Work Text:
For the last couple days, there’d been a rumor going around the newest Depot Agents. That the old maintenance tunnels were haunted.
They had seen a figure in black in the security cameras. When they went to check the tunnels, no one could find anyone or anything.
They said it was the ghost of the former Boss, not that they would tell Boss Emmet that. It was the same tunnels he went missing in all those years ago after all.
One of the older depot agents, Cloud, saw their ghost in a security camera and asked about it. The new hires told her about the ghost, that they had checked the tunnels, that nothing was there. That didn’t stop her from getting Boss Emmet involved.
That’s what led Emmet to where he was now, combing through the tunnels he wished to never return to. But no one knew them better than he did.
He had gone down alone, against everyone’s better judgement. He didn’t want to risk what had happened that night to happen to anyone else. No doubt every available agent was watching the cameras intently.
They told him the figure down here wore black and their glowing eyes caused a camera flare, both things familiar to Emmet.
Verrrry familiar.
He continued through the tunnels, sweeping his flashlight back and forth. He wasn’t even sure how someone could get into these tunnels. The entrances were locked and only staff had a key. It was likely just a Pokemon that slipped by when someone came in.
Emmet didn’t know if he wanted to find something or not.
And there was nothing to find for another thirty minutes. But in the last tunnel before heading back to the station, there was.
Sitting on the edge of an alcove was the new hires’ ghost, staring at nothing, eyes glowing faintly in the dark. He didn’t respond as Emmet approached, taking in the figure’s tattered, but painfully familiar, coat and hat.
It was Ingo. It had to be.
Right?
Emmet sat down next to Ingo, turning the flashlight off and setting it aside. The only thing stopping him from flinging himself at his brother was the lingering thought in the back of his mind that the new hires were right.
That Ingo was a ghost.
They sat in silence for a while before Ingo finally noticed Emmet. “Oh! Hello there,” he said, voice bouncing off the walls like it always used to, “I apologize, I didn’t hear your approach. I must have been lost in my thoughts again.”
“Hello,” Emmet managed to get out, “What are you doing down here?”
Ingo looked back across the tunnel, squinting a little. “I was told I was to be sent to my home station. However, as familiar as these tunnels feel, I am afraid I have gotten a little turned around. Any doors I have found were locked. Currently, I am taking a short break from walking around.”
How had Ingo gotten lost in the subway tunnels? The tunnels were basically a second home for them. Were the rumors correct? Was Ingo a ghost? Was Ingo-
“I can lead you out,” Emmet said, “once you're finished your break.”
Ingo nodded, looking back towards Emmet. “Thank you. Usually, I am the one conducting others, but seeing as I’ve only managed to get myself lost, perhaps a change in tracks is needed.” Ingo studied Emmet’s face closely in the dim light cast by the small bulbs on the wall and by his own eyes. “It is hard to tell in this light, but you look familiar. Have we met?”
Emmet bit back something between a laugh and a sob. “A verrrry long time ago.”
Ingo squinted. Emmet could practically hear the gears turning in his head. “You’re the man who looks like me, are you not? Who likes winning more than anything else?”
Emmet nodded, not trusting his voice.
Ingo looked away, pulling his hat over his eyes. “You will have to forgive me,” Ingo said, voice too quiet, “My memory is not as reliable as I imagine it once was. Could you tell me your name?”
Ingo was a ghost. He had to be. There was no other explanation. What else could erase everything, including Emmet’s own name, from Ingo’s mind? It had been years since Ingo had first disappeared. What were the chances that he showed up with no memories in the same tunnels he had vanished in?
Emmet could only whisper, “I am Emmet. We are a two-car train.”
“Yes, that’s right. A two-car train.” Ingo looked back at Emmet. “I may not have remembered you much, but I know I missed you. I glad to have you by my side once again!” He squinted, eyes nearly shut, mouth more of a straight line than a smile. Ingo was absolutely beaming in his own way.
And that’s what broke Emmet. The rarest smile that he thought he’d never see again. Contrary to what most others thought, Ingo had many different smiles, you just had to know what to look for.
This one was the one saved for when not even all of Ingo’s words could properly convey how happy he was.
And Emmet didn’t want it to end.
He covered his mouth, choking back a sob. He couldn’t stop the tears that began to fall. Ingo’s smile dropped, eyes widening slightly in shock, when he saw them.
“Oh no, don’t cry,” he said, wiping away a tear with a thumb, “Did I say something wrong?”
Emmet froze. He felt that. Ingo’s thumb, callused and rougher than it had any right to be, just under his eye.
He ripped his gloves off and shoved them in his pocket before snatching Ingo’s hand into his own. He could feel it, flesh and blood and bone.
Alive.
“You’re here,” Emmet breathed, “You’re actually here.”
Emmet flung himself into his brother, holding him tight. Ingo was here. Emmet could hear his brother’s heartbeat in his chest, feel his brother’s arms wrapped just as tight around him, could feel his brother’s shirt quickly becoming soaked with tears.
They sat there, holding each other for a few minutes before Ingo spoke up. “Emmet,” he said into the top of Emmet’s head.
“I am Emmet.”
“I was telling the truth about my lack of memories. I am lost.”
Emmet pulled back with a small laugh. He wiped the rest of his tears away with one hand and grabbed Ingo’s hand with the other. He wasn’t letting go until they were at least out of the tunnels, probably longer. “I am certain you will learn the tunnels again quickly. However, I am taking you to a doctor before we do anything else.”
“Would a pit stop for a meal be out of the question?” Ingo asked. “I have been down here for a couple days and I am fresh out of supplies.”
Emmet nodded. “Refueling and then maintenance. Then a talk with the new hires. They said they had come down here recently but didn’t see anything. They really should have found you.”
Ingo shrugged and hopped from the ledge. “They probably just happened to miss me. I have been wandering around on and off.”
Emmet hopped down after him and grabbed the radio from his belt. “Maybe. Now, let’s get out of here.”
Hand in hand, Ingo followed Emmet as he led them out of the maintenance tunnels. Emmet turned the radio on and raised it to his mouth, his own eyes likely making a small flare as he looked up at a camera.
“I found Ingo,” he said, grin wider than it had been in years, “We’re coming home.”
Faint cheering could be heard behind Cloud’s response. “Read you loud and clear, Boss Emmet. Happy to have you home, Boss Ingo.”