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Emmet woke up with his heart racing, pounding out of his chest from a dream he could not remember. He could guess, though, and he rubbed his chest as he sat up to hopefully calm it down.

That worked for a moment before he realized he could hear Drayden shouting from downstairs. Emmet couldn’t make out any words, but his breath began to stick in his throat until his door opened.

The person Emmet had been worried about the most in that moment peeked into the room, mouth set in a frown that was grim. But that didn’t matter, because that was Ingo, Ingo was right there. Emmet would be okay.

“Are you alright?” Ingo asked, expression switching to one of confusion. “You look…”

“Had some bad dream,” Emmet responded shortly, taking a deep breath to steady himself. “Then I woke up and heard Drayden… It is the same old fears. Do not worry.”

As he spoke, Eelektross had floated into the room and flopped onto the bed, closely followed by the rest of Emmet’s team. They seemed uneasy.

“Okay. I know you would tell me if it was anything different.” Emmet nodded profusely. “Drayden didn’t mean to upset you, it’s just…” Ingo pulled a breath in through his teeth.

Before he could continue, however, Iris pushed open the door the rest of the way, causing it to clatter back against the wall and some of the pokemon in the room to flinch. “Lacunosa Town and the surrounding areas are frozen,” she said, out of breath from running up the stairs. “It’s coming from the Giant Chasm. It’s Kyurem.”

Emmet jolted, sitting up straight. “It’s woken up?”

Iris nodded. “And now people are calling on Dad to help. He’s the Dragon Master… And me too I guess. I’m the Champion, even if I’m still a kid.”

Ingo ruffled her hair, not doing much damage due to her already having her massive pigtails in place. He obviously wanted to say something, but couldn’t decide what, so he settled for the familial gesture instead. That was another holdover from his time in Hisui, Emmet had noticed. He didn’t offer up words as much as he used to.

“The people in the vicinity of Lacunosa Town want us to go figure out what’s wrong,” Ingo said after a moment.

“Us too?”

“I assume Dad will want all the help he can get. He might have to battle one of the gods of Unova, or try and tame it.”

Emmet’s stomach twisted a little. It was the eve of the Solstice, of Ribbon Day; the fear of loss was bubbling inside him once more. He’d gone through several Ribbon Days without Ingo, and now his uncle-turned-father was being called on for a dangerous mission.

The old Emmet would’ve jumped at the opportunity. But this new Emmet was more scared of being alone than he was eager to battle, which was saying something. Ingo had only been back for six months, so he hoped desperately that the ever-present anxiety would fade eventually. But the wound was still too fresh.

“I know what you are thinking,” Ingo said, breaking through Emmet’s thoughts. He placed his hand on top of his brother’s on Eelektross’s head. “Your face is too expressive to hide anything. It will be alright. We will all go together. And we will be okay.”

In response, Emmet smiled a smile that was still tired but genuine. “I will go catch up with Dad, then get ready for what I guess will be a trip to Lacunosa.” When he stood, his back cracked as he stretched. Then he took a moment to pat all of the pokemon in the room before following his twin and younger sister out the door.

Drayden’s voice no longer echoed through the house as they arrived downstairs. Ingo and Emmet were visiting their father for the holiday, and so far the vacation had been wonderful.

“Good morning, Emmet,” said Drayden from where he was seated at the kitchen table, staring off into the yard where his dragons were romping or relaxing. “I’m sure Iris and Ingo have mentioned the reason for this morning’s drama?”

Emmet nodded. “They did. I do not know if you have any more specifics. But they gave me the basics.”

“They want me to pacify Kyurem.” Drayden heaved a deep, rib-rattling sigh. “My team is up to the task, but I don’t even know if a wild god will obey the rules of something as minor to it as a battle. I’m going to do it, but the danger…”

“We’ll be behind you.” Ingo was the first to speak up, voice firm. In the past he would’ve been more cautious, but now… “Myself, Emmet, and Iris. Together, we will be safe.”

“Maybe it won’t want to fight,” Iris offered. “Maybe it’s just sad.”

“I just hope it does not go down the ‘eating people’ path again,” Emmet said with a shudder.

“I thought those were just stories, and those people actually died of hypothermia?”

“It either ate people or froze them to death. Either way, that is bad.”

“Fair enough.”

Drayden cut through the conversation. “Everyone, go get on your winter clothes. As warm as you can find. I’ll get all the teams in their pokeballs. Ingo, Emmet, we’re going to take the train, when does the next one leave from Talon Street Station?”

“10 AM on the dot,” Emmet answered reflexively.

“Perfect. We have time.”

And everyone split up to get ready. After he got dressed and walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth, Emmet caught a glimpse of Ingo shrugging on a coat over his old Hisuian tunic. He knew it had been protective of the cold while Ingo served as a Warden, but seeing him wear it caused a small pang in his chest.

It was not because he wanted to deny that Ingo had changed, sweep his time in Hisui under the rug, or match styles with him every day. No, it was because it was proof that Ingo’s knowledge far outstripped his own now. They’d done basic survival training years ago, just in case there were ever any subway disasters. But now Ingo had actually gone out and put that training to use.

… And maybe it was a little bit that it was obvious that Ingo had changed. Emmet could never hope to measure up. He wished he had a warm, handmade garment too. The hoodie he had donned to go under his coat couldn’t hold a candle to Ingo’s tunic.

Within the next twenty minutes, the family was on the high-speed train to Lacunosa Town, and they’d arrive in a bit over an hour. Iris was so bundled up she was having a little trouble moving, Drayden looked even more severe in his charcoal gray coat, and Ingo looked like he’d feel right at home in the cold. Emmet tugged his yellow winter coat more tightly around himself.

This would be fine. It would be fine. No one would get hurt, their pokemon would triumph, and they could go home and Emmet could continue to focus on getting better. Just like Ingo and his memories. He tried to focus on anything else.

Each of them had brought a backpack, some more full than others. There was no one else on the train, or at least in the same car as them. The lights were dim, too, casting all of them but Iris into a sickly pale light. Her, it made look more green than brown. Emmet mentally made a note to replace the bulbs.

While Emmet was taking stock of the world around him, Ingo’s thoughts were racing. All he could think about was Rei, back in Hisui, being called upon to quell the frenzied Nobles. How messed up it had been to put all that onto one kid, even if the people of Hisui didn’t mean it. Here, home in Unova, it was different, for the most part. Drayden, a capable adult, had been called. Iris was coming along too, but she had the three of them to protect her, even if she didn’t need it.

Apparently children had saved the region in the past, but less so because they were asked to and more so because they were the sort of teens to do what they wanted, despite what must’ve been many adults telling them to stay out of it.

Still. Despite the fact that there were key differences in this situation, each change for the better, Ingo couldn’t help but worry. The heaviness of it, the weight of duty and responsibility while facing a task that might prove nearly impossible, was pressing down on him like it exerted physical force.

He had to try and help pacify a god, and he could not fail.

For now, though, he just stepped closer to Emmet and took his hand, leaning into his shoulder a bit like Haxorus asking for attention, and Emmet responded in kind, lacing their fingers together with a tight but not uncomfortable grip.

Their stop came quickly, but also not quickly enough. Ingo couldn’t decide which.

“Watch your step,” he heard Drayden say as the doors opened, revealing a station bereft of any people at all. Instead, there was ice frozen in solidified dribbles running down the tile walls and rime on the floor.

Immediately Ingo began to move like he had in the Icelands, keeping his steps light and his weight distributed evenly. It only hit him that Emmet wouldn’t exactly know the technique when he saw his twin nearly slip and clutch at a column in the station. He felt bad that he didn’t have time to explain.

“Do you think the elevators are running?” Emmet asked, looking down the platform.

“I wouldn’t know, I don’t remember how elevators work.”

“... Right, I forgot. I am sorry.” There was an awkward moment.

“I think we should just take the stairs,” Iris called. “If we need help we have our pokemon.”

The freezing was worse on the stairs; it must’ve been raining pretty hard when the area froze, because rivulets ran down the stairs, turned to ice in an instant. Ingo was alright, but Emmet did end up using Eelektross as help. Chandelure offered Drayden one of her black metal arms, and he accepted. Ingo knew Drayden was many things, but particularly agile was not one of them.

The town was, in fact, draped in a deep freeze. Icicles dripped from the bridge, practically blocking the route beneath. Trees were flash frozen into white shapes like horns thrust from the earth. The world was silent in terms of human sounds, only the noises of distant wild pokemon audible in the stillness.

“Is anyone going to meet us here…?” Iris asked, releasing her haxorus. The dragon bent to nibble her hair in a reassuring manner.

“No,” Drayden said, shaking his head. “No one here is equipped to deal with this. I got all of the details over the phone, then told people to shelter in place. The folks in the town are taking care of one another and making sure the fire types keep everyone warm.”

“Good,” Ingo said with emphasis. Another difference between the modern day and Hisui. While the Clans and other factions did take very good care of their own, Ingo could not see Irida, Adaman, or Kamado going out of their way to take care of each other when disaster fell. Instead, they’d have argued profusely.

Things were simply different back then.

“I am guessing Kyurem is in the chasm?” Emmet offered, tucking his hands under his armpits after yanking his scarf to cover his mouth.

“Supposedly. We just have to hope it hasn’t left yet.” Drayden set off to the northeast, and the family quickly left the small town. The woods were dark because the sky was cloudy, and there was snow on the ground. The harsh frost had formed a crust on top, and their footsteps crunched as they walked. Chandelure’s purple glow reflected off the snow and caused the space to feel warmer despite the cool colors. Eelektross’s weaker yellow bioluminescence showed up in glints when he got close to the ice.

“I wish I could’ve taken Gliscor,” Ingo mumbled so only Emmet could hear him.

“I do not blame you,” Emmet replied softly. “But you know both of his types are weak to ice.”

“I know… But there are many dragons present, and they are weak to ice too.”

Emmet didn’t reply, but Ingo could tell he felt bad for Ingo anyways.

“The chasm is right ahead, boys,” Drayden called back to them, and they picked up the pace. Ingo made sure to slow down for Emmet, who wasn’t as quick at moving through snow as he was.

The Giant Chasm was a combination of a crater and a crack in the earth. The part closest to Lacunosa Town, the spot where the meteor had struck, was deep, with sloped sides and trees growing with twisted trunks. It looked like a giant being had taken a finger and pressed down on the land, digging down deep until the bottom was shrouded in shadow. The sides were uneven; where the Grey family stood, the drop was steeper.

It was strange, how little the land had actually been altered here by the impact. Even with the sloping sides, the crater was only about fifty meters across. It was like the meteor had bored into the earth more than anything.

The legend went that the meteor had carried the original Dragon of Unova to earth, even if now it was known that that was false. Scientists believed that maybe the impact had woken the god, but it had always been a part of the region.

The crack that had resulted from the impact was across the crater from the family. Its sides were steep, and while the first twenty or so meters were open air, it delved deep into the earth and disappeared into darkness, connecting with caves or other fissures in the earth.

Nothing about it looked natural. Perhaps it wasn’t. That didn’t matter now, though, only finding Kyurem did.

Much like the walls of the subway, ice cascaded down the sides of crater and ravine, looking like a still photograph of a waterfall, or cave formations Emmet had seen in pictures and Ingo had seen firsthand.

“How are we gonna get down there?”

“Our flying pokemon,” Drayden said, reaching for one of the balls on his belt. In a flash, Druddigon was released, looking none too happy to be in the ice and snow. Much like Ingo with Gliscor, Drayden had left his flygon and salamance at home. Two times type weakness was bad news, in a mission like this.

“I have Archeops, and you have Chandelure,” Emmet said, gesturing to Ingo.

“And I have my druddigon too,” finished Iris.

It was undeniable that they all looked silly in their own ways, flying down to the base of the fissure, but the mood was so solemn that no one laughed. Even when Archeops, spent, dumped Emmet’s ass in the snow from a couple feet up.

“I cannot say I much enjoy this place,” Ingo confessed, kicking a bit of snow into the crater that still continued down. “Even though I worked in the snow and caves in Hisui, and I barely remember it here.”

“Your instincts are correct, memory or not,” Drayden said grimly. “One of the most dangerous places in the region.”

“What does Kyurem look like?”

“It’s a dragon,” said Drayden, somewhat unhelpfully. “It’s gray, mostly, with an ice-crusted face and wings. It’s got large teeth, faded yellow eyes, and walks mostly on its hind limbs.”

“I don’t have service, or else I’d pull up a picture for you,” said Iris. “But it looks… Uneven. Injured. Like long ago, it shattered some parts of itself.”

“Probably happened when the original Dragon split,” said Emmet softly. “It was what was left behind, after all, yup. A broken bond. Made physical.” He didn’t raise his eyes from the depths of the crater, and for once, Ingo couldn’t read him.

He wanted to say something, to ask if Emmet was alright, but words eluded him. So he said nothing and hoped he was looking into things too much.

Chandelure’s light became invaluable as they entered the darker part of the canyon, causing the stalactites of ice to glitter and glisten. Somewhere in the darkness ahead, there was water dripping.

“Alright,” said Drayden. “Chandelure and Eelektross can remain out and help us light the way. All other pokemon should remain in their balls for now, since they don’t glow and they don’t float. And we should all hold hands, just in case this place throws any surprises our way.”

“I have something that can help Eelektross glow a bit brighter,” Iris offered, sounding only slightly put off by where they were. From her pack she produced a string of multicolored holiday lights, a good couple meters of them. “I realized on the train I forgot to take these out of my bag before we left.”

Eelektross floated over to her and allowed her to drape the lights over his squiggly body. Normally, he would’ve wiggled in happiness, but he was just as solemn as his trainer. When he took the plug into his clawed paw, the lights lit up.

“Very festive,” said Ingo quietly, smiling with his eyes.

They formed a line, then, with Drayden in front, Iris next, then Ingo, then Emmet. Ingo had offered to take up the rear, since he knew his way around terrain such as this, but Emmet had insisted. There had been a strange light in his eyes, so Ingo hadn’t argued. He did, however, resolve to speak to Emmet alone, later, after all of this.

It was strange, the chasm, because there were no sounds of wild pokemon to break the chill silence. Not even pure ice types ventured down here, and Ingo (and doubtless the others) could feel why.

There was a deep, deep sadness that caused the chill to sink bone-deep, like the steel teeth of an old trap. The stirring of air was barely enough to lift their hair from their scalp, but still it felt like a warning. Water flowed behind ice walls to their left.

Eventually, footing became more treacherous as they descended. Chandelure floated them across bridges of ice one by one, and Ingo dug out bottles of vitamins that would restore her power and energy. She thanked him by rubbing her globe against his cheek, and even there, in the bowels of the den of despair, Ingo had to quietly chuckle over his mussed hair.

“Bravo,” he said in a whisper he had only acquired in Hisui.

In some places, watery light from the world above shone through cracks or places where ice was thin. Ingo didn’t want to think about how treacherous it would be to walk on the surface above this giant gouge, and he hoped they had proper signage. Perhaps, if he hadn’t found a family and a job waiting for him, he could’ve become a guide up here and kept other people from breaking through and falling to their deaths.

It would almost have been like being the Warden of Kyurem, in a way.

But Ingo knew he was much happier where he was, with a brother and a family and a job he was slowly working his way back into. He was where he belonged, and how lucky he was to have a place he truly belonged.

At the same time, Emmet did not spare much of a glance upwards. He didn’t want to see the sharp points of ice hanging over them like teeth and worry about them falling. The pokemon would most likely be able to take care of any issue that presented itself, but it still made Emmet’s stomach churn uncomfortably.

Or maybe that was just the loneliness of this place. There were no other living things here, nor their sounds of life. The weight was too much for them.

If Reshiram was the god of truth and Zekrom was the god of ideals, then Kyurem was the god of the impossible middle, the ideal solution that couldn’t be reached. It was the god of frustration, of pieces with broken edges that should fit together but have been changed over time so that they no longer do, of despair at being alone because the universe could not carry both within it. It was the god of giving up, of paradoxes, of irreconcilability. Its creation was the death of hope.

And this place that had become its home felt that. The very rock was steeped with the feelings of raw edges meeting in a way that felt right and wrong all at once.

Emmet had been firm about taking up the rear because he both wanted to protect Ingo and because if they got snuck up on, he felt the most expendable. He knew from all his experiences that it was untrue, but with sadness leaching out of the atmosphere, he had a hard time ignoring the thought. Logically, he told himself, Ingo would be better at getting Iris and Drayden to safety. That was all it was. That was it.

Somehow, though, as the group passed a few offshoots that went even deeper, Emmet was the one to hear deep, steady breathing.

“I am Emmet. I think Kyurem is this way,” he said, words coming out as barely a breath.

“What? Are you sure?” Drayden moved to stand next to him, pausing. “Oh. I think you’re right, son.”

“I’m glad we have Chandelure and Eelektross,” said Iris quietly. “Otherwise that would be a very dark tunnel.”

The aforementioned pokemon entered first, with the humans following behind in the same order as before. The multicolored light illuminated fine fractal patterns of frost, all pointing back up from where they had come. Powder that looked like the buildup in their freezer clumped on the floor of the tunnel and in corners, piling up along the way. Luckily, the passage was more than big enough to avoid the piles.

The ground cracked under their feet now, not in a concerning way but in a way that sounded like stepping on deeply frozen grass.

“It’s a dead end!” said Iris suddenly as they came upon a giant lump of the white powdery ice. They crowded around it, and Emmet reached out a gloved hand, feeling solidness beneath the flaky exterior.

“Chandelure?” he heard Ingo say, and she moved over to put her flames to the obstacle. Immediately, the ice melted away, not even into liquid water but sublimated into the air and blown back up the passage.

There was a snarl and a puff of cold air that caused frost crystals to cling to everyone’s eyelashes. A dim, weak light like the glow-in-the-dark stars that had been in the twins’ childhood bedroom was shining from across what seemed to be a cave. More warning rumbles reverberated through the ice and stone.

Chandelure flared brighter, lighting up the room, and then there it was. Kyurem, flinching away with a cry like the world’s largest rusty hinge.

Its eyes were the first thing Emmet noticed. Could it even see? They were so flat and yellow, even if they did glow. Just barely.

“... It looks so sad,” Iris said, no fear in her words.

“It’s trapped,” murmured Drayden, squinting into the ghostlight. “Look, its leg… It was caught in a cave-in, and none of its moves were able to dislodge it.”

The dragonmaster was right; Kyurem’s right hind leg was pinned in a wall of jumbled stone, the dragon lying awkwardly on the floor of the cave.

“It must’ve released a powerful blast of cold because its cab is out of commission,” said Ingo, still in that soft voice that seemed so quiet, so un-Ingo-like to Emmet.

He said nothing, even though his heart squeezed at the frankly rather pathetic sight in front of him. The terror of Unova, pinned by a few boulders. It was sad.

Maybe that was what caused him to move forwards towards the shattered god, crushing fragile, spearlike ice crystals under his feet. They pointed towards him almost like warnings to stop where he was, to not come any closer. He ignored them.

“Emmet!” Drayden hissed, obviously trying not to startle or anger the god in the cave. He sounded frightened, Emmet realized. “Emmet get back here. Please.” 

Ignoring his father wasn’t something Emmet usually did, but this time… He did not stop. And no other members of his family behind him said a word, though he heard Iris gasp and heard a choked off sort of sound from Ingo. He did not stop until he was right in front of the ice dragon, well within attack distance, close enough to see the reflections of his own glowing eyes in the ice on its face. He could now see that the ice-encased spike on the right side of its head, along with its right wing, were broken off, jagged edges furry with rime.

That caused a pang in his chest as he made the impossible, nonsensical connection that the right was the side he stood on when he posed with Ingo. Mirrored back at him was a shattered, cracked individual, and he felt that deeply.

No matter. Pulling off his thick protective glove, Emmet held his left hand up slowly, slowly, until it was level with Kyurem’s face. Distantly, he heard three sharp intakes of breath and figured maybe he should’ve offered his non-dominant hand lest it be bitten off. But that isn’t what happened.

The dragon, who had been growling the entire time Emmet had moved closer, breathed out of its nose, and the resulting puffs of air were the coldest thing Emmet had felt in his entire life. That sensation was outdone when he carefully laid his fingers on the great god’s face, touching the ice and rough scales that caused the pads of his fingers to prickle and paradoxically burn.

It did not melt where he touched it.

“Emmet,” said Drayden again, sounding weak.

“It is just scared,” breathed Emmet, though he knew that they likely wouldn’t hear him. “It has been alone for a long time. A long time.”

“Emmet, it is a god.” That was Ingo. “Gods tend to be solitary beings.”

“Not ones that used to be part of one whole.” And how Emmet knew how that was. He shoved his cold hand back into his glove, flexing his now tingly fingers. “Either way. Let us get it out.”

The rest of the Grey family approached cautiously, but Kyurem did nothing more than snarl and shift a little where it lay. Even though it lacked a voice, it did seem to know they were trying to help it.

Archeops and the three haxorus proved to be the most helpful, along with Chandelure. It took a while, almost an entire hour, but eventually, the desolate god was freed. Shaking itself with a noise like the rattle of bones and the singing of windchimes rolled into one, Kyurem stood. Responding in kind, Chandelure moved to hover near its head, twirling. Understanding seemed to pass through the two as a warm glow, more pink than purple, enveloped them. The ghost gently pressed her glass surface to the head of the dragon, and it closed its eyes.

When she floated back again, she seemed a little worse for wear, but Kyurem seemed better.

“We have potions, my dear,” Ingo said to her as she returned to his side, rummaging in his bag. “You did not have to use Pain Split.”

“I think she wanted to show it even more that we mean no harm,” Drayden said simply, pale yellow eyes not leaving Kyurem as he stood, awed.

“Yeah… I think when it was trapped, it panicked,” said Iris, realizing as she stared from Kyurem back up the passage they’d walked down. “It screamed and roared but no one heard it. Its ice breath is what caused the freeze.” She almost reached out to pet it like it was one of her dragons, but thought better of it. “It didn’t mean to.”

“Helping it was easier than I would’ve thought,” Ingo agreed.

“Alright, everyone, let’s leave it be,” Drayden said gruffly, still understandably wary. Emmet noticed that he and Kyurem had nearly the same expression. They came across differently on their faces, since one was human and one was draconian, but between the beard and the icy jaw, each of them wore a look of caution.

It was almost comical, and Emmet might’ve laughed if the atmosphere weren’t so oppressively sad.

The four humans and their pokemon trekked back up the path they’d taken, which wasn’t as easy as going down. It was slippery, and they had to be sure of their footing. But it didn’t take Emmet, at the rear of the group, to realize that they were being followed. Kyurem was slowly plodding after them, almost waiting for them to make their slow progress. Emmet figured the others had to have felt its footfalls, but he didn’t call out to them.

Suddenly, there was a freezing feeling on his back as Kyurem nudged him, and Emmet yelped. “Please stay behind the yellow line,” he said when he composed himself. “We are going as fast as we can.”

The resulting puff of cold air nearly froze his feet to the ground.

“I think you may have made a friend,” Drayden said from the front of the line, and his voice shook slightly. He was scared, Emmet could tell, and he felt bad for making his father feel like that.

Even so, everyone, Kyurem included, made it into the larger canyon unscathed. It was dark, darker than when they had entered the side passage, and it hit everyone how early darkness fell in the winter.

“What’s that?” said Iris, breaking the silence that had fallen, and in the dim light she pointed deeper into the cave. Emmet felt his heart hike into his throat, but all that was there were filmy, multicolored lights, reflecting or filtering in from elsewhere.

“I have no idea,” said Ingo, waving Chandelure over and walking towards the strange display.

Emmet reached out, desperate, and grabbed his hand. The Ingo he knew wouldn’t abandon safety procedures like that, especially not after he’d been lost to a portal once before.

The Ingo that met his eyes wasn’t that man. He looked confused, brows furrowed. “I will be fine, Emmet. You can follow me, if you would like to do so.”

What Emmet wanted was for whatever lay ahead to be ignored, for there to be no more exploring the unknown. Not today. But, win with Ingo or lose with Ingo, going together was more important.

So he did.

And what greeted them was not a yawning abyss or a swirling vortex but a weaving passage that wound upwards until it reached the open air. The aurora was dancing in the sky, casting eerie light down into the chasm.

“Oh,” Emmet said, and his voice was small in the face of the phenomenon. He barely heard Ingo call back down to Iris and Drayden, and hardly registered when they joined him and his twin. He could feel Eelektross and his string of lights pressed against his back, but even so, he couldn’t tear his eyes from the sky.

What shook him out of his stupor was Kyurem settling onto the ground behind them, looking up at the sky, rumbling in a way that sounded almost like a purr. It couldn’t move its face like a human, but Emmet, in all his knowledge on the subject, could tell it was smiling anyways.

Each trainer took a moment to release all the pokemon that had come along on the mission so they could see, and soon they were all watching the sky as well. The view made Emmet smile for a moment.

Turning, Emmet faced the god. “Thank you,” he said quietly, a bare whisper, resting his forehead against its jaw. His thick hat prevented the cold from hurting him, reducing it to just a discomfort. “I know… How it feels to live halved.”

He looked over at Drayden, sitting on the ground with Iris beside him. “I was never totally alone like you, but. I lost the person who completed me. I felt like an empty husk for a long, long time. A long time. Nothing could be the same. No matter how much I wanted it to be. I was left behind, left over, and it felt like the world itself did not want me.”

In the silence that followed his words, Emmet then heard another whispered confession from the other side of the god.

“I feel like I have lost my identity,” Ingo said, voice sounding hoarse. “I know how you feel, Lord Kyurem. Well, not quite, but we travel similar tracks. You lost who you were in an instant. So did I. My memories, my home, my family, all gone. But I got some of mine back, and perhaps you will arrive at the same station one day. I do… Still struggle with my amnesia, and I think Emmet does too. My self has been irrevocably altered.”

When Emmet was sure his brother was finished, he peered at him from the other side of Kyurem. He was shocked, because he hadn’t known Ingo struggled with that still. Somewhere along the line, communication had dried up, and Emmet had figured the therapy was helping. He could feel tears gathering and freezing in the corners of his eyes.

“Emmet?” Of course Ingo was the first to speak.

“I am Emmet,” he responded, though his throat did not exactly want to work.

“I could not help but overhear your cab.”

“And I yours.”

Without needing to speak, the brothers moved to sit together, in front of Kyurem, who was watching the sky again. They leaned against one another, heads and shoulders, and despite the bulky gloves, laced their fingers together.

“I am sorry. For not talking to you about things,” Emmet said, breaking the silence. “About my anxieties. About how I still feel left behind and alone some days.”

“As am I,” Ingo said, sighing. “I am still scared that my amnesia will chase you away, even though you have said many times you will never leave me. Having missing tracks is quite scary.”

“That is what you have me for,” Emmet said, squeezing Ingo’s hand. “I can do your track maintenance. Replace what is missing.”

“And I can perform upkeep for you,” Ingo said, continuing the metaphor. “Make sure your stations do not get dirty and dim.”

Emmet bumped Ingo very gently with his head. “I would like that. Thank you.”

“We can talk more in depth later,” Ingo added. “I think it would benefit us both.”

“Yup. But for now. We can just enjoy this spectacle.” With his free hand, Emmet reached up to gently scratch Kyurem under the chin. Its resulting growl sounded like deep laughter. Eelektross was draped over his outstretched legs, watching the aurora, and Chandelure was sitting on Ingo’s lap. The rest of their teammates who were present were scattered around, the three haxorus piled in a heap.

It was so peaceful.

“I realized I forgot to remove your ribbon day gift from my bag, earlier,” Ingo said after a while. “I got ready to leave so quickly this morning that I did not think to do so. Since, well… You seem rather melancholy, or did seem so, would you like your gift now?”

Emmet knew it was not customary to open gifts early, and he knew that Ingo knew that too. He and Elesa had explained the holiday to Ingo in great depth. But these were certainly strange circumstances, and after the emotional turmoil he had felt, he decided that yes, he wanted to open his gift early.

“Yes,” he said aloud. “I think I would. Thank you, Ingo. And… Well. I also have your gift. Same situation.”

As he rummaged in the pack, Ingo laughed. “We’re a pair of messes, aren’t we?”

“Yup. Twin messes,” Emmet confirmed, leaning back while he waited patiently.

“So when I settled in a little bit, I got this idea,” Ingo said before he removed the gift from his bag. “Drayden helped me with the electronic mail part, but… I wanted you to have something as special as I did.”

The parcel he handed Emmet was a bundle of white and blue fabric, little red and white striped ribbons wrapped around it. It was only when Emmet plucked at the ribbons until they came undone and unfurled the garment that Emmet understood.

It was his own tunic. Made of a white fabric, it was thick like Ingo’s. The hood was more of a modern style, and the trim was blue. The lower portion did not match Ingo’s; instead, it looked more like a combination of Emmet’s own coat and coattails in shape. There was a blue band at the waist, replacing the spot where Ingo wore his belt. And instead of the Pearl Clan insignia, a large blue-and-white Gear Station insignia was emblazoned on the chest.

It was amazing.

“I reached out to find someone who knew how to craft garments in the old ways known to Hisui… Er, Sinnoh. While some parts, like the hood design and symbol, had to be changed, they were more than happy to create a custom tunic for the twin of the last living Warden.”

Emmet could not speak, so instead he flung his arms around Ingo, holding him close. “I love it,” he managed to croak out. “It is perfect.”

“I am so glad, Emmet. Now we can match even when I want to remember the past.”

“Speaking of remembering…” Emmet drew back, carefully setting the tunic on his lap. “Your gift. I hope you know just how much I had to pester our friends and family to make this. Yup. I was verrry annoying.” They both chuckled quietly.

What he handed to Ingo was a thick photo album, full of pictures of them and those they were close to. Emmet had written comments next to certain pictures, little anecdotes and memories. “And look, Ingo! I left some blank spaces for you to place the photos you took in the photo room in Hisui. Those memories belong in here too.”

When Ingo didn’t speak, Emmet continued on, feeling a flutter of nerves in his chest. “I am Emmet… I remember the times your amnesia caused you pain. I remember you fearing forgetting again. I remember that you like keepsakes. So–”

He was cut off by Ingo wrapping his arms around him, face tucked into the crook of his shoulder. “Emmet… I love it. This is the most meaningful, thoughtful thing I have ever been given.”

Emmet wanted to bring up the limited edition train model that he’d sold some of his own collectibles to get for Ingo when they were in university, or how, as a six-year-old he’d tearfully offered to donate his appendix to his twin when he’d learned Ingo needed his removed. But that would just remind Ingo of what he’d forgotten, so he didn’t. Instead, he turned his face to press into Ingo’s head. Ingo’s thermal hat covered his still-thin hair that was recovering slowly from the stress of Hisui, but the gesture was comforting all the same.

With a creaky sound, Kyurem lowered its head to gently contact the top of Emmet’s, and he laughed. “Yes, Kyurem, you can be included as well.”

“Did you expect us to be here today?” Ingo hummed after a moment, drawing back to lean on Emmet again.

“Not in the slightest.”

“Me neither.”

“Happy Solstice and Ribbon Day, Ingo.”

Ingo offered up his own version of a smile and squeezed Emmet’s hand. “Happy Solstice, my dear brother.”