Chapter Text
It takes a lot of negotiation to get to an agreement everyone is satisfied with; three hours pass before they reach a conclusion. Emmet stepped away after the first 30 minutes to call the Gym and let them know Elesa would be out for the day. They were happy to hear from him, and to know that their Leader was alright, but they were not as happy to know that their schedule would be off for the rest of the week due to the interruption.
That was two and a half hours ago. Currently, Elesa has her feet tucked in between the arm of the couch and the couch cushion, her head resting in Emmet’s lap. Emmet is occupied with braiding and rebraiding her hair. He has long since stopped paying attention to the back-and-forth Arceus and Elesa are engaged in.
“I think that’s as good as it’s gonna get, man. Er… no, whatever. I’ll call you man.”
“This is acceptable,” Arceus agrees. If Emmet didn’t know any better, he’d say the Creator almost sounds happy.
Elesa smiles at it, something close to genuine, and continues. “Asking you to write up a contract is leaning a little too much into demonic imagery, I think, so I’m just gonna trust you to hold up your end, yeah? Can I trust you?”
Arceus nods fiercely. “Yes. Mine word is everbinding. I cannot break it, even if I desired to- which I do not.” It wiggles in place like it’s trying to get more comfortable, its legs still up underneath itself. Emmet eyes the spires of its middle ring and prays that it doesn’t settle any lower to the ground. There’s a scant inch of space between the spikes and the floor. There are already enough scratches as is. They don’t need any more.
“Cool,” Is all Elesa says.
Emmet takes out the latest braid he made, shaking her hair until it falls apart, then runs his hands through the strands. “Arceus,” He starts, drawing its attention to him, “How long until any of this comes into effect?” His real question goes unsaid, but he figures everyone knows what he means regardless; How long until I can find my brother?
Emmet is under no illusions that this will be an immediate reunion. Sinnoh- Hisui- is a large region, and, from what he has gathered from Arceus’s convoluted ramblings, very dangerous. It’s scarcely populated, mostly comprised of wild areas, with only a few settlements placed very distantly from each other scattered about. The Pokémon are prone to attacking people at the drop of a hat. Not only that, Ingo could be anywhere. Arceus has mentioned three places that he tends to frequent- Jubilife Village (wow, sound familiar?), the Coronet Highlands (again, familiar much?), and the Alabaster Icelands. Jubilife Village is small, supposedly, and will be easy to search, but the other two? From how Arceus has described them, they’re huge, and Ingo has been very reclusive since his unexpected arrival in their lands.
Still- despite all of this- Emmet is ready. It’s slowly but surely sinking in that he’s close- Ingo will be within reach very soon. His heart has felt as though it’s trying to break out of his chest with anticipation for a likely unhealthy amount of time. Every time he remembers what they’re working towards, he has to let go of Elesa’s hair to clench his fists, lest he pull on her hair and hurt her.
“I can create the rift as soon as I am given a location to place it. Nearby, preferably- Privacy will be pertinent. I do not want anyone to find it by accident.”
Emmet lets out a singular huff of a laugh. “Just put it in the bathroom,” He jokes, “Utmost privacy.”
Arceus tilts its head, eyes distant, then says, “It is done.”
…Uh-oh.
Elesa sucks in a sigh. “Emmet.”
“I’m sorry!” He squeaks, “I did not consider that God might not understand sarcasm!” He snaps his fingers. “Arceus, I was not being serious. Please do not put a portal in the bathroom.”
Arceus looks away and stays suspiciously quiet. Elesa sits up very, very slowly, eyes narrowed. Emmet is glad he is not on the receiving end of that look (yet).
“Arceus,” Elesa says, voice heavy with warning, “You did not just permanently stick a portal in Emmet’s bathroom. Right? ”
“...Uhm.”
“God. Dragons Almighty.” Elesa puts her face in her hands. “I’m surrounded by hooligans. Why can no one in this house think more than five seconds ahead?”
Arceus snorts like an aggravated Ponyta. “He said to put it in the bathroom.”
“Emmet is a fucking dumbass and should not be taken seriously.”
“Hey!”
“Don’t hey me, you just earned yourself a space-time rift in your bathroom. This is absolutely deserved.”
Emmet pulls on her hair. Quick as the lightning she commands, she whips around, murder in her eyes. Emmet jumps up and off the couch when she starts to try and grab at his hands. He knows this dance. “Do not. Do not bite me! Do not!”
Elesa doesn’t get up and chase him around like he expects; Instead, she stretches out across the entire couch, feline-like, leaving no room for him to sit back down. The look is completed by the smug face she makes.
“You are tall and I hate you,” Emmet informs her. Haxorus calls from the hallway; Emmet gestures vaguely in its direction. “See? Haxorus agrees with me.” Haxorus calls again, louder this time.
“She is asking for ye to follow her,” Arceus pipes in. It stares at them both with unconcealed interest.
Emmet doesn’t know why he’s surprised Arceus can understand his Pokémon. It makes sense- it created them just as it created humans- but knowing that and seeing it happen is very different. He’s already thinking of ways this can be utilized- but then he remembers that Arceus is not staying. Unfortunate. He would have loved the chance to better communicate with his teams.
“What’s wrong?” He asks Haxorus, rather than lingering on that, taking long strides to reach its side. Haxorus swings its head back and forth, careful not to get too close, lowing once again. It flails its hands towards the bathroom door, looking between it and Emmet.
“The portal?” He guesses. Haxorus pauses, then shrugs. I guess.
Elesa shimmies back into her heels and comes to join them. (She says that she hates the texture difference between the regular hardwood and the scratches left in it. Emmet is so used to it that he hardly notices anymore.) Her jacket has been left behind, draped over the back of the couch. It’s very unwieldy for trying to sit comfortably.
“I mean- Should we go check it out?” She asks, leaning elegantly over to look behind Haxorus. The dragon snuffs and watches her closely, prepared to grab her if she stumbles.
Emmet pretends he can’t feel Arceus’s eyes on his back. “Possibly. We do not have to go through. We can just look, then come back and prepare.”
“Yeah, good point. Come on then.”
Again allowed to lead the way, Emmet shimmies open the bathroom door and is immediately met with what must be the portal. It’s very transparent, at first, aside from the edges, which are an iridescent rainbow. He almost gets distracted, tilting his head back and forth to see how the colors change, but Elesa prods at the small of his back to make him move (which he does).
The closer they get, however, the more the colors darken. The center is the darkest- dark blues and purples and a bit of black- while the edges keep the reds and greens. It looks less like a flat bubble and more like an awful bruise.
The placement is horrid as well. It’s right inside the shower. Emmet is already trying to figure out how he’s meant to get clean with it there.
“Uhm,” Elesa interrupts his thinking, “Hey. I don’t like the way it’s moving.”
“The way it’s what? ”
Yup, it’s definitely moving. Expanding? It almost looks like it’s breathing. No. Nope. Nah. Fuck this, actually, that’s the worst thing Emmet’s ever seen. He’d like to leave now, please.
“Emmet. Emmet- Emmet! ” Elesa reaches over and snatches up his wrist. He doesn’t know why until he looks at her and realizes she’s tediously being dragged towards the- the thing, and she’s only picking up speed as she gets closer.
Icy cold horror kicks him into action. He grabs onto her forearm with both hands, tugging while he walks backwards, but it seems whatever force commands the rift is stronger than him; His pulling does nothing. Elesa tightens her grip and tries to dig her heels into the grout between the tiles, almost tripping in the process. She gives up to save her balance.
“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon,” She whispers, eyes huge.
The backs of her knees hit the edge of the shower’s tub, and she falls. Emmet falls with.
With a sound like glass shattering, or perhaps a thunderstorm right in their ears, they disappear…
…And fall right into a pond of mud.
They both land on their sides, splashing mud in all directions. Despite still reeling from the vertigo-esque feeling of falling through the rift, they scramble to their feet, Emmet trying desperately to shake as much mud off of himself as possible. He’s fine with his clothes being ruined- they are easily replaceable- but the wet feeling on his bare skin is making him want to hurl. Elesa, inversely, pays good money for unique clothing. It’d be a shame to lose it to… this.
More mud splashes onto Elesa; A Hippopotas, male, is running away, snorting fearfully as it goes. Elesa grumbles under her breath, aggravated.
Emmet is occupied with something much more important than horrible wet hands and messy clothes. “Elesa,” He whispers, carefully beginning to step back, “I think we might need to run.”
“Run? Emmet, it’s-”
She’s cut off by a booming bellow and the beginning of thundering footsteps. A Hippowdon, female, twice the size it should be, is charging at them full-throttle from the center of the bog, jaw open wide.
“Oh, fuck- Go, go, go!” Elesa takes off to the right, where there’s a flat-leveled mound not too far away. She trusts him to follow close.
He does, though not without struggle. He’s bare-footed and half-dressed and the ground is shaking with each stomp from the massive Hippowdon. Not only is it huge and angry, it's fast, moving at a speed that should be impossible for something of that size.
Elesa is struggling, too. Her heels keep catching on wetland plants and stones and she has virtually no traction against the muddy ground. A poorly-placed half-grown tree almost knocks her down to the ground, but Emmet catches her just in time, dragging her along as he fights towards the mound. (She’s limping. His fear only grows at her slowed pace.)
Still, it’s a Hippowdon- not exactly the pinnacle of speed. They manage to put a bit of distance between it and them. Hopefully, if they get far enough away, it’ll stop chasing them- He’s praying to everything he can think of that it won’t risk straying too far from its young.
Something must be listening. The Hippowdon stops in the last pond before the mound, snarling and pounding its feet. They both watch in tense silence as it gives one final call and turns back. Emmet’s entire body shakes as he gently lowers Elesa to the ground.
“Are- are you okay?” He asks, gasping for breath.
Elesa has to swallow a few times before she can respond. “Think I twisted my ankle, but- yeah. Yeah, I’m good.”
“Shit. Let me see.” At his hand-waving, she scoots closer and places her leg into his lap. He wiggles and prods at it for a bit, listening in for when she hisses, and says, “I can’t tell if it’s sprained or twisted. Do you think you can walk?”
“Maybe?”
“Let’s see. Preferably before the Hippowdon changes its mind.” He helps her upright and says nothing when she uses his forearms for balance.
“Ugh… Yeah, I can walk. Only hurts a bit. ‘M gonna ditch the heels, though, I don’t wanna make it worse.”
“Good call.”
She hums in agreement and toes off her shoes, leaving her just as barefoot as him. He got lucky and missed most of the rocks, but there’s a scratch from one on his right foot that worries him. Their environment is far from clean. An infection is not something he wants to have to worry about on top of everything else.
Elesa, after a moment of wobbly standing, starts laughing. First, it’s just a little giggle, but it quickly devolves into her folding in half and holding her stomach with one arm. “Fuck, man!” She says, “Did you see the size of that thing?”
Emmet shakes his head at her, grinning. “Indeed I did. I was there too. Don’t know if you noticed.”
She snorts and swats at him, then, abruptly, sits back down. “Ow. Foot.”
Emmet crouches down next to her. “Can you not walk, then?”
“No, no, I think I can. I just don’t wanna be up when I don’t need to be. Preserve my strength, or whatever.”
“Hm. Fair enough.” Emmet runs his palm along the ground, marvelling at how solid it is compared to the mud around it. “I’m going to kill Arceus, I think,” He says conversationally.
Elesa groans and covers her face with her sleeve. “Same. Do you think we take its place if we win?”
“I hope not. I do not know if I can manage both Gear Station and the entire universe.”
They both start giggling. It sounds hysteric.
“Hey!” Something- someone, most likely- thumps behind them. In unison, they snap their heads over; It’s a man, though Emmet would guess they’ve only just passed the threshold into adulthood. The first thing Emmet notices is the blue. They’re wearing a lot of blue. At their side is a Leafeon, a dry-looking sort that speaks of the environment it evolved in. Despite the brown tint to its leaves and the sharpness of its figure, it’s healthy and strong, with a haughty prance to its step as it falls into step with its trainer.
“Are you two okay? What were you thinking, going that close to- Holy shit, Warden? ”
“You talk fast,” Emmet says. Elesa slaps his shoulder. “I mean- Hello. Who are you?”
The trainer blinks at them a few times before sputtering. “I- It’s- Adaman. My name is Adaman.”
Elesa gives a two-fingered wave and a lovely smile. “Hey, Adaman. I’m Elesa. This is Emmet.”
“I am Emmet.”
“We’re kind of in the wrong place right now. Could you maybe direct us to the nearest civilization? I hurt my ankle running from the Hippowdon.” She lifts her leg into the air and shakes it a bit. Adaman glances away. “I’d like to get it checked out by a professional, if possible.”
“Er…”
Adaman’s Leafeon steps forward. It gets close to Emmet, real close, then nudges at his knee with its forehead and chirps. Emmet leans over and rubs at its ears. “Hello, you. I have nothing to offer. No treats from me.” The Leafeon does not seem to mind this, as it nudges further into his hands and starts to purr.
“Sorry, I’m just- Are you not Warden Ingo?” Adaman asks.
…Pause.
Emmet barely hears Elesa’s sharp inhale over the sudden pounding in his ears. Slowly, very slowly, he releases the Leafeon. It seems to notice the sudden shift in the air, backing away until it reaches Adaman’s side, where it curls around his legs.
“You know Ingo.” Emmet’s mouth is dry. He tries his very best to make it sound like a question, but even he can tell it falls flat.
Adaman narrows his eyes. “So you aren’t him.”
“No. Do you know Ingo? ”
Elesa, heavensend that she is, cuts in. “We’re friends of Ingo's. We’ve been looking for him for… a very long time. If you know where he is, please… Please tell us.” She hits her fist against her thigh a few times, anxious.
“Friends is too light a term,” Then, to Adaman, Emmet says: “I am his brother. His twin. I have been searching for him for three years. If you know where he is…”
Something softens in Adaman’s face. He sighs, long and exhausted, and runs a hand over his hair. “I don’t know exactly where he is, but I know the vague whereabouts. If you want specifics, you’d need Akari.”
Emmet gets to his feet. His legs ache and his head feels light, but all of that is dismissible. This is it. He’s finally, finally, finally getting close to finding Ingo. He almost feels nauseous from anticipation.
Three years of searching have culminated into this. He doesn’t want to say that it’s been three years of loneliness- his friends have been by his side the entire time- but nothing has been able to tamper the phantom ache that Ingo left.
All of that can be over now. He knows Ingo is alive. He has found someone who can bring Ingo to him (or him to Ingo; At this point, he's not picky). Everything can finally be over.
"Akari, then. We'll need to find them." He extends a hand to Elesa. She grimaces, but takes it, leaning on him for balance.
"Hold on, now," Adaman cuts in, waving his hands in a clear gesture of pause , "You just said she needed medical help. There's a Galaxy encampment nearby- At least let me take you there. Then we can see about finding Akari."
"We?" Emmet asks.
Adaman gives a slightly awkward smile. "I'd like to help you out, if I can- And maybe keep an eye on you. You are strangers infringing on my home, after all. For all I know, you could be a couple of Zoroarks trying to lower my guard."
Elesa laughs a little bit. It does well to loosen the tension in Adaman's shoulders that Emmet hadn't noticed before. "Trust me, if we were Zoroarks, we definitely wouldn't have gone the mud route. I'm gonna hate getting this out later." She pauses, for a second, like she's waiting for someone else to speak; When no one does, she says, "Lead the way, cap'n. Take us to your leader."