Work Text:
The moment Dawn stepped through the portal leading to her proper time and space, she hit the ground running.
There was so much to do. She’d been gone for over a year, after all. The champion of a region has responsibilities, and a sudden absence can cause a number of problems. Luckily it seemed that Cynthia had taken care of things while Dawn was gone. The previous champion was absolutely ecstatic to hear from her, of course, but Dawn could tell that Cynthia was also relieved to have her help with the league once again.
There were reports, paperwork, and recorded interviews she was required to do. She also had to tell the league where she was, which was a nightmare and a half to explain. Damn time travel. As a result of that, Interpol got involved, which caused another wave of paperwork and interrogations. Apparently people being tossed all over time and space wasn’t as uncommon as Dawn previously thought.
After two straight days of work, Dawn was finally able to start relaxing for the first time in over a year.
And by relaxing, she meant researching the past she’d just left.
She just had to know what happened after she left. It was with a heavy heart that Dawn had left Hisui behind. She didn’t miss the dangerous land, of course. It was the people who inhabited it that she would mourn. Rei, Laventon, Cyllene, Irida, Adaman, even Melli. She missed them all dearly.
There was one that she would miss the most, however.
Warden Ingo was the strangest person she’d met in Hisui, but considering she herself came from the future, that was a good thing. He didn’t treat her with distrust, nor did he bat an eye at her mannerisms that others in that time period found odd. He took her under his wing, so to speak, and Dawn wasn’t sure if she’d have survived her adventure in the past without him. He became the father she never had. He was her rock amidst the storm that was her time in Hisui.
He was obviously from the future as well, though he couldn’t remember it. Dawn just knew that he was as lost as she was, which was why she had practically begged him to come with her to the future.
He refused.
She understood why, of course.
Appearing in a dangerous world with no memories aside from his own name must’ve been terrifying. He had to fight his way into being accepted by the clans, and even then his life was one of solitude. Dawn could tell that he’d been terribly lonely…
Ingo was scared to go through that again. He had no idea what was waiting for him on the other side. What if his mind was wiped clean again? What if it was somehow worse than Hisui?
Dawn hadn’t pressured him too much after he had a panic attack just thinking about starting over again.
He encouraged her to go on without him. He told her that if he remembered his ‘original station’, he would find his way back himself, but she should return home and see her mother again.
She just wished he were with her now…
Especially after learning about his fate.
The moment Dawn had time to herself, she’d looked up ancient Sinnoh history. She just had to know what happened to her pseudo father. Did he get his memories back? Did he eventually return to the future?
The truth hit her like a speeding bullet train, as her dad would say.
Warden Ingo had gotten sick and died not long after the rift crisis was solved, said the impersonal historical website.
He was gone. Died not long after she left.
She should have insisted he come with her to the future. She should have waited for him to feel comfortable enough to come with her. Dawn was so excited to return home that she left someone she considered family behind to die. How selfish of her. How cruel of Arceus.
If she’d just tried harder, Ingo would still be alive and living happily with his brother.
That was another punch to the gut: finally learning about Ingo’s past. He had a brother, an uncle and cousin, and plenty of friends from all across Unova. He was an accomplished battle frontier boss, and if his social media was any indication, he adored his job and the people of his region adored him right back.
Ingo had a life here in the future, and Dawn doomed him to never return to it.
It was with some surprise that Dawn learned Ingo was still around in this time. Time travel was confusing at best, but it made some sense that Ingo could have been pulled into Hisui from a different point than she had been.
She wondered if the news of his eventual disappearance would reach the Sinnoh media. She knew that her own most certainly reached international coverage, and her reappearance likely would as well once the news outlets ran the story. A frontier boss wasn't as publicized as a regional champion, but it seemed that Ingo and Emmet had a sizable following from all over the world. They were quite popular figureheads.
When the news of Ingo’s departure reached Sinnoh, Dawn wondered how would she handle it, knowing that he would never return…
Dawn lay awake at night wondering these things.
Maybe she could prevent Ingo’s ‘derailment’ somehow? Maybe she could go to Unova and warn him. Warn him about what, she didn’t know. She had no idea how he even got pulled into the past in the first place. How could she prevent something she knew nothing about?
It was completely out of her control whether or not Ingo disappeared, she realized with a horrible pain in her heart.
Her dad was going to die in the past, alone and abandoned, and she didn’t even know when it would happen.
Dawn turned onto her side and curled up around her pillow. She bit her lip and tried not to cry again. There was nothing she could do to change the future or past. She just had to live with the fact that she left her family behind to die.
Just as she was losing the battle against her tears, Dawn’s phone lit up and rang upon her nightstand.
She quickly grabbed and silenced it before the sound could wake her mother. It was the middle of the night, after all. Dawn squinted at the number flashing on her screen, confused. She didn’t recognize it, and it had an unfamiliar area code as well. Maybe the paparazzi had somehow gotten ahold of her number and wanted more interviews despite her story having already aired earlier today on a trustworthy news network.
Dawn noisily sniffed and wiped away the evidence of her near crying session and answered the call. Best to nip these in the bud right away.
Dawn opened her mouth to tear into the person on the other end, but was quickly cut off by a very loud, very familiar voice.
“ MY DEAREST AKARI, HELLO! ”
Dawn’s heart stuttered in her chest.
“...Ingo?”
“CORRECT! It is wonderful to hear your voice again, my dear girl!”
Holy shit. Was she dreaming? No, definitely not with how her ears were still stinging from the incredibly loud greeting. That voice, the volume, the use of her middle name, there was no way it could be anyone else on the other line. This was her Ingo.
“Akari? Akari, are you alright?”
Ah, she’d been silent for a while. Before she could force her frozen vocal cords to cooperate, she heard another, much quieter voice over the phone.
“ I believe it’s verrry late at night in Sinnoh right now, brother. Give her a minute to wake up. ”
There was a pause, and Akari had the forethought to put some distance between the phone and her ear.
“I AM SO TERRIBLY SORRY, AKARI,” Ingo shouted, and Dawn was sure that if her mother didn't wake up when her phone rang, she surely was now. “PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF I WOKE YOU! I CAN CALL AGAIN TOMORROW-“
“NO!” It was Dawn’s turn to shout.
That seemed to break her trance, and suddenly the tears she’d been holding back earlier began coursing down her face for an entirely different reason. A joyous, relieved sob tore from her throat as the floodgates opened.
“Akari? Akari?! Sweetheart, what’s the matter?! Emmet, she’s crying, what do I do?!”
“ I am Emmet, and she’s not my mysterious daughter from the past! I have no idea what to do if you don’t. ”
“You’re the one who is better with lost and upset children, Emmet!”
“ Only because my face doesn’t scare them like yours does. ”
Hearing the two bickering over the phone made giggles bubble up between sobs. Dawn clutched her phone to her chest and made a valiant attempt to compose herself. She’d had a soul-deep yearning to talk to her dad again from the moment she learned of his fate, and here he was calling her, and she was wasting it by crying like a baby.
“Dad-“ she started, but had to clear her throat and noisily snort snot back into her nose before she could properly talk.
“Akari, please blow your nose properly-“
That brought back the giggles. She could practically hear the grimace on his face.
“ Oh dragons, you really are her dad- “
The door to Dawn’s room opened a bit, and she turned to see her mother peering at her worriedly from the crack. Dawn gave her mom a watery smile and gestured to her phone, mouthing ‘tell you later’. Johanna nodded and closed the door again, giving her some privacy.
“I’m- I’m okay, dad.” Dawn managed to choke out.
“Oh, thank goodness.” Ingo sighed, relieved. “It would be awfully difficult for me to comfort you from my current station. Speaking of! As you might have guessed, I have found my home station! All the way across the world in Unova.”
Dawn smiled giddily to herself. “I know! I looked you up as soon as I could. No wonder you could kick my ass so easily. You’re a whole battle frontier brain!”
“Language, young lady.” Ingo admonished, but she could hear the mirth in his voice. “Indeed I am. You’ll have to visit the Battle Subway and face both myself and my brother for a real challenge! Together we are a force to be reckoned with. Ah- I should probably introduce my brother! Terribly sorry-“
There was a muffled shuffling over Dawn’s phone speaker before the quieter voice from before filtered through.
“Hello! I am Emmet. It is verrry nice to meet you. I second my brother’s suggestion! You must come challenge the Subway! It’s not often that I am able to battle a champion! I will be looking forward to winning!”
Dawn giggled when she heard the telltale sounds of the phone being given back to Ingo. She’d read about Emmet’s bluntness while researching Ingo. It seemed that was one thing that rang true from her research. The thought of said research made Dawn frown.
“Dad… when I looked you up…” Her voice faltered, and she had to clear her throat of the sudden lump that formed, “it- it said that you died in Hisui. How… how are you here? Before me? Did Arceus bring you back after…” she couldn’t finish that sentence, but it seemed that Ingo knew what she meant anyway.
“Oh, dear… I was hoping to explain everything before you learned of that unfortunate detail…” His usually loud and boisterous voice was subdued, “I’m afraid that it’s true, my dear girl. I met my end in Hisui. But do not fret! As you can obviously hear, that wasn’t the end of my line! I was merely… derailed for a time. It would be much easier to explain in person, however. Is there any way for us to meet up soon? We could come to Sinnoh-“
“No!” Dawn interrupted. “No, I’ll come to you! I have to challenge your Subway, after all!” And she could use a break from all the scrutiny here in Sinnoh, she didn’t say.
Ingo laughed. Loud and booming. It made something in Dawn’s chest melt. She’d missed her dad terribly…
“I look forward to it, sweetheart.”
Dawn had missed the sweet nicknames, too.
It took some convincing before Johanna reluctantly allowed Dawn to travel to Unova. Cynthia helped pay for the ticket, as she’d seen how the media circus of her return had worn her ragged. Visiting her dad and uncle(?) would hopefully be just what she needed to become reacquainted with the modern world.
She was in for quite the surprise when she got there, however.
At least now she had a nickname of her own to give Ingo.
Bonus:
The moment the breaking news flashed on screen, Ingo was on his feet and practically pressing his face against the tv, much to Emmet’s confusion. They’d just sat down to watch a little tv in the break room before their next shift.
“Ingo, wha-“
“ IT'S AKARI!!! ”
Ingo’s voice was extra loud and excited, and Emmet spotted a few depot agents curiously peek into the break room.
“Who’s-“
“THAT’S AKARI, MY LITTLE LADY!”
Ingo peeled his face off the screen to instead point at the image of an unfamiliar teenager as a news anchor spoke something about a champion. Emmet had no idea who this girl was, but obviously his brother was verrry happy to see her.
“Your… little lady?”
Ingo nodded enthusiastically. “Correct! My daughter must’ve returned! I have to contact her post haste!”
Emmet’s brain blue-screened once those words registered.
“Wh- wait. DAUGHTER?!” Emmet shrieked, leaping to his feet to scurry after his twin, who was striding away and fiddling with his phone.
“Ingo, get back here! You can’t just say you have a daughter and run off! How do you have a daughter?! Did you get BUSY while you were gone?! CAN GHOSTS EVEN HAVE KIDS?? INGO, WAIT !”