Chapter Text
His footsteps echo around the silent platform. It’s almost midnight. Almost closing time. The station is dark, his only light the small lantern in his hand. All of the commuter lines are closed, which means Emmet is walking around the station to make sure everything is in order and there are no stowaways hiding on the platforms before closing Gear Station.
Working late night shifts has to be Emmet’s least favorite part of being a Subway Boss. He can deal with unruly passengers, angsty teens trying to vandalize the subways, and even the fair dodgers all day, but being up past ten o’clock is a nightmare! It’s like a switch flips within him and then he's dead weight on his feet for the rest of the night. He would prefer to be fast asleep in his bed with his Pokémon, not patrolling the station like a prowling ghost type.
Alas, Emmet has his duties and he can’t keep begging his brother to take over his nighttime shifts for him. He’s already asked Ingo to cover four of them this month and as much as his twin loves him, he can tell Ingo is getting tired of shouldering his workload too. If he'd asked again tonight, he's sure Ingo would've sooner pushed him onto the tracks than accept the extra work. So, Emmet will just have to submit himself to staying up later than he wants to.
Which is fine. He's a grown man who can handle himself, of course. Losing sleep is nothing new in this line of work.
Ingo is busy right now anyway. He’d just been texting his brother a little bit ago and last he heard, he's still kicking ass on the Singles Line. As a matter of fact, not even five minutes ago, Ingo was bragging to him about winning a battle against a strong challenger. Emmet was jealous, naturally, but he didn't let his brother know that. He'd just congratulated Ingo and moved on. Which led to Ingo telling him there are a few more challengers on his line right now and it’ll be a little while longer until he can wrap up there. So, he couldn’t come with Emmet on patrol — he didn't like that Ingo could see right through him with that comment, but he didn't mention that either. Ingo being busy also means Emmet won’t be able to bother him via spam texting while he patrols. Verrry upsetting, but Emmet will live.
He would pity his twin for having to battle so late in the night, but clearly Ingo is just fine! His brother’s happy even to be battling despite the time, which is insane in Emmet's opinion. He loves battling too, but not when he's exhausted! Of course, unlike him, Ingo doesn’t mind being up late and that's why he's still having fun. He could easily pull an all nighter if he wanted to and still have energy for the next day. Impossible, but somehow Ingo does it. Emmet will never understand how.
His brother has been that way since they were little. Almost every night, he'd be up until the early hours of the morning because he couldn't sleep. And when he did try to sleep, Emmet would hear him tossing and turning in his bed on the other side of the room. He was pretty sure Ingo had insomnia, but they'd never gotten him checked out, so Emmet has never been certain. When they turned eighteen, he tried to convince his brother to go see a doctor about it. He'd begged and begged because he was worried about Ingo, but he always refused. Ingo doesn't like talking about it.
Any time his sleeping habits are brought up, he tends to shut down and it's very hard to get him to open back up again. After a while, Emmet gave up. He didn't like stressing his brother out and he had a feeling that those conversations always left a bad taste in Ingo's mouth because of…
Their father used to joke about Ingo's nighttime habits. More specifically about him being a 'vampire' because of how often he would be up in the middle of the night… Ingo hated it. Emmet still remembers the deep frown that would always appear on Ingo’s face whenever the joke was brought up. He was already insecure about his struggles with facial expressions and the addition of his 'odd' sleeping habits being made fun of didn't help. No matter how many times he'd asked their father not to say anything about it, he never listened. He'd tell them all sorts of stories about vampires terrorizing Unova when the sun goes down and being horrible, evil monsters and compare Ingo to them.
Every day their father would say something about it. The joke eventually spread to people living in their neighborhood along with rumors that their father was obsessed with fairytales. Neither of them could escape it.
Emmet had to console Ingo one night. His twin had been made fun of at school that day —some bully that used to torment them both. Emmet can’t remember what was said anymore, but he does remember Ingo being miserable and silent for the rest of that day. It wasn’t until late in the night when Emmet climbed into his brother’s bed to comfort him that Ingo calmed down. After that, Emmet became fiercely protective of his brother and would shut down anyone who made a joke like that.
The joke died when they moved away from home and started their Pokémon journey. Neither of them have heard anything about vampires since then. This is the first time Emmet has thought about that joke in years, even. It’s a bit strange to be thinking about that time in his life now.
He breathes a sigh as he walks down a flight of stairs into Platform Five; the Red Line. Emmet and Ingo’s adolescent years were awful. He’d prefer not to be thinking about them again. Emmet should be focusing anyway. There’s still a job to do and the sooner he finishes, the sooner he can clock out!
Oh how Emmet looks forward to being home. He's going to go straight to bed when he gets there. Well, he will feed his team first and then he'll go straight to bed. Caring for his Pokémon will always come first!
This is the last platform Emmet has to check before he can go back to the Singles Platform and wait for his brother too, so he shouldn’t be wasting time. As soon as Ingo’s done, the two of them can go home and finally relax after a long day. Emmet is quite certain he’ll be out like a light the second his head hits the pillow! And Ingo will probably stay up a little later to watch his show before going to bed — some cryptid documentary series that Emmet didn’t care to ask about. He doesn’t like horror stories and scaring himself would only defeat the purpose of his anxiety meds. Still, he looks forward to falling asleep to the muffled noise coming from the living room.
But he’s getting distracted again. Emmet has to focus. Reroute!
He turns his attention back to the platform, holding up the lantern in his hands to get a better look at the space. It illuminates most of the area, leaving only the furthest parts of the platform in shadow. Nothing on the platform seems out of place and he's sure he's alone. No stragglers. He still has to walk all the way to the end just to be sure. Emmet goes to take another step, only to stop short when he notices the subway to his left.
Oh. So Emmet wasn’t paying close enough attention. Damn, he really is tired. How did he miss a whole train?
The Red Line is still parked on the tracks, doors wide open and lights off… huh. That’s verrry strange. Usually, all the commuter trains are brought back to the depot in Anville Town for the night. They’re very rarely left on the tracks and when they are, it’s for maintenance or because there was a problem that called for an emergency stop. Emmet didn’t think the Red Line was due for another maintenance run until next Thursday and, if Emmet’s not mistaken, the Red Line was reported to have arrived at the depot two hours ago… Emmet is certain of that. He checks every notification he gets because he hates having the pop-ups on his screen. So then what’s going on here? Trains aren’t supposed to be left unsupervised like this.
Emmet walks closer to the edge of the platform, but doesn’t get too close. Best to move with caution while he assesses the situation. It appears unharmed on the outside, but as he approaches, he can see the emergency light on the control panel flashing through the window of the cabin.
Something feels off… his skin crawls. Who was driving this train last? And why would they report arriving at the depot if they didn’t? The hair on the back of his neck stands on edge as he approaches the open doorway of the first car.
Maybe he shouldn’t be investigating alone…
No, he’s just being dramatic. Something about Platform Five has always wigged Emmet out. Most likely because it’s one of the furthest from the main concourse of Gear Station and it’s verrry dark. Surely Emmet is just on edge because this situation is a bit strange and because of the lingering discomfort he always feels when he’s on this platform. Emmet is a Subway Boss. He can handle this. Besides, he has his team with him to protect him if it’s necessary. Oh wait… most of them are still knocked out; he didn’t have time to heal them after his last battle before he needed to go on this safety check. Fuck. Why didn't he heal his team?! No, he can't panic. Panicking is not necessary! He does have one Pokémon left. Captain is mostly fine. He took a bit of damage during the battle, but not enough to knock him out. He’ll be able to help.
Emmet takes a deep breath. He’ll be fine. All he needs to do is make sure nothing is broken on the Red Line and make a report, then he can leave and have a team come down to deal with it. He’s a trained professional… Emmet bounces on the balls of his heels. Maybe he should let Ingo know what’s happening. Just in case! It may be a little childish, but Emmet would feel safer. Hopefully Ingo isn’t in the middle of a battle and will be able to answer him.
Stepping away from the train, Emmet bends down to put his lantern on the ground before fishing his phone out of his pocket. He types in his password and then opens his messages app, finding Ingo’s contact.
Hey, Ingo?
Ingo must have been waiting on the next challenger, as his response comes a moment later.
What’s wrong?
Of course his brother would immediately know something is wrong. Ingo always knows. Emmet smiles a little as he types his response, shoulders relaxing.
Have you see any reports
about the Red Line?
I got the report that it
arrived back at the depot.
Why? Is something wrong
with it?
Well, I’m on Platform Five now.
It’s still parked here.
Never got back to the depot.
What?
Why was it reported to
have arrived then? It
should have been reported
missing.
Is the engineer there?
Who was scheduled to
be driving that line last?
Emmet looks up from his phone and takes a step closer to try to peer into the cabin. It doesn’t look like there’s anyone in there and he can’t remember who was scheduled. He opens his mouth to call out, but his heart leaps into his throat and his tongue is tied in knots. His mouth clicks shut. Maybe calling out isn't a good idea. The silence feels heavy… he turns back to his phone.
I don’t see anyone there.
Can you check the schedule?
Can’t remember who was driving.
Sure.
Give me a moment.
He breathes a sigh as he waits for his brother to check the schedule. While Emmet could do it himself, he doesn’t really want to take his eyes off the train for too long. There’s a sort of tension in the air that he just can’t shake… it feels almost electric. Like he's buried under a mountain of Joltik.
Emmet stares at the window of the car he’s in front of, eyeing his reflection. He can only see the white of his coat, one side turning red with each flash of the emergency light.
A soft ding pulls him out of his thoughts a moment later and Emmet glances around before looking back at his phone.
It says that it was
Agent Kent.
One of the new hires, I
believe. He’s been
with us for a couple
months now.
Kent?
I have no idea who that is.
Of course not. 😓
Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?
😠
You’ve always been terrible
with names.
Agent Kent is the blond man
who we interviewed mid
April.
You said you liked his
shirt. It had mini trains on it.
He stares at his screen for a moment, trying to remember who Ingo is talking about… oh! Emmet remembers that shirt! It was navy blue with red steam engines on it. He did like that shirt. It was very cute.
Ooooh!
I remember now.
He was cleared to drive?
That’s verrry soon.
We shouldn’t have
allowed that. 😃
Evidently so.
The next challenger is
approaching my car.
Are you going to be okay?
I will call an emergency
stop and come get you
if you feel unsafe. Or I
can radio for some of the
working Depot Agents to
assist you?
A beat passes as Emmet considers his options. He would feel much better having Ingo with him… but he’s already asked so much of his twin this month and Ingo is in the middle of something. Emmet doesn’t want to bother him or anyone else that is currently working the night shift. He’s sure everyone is tired and Emmet is a Subway Boss. Emmet is supposed to be the brave one and take charge in situations like this. Plus, it’s just a train. Nothing he can’t handle.
So, he decides not to bother his twin any longer. Emmet is fine on his own… even if he feels jittery just standing near the train.
No, it’s fine.
I am Emmet and I can handle this.
Good luck with your next battle.
Emmet.
Please don’t sacrifice your
comfort because you
believe you are
bothering me. I will come
help you. It’s no trouble for
me to do so, I assure you.
It is unsafe to be
performing a safety check
like this one alone anyway.
I can handle it.
Don’t worry.
I’ll call you if anything happens.
Fine.
I expect you to do just
that. I am leaving my ringer
on so I will hear it. Please do
not hesitate to call for help in
the event it is needed.
Promise me?
I promise.
Good. The challenger is here.
Follow the safety protocols.
I love you.
I will.
I love you too.
Bye! 🙂
Goodbye! 🙁
Emmet stares at the messages for a moment more before taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it. Everything is fine. He’ll call Ingo if he needs to and Captain should be available. Emmet will be okay.
He looks up at the train before him. The silver metal glints in the lantern light and the sleek red stripe across the side pops against the darkness. Everything is still.
His feet are glued to the floor… Emmet can’t allow himself to be frozen any longer. So, he bends down and picks up the handle of his lantern. The squeak rings out through the silence. He should just get this over with. Stalling is only going to make this seem scarier. That’s what his therapist always says about stuff like this. Emmet clenches the handle, moving his left hand to hover over Captain’s Pokéball. He’s a grown man and a Subway Boss. He shouldn’t be too scared to enter an empty train.
This is just like any other routine check he’s done, if not a little peculiar. Everything is fine.
Steeling his nerves, Emmet strides forward into the first car. His lantern lights up the silent space, illuminating the familiar sight of the colorful seats lining the sides of the car and the unmoving handles hanging down from the ceiling. The silver poles cutting through the middle of the aisle shimmer as he walks further into the car. Emmet can’t shake the wave of discomfort that washes over him. His skin is buzzing.
Emmet isn’t sure how long he hovers near the doorway before he finds the will to keep moving, but eventually, he strides further in. He turns towards the cabin doorway. It’s been left open too. The cabin is dark, save for the flashing of the emergency light… he takes a couple steps forward, only to stop short before he enters.
The cabin is destroyed.
There are scuff marks and gashes all over the ground and the driver’s chair, torn pieces of plastic tossed about the space, and… something pooling on the ground in front of the seat. Emmet’s grip on the lantern tightens even more, his knuckles turning white, as he holds it closer to the pool. Nausea hits Emmet like a speeding train.
On the ground near the driver’s seat is a puddle of what looks like blood. It’s splattered all over the floor in front of the seat and smeared in a long trail leading out of the cabin. Emmet looks down at the ground of the first car, now noticing the streak of red leading out the door that he hadn’t seen before. He’s going to be sick…
He yanks Captain’s Pokéball off of his belt and tosses it up into the air, leaning heavily on the doorway. His Eelektross appears in a bright flash, wriggling in the air for a moment before his eyes land on his pale-faced trainer. Emmet can’t bring himself to look at his partner, gaze locked on the blood all over the floor.
“Eel?” Captain coos, floating closer to Emmet.
It takes a minute for him to find his voice. “... watch my back, will you? I-... I am Emmet… something is wrong…”
Captain straightens up immediately, turning around to guard Emmet. His partner looks tired, but more than willing to defend him. Emmet is incredibly grateful.
This is far worse than Emmet had been expecting. Fuck, this might just be the worst thing he could have found! This warrants more than a simple email about a train being left on a platform. This is something sinister… Emmet should call the police. He could be standing in front of a crime scene right now for Arceus’ sake! His mouth is dry as he stares at the bloodstains. It's everywhere. Is that enough blood to be deadly? If it is… then where is the body? Where is the victim?
If Agent Kent really was driving this train last, he would be here, right? Is this his blood or someone else's? Emmet has no possible way of knowing. There are no cameras in the cabin. Just in the cars. He feels woozy. If there were cameras in the cabin, could this have been prevented? No. Probably not. There's very little anyone could have done considering no reports were made. Not by passengers or the engineer or even the Depot Agents. The train is parked on a platform and nobody is around. Nobody knew. But someone should have, right? There's no way this could have happened without anyone witnessing it! Why didn’t anyone call for help? Kent would have radioed or perhaps even crashed the train if he was attacked, right?! Someone should have known about this! So how did this happen? How did nobody know?
Everything about this situation is so odd. He shouldn’t be here alone. Emmet needs backup as soon as possible.
With shaking hands, Emmet sets his lantern down on the ground and reaches into his pocket for his phone. He wants his brother… maybe Ingo will know what he should do. Ingo has always been calmer under pressure.
WHAM
Panic shoots up his spine. Emmet's head snaps up just as the door on the other side of the car is slammed open. He fumbles, his phone tumbling out of his hands and clattering to the ground. Captain hisses and puts himself in front of Emmet, electricity buzzing along his body.
On the other side of the car, there’s a man with blond hair. Kent. He’s gripping the side of the doorway, panting heavily with his head hung. The man looks… unwell to say the least. His face is pale and there’s sweat rolling down his skin. There’s blood all over his sleeves and hands, staining the green of his uniform a darker color. Emmet is stock still, staring at the person across from him. He should be trying to help him. It’s his job as a Subway Boss to make sure all of his employees are well, after all.
Emmet can’t move. Something in his gut is screaming that this is wrong and Captain is still sparking and hissing, protectively hovering in front of Emmet. His partner is never this aggressive unless it’s warranted.
Still, he should at least try to make sure Agent Kent is alright. Emmet clears his throat. “Uh, hello… I am Emmet. Are you, uh… are you alright, agent?”
Silence.
Emmet swallows thickly, moving to stand upright. “Um… Agent Kent? Are you-”
He lunges, head snapping up. Emmet only gets a glimpse of blood red eyes and a gaping maw before Captain jumps into action, body slamming the agent to the ground. Wild snarls and growls shatter the eerie silence. Emmet is frozen for only a second longer before he bolts out of the left door. His heart thrashes against his ribcage as he takes off into the darkness. He left everything in the car and this is the wrong side of the platform, but Emmet doesn’t stop.
His hand shoots down to his belt, tearing his radio off and bringing it up to his mouth.
“Subway Boss Emmet here! I need help immediately!”
Not even a second passes before he gets a response.
“What!? What’s wrong? Emmet, what’s happening?!” Ingo’s voice shouts through the static. Emmet has never heard his brother get this loud before.
Emmet races down the platform. It’s difficult to see anything in the darkness, but he knows his way around well enough to not run into anything. His footsteps echo in the quiet and Emmet can't silence them. That's probably bad, isn't it? He should be trying to stay quiet, but Emmet can't bring himself to think about that right now. He darts down a couple cars, trying to put distance between himself and the crazed agent in the first car. “I’m being chased! Agent Kent! He- I… I don’t know! He attacked Captain! Like a wild animal!”
“Hold on, Em! I’m coming. I’ll-”
An ear-splitting scream rings out through the platform, then a flash of red retreats into the ball on his belt. Captain’s down. The rest of Emmet’s team is already down. Emmet is alone. He needs to get out of here as soon as possible.
Emmet is filled with panic. He shouldn’t have done this alone. He should have called for Ingo’s help earlier and just swallowed his pride… Emmet is alone.
“What was that?! Emmet! Emmy, can you hear me?” His brother’s frantic voice snaps Emmet out of his thoughts. Right. Emmet can’t afford to panic right now.
“Captain’s down! I don’t have any other Pokémon!”
“Shit! I’m on my way. Just run, Emmet!”
Emmet is trying. He can’t get back to his brother without going through the Red Line again. The staircase at the end of this side of the platform only leads to Platform Six. He’d be going in the opposite direction!
Maybe that’s better than trying to go back the way he came. If he can manage to get away, then he can just wait for help instead of risking his safety.
The sound of something crashing snaps Emmet out of his thoughts. He looks over his shoulder, seeing nothing but darkness. This is bad. This is really bad.
Thundering footsteps ring out behind him. They’re moving faster than Emmet could ever hope to be. He only manages to get a couple more strides in before something slams into him from behind, forcing him face-first into the ground. Emmet flails, trying to get away from his attacker to no avail. Cold hands yank at his arms, trying to pin them to the floor. “Fuck! Get off me! No! Ingo!! Ingo, help!” Emmet shouts, voice sharper than he thought himself capable of. “Let go! Brother, please! Ingo!”
In the back of his mind, Emmet is aware that screaming for his twin isn’t going to help him. Ingo is still too far away to actually do anything. He can’t stop himself from doing it, though.
On the other end of the radio, Emmet can hear a lot of movement and buzzing from other people trying to connect to the line. He’s likely scared the shit out of anyone currently listening. Of course, nobody else can connect because Ingo is still on the line. “Emmet!! Hold on! Please just…” there's a muffled movement, then Ingo is speaking again, “I’m almost there! I promise, Emmy!”
Emmet can only listen helplessly as Kent knocks the radio out of his hands. He thrashes as his head is forced to the side. “Stop! What are you doing?! Help! Ing-”
Words die on Emmet’s tongue as the agent lunges at his neck and something sharp tears into his flesh. Pain shoots across his body like a bullet, a wordless scream being wrenched out of him. It echoes around the empty platform as hot blood spurts out of the puncture wound. Emmet can feel it being sucked out of his body. It burns. Like acid is being shot directly into his veins. Emmet continues to struggle, his blood spilling out over the ground and staining the white of his clothes.
“INGO!” Emmet shrieks.
The only response he gets is an echo.
He can still hear voices on the radio, but Emmet can no longer make out any words. It’s too far away. His body is starting to feel heavy and his ears are ringing. The thundering of his pulse begins to slow… Emmet is losing too much blood too quickly. Emmet is dying. Tears flood down his cheeks as he sobs. “Please, please! I- I don’t-... don’t wanna die!”
This isn’t fair! Emmet doesn’t want to die! He wants to go home and be with his brother and their Pokémon and fall asleep in his comfortable bed. Emmet wants to go home!
The edges of his vision start to blur as he feels his consciousness slipping.
“I-Ingo… please! Big brother…”
Ingo can’t hear him. Emmet is alone.
“... In-... go…”
His body is cold as his heart slows.
Thump
Thump
Thump
………