Summer 2020

"Easterners," Elesa joked as Volo stared at the stairs leading to the subway like a stubborn Lilipup that didn't want to walk on a leash. "Can't take the heat."

Volo didn't remember much before living in Johto but he couldn't fathom living in Alola for so long. He hated the heat. Mount Silver still had snow year-round and the wind blew cool air over the region, making summers in Johto manageable, but Unova didn't have that. It was hot all the time and Volo hated it.

At least he worked and lived at a university. He didn't have to pay for air conditioning and he didn't care about draining the university's budget on it. Elesa similarly had League funding to keep her gym's air conditioning blowing all day. The twins could say the same in theory but it was pretty damn difficult to cool a whole subway system. When it came to going underground, the temperature was always either going to be refreshingly cool or unbearably hot. Volo didn't know if he wanted to take a gamble today.

"You literally have a fan," Volo countered, glaring at the Rotom-print danseon she was waving. Or rather, the fan she wasn't sharing.

"And you have an Ice-type. Two of them actually!"

Volo put his hand to his chest in mock-offense. "How dare you suggest I make them stay out of her ball in this heat?"

Elesa chuckled and waved her fan at Volo a few times, giving him some relief for a few moments. "The twins' shift was supposed to end at six, right? It's been awhile. Think we should go check on them?"

Volo didn't really want to go into the subway but the sooner they retrieved the twins, the sooner they could find some place with air conditioning. "I'm sure they just got caught up in paperwork."

Elesa didn't say anything and took the lead as the pair headed down into the subway. Instantly, Volo was hit with a wave of dense heat. He'd made the right choice waiting outside. The Gear Station wasn't getting any cool air today, it seemed.

"Hey, Furze," Volo called out, spotting the green uniform that marked the Depot Agents. The uniform Ingo and Emmet hadn't worn in six years. Black and white suited them, even if their coats probably made them miserable this time of year. "Do you know where Ingo and Emmet are?"

"They should be in their office," Furze called back and Volo thanked him, heading off in the direction he was instructed. Only, when they arrived, it was empty. It wasn't concerning but it did put them in a bit of a pickle.

"Maybe they needed to do a walk-through?" Elesa suggested. She glanced back out toward the tunnels. "I don't really want to walk around looking for them in this heat."

"No worries," Volo told her and released Spiritomb. "Hey, buddy. Think you can track down Ingo and Emmet for us? We can't seem to find them."

"Tomb!" Spiritomb answered with a wide grin. They paused for a moment and drooped a bit. "Spiritomb? Tomb…"

Elesa shot Volo a questioning glance and he merely shrugged. He didn't know what Spiritomb meant by that but the Pokémon was already off. It only took a few moments for Volo and Elesa to know where they were going. They'd been here since the start, afterall. They probably knew the place better than anyone, save the Depot Agents and the Subway Bosses themselves.

"It was Multi Line today, I think," Elesa told him as the pair followed Spiritomb to where the trains were parked for the night. There were still a couple running through the night, of course, but the battle cars were not among them. "I'm sure they were just healing up their Pokémon and got distracted talking about the battle."

"I think you mean they got sidetracked."

Elesa made a noise. "No stealing puns from me!"

"That wasn't barely a pun and it's not stealing if you don't say it first."

Elesa shook her head and marched onward, pulling open one of the doors to the Multi Line car. "Ingo? Emmet? You in here?"

Spiritomb pushed past her with a sense of urgency that set something off in Volo's brain. Spiritomb was acting strange, more than usual. Something was wrong. It could be nothing but Volo trusted Spiritomb's instinct. Wordlessly, he hurried after his Pokémon, Elesa close behind. "Ingo? Emmet?"

They entered the battle car and, as expected, found the twins standing by the healing station. Or rather, twin. Whichever it was, he had his coat and hat off and it was impossible to tell with his back turned. At the sound of his friends' voices, he cranked around and even then it took Volo a moment to figure out who it was. There was no tell-tale frown or smile. Just a neutral line. Then he spotted the white coat bunched up in his arms and began spotting all the little signs that this was Emmet.

Emmet rushed forward and just sort of knocked his shoulders into Volo and Elesa. If he weren't gripping his coat so tightly, he probably would be hugging them. Unsure what to do, Volo lifted his arms and draped them gently around Emmet. On the other side, Elesa did the same. "Emmet? Is everything okay?"

"Don't let go," Emmet whispered, voice eerily hollow. "Don't let go."

Volo and Elesa's eyes met. Emmet didn't hate being touched or anything but it was rare that he initiated it and rarer he prolonged it. "Did something happen? Where's Ingo?"

"He disappeared," Emmet told him so quietly that Volo almost didn't hear him even though they were right next to each other. "We were healing up our Pokémon and Ingo just disappeared."

"He probably just stepped out to-"

Emmet shook his head violently. "No. No, I was standing right next to him. I was putting my Pokéballs back on my belt and Ingo was putting his into the machine and when I looked back up, he was just gone. It'd only been a moment. His Pokémon hadn't even finished healing."

With Emmet pressed against him, Volo could feel the wadded up coat against his chest. With this new information, Volo was starting to make more sense of it. "Are Ingo's Pokéballs in there?"

Emmet nodded. "And mine. I don't want them to disappear too."

"I'm sure Ingo didn't just disappear," Elesa told him and while her words were steady, her tone had a touch of doubt. "Did you try calling him?"

Emmet nodded. "Called and texted. His location isn't working either."

That was concerning. "I'm going to try too."

Volo didn't doubt Emmet was telling the truth but he still wanted to be sure. True to Emmet's words, any attempts to call or track Ingo failed. Elesa didn't have better results. "Maybe his xtrans died?"

"He disappeared," Emmet insisted firmly. "I know people don't just disappear but Ingo did. I didn't hear him walk away and there wasn't a Teleport or anything. He was just there one moment and then he wasn't."

"We don't think you're lying," Volo soothed, patting one of his hands on the back of Emmet's shoulder. "We should still try everything before assuming the worst. I'm going to go look around for-"

"No!" Emmet's hand gripped him suddenly, sacrificing the strength of his hold on his coat and the Pokéballs to keep Volo from withdrawing. "Whatever took him might take you too."

Volo looked at Elesa again. He wasn't sure what to do here. Emmet was clearly terrified and Volo was not equipped to handle that. Elesa, apparently, was though. "How about if Spiritomb looks? And maybe Chandelure? They're Ghost-types. They can find their way back if they get lost no matter how far they go."

Emmet seemed hesitant but agreed. Releasing Volo, he shuffled the pile of Pokéballs around a bit and pulled out one of them. In a flash, Chandelure was floating beside them. "Chandelure, I need you to find Ingo."

"Chandelure!" Chandelure spun around, pleased to be chosen for the task, before pausing. Like Spiritomb had before, she drooped a bit. "Chandelure?"

"Tomb tomb Spiritomb," Spiritomb told her, ragged mouth stretched into a frown. They shook themself as if shaking their head. "Spiritomb…"

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Elesa asked and Volo could tell the hope she'd been holding out was quickly dying.

"They can't track him," Volo said aloud and he knew his voice was distant. He could feel some sort of memory trying to push its way forward but it just wouldn't surface. Some tidbit about Ghost-types, probably. "I've never heard of that. Ghost-types are always able to find their trainers, even if they-"

Volo cut himself off, not wanting to voice it. Ingo wasn't dead. Chandelure wouldn't be hovering here if he was. It felt taboo to say though. Dead. What a thought. Everyone died eventually but that didn't make it less terrible. And Volo had faced a lot of deaths in his long life. The important ones became part of Spiritomb, at least. Wait…

"NO ҉WIS͟P̷," Spiritomb announced, expression unsure. Volo too was unsure. He didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. No wisp meant Ingo was alive. That still left them with nothing about his whereabouts though.

"Ingo's definitely alive," Volo said abruptly, voicing his internal monologue in case Elesa and Emmet weren't piecing together the pieces he was. "He's just… not here."

"Where though?"

"I don't know," Volo told them, trying to keep frustration out of his voice. He knew they were just reaching for the lightest sign of strength but Volo didn't have the answers and he didn't want his friends thinking he did. "We should- we should call the police?"

"What are they going to do?"

"I don't know. File a missing persons report? Maybe they'll see something we missed." Volo doubted it but this was how Unova worked. There was infrastructure for everything. "We need to move though. They'll have a hard time finding us this deep in the station. Are you okay to move, Emmet?"

"I am Emmet," Emmet responded and that wasn't an answer but they moved anyway. It was just about all they could do.

Another week and Ingo was officially declared missing. Not a day later and the media pounced. Elesa ushered Emmet into her apartment to hide from them. Volo soon joined them. He liked his university housing but there were too many people. Specifically, too many Battle Subway fans who knew Volo was friends with the bosses. Volo had quickly grown tired of avoiding them and even more tired of being forced to reply to questions he didn't know the answers to.

Another two weeks and Emmet was returning to work.

"You don't have to go back," Volo said for what felt like the millionth time as they walked down the steps to the subway. "No one expects you to be back this soon."

"I'll take more time off if I have to," Emmet told him and it wasn't the first time but it still surprised Volo. Emmet was an all or nothing kind of guy. It really meant something if he wasn't expecting to throw himself back into the old routine. "I might not even make it the whole day. I just want to check in."

Volo fell silent as they entered the Gear Station. It was early enough that there weren't many people on the streets or patrons at the terminal but it still felt like they should show a united front. Volo and Elesa were here to support Emmet, afterall. To show he wasn't alone.

"Boss!" Jackie and Cameron were at the terminal today and they both seemed very surprised to see Emmet approaching. "I didn't know you were coming back today."

"I am Emmet. It is on the schedule," Emmet told them and Volo couldn't tell if Emmet was poking fun or not. "We just wanted to come by."

The pair's eyes lingered on Volo and Elesa for a moment before Cameron spoke up, "Are Volo and Elesa going to help out on the Battle Subway?"

The question surprised Volo. It wasn't something they'd talked about or even thought about. The Battle Subway was always Ingo and Emmet. Elesa had her gym and Volo had his studies and the Battle Subway had never had guest stars or anything, though the idea had been tossed around a couple of times. But one look shared with Emmet and Elesa told Volo all he needed to know.

"Yes," Emmet said after a moment, eyes sweeping back to Cameron and Jackie. He began walking forward, arms swinging and gesturing wildly. "Elesa's got less availability as a gym leader and she's got better synchronicity with me so I was thinking she'd come on the Multi Line once in awhile. When Volo has time, his team is well suited for the Singles Line…"

It took another week to adjust the infrastructure and work out the schedule. Both Elesa and Volo had full-time jobs, ones with flexible schedules but still full-time. Joining the Battle Subway didn't really feel like a job though. Volo was no battling fanatic but he enjoyed it and it quickly became apparent that his Pokémon did too. Obstagoon loved tearing through opponents and Leaanny had a surprising vicious streak to her.

Elesa made them both coats, blue and yellow respectively, and Volo didn't love wearing it, especially in the heat, but it felt appropriate. The coats told the public they were here to say but their colors didn't match any theme, telling them there was no replacing Ingo. That wasn't something any of them would dream of. This was a temporary stop for Volo and Elesa. As fun as the Singles Line was, Volo was very much looking forward to the day Ingo returned and took it off his hands.

Because he was coming back. Volo didn't know what he'd do if he didn't.

The Multi Line took longer to set up, just like it had when the Battle Subway first opened. Emmet let Elesa do a few trial runs on the Doubles Line beforehand but today was the first day the Multi Line car would be in use with its new bosses. Or, it was the end of the first day. Volo had spent the day at the university grading papers. Stupid researcher requirements. He didn't hate being a professor but he hated that the university made him block off part of the year for it, especially now of all times.

As he approached the car park, Volo had to admit he was feeling a little nervous. He let out Spiritomb just to reassure his nerves. The last time they'd been here…

Elesa and Emmet stepped out of the car and that was a relief but it was clear they were a bit shaken by it all too. It hadn't been something Volo had thought about before and he didn't think they had either. Wordlessly, Volo took each of their hands to help them down off the car, the touch a silent reminder that they were all here and they weren't going anywhere, and led them back through the Gear Station.

"Do you want to go home or-"

"Home," Emmet and Elesa said in unison and Volo realized the day must've been rougher than he thought.

"Did you have any problems?"

"All the battles were fine. Only lost one," Elesa told him, quiet for a moment before continuing. "I think Emmet had a panic attack when I was healing up my Pokémon for the night."

Oh. Yeah, that checked out. "You made it though."

"We made it," Emmet echoed and he was still more quiet than usual but neither Volo or Elesa commented on it.

They remained silent until they reached Elesa's apartment. Volo unlocked it and they all released all their Pokémon from their balls upon entering. The apartment wasn't really big enough for that but they didn't care. It wasn't like the Pokémon were running around or anything. Almost immediately, they all piled up in the middle of the living room and settled down for the night.

It was late, late enough that all the Pokémon had already been fed, but Volo was starving. He suspected Elesa and Emmet had a scheduled dinner break during their shift but they followed him into the kitchen anyway and ate whatever he put in front of them, even the vegetables they'd all agreed weren't very good and thrown into soup.

In the middle of all of it, Volo's xtrans rang. He silenced it. And then it rang again. He silenced that too. When it rang a third time, Elesa slapped his hand away before he could turn it off. "Answer it."

"You sure?"

She nodded. "Probably important."

Volo let his eyes skim the caller id before turning away and answering it. "What do you want?"

"Who put a Beedrill stringer up yours?" the voice on the other end of the line asked.

"A Beedrill probably," Volo snapped and instantly felt bad about it.

"Really?"

"No. Sorry. It's just late over here and it's been a long day."

"Late? I thought you were in Johto?"

Volo blinked. "Unova. I moved like- oh, almost exactly ten years ago. You didn't know?"

"No. You never call."

"Thought Anabel would tell you."

"She didn't." A pause. "Anabel and Looker are here, by the way. They called you first. Definitely going to rub it in their face that you picked up for me."

Volo elected not to tell him he only answered because Elesa told him to. Plus, it was worrisome that all three of them tried calling him. "Is something wrong, Nanu?"

"No. Well, not exactly," Nanu answered and Volo could picture him rubbing a hand over his face. He hadn't seen him in some time. Had he aged well? Was he wrinkly? Did he still have all his hair? Volo had a hard time picturing him. He hoped he looked the same. "We're about to fly to Unova, actually. Got called for a case there. We were hoping you'd come help out. We think it falls under your expertise."

"I'm busy," Volo told him and it wasn't totally a lie.

"Don't you want to hear what it is at least?"

Volo was silent and that gave Nanu his answer.

"If you're in Unova, you probably heard about the Subway Boss, right? Ingo?" Nanu asked and Volo felt his blood go cold. "His brother said he disappeared right out of thin air. Interpol thought it might be Ultra Wormholes so they called us in. Well, they called Anabel and Looker in and I tagged along because I'm not letting them deal with those things alone. The security footage doesn't match up with what we know about Ultra Space though. Thought we'd let you take a crack at it and see if you recognize anything."

"I'll do it," Volo told him without hesitation. "Where are you?"

"Took over a police station. Don't know the address off the top of my head. I'll text it to you. Come by tomorrow, got it?"

"Got it. See you then." Volo slid a finger over the hang up button but the line was already dead. He turned around and saw that Emmet and Elesa were staring at him. "...You heard all of that, didn't you?"

"Xtrans are not quiet."

"You work for Interpol?!"