The wonderful thing about velocity was that, once a baseline had been set, it was easy to calculate. Judging by how long it had taken to get to this point, it was possible to predict just how long they had until a formal announcement needed to be made to the public.

There was still time, but they were already putting preparations into place. Ingo had posited that, once the statement was made, it was best not to risk being caught alone, and so began putting together a small-scale event. Ostensibly, it was a week-long multi battle challenge, temporarily overtaking the usual schedule; in actuality, it was a week’s buffer ensuring that neither of them could be cornered and pressed for detail at the end of the Single or Double Lines.

At Elesa’s suggestion, they were also drafting a written statement to post to social media, which was going somewhat less smoothly. There was a delicate balance between ‘enough information to see the matter closed’ and ‘be serious, Emmet, that means nothing to the layperson’ that they had yet to strike.

In the meantime, there were those few extra-perceptive patrons that needed to be dealt with.

It meant that a new verse had been added to their scripts: “Please refrain from spreading false information; any announcements will be made in an official capacity”. Depending on who was asking or their intention, it could be softened by an appeal to courtesy, requesting that the inquirer respect their privacy. Those children who noticed didn’t know better than to ask, and it was impossible to be upset with the old man who, genuinely excited, occupied Ingo’s time that route by quietly recounting the struggles he’d faced in his own pregnancy back in the day.

The ones who took notice and joked or suggested something bad faith didn’t even get the rehearsed response; it was far easier to feign ignorance. Either they would back off and let the suggestion die, or they would double-down and promptly be told off for the aggressive behavior.

And then there was the third category, on par with those who’d theorized endlessly about Almighty Sinnoh; the ones who were silent in the moment, but took their conjecture online. There was nothing to be done for them, a lack of acknowledgment the greatest disincentive at hand. It wasn’t hard to ignore them in the first place; neither of the twins had much reason to frequent social media.

They had a plan in place, a statement in the works, and contingencies to fall back upon in the meantime.

The problem was that Ingo… wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted anymore.

It wasn’t just the excitement of their Pokemon or a moment of adjusting perspective; the babies beginning to move, and in and of itself, felt like a shift. He’d given it substantial thought in the time since quickening, and while he was far from convinced that he actually did want to raise them, a similar doubt had been cast upon his assurance that he didn’t want any form of contact. It was an uncomfortably grey area, but it might be… nice, to see who they grew into someday.

Maybe it was just hormones, or maybe Arceus was manipulating him again. Neither thought made the uncertainty any easier to bear.

“Wouldn’t Arceus have done that first? If it could force you to feel how it wanted?” Emmet asked as they waited for their latest challengers. It was protocol to board when a trainer was within two cars of theirs so that a decisive victory wouldn’t cause the Boss to arrive late; any fewer than that and they risked rushing to meet their obligation, any more and they wasted valuable time. Even as things stood, the time spent waiting was something akin to an unscheduled break.

“It would have been more efficient than yelling at us every time we tried to plan an abortion.”

Only just realizing he’d been holding tension in his shoulders as it swept out, Ingo let go of a slow breath and deliberately listed to the side, bumping into his twin appreciatively. “And you don’t even have common sense with you-- I suppose that proves you’re the wits of our operation.”

With his free hand, Emmet reached over to pat his arm, “You just have pregnancy brain. It’s not your fault.”

Normally it wasn’t possible to speak so freely at work, but the cameras on the Battle Subway lacked an audio feed-- sound was too hit or miss, easily blown out by any number of attacks or Ingo’s own calls to action, and they’d spent a great deal of time trying to remedy the problem before scrapping the feature entirely. While there was merit in using audio cues in battle, most trainers focused on the visible spectrum, and they’d seen virtually no demand for full-audio recordings.

It made the Multi Lines an ideal place to gossip between themselves, an easy distraction when there was no team opposite them.

But, inevitably, all breaks came to an end-- which Ingo could never call a bad thing. Not when their opponents put up such a marvelous fight!

With Galvantula out for the count on their side and the challengers down their Audino, that put Klinklang and Eelektross opposite a Stunfisk and Simisear. It was obvious trouble for a steel type, and Klinklang’s Occa Berry was already depleted-- not because it had needed the boost in order to weather Incinerate, but because there was no sense in letting it burn to cinders and still take the full hit.

At his side, Emmet called for Gastro Acid, lacking a way to attack Stunfisk with Eelektross, but able to mitigate the Static they’d both seen spark across its flat form, allowing physical attacker to act without repercussion.

Ingo wasn’t sure if another Incinerate was awaiting Klinklang or if it would be a heavier move, but whatever it was, between Simisear and Stunfisk’s collected focus, he had one round to make the biggest difference he could, which meant Giga Impact. Given the damage it had already taken, there was a very good chance it would bring Stunfisk down.

He wasn’t entirely sure what happened next-- if it was an unexpected motion of the car, an instinctive flinch against the opposing Flame Burst or the lightheadedness he’d been fighting finally winning out-- but his grip on the hanging strap failed, and he stumbled forward.

Some time after the fact, he would realize that his first thoughts had been for the pair he was carrying, a spike of panic as he tried to fall in a way that wouldn’t put them at risk. He heard Emmet’s startled shout, felt the fingertips just barely managing to grip the end of his sleeve, but it was Eelektross whose intervention made all the difference.

The eel blew a worried raspberry from where he had willingly grounded himself while intercepting the fall, and raised his head in order to help Ingo into a kneeling position. All hallmarks of battle around them had ceased, leaving only worried human voices to fill the air instead. Across the car, the challengers called out, but weren’t confident enough to relinquish their own supports while the train was still in motion; Emmet, however, had already let his go, and was crouching to help pull him back up.

...mostly. Instead of steadying Ingo and letting him adjust from there, Emmet strong armed him onto the nearest bench. Eelektross immediately followed, pushing its head into the elder twin’s lap.

Somewhat belatedly, Ingo’s attention fell to Klinklang, knocked out cold in the middle of the field. It was only to be expected; its partner had fled at a crucial moment, leaving it to endure both Flame Burst and Mud Bomb alone-- and, on top of that, it hadn’t had any guidance from its trainer to fall back upon. Guilt squirmed in his chest, and he recalled it as Emmet apologized to their opponents, promising that they would arrange a rematch soon.

The teens departed, wearing contrite expressions of their own, and as the train started back up, Emmet sat down next to his brother.

“Is everyone alright?”

Elbow propped on one knee, head in his hand, Ingo nodded.

“What happened?”

Without lifting his head, he said, “I’m not sure.”

There was a displeased noise to his side, “Then there is no knowing if it will happen again.”

“I’m sorry.” He said, a heavy sigh, “My mistake utterly derailed the match; our challengers deserved better from me as a Subway Boss, and you deserved better from your partner.”

“A battle is a battle. A person is much more important. Our opponents recognized that.” There was movement against his thigh, and he glanced down to find two hands taking Eelektross by either side of the face, “And I am verrrrry proud of Eelektross for having his priorities in order.”

That was true; the eel had gone above and beyond in his conduct, and Ingo fixed his posture in order to run a hand down its body. “I’m grateful for your assistance, Eelektross. With an active battle so near, it may have been a nasty fall if you hadn’t hurried to help me, so thank you.”

It wriggled, torn between excitement and bashfulness, burbling its happiness.

“Now to apologize to Klinklang.” He grumbled, trying to decide how best to make it up to the steel type.

“It will understand.” Emmet said, drawing Eelektross into his lap as best he could, which almost immediately culminated in it wrapping its tail around him, “You are acting like this is a much greater problem than it is. In actuality, the disruption was an inconvenience at worst. The real concern is that you could have been hurt.”

There wasn’t much to say to that, so Ingo nodded and glanced across the car, to the control panel’s readout. It wasn’t the best angle, but it seemed they had several more stops to go before approaching the station. That made sense; the battle had been cut short, after all, so there hadn’t been time to cover the usual amount of ground.

“I just hate to think that I’m becoming a burden.” He finally said, assured that the only ones who would ever hear it were his brother and Eelektross. “If it’s already advanced to the point where my thinking is warped, and my ability to respond is so diminished, how long can I possibly provide a challenge?”

“You are unmedicated. That is why you are thinking like this.” Emmet said bluntly, “Nobody else believes any of that. And I was only teasing before. We can look into the recent statistics if you truly believe your performance is suffering. But it won’t show what you are worried it will.”

Raw data would be helpful, if not to prove a point now, then to keep an eye on things as time went by. If he found objective proof that he was slipping, he’d have to do something about it. “...alright, we’ll check when we return to the station.”

Emmet nodded, satisfied with the agreement, even if the look on his face suggested he thought it unnecessary.

“It was the correct decision.” After a puzzled glance, he clarified, “Pulling the brake on your medications. It must be difficult. But you did it for them. You’re doing your best for everyone. And if anyone says it is not enough, I will ban them from the premises.”

There was a beat of silence punctuated by, “That includes you.”

“I’ll try to keep those points in mind,” Ingo said dryly, “Brain fog and clumsiness may impede the ability to do my job, but I suspect being disallowed on a train might do me in.”