"Well?" Ingo asked, spinning around to show off his new uniform, and, not for the first time, Emmet thanked the Dragons, or Arceus, or whatever legendary Pokémon listened to his whims and wishes for Chandelure. Really, she was a godsend for finally getting Ingo out of that shredded, sun-bleached, mud-stained coat. And, of course, for getting Ingo to finally cooperate into sleeping in an actual bed, refuel regularly, properly bathe, and generally remember who he is. But mainly getting Ingo to change clothes.

"Verrry nice!" Emmet complimented, clapping his hands together. Ingo stopped spinning, looking a little relieved. "Though you are missing your tie."

"Machamp!" Machamp suddenly appeared, the aforementioned tie around his neck. Emmet chuckled. That answered that.

"Gliscor shredded a couple other ones. I'll get you some replacements soon," Elesa promised as she descended down the stairs to join Emmet, Drayden, Rei, and Ingo in the living room. "You like your new coat? I haven't designed any new ones since you disappeared so it should be the same as the one you wore in Hisui."

"I'd forgotten it was this long," Ingo said, looking down at his coat. "I like it. It feels right."

"You look totally different!" Rei commented, jumping up to his feet. "I could totally see you walking around a subway like this."

"And you couldn't before?"

"Ingo, you lived on a mountain by yourself and never changed your clothes. I don't know what you want me to say."

Ingo grumbled and Emmet had to laugh. "Are you ready to head out then?"

Ingo's expression shifted suddenly, the space between his eyes creasing. "I have to admit, I am a bit nervous."

"It'd be more surprising if you weren't," Drayden soothed. "We've done everything we can to make sure everything goes well. There's low traffic at this part of the day and there's no reason there should be any reporters aro-"

"It's not that," Ingo interrupted abruptly then ducked his head under his cap. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize, son. What's on your mind?"

"Emmet told me about the Depot Agents. People who know me." Ingo hesitated. "I don't remember how I'm supposed to act."

"Ingo," Emmet said, "we've been over this. There is no supposed to. You've been away for a long time. They'll understand if you're different."

"We have work personas though, do we not? A different face we show the public?"

"We have a script. And we have to be professional. But we're still us. And we're not working today. It's okay, Ingo."

"It's okay if you're not ready," Elesa told him softly. "We can try visiting the Gear Station another day."

Ingo shook his head. "I'm fine. I want to see the Gear Station again. Can I bring my Pokémon?"

Emmet nodded. "In their balls. Your Pokémon are very big. Too many Pokémon on the terminal goes against safety checks."

"Machamp!"

"Machamp can stay out. He looks very spiffy in your tie."

"Champ!"

Ingo blinked fondly and whistled for the rest of his Pokémon. "Back in your balls, everyone! Runt, would you like to ride in your ball or on someone's cab?"

It was a bit chaotic to get everyone's Pokémon back into their balls, especially since Gliscor was upset Machamp and Chandelure got to stay out, but they made it out. Emmet was practically buzzing in excitement. It'd been so long since he and his brother had been to the Gear Station together, excluding the disaster that was bringing him to Nimbasa City. This was a far cry from returning to work but this was still the place Ingo and Emmet had spent so many years building. He was looking forward to letting Ingo see it again.

"B-Bosses?"

Jackie was on traffic control today, or maybe it was better to call it keeping an eye on the station. There weren't a lot of passengers active at the moment. Not the best use of her skills, in Emmet's opinion. Then again, he only hired the very best. All of them were capable of so much more than customer service but that was part of the job and they all had to take their turn.

Ingo shot Emmet a glance, looking a little helpless, but Emmet had this covered. Smiling, he waved a hand in Jackie's direction. "Jackie! Ingo and I are here to ride the train! Which line would you recommend today?"

Jackie didn't even hesitate and that was why Emmet paid her the big bucks. At even the slightest prompt, she immediately started going off about the trains. Exactly what Emmet wanted in an employee. No small talk. No fanfare about Ingo being back. Not even a comment on how phenomenal Machamp looked in a tie. Just trains. Perfect. Was that really so much to ask?

Elesa, Drayden, and Rei didn't love trains but they loved the twins and that was enough to keep them on board for the first ride. It was different from last time. The initial buzz of excitement was gone. That wasn't to say that it wasn't exciting but everything felt less hurried. There wasn't an urge to soak up every detail and look at every last inch of the train like it was going to vanish if they didn't. That hunger remained but Ingo and Emmet had some restraint this time and just let themselves ride.

Emmet could tell Rei got bored pretty quickly but he still joined them when they hopped on the next train for another go-around. This time, he tried to focus less on Ingo and the train and more on what Rei might find interesting or entertaining. Afterall, Rei was going to be living with them for the foreseeable future and Emmet was hoping to be declared an uncle. He needed to put in some effort if he was ever going to earn the title. So, the second ride mostly consisted of Emmet pointing out places and things in the surrounding area. It didn't spark any memories out of Ingo but Rei wrote down a couple of names to look up later so Emmet considered that a win.

For the third ride, Emmet was thinking they should be more ambitious and try taking one of the trains that left the city limits but, upon returning to the Gear Station, Emmet knew immediately his plans were going to be derailed. All of the Depot Agents had gathered. Word of Ingo's return must've gotten out. Emmet would've preferred to do this later but Emmet found he didn't mind. The Depot Agents missed Ingo too. They deserved to see him.

"Oh thank the Dragons you're back!" Elesa exclaimed, breaking from the little gathering, and Emmet got the sense that he'd misread the situation.

"Is something wrong?" Emmet asked, shaking off the lingering effects of his joyride and slipping into his work persona.

"Boss! Er, Bosses?" Isadore looked surprised by Ingo's presence. Jackie hadn't told them, apparently. Whoops. Probably not how any of them imagined their reunion to go. Isadore barely stumbled though and got straight to business. "We've got a problem. There's- um… I don't know how to explain it."

"Direct tracks are usually the fastest route to your destination," Emmet told him as he, Ingo, Rei, Machamp, Chandelure, and Zorua came in closer to the group. Furze, Cloud, Cameron, Jackie, Isadore, and Ramses were assembled, Emmet noted, plus Elesa and Drayden. That was everyone. Concerning. It was rare for all the Depot Agents to be in the same place.

"There's a ghost train," Cloud said bluntly and Emmet would've snorted if not for how serious everyone looked. "A couple of passengers reported seeing something on the tracks and then our motion sensors started picking up something that shouldn't have been there."

"And you're sure it's not a Pokémon?" Emmet couldn't think of any Pokémon that could be mistaken for trains, save for maybe Steelix but they weren't common in Unova and they rarely surfaced.

Cloud nodded. "Too fast for a Pokémon. We all hurried back as quickly as we could. It's going to pull into the Gear Station. We were just discussing what we should do."

Everyone was looking at him, Emmet realized. Right. He was the one in charge here. "Er, what do you have so far?"

Cloud looked lost. "Hope it stops?"

That was the best they could hope for, Emmet supposed. If it just blew through the station- well, there weren't any trains due soon. Unless a train was running late, the trains scheduled for this hour had already come and gone. There wasn't an immediate danger but eventually it'd run into another train and Emmet wasn't about to let that happen in his subway.

"Ma! Machamp!"

"I'm not letting you get hit by a train," Ingo told his Pokémon, sounding scandalized. Machamp looked unhappy at this response and crossed his arms.

"Machamp are said to be able to move mountains with one hand…" Furze started but Ingo cut him off.

"I will not be letting my Pokémon cross the yellow line while there is a train nearing the station."

"Forget about Machamp." Emmet shook his head. "How long do we have?"

"A few minutes probably," Jackie told him, "if my calculations are right."

Welp. Not enough time for Emmet to get the information he needed. The Gear Station was the central hub of Unova's subway system so there was good enough reason to believe that, assuming this ghost train had intent, it would come to a stop but that really wasn't anything concrete. Plasma had tried invading the Gear Station via unregistered train during their first siege. This was probably something like that. Emmet hadn't been around in a couple weeks. That may have given someone a window to sneak a train onto the tracks.

Who was he kidding? His Depot Agents were better than that. This was something else, something that wasn't Plasma. Emmet could feel it. Or maybe that was just the rumbling under his feet as the train neared. Drawing a Pokéball, Emmet released Eelektross. "If it doesn't stop, I'll send out Eelektross to hit it with a Thunderbolt."

"That's better than anything we had," Elesa responded but she sounded unenthused. She too drew a Pokéball and released one of her Emolga. Everyone else followed in suit and they were joined by Roserade, Flygon, Scolipede, Jellicent, Cryogonal, Golurk, Raichu, and Manectric. Zorua whined and Ingo scooped him up and tucked him into his coat so his head was poking out of the front, whispering something in his ear that Emmet couldn't hear over the noise of the oncoming train.

"Everyone get ready," Emmet said as the group shifted, spreading out in anticipation. A whistle sounded and Emmet got his first glimpse of their ghost train from down the tunnel. The phrase ghost train really described it. Emmet assumed Cloud had called in a ghost train for lack of a better word to describe an unknown locomotive on their tracks but there really was something ghostly about it. The train was dark in color, darker than any of the Gear Station's trains, and it had a purple sort of hue to it almost like Chandelure's flames. Verrry peculiar.

To Emmet relief and perhaps dread, the ghost train slowed and came to a full stop. Emmet could feel the tension in the air so thick that Haxorus's blades could cut through it if Ingo let her out of her ball. It was like everyone was waiting for someone else to move first.

The train moved first. Or rather, something moved out of the train.

"Gengar!" a voice shrieked and suddenly a plump purple body burst from the flank of the train, eyes wide and tongue lolling.

"Literal ghost train!" Elesa exclaimed, reacting first and extending an arm. "Emolga, Air Slash!"

Emmet wasn't certain if aggravating the Pokémon was the best idea but battling was about all they could do right now. The slices of Flying energy hit the Gengar square in the face, getting a displeased grunt out of it, and it rushed forward to meet Emolga head on. Only, Emmet didn't get the chance to see what move it used to retaliate because even more ghosts were flying from the side of the train.

"Ya! Yamask!"

"Kyu kyu!"

"Dusknoir…"

"Teageist!

"Cursola!"

Emmet's focus stuttered for a moment at the sheer number of Ghost Pokémon flooding the Gear Station. "Jackie, Cameron! Focus on getting any lingering passengers out of the station! Everyone else, take out as many Ghost-types as you can! Keep them from getting into the city! Eelektross, Crunch!"

"On it!"

"Got it, Boss!"

"No one's taking the station from us!"

"Chandelure, Shadow Ball! Use it as much as you can," Ingo ordered. "Machamp, stick close. Ice Punch anything that gets close. Agile-Style Bullet Punch if anything gets too close to Chandelure."

Machamp was a pretty poor Pokémon to have out against an army of Ghost-types but neither Ingo or Machamp seemed deterred. Emmet edged closer to his brother, backs facing each other and heads constantly swiveling to keep an eye on the battlefield around them. It felt familiar even though the pair had only been in a battle like this once or twice before. Chandelure and Eelektross were masters of battling side by side though. They were tearing through Haunter and Yamask like they weren't even there.

The Yamask were different, something in the back of Emmet's mind noted. He knew what Unovan Yamask looked like and these weren't it. He was fairly certain Drayden's Flygon was duking it out with a Runergis too. Galarian attackers? Odd. Galar had no known organized crime groups as far as Emmet knew. Something about Galar and ghosts tickled Emmet's brain but he was too focused on commanding Eelektross to really think much of it.

Crunch was verry effective against the Ghost-types but there were too many and they were too strong for Eelektross to take out in a single hit so Emmet had to switch to long-ranged attacks. That was fine. It suited working alongside Chandelure better anyway. But as more Ghosts fell and more replaced them, Emmet got the idea this wasn't a sustainable strategy.

"We need to take out the source," Drayden barked, voicing Emmet's thoughts. "There's no sign of them stopping and our Pokémon are going to tire out eventually."

"Where are they even coming from though?" Rei asked, ducking as Roserade fired a Petal Blizzard over his head. Not very safe but Emmet could lecture him about it later. "They're just coming out of the side of the train! How do we even stop that?"

"Ma! Machamp champ!" Machamp said, looking at Ingo excitedly. "Machamp!"

"I am not doing that."

"I have no idea what your Machamp's plan is, Boss," Furze said, not missing a beat, "but we're going to be getting desperate here in a minute. Any idea is a good idea at this point."

Emmet could tell Ingo was hesitating. He couldn't imagine why. "Ingo! Whatever it is, just do it!"

Ingo faltered quickly. "Fine. Just- duck. And cover your ears. Machamp, Foresight!"

Emmet had no idea why Foresight would require ducking and covering his ears but Emmet had lived alongside Ingo long enough to listen when the man said to cover his ears. Eelektross came in close, coiling up in front of his trainer as Emmet took a knee and jammed his fingertips into his eardrums.

Ingo took a deep breath and cupped his hands. Not anything unusual but Emmet was not prepared for what came next. "ALL ABOOOOARD!"

The call, while familiar, was far louder than it had any right to be and the train seemed to think so too. Visible waves of power slammed into its flank, knocking it clean off the tracks and sending it into the closest wall with such force that it ricocheted off and fell forward onto the side of the train the Ghost-types had been emerging from. Everyone in the room froze, even the attacking Ghost-types. That was incredibly unexpected.

"Okay, what the actual fuck," Elesa said, speaking first.

"Language," Ingo said, gloved hands shooting up to cover Zorua's ears.

"Don't language me! You swear so fucking much!" Elesa was practically shouting. Emmet could hear the edge of hysterics bleeding into her voice. If he could speak, he imagined the same could be said for him. "You're loud but not that loud."

Ingo made a face like he was trying to smile but he ended up just looking distressed. He probably was. "Don't worry about it?"

"Fine. But only because it worked! We're talking about this later!"

She was right, Emmet realized. The Ghost-types seemed so thrown off by the noise and toppling of their train that they just stopped battling. It was a Mimikyu that moved first but it wasn't to attack. Shrieking, it hurried over to the train and began squabbling at the nearest wall. A Spiritomb soon joined it, floating to the top of the train and grasping at the side like it was… doing… Emmet wasn't sure what but the action was precise enough that Emmet knew it was trying to do something.

The train door, now parallel to the sky, swung open, and a human hand reached out. "Oh boy… How frightening…"

Mimikyu hauled itself up the train and offered a ghostly claw to the human hand. The human took it and let himself be pulled out of the train. Emmet didn't know what he was expecting but it certainly wasn't a kid.

The kid looked around the station, or at least Emmet thought he was. It was hard to tell. The kid was wearing a mask that covered his whole face and that really wasn't helping. He seemed confused though. "Oh. Um, I didn't realize there would be people…"

"Who are you, son?" Drayden said sharply and Emmet suddenly noticed how soft spoken the boy was.

"I-I'm Allister. Sorry, I d-didn't mean to cause trouble. I just d-direct the Ghost Train. The Ghost Pokémon decide where we go." The boy got to his feet and took a few steps so he was standing at the edge of the train. Emmet half expected him to jump down but he remained high above everyone's heads. "They sensed a ghost among the living. I-It's the Ghost Train's job to escort lingering ghosts to their proper resting place. To help them move on."

Emmet didn't like the sound of where this was going. Verrry creepy.

Allister's gaze swept the room before falling on Ingo. Emmet felt his stomach twist. "You don't belong here."

Ingo's eyes narrowed. "You don't get to decide that."

"I didn't." Allister gestured loosely at the Spiritomb beside him. "They can sense it."

Emmet heard a growl and suddenly Zorua was launching himself out of his safe spot in Ingo's coat. Emmet had never seen Zorua use a move before but he knew a Shadow Sneak when he saw it. Ghostly power enveloped the little Pokémon's body, letting it shoot through the air right into Spiritomb. Or rather, through it. Emmet had to do a double take. Spiritomb was immune to a lot of moves but Shadow Sneak should've been able to hit.

Zorua didn't seem fazed though. The moment his paws hit the ground, he whipped back around and, in a moment of unexpected ruthlessness, swiped at Spiritomb from behind with glowing purple claws. Emmet didn't recognize the move but the moment it made contact, the illusion broke.

"Zoroark!" Emmet gasped, soaking in the sight of what had to be what Zorua would evolve into. It was big, bigger than the Zoroark Emmet was familiar with but that might've just been the mane. It was huge and thick locks of hair were floating off of it, defying gravity and reflecting what had to be Ghost-typing.

Rei had said Zorua was a Normal and Ghost-type. That was why Shadow Sneak hadn't worked. He'd also said Hisuian variants were extinct in modern day. Emmet glanced at Ingo, wondering what exactly his brother thought of seeing an extinct species he he;d near and dear to his heart. Ingo didn't look excited to see it though. In fact, he looked pissed. "You!"

Zoroark blinked and made a wounded noise like he didn't understand why Ingo could possibly be mad at him. Granted, Emmet didn't either but Ingo was running at the train like a man on a mission. With surprising athleticism, Ingo leaped, caught the edge of the train, and hauled himself up to the surface where Allister, Zoroark, Mimiku, and Zorua awaited. Emmet half-expected him to full body tackle him but seemed content with just yelling.

"How did you get here? No, wait. I don't care about that. Why are you here?"

"Zor. Zoroark."

"My ghost is screaming. I know. You already told me. And I already did what you told me to do about it."

"Zoro ark."

"So? What are you? The ghost police?"

Cops did not use the train. Emmet didn't voice this. Instead, he exchanged a glance with Elesa and Drayden. Rei had warned them about- well, not quite this but something similar. Ingo talked to Pokémon sometimes like he understood them. There was no reason Ingo should be able to understand Pokémon but considering there was a literal train hunting him down, Emmet was getting the sense there was something they were missing.

Zoroark looked offended at Ingo's words, as he should be. Emmet didn't think Pokémon understood what police were but Zoroark should be insulted. "Zoro, zoro ark zoroark."

"Well, you're not. I talked to my dad," Ingo told him and Emmet reeled. Their dad? Their dad had died a long time ago and Emmet didn't think Ingo had any particular attachment to him, especially now since he didn't even remember him. "Found out what happened to me. Decided I didn't want to deal with that anymore. I got my life back. I'm doing fine. I don't need to move on. You can leave now."

"Zoroark zoro ark zoroark. Ark zoro, zoroark."

"I don't care! I tried moving on. I tried going back to them. Then I found out what they did to me. What they took from me! What Dad made me forget. This is where I'm supposed to be and I'm not leaving just because you say I shouldn't be here."

"Zorua." Ingo's Zorua pawed his trainer's foot. "Zoru zorua."

"Stop saying that!" Ingo bellowed, making Zorua flinch back. Emmet took a step forward. Ingo yelling at some strange Pokémon was one thing but his own? That was another. "You don't remember what he took from you. I'm glad you have your peace with it but he took everything from me. Twice! You can't expect me to just roll over and be okay with it."

Zorua shuffled his paws. "Zorua…"

Emmet couldn't see Ingo's face but he could see his whole body stiffen. "You did. Dire Claw. That means- I didn't- I'm sorry for yelling. I shouldn't have- I'm sorry."

Ingo crouched down and scooped Zorua into his arms. His voice went quieter suddenly, anger no longer amplifying his voice. Emmet wished he could still hear whatever he was saying. He had no idea what was happening but it felt like every word was a detail he was missing.

"Y-You're his family, right?" The voice came from beside Emmet, making him jump. He hadn't seen Allister jump off the train. "Y-You should have a say in this. Normally the g-ghost's family isn't there but…"

Allister trailed off, looking down at his hands. He seemed like a shy kid but Emmet was having a hard time being empathetic. "Ghost? What are you talking about? I am Emmet. Ingo is my brother. He is verrry much alive."

Allister's head snapped up. "H-He didn't tell you?"

"I mean, we time traveled," Rei spoke up. Emmet sensed the Depot Agents exchanging looks and whispers. Again, not really how Emmet pictured this going. Ideally, they wouldn't find out about the time travel at all but it was too late now. "Ingo's from this time though. Was it because he was in Hisui longer than me?"

Allister just stared at him. "I… Mister Zoroark? I-I'm not really sure what to do here…"

Zoroark's head snapped up and he jumped off the train, Ingo and Zorua close behind. Emmet wanted to yell out to his brother but he was already on the ground before Emmet realized he was going to jump. "Ingo!"

Ingo just walked over, unbothered by the fall. "There's nothing to tell. Zoroark knows the tracks that led to this station. He'll vouch for me. I deserve to have my life back."

Zoroark just looked at Ingo like he couldn't believe he was being serious.

"I can't understand Zoroark quite as well as y-you do," Allister said, looking back down at his hands again. "The Ghost Train makes e-exceptions but I can't just let you go without knowing…"

Ingo took a step back. "Machamp and Chandelure will help you get your train back on the tracks. I'll tell you what you need to know and then you can leave."

Allister nodded and started to follow Ingo but Elesa put a hand on Allister's shoulder, stopping him from moving forward. "Nuh-uh, mister. You're telling us whatever's happening with you. This is absolutely insane. We deserve to know."

Ingo shifted his weight from one foot to the other, looking uncomfortable. As he should, Emmet thought privately. "I don't-"

"We know you've been hiding something, son," Drayden said, voice insistent. Emmet wasn't the best on picking up what wasn't said but he got the idea they'd talked about this before. Had Emmet just not noticed? There was a lot off about Ingo but that was pretty much a given considering the amnesia and time travel. Was there something else that he'd missed? Something Drayden and Elesa had noticed but not told him? "I want to give you your time but I think this is where the line gets drawn, Ingo."

Ingo faltered. "...I know. I should tell you."

"Do it then." Elesa crossed her arms, gaze boring into Ingo.

"I don't know how."

"If you don't, I'll have to," Allister piped up, "and I don't think you want that."

"No. I meant-" Ingo cut himself off and drew a Pokéball to release Alakazam. "I don't think I can just explain. I can show you. Alazkam knows Teleport."

That was vague but it was something and Emmet would take it. "How many can she take?"

"We're going to a familiar spot so the Teleport shouldn't be hard." Ingo paused and look at the Depot Agents. "Um, I don't mean to offend but I don't know…"

Jackie waved him off. "Don't worry. We get it. I'd like some explanation but I know we're not family. Go. We'll get everything here back in order."

Ingo nodded his thanks and looked around the little group. Emmet, Eelektross, Rei, Roserade, Machamp, Zorua, Chandelure, Drayden, Elesa, Allister, and Zoroark pulled in close. Alakazam looked up at her trainer and Ingo gave her a nod. "Alakazam, use Teleport. Take us home."