Chapter Text
“Phones are literally so stupid and for what.” Emmet complained as he helped Volo set up his.
“Every model looked the same. I saw no difference.” Volo sighed.
“And that's exactly the problem Volo! They ARE all the same. I wish they wouldn't push out huge advertisements for the same thing branded as new every year.” Emmet groaned, glaring down at the device he was setting up. “Almost there.” He mumbled.
Volo watched. “I think if you took those gloves off it would be easier.” He offered.
“Yea no. These are staying on.” Emmet said flatly.
Volo made a note in the back of his head about that, finding it intriguing.
And after a few more minutes of fiddling, Emmet handed Volo the phone. “There it is. My number and Elesa’s number are in it, there's a pokedex preloaded on it so you figure them all out, that's the camera, and if you want anything else, there's the app store.” Emmet explained.
“Ok. Thanks.” Volo gave him a small smile, only half understanding.
Emmet leaned back, opening his laptop to do the same thing he had been doing for months.
Volo looked away; it bothered him to see Emmet basically waste away behind the screen. It was sad to see him grasp at straws, looking for someone he might never find.
But what was he supposed to do about it? He was in no place to say anything.
Volo turned his attention back to his phone scrolling through the dex, looking at the silhouettes of the various pokemon he had been seeing in Unova.
They sat in silence for a while, nothing but the sound of Emmet's incessant typing filling the room.
A little notification popped up on Volo’s screen. Looked like a text from Elesa. He opened it up.
“Hey Volo! Heard you got a phone!”
Volo stared at the keyboard for a minute, trying to figure out why the letters were all scrambled up. He slowly put together a return text.
“Yea they seem a bit strange but it’s cool.”
Emmet snickered at him. “Having trouble with the keyboard?” He asked.
“Why is all mixed up? It makes no sense.” He grumbled.
“You’ll get used to it.” Emmet assured him before turning back to his own screen. “I’m not sure why its all mixed up like that either.” He shrugged.
Volo simply nodded, loading the pokedex back up. The silhouettes intrigued him, each seeming more and more interesting.
“My god! It's that late already!?” Emmet said suddenly.
Volo jumped at the sudden noise. “Oh, I guess it is pretty late.” He nodded.
“Guess I better start on dinner then.” Emmet mumbled, standing up with a stretch, his back cracking.
Volo grimaced at the sound. “Yea I’m gonna change into something comfy for the night.” He said, heading to the bathroom with some new pajamas.
He stared at himself in the mirror. “Who am I?” He asked himself what felt the 1,000th time.
Questions bounced around his skull, but one stood out all of the sudden.
“Why is your eye *always* covered?”
It had never even occurred to him. It just felt normal to always have the curtain of hair hanging over his left eye. As he moved to brush the hair out of his face, he was overcome with a sense of dread, like he shouldn't do it. He froze, shuddering.
But he needed answers, and what harm could a small peek do, if any harm at all.
He took a deep breath, before sweeping the hair away.
One hand shot to his mouth to muffle the scream.
His eye was black, the iris a bright red.
He stared; he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
The eye stared right back at him, it almost seemed to stare through him, despite it being his own.
Dread clawed at his spine as he recovered the eye. “Definitely having nightmares about that tonight, I’m sure.” He mumbled, throwing on his pajamas.
He walked back out to the living room.
“Just in time!” Emmet said from the kitchen.
Volo went and sat down. “Smells good.” He commented.
“Grilled cheese tonight! Hope you're not lactose intolerant!” Emmet smiled, putting the plates down, sitting across from him.
“If I am, I forgot about it!” Volo laughed slightly, trying to shake off the terror that was still crawling along his spine.
They fell into a comfortable silence while they ate. Emmet was a pretty good cook.
“You plan on sleeping tonight?” Volo asked Emmet.
The subway boss sighed. “I can’t. I have to find Ingo.” He repeated.
Volo opened his mouth to say something, but Emmet beat him to it.
“The more I sleep, the worse the dreams are.”
“What? Like nightmares?” Volo asked, tilting his head.
Emmet nodded. “Every night, I see him in my dreams, and when I wake up, he’s still missing.” He looked up at the ceiling in dismay, eyes shimmering slightly. “Everytime I get slightly closer to finding him only for him to be ripped away again.”
Volo felt a pang in his heart. He was no stranger to nightmares after waking up here.
“But I'll go upstairs and let you sleep.” Emmet gave him a tired smile. Despite sleeping last night, Emmet looked just as exhausted as before. “And besides! I’ve already allowed myself to sleep once this week, can’t let that happen again.” Emmet said it like it was a perfectly normal sentence.
“Elesa is worried about you. And I’m sure Ingo is as well.” Volo tried to convince him again.
Emmet shook his head. “They can stop worrying when I find Ingo.” He flatly stated, before standing up to tidy up the kitchen.
Volo sighed internally. What was he supposed to do…
Emmet had gone upstairs for the night, and Volo was snuggled up on the couch. Togekiss sat in the window, ready to soak up the sun when it would make its reappearance. Volo closed his eyes, quickly drifting off.
Volo opened his eyes to a world composed of shadows and dark matter, with an odd rocky landscape that made little to no sense.
He looked around, it was eerily silent.
The only sound was his own breathing and the movement of the shadows.
“Hello Volo.”
A voice drowned everything else out.
Volo’s heart began to race, he tried to speak but it was like his jaw was locked shut.
“We still haven’t completed our deal. But I thank you for granting me access to a new region.”
Volo looked around frantically, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from; if it was coming from the shadows themselves or his own mind, it was so loud.
Suddenly, the source of the voice showed itself.
It flew from under the outcropping he was standing on and hovered in front of him.
Volo knew the name of this beast.
Giratina’s eyes pierced right through him. It felt like memories were pounding against his skull, brief flashes of visions appeared before him, never giving him a real chance to connect any dots.
He took a step back; the dragon clearly did not have good intentions with him.
“Oh, this is new. Feeling remorse now, are we?” It taunted. “But in case you forgot, we made a deal, and it's about time we make it happen.”
Volo didn't stick around; he turned tail and ran.
“Hey!” Giratina hissed.
Volo skid to a halt at the edge of the platform. There were others, they appeared to be in jumping distance.
He swallowed hard and jumped, landing on the next outcropping. He quickly made a leap for the next one. When did he become so agile?
As he made a running start to make it to the next one, something wrapped around his ankle, making him trip and stumble forward into the void.
He tried to scream, even as he felt himself being pulled up.
The red tipped tendril threw him into the air before wrapping around his waist, pinning his arms to his sides.
Volo struggled against it, eyes wide with terror.
Giratina drew closer, locking eyes with Volo.
His vision started to fade the shadows seeming to melt into his eyes.