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1.
Akari—no, Dawn—landed on her hands and knees in her childhood bedroom, tears already beginning to stream down her face.
“Hello?” Someone called and Dawn realized with a start that it was her mother –her mother!– coming up the stairs. “Is someone there?
“Ingo?” she choked on a quiet sob, knowing in her heart that he was not with her. “Ingo?”
There was no answer.
She opened her clenched fist to catch a glance at the stern wooden face of Sneasler before she couldn’t take it anymore and clutched it to her chest.
She was home and her mother was coming into her bedroom and it was everything she’d wished for all these months, everything she’d been missing, she should be happy!
Her mother opened her bedroom door and she began to cry in earnest.
2.
“Tell me about him again.” Cynthia demanded. She looked like Volo, or rather, Volo had always looked like her. It's what made him so easy to trust. It was better like this. A trusted face was again trusted.
“His name was Ingo. He was an old guy with silver hair. He wore a black coat and hat and talked in, like, train words.” Dawn recited from where she was laying on the couch. “He had amnesia and he couldn’t remember any of his old life but he was modern like me, I’m sure of it.”
“And that’s it?” Cynthia said, typing into her PokéDex.
“He was really good at Pokemon battling. Like, Elite Four level, maybe better. He remembered a man who looked like him who he was close to and he remembered he had a fire type partner, but he really couldn’t remember much about home. I was trying to help him.” Dawn said. She rolled onto her back and kicked her feet. “I was going to keep helping him. I told him I would take him home.”
Cynthia didn’t look up as Dawn pressed the heel of her palm against her eyes.
“I’ve reached out to the other Champions and gym leaders. If he’s here to be found, we’ll find him, ok?” Cynthia said after a long moment.
3.
The first anniversary of her return, she went to Mt. Coronet. She stood at the Spear Pillar, as she had before across what felt like multiple lifetimes.
Her mother hadn’t been willing to let her go alone, even after a year, but that was fine. Cynthia was always interested in Legendaries anyways.
The Azure Flute was as heavy in her hands as ever. She played the song perfectly.
“Which one was that?” Cynthia asked.
“Arceus.” Dawn said quietly. She could feel its attention, but nothing happened. She played it again.
Frustrated, she played the tune for Sneasler.
“Sneasler.” she snapped, cutting off Cynthia when she saw her open her mouth. The older Champion frowned and typed into her PokeDex.
Nothing answered the call.
She played the other calls, one after another. The attention remained, but that was all.
“Fuck you!” she screamed, startling Cynthia. “Answer me, dammit!”
“Dawn, I don’t think–” Cynthia started and Dawn cut her off, raising the flute to play the Arceus tune again.
“You rip me out of my bed, out of my life , and you won’t even come when I call? Fuck you! ” she screamed.
“Okay, that’s enough.” Cynthia said sternly, walking towards the younger girl.
“No, it’s not! They took him, they took him and I told him I’d take him home! ” Dawn screamed and it was like she couldn’t stop, even as Cynthia took the flute and wrapped her arms around her.
“I told him I was bringing him home. ” Dawn wailed into the shoulder of Cynthia’s shirt. Neither of them commented on her tears.
4.
Therapy had been, you know, fine.
No one really got it, but who could? She talked about it with the doctor anyways, hand usually in her pocket, tracing the worn wooden face of Sneasler. Or sometimes the jagged edge of the cuff.
“Do you know, whenever I ask you a question you don’t want to answer, your hand goes into your pocket?” the doctor asked one day and Dawn froze guiltily. “I wonder what it is you have in there.”
Reluctantly, Dawn brought it out.
“It’s pretty.” the doctor offered and Dawn smiled humorlessly.
“It was Ingo’s Warden Band.” Dawn said.
“That’s sweet. Did he give it to you?” she asked and Dawn’s face fell.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” she said, shoving the band back into her pocket.
“That’s alright.” the doctor said, smiling. “We don’t have to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. And if you change your mind, we have plenty of time.”
5.
The second anniversary, Dawn used her admittedly pathetic art skills to draw a picture of Ingo. She held it up and imagined lighting incense in front of it, of setting the pecha berries he favored down before it.
She ripped it to shreds instead and called Barry.
6.
The fight was fresh in her mind, but she didn’t want to talk about it and Lucas, at least, knows how to read the room.
“You know he’s just worried about you, right?”
Or she thought he did.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” she said and he frowned at her. Even after all this time, it was hard not to think of Rei when she looked at him. It’s a bit like Cynthia and Volo. Rei had reminded her of her friend the whole time, though Rei really had been a friend.
“You don’t want to, but I think you need to.” Lucas said and Dawn glared at him. He didn’t shrink back. Rei would have.
“What do you want me to say?” Dawn asked and Lucas sighed and looked away, rubbing the back of head as he did.
“Can you answer Barry’s question? It’s been over two years, you know. You only knew Ingo for like 6 months but you’ve just been, you know, fixated on him all this time. It's normal that Barry would worry about you. I’m worried about you too.”
“You just don’t get it!” Dawn said hotly.
“I want to try .” Lucas fired right back. “If you won’t talk to me, how am I supposed to get it, huh?”
Dawn glared at the ground rather than meet his eyes.
“He fed me.” she said after a while. Lucas was quiet. “No one fed me there. Unless I went to the only restaurant in town. And that guy turned out to be a ninja who tried to kill me.”
Lucas was still quiet.
“What? Nothing to say about the ninja?” Dawn asked, looking up at last and Lucas offered her a small smile.
“I don’t want to interrupt when you’re finally talking about it.”
“Yeah, well….I guess. Ingo was the only one to act like I was a kid. Everyone was so scared of Pokemon and I wasn’t. Pokemon are easy. But they were scared and I wasn’t and that made me some sort of, of super human! I wasn’t though! I was just a normal kid. Ingo was the only one who looked at me like a normal kid.”
“That’s all it took, huh.” Lucas said and she whirled on him.
“Don’t act like it’s nothing! You have no idea–” she started.
“That’s not what I meant!” Lucas said, holding his hands up. “I’m not saying its nothing! I’m thinking about how hard it must have been, for something like that to make such a huge impact on you. I know it was hard, Dawn. I know it was.”
“Sorry.” Dawn said, despite not really feeling very sorry. “Barry, he’s just…”
“Barry is Barry.” Lucas said when she trailed off. “And he’s been worried sick about you, but that doesn’t mean he knows how to show it.”
“Well, he could try being less of an ass.” Dawn muttered to herself before sighing heavily. “I know you guys don’t get it. Its just like. Ingo was the only person there who treated me like a kid instead of some sort of savior. He didn’t rely on me like everyone else, he let me rely on him a little.”
“That’s–”
“And the one time he did rely on me, was when I promised to take him home .” Dawn interrupted him. “I was supposed to take him home and I lost him .”
“I’m sorry, Dawn.” Lucas said after it became clear she didn’t have anything else to say.
“Yeah, well. Me too.”
7.
She kept going to therapy. She kind of thought all the other kids getting pulled into fights with evil organizations or used as proxies for different Legendaries should try it out, but even as Champion, she couldn’t exactly make kids from other regions take care of their mental health.
“I don’t think I know how to let it go.” she told the kindly faced doctor one day, openly fiddling with the Warden’s Band.
“There’s no right or wrong way to grieve, Dawn.”
Dawn laughed bitterly. “That’s what I’m doing, isn’t it? Grieving. Even though I don’t know if he’s dead. He could just be….lost.”
“It’s all the same to you, isn’t it? You’re still here, missing him. You can grieve that without him being dead.”
“It’s not the same!” Dawn exclaimed. “If he’s lost, I’m the one who lost him! If he’s lost, isn’t it my responsibility to find him?”
“Why is it your responsibility? You were just a child, Dawn. You’re still a child.”
“He trusted me. I told him I’d take him home and he trusted me and I led him straight to…whatever happened to him. How is that anything but my responsibility?”
“Maybe so.” the doctor conceded. “But it’s been years now. You’ve done everything you could. Is this what Ingo would want?”
“If he shows up to answer that question, I’ll listen.”
8.
“This is the last time.” Dawn promised and she meant it. “If it doesn’t answer, I’ll stop.”
“Really?” Barry asked skeptically. He’d always been tall, but true adolescence looked good on him. The sharp planes of his face were just like his father’s and he had to look down at her these days. She didn’t like how smug he looked from that angle.
“Yeah, really.” Dawn said. The entrance to Turnback Cave loomed before them. “I think I just need to know that I did everything I could.”
“Hey, I get that.” Barry said and Dawn startled at the genuine sympathy in his voice. “I didn’t mean to act like such a jerk. I just spent so much time missing you and you came back missing someone else.”
“Thanks Barry.” Dawn said and then took a steadying breath.
“Ready?” Barry asked and Dawn’s mouth firmed.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
9.
In a fit of spite, Dawn played the tune to summon Arceus.
The attention she’d felt the entire time she was in the innermost chamber turned angry and heavy.
“Dawn?” Barry called, sounding nervous.
“What? Does that make you mad?” Dawn questioned the room instead of responding. “Join the fucking club.”
She played the song again and the room felt oppressive.
“You want to do something about it? Show yourself! Answer me!”
“Dawn!” Barry called again and she ignored him.
“The whole fucking thing was your fault . I got taken and hurt and killed because of you. Ingo was there and suffering because of you . And now you want to be angry? Fine! Do something about it! Look at me when I’m talking to you! ” Dawn shouted.
She raised the flute to play again when Barry’s hand closed on her wrist.
“That’s enough, Dawn!” he said.”It’s not going to work. And I don’t think we’ll like it if it does.”
“It’s not enough! It’s just going to sit here and watch me? If it can’t help it should have to come out and say so!” she said, jerking at him. “It doesn’t get to be angry at me! I’m the one it hurt!”
“I don’t think it cares about that.” Barry said.
“Well it should!”
“It’s not going to work.” Barry repeated. “You said you’d stop. You promised me this was it. You did everything you could.”
Dawn stopped pulling at her wrist and dropped her head against Barry’s chest. She tried not to cry.
“I wanted to bring him home.” she said miserably.
“I know”
“I told him I would.”
“I know.”
Barry fidgetted and she tried not to let it bother her. She stepped away and he let her and didn’t say anything when she swiped at her face again.
“I’m leaving.” she whispered to the cave. “You and Arceus are just the same. Don’t ever show your face to me again unless you’re prepared to answer for what happened.”
And then she let Barry take her by the arm and lead her out.
0.
They didn’t pack much, just what was important to them.
Akari smiled at her friend as he courteously helped her up the final slope to the wrecked Temple of Sinnoh. She could make it herself and she knew that he knew that too, but he offered her his hand anyways.
He didn’t smile back, but she didn’t expect him to.
“My mom will be able to help us search when we get home. And we can have a nice shower and sleep on nice beds while we look. Champion Cynthia can help too. Once we’re home, it’ll be easy to figure out where you’re from, promise.” She chattered.
“As you say, Miss Akari. I admit to being nervous about these tracks, but I know you to be a capable conductor.” Ingo said.
“That’s right. Once we get home, everything will fall into place, trust me.” She pulled out the Azure Flute. “Can you do the thing?”
“Of course.” He said and then straightened his back and pointed his arms out. “All Aboard!!!”
Akari giggled and then began to play.
When the portal appeared before them, Ingo offered his hand and Akari gratefully took it.
“Are you ready?” Ingo asked and Akari put on a brave face, hand tight around his.
“Of course! Let’s go home.”
She thought it would be like a door. It was more like a tornado.
They were falling, flying. Wind grasped at them like fingers, ripping at their packs, their clothes, their hair. Ingo’s beloved hat went flying before his hand reflexively snapped out to catch it in a white knuckled fist.
Akari’s sweaty little palm slid in Ingo’s grasp and her other hand whipped up to lock around his wrist.
“Miss Akari!” Ingo bellowed, even his prodigious volume thin in the maelstrom.
The forces ripping at them began to feel less like wind and more like the real, true fingers of some inexplicably great creature, prying them apart.
“Ingo!” She shrieked as she was pulled. Her fingers dug into the bangle at his wrist for purchase. “Ingo!”
With a sickening snap, the cuff came apart in her hand and she was wrenched away. She fell for a scant few more seconds before she tumbled out, scream caught in her throat.
And he was gone.
10.
She didn’t care to try her hand at drawing him again.
Instead, she sat down with a tube of wood filler and a jar of purple paint and got to work.
Hours later, the Warden’s Band was whole again. The jagged edge smoothed out, the purple matched and carefully applied. The stern face of Sneasler stared out at her, as blank as ever, but Dawn felt approval in the simple carved eyes.
It was not truly fixed; it would bear the scars of the incident forever. But hey, so would she.
She put on the band.
“I miss you, Ingo. I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you home.” she said to the empty room.
And then she sat down at her computer and booked tickets for the Ampharos Train from Snowpoint City.
11.
“I like the bracelet.” Lucas said, sitting next to her as the train chugged along. She’d been quiet for most of the ride, staring out the window.
She knew Lucas wouldn’t mind like Barry would. She didn’t want to be alone, but she didn’t want to talk either.
“It was Ingo’s.” she said. “I broke it when we were coming home. When I was coming home.”
Lucas didn’t say anything for a while after that and Dawn stared out the window.
“Dawn, what are we doing here?” he asked in a quiet, serious voice and she smiled. She could hear his ‘you promised’ loud and clear, but Barry would’ve said it.
“Ingo loved trains. He didn’t know what they were, but every other thing he said was about them anyways. I think I just wanted to see what he loved so much.” She leaned her head against the window. “It’s kinda nice. It's too bad Sinnoh only has the one.”
“That’s all?” Lucas asked and Dawn nodded.
“That’s all.”
“Okay.”
They were quiet, both staring out at the snow.
“I think I’ll be okay. I think I’ll always be upset, but I did everything I could. I did everything I could.” Dawn said, not looking at her friend. “So, I’ll wear his band and I’ll ride the trains for him and that will have to be enough. Do you think it’s enough?”
“Yeah, Dawn.” Lucas said, looking at her with sad eyes. “I think it’s enough.”
12.
“There’s a Magnet Train between Kanto and Johto.” Barry said as soon as she picked up the phone.
“What, no hello?” Dawn teased, even as her hand sought out the filled crack of the Warden’s Band.
“Hello, I heard you like trains now.” Barry said impatiently. “Do you wanna go or not?”
“Yeah, I do.” Dawn said, smiling. “Thanks, Barry.”
“Don’t make it weird! We’re gonna battle some strong trainers while we’re there!” Barry exclaimed and Dawn laughed.
13.
“Kalos or Galar next?” Barry demanded as soon as they were landed back in Sinnoh and Dawn smiled.
“I’m not making my entire life about trains, Barry.” she said. “Besides, what about Unova? Don’t they have some huge subway?”
“The Battle Subway. But I looked it up and it’s closed. Well, I mean, the commuter trains are open, but the trains where you can battle are closed because the bosses are gone right now.” Barry said.
“Oh, I wonder why?” Dawn said.
“Don’t know. But I assumed if battling was an option, you'd rather wait til we could do that before we go all the way to Unova.” Barry said.
“You assumed right.” Dawn laughed. “We can hang out without trains though.”
“I just want to be supportive!” Barry exclaimed.
“It’s nice. But I’m okay.” Dawn said and Barry raised an eyebrow. “Really. I’m okay.”
“Sure. But if you’re not , do you wanna go to Kalos or Galar next?”
“Galar. But let’s wait a couple months. It's Pokemon Journey season and I’ve got a title to defend.” Dawn said and Barry grinned.
“Yeah, from me. Ready to lose?” Barry said, shoving her lightly.
“Isn’t that my question?” Dawn said, shoving him back.
And then they were off, shoving at each other like kids as they ran all the way home.
14.
The years passed, like they do.
The Warden’s Band was meant to be worn day and night. For a solid wooden cuff, it’s fairly comfortable and unobtrusive and she goes days and sometimes weeks without thinking much about it, or it’s owner.
She grows older.
She defends her Champion title for a year, then two, then loses it to Barry, who loses it himself after a year. She’s not too torn up about it. She had a good run and she’s ready to be done.
She goes to Galar and rides the trains. She goes to Kalos too. Lucas starts buying her train sets for her birthday and she laughs about it.
Barry and Lucas come over and they set one up to run around the top of her room like she’d seen in a cute Galarian cafe once. She carves a little Sneasler and sets it to ride in the engine.
She’s happy.
15.
“The Battle Subway reopened!” Barry said when Dawn picked up the phone.
“No hello?” Dawn teased.
“Hello, Unova’s Battle Subway is open again.” Barry said impatiently. “Only the Multi-Battle line, but we’re going together anyways. When are you free?”
“This is a lot of assumptions. Who says I wanna go?” Dawn asked, still in a teasing mood.
“Dawn!” Barry whined and she laughed.
“Okay, okay. I’m not doing anything so I could probably go around the end of the week? Are we in a hurry?”
“Well.” Barry sounded nervous. “There’s something else. I don’t wanna get your hopes up though.”
“You know I’m not gonna let you leave it like that.” Dawn said.
“Yeah. Humor me for a second then and tell me about your old guy. The time traveler.” Barry said and Dawn still felt a pang in her chest, even after all this time. The cuff on her wrist felt heavy.
“Barry, you have twenty seconds to explain why you’re asking me about Ingo like that.” Dawn said flatly.
“So his name is Ingo! And he wore a black coat. And he was good at battling. I don’t remember anything else, but there was more, right?” Barry said plaintively.
“He liked trains.” Dawn said testily. “He had silver hair and silver eyes. He always frowned. That’s basically it. Explain yourself, now.”
“It’d be easier for you to just look yourself. Get online and search ‘Ingo Unova Battle Subway’. And then tell me when we’re going.” Barry said shortly and then hung up.
Dawn looked at her phone furiously.
But she couldn’t just refuse to do what Barry had said. If he was saying what she thought he was saying….
She sat down at her computer, wiggling the mouse as it cycled through its start up and thinking idly that she should probably think about replacing it some time soon.
She searched for Ingo.
She’d done this before. Almost as soon as she’d gotten back, she’d searched for Ingo any way she could. Every combination of trains, subways, elite trainers. She searched with his name and without it and every last bit of it had been a total flop. He wasn’t anywhere. She’d looked and looked.
But it was different this time.
The top news was the Battle Subway reopening and she started there.
‘Missing and presumed dead Subway Boss Ingo is back and so are the Multi-Battle Lines at your favorite Battle Facility!’
And it was him.
His coat was perfect and he didn’t hunch, but she could see the tan line from his Warden’s Band peaking out from the space between his cuff and glove. He was doing that same old point and call and his mouth was a frown, even as his eyes sparkled with delight.
And at his side, a mirror. A man in white with his face, smiling.
Dawn felt weak. She felt like she could cry. She felt like she was going to throw up.
Because Ingo? Looked exactly the same as he had 8 long years ago.
She called Barry back.
“Three days.” She said briskly and he didn’t even tease her lack of hello. “Be ready to go or I’m leaving you behind.”
16.
“I need to speak with Ingo.” She said to one of the green uniformed Depot Agents.
“Subway Boss Ingo can be met today on the Multi-Battle lines and the Super Multi-Battle Lines. You’ll have to win 20 times to face him.” The agent recited, the unspoken ‘just like everyone else’ hanging in the air around them. Barry watched their conversation, uncharacteristically quiet.
“It’s really urgent, can you just tell him I’m here? Please? My name is Akari, I know he’ll come see me if you tell him!”
“Listen lady. I know everyone wants to see Ingo now that he’s back, but there are rules, got it?” The agent said, rubbing their face wearily.
“If you’d just tell him—!”
“Look, I don’t know what you’re hoping to get from the boss, but it’s useless. He’s not going to remember some random passenger and I've been here for the bosses’ entire careers and I’ve never seen you before. So do you want to ride the battle lines or not?”
Dawn’s face hardened. “Twenty battles, you said? Fine.”
“Thank you for riding the Battle Subway. Your platform and departure time are listed on your ticket. You can find a list of applicable rules and banned Pokemon and items on your platform or on the station website. Have a nice day.” The agent said, offering them a bland smile and Dawn bristled before Barry hooked her elbow and pulled her away.
“Twenty battles is nothing.” He declared boldly.
“It’s just frustrating.” Dawn said. “He’s right here. He’s literally right here!”
“We’re gonna see him soon.” Barry said and fidgeted in place. “What happened with him anyways? Dawn, you’ve been back for like eight years and this guy, you said he was old but he’s not even a decade older than us! What gives?”
“I don’t know! I need-I need to talk to him! I thought he was dead! I thought he was trapped in the Distortion World or—! Oh Arceus, what if he’s been in the Distortion World for eight years and I left him there! ”
Her hands came up to pull at her hair in anxiety.
“Hey, calm down!” Barry exclaimed and grabbed her wrists. “It’s all gonna be alright. Let’s go down to our platform and wait. It won’t be much longer. Twenty battles is nothing. We’re literally Champions.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Let’s go.”
17.
The Depot Agents were all strong trainers and Dawn worked hard for her twenty wins, but in the end, they were two former Champions.
After the twentieth car, the Depot Agent bid them to heal their Pokemon and wait for the doors to open.
Barry reached for her hand. Dawn took it.
“Are you okay?” He asked and she laughed humorlessly.
“No.”
“We don’t actually have to fight him, you know. We did all this just to talk to the guy! But it was fun, wasn’t it?” Barry said and Dawn laughed again, though it sounded more like a sob.
“Yeah.”
“Dawn, talk to me. You’re freaking me out!” Barry said.
“It’s been eight years. I thought he was dead. I’ve been mourning him for eight years and I don’t….I don’t even know what to say to him. I want to say I’m sorry. I want him to wrap his coat around me and tell me it’s okay. I’m so scared. What if he doesn’t even recognize me? What if he doesn’t know who I am?”
“Then you can remind him.” Barry said simply. “If he’s as good a guy as you’ve said, I think he’ll be nice to you even if he doesn’t remember you. And maybe…if he’s home safe, you can finally forgive yourself, right?”
“Shut up trying to be all wise and sappy.” Dawn said with a watery laugh and shoved him.
“Hey! I’m trying to comfort you here! I should fine you for assault!” Barry squawked.
“Thanks Barry.” Dawn said and squeezed the hand he still held.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m the best. You can treat me to dinner when we’re done.” Barry said with a bashful smile.
“Yeah. When we’re done.”
18.
The doors opened and Dawn hesitated right on the threshold, Barry crowded close behind her.
And then she took a deep breath, and stepped through.
It was just a door, not a tornado.
The car looked just like the twenty before it, but where before there had been two green uniformed Depot Agents, here there were two men. Frowning and smiling. Black and White.
He looked the same and different. Gone was the slouch to his back. His face was scrubbed clean. His coat and hat were whole and the blacks were black and the rusty stripes at the bottom were a bright gleaming red. His sleeves had big cuffs. She’d never known that.
But he looked no older than the day his wrist slipped from her grasp.
Their eyes met.
“Hi Ingo.” She said and he startled out of his pose, his brother following him moments later with a strange look on his smiling face.
“Miss Akari?” Ingo said wonderingly.
“Yeah.” She said and sniffled, tears already beginning to roll down her cheeks. “I missed you.”