrong way. And while it was true that Galarian was her first language, and Hisuian was a growing second, she knew it much too well to be using it like the additional excuse that she was.

It was also one of the two reasons why she still even had a job where she did with the security corps, instead of being moved to the agriculture corps or something; the other reason was that she was actually quite formidable with Pokémon… at least, compared to the average villager in Jubilife. Any appreciation Ingo would have held for her skill set was greatly offset by her actions, though.

“You won’t let her catch it tomorrow, right?”

There was more despondency in her voice than Ingo would have liked to hear.

Of course he wouldn’t let her. Ingo had strong feelings about people that tried to pull things like this on youth, especially towards those as kind as Rei and Akari. If things got to that point, Ingo would not allow her near the springs. But he certainly didn’t want Kana hanging around him either, pestering him to get around him to the waters. Perhaps he could fake her out, and tell her it’s up at the top of Mount Coronet…

“Well, I won’t have to. That’s not going to happen, because I know you’re going to catch this Basculin today.” Ingo resolved, reaching over to pat Akari reassuringly on the shoulder. It worked as intended, as a small smile spread across her face, some light returning to her bright eyes. “You don’t have to worry about her taking your hard-earned prize.”

“Thanks, Ingo.” Akari turned back to the rod in her hands; he could tell she genuinely felt more at ease now.

“Of course,” Ingo settled back against the tree, re-adjusting his arms resting behind his head. His eyes closed again, listening to the dull buzzing of the yanma hovering over the spring’s waters.

It was quite relaxing.

Once again, the pull of sleep was a gentle one on his mind, inviting and pleasant. Akari would let him know if something happened, surely. Perhaps for just a few minutes, he could just…

“Hey!” Akari suddenly hissed through her teeth.

Ingo was not expecting her to let him know so soon.

The warden sat up straight as he pushed the brim of his cap up out of his eyes - did something finally bite?

The sight was simultaneously as surprising as it was disappointing - something had bit alright. But instead of scales, fins, and gills, it had wings, spikes, and legs… lots of legs.

One of the yanmas hovering over the surface of the water had decided that Akari’s bait was a perfect meal for it. It was using its front legs to grip the cake lure as it broke pieces off with its mandibles, tugging roughly on the fishing line as it hovered just on top of the water.

Could they not catch a break at all today?

Ingo sat forward, reaching into one of his coat pockets quickly. “Hold on, Miss Akari. Gliscor can-“

The strained tension of the situation snapped like an overwound cord as something broke the surface of the water, and every yanma in the area immediately scattered into the sky above.

Large, sharp teeth clamped down on the yanma’s tail from below, the entire appendage disappearing between the pearly white beartrap of a mouth. Red, irritated eyes moved incessantly as they took in the appearance of the victim to ensure it was caught. Overgrown, weathered fins beat the air as it tried to keep its massive weight above the surface, and tightly-compacted scales sheened against the sunset lighting in a bizarre, but eye-catching way.

The rumbles reverberated through its chest again, much more palpable without the depths of the spring muffling it. Gravity caught up to it and yanked its weight back down into the water, and the beast dragged the unfortunate yanma under with it before it could so much as chitter.

In its wake, the disturbed water was left as a jumble of ripples. Bubbles came up in bouts. The cluster of yanma had long since fled upwards as their evolved companion sank downwards. Akari’s bait was long gone, joining the unfortunate yanma in its fate, along with most of Akari’s hook and line; the string had snapped with the force.

The whole display only took around four seconds or so, but it certainly felt longer.

It hadn’t fled at all; it had simply been waiting for a meal as large as itself (if not larger) to move within reach of the water, unassuming of its presence.

“It’s still here!” Akari’s voice broke the silence, an air of excitement about it.

“It’s advantageous.” Ingo simply stated the epiphany. He briefly removed his cap to run a hand through his hair. Of course it wouldn’t leave this area… it was the biggest fish in the pool. In its own underwater world, it was predatory, and at the top of the food chain - that might even explain where all the other basclulin were disappearing to. However, as a Pokémon typically seen as prey in the world above the watery surface, it had to act like one. Was that why it was cautious of the line? Why it didn’t drift near the surface? It was a coward… unless it saw an opportunity, that is. That was very characteristic of an alpha.

It was quite fascinating what hormonal aggression would do to otherwise-cowardly Pokémon of the prey variety. Ingo found himself wondering if Professor Laventon had already considered researching the subject.

However, the warden’s intrigue quickly faded as he caught notice of Akari looking over her fishing pole.

“It um, it snapped the line.” She explained, showing it to him. They didn’t bring extra fishing line, though now it was glaringly obvious that they should have.

Ingo could see she had more to say, words of defeat waiting in her throat. That now they had nothing to fish with. That now they couldn’t catch it. Ingo did not want her to say those words.

The Basculin may have chanced it with a yanma as big as itself, but all of his Pokémon were much larger and stronger than a wild yanma, and ill-suited for water - Akari’s as well. Regardless of whether they lingered above the spring or waded into it, the basculin would never surface to take them on. It was fearful of what was in the area, until it thought it could take them down.

Basculin may thoroughly be cowards, but aggression-powered alpha basculin were opportunistic bullies.

What did they have that the basculin would go after? Ingo’s eyes flitted over the broken rod for a moment, then lingered on Akari.

…He would not even consider that, even though he was sure the basculin would. Akari was the same size as it was, just like that yanma… but perhaps it would chance going after a slightly-larger substitute, if the substitute appeared vulnerable enough.

“Miss Akari, I believe I know the right track to luring out our target.” Ingo stood up with a sudden purpose, brushing stray grass from off of his coat. “And we do not need the services of the fishing rod for it.”

Akari didn’t immediately follow, and only became even more confused when Ingo began kicking his shoes off, stuffing his socks inside them.

“Um, Ingo..?” Akari began to question as he slipped his coat from off his shoulders, taking care to fold it neatly and set it down in the grass beside his shoes. Only when he started rolling his pant legs up over his knees, did it click for Akari what he was actually doing.

Surely not-

“Ingo.” Her voice now carried a modicum of disbelief.

“When I go out there,” Ingo started to explain as he removed his tattered hat, placing it down on his folded coat. “I’m going to let it come at me, and attempt to drag it out myself. Be ready to initiate battle with it or capture it in an empty pokeball as soon as I get it out on shore. Not before it is completely out of the water, only after, lest it escape back to the depths.”

“Ingo, no,” Akari was already on her feet as well, hastily pulling her shoes off with one hand as she yanked at the scarf around her neck with the other. “Here, let me do it! I can do it instead-“

“Miss Akari, please allow me.” Ingo paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to word his concerns in a way that wouldn’t offend her. “If it, ah, manages to pull you down…”

Right. Ingo had recently taught her how to swim, but it was easy for her to forget that an able swimmer did not always equal a strong swimmer. And she was not a strong swimmer by any means yet. If a Pokémon of that size managed to drag her under…

“Right,” Akari knew not to argue with that. “Sorry.”

Akari instead fumbled through her satchel for a handful of empty pokeballs as Ingo set foot in the edge of the spring. Wading deeper, the waters reached first his ankles, then his calves, then his knees… Ingo stopped only when a wet coldness saturated the edges of his rolled-up pant legs.

“What now?” Akari whispered from the shore as quietly as she could, holding tight onto the pokeballs.

We wait. Ingo mouthed the words back; out in the waters, Ingo didn’t even want to chance a whisper that might be too loud.

And so, they waited.

————

The sunset was beginning to wane over the mountain line, and Akari could see Ingo beginning to shiver in the water.

Almost twenty minutes had passed, and the temperature had started to drop. Akari had taken to standing in the shallows, and Ingo had since waded further into the waters, if only to appear more enticing. He was up to his ribs now, his tunic since thrown to the side of the shore to keep it dry. That was as far as he would allow himself to go, without going into the drop-off and losing the footing below him. So he kept still at the edge, waiting for even the smallest movement around him.

Akari knew they’d have to be leaving soon. Like, within the next ten minutes soon. And she knew Ingo was acutely aware of this as well; she could see he was trying his absolute best to lure out the alpha basculin before their time was up. He absolutely did not want Akari to go back to the Galaxy Hall without that basculin in her possession, and be subjected to Kana’s torment. And while she appreciated it, she couldn’t help but feel bad that he was doing all of this for her.

She had already rolled her pantlegs up and shuffled past the shoreline into the shallow waters, but Ingo had urged her to not go past where the water reached her calves, at the very least. Which meant that Akari was stranded close to the shore, unable to do much else rather than wait, fiddling with an empty pokeball in her hands.

They both knew it was still here. There was no doubt about that. The yanma would not return to the waters, instead hovering nearby at the springs’ edges, and every once in a while, some bubbles would burble up somewhere amongst the waters, almost in a mocking tone. So why wasn’t it appearing? Perhaps it thought Ingo would put up too much of a fight if it went after him, and was simply assessing him, waiting for a weakness to open up… which, to be fair, was a good judgment on the basculin’s part. But still-

“Ingo!”

Ingo’s blood ran cold at the very, very familiar call that was ringing out for the third time that day. Both the warden and the teen turned back to see exactly who they expected, once again running down towards the Fabled Spring. Skuntank was right behind him, but this time, he was being trailed by nine very tiny, very angry, and very soaked sneasels.

That was not how Ingo told him to approach at all!

“Melli! No!” Ingo tried to make it obvious that the purple-haired warden needed to stop, making swift shooing motions with his hands. He began to wade closer to the shore in an effort to keep Melli out of the water, but didn’t expect when he reached the edge of the spring, only to keep running right towards Ingo, with Skuntank right behind him.

“You said they didn’t like water! Not that they absolutely hated it, and would attack me!” Indignant and panic mixed in Melli’s voice as he grabbed onto Ingo’s shoulders and hid behind him, using him as a shield against his own nobles’ kits. The sneasels gathered at the shoreline, not daring to enter the waters past their legs as they angrily yowled and swiped at Melli, before whimpering as they retreated over to Akari, upset. “Control those runts!”

“Melli, What did you do? I thought I told you not to antagonize them! Or interrupt us in such a manner!” Ingo couldn’t help the rarer appearance of his frustration making itself known in his voice. Irritation over Melli’s repeated interruptions and aggravation that he had gone so far as to apparently attack his noble’s sweet kits fought for his focus. He began dragging Melli back to shore, but the taller man tried to resist, attempting to keep distance between himself and the kits.

“I know, I know! And I’m sorry! But It’s not my fault they keep coming back to terrorize me and my mighty Lord! You said they didn’t like water, and you obviously were too busy doing nothing of importance down here to help, so I just, I don’t know, threw a little water at them!” Melli seemed to finally understand he had just run up to his knees in cold mountain water, as a look of discomfort crept into his features. “But then they chased me! I’m the Great Melli - This is no way for me to be treated! You need to get those beastly little things under control!”

Ingo didn’t even know where to begin with this, there were so many things wrong with what Melli was saying and doing. So he decided he just wouldn’t - the sight of Akari at the shore cooled his irritation some, with the kits crowded around her as she attempted to console and dry them off. At least they didn’t seem hurt, just thoroughly soaked.

Besides, his repercussive anger was not the one Melli should be fearful of.

“Melli, I do not envy you for the moment that Lady Sneasler learns of this treatment towards her kits.” Ingo warned as he continued to try and move Melli back to shore, slipping an arm under his own to help lug him back. “But you must listen to me and depart post-haste, back behind the yellow line; there is something in here that will do much more harm to you than the kits ever would. You need to get out of the water now, before-“

A low groan reverberated through the spring. Before Ingo could move, or Melli could shout, a shining mass, with its steel bear trap of a mouth and boat's rudder of a tail, launched out of the water, and bit down onto flesh.

————

“Ow! Careful!”

“Apologies,” Ingo continued to wrap bandaging around the bite wound on Melli’s leg. A few of the sneaslets watched from upon Ingo’s shoulder, who was barely paying attention to the taller warden’s complaints from where he sat with Skuntank against a tree.

Akari was managing the impromptu campfire they had set up beside the spring, staring down happily at the now-inhabited pokeball in her hands, a few of the damp kits huddled around her for warmth.

“I hope you can train that wretched thing not to bite so hard.” Melli turned to address Akari, crossing his arms across his chest as Ingo began tying the wrapping. “You’re lucky I was here when I was. I doubt anyone else would be taking it this well.”

Akari didn’t know if she would have considered the indignant way Melli first screamed when the basculin bit into the back of his calf as ‘taking it well’… especially since he continued to do so as Ingo dragged him the whole way back to shore, the massive basculin latched onto him like a leech. Or with how he crumpled in the grass as Ingo and Akari did their best to wrench the Pokémon off of him and get it into a pokeball. Or even with how he cowered behind Skuntank, wailing about how he was certain he was going to bleed to death thanks to his ‘grievous wound’, and that he was sure the vicious kits were attracted to the scent of his blood.

But she decided after all Melli had done to help them catch this very special basculin - even if it was inadvertently - the least she could do was indulge him. All things considered, the wound that had been inflicted upon him really wasn’t something that someone could just walk off within a few hours.

“I’m sure,” Akari finally put the basculin’s pokeball away, tucking it back into her satchel. Now she had nothing to worry about with Kana, and could entirely enjoy her time with Rei tomorrow. “Thanks for um, taking one for the team, Melli. This was really important to me.”

Akari didn’t let on that the basculin targeted victims it believed it was stronger than, which is why it probably left Ingo alone for assessment for over twenty minutes, but clamped right down onto him immediately.

Don’t tell him. Let him have this.

Unaware of the whole truth, the extension of gratitude seemed to catch Melli off guard, but he mellowed out considerably, clearly appreciative.

“Well, you’re quite welcome. The great Melli is always happy to help.” A smile found its way onto the purple-haired warden’s face as he slightly relaxed for the first time since he had sat down. Ingo was just glad he had stopped moving around so much, so he could finish tying off the bandages.

“Melli,” Ingo cleared his throat as he sat back, packing the medical supplies away. “About today, I ah, I will earnestly discuss the kits’ behavior with my Lady tonight, but… is it really that unacceptable that they interact with Lord Electrode from time to time? If not for inter-clan companionship, at least for peace; they would almost certainly not act out like this if so. Giving a little can go a long way with them.”

Melli’s crossed arms, having loosened with his improving attitude, stiffened along with the rest of his posture at the question - most likely as a knee-jerk reaction. But his gaze shifted from the tiny sneaslets now snuggled against him, having seemingly forgiven him for his earlier offenses, to Ingo and Akari, who were honestly being quite nice to him…

“Oh, Well. I suppose it wouldn’t be too torturous.” Melli relented, taking on a facade of annoyance. “If they mind their manners in the presence of myself and my Lord, that is!”

“If you reciprocate that respect, and perhaps don’t, well, throw water on them or gas them out, I’m sure they’ll be perfectly amiable.” Ingo advised as he moved closer to the fire, in order to dry his still-damp pant legs. A few of the sneasel that Akari had been petting rushed over to nestle into his lap, mewling in apparent agreement.

Speaking of Akari…

“And Miss Akari, have you considered what you’re going to name your basculin, yet?” The warden turned to her as he slipped his coat back on over his shoulders like a blanket, and placed his cap back upon his head. Akari always gifted her Pokémon with nicknames, and he had grown to look forward to hearing them now. “That is quite the special catch, and deserves an equally special name.”

“Hmm…” Deep in thought, Akari looked down at one of the kits in her lap that she was currently petting. “Maybe… Calamari.”

The name caught Ingo off guard - this was a basculin after all, not an octillery!

“It’s… a sufficient name for a water dweller.” He tried to be supportive.

“Calamari? That thing’s not an octillery!” Melli was bold enough to verbalize both his and Ingo’s thoughts from across the campfire. He readjusted his wrapped leg, to find a more comfortable position. “I think ‘Mauler’ or ‘Killer’ would be more fitting, anyways.”

“No, no, I know it doesn’t fit at all,” Akari laughed; she at least appreciated Ingo’s attempt to be kind. “And I know when I say it, Kana’s gonna say it dumb, and then probably insinuate that I’m dumb, and a bunch of other passive aggressive stuff just because I caught it, and she didn’t. But wait till she hears me start calling it ‘Cala’!”

Ingo should not have laughed at that like he did. The shortened name Cala was close enough to Kana, that he knew it would stir something with her - he was well aware she would not appreciate being compared to an overgrown fish. But it was different enough that really, Akari could claim it was just a coincidental misunderstanding - one of Kana’s most used tactics.

And really, the alpha basculin’s prior attitude of cowardly aggression, picking only on those it thought it could take down, did seem very familiar…

“Well, all I’ll say is that it suits the basculin.” Ingo got out his last few residual laughs - it wouldn’t exactly be polite to directly approve of Akari’s reasons, but he could perhaps overlook it in favor of appreciating her creativity. Akari sure had a way with nicknames.

#submas #ingo #warden ingo #Akari #pokemon akari #melli #pokemon melli #basculin #Pokemon legends arceus #Pokémon legends arceus #Pokémon legends #pokemon legends #pokemon #pokemon fanfiction #pokemon fanfic #waywardstationfanfic

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that1nkyone · 3 years ago

Text

Baneful Fox Mask AU.

hey i had a silly thought for an AU that I am not writing out as a full fic because it is basically Spectrum except Submas style instead of the Undertale Skelebros.

Bros with beastly amnesia angst? Check.

Kid in need of Uncle Figures? Check.

Cool Werewolf Fights? Check.

Anyway I wrote out a whole summary of the plot because there was one scene in the finale that I thought justified it. Also Rei/Lucas gets to be the protag here because Dawn's over in the Distortion World AU.

SPECTRUM... 2!!

In the Alabaster Icelands, after a Space Time Rift, a deal takes place.

The Baneful Fox himself stands over a decrepit and injured Emmet, who has also been displaced through time to try finding his brother. Emmet is on his last legs, and perhaps at the end of the line. But Zoroark senses something interesting about him - something that could make him useful.

He offers a deal to Emmet, as a Fox Mask appears in his claws and clatters to the ground. Serve Zoroark as his eyes and ears, as his peon - and he will be reunited with whom he's been searching for. Zoroark grins as Emmet slowly picks up the mask - he always knows to employ people when they're at their most desperate, as they'll overlook the details.

But before Emmet lifts the mask to his face, he pauses.

"I have... one condition." he says.

We cut to a day later. Rei and Ingo are having a fierce battle with one another in Jubilife. It seems to be Rei's victory - until Ingo employs a sneaky tactic and defeats him. Rei complains about being very close, but Ingo congratulates him, nonetheless.

Ingo checks the sun, and realises he needs to keep on schedule. He had to meet with Lady Sneasler to give her some offerings. Rei nods, realising he needs to go and fill out more Pokedex pages.

Ingo realises that there's a lot of scuff marks and bruises on the boy. He asks if Rei's been performing maintenance, and Rei waves him off, saying he can handle dealing with Alphas. Ingo reprimands him - 'safety first,' after all. He takes him to Pesselle, with Rei complaining that they'll both be late for their respective tasks.

After that's done, Rei tells Ingo that he doesn't need to hover over him so much. Ingo takes this advice in, and apologises. Rei suddenly feels a little awkward and says it's fine - he's just a little embarrassed. He doesn't like being fussed over.

When Ingo finally leaves the village, he's struck by a dizzy spell. It takes him a moment to recover, and he continues - but unbeknownst to him, there is a flicker of red in his eyes.

He makes it to the Coronet Highlands, where he meets with Lady Sneasler and hands over her offerings. He is also Designated Babysitter, as many Sneaslets start clambering all over him.

However, as he's caring for the Sneaslet's, Lady Sneasler notices something is wrong with Ingo. He suffers a second dizzy spell and sits down - though Sneasler lifts his head up and studies his eyes like a stern grandmother.

Ingo admits he's not used to being fussed over, either. However, the look in Sneasler's eyes grows serious. She gives a small growl, and all the Sneaslets clamber off of him at once, albeit hesitantly - one clings to his arm with a whine. Ingo asks what the matter is, only to suffer a proper headache this time, his mind growing foggy. He is prevented from falling over by Sneasler, who hands him an Aspear berry. He eats some, and the sourness snaps him out of his haze.

Ingo then decides it's time to see Calaba - as he may be suffering from some sort of affliction. Meanwhile, Lady Sneasler climbs up Mt Coronet with a determined expression - something is wrong with her Warden, and she's getting to the bottom of it. But first, she's putting her kits away.

Calaba, upon seeing Ingo, becomes grave as soon as she figures out what's happening. She removes Ingo's hat and shows him his facial reflection - his ears and teeth are becoming pointed, there's red patterns beneath his eyes, and a ring of red seems to be centering around his pupils.

Ingo, suddenly very nervous, asks what's happening to him. Calaba explains that he seems to be in the thrall of a Zoroark. She has only seen two cases like his - one ended in the afflicted disappearing forever, and the second was a very lucky case where the afflicted was freed - however, suffered gaps in their memory for the rest of their life. It is very powerful magic.

This strikes Ingo, hard - as he's upset that he may lose his memory all over again. He admits he doesn't remember seeing a Zoroark for a long time. Calaba explains that perhaps he was tricked by a clever Zoroark in disguise - though there is one other way he could have been affected. Before she can explain, another dizzy spell hits Ingo, and Calaba keeps him steady. She patiently explains that he is now a danger to the Clan. He will need to leave soon, as Zoroark will assert itself more and more over time.

Ingo sees that his hands have now grown claws, though Calaba remarks offhandedly that she wasn't expecting to see black fur. She tells Ingo that she will inform the clan of everything - and that if they can, they will find a way to retrieve him.

The defeated Ingo removes his coat and Warden's Bracelet as well, and says that he can't ask them to risk their lives any more than they already have. He asks Calaba to give Irida, Lady Sneasler, the Clan, Zisu and Rei his regards.

In the Alabaster Icelands, Rei is battling an Alpha Glalie. He manages to catch it by the skin of his teeth, though after a couple close calls, starts to wonder if Ingo was right and if he really is pushing it.

It's here where he spots a man, trudging through the snow. He believes it's just another member of the Pearl Clan - but coming up close, he realises it's Ingo. His eyes are very glazed over, and he looks completely out of it.

Rei asks Ingo what he's doing out there. Ingo looks at him in confusion for a few moments, before snapping out of his daze and telling Rei to take a detour around him. It's here where Rei sees the claws and the slight changes in Ingo's appearance. Suddenly afraid, he asks what's happening to him.

There is a strike in the snow and a loud bellow that only an Alpha Pokemon can give. Rei is thrown off his feet and he watches as a massive Hisuian Zoroark approaches.

He watches was Ingo's own eyes flash red, and a change rolls through his body all at once. A red light constricts him, and he is changed into a second Zoroark - though one with pitch black fur and red streaks. His eyes remain glowing red and soulless, while the large Hisuian Zoroark lunges for Rei with a howl. Knowing that he's out of usable Pokemon thanks to the Glalie, Rei throws down a smoke bomb and disappears into the Icelands.

Rei comes up to the Pearl village, which is in an uproar. He quickly learns the situation with Ingo, and how he's now in the Zoroark's thrall. When asked if he saw Ingo, a shaken Rei confirms what he's seen and drops to his knees, stunned. Irida is taking this particularly hard but saving face.

Meanwhile, Zoroark!Ingo is put to work. He sets up a distraction for a herd of Mamoswine as the Baneful!Zoroark grabs his prey and feasts. Zoroark Ingo remembers nothing at this point, not even his name. Only to follow Baneful's commands.

Baneful comments that he never thought he'd end up with two servants for the price of one fool. He leaves Ingo to his own devices and tells Ingo to deal with any intruders in his domain, which allows Ingo's haze to go away. Still, Ingo is left without much to go on. Instead of eating any Mamoswine, he goes to the forest and simply eats some berries and mushrooms.

It's at this point, Rei has made his way up to the caverns of the Alabaster Icelands, out of determination. He seeks to find Ingo, and find a way to get through to him.

While he comes across many wild Pokemon, he also runs into an Alpha Frosslass. While he manages to keep her at bay with Typhlosion, he realises he's being ganged up on by Zorua, who are using Bitter Malice on him.

It's when he's close to fainting that a loud roar occurs and the Frosslass is struck down. She retreats, the Zorua scampering with her.

Rei realises that a black Zoroark is now towering over him. Rei is afraid at first, but then notices that instead of the glowing red eyes he had before, this Zoroark has Ingo's regular silver eyes. Excited, Rei quickly stands up and calls Ingo by name, stating that he's glad that he's safe.

However, Ingo tilts his head in confusion. His voice telepathically comes through - wondering aloud why a human Kit is here.

Rei's face falls, and he tries to get Ingo to remember - their battle this morning, being fussed over, their first battle together - how they're both displaced in time. None of these get the intended response from Ingo, who only continues to stare in confusion.

Rei doesn't realise he's crying until Ingo comes forward and wipes away his tears with his claws. Ingo remarks that Rei is upset, and he can't allow that. Rei, still stricken, hugs Ingo as tightly as he can. He feels gentle claws stiffly pat his back.

"... Did I forget something?"

Rei withdraws to see Ingo's eyes. They have become notably sad.

"...Forgetting feels... familiar."

It's upon hearing a growl from the other room that Ingo snaps to attention. He nudges Rei down a corridor, remarking it's not safe here for humans. He will guide Rei to the exit.

A fresh bout of tears comes from Rei as he follows Ingo - but as they reach the exit, the Baneful Fox looms over them both. Rei watches as Ingo's silver eyes grow bright red, and Baneful commands him to go after Rei.

As Rei races in the opposite direction with Ingo in hot pursuit, he ends up at a dead end. He keeps a hand on one of his Pokeballs, though notes that Typhlosion is still very tired from his last battle.

It's only when Ingo slams his claw down into the ice and misses Rei completely, that Rei realises something odd. Ingo's voice is much more guttural and snarling, but he manages to say that he's gone the wrong way.

"R... reroute... down. Another... exit..."

He snarls at Rei.

"GO."

Rei needs no more encouragement. He bolts away and sure enough, there's another exit where Ingo said it would be. He summons Braviary with a fierce determination - he now knows that Ingo is in there, somewhere, and he's not giving up on him.

Baneful comes across Ingo, who is struggling to snap himself out of his state. He is knocked aside and reprimanded for letting his prey get away. Ingo quietly states that he did pursue. He never asked him to kill the human. Baneful snarls and lets him stagger away - quietly wondering if getting two strange servants was more trouble than it was worth.

Rei returns to the Pearl Village with news of what he's seen. Irida keeps the news only to herself and Calaba - she does not want to give everyone false hope, and she suspects the Zoroark may be tricking Rei into trusting him. Rei points out that Ingo had every opportunity to kill him, and chose not to.

It still brings up the question how Ingo was enthralled in the first place. Calaba finally mentions a way it could have happened without Ingo seeing a Zoroark - someone whose soul was closely linked to his own may have been enthralled. The result would be the curse spreading to Ingo's own soul.

Irida states that it can't be possible - if Ingo is displaced through space and time like Rei, there probably isn't anyone here with that connection. Calaba comments that strange things have happened as of recent - it could very well have resulted in someone from Ingo's world coming through the rifts.

Rei takes in this new information with interest. He moves to go back out, but Calaba states he's been running around nonstop for the past couple days. Rei's about to stubbornly push on, but he recalls Ingo's words about maintenance, and reluctantly agrees that both he and his Pokemon need a rest.

Meanwhile, Ingo is in the snow forest. He is eating a Sitrus berry after being knocked down by Baneful, and is thinking hard about the human Kit he encountered. He is deeply troubled that the boy, 'Rei' seemed to know him and who he was while he didn't have a clue. He continues to eat the berry, trying not to think much more about it.

It's here when he notices another presence, up in a tree next to him. Another Hisuian Zoroark - smaller than Baneful, however - is perched on a branch. He cheerily asks Ingo what he's eating.

Ingo stands up in a defensive position. He states firmly that no other intruders are meant to be in Baneful's domain.

The other Zoroark explains that he also works for Baneful. Perpetually smiling and dropping from the branch, he wonders if Ingo is playing a trick on him.

Ingo and the Smiling Zoroark stare each other down for a few moments, before Ingo concedes he did hear Baneful mention a second servant. The Smiling Zoroark scoffs and says that he wished for a fight. Ingo finds that he doesn't really mind the idea, but he doesn't feel very inclined to do so, right now.

The Smiling Zoroark nears him. He states that he smells something familiar. Ingo politely goes through the berries he's gathered - and is amused when the Smiling Zoroark flinches away at flavours that are particularly strong.

It's here where Ingo also feels like he smells something familiar. But it's the Smiling Zoroark who sniffs his head, and studies him intently. Whatever traces of red in the Smiling Zoroark's eyes fades into silver. His expression changes.

"I've... I found you."

Ingo is enveloped into a crushing hug.

"I've found you... I've found you!! I finally found you!!"

Ingo is hit with a sudden wave of familiarity. The smell, the voice - the force of the hug. Both Zoroarks project a small illusion with the intensity of their emotions - a strange underground structure, hands and arms in the place of their claws, coats the colours of their current fur.

Ingo squeezes back the other Zoroark as the illusion disappates, and mournfully realises that he's forgotten so much. He doesn't know who this Zoroark is - only that he should not have forgotten.

The Smiling Zoroark pushes him away, confessing that has a terrible feeling that this is all his fault. Smiling doesn't know what he did, what he promised - not even his name or who he was looking for. He just remembers making a deal with Baneful. He just knew that there was someone he wished to see again, and he was so very desperate to make it happen, no matter what.

Ingo is stricken by the fact that neither of them really know who the other is - what relation they are, nothing. Just that one was desperately looking for the other. He apologises, trying to keep his composure - but the other Zoroark watches him, startled.

"You are crying."

Ingo realises that he can't stop the tears. He's frustrated, but he can't bring himself to be angry at Smiling - instead he blames himself for forgetting everything important. And so easily, too - he feels like he shouldn't. He's very lost. He doesn't know where his destination is, and he fears others are following after him down this dangerous path.

Smiling nips him in the paw, telling him to stop. He will not allow that thinking. This was not Ingo's fault. It's frustrating, of course, but he refuses to allow Ingo to blame himself. They are together now, at least. Even if the Baneful Fox is using them, they will figure things out from here. Even if they are lost now, they will find a way forward.

He takes Ingo to his den, and curls around him tightly. Ingo, realising how reassuring this contact is, rests his head on his back. They both drift off to sleep.

The following day, Rei comes back to the caverns where he saw Ingo as a Zoroark. He's wearing a snow visor to protect himself from being enthralled, just in case. It isn't long before a Zorua tries to pick a fight with him.

Before Zorua can attack however, it is scooped up by another Hisuian Zoroark. Initially fearing that he's been ambushed again, Rei throws a Pokeball at him.

It's batted away.

"That's not nice."

Rei is started when Zoroark speaks to him through his mind. He lowers the Pokeball, realising that this is not the same Zoroark who commanded Ingo to chase him.

"Rei! You've returned!"

Rei sees Ingo approach, wide-eyed. He states again that it's not safe for Rei to be here, but Rei holds his ground. He wants to know more about Zoroark, and the spell they're both under. He wants to help them both return to normal.

Ingo shakes his head, saying it is unsafe. But the Smiling Zoroark sniffs Rei's head.

"You are serious. Verrrry serious."

Something about that makes Ingo blink. But they hear a small growl and see that two Hisuian Zorua are now tugging at Rei's pants ankle. They want to eat him.

Ingo corrals them away, saying that humans are not for eating. He asks what kinds of berries they like.

Out pop a few hungry Zorua, eager to eat something new. They remark that they don't really need to eat, already being half-dead - but food is nice, and they feel starvation.

The Smiling Zoroark asks if anyone feeds them. They say that they used to be fed by their Mom, but she disappeared. The Baneful Fox was one of their siblings, and he recently evolved with the intent of bringing down the village that he suspects took away their mother.

Ingo and the Smiling Zoroark provide them with many berries, and their wisps of spite shrink down. Rei even provides small pets for some of the braver Zorua.

He asks the Smiling Zoroark if he remembers his name. The Zoroark shakes his head sadly - he only knows that the circumstances they're in are his fault. He found who he was looking for, but they are trapped. He remembers making a deal, but he doesn't remember exactly what his terms and conditions were - Baneful took away those memories, so there's no way to tell if the deal was broken, or whether Baneful is honoring it.

Ingo comments that he wishes memories were not so easily taken away. Rei points out that when he'd first met Ingo, he stated that while his memories may be missing, much still lives on in his heart. He thinks the same thing is happening to Ingo now - there seems to be a part of him that lives on.

This heartens Ingo a little. He hands Rei a berry, a small smile on his features. Smiling remarks that he doesn't remember seeing one pop up so often on Ingo's face. He tells Rei that he trusts him to help the duo.

As the sun begins to set, the trio head back to the entrance of the cave. Ingo scouts ahead at first to see if Baneful is there - but the coast is clear. The Smiling Zoroark tells Rei that he trusts his skill, but if he is in danger to always remember Safety First. He hesitates on that sentence a moment, wondering why it feels especially important right now.

It's not long after Rei departs that the two Zoroark find themselves face to face with Baneful. He is enraged that they have willingly let a human get away, and whether they really are worth keeping around. They're under his thrall, and they should do as he says - and they are going to destroy the Pearl Village tonight!

Ingo and the Smiling Zoroark have no time to react as their eyes glow red, and they are placed under Baneful's control.

Meanwhile, Rei returns to Pearl Village. He's met the person who was enthralled by Zoroark in the first place - perhaps Calaba will know what to do from there.

It's here when there's a sudden howl in the distance. Irida emerges, with Rei running up to her. They see three Zoroark in the distance - one towering over the other two. All three of them have glowing red eyes.

Irida's shoulders slump. She knows one of them must be the enthralled Ingo. Rei realises that the Baneful Fox intends to destroy the village - and they must keep them away from there before they start using their illusions to distract and terrorise the townfolks before they attack.

Rei charges out on Lord Wyrdeer to the trio. But as he gets closer, the images vanish. The Smiling Zoroark bursts from the snow, snarling at Rei to fight him.

Rei engages by sending out Typhlosion, but hears a yell from afar. Irida is engaging in battle with Ingo, who has snuck up to the village while Rei was distracted. Irida keeps her cool, telling Glaceon to defend the village. Ingo engages, striking back.

Rei realises that Baneful is using them as a distraction. He withdraws Typhlosion and charges back to the village, the Smiling Zoroark in hot pursuit.

Glaceon manages to barely stave off Ingo's attacks, as Irida makes an attempt to get through to him. She reminds him that he is Sneasler's Warden, that he is of the Pearl Clan. This gives Ingo some pause, but he focuses back on the fight itself.

Rei arrives, sending out Typhlosion to counter the other Zoroark. A well placed Hex sends the white Zoroark flying back. He gets back up with a grin, demanding they fight again!

Rei realises that both Zoroark are becoming more coordinated in their attacks. They seem to almost mirror and correspond with one another. It doesn't take long for Irida to realise the other Zoroark is the first enthralled person.

A heavy coordinated hit strikes down both Glaceon and Typhlosion. Baneful finally appears on the scene, and commands the two to start tearing the trainers apart.

The two approach, with their glowing red eyes. Irida takes a step back, but Rei stands his ground as Ingo leans forward and sniffs his head.

"Kit..."

Ingo, eyes still blazing red, turns to face Baneful and places a claw out to shield Rei.

"Not possible. Will not. Can not."

The Smiling Zoroark huffs, also holding out a claw to shield Rei.

"Wanted fight. Got fight. Enough. Safety First."

Baneful is startled, and then furious. The watching Rei and Irida - and now Calaba who is oberving this exchange, witness him roaring at both Zoroark.

"I commanded you! Rip them all to shreds! We had a deal!"

Both Zoroark wince, their eyes flickering. They both refuse, again.

The Baneful Fox strikes at Ingo in his fury. Ingo staggers back, but the Smiling Zoroark gives a terrifying roar and leaps at him in return. While Baneful and Smiling are battling in the snow, Rei rushes to Ingo, potion at the ready. Irida follows after, eyes lighting up as even the wild Ingo looks to Rei. He sees a cut on his forehead and licks it.

"I'm fine. Stop fussing." the boy mumbles.

Irida allows herself to be hopeful that Ingo is indeed still in there. Calaba approaches from the side, watching intently. Ingo gets to his feet, blinking slowly as the red manages to leave his eyes. He looks down at Rei, then up, startled at the fight unfolding in the snow.

The Smiling Zoroark is thrown down into the snow with a yelp. Baneful roars at him and lunges forward - only for both Typhlosion and Ingo to charge forward and smack him away. The trio fight as hard as they can to take down Baneful before he uses an illusion to vanish.

He taunts them, replaying a certain moment in history. Ingo and the Smiling Zoroark see a man in white, standing tall. His face is blurred, but he is smiling - picking up a magical fox mask that has clattered at his feet. He raises it to his face, and red surrounds him, shifting him into the Smiling Zoroark.

Baneful states that it's his fault that they're in this situation - but also complains that he thought he was getting a good deal. Two souls for the price of one! He never thought they'd be so principled enough to just disregard orders! Even when Smiling had nothing more to lose!

Ingo stares at Smiling, whose gaze is fixed on the ground. He asks Smiling if he really made such a deal so thoughtlessly. Smiling remarks that he doesn't remember.

Ingo says it doesn't matter, either way. He remarks that Baneful sought to lead Smiling astray. But Baneful seems to have failed to completely derail him.

Smiling's head snaps up at that. The illusion around them flickers.

"You took away my memories." he mutters. "But... but this isn't how it went."

Baneful frowns. Smiling looks up at him, as the illusion changes. The man dressed in white is collapsed to the ground, coat tattered. On his last legs. His face is still blurred, but he is staring at the offered fox mask clutched in his hands.

"We made a deal. I made a bad deal, in the end... but..."

The man's voice is heard. "I have... one condition. Safety first, and always. I will not give that up. I won't help you hinder or stop anyone's journey."

The whole group realise that the deal has long since been broken. Even if Smiling had refused to harm others, rendering the deal null and void, his connection to Ingo had placed another in harm's way - hindering Ingo completely.

Baneful is angry, saying that it shouldn't have mattered if he'd removed his memories. He wasn't expecting two lost humans to stick so closely to their core selves.

Ingo and Smiling, however, are silently enraged. Rei notices the aura surrounding the two of them, and he quickly withdraws Typhlosion from the fight.

Both Zoroark go absolutely ballistic on Baneful. Their attacks are coordinated. Their motions mirror one another. Even when Baneful tanks their hits, he roars out in frustration, telling them to stay still.

However, he is suddenly surrounded by the illusion of darkness. Baneful looks around, mocking their cheap attempt at scaring him - and then he sees two lights in the distance. They speed towards them as a loud train horn sounds. Baneful has No Idea what's coming up to him and he staggers back with a cry.

The speeding train disappates to reveal both Ingo and Smiling striking him with all the force they can muster. The illusion vanishes, and they both buckle to the ground, exhausted.

They realise, to their disdain, that Baneful is still barely standing. However, before he can strike them both, he is slashed in the back, causing him to collapse. He snarls at his assailant - only to realise it's Lady Sneasler.

Ingo doesn't recognise her, but knows she's important, and that they owe her their lives. He gives a polite bow and Smiling does the same. Lady Sneasler calls them both dorks, as Rei, Irida and Calaba rush over to the Pokemon.

She snarls at Baneful for trying to take away her Warden. Baneful is actually quite terrified now, realising that the repurcussions of his actions are now in the hands of one of the Ten Nobles.

Ingo remarks he didn't know he was a Warden. Sneasler smiles at him, stating that she should know - she picked him well. One of the Sneaslets jumps out of her basket and comes up to cling to Ingo's arm, again.

Sneasler states that not only did Baneful not uphold his end of the bargain, he actively continued to use Ingo and Smiling as his lackeys once the deal was broken. If he doesn't release them from his service now, he will have far more to worry about than a group of angry humans.

Baneful hisses, but lowers his head in defeat.

Smiling suddenly feels strange. He paws at his snout, and Rei asks what's wrong. The Zoroark remarks that it's like something's covering his face.

Rei reaches over, feels around the sides of his head, and pulls off a mask. The moment it shifts, Smiling is engulfed in a red light. He collapses, reshaping and reforming until the light fades. Sitting in the fading light is a man dressed in white - the same that was in Baneful's illusion.

Except... he seems to have Ingo's face. Rei blinks, calling him as such in confusion.

"... What? Me? No, I am not Ingo. I am -"

"Emmet."

The group turns. They see Ingo, currently deprived of his jacket and hat, but also restored to his human form. His eyes are wide and glassy.

The other man nods, hesitantly.

"Yes... I am Emmet."

"Y... you are a subway master."

"I am."

"You are my brother!"

"I am!"

"We're - Emmet, we're twins!!"

"We are!!" Emmet lunges forward, wrapping his arms around Ingo.

Ingo tightly hugs him back, tears running down his face.

They remain in a tight hug for a while. Rei smiles broadly, glassy-eyed himself. Irida has a hand to her mouth, and Calaba has a warm smile.

"... no wonder that curse worked so well."

She looks down at the fox mask, and frowns.

"Last time I saw one of these, we had to break it off the afflicted's face." she sighs. "The memory problems started from there."

Baneful is still under the watchful eye of Lady Sneasler, who smiles at the twins' reunion. She then turns to him and snarls.

"... at their hands?" Baneful says. Both twins have risen from their hug, realising there's one last thing to take care of.

Ingo and Emmet realise that they are the ones who will make demands of Baneful, thanks to Sneasler. He could be captured. He could be used as a powerful fighter. Both twins consider this briefly, before deciding on something together.

"The Zorua."

Baneful blinks at this.

"You have siblings back in the caverns. They depend on you." Ingo says. "They wait for you to return. You're the older sibling, now - you must be responsible."

"And don't interrupt the journeys of the Pearl Clan. Or humans who are just lost in your area." Emmet says. "It's verrry rude."

Baneful hisses.

"It's a very large demand." Ingo says. "You were focused on one thing for so long. Changing tracks will be difficult. But you will be capable."

Baneful growls, softly. He hears a small yap from afar, and sees a Zorua approaching him. Baneful turns to meet the little Pokemon, and Lady Sneasler chuckles.

She gives the twins a small salute. She will ensure Baneful holds up his end of the bargain.

As she leaves, Calaba steps forward. She asks them all into her hut, and they all file in. Calaba hands Ingo back his coat, hat and bracelet, which he gratefully accepts. Emmet comments on how messy they are now, but beams when he realises that Ingo held onto them regardless of whether he remembered where they were from - just that they were important.

Irida asks Calaba about the Baneful Fox, and why he was so intent on destroying the Pearl Clan.

"His mother enthralled one of ours." she sighs. "A good man. He never returned to us - but she returned one night in the guise of a human. She did nothing more than live among us."

Ingo and Irida are startled at this.

"We only discovered she was also a Zoroark when she fell ill. She passed in her sleep. It seems her servant still spoke fondly of us, and she wished to know more about the humans she once despised."

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" Irida asks.

"The Baneful Fox was too enraged to listen." Calaba says, simply. Ingo wonders if Baneful was trying to follow after his mother's path. Emmet flatly states he was being a brat about it.

They wonder what to do with the Fox Mask. Calaba states that even if its connection to the Baneful Fox is severed, it still may have the magical properties within that could transform one into a Zoroark again.

Ingo flatly remarks that he's quite finished with being a Zoroark. Emmet states that he had fun battling, but he's happy to be Emmet.

Rei picks it up, which makes Ingo worried. He accuses Ingo of fussing over him, before remembering that Ingo called him a 'Kit' when he was a Zoroark.

Ingo pulls down the brim of his hat. "Did... I say that?"

Emmet replies that he heard him.

Irida states that he did.

Calaba nods.

Rei just laughs. He says he's not surprised, considering how much he's fussed over - but he thanks Ingo for looking out for him. That's not something he has very often, out here.

Emmet beams at Ingo, and they lean on one another shoulder-to-shoulder in relief. Even if they're now both stuck here for the moment, they're at least in each other's company - and they have Rei, the boy who saved them, and who they will look out for, no matter what.

As a small family forms, another is quietly reunited. The Baneful Fox descends into the den, as a small crowd of Zorua approach to the berries collected in his arms.

A Zoroark raising the kits.

#I play one note and it is angsty Monster Bros being emotional but also being Very Kickass #this is the most teenager thing i have written #this is also a lot lighter and more compact than Spectrum ever was as a story #and i take every liberty out there but fuck it #cringe on main #Pokemon Legends Arceus #submas #Baneful Fox Mask AU

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ghostypetrainer · 3 years ago

Text

continued from this concept where both Emmet and Ingo fall to Hisui together, but only Ingo loses his memories.

When he first wakes he can’t remember anything, including his name. He only knows it is Ingo because that is what the man who claims to be his twin brother has told him. He believes his claim- he can see that they have the same face once he first sees his reflection, and it matches the man’s exactly. But he cannot remember him. At first the man- Emmet is his name, apparently- tells him all sorts of stories about their life in a place called Unova, but none of it sounds familiar. It all sounds like a story about someone else.

Eventually, Emmet stops talking about it.

He’s not stupid- he can see the way his brother’s face falls whenever he does talk of their past. He’s hoping for something- a spark of memory, some kind of recollection. But doubtless his brother can see it in his eyes, that no matter what he says, no matter what he tells him, nothing is coming back. He does not blame him when he stops talking about the subject altogether. It must hurt. He knows it’s frustrating on his end, to have someone who knows their entire shared history with him, but for it to not help at all.

Lady Irida, after much thought and contemplation, decides to allow them to live in the Settlement. They both try and prove themselves useful- Ingo assists with the gathering of supplies, while Emmet uses his two Pokemon to protect the groups sent out into the wilds. Ingo eventually befriends a Gligar and a Machop- but more importantly, he winds up gaining the favor of Lady Sneasler, the elusive Noble Pokemon of the Highlands. When it comes time to choose her Warden, she will not have anyone but him.

He and Emmet are officially accepted into the Pearl Clan after that. Emmet comes with him when he moves to the Warden’s tent in the Highlands, and he does not complain. He might not remember his twin, but he enjoys his company nonetheless. It is clear his brother is struggling with what to him is a new lifestyle, but he smiles in spite of it. Ingo is not struggling as much, but then, this way of life is the only thing he knows now.

Ingo befriends a Tangela and a Nosepass next. Emmet happily talks about battling and training, and while none of that sounds familiar to Ingo, it is nonetheless fun. He enjoys battling with and alongside his brother. It feels right. His brother adds new Pokemon to his team too- a Rotom and an Umbreon, that he helped raise from a newborn Eevee.

Still, Ingo knows his brother longs for their old home. He wishes he could share the sentiment- he doesn’t remember it, after all. He is fine with their current life. He cannot help it- he doesn’t know anything else. He does not try to pretend otherwise- Emmet can always see right through him, but he is nonetheless sympathetic, and that seems to count for something. His brother pays frequent visits to Jubilife Village, and one day comes back with his new team members in that new device of theirs- the pokeball. He offers some to Ingo as well, and after some thought, he lets his team decide if they want to go in them. They all do.

Then one day Emmet comes to him, and tells him that Captain Zisu of the Security Corps asked him if he would help train their number. It would mean leaving the Highlands to move to the village, and Ingo tells his brother he can do whatever he feels right. After a long time thinking about it, Emmet decides to accept the offer. Ingo promises he will come visit whenever he can, and Emmet promises the same.

Years pass, and then something strange happen- a young girl falls from the sky, and is taken into the Survey Corps. Emmet thinks she is their ticket home. Ingo is not so sure.

Akari gets two Uncles this time around.

#ingo #emmet #submas #pokemon legends arceus #pla akari #good morning as usual I am thinking way too hard about things #I can see Emmet with maybe a Heracross too #maybe a Mamoswine

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godonthetraintracks · 3 years ago

Text

God Fusion AU Masterpost

Here's a compilation of links to the ongoing story on this blog, in order!

Design notes/other

FAQ/Rules / Design notes 1 / Design notes 2 / Babies / No Coffee? / Delibird?

Ficlets

Emmet's Texts / Reflections

Arriving in Hisui

Intro Comic/A Deal is Made

A Portal Appears...

Lady Sneasler's Discovery

Ingo and Irida

Heading Back to Camp

Human form?

Hair

Emmet and the Sneaslets

Waggy Tail!

Are you a God, too?

Melli Has Passed Away

Consequences

Volo's Disbelief

Frenzied Spite

Avoidance

Dark Clouds Brewing

Arc Phone

Wayward Cave Pt. 1

Wayward Cave Pt. 2

Wayward Cave Pt. 3

Bingo

Coffee!

...

#rules and reg #masterpost #master list #submas #god fusion au #godonthetraintracks #subway boss emmet #subway boss ingo #warden ingo #pokemon #pokemon legends arceus #Hopefully I will remember to keep this updated!#Just thought this might be helpful for some ppl since the text asks make it a bit of a long haul to sift thru on mobile #(I am mainly a mobile user myself so I get it aha)

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teamconductors · 3 years ago

Text

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Lost Tracks of Time, Chapter 29

Summary: Ingo and Emmet return to Unova.

Author’s note: I intended this chapter to kinda-sorta follow Ingo’s perspective (to contrast with last chapter sorta-following Emmet), but that did not pan out.

I once again feel the need to apologize to the Nimbasa Trio. And apologize in general. I’m sorry.

Mild/implied body horror ahead! I thought I was done with needing the content warnings. I was not.

Thank you @furiouskettle!

(Shippers DNI)

Emmet woke up at Lady Sneasler’s Seat. He slept on a pile of hay and leaves across the cave from the nest of Lady Sneasler’s kits. Though Emmet got accustomed to a Sneasel’s toxins thanks to Ingo, he still got poisoned from handling them. He wanted to avoid waking up sick again because a baby Sneasel cuddled up to the weird new human.

Next to Emmet were the first two pokemon he caught in Hisui: Shinx and Porygon. He caught Shinx immediately after Ingo taught him the back-strike technique for catching pokemon. He found Porygon when he saw a space-time distortion and charged in full speed ahead. The only reason Emmet exited with a Porygon without fainting was because Ingo literally pulled him out.

Emmet sat up and stretched his arms. Based on the faint lighting past the Seat entrance, the sun just began rising over Mt. Coronet. He put on his coat, which he used as a blanket. Ingo was gone, but Emmet used the time to see if his determination stayed with his through the night. Was it time to depart from Hisui?

“Good morning, Emmet,” Ingo said. He kept his voice as low as he could, but a couple Sneasels stirred from his greeting. He carried handfuls of twice-spiced radishes and sitrus berries. “I apologize for the lackluster sleeping arrangements, but I hope you got enough rest to begin our morning checks?”

Emmet nodded.

“Is something the matter? Did you hurt your back?” Ingo asked. “I suppose sleeping on hay is not comfortable for us as humans – human-shaped, rather.”

“…I am Emmet. I am… ready to take the new route,” Emmet said.

“A new route?”

Emmet looked serious. “…I want to go to our origin. I want to go to Unova.”

Ingo almost smiled. “Very well! According to Dialga and Palkia, we should be able to leave this station and return with no time difference. After we refuel, let us go test if that is the case!”

“Thanks, Ingo.”

Once they finished breakfast, the two left the cave and pondered over what the nearest reflective surface could be. Lady Sneasler’s Seat was in Primeval Grotto, so they determined that the bay of Fabled Spring River would be closest. Since it was early morning, the Gyradoses were not awake to stir up trouble, and the wild Nosepasses and Probopasses would not witness them defying the rules of time and space.

Ingo crouched to look at the water’s surface. “The river is running… Will this be reflective enough for our purposes?”

“We can find out.” Emmet took out the Rail Spike of Time. He crouched next to Ingo and placed the pointed end of the spike in the water.

“This does not feel like a good idea, but alright. Full speed ahead!” Ingo stood up and stepped back. He took out the Spike Maul of Space, waited for the handle to change to the right size, and swung down on the spike.

Against all common sense, when the hammer struck the spike, the spike remained in place as though it stood on a solid surface. A single ripple spread out from the spike, calming the surface of the bay into one large reflective body. The gems on the tools glowed bright. The reflection faded from the pink and orange sky to the dark swirling Distortion World, specifically showing the same island Ingo and Emmet entered Hisui from.

“Excellent! Bravo! That exceeded my expectations!” Ingo said. “Shall we depart?”

“Follow the rules and drive safely! We are headed for victory!” Emmet said.

“ALL ABOARD!” Ingo and Emmet, with their tools in hand, jumped into the bay.

***

Ingo and Emmet jumped out of the same waterfall. Because they jumped into the portal, they flew a fair distance and skidded on the island ground, getting pinkish-red dirt on their clothes.

“Welcome back,” Giratina said, having watched from above them. “How long were you there?”

“Four days and 15 hours,” Emmet said.

“Wow. For me, you two were only gone for a few seconds!” Giratina said. “Alright, where do you wanna go now?”

“If I may ask, we would like to travel along the route to Unova,” Ingo said.

“I can do just that.” Giratina started to fly down to grab the twins, but they stopped. “Oh, hold on. I can just do this.”

From out of the corners of the twins’ visions came two shadow hands. One arm wrapped around one twin and placed them onto Giratina’s back.

“Bravo! Thank you, Giratina!” Ingo said.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get you to where you need to be.” Knowing that Ingo and Emmet held on, Giratina flew off through the Distortion World once more.

“Giratina, may we ask you to return our appearances to our younger selves?” Ingo asked.

The Almighty pokemon nodded. “Yeah, close your eyes and hold on.” They knew that the twins listened to their command, so they began the process. “This reminds me, you two saw each other transform into Sneasels back when I was forced to attack you, right? I cannot believe Arceus let you remember that – no, wait, I’m not surprised at all. Arceus is an idiot.”

Ingo tried to respond, but to his surprise and horror, he literally could not speak. His heartbeat sped to the pace of a locomotive as he tried to rationalize the change. By the time Ingo realized it was likely intentional on Giratina’s part, the nausea associated with the transformation faded. Ingo and Emmet opened their eyes, satisfied with being shaped like Subway Masters once more.

“Done,” Giratina said. “Once you’re done doing your first visits, we need to start teaching you how to do this.”

Ingo hummed, partially to help him think and partially to check that his voice returned. “Giratina, I apologize in advance for derailing the conversation, but if the difference in time between us departing and returning is mere seconds, and we ask you to journey between each stop like a train, wouldn’t you be constantly flying around your world?”

“Yeah, you’re right. But I do owe my life to you two,” Giratina said.

While Emmet was listening to the conversation his brother had with Giratina, he continued to mull over his words for Elesa. Saying sorry wouldn’t be enough. Even if his train of thought wasn’t on the right track back at Spear Pillar, he still didn’t act like a proper conductor. He had to tell Elesa. He needed to say that he really did care. She might never forgive him, but at least the weight would be off his soul.

“Okay, have it your way,” Giratina said in response to something Ingo said. “I’ll figure out something later. We’re here!”

The group arrived at their destination. The island itself was smaller compared to the island with the window into Hisui. The island’s waterfall was likewise thinner, appearing more like a curtain than a roaring tower of water, but the top of the falls faded into the black void.

Once Ingo and Emmet stepped off Giratina’s back, they got a better view of the glimpse into time the waterfall had.

“I am Emmet. I am verrrry surprised!” Emmet’s voice almost matched the excitement he felt. His hands shook strongly enough to turn into flapping from joy.

“Giratina, you found a direct line to Gear Station! Bravo!” Ingo clapped for Giratina’s achievement.

“Oh, is that where it is? I just found the most obvious portal,” Giratina said.

“It’s been…” Ingo’s eyes widened. “Emmet, I haven’t stepped foot in Gear Station in years!”

“We can fix that.” Emmet pointed to the waterfall. “Next stop: Gear Station. All aboard!”

“All aboard!” Ingo took off to the water. Emmet caught up to him, and the twins jumped through the portal in unison.

***

The reason that they knew the portal was at Gear Station was because of the aerial eye view of the main entrance. Neither twin thought about why the portal showed that image. Ingo and Emmet jumped out of one of the glass planes that made up the large window above the entrance of Gear Station.

The smell hit Ingo all at once. Gear Station was a well-used hub for travelers and smelled like it, but to him, it was a sign of how much work they do to transport passengers to their destinations. Tears welled in his eyes, not only from the smell of home but also him realizing he and Emmet were falling.

Several onlookers and passersby, many of whom just wanted to go home after a long day, witnessed the disappeared Ingo and Emmet emerge from a window. No glass shards followed them. It was as though they came from the light itself bouncing off the window. There were gasps and screams as they fell, as their height should have resulted in a couple broken limbs at best. Instead, the two Subway Masters flipped and landed on their feet, no worse for wear.

“I am Emmet. That was… interesting…” Emmet’s sentence trailed off as he and Ingo realized several people and pokemon began surrounding them.

Ingo had to think. Their plan for this era was to feign ignorance and act as though they didn’t remember anything from where they went. Any other claim could be cross-referenced and likely expose their cover. He and Emmet would need to lie more blatantly than either desired, but it was all they could think of.

Ingo saluted the people. “Good day, everyone! Are we at Gear Station? I’m not sure how we arrived here, but I am glad we are here!”

Chaos ensured. Amongst the cacophony of noise were concerns of safety, camera snaps from Rotom phones, and prying questions. Gear Station’s architecture emphasized the noise into near-unbearable levels. The two of them coming from the quieter, less populated Hisui region made the sounds feel louder. Ingo suppressed his instinct to cover his ears out of politeness.

Before Ingo could even begin to answer questions as some of the Gear Station employees arrived, a pokemon with a familiar aura approached the station entrance.

“My Ch-!” Ingo could not finish his exclamation before his own pokemon ran into him.

Chandelure wrapped their arms around Ingo’s torso, trapping him in a ring of metal. They buried their head in Ingo’s chest. The flames billowed directly in Ingo’s face, but he was unharmed. Chandelure cried tears of fire onto his coat, but they did not burn the material, thanks to Anthe’s modifications.

“I am glad to be back at this station as well,” Ingo said. He petted Chandelure’s head as he tried to find any visual different between this Chandelure and the Chandelure that lived for hundreds of years in the future. The clearest different was this Chandelure’s flames possessing a sharper hue.

With Ingo and Chandelure drawing the crowd’s attention, Emmet looked up at the window they came from. The image of the Distortion World, still visible past the Nimbasa City night sky, faded until it was gone. He heard no comments from others about the image, so hopefully no one else noticed that.

Ingo and Emmet eventually got to the terminal for the Super Multi line for some peace. The area was blocked off with barriers to prevent entry while the Battle Subways were shut down.

“And now we have a moment to rest,” Ingo said. He sat down on a bench, and Emmet joined him. “I cannot remember the last time talking with guests and Gear Stations team members have been that exhausting! Usually, I take pride in hosting guests…”

“That was not as bad as I thought,” Emmet said. “But there is a major delay in our operations.”

“You are referring to the window to the Di-“ Ingo interrupted his own sentence when he remembered that Chandelure still hugged his torso. “My Chandelure, will you please release me and allow Emmet and I to talk in private?”

Chandelure shook their head, still clinging tightly to their trainer’s chest. He had been gone for two months. They didn’t want to let go yet.

“I know what you are talking about, Ingo. Yes. It should still be there. We can use Quick Attack to climb up the wall and strike the rail spike, but it is not that easy.”

“Hm… How can we do that without arising suspicions? Even if we carry out the mission at a time where Gear Station is mostly empty, the odd guest or security personnel could see us! And that is to say nothing of the security cameras…”

“This is not going to be easy.”

“Not this first time, but after we complete the journey, we will be able to depart from any location of our choosing! But yes, this is a troubling conundrum…”

“We should return to our origin,” Emmet said. His hands shook as soon as he finished saying that. He wanted to see his pokemon so badly, and his brother already got a head start.

“Yes! We can find a solution after we reunite with our teams. Let us depart with haste! All aboard!” Ingo said, pointing to the direction of the Gear Station entrance and the ground.

***

Ingo and Emmet walked to the outskirts of Nimbasa City to get to their house. They tried to minimize the amount of attention they could gather by going through lesser populated paths. The walk also allowed them to refamiliarize themselves with Nimbasa City and the world where pokemon and humans lived together.

“I don’t see outward any signs of disrepair,” Ingo said once they got to their house. Chandelure still hugged Ingo’s torso. “Are you ready, Emmet?”

Emmet nodded. “I am Emmet. I am ready.”

Ingo approached the front door and knocked. “Hello? Is there anyone present at this station?”

After a moment with no response, the front door opened. Eelektross’ eyes were wide as he stared at Ingo and Emmet. Unlike his future self, he was of normal size and barely had to hunch over to meet Emmet’s eye level.

“Is it… really you? Are you… real?” Eelektross asked. The twins barely heard his voice.

“I am Emmet. You are my Eelektross.” Emmet held his hand out, expecting his pokemon to hold it like his future version did.

Instead, Eelektross dove forward to wrap around Emmet. Because Eelektross was of normal length and Emmet was not a small Sneasel, Eelektross only had to wrap around his trainer a couple times to engulf him. Eelektross further wrapped his arms around him, mirroring how Chandelure hugged Ingo.

“You’re back…!” Eelektross spoke next to his trainer’s ear.

“You are clingier than I remember,” Emmet said. He did return the hug with some back rubbing.

A dozen Joltiks crawled out from crevices in the living room shadows. “It’s them?” “It’s Emmet!” “Ingo is back!” “Tickets please!” The Joltiks scattered in the direction of the backyard training grounds.

“Perhaps we should go inside before we have a pileup outside our house,” Ingo said.

Ingo recalled how Emmet described their living room. When he and Elesa lived together to keep up with Emmet’s health, there were letters and flowers and gifts scattered about with no regard to organization. Now, the letters sat on a side table in neat stacks. Vases were either empty or housing old but living flowers. The table was cleared of most items, save for a few special letters and a mug once filled with coffee. The clean areas were only undermined by some cardboard boxes filled with used tissues and remnants of pokemon food.

“Elesa did this,” Emmet said. There were significantly more letters and flowers than when he was last there. Why did she take the time to clean up the living room?

Ingo and Emmet both heard the voices of their pokemon outside.

“We are about to enter a rush hour! My Chandelure, while I am quite pleased to see you once more, may I ask you to clear the station for the others?” Ingo asked.

Chandelure shook their head.

“Chandelure, please make some room…” Eelektross said as he let go of Emmet.

Ingo petted his pokemon’s head one last time before they slowly let go of him and floated to the side.

Several pokemon stampeded into the living room from the backyard. Ingo found himself tackled by Haxorus, Garbodor, Durant, and Crustle. A small sea of Joltiks piled onto Emmet, followed by Galvantula, Archeops, and Durant. The only reason the Klinklang twins didn’t join in was because they could literally crush their trainers.

“You’re back! You’re back!” Haxorus said. The rage nestled in her body had melted away.

“I was wondering why Chandelure ran so fast,” Crustle said.

“What a pleasant welcome!” Ingo said.

“Where have you been?! And what happened at Spear Pillar?” Archeops asked.

Excadrill wanted to join in on the pile, but he sniffed the air and halted. “…Are we sure that’s them, guys? They don’t smell right.”

Ingo’s heart twinged. This was what Emmet was afraid of, right?

“Excadrill, I get being scared, but it’s them! They’re back!” Garbodor said.

“No! I don’t think it is!” Excadrill showed off his claws.

“Haxorus, what happened to your horns?” Ingo asked. He brought his hand up to feel Haxorus’ broken horn.

“Well, you know…” Haxorus laughed with nervousness as she felt the edge of her horn. “That’s what happens when you’re not strong enough to carry your trainers…”

“Do you feel bad for what happened the day I left?” Ingo asked. Emmet said that Haxorus kept training herself nonstop when Arceus took him. “I always say to move to greater heights and to improve yourself! But please do not be harsh on yourself for your previous state. You did what you could, am I correct?”

Haxorus smiled. “You’re right, Ingo. Thank you.”

Excadrill fiddled with his claws. “Haxorus, I know you can smell them. Durant, you too! This has to be a trick! It has to be!”

Ingo kneeled to see Excadrill at eyelevel. “You did your best as well, my Excadrill. Please do not punish yourself too harshly.” He scratched under Excadrill’s chin and around his neck.

Excadrill’s adamance about the twins’ identities wavered. Ingo knew exactly where he liked to be scratched.

“Hey, what happened at Mt. Coronet? I don’t remember a thing since Emmet went up the stairs…” Galvantula asked.

“I wanna know, too, but do you think they know what we’re asking?” Archeops asked.

“Sorry for our delay in return,” Emmet said, addressing all their pokemon. “We have no clue as to what station we visited. But it feels like we have been gone for a while. Now we are back!”

“After a few days of rest, we can reopen the Battle Subway and resume our schedule!” Ingo said.

“I am… so happy…!” Eelektross said.

“I’m here…” a voice said from the other side of the closed front door. The door opened.

The pokemon got off Ingo and Emmet and cleared the living room. Emmet’s hands shook. Their most anticipated terminal was here.

The guest was Elesa. Normally, she wore some amount of color in her outfits – she liked to be an electrifying presence, she said in the past. She now wore a black longcoat and black boots. Apart from her signature headphones, no color was present in her outfit.

She stopped walking in when she saw Ingo and Emmet.

“Good day, Elesa! I am so happy to see you!” Ingo said.

“Hi… I am Emmet.” He only took nervous glances at Elesa.

Elesa’s hands tightened into fists. “It’s as I thought. I heard people say that Ingo and Emmet were back. I wanted to believe them, so I came back to their place. But you… You’re not them.”

“Elesa, what are you talking about?” Ingo’s frown expressed his concern along with his words for once.

She put her foot down. “Stop pretending! I know what my friends look like. What are you, a couple of Zoroarks?!”

“Why does everyone think we are Zoroarks?” Emmet asked Ingo.

“...Fine. If you won’t drop the disguises…” Elesa pulled out a pokeball from her pocket. “Then my shining pokemon and I will make you!” She threw the pokeball and sent out Zebstrika.

Zebstrika took one look at Ingo and Emmet and gasped. “You’re back?!”

“My Zebstrika, use Volt Tackle!” Elesa held her arm out and swept it for emphasis.

Ingo held out his arm in front of Emmet. “Elesa, Zebstrika, please halt! We are not Zoroarks!”

Zebstrika sniffed the two. “They… kinda smell like them. Are you really Ingo and Emmet?”

“My Zebstrika, why are you hesitating? Isn’t it obvious?” Elesa asked. “There is no way this is Ingo and Emmet! Ingo vanished off the face of the earth, and Emmet is dead!”

Ingo turned to look at Emmet. Emmet froze. He could barely see his brother breathe.

“I don’t know, Elesa…” Zebstrika backed away from the twins but kept her eyes on them.

“Zebstrika, we saw Emmet die! He walked into the sky and never came back down! Not even his pokemon knew what happened! He’s… gone.” Elesa’s hands shook. “And now there’s some pokemon here wearing their faces and giving people false hope!”

“Elesa, please…” Ingo stepped forward. “You are an important passenger for us. I apologize for disappearing, and I know Emmet is, too… No, wait. I shouldn’t speak for him here. Emmet, what would you like to say to Elesa?”

Emmet’s smile stretched from one ear to another. He held his hands together much like when he talked to guests. He was completely frozen. His plan to talk to Elesa had completely broken apart. He knew that leaving her at Spear Pillar was not a wise decision as a conductor, but she believed he died. She believed he died.

Ingo placed a hand on Emmet’s shoulder. “Emmet, I’m here for you.”

Elesa stared down Ingo and Emmet. Despite her intense gut feeling that something was wrong with these apparitions of her friends, another part of her said it was them. Ingo and Emmet said that they always return to their station at the end, so why not now? Elesa was a person who made people’s dreams into reality. What if, this time, her dream became the reality?

But she didn’t want hope. She and Emmet had hope that they would find Ingo, and Emmet marched straight into heaven instead. She reported that Emmet went missing and that she was the last person to see him. The detectives and international police reassured her to finding her friends, but days upon days passed. She understood why Emmet turned to his own devices about finding his brother. She heard some people suspect her of Emmet’s disappearance. That hurt.

But her spark was gone. She tried to throw herself into her roles as a gym leader and model, but her battles and words and poses felt hollow. The gym leaders, especially Skyla, tried to comfort her and get her electrifying self back, but the attempts bore no fruit. Her pokemon tried the same, and they were the closest to succeeding. But her best friends were gone.

“Stop this nonsense! My darling Zebstrika, if you can't do it...” Elesa had to prove if her instinct was right. She recalled Zebstrika into her pokeball. She then grabbed the nearest thing she could find – an empty mug from the table – and brandished it as a weapon. “I’ll destroy the Prankster illusion myself!”

“Elesa, please stop!” Ingo completely stood in front of Emmet. Either of them wouldn’t suffer lasting damage from the attack, but he still didn’t want his brother to get hurt by their friend.

“I.. I am…!” Emmet’s entire body shook. He covered his mouth with both hands. He wanted to throw up. He wanted to vomit out the words he had been practicing for days. His legs gave out, and he hunched forward while still holding his mouth. Despite the obvious sorrow consuming him, his face still smiled beneath his hands.

“Emmet!” Ingo dropped to the floor. He placed an arm around Emmet’s shoulders. “It’s going to be okay. This is not an express train ride. Take your time.”

Elesa stared at the twins and realized what she was doing. She placed the mug back on the table and crouched down. She watched tears squeeze through his closed eyes. “…Emmet?” she asked softly.

Emmet nodded.

“And Ingo?” Elesa’s voice got quieter.

“I truly apologize for our delay of our return,” Ingo said.

“No, please don’t give me hope.” She rubbed her eye with a single finger and flicked off the tears. “Just end this cruel prank!”

“This is not a prank!” Emmet finally said. Before he knew it, he sprung forward to hug Elesa. His hands dug into her back.

That was it. Elesa finally allowed herself to shed tears. She hugged Emmet back so hard that he might snap like a twig. Then again, he hugged back with almost the same force.

Ingo placed a hand on Elesa’s shoulder. He wanted to join them, but he knew how this was important for Emmet. “I am truly glad to see you again, Elesa. Both of us are.”

“You guys can be real jerks sometimes. People thought I went crazy. I thought I was crazy!” Elesa said. “…I’m sorry for almost hitting you.”

“I am… sorry, too…” Emmet couldn’t speak above a whisper.

“I believe you. Emmet… listen. I can’t forgive you for what happened at Spear Pillar. I can’t forgive all the stuff that happened… But I don’t think I can stay mad at you forever,” Elesa said.

Emmet nodded. He understood not being forgiven. He wasn’t sure it was deserved anyway. He just needed to tell Elesa he was sorry and that she was a great friend, even if he couldn’t outright say it.

Ingo, satisfied with what happened, stood back up. “Elesa, Emmet, why don’t we-?”

Ingo’s train of thought derailed when he looked down at Emmet and Elesa again. He covered his mouth to supress his gasp.

“Ingo? Is something wrong?” Elesa asked as she turned to face him.

Emmet tried to ask the same question, but no words came out of his mouth. His voice was gone.

Ingo’s mind raced to find a way to isolate himself and Emmet. “Elesa, unfortunately it appears that Emmet and I must make an immediate departure!” He grabbed Emmet by his forearm and dragged him to standing position.

Elesa stood and turned toward the twins, who were running up the stairway to the second floor. “Where do you think you’re going?!”

“I apologize, Elesa, but this is an urgent situation, and we will return once it is resolved!” Ingo ran to Emmet’s bedroom with his brother in tow. He slammed the door behind them.

Ingo looked around his brother’s room. Between the unkempt bedsheets, full trashcan of wrappers, and scattered books and papers of several nights of research, he finally saw the results of Emmet’s time in emotional solitude.

“Emmet, please remain calm. Look at your hands,” Ingo said.

Emmet nodded and held up his hands – or rather, he held up his arms to look at where his hands should be. His hands were gone. Emmet raised his arm to shake his coat sleeve up and see if anything was there. When he got his answer, he let his sleeves hang like when he wore the coat as a Sneasel.

Ingo took a deep breath. “Are you able to talk?”

Emmet gave his brother an awkward smile and shook his head.

Ingo frowned harder. “It’s as I feared. I noticed during our transformations that we become unable to speak. Emmet, I have no idea as to the cause, but I think you’re transforming!”

Emmet couldn’t hide his fear even if he wanted to. Familiar nausea crept up on him. He silently pleaded to Ingo for help, but when he looked at his brother, he saw something bad. Emmet’s eyes widened. Emmet pointed to Ingo’s head with his arm.

“Is something wrong with me?” Ingo asked. He then noticed that his vision darkened in one eye.

Emmet nodded. The dizziness associated with the transformation was worse than in the past. With his legs straight, he fell forward, and the process overtook him.

Ingo darted to Emmet’s closet. He knew his brother had a full-length mirror to properly inspect his uniform everyday before they travelled to work. Ingo’s cap had slid down his head and covered his eye and part of his face. He took off the cap. He didn’t like what he saw.

“Am I…” Ingo lost his voice in the middle of his sentence. The dizziness made him fall, and the transformation overcame Ingo as well.

***

Several pokemon stormed up the stairs and gathered outside Emmet’s bedroom. Chandelure and Eelektross led Haxorus, Excadrill, Archeops, Garbodor, Durant, Galvantula, and Crustle up the started. Several Joltiks hanged out on the walls and ceilings. Ingo was never a quiet person, but the walls muffled his exact words. He sounded in distress.

Elesa followed the pokemon and knocked on Emmet’s door. “Emmet! Ingo!” After waiting a moment for a response, she knocked hard enough to jiggle the door. “Guys!”

“They’re not answering?” Garbodor asked.

“Something has to be really wrong. At the very least, Ingo would respond instead of ignoring us,” Crustle said.

“Ingo! Emmet!” Elesa knocked on the door. “If you don’t open up, I’m coming in! Your pokemon are here, too. If something is wrong, you can’t keep us all in the dark!”

“Does anyone else have a bad feeling?” Galvantula asked.

“You mean the one I had the entire time?” Excadrill asked.

“They have to be okay…” Eelektross said. “…Right?”

“THAT’S IT!” Elesa turned the doorknob and swung the door open.

Elesa and the twins’ pokemon saw what was inside Emmet’s room. Eelektross gasped and embraced Archeops and Durant. Excadrill jumped into drill formation to shield his eyes. Haxorus, Garbodor, Crustle, and Galvantula backed up to the wall opposite of the hall, trying to get away from the sight.

Elesa closed the door at a Slowpoke’s pace out fear of getting the… beings’ attention. She laid her back against the door and slowly slid down as her knees buckled. Chandelure floated above her and stared at the door like they could still observe what happened inside.

“I was right… It really wasn’t them…” Elesa curled her legs up to her chest. Those weren’t Ingo and Emmet, but they weren’t Zoroarks either. She had no idea what she saw. Was she sleeping? Was she having another nightmare?

“What did we just see?!” Durant asked.

“I can’t believe Excadrill was right,” Crustle said.

“I really wish I wasn’t,” Excadrill said, his voice slightly muffled from his drill formation covering his head.

“I… should’ve known…” Eelektross began to crush Archeops and Durant from his hug. “Emmet is my best friend… I should have known this was a fake!”

Garbodor rubbed Eelektross’ back as a sort-of gesture of comfort. “It’s okay, please don’t be hard on yourself.”

“So… what do we do with the pretenders?” Galvantula asked.

“Let’s battle them! I can finally test my sharpened horns!” Haxorus said.

“Okay, but what type are they? Dark? Maybe poison?” Galvantula asked.

“Assuming they’re pokemon…” Archeops said.

Tears dripped onto Elesa’s knees. “Why is this happening? I just want my friends back.”

Galvantula crawled over to Elesa and grazed her leg with her conical feet. Elesa interpreted the gesture as a beg for pets, which she obliged with. Galvantula’s fur sparked and tingled her fingers, but she was accustomed to the sensation from raising electric-type pokemon and loved it. Galvantula knew this, thus why she approached Elesa.

“Why do I feel like we’re missing something?” Archeops asked.

“…Chandelure, why are you so… calm?” Eelektross asked. After he asked the question, the rest of the pokemon present turned to Chandelure, who still stared and floated less than an inch away from the door.

“Why are we Sneasels again?!” “Ingo” said from the room.

All the pokemon turned their attention toward the voice. Excadrill loosened up back to standing position, and Eelektross dropped Archeops and Durant. The voice sounded like Ingo, but he spoke their language. He spoke like a pokemon.

“This is a trainwreck,” “Emmet” said.

Elesa lifted her head and slowly turned behind her. Those were the noises of pokemon – Sneasels, based on what the word they kept repeating – but their voices were uncanny. If she asked Ingo and Emmet to imitate a Sneasel, they would sound like that.

“No, perhaps this is salvageable. If the portal is still present at Gear Station, we can contact Giratina to get our human shapes back!” Despite the optimistic claim, “Ingo” did not sound confident. “This is… quite a delay for us, but once we get our bodies back to human-shape, we can resume our duties as Subway Masters. Though I must admit, it might be difficult to explain our impromptu departure to our friends…”

“They saw us, Ingo,” Emmet said.

There was a pause.

“Please tell me you are making a bad joke,” Ingo said in a lower tone than normal for him.

“I am Emmet. I am serious. You didn’t hear the knocking and the door open and close?”

“…They actually saw the transformation process… Your assessment of this being a trainwreck is correct. We drastically broke the rules. Our friends are never going to trust us again!” Ingo’s voice began to break. “This is all because of my insistence of making this journey! I apologize deeply, Emmet! This is all my fault.”

“Please brake. I wanted us to come here, just like you.”

Something strange sparked in Elesa’s heart. If the pretenders wanted to keep tricking her into thinking they’re Ingo and Emmet, why would they sound like Sneasels? Why did they sound so heartbroken?

“While that is true, Emmet, it was my desire to return that led us here. I take full responsibility… for hurting our loved ones. I apologize, Emmet. I don’t know how we can fix… any of this.”

Chandelure couldn’t take it anymore. They did not know Psychic, but they turned the door handle with their available powers and blasted the door open with Shadow Ball. Since Elesa still sat and leaned on the door, she fell backwards to the floor.

Elesa recovered from the fall and looked up. There were no remnants of the horror show that Elesa and the pokemon saw. Two Sneasels stood inside Emmet’s bedroom. One was an ordinary Sneasel while the other possessed an unfamiliar color scheme (possibly a shiny Sneasel?). The first Sneasel wore Emmet’s coat and cap – in fact, the same one “Emmet” wore, based on the dirt and scuffs at the tailcoat. The purple and white Sneasel wore “Ingo’s” excessively damaged coat and cap.

Chandelure scooped Ingo into a hug. It was like the one they gave to him back when they first reunited.

“Chandelure?! What are you doing…?” Eelektross asked as he ran into the room after his partner. Galvantula, Archeops, Haxorus and Garbodor followed. Durant, Crustle, and Excadrill kept their distance.

Ingo was swung around like a rag doll as the realization washed over him. “Did you all hear that?!”

“Pretty much,” Garbodor said.

“So… are you Ingo?” Archeops asked, looking at the white Sneasel.

Ingo’s heartrate skyrocketed as he fully processed that their pokemon and Elesa were seeing them in their Sneasel shapes. His hands began to tremble as he brought them up to cover his face. “Everyone, please… There is… There is…” He couldn’t immediately piece together any semblance of an explanation for their condition without mentioning time travel or Arceus or them almost dying twice (thrice, in Ingo’s case). It was bad enough they heard him mention Giratina.

Elesa still sat on her knees. She stared at the normal-colored Sneasel. As a model, Elesa developed a good eye for clothes and appearances. It was likely why she felt so strongly that Ingo and Emmet looked wrong, even if she could not place exactly why she felt that. But now, something about the way these Sneasels moved – how the normal-colored one’s hands shook and kept on a wide smile, how the shiny one barely made expressions but spoke with intense emotion in his voice – was eerily familiar.

“I am Emmet. I am Emmet.” Emmet’s smile was so wide that his face cramped from trying to keep it up. The fur around his eyes dampened as he cried once more. In the entire weeks that Emmet spent to prepare for meeting their pokemon and Elesa, he tried to imagine the worst-case scenario. This was not close to what he imagined. Emmet wrung his shaking hands. He had no plan. He had no script or spiel. He just fell back on a comfortable phrase, secretly begging that Elesa could understand him through the pokemon speech. “I am Emmet. I am Emmet, Elesa… I am…”

Elesa fully stood up to get a closer look at the Sneasel Chandelure held.

Ingo looked into Elesa’s eyes. He was still being cuddled by Chandelure. “Elesa, we know how strange this all appears, especially if you did witness part of the transformation. I apologize for keeping this information from you.” He turned his head. “I say the same to you, our pokemon. I am truly sorry.”

Eelektross approached Emmet and held him up with both hands like a stuffed toy. The Sneasel continued muttering Emmet’s favorite phrase. “…Why do I want to believe you?”

“…Oh, now I know why." He looked over to Chandelure and Ingo. That Sneasel was having a crisis, and Eelektross could tell from the way his gaze is drawn to his friend’s flames that they wanted to use their hypnotic power to calm down the Sneasel. "Chandelure, you knew the truth the whole time… right?”

Chandelure nodded.

“Knew the truth?!” Crustle asked as he entered the room to get a closer look at the Sneasels.

“So… this is Ingo and Emmet?!” Archeops asked.

“How are they so sure?” Durant asked.

“…Oh! Chandelure ran away earlier to meet with “Ingo” and came back here with him,” Garbodor said. “But if these two were imposters…”

“…Then Chandelure wouldn’t be acting this friendly!” Haxorus said. “I get it now! It really is you!”

“You believe us?” Emmet asked.

“…Yeah. I really wish Chandelure would talk to us sometimes. Could have saved us a lot of trouble!” Excadrill said. “…Sorry for doubting you.”

“No, it is completely understandable, Excadrill,” Ingo said. His heart couldn’t slow down, despite the complete turnaround in attitude of this pokemon. After all, there was still their dear friend Elesa.

Though Elesa could not hear the exact words the pokemon said, Elesa closed her eyes to better think. After a few moments of silence, Elesa started to giggle. She tried to stop, but she only laughed harder and harder until her stomach cramped.

“What’s so funny?” Emmet asked, pointing to Elesa and the ground. The familiar pose was not lost on the rest of the group.

“I think I’m in shock! The entire time we were talking, Ingo and Emmet, it felt like you two were hiding something,” Elesa said. She put held her chin in her hand as she talked. “Now I see why. You two…”

Ingo and Emmet waited for Elesa to complete her thought.

“…are super cute as Sneasels!” Elesa said with a big grin.

“What,” Emmet said at the same time Ingo asked, “Excuse me?”

Elesa started laughing again. “This is so weird in the best way possible! Well, seeing the horror show wasn’t fun. I don’t know what was up with all the… goo, but that was involved in you two looking like this now, right?”

“That is correct,” Ingo said. Emmet nodded to better communicate their answer.

“That’s electrifying! I’ve heard of some models who get their clothes sewn onto them, but this is a whole new level!” Elesa put up Emmet similar to how Eelektross did. “Look at you, Emmet! You’re so small! I wanna put you in a little outfit and show you on stage!”

“Please stop trying to recruit us as models,” Ingo said.

Elesa placed Emmet down to pick up Ingo. “And you, too!”

“What Elesa said! They are really cute!” Haxorus pinched Ingo’s cheeks. “You’re so fluffy!”

“Please exercise some caution, Haxorus,” Ingo said. The way she pinched his cheek hurt.

“...Sorry, I just realized this is probably weird for you guys…” Elesa set down Ingo next to Emmet. “I just… wanted my dream of us reuniting to come true, but I could never have imagined this.”

Emmet found a couple of tears running down his face. “I am happy, Elesa.”

Ingo smiled. “As am I.”

“Are we really going to not talk about the things we saw…?” Durant asked.

“…Looks like it. It might be better to just… pretend we didn’t see… any of that…” Eelektross said.

“I am fine with that plan,” Crustle said.

“Okay, but why are you Sneasels?” Archeops asked.

“And why Sneasels? Of all pokemon?” Galvantula asked.

“Was… there a particular species of pokemon you would expect us to turn into?” Ingo asked.

Several Joltiks, who watched from the ceiling both in the hallway and in the bedroom, provided some answers. “Zoroarks!” “Reshiram and Zekrom!” “Kecleons!” “Plusle and Minun!”

“…Those are weird suggestions,” Emmet said.

“No weirder than you being Sneasels!”Garbodor laughed.

“Hey, so you looked like your human selves a moment ago, but now you’re Sneasels for some reason. Can you turn back to being humans?” Elesa asked. Her question caught the attention of the other pokemon as well.

Emmet shrugged. “Yes, but there is an extended delay.”

“There is a route we can take to contact to the pokemon that helped us-“ Ingo’s explanation was cut off.

“Giratina, right?” Excadrill asked.

“…Perhaps,” Ingo said. “But we cannot contact them at this precise moment. Our tracks are disconnected right now, but we will try to resolve the delay as soon as we can. Emmet and I did get sidetracked by talking to everyone here, but that was time well-spent.”

“…Wait! Ingo, I have an idea,” Emmet said, flapping his coat sleeves about. He gestured Ingo over and whispered in his ear, holding one hand up to shield his mouth.

“Emmet, that’s brilliant!” Ingo said after his brother finished saying his idea. He and Emmet both threw of identical bronze bracelets, and only Ingo threw off a white watch.

“All aboard!” Emmet picked up the Rail Spike of Time and threw off his coat and cap. He marched out of his bedroom with his arms and legs swinging straight.

“Everyone, please remain at this station! Emmet and I will return momentarily!” Ingo grabbed the Spike Maul of Space, threw off his own uniform, and followed Emmet.

“Hey! Do you really think I’ll let you go on your own again?!” Elesa grabbed the coats and caps, carrying them with one arm. She then ran after the two Sneasels.

***

After the end of the night, a lone man sat outside Gear Station. He heard that the Subway Masters came back and caused a large commotion at their station, but by the time he arrived, the station was closed, and no one was around, save for some straggling employees.

He took off his backpack and sat on a bench, observing the view of the main street traffic. Spotlights from the nearby amusement park stretched and dissipated into the dark sky. Humans screamed in terror mingled with delight.

Two Sneasels – one teal and red, the other white and purple – ran to the station. The former carried a large nail while the latter carried a hammer. The man turned to see what they were going to do with such destructive tools.

The Sneaslers climbed up on the outside of the station to the center of the giant window piece. They prepared the tools to seemingly break the window, but when they swung, nothing happened. He may be far away observing the scene, but the man figured he should have seen and heard glass shatter.

With their apparent prank failing, the two Sneasels jumped off the building and ran away into the shadows of the city.

A minute later, a pretty woman ran toward Gear Station. The coats she held looked familiar. She yelled for an unknown friend and ran in the direction the Sneasels went, possibly chasing them.

The man smiled and let out a chuckle. If he was younger, he would’ve chased after them, too. Instead, the man just said, “Huh. Interesting.”

***

Ingo and Emmet ran in the direction of their house, but they kept running and entered Route 16. The route lacked the trainers that hanged about during the day, and the only pokemon roaming at that time of night would be Liepards, who kept to themselves. The brisk early-winter air kept them full of energy.

They ran into the trees while avoiding Lostlorn Forest. Once comfortable that no humans or pokemon were nearby, the twins’ run slowed to a walk.

“Do you see anything reflective?” Ingo asked.

“Not yet,” Emmet said.

Elesa caught up to her Sneasel friends. Moonlight reflected off the sweat on her skin. “Listen, I love a late-night jog, but I would’ve appreciated it if you kept pace with me!”

“Please forgive us, Elesa,” Ingo said with a bow. “But Emmet and I wanted to go a place where others are extremely unlikely to cross paths with us during our rendezvous.”

“There is a puddle,” Emmet said. He pointed to a nearly puddle, which froze over from the inescapable chill.

“Excellent! That should work for our purposes.” Ingo turned to Elesa and held out a hand. Emmet copied him. “Pardon us, Elesa. May we have our uniforms?”

“…Oh, you want the clothes?” Elesa handed the twins their respective coats and hats. “You’re lucky I remembered to grab them after you left!”

“Yes! Thank you, Elesa!” Ingo said.

Elesa smiled. She still couldn’t understand exactly what her friends were saying, but she knew that they appreciated the gesture.

Ingo and Emmet, with their uniforms once again on, stood in front of the puddle. Indeed, it had a thin layer of ice that could barely reflect the moonlight and depict the leaves.

“That’s a rail spike and spike hammer, right? Wanna show me what they do?” Elesa asked. She surprised herself with remembering the proper terms for those tools. She retained more information from Ingo’s infodumps than she expected!

“…Can we show her what they do?” Ingo asked Emmet.

“We already broke several rules. Let’s not break anymore,” Emmet said.

Ingo and Emmet nodded to each other. They tried to push Elesa away – but because they were Sneasel-shaped, they only succeeded with nudging her legs a little.

“What, you want me to go away?” Elesa asked.

“Just for a moment! We cannot have guests in the station for this operation!” Ingo said.

“Please trust us,” Emmet said. He had to admit, though, they didn’t really give her a reason to trust them.

“Okay, okay… I’ll go.” Elesa begrudgingly took a short walk away from her friends, hiding behind one of the trees.

“Very well!” Ingo turned around the Spike Maul of Space in his hands. He changed his stance to prepare for the strike. Likewise, Emmet placed the tip of the Rail Spike of Time on the ice. Without a word, Ingo struck the spike. The gems on the spike and hammer shined, beaming pink, yellow, and blue lights onto the tree trunks. The faint reflection on the puddle was replaced with the clear image of the Distortion World.

“Whoa! That was dazzling!” Elesa said.

“She saw it,” Emmet said.

“Elesa, your curiosity is often appreciated, but not today.” Ingo turned to the portal “Giratina, please report to the station!”

“Please report to the portal,” Emmet said.

After a second, Giratina flew toward the connecting waterfall. They noted that the twins’ voices only had slight differences between their human-shaped and Sneasel-shaped selves, and they noted they sounded more like the latter. This was immediately explained upon reaching the waterfall. The first thing they noticed was Ingo and Emmet not being shaped like humans.

“Whoa! That’s Giratina, right?” Elesa asked. “How did you two meet Giratina?”

Giratina’s gaze darted between the two Not Sneasels and the human, unsure of which to mention first. Instead, they settled for a third option: a simple “…What the fuck?”

“Huh, didn’t expect a legendary pokemon to cuss,” Elesa said.

“Greetings, Giratina…” Ingo tipped his cap to the Almighty pokemon. “You probably have a number of questions!”

“She can hear you?” Emmet asked.

“Telepathy. Ingo and Emmet, I have a couple of questions. One: why are you two Sneasel-shaped? Two: who is this human?” Giratina asked. Ingo expected Giratina to be angry, but they did not sound angry at all. On second thought, though, that might be worse.

“I’m Elesa. I’m a gym leader and a model, and most importantly these two’s friends. Are you the reason my friends are Sneasels, Giratina?” Elesa asked.

Ingo wanted to bow to Giratina, but because they were talking through a puddle, he was already hunched over. “Please forgive us, Giratina! When we met with our pokemon and Elesa, whom we deeply wanted to meet again, we transformed back into Sneasels in front of them! It was completely unexpected, and even when we tried to hide ourselves, they still saw it.”

Giratina looked to Elesa. “You SAW it? That’s unfortunate. Also, can you understand what Ingo and Emmet are saying?”

“No. I mean, I get the feeling that I know what they’re saying because we’ve been friends for long enough,” Elesa said.

“...Alright. Let me fix the language barrier,” Giratina said.

Ingo and Emmet both felt tickles in their throats. Emmet held his hands to his throat, while Ingo tried to cough. It faded as soon as it started.

“Done. You two, say something,” Giratina said.

“That was unpleasant,” Emmet said.

“Oh! Emmet, I heard that!” Elesa said.

“Elesa can understand what we say now?” Ingo asked.

“Sort of. I changed your vocal cords into the ones from your human-shape,” Giratina said. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you back to your full human shape after I get an explanation as to… Okay, how the hell did you two transform back into Sneasels involuntarily?!”

“I have no idea!” Emmet said.

“Let me retrace our route. We arrived at Gear Station, Chandelure found us, we travelled to our house, we reunited with our pokemon, we met with Elesa…” Ingo hummed. “And I noticed Emmet beginning to transform while he and Elesa hugged.”

“Ingo did start to transform after I did…” Emmet said. Ingo covered Emmet’s mouth.

“I need to think about this.” Giratina chuckled. “What is with you two and doing impossible things?”

“Is it that impossible?” Ingo asked.

“I didn’t think it was possible to transform without intending to! Well, I know my transformation is tied to which realm I’m in, but that’s not the case for you two!” Giratina laughed.

“Um.” Elesa figured that Ingo and Emmet went on some wild adventures since they were able to become… unspeakable horrors and also Sneasels, but hearing a legendary pokemon talk about it was surreal to witness. “When you’re back to being human, can you explain to me where the heck you guys have been?”

“…Are we allowed to talk about it?” Ingo said.

“You brought Elesa to our little meeting and you’re asking me for permission?” Giratina asked.

“Yes,” Emmet said.

“…Listen. The stuff about your bodies should be kept a secret only because I don’t want you two to end up on a dissection table – or worse, shunned for being different,” Giratina said, their gaze turned to the side away from the Nimbasa Trio.

“Been there, done that,” Emmet said.

“So, hiding the Not Human or Sneasel thing isn’t as critical as hiding… the other things. Unless they know about it, too?” Giratina glared at Ingo and Emmet.

“There’s other secret things?” Elesa asked, raising her eyebrow at Giratina. “What can be worse than whatever is going on with all this?” She gestured to Ingo and Emmet vaguely, referring to their bodies.

“…We will arrive at that station if we are permitted to,” Ingo said. “For now, do we need to fully reenter your station for you to transform us back?”

“Yep. Also, once we finish this business, I need to start teaching you how to control the transformations. This can’t happen again!” Giratina’s wings twitched with their audible frustration.

“Agreed!” Ingo and Emmet said.

“We will be a short round-trip, Elesa! We will return,” Ingo said.

“You better,” Elesa said.

“All aboard!” Ingo and Emmet said together.

Emmet jumped into the puddle, and to Elesa’s surprise, he was fully submerged. Ingo followed suit and disappeared into a body of water that should have only come up to their feet. She had no idea why she was surprised. She looked back into the puddle.

“Don’t look,” Giratina said with a strange smile. A set of shadowy hands blocked the image of the pokemon as though they didn’t trust Elesa to follow the command.

Elesa closed to eyes to help her think. When Emmet showed her the book with the picture of Ingo, he stood next to a pokemon that somewhat resembled what he looked like now. Was that related? And those cracks… She had never seen a Sneasel with a damaged gemstone like they had. What happened?

“Done,” Giratina said. The shadows that hid the human’s view of their realm were gone.

“That was lightning fast!” Elesa said.

“Yeah. The transformation is faster when it’s controlled,” Giratina said.

“All aboard again!” Ingo and Emmet said together from the other side of the portal.

First Ingo was launched out of the puddle portal. Emmet quickly followed suit. They flew high enough to graze some tree branches, but they landed safely on two feet. Elesa gasped from the sight; they both looked human again.

“Hey! You’re back!” Elesa hugged both her friends.

“I am Emmet. We have returned,” Emmet said.

“Thank you for your patience, Elesa,” Ingo said. “I must admit, I didn’t expect you to identify us when you saw us as Sneasels.”

“I surprised myself, too. Maybe I just know you two too well… Or it’s something from my years of modeling and paying attention to appearances. One of those two,” Elesa said.

“I think I figured out why this all happened,” Giratina said. “You two managed to crack your gems from sheer stress, right? Which I don’t know how you did that when you’re not psychic pokemon.”

“Where are you conducting us?” Ingo asked.

“My point is: you two were both really stressed for this meeting, right? Emmet, I think the stress you had was so extreme that, when you relaxed after they accepted you, you body relaxed with you and caused the transformation,” Giratina said.

“…Oh” was all Emmet could say to that.

“As for you, Ingo… Well, besides the stress and relief, you saw Emmet start to transform. I guess that was enough stress for you to meltdown.” Giratina shrugged – or did a movement with their wings that resembled a shrug.

“Oh, so it’s my fault…” Though Elesa intended the statement to be a joke, her sentence came out gloomier than she expected.

“Elesa! You are not at fault for what happened to us,” Ingo said. “You are our valued friend and passenger. I would take this trainline again if it meant being with you again.”

“Ideally without revealing our inner workings, but yes. Without a doubt, I agree,” Emmet said.

Elesa smiled brightly. “Thanks, guys. You know how to bring my spark back.”

***

Though Ingo and Emmet quickly got their human-shaped bodies back, they could not return to their routine as Subway Masters straight away. The detectives in charge of finding the twins wanted to know where they went, if they were kidnapped, if they were harmed, and if a pokemon was responsible. As per their plan, Ingo and Emmet claimed complete memory loss of the events. The detectives also suggested to get them checked by a doctor, but they declined.

At Gear Station, the mechanics needed to check that all the trains specially designed for battles were still in good condition. The pokemon trainers needed time to prepare their teams once more. Ingo wanted to return to work as soon as possible, but Emmet had to get him to take their time. After months of being on high alert, they had a chance to relax – not even being in Hisui was relaxing due to the constant barrage of hostile pokemon.

And, of course, Ingo and Emmet wanted to spend more time with their pokemon and Elesa. They still needed to decide how to explain the Sneasel transformation and connection to Giratina without mentioning time travel. At least the others were willing to be patient with the explanation.

As for Giratina, they followed through on their promise. They began teaching Ingo and Emmet how to voluntarily transform their bodies. The twins had to start small – changing their hands, for example. It would take a while to learn, but Giratina had more than enough confidence in the impossible twins.

The day before the Battle Subway would open again, a doorbell rang through the twins’ house.

“Approaching the front door!” Emmet said as he marched with straight arms and legs.

Emmet opened the front door. Standing in front of him was an unfamiliar man. His long blond hair was tied back yet still covered his left eye. The man looked no different than anyone who would visit Gear Station to travel to their destination, yet something about the man felt… wrong. In fact, something had to be very wrong if Emmet got this feeling from someone.

Emmet saluted to the guest. “I am Emmet. How can I help you?”

“Hi, Emmet! I lent you a book a while ago, and I would like it back please.” The stranger spoke with a tone that reminded Emmet of his own, in terms of formality and courtesy.

“A book? I don’t recall borrowing a book from you.”

“Like I said, I lent it to you. It was called Land of the Sinnoh: The Hisui Region.”

Emmet’s smile nearly slipped off his face, but he forced it to grow wider instead. “You gave me the book?” His mind took off and began building steam. The strange book came from nowhere, providing proof of where Ingo was. It drove Emmet to climb Mt. Coronet and challenge Arceus. The book led to reuniting with Ingo, going to the future to meet Sneasler and Eelektross and Chandelure, and saving a legendary pokemon, allowing him and Ingo to return to their primary origin. Elesa said it neither came from Lenora nor Cheren, so she did not want to trust it. They never found out who sent it – until now, that was.

“I am Emmet. Who are you?” He tried to remain calm, but he could not hide how his hands shook, even when he held them together.

“Emmet, is everything well?” Ingo said from upstairs, overhearing his brother’s tone. He walked into the hallway above the living room but stopped at the top of the stairs when he saw the guest’s face. Ingo audibly gasped. "Emmet, that's Volo!"

#pmd lost tracks of time #pokemon legends arceus #pokemon legends arceus spoilers #pokemon mystery dungeon #submas #pokemon ingo #pokemon emmet #pmd au #mild body horror #implied body horror #enjoy the mega chapter o(*￣▽￣*)o

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cutekittenlady · 3 years ago

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Yknow, actually, what ARE all the nobles relationships with their wardens like? I mean we got a good bit of content with a few of them, but not all. And Lady Sneasler has certain gotten a lot of fanon info regarding her relationship to Ingo, but do you guys have any headcanons regarding any of the other nobles?

Like, Lian is pretty young so how might that reflect his relationship with Kleavor? What about Wyrdeer? And Calaba is the oldest of the wardens, so does that mean shes watched over multiple generations of Ursaluna?

Would love to hear folks ideas/

#pokemon #legends arceus #pokemon legends arceus #wyrdeer #kleavor #ursalulna #ursaluna #hisuian lilligant #basculegion #hisuian arcanine #sneasler #hisuian electrode #hisuian braviary #hisuian avalugg

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multiversal-madness · 3 years ago

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Just found your Injured Ingo AU and it's living in my head rent free now! And now i have questions!

I wonder if Ingo ever says a sentence along the lines of "Em, it is not the time for-" and some rush of emotion cuts him off because he inadvertently said "Emmet" aloud? Do you think saying it aloud would bring any memories back or just leave him confused?

Does Em ever get the zoomies and smack into something only to pretend that never happened?

How often does Ingo have to go get Em or the other sneasels out of trees? Has Em climbed to the top of the Arena before? Does Ingo ever use reflective objects + the sun to make the equivalent of a laser pointer? (and if so does it work on Lady Sneasler?)

Sorry to rapid fire so many, hope you're having an awesome day!

No need to apologise for the multiple questions! Any kind of asks are great to get :3 Now for the questions:

Ingo accidentally saying ‘Emmet’

As soon as he says it, he’d trail off his sentence. He knows the name, he’s sure of it, but he doesn’t remember.

He doesn’t know he’s crying until Em or someone else gets his attention. He brushes it off and wipes the tears away, but he’s left with the feeling that he’s missing something.

Does Em get the zoomies?

Em absolutely gets Zoomies and this often results in him crashing into people. When he does crash into people, he decides it’s climbing time and proceeds to climb them. This can go different ways depending on the person.

Some people think it’s cute, like Irida or captain Zisu, some people are nervous/annoyed but allow it, like some of the galaxy team members or Melli, others just run which Em interprets as a game so chases after them. He’s a very chaotic little sneasel.

How often does Ingo have to get sneasels down from trees?

Hisuain Sneasels are practically built for climbing, so they don’t get stuck in trees. Jhoto sneasels on the other hand do get stuck. When alone, Ingo will try to get the sneasels down, but as you can imagine, climbing with one arm is not a good idea.

If Lady Sneasler spots him doing this, it’s straight to the den with him. Lady Sneasler handles getting the Jhoto sneasels down and is very grumpy about Ingo trying to climb trees.

As for Em, he’s probably climbed the galaxy hall before. If it’s climbable and tall, then Em has probably been there.

Does Ingo use a makeshift laser pointer on the sneasels?

I can see him doing this, I like the image of Ingo just directing a bunch of completely enamoured sneasels around with the patch of light while others look on at this ‘sorcerery’.

I’m not sure if Lady Sneasler would fall for it, but she’d probably try to resist it, then ultimately give in and chase it.

#submas #pokemon legends arceus spoilers #injured ingo au #Em the sneasel #subway boss ingo #warden ingo #pokemon legends arceus #ask

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nemesis-is-my-middle-name · 2 years ago

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but anyway, melli calls ingo warden even while calling him a layabout in the same breath, and won't stop aggressively referencing his title both in the diamond clan meeting and when arguing with irida. cyllene generally switches between kamado and commander but when she's reflecting on the man she swore to follow internally she thinks of him as jove. kamado himself generally uses captain as a mode of address for her, except when they're arguing and then she becomes sinensis. contrast that with zisu, who calls her by her first name only the once, when appealing to her as a survey corps captain and a parent rather than acting commander. when ingo thinks of and talks to sneasler it isn't just lady, it's my lady, specifically. emmet uses ingo's title to identify him, once or twice, when explaining to other people, but he pauses for a moment first. yknow? you get it, right?

#the nemesis speaks #pla analysis #jailbirds au

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dittolicous · 3 years ago

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Instead of "Noble" Lady Sneasler,

She's now "Station Master" Lady Sneasler!

YES THAT

they even give her a lil name badge that goes on her scarf. they tried a reflective vest but she didn't like how restrictive it felt and bunched against her basket.

both Ingo and emmet are extremely protective of her after everything, and while she can handle herself, if they catch wind of anyone disrespecting her they're going to feel the wrath of Arceus!

#ditto rambles #pokemon #submas #sneasler

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ihaveatheoryonthat · 3 years ago

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The Lateness of The Hour

Based on the Transfer Error AU by @rosebloodcat

Note: This is unfinished and I likely won’t be returning to it. It features multiple scenes out of context, ends abruptly and is littered with placeholders/notes. If that’s a dealbreaker for you, you’re better off skipping this.

Please note that this was my own take on the concept, and the last parts of it were written in early April; there will likely be bits and pieces that don’t mesh with Rosebloodcat’s vision of the AU.

---

...but Palkia beyond, what he wouldn’t give to face his reflection without the sense that something was deeply, deeply wrong.

There was a flash of yellow in the water’s surface. He hastily stepped away from the lake’s edge, searching for whatever had been lurking behind him; it would be odd for an Electabuzz to make it so far down the mountain, but not impossible. His search turned up very little beyond Lady Sneasler, perking up in interest from her clifftop perch.

Reflection, reflection… Singsonged a voice, almost wonderingly, A wish to face a reflection. Ooh, Jirachi has an idea!

There was so much wrong with what was going on. First of all, there wasn’t meant to be anyone else out here in the Highlands, save for Melli-- not even Akari had been through, though that was a blanket statement where she was concerned. Second, Ingo was certain, without a trace of a doubt, that he hadn’t said anything aloud. It was less due to conviction and more down to a matter of fact: when he stopped paying attention to the way he moderated his voice, he was loud, and here at the waterfall’s source, it would have echoed back to him.

Third was a small Pokemon that poked its face into his, and he barely reminded himself that stepping back would plunge him right into the lake. Sudden movement at the corner of his vision suggested that Lady Sneasler had noticed the interloper.

Jirachi has two ideas! It chimed, and Ingo was briefly derailed by the reminder that some Pokemon could speak, after a fashion-- Pokemon like Palkia or Dialga. But did that then imply…? Face a reflection or face your reflection~?

Hmm. Both! Jirachi likes both! / Have fun, human~!

---

It would be inaccurate to say that Ingo woke up when he’d never lost consciousness; it was just that awareness had taken leave of his senses until that moment.

---

He gave Emmet a long look and then turned to the satchel, a not insubstantial portion of his body disappearing into the bag as he rifled through it to the bottom. When he emerged, it was with a rough-hewn book awkwardly in hand. Before turning his attention to Emmet, he very deliberately flipped through it and dragged a claw down one page in particular, tearing it from the rest in a surprisingly neat line; it was only then that he handed the book over.

He gave the torn page several sharp folds, and then curled his claws around it.

The implications there were bad, to say the least. Emmet tried not to dwell on that, and forced himself to examine the book he’d been handed; its covers showed evidence of water damage, albeit in drips and drops, like it had been left out in the rain at one point, but, save for a few minor nicks and the tear he’d just witnessed, it seemed largely intact. With the implicit go-ahead, he flipped it open and immediately recognized his brother’s handwriting.

- I am recovering in the Pearl Clan’s settlement in the Alabaster Icelands.

- The woman looking after me is Warden Calaba, attendant to Lord Ursaluna.

- I was recovered by the Diamond Clan’s Warden [idk], while he surveyed the Icelands with Lord Braviary.

- They do not know what I was doing out in a blizzard, nor are they familiar with me.

- This is, apparently, not the first time I’ve asked these questions. I’ve been instructed to record any information I might want later to ‘save us all some time’.

The list went on for several more bullet points, recording names, roles and cultural terms, but it was the first few and the last that held Emmet’s attention. It confirmed that Ingo hadn’t spent the past [timeframe] as a Sneasel-- that he hadn’t been in Unova at all. He’d been in a tundra with no idea how he’d gotten there, suffering short term memory loss and--

- I am certain of two things: I’ve lost something important, and my name is Ingo.

--and almost completely amnesiac.

Emmet spent some time staring at the concluding line. The last statement was neatly bisected, an inkblot punctuating the two clauses as if the pen had spent some time idling there, uncertain whether or not to continue. Its presence suggested that Ingo hadn’t been sure he would remember his own name.

He snapped the journal shut, unable to continue looking at the mark, and [looked] to the Sneasel that was his brother. Ingo tilted his head back at him, a questioning frown on his face, clawed hands empty.

“I see.” He said slowly, filing that last point away for later, “You’re telling me that your memory loss is unrelated to our current predicament.”

There was a sharp nod.

In one sense, it was a relief; it meant that this, at least, was a purely human ailment, and not a byproduct of a human mind being [transferred] into the body of a Pokemon. Perhaps it couldn’t be reversed in the truest sense of the word, but it could be treated and lived with. However, it also meant that something else had happened to his brother, on top of having been stolen away and then returned as a Sneasel. And finally, it meant…

“You do not know me.”

The statement was met with silence, and then a burst of [vehement] chattering. Ingo clambered onto Emmet’s lap and craned up for the book; Emmet didn’t fight him, watching as he flipped halfway through, and then back, several pages from the latest entry. It seemed he’d found whatever he was looking for when he tapped a claw to the paper, insistently holding it up for Emmet to inspect.

It’s a shame that the Hisuian people have yet to warm up to competitive battling. Lady Irida and Lord Adaman participate on occasion, and sometimes we’re joined by my fellow Wardens, but the training grounds are often left to Miss Akari and myself.

I worry that her passion for battling has been overridden by the desire to assist me, as though the reward for a [battle] well fought isn’t the experience, but whether or not I have something new to say. I’ve told her my heart remembers what my mind cannot, but I fear it’s fallen on deaf ears. It may have been irresponsible to share [] with her on the tail of our commute through Wayward Cave.

Perhaps I’m projecting onto her. Our [enthusiasm] for Pokemon is something I also shared with the man who looks like me; were we in the same station, I know I wouldn’t have hesitated to confide in him. Regardless, I have conducted myself inappropriately. I will endeavor to do better.

As he read, a weight pressed itself against Emmet’s side; he curled an arm around it absentmindedly, distracted by the journal’s shift from empirical facts to a more conventional [journal].

“It seems you were on the correct track.” He eventually said, voice soft, “Allow me to assist. I am--”

He cut off early, the final statement echoed by the mewing of a Sneasel, and though the words were incomprehensible, the intonation was exactly in accordance with Emmet’s script. When Emmet shifted to study him, Ingo took it as an invitation to bump his head up against his twin’s. In this instance, there was no trace of [question] in the eyes that peered right back at Emmet.

“--glad.” He concluded feebly. It didn’t stay that way for long, though. “I am verrrry glad to learn that.”

Ingo’s eyes narrowed fondly, and the minor din of purring started back up.

Loathe to lose the contact they’d established, but unable to continue sitting still, Emmet scooped him up and started toward [wherever]. “And your Pokemon? I did not see any mention of them.”

A reluctant trill worked its way through the [purr]

---

His brother watched with intense eyes and, as soon as the bandage had been laid smooth over the scratch, gave a sharp nod. It was odd that Ingo didn’t linger to ensure that everything was returned to its proper place, but the incident had clearly bothered him, so Emmet didn’t give it much more thought as he cleaned up; he heard the clumsy rattling of clawed hands going through something and laughed to himself, wondering what now.

Once the bathroom had been restored to its [proper] order, he followed the sound. It led him to their store of Pokemon grooming supplies. Ingo had zeroed in on Excadrill’s in particular, a pair of claw trimmers abandoned at his feet while he fumbled with a heavy duty file.

Unbothered by the [threat] those claws posed, Emmet reached directly over and pinched the file between two fingers, stilling it. Ingo blinked at his bandaged hand, then up at him.

“That is a verrrrry bad idea.” He said, easing the file free from his twin’s grip. The clippers didn’t warrant any further action. “I will do my utmost not to come uncoupled from you again. So long as we are together, I will protect you. If we are not, you need to be able to defend yourself.”

Ingo made a vague noise of dissent, but didn’t argue further.

“You are still worried.” / “I have an idea.”

Half an hour later found them at a grooming supply shop, idling in front of claw caps.

While, in Emmet’s humble opinion, it was leagues better than shearing the offending claws off, it still posed a considerable challenge. There were Sneasel in Unova, but they weren’t a terribly frequent sight, especially so far from the Giant Chasm. As such, there wasn’t a high demand for specifically molded soft claws.

He was trying to decide if Krookodile or Zoroark would be easier to adapt when someone called his name from the store’s entryway. The shape draped over his shoulder-- an extremely visible lump in the jacket it was hidden beneath-- froze. This momentary lapse in maintaining his balance meant that Ingo began to slip forward and, immediately, Emmet reached up to steady him. There was a muffled chirp and the press of a cold nose in response.

[…]

Her eyes instantly fell upon his passenger, and she broke out into a smile.

“Hi there, cutie,” She said, offering a hand for inspection. When it went unsniffed, she drew it back, [unbothered], “Aw, shy are we?”

Emmet tried not to laugh. He failed. It did, however, come out less as a recognizable [laugh] and more of a gleeful choking sound.

[…]

“That is Elesa.” He said softly into the collar of his jacket, “She is a dear friend of ours. I believe we would benefit from her assistance. May I inform her of our current circumstance?”

One ear flicked at the redistribution of fabric and, after a second to consider it, Ingo nodded.

Emmet turned to her again, clapping his hands to signify the turn in the conversation, “If you are available, I would like to speak to you.”

“Yeah, I’ve got time.” / “What’s up?”

“This conversation is best had in private.” He said; his attention wandered to the racks of claw grooming supplies, so he missed the look of understanding, and then sympathy that passed over Elesa’s face. “If you would allow me just a minute to make a selection.”

Elesa humored the distraction, looping around his other side, “Soft claws? She’s not a battler, then?”

“Ideally, he is not.” Emmet said, gentle enough in his correction but, beneath the coat, Ingo’s perch was tense to the point of vibration. Ingo contented himself with a sharp, irritated huff into his brother’s collar.

Elesa hummed, shot a sideways look to the small amount of visible fur, and said, “If it were me, I’d go for the Zoroark fit. It won’t be perfect, but it’s probably the closest they’ve got here.”

---

“I heard you had a lead...” She hazarded.

Emmet barked a laugh. “In a manner of speaking. Yes.”

“This is a very special Sneasel. His coloration is not simply a genetic quirk. Blood work suggests that he is a regional variant that has long since died out.” / “It also [suggests] that he only became a Sneasel relatively recently.”

“...you cannot be suggesting what I think you’re suggesting.”

[…]

She was distracted by the Sneasel, who’d turned away from its careful sorting of the soft claw supplies to pat Emmet’s knee with the flat of its paw. It wasn’t a bid for attention-- almost the opposite, really. It chirped something to the tune of ‘now, now’ and, after a second to feel out the situation, returned to the neat piles of supplies in front of it, ears perked as it listened in.

It was a disturbingly human reaction, and Elesa’s voice died in her throat as it ignored the glue in favor of fitting a loose cap over its claw. When she turned back, Emmet looked incredibly smug.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the Sneasel flexing its clawed fingers, sliding the casing off, and frowning at it intently.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” She sighed, and, without moving to address it or raising her voice, asked, “Ingo?”

The Sneasel’s plumed ear twitched, and it looked up at her, trilling inquisitively. Emmet’s triumphant-- if fragile-- grin widened.

[...]

“Well shit.” Elesa said, and flopped down to Ingo’s level. She absentmindedly picked one of the claw caps up and turned it over in her hands. He watched, loathe to lose track of anything.

While she processed, Emmet found his own spot and helped with his brother’s task. The end result looked a little like someone [action] while trying to keep a thimble on each finger, and Ingo huffed in annoyance, casting a contemplative look in the glue’s direction. Emmet silently reached over and pocketed the tube.

There was only so much she could ask that they could answer-- Emmet for lack of information, Ingo for lack of human words-- so she settled on, “I mean, it’s better than worrying that you were somewhere out there, hurt, but this kind of blows.”

Ingo gave a short, “Snea,” of agreement, flexed his hand the wrong way, and watched a claw cap fall to the ground.

That much, at least, Elesa had the emotional capacity to handle right now.

“Okay, that? Not gonna work. Not if you’re relying on friction to keep them on.” She paused, mentally backpedaling, “Why are you trying to put covers on his claws? It’s one thing to apply them to a house Pokemon, but a Pokemon with human sensibilities? Seems unnecessary.”

Elesa hesitated, snorted, and added, “Maybe if it was you Emmet, but not Ingo.”

“I am Emmet.” The man in question said, holding up the tube with a menacing air, “And you should be verrrry careful with your words.”

“Please. I’m wearing eyelash glue stronger than that.” She scoffed. “Seriously, though, seems like a lot of effort for something so [unnecessary].”

“I agree.” / “My brother does not. The Sneasel subspecies he’s become is a poison type. He’s verrrry concerned about it. This was our compromise.”

Elesa hummed, glancing over in case Ingo had any input, but he seemed content to let them carry the conversation while he tried again to make the soft claws work. Her attention dropped to her Xtransceiver as she tapped letters out into a search engine.

“They’ve got some Sneasel claw caps in Opelucid.” She said, eyes flickering up to gauge the purple hooks at the end of her friend’s hands, “Standard Sneasel, but I don’t think the variation is going to make that much difference. The shape is the important thing here.”

[…]

Elesa returned [timeframe] later with a bag hanging from either arm-- one from the groomer’s shop and one from a local takeaway restaurant.

“I looked up what Sneasel can eat on the way back,” She announced, setting both on the kitchen table, “So the veggie stir fry should be safe. I dunno if it’ll appeal to a non-human palate, but I guess we’ll find out.”

“That is a verrrry good question. I keep catching him sneaking cheri berries when he thinks my back is turned.” Emmet said, nodding to the fruit bowl that had been repositioned well out of Sneasel range. Ingo rolled his eyes, but avoided making eye contact.

“Makes sense, they’re kinda spicy.” It seemed like there was going to be more to the thought, but she stopped cold, waving a [wondering] finger in Ingo’s general direction, “Wait, do you have a nature now? Or did you have one before? Do we have natures?”

[…]

Elesa set the claw kit down, fiddling with something else-- a different brand bag wrapped tightly around its contents-- and eventually unfurled it. A clacking sound came from inside, and Ingo felt his ears twitch.

“C’mere,” She said, holding a hand out for one of his and, carefully, he extended it. Turning it this way and that, she hummed, “A little dark, but we can work with this.”

Emmet sent her a curious look over the packaging he’d taken upon himself to disassemble, “I fail to see what that has to do with anything.”

---

“We’ve been informed that he’s a nervous purrer. Do not be surprised.”

Elesa had just enough time to ask herself what that was supposed to mean before she found herself with a face full of lavender fur.

[…]

Ingo’s face was buried in the thick collar of her jacket, but the rumble was still deafening.

“He’s got a purr like a freight train.” She said, projecting her voice after the first word was drowned out, “And now that I say that out loud, I realize I shouldn’t have been surprised.”

----

He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision. The purple shape that was his brother leaned forward, [curious].

“Not to focus on the negative, Emmet, but that seems… incorrect.”

Without waiting for the world to focus any further, Emmet pounced, pitching the both of them over.

There was a surprised yelp that swiftly turned into laughter, and he felt the plastic tips of the claw caps along his spine as Ingo hugged him back. On some level, he was aware that the words that exploded out of him were accompanied by a deep rumbling in his chest, but he had a highest priority right now, and it couldn’t be changed.

“I missed you.” / “I didn’t know it was possible to miss a person so much. You-- you did not meet me to walk home. And then you did not return home. The security cameras were worthless and nobody knew where you’d gone.”

He knew the statement wouldn’t be met with an answer-- knew that Ingo was just as deep in the dark as he was, in this regard. What Ingo did do was pull Emmet that last bit closer and tuck his brother’s head beneath his chin.

“I didn’t know much,” He finally said, the words somehow soft, even as he roared a purr, “But I did know that I’d lost something very, very important. I’m so sorry, Emmet.”

[…]

“I am still getting to the bottom of this.” He announced, somewhat less [enthusiastically] than he’d intended, given the constant lull of his brother’s voice, “Just not right now.”

---

There was no answering shout. When she tried again, she heard a “Sel?” which confirmed that someone was home, at least. After the past [timeframe], she couldn’t imagine that Emmet would have left his brother alone-- not on top of the year Ingo had spent missing-- so the solitary [voice] immediately rang the alarm bells.

Without an ounce of hesitation, she dug into her bag for the keys and let the three of them in.

As the tableau in front of her registered, she inhaled deeply and, with the breath out, [cursed], “Oh goddamnit.”

The two Sneasels, curled into a complicated knot on the couch, blinked up at her. Neither had the decency to stop purring.

[…]

She could make an educated guess who was who; the features were different than she was used to, but translated well enough. Still, she didn’t want to risk taking her frustration out on the wrong twin just because she caught him at a bad moment.

“Which one of you is Emmet?”

They looked to one another and, in a coordinated attempt to drive her up the wall, schooled their features in the other’s [resting] expression. Elesa sighed and picked up the Sneasel with the exaggerated frown by the scruff. There was an outraged squawk from the ground, and plastic-dulled claws tugged at [?]. Dawn chose that moment to pass by, snagging the second Sneasel around the waist and hefting him up, too.

Elesa didn’t miss the way he attempted to lunge forward and catch his brother’s hand, and tried not to let the prickle of guilt [bother] her. Instead, she locked eyes with the Sneasel in her own grasp, who had eased into an unrepentant grin.

“What the fuck, man?”

---

[Bonus post-story tangent]

Before he could be entirely sure what was going on, he was hauled up off of his feet by a pair of deft claws. Emmet made an outraged sound behind him, materializing at his side with a Pokeball at the ready.

The offender leaned in and sniffed delicately.

“Ward-kit, you smell strange.” She grumbled [fondly], and only then deigned to turn her attention elsewhere, “And you found your nestmate. Cute.”

In his haste to settle the budding conflict, Ingo flung a hand out, seizing Emmet by the collar, and [choked], “Lady Sneasler.”

She harrumphed a laugh and repeated, “Ward-kitten.”

It was bizarre to understand her on a fundamental level now, after he’d spent so long interpreting her [idk] and chirps. He recognized the sounds as her [call] for him, but the meaning behind it was… new.

Beside him, Emmet relaxed fractionally. His hand was still clutching Eelektross’s Pokeball, but the frenetic energy had largely dissipated, and Ingo felt secure enough to release the hold on his jacket.

“Welcome to Gear Station, Lady Sneasler.” / “I will warn you that manhandling the staff is strictly prohibited. Please release my brother. Immediately.”

Sneasler snorted, but seemed inclined to keep the peace, and set Ingo back down.

#ihaveatheoryonthat pkmn #submas #writing scraps #misgendering tw #(albeit accidentally)

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