3rd Station ➲ Written

[infinitegrin]

[Emmet woke one morning with an unpleasant surprise: Ingo was gone, as were all of his things. After a while, he found a few things left behind intentionally. And so Emmet begins his little message; it's written in slow, legible and careful handwriting.]

Subway Boss Ingo has left the station known as Luceti and has thankfully returned to the Gear Station located in Nimbasa, Unova.

He has left farewell letters of varying length for the following people:

• Silver
• Miss Hilda
• Miss Mei
• Gold
• Miss Yellow
• Red
• Green
• Cilan
• Miss Platina
• Masaomi Kida
• Hiccup
• Miss Shiemi

I'm holding onto the letters, so if you like, please come and see me to receive your letter. I currently reside in Community Building #1, 7th floor, room #34.

((OOC: Lommy hadn't written actual letters, but she stated that letters were all written for her CR, so the list is composed of the characters on her CR post! Feel free to decide what was said by Ingo to your characters.))

Comments

[infinitegrin]

No, no...

[Emmet's not at all scolding, a smile coming back to his face, albeit terribly sad. He puts an arm around Silver, not pushing his boundaries too hard, and gently hugs.]

I am sorry. It is all very poorly timed. Don't be sorry for me. Ingo is home, and that means that he is safe.

[He'd say more, but he is waiting carefully. He doesn't want to push Silver right now, after all.]

[tsuntrader]

...Yeah, he is. [He's safe. At least he didn't die some horrible painful death before leaving. No, he's safe and sound, right at home. He's safe.

He's safe, and he's never going to see him again.

Silver ducks his head down and starts wandering over towards the couch. Emmet wanted him to stay here. Of course he did. He's all on his own now without his brother. He... He can stay with him, then. He should go back to the- no. No, he doesn't want to be anywhere near that house right now.]

[infinitegrin]

[Emmet sits next to Silver, keeping his hand on the boy's shoulder, though not holding him close. If Silver wanted to brush him off or push him back, he wouldn't offer any resistance.]

...You made Ingo so happy. He loved you very much.

So I will protect you, too. The two-car train goes down the same track - though I'm missing the other car, I haven't switched lines. I will be here for you because I love you for what you did for my brother.

[tsuntrader]

[He shakes his head.]

No. I'll protect you, just like I protected Ingo. And it's not just because you're his brother or because he'd want me to. That's only part of it.

[He's not as close to Emmet, but... There are a lot of traits that he shares with Ingo, even if they're two very different people. He's been friendly and open to him. He took care of him when he nearly died. That wasn't just Ingo. He still sees Emmet as Ingo's brother more than he sees him as Emmet, but that doesn't mean that he hasn't started caring about him as his own person.

...He starts opening the letter that Ingo gave him.]

[infinitegrin]

[Emmet inhales and exhales, knowing that there would be a very heartfelt message in there for the boy that Ingo called his son.]

[tsuntrader]

[The impact it's having very clearly shows on Silver's face. He doesn't pick his head back up when he's done reading it. He just folds it as calmly and neatly as possible. It takes a bit of difficulty since his hands are beginning to shake, but once he shoves it into his pocket, he curls his hands into fists and just sits there, wishing that he could pull himself together and be better composed and-]

It's not fair.

[infinitegrin]

No. No it isn't. It hurts.

[There's not a chance in hell that Emmet would ever disagree with that statement, Silver. He crumbles, some, and pulls Silver into more of a hug.]

It hurts so badly, and it's a great loss.

[And you'll never see him again, unless Ingo returns to Luceti. That's the most tragic part, and it's what makes it easier for Emmet to keep from falling completely apart. He needs to be able to be strong enough for Silver.]

So please... don't go. I'm no replacement for Ingo, and you aren't my brother, but we still have a bond of family through him. We're our last link to him, in this place.

[tsuntrader]

...Who's gonna be next, Emmet?

[Who will be the next one to leave? Will it be Crys again? Blue? Emmet? Green and Yellow? Or Raven, or maybe Shiemi or Shikamaru. There's no telling who's next.]

[infinitegrin]

I don't know. I hope everyone goes home. I hope no one has to sit here in this horrible place. But I... I'm not worried about that right now.

Is it okay? If you stay over here for a while?

[tsuntrader]

...Yeah.

Gold's gone. I don't want to be at the house anyway. [House. Not home.]

[infinitegrin]

Wow. I'm sorry.

[No wonder you're in such a foul mood!]

We've both lost our brothers today...

[tsuntrader]

Better him than me. He's been here for too long.

[infinitegrin]

I feel the same. Even if I am lonely, I can't be unhappy that they're safe at home.

[S-sigh. He smiles, sadly but more comfortably than before, and rubs Silver's shoulders.]

Let's hang in there until we can go back too, right?

[tsuntrader]

...Why do you always smile, even when you're upset? [It's a sloppy topic change, but he doesn't want to think about this. Having his shoulders rubbed does nothing but make him tense up- not because he doesn't want the contact, but because his shoulders are way too knotted and locked up for it to be comfortable.]

[infinitegrin]

[Oh. Well?]

...I guess I just do! I smile because Ingo frowns.

[...]

Did Ingo explain why he frowns...?

[tsuntrader]

[...Headshake.]

For a while I thought his face was just stuck that way.

[infinitegrin]

Well... Ingo doesn't usually explain this. Because he feels like it doesn't impact us as much as it does.

[That, and Ingo doesn't like to relive it.]

But our father was a really serious man, too. Ingo really looked up to him. I didn't, really, myself. I liked to be excited. Ingo always wanted to be responsible and be in charge.

Our mother passed away, and in his grief, our father fled. Ingo and I had each other, but he took things way too seriously, and I made sure he would at least remember to enjoy life.

[That's why Ingo frowns, and Emmet smiles.]

That's why... I'm sure he was worried, more than anything, that he would be the one that left Luceti before you did. He wouldn't want to put you through that.

1/2

[tsuntrader]

[...What...

What was Ingo thinking? What was going through Ingo's mind when he told him about his own father?...

...]

[tsuntrader]

...It's better than he went home first. I wish you two could've gone together, too.

[And he feels the same way about Gold. He fidgets and can't bring himself to look at Emmet.]

[infinitegrin]

I know. I agree, but... this is the way it is. So this is the line we must travel down...

[That's okay, Emmet just wants to hug you closer to him anyway, so he can rest his head on you. He needs that more than anything else.]

As long as we're linked together, we can travel it together. It'll be easier, together...

[tsuntrader]

[It won't be easier. It will be harder. Right now it will be easier, but he can deal with it. He can be that supporting pillar. He just hopes that everyone else leaves first and not the other way around. He'd rather be here for lifetimes too long before leaving any of them behind.]

Yeah.

[That's something that he might have said in denial. Something he might have said to try to reassure himself. Right now, he just says it for Emmet. He doesn't look comforted or satisfied by the response at all. Silver goes to rub at his eyes before Emmet really gets settled in- he's lucky that he yawns as he does so. It makes it look less like he was wiping away stray tears and more like he's as tired as he is.

And the last thing he wants is to get caught crying. It's the most childish and selfish thing he could do. Ingo and Gold are safer at home. Happier at home. They won't have to worry about experiments or drafts or people leaving them behind or seeing people they care about hurt.]

[infinitegrin]

[He might have not noticed it, in any other context, but in this moment those tears don't get by him.]

It's okay... it's alright to cry. I want to cry, too. It hurts to be left behind. We can cry together, right?

[tsuntrader]

[No, no it's not. He's too old to...

...]

...You first. [Then maybe, maybe he'll be willing to release some of his restraint. Maybe.

That's a scary thought.]

[infinitegrin]

[Oh! Well. Yes okay. Emmet inhales, exhales...]

I'm happy he's home... but of course I'm sad. I'm not sure if I can do this without him. It's so unfair... to think that Ingo went so long without me, too.

It'll be okay... I can make it, like Ingo did. But only because I have so many of his friends to look out for... and because he has family. Which... means I have family, too.

[The tears are a bit slow, but they do come. He wipes them away from his eyes, just because they make his skin itch, but he doesn't hide the fact that he's crying from Silver. He's asking Silver to be open, so he should do the same.]

[tsuntrader]

...It might have been easier for him, y'know. He started out alone here and gained more as he went on. He didn't have to see you deal with some of the things we did. [Like that hurricane. Or the draft. Or the slew of experiments he had to deal with before Emmet got here.] You started out with him here, and now he's been torn away from you. [It's painful to lack something important, but it's more painful to have it taken away after having it.]

I don't know. [He doesn't know at all. He doesn't understand. It's frustrating and he wants to be angry about it but he doesn't have the energy to. Even if he did, he doesn't have to will to be angry. All he can do is submit to being passive. Maybe if Gold was here, he could get a rise out of him and make him release the sick, disgusting feeling he has stewing in him out. Maybe he could blow off steam and know that he isn't alone and deal with it better, but he can't because Gold isn't here and even if he sees him at home again he won't remember that he's family and he won't see him again anyway because he'll be off chasing the dad that he still so selfishly wants.] It was a lot easier when I was little. [It wasn't easy, but it was easier. He had three things to worry about. He had one person to care about. That was all he needed. It hurt at the beginning, but he doesn't remember the beginning.

He feels the stinging from tears welling up in his eyes. He can feel his throat start to lock up. He doesn't want to cry, but Emmet wants him to cry and let it all out. Maybe he knows better. Maybe he doesn't. He's willing to listen to anything at this point, even "be open with me and cry with me".]

I don't know what to do.

[He has no idea what to do. He is small and insignificant and overwhelmed and out of control and hurt and there's nothing he can do but cry about it and hope it makes him feel better.

It won't. He still won't know what to do.]